The First Subjugation Request

I heard a terrifying story that many of my fellow adventurers were criminals, and I had trouble falling asleep.

I washed my face, still groggy from lack of sleep, with cold well water. I undressed and splashed water all over my body.

I made sure to wash myself thoroughly to avoid being noticed by prey because of my smell. The water was cold and harsh. Hot water is expensive; I need to save money.

Ideally, I’d like to cover myself in mud, but the gate guards would probably stab me with their spears if I tried. I reluctantly gave up on that idea.

I ate the breakfast included with my lodging: a thin, salty soup with scraps of tough meat and some worthless vegetables, along with hard bread.

While soaking the bread in the soup, I ate it slowly. After finishing the meal, I checked my equipment.

Once the check was complete, I did some stretching in the corner of the backyard where the well was. I carefully stretched, making sure not to overexert myself and sweat too much.

As I was doing that, the bell rang. It was time to head to the meeting place.

The church has a magical tool that keeps track of time and rings the bell during the day to signal the time. When the bell rings, I head to the meeting spot. That’s what I was told.

I arrived at the meeting place, but Gonz and the others hadn’t shown up yet.

After a while they did. Gonz, looking sleepy, Kimon, as usual, and Al, always looking well-groomed.

I greeted them, and we showed our wooden tags to the guards at the gate to head outside. These wooden tags serve as proof that we accepted a guild request.

When we show the tag upon entering, they verify it, and we can enter the town without paying the city entry tax.

The moment we stepped outside the town, Gonz, who’d been trudging along lazily up until then, shifted into guarded movements.

Having been an adventurer for a long time, I was impressed by how well Gonz could switch between these states. It’s tough to stay alert all the time.

Though, since it’s Gonz, there’s also the fact that he can relax in the town. He had defeated a group of adventurers who had attacked him, and almost no one dares to go against him in the town.

The only one above Gonz seems to be the Boss of the Slums, and even Gonz said he can’t beat him.

As for me, I was constantly on edge. I kept my presence hidden and was always aware of any potential threats.

Everyone I passed seemed like a scam artist or a thief. Being the shortest adventurer, I was seen as weak and a parasite hanging onto Gonz and the others. I occasionally felt chilling glares.

Al had told me that, during a request, he would always help me and never abandon me, but outside of that, it was my responsibility to deal with anything that came up.

I was completely freaked out and couldn’t relax at all. Leaving the town actually made me feel a little better.

That said, outside the walls, it’s an area swarming with monsters, so I couldn’t afford to let my guard down. I focused on detection.

Even if I spotted a monster on the way, I was told not to push myself to fight it. I was supposed to avoid them as much as possible, so I did just that.

Killing monsters on the way to the request would just add to our burden, so it was better to avoid them. Relying on my sense of presence, I carefully avoided any monsters and hurried to the village where the request was.

If we used a cart, we could transport the prey while moving. I asked why we weren’t using one.

They told me carts are only used by nobles, large merchant caravans, or by those who have a lot of people and supplies. Carts have magic tools to keep the horses safe from monsters, but the magic stones used for fuel are expensive, so adventurers can’t afford them. Renting a cart for every request would just cause a loss.

I thought walking would take a long time, but I’d forgotten that at level 15, my physical abilities far exceeded modern-day Japan’s standards. We moved at a considerable speed and arrived at the village by noon.

I decided to have lunch while listening to the village chief’s detailed explanation. Thanks to Gonz and Al’s excellent negotiation skills, we ate lunch at the chief’s house, which was provided by the village.

The preserved food looked unappetizing, so I was thankful for Gonz and Al.

The village meal consisted of boiled potato-like tubers and soup, but it was far better than the meals at the inn.

The inn’s food wasn’t necessarily bad, but the breakfast included in the lodging was just awful. If you pay a high price, you can get better food.

The food at the guild tavern is said to be among the best in Rock Cliff, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the money.

Grateful for the warm, free lunch I got by avoiding the preserved food, I listened to the chief’s story.

The village was having trouble with Gray Wolves attacking their livestock. The pack usually consists of 5 wolves, but the villagers couldn’t handle them, so they asked for help.

The pack came from a forest to the east. The chief hadn’t seen any other monsters in the area, so I gathered all the necessary information.

Al asked the chief questions to see if there were any inconsistencies or lies while being polite on the surface.

