Whether running or rolling with all my might, I somehow managed to escape the charging straight-line range.
“Please let me deal some damage!”
I aimed to strike right around its flank with my blade.
Internally, I pleaded with the heavens to make me not so weak that I couldn’t deal damage to this Red Boar. Unable to slow down, it was charging straight at me, and I attempted to diagonally slash it.
If I could successfully inflict a wound on its front leg, maybe I could make it stop. So, hoping for that possibility, I put magical power into a strong horizontal swing…
A sharp sound echoed through the forest.
“….”
“….”
Clang.
It was a difficult sound to identify right away.
Not the sound of sticky candy sticking to the roof of your mouth, nor the sound when people say something shocking with their mouths wide open.
It wasn’t any of those.
Was it similar to the sound of splitting wood when chopping it? Yeah, that was it. That seemed to be the only thing remotely close in the current situation.
The sound was the result of the Red Boar’s hide being split by the blade.
“Uh, this is a bit…”
It took a while before the merchant was the first to speak.
The Red Boar’s life was definitely here just a moment ago.
It’s gone.
With both sides torn apart to the extent that the anatomical details of the Red Boar would be revealed, it was hard to expect it to be alive, even if viewed favorably.
The merchant party, unexpectedly confronted with a grotesque sight, stood at a distance with somewhat disgusted expressions, covering their mouths.
And the one who created this situation stood silently with a cheap longsword in hand.
“What just happened?”
I thought, pondering this.
In an attempt to understand the situation, I used a skill that might be helpful against the Red Boar.
“Status windows.”
[Red Boar’s Corpse]
A monster mainly found in dungeons with lava zones. From birth, it has a giant body, and its sharply pointed tusks can be used as medicinal herbs when refined.
Species: Monster
Level: 62
Attack: 426
Defense: 690
As soon as its level was displayed, I averted my gaze from the notification window as if I had seen something I shouldn’t have.
Level 62.
Even when my original level was 95, it might not have been impossible to defeat it alone, but at least this situation didn’t occur.
It wasn’t neatly split in two, and it wasn’t like a part of its body vanished as if a cannon had passed through. Looking at the remains of the Red Boar, it became even more certain.
Did it require a lot of strength to cut it? Not at all. I was under the illusion that I hadn’t cut through anything tangible.
Unable to believe the situation, I kept alternating my gaze between the Red Boar and my sword. No, how did a simple regular attack…
“….”
“Haha! You, the mercenary, you’re amazing!”
“Hey… I think that guy really is level 95….”
“Heh…”
The murmurs grew louder.
“What should we do with this corpse?”
“I don’t have the equipment to dismantle it right now.”
“Oh, really? How about we handle the important parts for you?”
The group of merchants, who had been watching from a distance, cautiously approached when they noticed the Red Boar’s lack of movement.
Now, they were discussing among themselves loudly, as if wondering when they became so scared, and some even thanked me, patting my shoulder.
A few went to fetch equipment to extract valuable materials from the monster’s corpse, while a minority simply left in their carriage.
I belonged to that minority.
Afterwards, without a word, I returned to the carriage and sat in my still-warm spot.
“….”
A while later, everyone seemed to have returned after dealing with Red Boar’s carcass.
“The Red Boar leather is too damaged, so this is the only thing worth selling!”
A merchant handed me what seemed to be a fairly pure marble and Red Boar horn, saying it was all mine in gratitude for handling the situation.
I accepted it without expressing thanks, staring outside the carriage.
“We’re quite lucky! Now, let’s depart!”
“Yeah.”
“I was worried all day about how to sell that…”
Outside, the path was cleared to avoid blocking the carriage route, with Red Boar carcasses piled in the corners of the forest.
Anyway, since all profitable parts were taken, the carcass was not worth paying attention to now.
I wondered if I should escape from the south as soon as possible. So, I shouldn’t pay attention to that giant monster’s carcass.
“Wow… I didn’t see it that way. You’re an amazing mercenary. What was your name again?”
“Why ask that again? I’m Marron Glacé.”
“No, I’m not asking you right now…”
The merchants sitting across from me seemed to be talking to me, but I paid no attention.
Even as the carriage started moving, my gaze remained on the Red Boar’s carcass.
I couldn’t understand what people around me were saying, and all my senses seemed to be focused solely on that carcass.
Gradually, the world felt quiet, and all I could hear was the sound of my heartbeat and breathing. The Red Boar’s carcass, which should be distant, began to appear vividly, filling my field of vision with its red surface.
