Dream Life

February 11th.

The day after Dan rendezvous.

The snow that was falling until yesterday also stopped and I could see the sunshine. There is still snow, but in order to get it into the woods if it is near, we decided to make a confirmation of our collaboration with Dan.

After gearing up, head to the Adventurer Guild branch. The first step is to register Dan for relocation.

Unlike the Lord's Mercenary Guild, the Adventurer Guild is basically not requested without registering with the branch where it is based.

This is because the adventurer's job is primarily to crusade the demons of the land, and success is impossible without knowing the local situation.

Adventurers registered with the Branch may also be called under the authority of the Branch Manager upon the occurrence of a mass of demons. Although this convocation is not compulsory, refusal would impose penalties such as eligibility for demotion, so registration would also be necessary to grasp it.

I felt the purposeful air as I entered the Alliance building. But the officials weren't even screaming, and there wasn't much sense of urgency.

We will therefore proceed with the process of relocating Dan. The procedure itself is only a rewriting of the orb, so it ends immediately.

"Mr. Dan's relocation process is over. You can go up to the third level in a little while. I hope."

Dan was also registered with the Kilnarek branch and regularly made requests to crusade demons. Others have received requests for surveys near Lake Seelin, east of the village of Rasmore, etc., and if they receive one or ten more requests for the third level, they can go up to the third level.

When we try to leave the branch, an official calls.

"I have a request for you to take to Zach's party..."

I didn't intend to take the request today, so I tried to say no, but they would go ahead and talk about it.

"A winged lion (Griffon) has been sighted. That's along the streets on the west side too. If the flight type isn't at Zach's, it's tough... can you take it somehow?"

Apparently this was the cause of the noise when he came in.

Griffon is a fourth-grade equivalent demon, and he's not a big opponent for us with three magicians. But other parties often get away with it because they have less means of attacking their flying enemies at high speeds, and even if they have a well-armed archer, they can't even get to the point of knocking them off.

A high probability of failure can cause damage to the rear guard even at third level parties if you are alarmed, and few parties were actively requested.

I decided I had no choice but to listen to you if that was the case.

"Okay. In the meantime let me tell you more."

"Thank you. First of all, it's about 3 km west of here, and it's a square with a water field where the merchants rest..."

It's where I went when I came to Riccadale, and I remember it somehow.

"… it was only earlier that there was a report. The merchants who left first thing in the morning were attacked and the merchants who had fled with horses rushed in. The number is two. Perhaps it was my turn, and one of them was a handyman."

"Is that an urgent request," the official nodded loudly.

"Yes, it will be an emergency crusade for two Griffons, so I will handle it as a third-degree request. The reward is two hundred kronas per head. Deadline expires tomorrow. If you are already off the street, the request will be cancelled and you will only be paid"

If Griffon is gone, it will not be treated as a request fulfillment, but it is a delicious job to get paid.

When I check with everyone with my eyes, I answer in the form that Beatrice stands for.

"Isn't that just fine? The place is close," they all nod to the opinion.

Upon request, exit straight to Riccadale Avenue.

Riccadale Avenue connects here with Riccadale and Fonce Avenue, a narrow road that runs through deep woods.

For this reason, the streets are buried because of the snow that continued to fall until yesterday. However, there is a cargo wagon made by the merchant team that left this morning, and you will not get lost.

It's been about two hours since the merchant squad was raided. You need to walk three kilometers down the snow path and it will take another hour.

I'm going to hurry up for once, but the attacked merchant squad is running away or wiped out, so it shouldn't be that urgent.

"Dan checks the perimeter ahead of time, and we'll hurry as much as we can."

The voice "Copy" returns, with Dan about fifty meters ahead.

I don't want Dan to be ahead of me because it's my first land by nature, but the fact that it's along the street made me go ahead with collaborative training.

Dan goes dangerously. It uses trees along the streets to shield them, and it can be seen from behind that the skill as a scourge is increasing.

"That's awesome," he says without thinking.

"That's really awesome," Liddy nodded with a smile.

Proceeding for about thirty minutes, Dan has informed me that he has found something in his hand sign. Approaching him carefully, he points to a single tree.

"There are people over there. Probably a merchant, what do you do"

A merchant-like man was trembling in the shadow of Oki. The man is about thirty years old and someone I've seen several times in Riccadale.

"Are you okay," he said, breathing out loudly after a glitzy face for a moment, looking at my face and saying, "Thank God..."

"I heard you had a griffon?," he asked.

"It's the square ahead. What happened to the others because they had been running selflessly obsessed... I just see that the tow horse and your man were killed..."

"What happened to the escort? I don't think there's anything you can't fight Griffon with if you're an escort that can follow me to Riccardale."

