Life of an Adventurer in a Harsh World – Part 08

Hikaru, completely unaware of all the commotion, wandered through the meadows. He was certain that he had given the adventurers a slip.

“Red-Horned Rabbits live near town. They’re an unusual bunch as there’s fewer and fewer of them as you go farther out. But then again, there are no ferocious monsters near town so it’s easier for them to breed.”

That was the information he got from the library earlier.

“Apparently, they’re difficult to hunt… As to why…”

Hikaru spotted his target some distance away, behind some bushes. It was fairly big for a rabbit, about the size of a cardboard box for oranges. On its head was a bright-red horn. A Red-Horned Rabbit.

The longer the horns, the more valuable they were. But most of them snapped off over the course of their lives. In fact, the one Hikaru spotted had a broken horn.

“Hmm…”

It was less than a hundred meters away. Hikaru turned off his Stealth and Blessing.

Abruptly, the Red-Horned Rabbit raised its head and looked around restlessly.

“So it can notice me even from this distance.”

Hikaru turned his Stealth back on and moved closer. The Red-Horned Rabbit was unaware of his approach. The creature seemed to have forgotten its discomfort as it shoved its face back into the ground.

When he was about thirty meters away, the Red-Horned Rabbit raised its head once more, but this time, it looked straight at Hikaru’s direction, then immediately fled at a ridiculous speed.

“Literally ran like a scared rabbit…” he mumbled. “No, wait. What am I saying? So thirty meters is the limit of my Stealth. I was quite confident with my Skill too. It’s rough going against a monster that specializes in anti-Stealth.”

Hikaru let out a low groan.

“Wait a sec. That rabbit clearly saw me. It knew which direction I was in. The only explanation for that is…”

It had either Life or Mana Detection.

“I have one point each on Life Cloaking and Mana Cloaking. So it had a means to pierce through both. All right. Next we try with my Blessing on.”

It took fifteen minutes for him to find another Red-Horned Rabbit. He’d already switched his Blessing to Stealth God: Bearer of Darkness.

“Seriously?”

He approached the creature through its blind spot, so it might’ve played a part.

At his feet was a rabbit, about 60 centimeters in length, its face pressed onto the ground. It lifted its head from time to time, chewing on food. It was in the middle of its meal.

Just switching Blessings allowed him to get this close. The creature he spotted this time still had its horn intact. A rare find.

“Time to kill it I guess.”

The creature did not hear him.

“…”

Hikaru gripped his Dagger of Strength tightly. He was about to kill a living creature.

He left town, fully prepared. But he couldn’t stop the blade from shaking.

This is stupid. I’ve already killed a man, and yet here I am, hesitating to kill an animal.

Morgstadt deserved to die. Roland’s desire for revenge gave him the push too. But the Red-Horned Rabbit did nothing to him.

I know.

It was like how meat sold at a supermarket wouldn’t bother him, but he might feel sorry for the animals if he went to a slaughterhouse.

He understood his sentiment.

Man, I’m really stupid…

He put his hands together, knowing it was pointless. There was no Buddha in this world. But he wanted to do it anyway.

In one motion, he plunged the dagger through the Red-Horned Rabbit’s back, all the way to its heart. He felt no resistance as the blade took its life away. It must be the effect of the Assassination skill.

The Red-Horned Rabbit shuddered, then went limp. Blood seeped into the ground.

Hikaru’s knees went weak all the way to his feet, but he braced himself. He pulled the dagger out, then put his hands together once more.


After killing the creature, the rest was quick. Hikaru hung the corpse by a creek to drain the blood, then cut its belly open to remove the innards. According to the information he gathered from the library, doing this would make it lighter and make the meat tastier. The heart and its two kidneys could be sold at high prices, though, so he left those.

He then tossed the corpse into a bag he had bought for his daily needs. Made out of raw materials from a monster, the bag resembled plastic, and could be washed as is.

After rinsing his hand with soap, he headed back to town. It was lunch time, but he didn’t have the appetite to eat his sandwich.


When Hikaru got to the gate, the gatekeeper, for some reason, tapped his shoulders and nodded.

