Inside An Ad*lt Game As A Former Hero - Chapter 8

– Kuckh…..

– Haa…haah….

Samuel while carrying Marilyn was sprinting towards the exit of the cave. He was followed by Gemina and Tom.

“Agh….”

Every time the soles of her feet swayed violently, Marilyn groaned.

“Hold on, Marilyn. We are almost out.”

The cave was large, but not very deep.

If they continue running like this, they will definitely soon see the exit.

As Samuel had expected, after running for a while longer, he saw the boundary between the cave and the sunlight. Even after whizzing out of the cave, Samuel didn’t stop running.

He only stopped his sprint after he reached the clear forest bushes in front of the cave.

“Samuel, why did you stop?!”

“We have to stop Marilyn’s bleeding. Better to treat now. Otherwise, she will grievously suffer later.”

He had once seen an adventurer who suffered from sickness for a whole week just because of a shallow cut.

As his condition worsened, he had to visit the priest, who said that his wound was infected. As per what he knew, the priest advised that it is better to treat the wound when it occurs, unless you carry a potion or can use a heal.

And Marilyn’s wounds were much worse than that adventurer at that time.

Even if there was a risk of being pursued, it was better to deal with it quickly right now.

Samuel took out the pestled herbs and a bandage out of his bag. The pestled herbs were applied evenly on the wound as he rounded the bandage.

Meanwhile, Gemina and Tom looked back at the cave.

“…brother. Will Mr. Cloud be fine? Shouldn’t we be on his side now?”

“Yes, bro. He’s a B grade. He killed those two hobgoblins prats so easily. With our help, we all can definitely kill all those goblins.”

Gemina and Tom urged Samuel, who was doing the first aid.

It’s because they both felt guilty for running away, leaving Cloud inside.

But Samuel said sternly.

“No way. You guys just saw the number of those goblins, didn’t you? Going in there is suicide.”

“But…”

“No buts! I said no!”

When Samuel shouted, Gemina and Tom, as well as Marilyn, who was being treated quietly, flinched in surprise.

Seeing that reaction, Samuel sighed deeply.

“Yes. As you said, Tom, Mr. Cloud took out the two hobgoblins in an instant. But that’s because there was an element of surprise in the mix. If dozens of goblins rush together on you, no matter which B-class adventurer it is, there is no other end result.”

“That’s why we have to help quickly before..!”

“What if we go? What can we even do?”

Tom and Gemina’s mouths shut closed at the words that stabbed right through the core.

Except for the wounded Marilyn, there were the only three who still had the ability to fight.

But…

They are only two novice adventurers who have received their first quest today and a D-class adventurer who has just climbed the rankings.

They didn’t have the power to change the unfavorable battle situation.

Tom and Gemina bowed their heads, feeling helpless and guilty.

After fastening the knots of the bandage, Samuel patted Tom and Gemina on the shoulder.

“Don’t feel guilty. Even though we all could have run away together, unfortunately, only we were able to run away. It’s the destiny’s choice, not our…”

Samuel couldn’t finish his speech.

Because he saw someone coming out of the cave.

At first he thought it was a goblin.

However, the figure’s height, which was revealed belatedly, was too big to be that of a goblin’s.

“Brother?”

Surprised by Samuel’s sudden pause, Tom and Gemina also turned their heads.

—both to be left frozen.

“What happened? What is it? Is it a goblin?”

Marilyn leaned up against the tree and struggled to get up. She turned her gaze to where they were looking with a hardened look.

Her pupils dilated.

It wasn’t a goblin that came out of the cave, it was Cloud. He calmly sauntered out with four hobgoblin heads in his hands. He turned his head and looked around, and when he saw them, he approached with a bright smirk.

“I thought you ran away, so guys still here? Great. Come on, take one of the heads each, carry it for me.”

Cloud held out the hobgoblin heads he was holding in his arms to the three uninjured people.

But the three of them just looked at Cloud with blank expressions.

“What are you doing, not picking it? Mah man, to be honest, if you dudes still have a conscience, be of some help.”

Cloud grunted, but his words couldn’t reach the heads of the three. Their heads were full of question marks.

“How..?”

“Yes?”

“How did you get out?”

Samuel’s voice was laced with unbelievable absurdity.

Cloud tilted his head and said as if it was all natural.

“I came out because I killed them all. What else do I had to do?”

“What b…”

–’bullshit..?’

The words reached his throat, but he had no choice but to swallow them back.

Cloud’s figure that came out of the cave was bathed in dark red blood.

