He had a bad feeling about this.
That was Jun's first thought when the captain of the mercenary company he belonged to came back grinning after accepting the assignment.
‘Goblin subjugation?’
Goblins.
They were practically synonymous with weak monsters, sometimes even appearing as minibosses in dungeons designed for new players.
But that was only true in a game.
The place Jun now lived in was undeniably reality.
“Why are you making that face?”
The mercenary sitting beside him asked after noticing the frown that had unconsciously formed on Jun's face.
“……It's nothing.”
Even so, Jun did not voice his thoughts.
Expressing a negative opinion about a job the captain had accepted would be tantamount to undermining the captain's authority.
If things went badly, Jun could be expelled from the mercenary company under its rules or simply beaten half to death.
“What's wrong? Come on, just tell me. You know I can keep my mouth shut.”
The man continued pestering Jun for an answer.
‘Was his name…… Popkin?’
He was a skilled swordsman who had joined the mercenary company about a month ago.
Jun had given him various pieces of advice when he first joined, allowing him to adapt quickly, and Popkin was one of the mercenaries who viewed Jun relatively favorably.
Though he did tend to look down on Jun for being a frail mage.
Jun quietly offered his opinion.
Rather than making it sound as though he disapproved of the assignment itself, he framed it as a warning about the precautions they should take.
“This subjugation operation is taking place in the Black Forest.”
“Mm. That's right.”
“Goblins are easy opponents, sure, but the Black Forest presents several problems.”
“You know something about the Black Forest?”
“A little.”
Having been a veteran player in his previous life, there was no chance he would know nothing about the Black Forest, an area that served as one of the game's early settings.
“The Black Forest is extremely dense to begin with. It's also rich in natural resources.”
That was one of the reasons the Imperial Court had decided to send large numbers of mercenaries into the Black Forest for this subjugation campaign.
But that also meant the forest was teeming with monsters.
Goblins in particular.
“A goblin's main weapon is poison.”
“It's only paralytic poison.”
True to their reputation as weak monsters, goblins were not particularly impressive physically.
Instead, they possessed enough intelligence to concoct poisons, and as Popkin had just said, their primary weapon was paralytic poison.
“But the Black Forest is filled with poisonous plants. Most of them are quite potent, too.”
The trees were also enormous, providing countless places to hide, and food was plentiful. Considering how rapidly goblins reproduced, their numbers were bound to be considerable.
Popkin tilted his head after hearing that.
“But they're cannibals. There should be a limit to how large their population can grow, shouldn't there?”
As befitted a reasonably skilled swordsman, Popkin shared what he knew about monsters.
Jun, however, did not agree.
‘That's only when food is scarce.’
That logic did not apply to the Black Forest, where food was abundant.
Still, Jun did not immediately refute him.
Popkin might have been one of the few mercenaries here willing to listen to Jun, but that did not mean Jun trusted him completely.
These ignorant mercenaries absolutely despised having their knowledge challenged.
They were textbook examples of people who groveled before the strong and trampled the weak.
Popkin displayed the same tendency in his everyday behavior, which meant openly contradicting him would be unwise.
‘What if I get on his bad side and he stabs me in the back during a fight?’
Jun had both witnessed such things with his own eyes and experienced them personally, so he was particularly cautious about matters like this.
“Well, there's no harm in being properly prepared. At least get yourself a Low-Grade Paralysis Resistance Potion.”
“Hmm…… You're still charging me for the ingredients, right?”
“Of course.”
“Tsk. Fine.”
Popkin walked away, apparently without taking the warning very seriously.
“Well, there's no need to worry that much over goblins. He only thinks that way because he's a weak mage.”
He had muttered it quietly, but Jun heard every word.
Even so, Jun merely shrugged it off.
“It's everyone's own choice.”
Just as Jun was about to rise from his seat as well, a voice came from behind him.
“Senior. Could you explain what you just said in more detail?”
“Ah, