While my left arm deflected the dire glass wolf’s right claw, my right hand pulled the trigger and shot at its exposed belly. The MP5A4 unleashed 9 × 19mm Parabellum rounds into its abdomen. This might have been overkill, but I fired until the dire glass wolf collapsed, dead. Whether my magazine emptied first, or its life ended first, I couldn’t tell, but it thudded down to the ground.
“Phew! I’m glad the shield held up. I couldn’t withstand its strength otherwise. It would have been fatal...”
Looking down at the motionless dire glass wolf, I quickly changed the magazine for my gun. This was my last one. It didn’t seem likely that any of the six wolves would move again, but better safe than sorry.
“That roar earlier was surprising. Do higher-ranked species naturally use magical attacks?”
I observed where the magic-infused roar had struck the ground and imagined its power. It had gouged out the earth and formed a small crater.
I wondered if the carriage had safely escaped. I turned my gaze toward the Fortress City of Balga and saw a carriage approaching from afar. Soon, I could also hear its sound. It was the carriage the glass wolves had chased—it had returned.
“Hey! Are you All right?” the driver asked. “I was watching from a distance. Boy, was I worried! Are you injured? I have medicine—”
“No, I’m not injured. Are you okay, sir?”
“You’re not injured?! Oh, I’m fine, thanks to you. I was on my way from the royal capital to the Fortress City of Balga when those monsters unexpectedly attacked me. They usually don’t appear near this highway, so I was careless and didn’t hire an escort. You really saved me.”
“It was nothing. In that situation, they would have targeted me anyway. I just dealt with the threat that came my way.”
“But to defeat a dire glass wolf unscathed...”
While we talked, I drew a combat knife from the leg sheath on my thigh. I stabbed it into the dire glass wolf’s chest and cut it open. There was no blood, so I immediately saw the magic stone embedded inside. As Ashley had mentioned yesterday, higher-ranked magical beasts and humanoid species, as well as magic-using creatures, have natural magic stones in their chests.
“Oh! What a splendid and large wind magic stone!”
Before I knew it, the man had dismounted from the carriage and approached. The magic stone I extracted was approximately two inches long and glowed green. Even without magic, I could sense what was sealed within it. I stored it in my pouch and extracted the fangs from all the wolves. Would the same type of fang be acceptable for the dire wolf?
“Are you only collecting the magic stone and proof of elimination?”
The man, observing my process, questioned what else could be collected.
“Well... I can’t carry more. My tool bag is already full.” I didn’t have a tool bag, of course. But he didn’t need to know about that or that I was a dud.
“That’s a waste! There’s nothing useless in a magical beast! The hide, meat, and bones all have uses. If you can’t carry them, why don’t you sell them to me?”
“Sure! I was just going to leave them behind, but if you want to buy them, please do. Um...”
“Pardon me! I could at least introduce myself to the person who saved my life. I am Marta. I am a merchant, and I run the Marida Trading Company based in the royal capital.”
“Nice to meet you, Marta. I’m Schwarz, still a novice adventurer.”
Marta’s offer was really helpful since I was unable to use a tool bag. I could carry very little, and the firearms and ammo I did carry left little room for anything beyond proofs of elimination.
“Thank you, Schwarz. We can collect everything in my tool bag, and I’ll take you to Balga. The sun will set on us if we negotiate here. Hop up in the carriage, and we’ll discuss basics on the way.”
Thus, I sat in Marta’s carriage, and we negotiated a simple sale price as we returned to the Fortress City of Balga.
When we arrived, I first headed to the guild to report the completed quest. I agreed to meet Marta the next day at the Marida Trading Company’s Balga branch. Then, we’d discuss the dire glass wolf sale and other matters.
I entered the guild’s annex. It was evening, and it bustled with adventurers settling their day’s earnings. There were so many people, in fact, that I decided to get in line at a shorter queue. There were multiple reception windows, and the queues varied between some having long lines and some short. My line only had a few people ahead of me.
The line moved fast. It seemed the person handling this window was quite efficient. While waiting, I observed the line next to me. In its window sat a cute, beastkin female receptionist.
It seemed guild receptionists were either beautiful or cute! So, that was why that line was so long—it was for the receptionist. I could understand that. The heart and eyes need healing after life-and-death adventures. Sharing one’s adventures with, and receiving admiration from, a cute receptionist would be a rare reward beyond any quest’s compensation.
But what about this receptionist...
“Welcome, and thank you for coming. I’m Lesmond, and I’ll be your receptionist today. Please present your guild card and quest form.”
It was the small mustachioed, elderly gentleman who had appraised the mage goblin’s sash two days ago.
“Oh, it’s you, Schwarz. Welcome back.”
He remembered me. I must have looked disappointed. I had no complaints about him—was courteous and skilled, and likely an excellent staff member. But, you know...
“I’ve returned. You’re at this reception today, I see.”