Common sense is that there is no way humans can survive after that much blood loss, so it was reasonable to think that it was the blood of those goblin bastards.

‘…He really killed them all?’

So many goblins?

‘…..’

He is a B-grade adventurer?

“…I’ll have to check it out.”

Samuel ran towards the cave.

“Brother?!”

“Brother!?”

“Wait, I’m coming too!”

“Hey you! My god, I just told you to carry some heads, why are you running now? Gosh.”

He ignored the sounds coming from behind. Samuel wanted to make sure that Cloud’s words were true, so he ran without stopping.

And he was able to find it.

Four headless hobgoblin corpses and dozens of goblin corpses lying strewn on the floor.

Everything he said was true.

“Brother! Where were you running like that… hiik?!”

Jemina, who followed, leaked a startled voice.

And, so did Tom and Marilyn, who arrived a little later.

The scene where the intestines, severed limbs, and corpses were scattered disorderly was blant horrific.

The three remained silent frozen, until Cloud arrived.

“What the, what loots are you expecting to pick up from these penniless goblins? There’s nothing to salvage here, so rather carry these hobgoblin heads.”

Cloud’s voice came from behind.

Samuel didn’t look back.

‘You crazy guild bastards. That’s a B-class adventurer, huh…’

It was when he couldn’t overcome his fear and closed his eyes.

“Excuse me…”

Marilyn’s voice was heard.

Samuel felt his heart sink. In his mind, the image of Marilyn, who was particularly prickly to Cloud popped up.

‘Oh fuck, no Marilyn! Don’t offend him! Otherwise we all are fucked up big!’

Samuel jerked his head in a hurry.

He was going to run quickly and close Marilyn’s mouth…

“Sir, I’m sorry…”

There was no need for that.

Because Marilyn was bowing her head and apologizing to Cloud while being supported by Tom.

“Yes?”

“T, That, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have talked like that. It’s my mistake to fall into a trap while running because I-I got needlessly excited, and to run away from the group… I’m sorry… I won’t do that ever again…sorry, I’m sorry…”

Samuel looked at Marilyn’s face with her head bowed. She was weeping with her face etched with a horribly terrified expression.

* * *

There were no hobgoblins in the objectives of the quest that Samuel and his party had received. There was no mention of dozens of goblins either.

Therefore, as soon as Samuel returned to the city, he had to report the anomaly to the head of the guild’s branch.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

“Go back carefully.”

After completing the report, Samuel bowed his head once and left the waiting room. Seeing him leave, Walter sighed heavily, burying his back into his chair.

“What do you think?”

Walter asked his secretary, Rickel, who was standing next to him.

“What exactly, sir?”

“Just now, what that kid said. Does it sound real?”

“I checked the money ledger, the hobgoblin heads are real. They exchanged four heads for money.”

“All right…”

Walter closed his eyes for a moment and pondered at what that kid had said earlier.

–I thought the first two kills were just a surprise attack. Anyway, the escape route was cleared, so I carried Marilyn and tried to run away. But… Mr. Cloud didn’t intend to run away, instead he walked towards the goblin horde. Bewildered, I wondered if he had gone crazy. How are you going to handle those number?

–Yes, we left him and ran away.

–Even if you curse me for being cowardly, I can’t help it. I wanted to live.

–It was while hiding among the bushes in front of the cave, while giving first aid to Marilyn’s feet.

–…A figure appeared in front of the cave, it was him, who had appeared.

–Yes, that’s right. It was Mr. Cloud.

–Bathed in blood, his whole body in dark red, there were almost no wounds except for a few scratches.

–When I asked what happened, he lightly said, that he just got it all…

–At first I thought it was total bullshit… but when I went into the cave and checked, I had no choice but to admit that what Mr. Cloud was saying was true.

–Hobgoblins and dozens of goblins were killed, they were horribly dead.

Samuel shook his head, saying he didn’t want to remember more than that. He had ran away, so he didn’t see how they fought either.

–I could only guess that he had won overwhelmingly, seeing his comfortable condition and the gruesome scene, haah.

“Branch Chief. Is it possible to kill four hobgoblins and dozens of goblins alone, by a B-class at that?”

“Impossible.”

It’s just not as easy as one-on-one battles.

Because every time you attack one, multiple other attacks will come at you, on the same time.

It was for that reason that the adventurers did not move alone, but organized a party.

Unless you have an overwhelming advantageous power gap, single against countless is a no brainer.

Not like the case that happened now.

Level 17.

A level similar to the guards of any kingdom’s city after dingling for some time in their jobs.

