Chapter 206

As expected, the way I understood it was a bit different, but somehow I laid the foundation.

Talpon not rejecting my proposal and instead giving me conditions means things are proceeding as I expected without any problems.

However…

[1. Hand over the engraving stone and entrust the contract and engraving work.]

[2. Defeat the Scorpion King in the Urome region. (0/1)]

[3. Achieve an 80% or higher achievement level in sparring with Talpon.]

I still don’t understand why one more condition has been added.

“Carsein? Where are you going?”

“To where? We need to catch that monster according to the conditions Talpon set, right?”

“I know that too. We need to gather people to go with us, so why are you riding a horse?”

Ah, now that I think about it, there was supposed to be a conversation with Tasha at this point.

Since Harnier took over, I forgot.

“I’m going alone.”

“What?!”

Her eyes widen in disbelief.

“You didn’t say I couldn’t go with you. Let’s go together!”

“It’s not possible.”

“The Scorpion King is a terrifying monster even in the West, so it’s absolutely forbidden to hunt it alone!”

She grabbed my arm while saying that.

“And besides, you didn’t mention earlier… Why did you leave the authority of the engraving stone and just come out after seeing Talpon engrave? You know this could be dangerous, right?”

I know such information well enough. The game has explained it several times.

But there’s always a reason for such reckless actions.

‘The reason? It’s all about affinity.’

Although Talpon didn’t directly hint it, these conditions are ranked differently based on how they’re cleared in terms of achievement level.

If I can raise Talpon’s satisfaction by ranking up, my affinity will slightly increase, and my recognition among the Rilfetten will also rise.

That’s the key.

The Rilfetten are external personnel hired by me, the temporary lord of Shahtren. If I can satisfy them by raising their affinity, the number of followers from the tribe increases, and my work radius expands.

In other words, if I earn the trust and recognition of everyone in the Rilfetten tribe, I can do my job better.

Affinity = Agent Rank.

‘But she wouldn’t understand that.’

I thought she would need some explanation.

I held up a finger and said to her.

“First, handing over the engraving stone first was to instill trust in Talpon.”

“Trust?”

“Yes. After being betrayed by the Empire several times, the Rilfetten have never experienced something like this. Even though there’s a risk, I expressed my trust by handing over the engraving stone.”

Then I explained about the Scorpion King using another finger.

“Secondly, Talpon is testing me with these conditions.”

“Testing? Earlier, you said it was a proposal…”

“The people in the West test the other party whether it’s a request or diplomacy to see what kind of person they are. To judge if they are worthy of following.”

“Testing… Come to think of it, people from the West rarely get hired or take requests from others…”

It’s fortunate she sees the connection. She seems to have started understanding a little as she fidgets with her lips.

“This is related. According to my investigation, only those who complete the mission of defeating the Scorpion King receive the title of true warrior here. So, this can be seen as a test of strength.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard this… Is it related to why I have to go alone to defeat the Scorpion King?”

“You need to prove your strength. To gain recognition from Talpon and the Rilfetten tribe, handling it alone without bringing anyone is easier to prove.”

Actually, it does increase affinity.

“Hmm.”

Harnier narrows her eyes.

I thought I had made it clear enough. Is something wrong?

“What about that investigation? How did you do it?”

“Do you doubt me?”

“Of course. You don’t know much about the West, do you?”

Harnier looks suspicious, as if I know everything too well.

Well…

I got the information straight from the game. What else could I know?

“…There’s no helping it.”

I have no choice but to use someone else.

“I heard from Pollux. I sent him a letter asking about the Rilfetten before.”

“…Why did the Marquis Aiferos tell me such things.”

She grumbles, thinking she’ll scold me later.

Sorry, Pollux!

I had no choice!

“Alright. Then… I’ll follow you.”

“Harnier. As I said before, I have to go alone—”

“It’s absolutely not okay?”

Harnier interrupted me and squeezed my arm tightly.

“If you don’t allow this, I won’t let you go either. It’s fine if I step in when it’s dangerous, right?”

“…”

“I don’t want to see you fall again. I can compromise on other things, but not this.”