After the conversation with the chief, Al explained the characteristics of the Gray Wolves.

They always form packs in multiples of 5, like 5 or 10, and hunt together.

What is this, a Qin dynasty five-man unit? That’s basically a damn army! Monsters are no joke.

Al said that adventurers with mediocre skills would be taken down by these wolves. That’s how troublesome they were.

After finishing the meal and the meeting, I took a rest until my stomach settled. Once the break was over, we headed for the forest where the Gray Wolves were supposed to be.

I had been told not to participate in the combat, just to focus on detection. Since the wolves worked in coordination, it would be dangerous with someone unskilled in the fight.

When we arrived at the forest, I told Gonz and the others to wait. If I detected the enemy, I would go back to report. I then entered the forest.

As I was heading in, Kimon said quietly, “Show me your skills.”

Since Kimon had probably been the scout up until now, I knew I had to impress him. If I didn’t, I might not be accepted into the party.

I entered the forest and began looking for strongly-scented herbs. Since I couldn’t cover myself in mud, I decided to rub some wild plants’ scent on my body to blend in with the forest.

Since they were wolf-type monsters, their sense of smell should be strong.

It didn’t take long before I found some mint. Since this is another world, I can’t say for sure if it’s exactly the same as mint from Earth, but the plants and animals here seem very similar to Earth.

Maybe it’s because this world was reincarnated by that god, so it resembles Earth in that way.

Mint is known for its strong reproductive rate, so it tends to grow everywhere. After gathering a decent amount of mint, I rubbed it onto my body.

If the smell is too faint, my body odor would still be noticeable, and if it’s too strong, it would feel unnatural. Balancing the smell is something I learned during my year living as a wild man. It’s a skill outside of skills, so to speak.

I focused on the sound of my footsteps and activated my detection skill to its full extent. I used my concealment skill to mask my presence while searching for the target.

My detection skill allows me to faintly sense the presence of living creatures, but since I have the concealment skill, it’s possible that monsters also have a similar ability.

I didn’t trust my skills too much and instead used all my senses, my eyes, ears, nose, taste of the air, and skin, to sense anything unusual. After walking for a while, I caught a faint smell of animal dung.

I’ve heard that carnivores have smelly poop. Maybe herbivores are the opposite? Back when I was in elementary school, I was in charge of caring for rabbits.

The rabbits didn’t have particularly smelly poop. I guess that’s because they were herbivores.

Following the smell, I found the dung. I looked around for footprints near it. Sure enough, there were multiple tracks.

I kept following the tracks while remaining alert. By examining the fur caught on nearby trees, I could estimate the size of the creatures. I’d been warned that sometimes an alpha Gray Wolf might be mixed in with the pack.

The alpha is said to be larger, and if there’s a deep footprint among the tracks, it’s highly likely that the leader is among them.

Because the alpha is larger, its weight makes the footprint deeper. Luckily, it seemed that the pack I was tracking didn’t have an alpha.

As I followed the tracks, I discovered the entrance to a cave. The tracks led inside. The cave didn’t seem to go very deep, and with my detection skill, I could sense the presence of five creatures inside.

I quietly retraced my steps and reported to Gonz and the others that I had found the Gray Wolves. Then, I led them to the mint plants where we had rubbed the scent onto our bodies.

Gonz was reluctant to rub the mint on himself and said he’d do it himself. When I explained how hard it was to get the right amount of mint on, he shouted, “Are you a homo? Don’t touch me!”

I was at a loss, but Al stepped in to calm him down.

Even though I didn’t want to touch the 2-meter-tall, axe-wielding Gonz, I rubbed the mint on him anyway.

At first, Gonz complained a lot, but then he suddenly said, “Oh, this feels nice! It has a fresh scent. I’m gonna be even more popular with the ladies now!”

He laughed loudly.

I couldn’t help but think, “What if the Gray Wolves notice us because of that?!” But if I complained, an axe would come crashing down on my head, so I held it in.

We tried to approach the cave from downwind. Gonz was making a lot of noise, rustling through the bushes, so I kept worrying that the Gray Wolves would hear us. Somehow, we managed to reach the entrance of the cave.

“Leave the rest to us,” Al said, and he stepped forward toward the cave.

Finally, I was going to witness the battle of what claimed to be the strongest party in Rock Cliff. A real adventurer fighting a monster.

I suppressed my pounding chest, hid my presence, and stayed hidden.