Cannot be said to be weak, but it was ambiguously wrong to say it was strong either.

Of course, it was definitely stronger than a hobgoblin, which are at the most, something like level 10.

One might even be able to fight two of them alone.

But dealing against them with dozens of other goblins in the frey is another story.

If everyone had been able to do that so easily, the continent wouldn’t have been rotten by the rampaging monsters, and the Adventurer’s Guild wouldn’t have been formed.

“If it’s an ordinary B-class, that is.”

But Cloud did it.

—he’s no ordinary B-class adventurer.

* * *

“Then, sir, you are saying that he is not normal?”

“Yes. My guess is that this friend must have been systematically trained by someone. After hard training, he must have come out to experience the outside world. That’s probably why the level is so low.”

“Sir, by being systematically trained, you mean…?”

At Rickel’s questioning tone, Walter shrugged.

“If anyone could do such a thing, who could it be other than a knight?”

Knight.

A humanoid weapon that is raised by the virtue of all kinds of hard work and systematic training since childhood.

They do not depend on level.

They fill that level gap with absolute skill.

They are not bound by numbers.

And, they are overwhelmingly strong.

Rickel swallowed his saliva with a nervous expression at the word knight.

“Knight… Then, shouldn’t Mr. Cloud’s rank be increased?”

“It’s all right, just leave it alone. Most probably, he wouldn’t like that kind of perk. Just change the evaluation a bit. So that he can raise his rank any time he wants.”

“…Yeah, sir.”

“Then go out and do the work. I’ll sit down and think for a while.”

After Rickel left the reception room, Walter recalled his first meeting with Cloud.

‘Somehow, even though he was young, his momentum was extraordinary.’

‘…He was playing in a whole different world than me, all the time.’

Walter smiled, but then he suddenly remembered what he had done.

Everything from preemption to using grip to pressuring tone of voice.

‘…Maybe, he wouldn’t hold grudges, right?’

A drop of cold sweat ran down his back.

* * *

Killing the goblins allowed me to understand how the level system here works.

‘It severs the soul.’

It cleaves the soul of the dead by a little and get’s absorbed into the body of the opponent. When more than a certain number of souls accumulate in the body, the body is strengthened.

So, mowing and absorbing the soul is what everyone calls experience, and accumulating them upto a certain extent to make the body stronger—is called leveling up.

So, what to do next was simple.

Just kill all kinds of monsters at random and level up. After I’ve leveled up to a certain extent, I can leave to farm for equipments.

But before that, there’s something more to be done.

“Welcome. Are you here to join the swordsmanship guild?”

The place I was currently visiting was the Swordsmanship Guild, a place that taught swordsmanship by paying money, just like in the game.

“No, I’m just here to learn.”

‘Probably, the being that pulled me here—is very likely not to know who actually am I.’

If it had known, it wouldn’t have thought of bringing him to his dimension.

Of course, unless it’s really crazy.

‘So, that guy probably thinks of me as some kind of wasted game obsessed freak who has played a damn lot of games.’

Then shouldn’t we act accordingly?

Well… one day I’ll may be forced to use my skills from the old world.

But if that doesn’t happen, there’s no need to step forward and show my bottom line.

So that’s why, I came to the Swordsmanship Guild to learn the skills of this world.

As for the skit against goblins—it was simply a matter of looking, dodging, and stabbing, but the next time I meet someone harder, it may lead up to showing some real skills.

“Learning is also good choice! Our swordsmanship guild is always open to anyone who wants to learn. However, learning, uhm, always costs money…”

I took out a money bag containing 2500 gold and showed it to him.

2000 gold is the money left over after giving Lina 3000 gold last time, and 500 gold is the money earned from the last goblin quest. Originally, 500 gold was to be divided among five people, but Samuel refused to take it, so, in the end I had all of it.

While looking at the heavy money bag in my hand, the person showed a happy expression.

“You are eligible to learn. Follow me. I will guide you to the master.”

I followed him as he guided me inside.

From inside the guild, the sound of metal bumping didn’t stop, it seemed that the guild members were practicing with each other.

“Master, someone is here.”

He said as he opened the back door of the guild.

Passing through the back door, I saw the guild’s hall enclosed by white walls. There, about six people were following the movements of a middle-aged man.

The man who guided me walked towards that middle-aged man.

“Master Riek.”

“What’s going on, Jack? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“A visitor has come to learn.”

“Oh? Let’s see. Are you the customer?”