"I don't know. One of them came from the sky..."

We decided that we would not get any more useful information and decided to move on.

"We're going to crusade Griffon. We'd better get back to Riccardale because this place is dangerous."

"Will you be all right"

"Oh, I haven't seen a demon once while I've been here. You can follow us if you're anxious. But if you just step aside and follow my instructions."

"Please," he said, bowing his head.

Nodding at the words, I confirm what Liddy and the others think.

"What do you think?

"I don't know if it feels like one of them was handy and attacked to protect it."

Sharon nods at Liddy's opinion.

"I think so too. Maybe he's going to feed the handyman."

"If you can't move one head in any case, you're more than likely close. We'll keep an eye out for overhead from here."

As we went down the street again, we met the survivors of the merchants about five hundred meters to our destination. Though he fled into the woods as selflessly as the first man, he didn't have the courage to go through the dangerous woods alone and seemed to be waiting for rescue.

Tell the two of them to hide around here, and keep going.

In about two hundred meters or so, at the place of destination, a raptor named Pii could be heard from above.

Looking up, one griffon is swirling over the square.

Dan came back while I was looking over.

"There's a griffon in the square. It seemed handy as reported, spreading the right wing unnaturally."

"What about the survivors?

"It doesn't look like it's going to be like I saw it. Maybe he's lurking his breath in the woods."

There's no sign of any other demons.

"Yes. I don't feel it at the moment. But I don't think it's weird when another demon comes because there's a dead body of a devoured horse"

"I think so, too. I smell blood so far," Beatrice agreed with Dan.

We proceed carefully through the woods and reach the border of the square.

As Dan's report suggests, one Griffon pecked to devour the horse, and the other was swirling over the sky as if to watch it.

You're excited, they're all making a tall squeal many times.

"Magically attack the flying guy. Me and Sharon fly three Swallow Wing Blades (swallow cutters) at a time. Liddy shoots a big storm (Tempest) when he gets a chance. We'll crush the wings first. Dan is covered by a bow. Beatrice and Mel are on the ground. Be vigilant if Griffon comes any closer."

When everyone nods, they immediately prepare the magic and activate the swallow cutter. Sharon activated in the same way, causing the magic swordfish to turn to Griffon, who swirled over about a hundred meters.

Approaching the griffon as the six magical swordfish slip. Griffon soon notices, too, and heads towards him with his mouth wide open and intimidating to slap off the magical swordfish.

Magic swordfish avoid griffon attacks with a light swirl. It gradually lowers altitude so as to attract more to us.

Griffon remained lured by the magical swordfish, lowering his altitude to such an extent that he was about to hit the tree perimeter.

"... blow it, big storm (Tempest)!"

Liddy's spell ended and a giant tornado appeared in the square.

Griffon finds us and squeals abominably, but he's already within the range of Tempest, swallowed by its powerful swirl of ice and snow.

"There's another one coming!" Beatrice's voice of vigilance echoes.

When I lowered my gaze, Griffon, who was hurting me, came at us with a power like a lion. Looks like the only thing that was hurting was the wings.

"I'll go first!" and Mel comes forward.

Dan will cover you with a bow from behind.

His unleashed arrow pierced Griffon's neck. Griffon covered in thick feathers, but a powerful synthetic bow arrow didn't seem to bounce back.

When the arrow stabs, Griffon is slightly frightened, but still finds Mel walking forward, accelerating even further.

Griffon stretched his body like a cat animal and flew towards Mel. And try to tap that giant eagle hook claw.

Mel slashed his flank wide open, calmly avoiding it.

Griffon falls down with a sad squeal. He's mortally wounded, but still hasn't vanished his fighting spirit, so he tried to get up because he would be attacked by Mel.

It was Beatrice's spear that stabbed the griffon in the face. A spear pierced the base of Griffon's neck deeply, and Griffon stopped moving as he did.

Not a single head over the sky was settled.

Under the magic of Liddy's tempest, wings are snagged and slapped to the ground. Further, the magic of me and Sharon's swallow cutter sucked one after the other toward its neck, and it immediately became bloody and immobile.

"Dan and Sharon are on perimeter alert. Beatrice asks for the demonic crystal stone to be recovered. Mel and Liddy will check the carriage with me. Don't be alarmed that other demons may come."

Approaching the carriage, the towing horse was devoured and scattered unbroken. There were other human remains like yours.

"Anyone! I'm an adventurer in Riccadale! Griffon has been defeated!

When I screamed like that, several men appeared from the back of the woods. He looks like a mercenary escort because he's armed.

A man approaching like a mercenary leader when he says "thank you".