Harnier narrowed her eyes sharply, looking back and forth between my arm and me. I sighed deeply.

“Alright. Let’s go together.”

“Why didn’t you say that earlier?”

The soft flesh of her arm finally fell away from mine, and Harnier smiled.

“Then, excuse me for a moment.”

“Excuse me? What do you mean… Ack!”

I lifted her up and placed her on the horse.

“What, what, what, what am I doing?”

“What do you mean? I’m helping you onto the horse since you need to ride.”

While leaning against my body, if you feel uncomfortable, please tell me.

“…You really are something.”

“What?”

-Bam!

Harnier stared at me for a moment, then punched my chest and turned her head away.

“Harnier?”

“Don’t say anything.”

“…What did I do wrong?”

“Don’t say anything!”

“…”

Why is she acting like this?

She doesn’t seem to have done anything to upset me.

…I don’t get it.

Let’s just go.

***

▶Entered the Urome region.◀

▶Warning! This field is infested with strong monsters.◀

I thought we were getting close, and sure enough, the status window popped up showing the field had changed.

And.

[Scorpion King]

[Lv. 85]

[HP: ■■■■■■■■■■]

A status window appeared above a target that looked like a mountain.

The giant scorpion was curled up, sleeping under the warm sunlight.

I warned Harnier once more as I got off the horse.

“As I said before, you mustn’t interfere. I’ll signal if it gets truly urgent.”

“…”

Even though we rode here, Harnier looks worried as ever, clearly unhappy with the instruction.

Still, she followed my orders.

“If you judge it dangerous, definitely use that artifact. Got it?”

“Yes.”

-Clomp, clomp.

The Scorpion King is considered quite dangerous even among the Rilfetten. It’s standard for four or five skilled warriors to form a group to hunt it.

The key is to endure its threatening attacks and gradually drain its strength, leaving it defenseless before attacking. This information is easily found in monster manuals.

But to face the Scorpion King alone?

The Rilfetten might consider it madness.

“But I have no choice.”

Without gaining their trust, I can’t get their support. If that happens, the number of people working with me will decrease, or my agent rank will drop, making it impossible to solve issues in Shahtren.

This means a bad ending for me, so there’s no other way but to defeat this unreasonable opponent.

‘Calm down. Just play the game as usual.’

I’ve hunted many monsters before.

Just like in the game, by fighting regenerating monsters and occasional bandits, Carsein’s stats have steadily increased.

And I know exactly how to deal with the Scorpion King.

-Slurp.

Walking on the ground slightly stirred by the sand, I drew my sword.

As soon as I drew my sword, the scorpion’s red eyes snapped open.

Its huge pincers, capable of easily tearing apart a human body, clenched and unclenched a couple of times as it woke up upon sensing my presence.

I anticipated this.

The first pattern of the awakened Scorpion King.

That is.

-Crash!

Starting with a downward strike of the pincers.

“Phew. Knowing the patterns in advance, but… this isn’t easy.”

Sand and ground crumbling as the pincers crash down.

Running on foot instead of using a keyboard makes this situation naturally worrying.

But this isn’t entirely without benefit.

-Swoosh!

“Krk?!”

A gap between the shoulder blades.

This couldn’t be dug out in the game, but since I’m moving my own body, it’s easier to exploit.

Finding such advantages one by one, fighting alone isn’t impossible.

-Klang!

And I have decent stats to fight this opponent.

It’s worth a try.

***

The fight began with the scorpion king’s downward strike of the pincers.

I dodged its attacks several times, and although I couldn’t avoid all dangerous strikes with my sword, I haven’t suffered major injuries yet.

However, the process hasn’t been smooth.

“Pshaaak!”

“Not again. Ugh!”

-Shriek!

White smoke rose from the green liquid dripping onto the sand.

If I hadn’t reacted quickly, the melting wouldn’t have been the sand but me.

“This damn game. Why add patterns?”

Clearly, this pattern wasn’t in the game.

Two pincers, a stinger at the tail, sweeping and ramming attacks using its massive body.

The existing patterns are now easy to handle with no damage, but this new pattern didn’t exist from the start.

“Huh. But running away like this is also unreasonable.”