The middle-aged man wiped his sweat and looked at me. I nodded, and the middle-aged looked at the six continuing their training and ordered:

“I’ll be leaving for a while. Don’t stop, keep repeating from style one to eight until I come back.”

-Yes!

“You. Follow me.”

The middle-aged man led me into a side room. Even though it was not as big as the guild’s hall, there was enough space to swing around a sword, although not as freely as the hall.

“What do you want to learn?”

“What do you teach?”

“Double Sword Strike for three hundred gold. Parrying for five hundred gold. Wolf Buster for a thousand gold.”

It’s the same as the game system.

“Then I will learn all of that.”

My words made the master’s eyebrows twitch.

“You want to learn everything?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, I have enough money. Then, please show the demonstration.”

I threw the money bag minus 700 gold to the instructor.

* * *

Riek.

By the time he approached the age of fifty, he was a wandering knight who had been wandering the continent from when he was young.

Nobles and official knights looked at him and still ignored him, saying that even with a horse—he was nothing more than a wandering knight or a rootless mercenary, but he has always been proud of his one possession—his swordsmanship.

He wasn’t in a good mood right now.

It was because of the ballsy kid who came up earlier as a guest this time.

Just by looking at his thin figure with those twig like arms, you would know that he must have been born in a well-to-do rich family.

That’s why he could issue such an arrogant declaration.

‘Are you going to learn everything? Ha ha..! You wankers think that all you need is money…’

That’s why these privileged buggers could never make it.

They all thought that handling a sword was as easy as plucking flowers while lying on their big and soft beds.

The reality is that, to master it—you have to work hard enough until your hands are filled with calluses, and practice until you cannot move an inch of your body.

‘But… I still have to make money.’

Maintaining a guild costs money, it’s a matter of course.

That was the reason why he, who held a strong pride in his sword, couldn’t kick out such a cheeky bastard.

He smiled laboriously and handed the wooden sword to Cloud.

“Yes. It’s good to learn everything. So, let’s start with the Double Sword Strike.”

Riek took a stance with a wooden sword. He immediately swung his sword with a little tilt.

“Ha!”

A wooden sword swung toward the top.

As he twisted his wrist, the wooden sword stretched in the opposite direction to the direction in which it was previously swung, coming right back at a greater velocity.

It used the movement of the wrist to attack twice at high speed. Of course, the power is slightly lower than normal, but the advantage of being able to attack twice in a short time is the focus of Double Sword Strike.

He looked at Cloud with a triumphant expression.

‘Perhaps he didn’t even see it properly.’

For a beginner who doesn’t know how it’s done, it’ll feel like something has come and gone in blink of an eye.

“Can I try it?”

“Of course.”

Cloud took the exact same posture that Riek had taken earlier. Seeing that, Riek internally laughed by himself.

‘How’s it possible to learn with just one look? I had to practice it for a whole week back then to…’

Shoo! Shoo!

—the sound of crackling of wind.

Riek’s mouth fell wide open. Because Cloud followed Riek’s movements in the same exact manner.

‘No… H, How at once, that…’

To Riek who was left bewildered, Cloud spoke calmly.

“Is it okay?”

“Uh? Uh-huh… well… well done.”

“Then show me the next technique.”

“Yeah, it should be.”

Riek raised his wooden sword.

Definitely, he is a guy who knows how to use a sword, no doubt.

But this one won’t be easy.

“Parrying is letting the opponent’s attack flow in the other direction. It is meaningful in that it not only cuts off the opponent’s attack, but also creates a gap. Try swinging your sword at me once.”

Cloud swung his wooden sword towards Riek. Riek directed off Cloud’s attack with his sword.

“This is called parrying.”

“Well, parrying is something that can only be done if you are skilled, beginners are better off hitting sideways rather than parrying it.”

“I see.”

“It would be better to try it yourself than to just see it. I will swing my sword at you. Take a good look at it and try to parry me.”

Riek slashed his wooden sword at Cloud, who had taken his stance. It contained power beyond what was needed to teach parrying.

‘Let’s see if you can do it once again!’

It was because such a childish thought had taken hold in Riek’s head.

Seeing Riek’s sword attack, Cloud moved. When Riek felt something, his wooden sword was already hitting the ground.

‘Uh…?’

Without hesitation, Cloud continued.

“Teach me the next technique.”

“…”

In the end, Cloud learned all the three techniques in less than 10 minutes and went back the exact day.

After he returned, Riek had to receive the puzzled eyes of his disciples as to why he had returned so early.

—A hefty bonus on the already big crack on a certain someone’s pride.

* * *