"I didn't expect Griffon to attack me here..."

When I heard the story, it was snower than I thought, and when I tried to take a break because the horse was tired, it suddenly hit me.

The escort consisted of a total of ten men, from the fifth to the seventh, headed by the leader's fourth level mercenary. As a guard for two wagons, it's a standard configuration.

"I have a favor for Master Zacharias," a merchant-like forties man said, bowing his head.

"Can we please continue to ask for an escort until we go get the horse? And, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to buy that Griffon body."

I'm gonna go get the tow horse. He also wants to procure a carriage and bring Griffon's body to Rickadale.

Griffon's body was going to dig and fill holes with earthly attribute magic, so if you can buy it off, it's impeccable.

I don't have any particular problems with continuing escorts, including waiting times, as it will only take about five hours, and after this I will just confirm the collaboration.

I'll check with Liddy and the others with my eyes, but I don't have any particular objections, and I'll go into negotiating the price.

"I don't mind either, but what's the reward?

"The escort is until we return to Rickadale, one hundred kronas. How about 300 kronas for the griffon?"

100,000 yen for a mere three kilometers of escort, and 600,000 yen for the body of the demon that was meant to be thrown away.

(Sounds like you want a griffon quite a bit. Lifting the value is likely to give it away, but it was something to throw away anyway, and I don't need to go that far...)

The amount shall be accepted.

Beatrice, who was collecting the magic crystal stone, calls us, "Hey, come here," and points to Griffon, the one who was at the mercy.

"Look at this guy's wing wound. I look like a magic wound."

The base of the wing was discoloured black. It doesn't feel like an arrow was stabbed, it doesn't feel like something bit or cut it.

"Certainly magic, it also feels like“ Dark Arrow "or“ Dark Spear (Dark Lance) "in the dark attribute. What do you think?"

Speaking to Liddy,

"I think so, too. Angularly, it feels like he was shot from the top."

Sharon nods at that opinion as well.

"I think so too. If Griffon was shot from above, was it the devil or the Great Demon?"

I was concerned about that, too.

It is rare for griffons to come down to this area. And their nest is on a cliff, and it's very difficult to magically aim from above.

If it's possible, it's a case of being targeted from high altitude right after attacking a prey that's on the ground, but it's more natural to assume you've shot magic in from the sky than to think so.

When that happens, it is Sharon's demonic and great demon presence that immediately comes to mind.

"It's possible. Don't be alarmed because they might be nearby."

Afterwards, we intensified our vigilance, but there was no sign of a powerful demon.

However, demon dogs (ebill dogs) and soldier ants (soldier ants) who were invited by the smell of blood appeared, but Dan had detected them beforehand and defeated them before they came near him.

A towing horse and a carriage of carriages arrive and return to Riccadale, but although they were attacked several times by wolves, they were able to return safely without seeing the demons and the great demons.

Head to the Alliance Branch to receive reports and rewards for completing the request.

I gave Griffon's Demonic Crystal Stone and Orb at the reception and gave him a report of completion.

"This is the third level, too, Mr. Dan," the receptionist said, with a haunting grin.

Then report on the magic wound that was on Griffon's body. However, staff reactions were thin.

"Is it magic... I'm pretty sure if Mr. Zach says so, but it's not conclusive evidence, is it? I'll report it to the General Command, but I don't think this information will lead to an investigation team."

I didn't expect that much from you, even for me, but I only cautioned against giving you a warning.

"That's fine, but be sure to warn the adventurers here. At least you have enemies who use magic that can hurt Griffon."

He understood the matter with pleasure.

"That merchant is making a lot of money," I laughed when I asked him about Griffon's body, by the way.

"As I'm sure you know by the Zacks, Griffon is often in the depths, so few bring home anything other than Demonic Crystal Stone. That's what this place is, and you got that in fresh condition too, so if you bring it to Periclitle, the thousand kronas would be tough on you, wouldn't they? If you sell well, you could double that..."

Griffons sell not only skins, but also wings, nails, beaks, etc. It was said that other meat rarely available would come with a high price.

"But I don't think Griffon's meat tastes good?

I had taken it back when I entered the Aquila mountain from the village of Rasmore, but it smelled strong and was never delicious meat.

"It doesn't matter. Because even Periclitle, called the City of Adventurers, has only a handful of people who have eaten. It would sell for a high price because of the meat of a rare demon. Especially for adventurers and mercenaries."

Griffon, as a symbol of valor, is also used for the Knight's crest. If we could eat that demonic meat, the adventurers and mercenaries in charge would be happy to eat it.

I don't particularly care because it was something I was going to throw away in any case.

I was more concerned about the person who hurt Griffon than that.