▶Stamina is below 30%!◀

▶Damage taken increases by 50% when stamina falls below a certain level. Be careful!◀

“Damn.”

I steadied my breathing and cursed.

Based on my long gaming experience, games often seem unreasonable, but with enough stats, you can counter most monster patterns.

First, it’s clear that the attack has acid properties.

This can’t be solved with stats alone.

Let’s gather information on the attack patterns calmly.

The standard approach for dealing with such a large opponent is what the Rilfetten did: continuously attacking and blocking until the main attack methods are lost.

The problem is the additional powerful poison pattern that changes the color of the ground when it touches.

With no way to handle the poison spray from the monster’s mouth, even though the timing to disable the attack method has come, it’s hard to land a decisive blow.

Monsters with such patterns are weak to melee attacks, so they belong to the type that pushes them away.

“There must be a way to nullify this pattern.”

The poison sprays forcefully from a certain distance.

It’s likely that the Scorpion King’s mana transforms into poison and comes flying.

The estimate is already in.

The approach is.

“Surround the sword with mana to cancel out the poison-transformed mana of the Scorpion King.”

Mana cancels out mana.

If the mana chunks inside the poison are dispersed, the transformed poison will lose its power right there.

It’s a reasonable conclusion.

But it’s also a risky one.

The combat UI doesn’t show the mana gauge, so I have no idea how to handle mana.

All I know is the sensation I felt when I used it for auditory enhancement.

Rationally speaking, I should retreat. With my limited knowledge of this world, this path ahead is a death sentence.

I don’t know what success feels like.

But if I fail, I’ll lose all the senses I currently have.

How can I turn back?

If I take even one step back, a bad ending awaits me.

Both ways lead to death.

I’m in an extreme situation where I can only choose to defeat this giant scorpion here.

After coming this far, am I supposed to roll around like a dog for my family and die in such a ridiculous game?

No way.

“I’m going back to reality. I’m going back alive and well.”

To escape those damn family members, I poured my blood and sweat.

I won’t die for such a trivial reason in this place.

I will survive!

Wiping the sweat, I gripped the sword again.

-Tat!

To lure the attack pattern, I pushed off the ground and ran. The Scorpion King performed its first pattern again, the downward strike of the pincers.

The sweeping pattern followed, and then it stabbed with its stinger and rammed with its body.

I successfully avoided and flowed through all four patterns.

And the final pattern.

Seeing me approach, the monster started spraying poison.

“Pshaaak!”

This time, I didn’t retreat.

I moved forward, charging straight.

But something strange appeared in front of me.

A peculiar thread floating in the green liquid.

A thin thread that only I could see.

Instinctively, I felt the need to cut it.

About three meters away.

Green liquid flew towards me, trying to melt my body.

My sword covered the green vision completely.

No.

That’s not it.

My sword, which created a massive shape, not only cut the monster’s attack but also everything else.

-Koong!

The Scorpion King’s head was cleanly severed and fell diagonally to the ground.

“…”

This feeling.

Mana.

This is something I won’t forget from now on.

-Ding!

▶Mana awakening successful.◀

▶Passive: Acquired Wederos Kingdom-style swordsmanship Lv. 1.◀

“…”

Wederos Kingdom-style swordsmanship.

This was the passive skill obtained when Carsein awakened his mana.

***

One horse from the Rilfetten is gone.

Two people are missing.

Talpon could vaguely guess the judgment they made by smelling the air.

Just one horse. And one sword. And a noble lady who knows magic.

They didn’t gather any manpower needed to defeat the Scorpion King.

It’s natural to call it foolish.

To think they would go to defeat the Scorpion King, which even skilled Rilfetten warriors gather to hunt, alone.

“If they don’t want to die, they should give up and come back appropriately.”

However, contrary to Talpon’s prediction, they returned much faster than expected.

“…”

A familiar smell.

From that entrance.

The smell of the giant scorpion’s venom.

“Heh. Two people… No, judging by the smell… You mean one person defeated the Scorpion King alone?”

-Ding!

▶Passed the test with a harder difficulty, increasing Talpon’s affinity.◀

[Current value: -5%]