Despite my inner turmoil, I gave him my guild card and quest form. Lesmond checked them, then elegantly operated the crystal pedestal with fluid hand movements. Watching his impressive work was comforting, and I felt my sanity return to normal.
“Yes, it’s quite busy right now, so I’m here to assist. The quest was for glass wolf elimination, correct? May I see the proofs of elimination, please.”
“Yes. I have eleven total. I also snagged a dire glass wolf. Was it correct to use fangs for that, as well?”
I thought I saw a slight twitch at the corner of Lesmond’s mustache when I mentioned the higher species, but maybe not. Lesmond maintained his gentle smile, verifying each proof of elimination before pausing to look at the notably large dire glass wolf fang.
“This is indeed a dire glass wolf! And yes, fangs are also its proof. Well done, Schwarz. Encountering a dire glass wolf in the wild usually means there’s a pack, yet you are uninjured. I’d expect no less from someone who hunted a mage goblin while at G-rank.”
“Ha ha, I just happened across a small group.”
“Oh, your modesty... Thank you for waiting. The quest completion has been confirmed. Well done. The reward totals one hundred and sixty silver coins, or sixteen thousand Orl, with fifteen guild points. The dire glass wolf proof of elimination is worth twenty-five silver coins, or twenty-five thousand Orl, with two hundred guild points. Additionally, sixteen hundred Orl has been deducted for this year’s tax collection. Here is your guild card.”
Adventurer Registration Card
Name: Schwarz Powder
Age: 24
Place of Origin: VMB
Main Weapon: None
Main Magic Attribute: None
Skills: None
Abilities: None
Tax Payment Method: From Adventurer Income
Rank: E (240/500)
The guild card made no mention of the fabricated bloodline Arms Skill that I had concocted the previous night. It seemed that bloodline skills were not recorded, or perhaps claiming to have a skill didn’t warrant its inclusion. I accepted my reward, bid Lesmond farewell, and headed to the inn.
After having dinner at the White Flower Pavilion of the Labyrinth, I returned to my room to assess how many Crystal Points were consumed during today’s quest.
“The consumption rate is fast. It might not even last me a year, at this pace.”
With no current means to acquire Crystal Points, I pondered how to manage their use. Spending them freely on ammunition and supplies would quickly deplete even the substantial amount I had saved. This made me uneasy. Since defeating enemies didn’t yield crystals, I considered alternatives but found there were none. My outsider status in this world meant that the only potential option was collecting magic stones.
I fidgeted with the wind magic stone I had extracted from the dire glass wolf. I detached the TSS screen monitor from the glove on my left arm and operated it like a tablet.
“Should I switch from firearms to close combat weapons? Nah. With my rudimentary skills, hunting magical beasts and humanoid species seems impractical.”
The problem seemed unsolvable, and tinkering with the TSS seemed futile. As I considered turning the TSS off, the wind magic stone slipped from my fingers and sank into the screen.
Discovery of Crystal Conversion
ERROR! This crystal cannot be converted into points.
Cancel the conversion? (Y/N)
“What?! Is the magic stone actually related to crystals?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the unfamiliar error message displayed on the screen monitor. This suggested that if a convertible magic stone were dropped onto the monitor, it could be acquired as Crystal Points. After selecting to cancel the conversion, the wind magic stone fell through and out the screen’s other side.
I rummaged through my magazine belt pouch and retrieved the non-elemental magic stone I’d extracted from the mage goblin. I dropped it onto the screen monitor.
Conversion available!
Convert these crystals to points? (Y / N)
“That’s it! The wind magic stone can’t be converted, but the non-elemental one can?!”
I immediately proceeded with the conversion and checked the acquired points. They weren’t much, only equivalent to the value of a single magazine.
“Well, I’ve gained Crystal Points, but considering how often I’ll acquire magic stones, this is still a net loss. But not all resource replenishment has to be directly acquired. I could maybe buy the stones. But wouldn’t that require a significant amount of money...?”
I recalled Ashley mentioning how this world utilized its magic stones. They supported various aspects of the world’s infrastructure and served as energy sources for various magical tools.
In essence, magic stones were akin to the electricity, gas, and fossil fuels found in my original world. It seemed unlikely they were offered at affordable prices. However, the Fortress City of Balga was surrounded by labyrinths...
“Ah, the labyrinth... Ashley mentioned that while it’s difficult to acquire magic stones in the natural world, in labyrinths, defeated magical beasts and humanoid species are absorbed and leave core magic stone behind them.”
So, if I focused on activities within the labyrinths, then that would naturally lead to accumulating magic stones. Maybe I should become an explorer rather than an adventurer. That means I need to quickly advance to D-rank. I can’t gain permission to enter the labyrinth until then.
As I contemplated this, I realized it was almost midnight.
Tomorrow, I need to visit Marta. Although I’m still excited about discovering a means to acquire crystal points, it’s time to rest for the night.