‘….’
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
I felt the sensation of the intensely heated blood circulating. My chest felt embarrassed, and cold sweat broke out.
‘….’
The moment I saw the exposed flesh of the Red Boar, I recalled something.
Yes, my memory of encountering something similar to the Red Boar in the past was a bit distorted. It wasn’t when I, as a human, hunted it, but when I encountered a Red Boar flowing out of a nearby dungeon while occupying a consciousness in the form of a spider monster.
‘…Right, that’s it!’
And I vividly started to remember. The sensation when eating it. The concentrated, bright red blood, different in quality from the taste of cow’s blood or deer’s blood, was stimulating and savory, almost to the point where nerve cells flickered.
Especially its meat!
The juicy flesh that spurted out when biting into the torso, the sweet and juicy flesh that had to be savored slowly as it flowed down the throat.
I remembered that every time I ruthlessly tore into its flesh, savoring the oily taste of the meat with sharp teeth. It was a realization that should not have been made, and it was taboo.
‘The reason I found the village’s food tasteless until now…’
Perfectly cooked meatballs, fresh sandwiches, and even yesterday’s potatoes—I had been dissatisfied with most food and harshly criticized even ordinary dishes because I had been eating something much more delicious.
‘I’ve been eating something much more delicious than that…?!’
Realizing this, I was shocked. The monsters in this world are so delicious.
Thump, thump.
“Hey, Marron. Why are you so listless?”
“Leave me alone. What happened earlier might have been a crucial technique.”
The carriage moved. Toward Helm, the southern city.
Sitting in that carriage, I didn’t say a word afterward and sat as if dead.
The monsters of this world are delicious; this was truly an insane thought.
People in this world don’t eat monster meat. It was common sense. Even if monsters looked like healthy pigs, their blood might be poisonous, and above all, they were the terrifying enemies of humanity.
In zombie movies, people don’t eat zombies.
Even if there were rumors that wild spiders were incredibly delicious, having the courage to pick up a repulsive spider hanging in a tree and eat it was akin to an act of desperation.
‘….’
What if the dungeon runs out of food, and you end up eating meat inside?
It was considered the last resort, to be compared to the act of friends traveling together, stranded, eventually resorting to eating the friend next to them.
Anyway, this was not a normal thought…
Already, the pressure of being asked whether I would eat a monster that had caught a person was evident in my eyes. Uncharacteristically, tears almost welled up, but I swallowed them urgently.
Oh, I really didn’t want to think about such complicated things anymore.
I now obsessively thought, ‘I just want to go home. To the St. Lear’s Orphanage…’
A few hours later, the city of Helm.
It wasn’t until the time when the sun was casting its golden glow that I arrived at the southern part of Helm City.
Known for its livestock industry, this place was so renowned that even the nobility in the capital were said to wear woolen clothes made here.
“Well, well. As a token of appreciation for escorting me this far… and the rest is a personal gesture of gratitude. I apologize for not being able to offer much to someone as formidable as you… We were just planning to lure the Red Boar and drop it off a cliff, never thought you’d catch it…”
“…”
A jingling of coins in the hand and a hefty sack.
As I took the sack and ran my fingers over it, it felt like uneven potatoes inside, suggesting they were the potatoes I’d been eating all along.
Defeating a level 62 monster and receiving a reward of 8 silver and 10 potatoes.
“Oh, are you leaving already?! Please have a safe journey!!”
“…”
Cheaper than my labor costs and the cost of shoes.
With that thought in mind, I lightly paid my respects and walked towards Hellem’s square.
Thus, the connection with those merchants ended quite abruptly.
‘Helm, famous for raising sheep… I used to pass by in a hurry without paying much attention.’
So, do they serve dishes like lamb skewers in the restaurants here?
Since I had no interest in locally made clothes or herbal remedies for energy replenishment, I figured fresh lamb meat might be a good option. As I wandered around looking for a restaurant, a sign caught my eye.
[Wanted Criminals List]
“…”
It was definitely an announcement I couldn’t just ignore.
As soon as I spotted the wooden sign, I casually checked if my helmet was covering my face well and approached to inspect the wanted criminal’s list.
Charcoal sketches or similar depictions lined up, displaying a list of criminals.
At the top of the board were the features and names of those who had committed crimes in this city, while the bottom section listed nationally wanted criminals designated by the capital, the royal road of this kingdom.