“What is it?” Hikaru asked.

“Go to the Adventurers’ Guild.”

“Hmm?”

He wondered if something happened while he was gone. But before he could ask, the guard gave him a push from behind. Utterly confused, he headed straight to the guild, which was his plan all along anyway.

“Hika—”

When he returned, Freya and Gloria were both at the counter.

Freya was about to dash toward Hikaru, but after casting a sidelong glance at Gloria, she froze. She then returned to dealing with the adventurers like nothing happened.

“…”

She kept shooting glances at Hikaru, though.

He understood what she was trying to say with those eyes.

“Over here. Come here. Don’t go over to Gloria. Understood?”

The eyes could speak a thousand words.

What in the world happened?

As always, adventurers were clustered around the two women, hitting on them.

Are these guys really adventurers? Don’t they have anything better to do?

Hikaru waited for work to settle down a bit before slipping into the front.

“I’m here to deliver—”

“You’ve come at the most opportune time, Adventurer Hikaru. I want to talk to you in the booth.”

“What?”

“I want to talk to you in the booth.”

“I, uhh…”

“I want to talk to you in the booth.”

After repeating it three times, Freya sauntered toward the booth.

“…”

Hikaru could feel the men’s icy glares boring into him.

Man, what a pain. I don’t want people remembering my face. Maybe I should buy a mask. He seriously considered the idea.

Upon entering the booth, Hikaru found Freya with her head low, both hands on the table.

“I’m sorry!” she exclaimed.

The adventurers wondered what was going on. Hikaru was just as clueless as they were.

These adventurers really don’t have anything better to do. And Gloria keeps stealing glances while working.

After calming himself down, Hikaru said, “I’m not sure why you’re apologizing.”

“You might’ve not noticed, but you were actually tailed by adventurers. Six of them.”

“I see.”

“They’re, um… my fans apparently. They thought I was giving you preferential treatment, so they wanted to harass you.”

“I was aware. So what about it?”

“What?”

“What about it?”

“You knew?”

“I did. I mean, it was too obvious. I hate to say it, but I think the adventurers here are a little too incompetent.”

“Th-That’s not true! Zelnenko is known for being skilled for his young age. He’s still only rank E, but people expect great things from him in the future.”

Hikaru blinked. What? That guy? If I recall correctly, he had 1 point on his Sword mastery. Is one point actually fairly strong?

“He has a Blessing called One-handed Sword Technician God5: Technical Swordsman.”

“Ah, I see. So he has a good Blessing. But it’s a five-character Blessing, isn’t it?”

“Yes. He’s cut out to be a fighter.”

So five-character Blessings are enough to make yourself notable. I shouldn’t tell anyone about my Blessings and the Soul Board.

Hikaru had two-character Blessings.

“Hikaru? What’s wrong?”

“Uh, nothing.”

“Oh, I get it. You’re scared. Of course. You’re scared because a skilled adventurer with a five-character Blessing has his eyes on you. But rest assured! They received a warning from the guards for their unbecoming behavior, and they’ll be under surveillance for a while!”

Freya puffed out her chest. Her moderately-sized, yet well-rounded breasts bounced. Hikaru looked away.

“Okay, then. Thank you,” he said.

He wasn’t actually the least bit scared. He just let Freya believe what she wanted to believe.

The adventurers weren’t exactly a threat to him, but it felt good knowing someone was worried about him and even protected him.

Should I give the guard a box of cakes? Going by Roland’s memories, this world also has a custom of giving something as gratitude.

Hikaru set the idea aside for now.

“Um, I have business with you as well,” Hikaru said. “Can you assess something for me?”

“Yes, of course. What do you have for me? Oh, we won’t be needing glimmering poisonous herbs for a while.”

Freya stared blankly at him.

“A Red-Horned Rabbit.”

“I can’t believe you would lie to me. You’re breaking my heart.”

“Well, that was quick. I only got one, though.”

Hikaru opened the bag he had by his foot and showed it to her. The smell of blood and game drifted from within.

“H-Hikaru…” Freya was astonished. “You really are one lucky guy!”

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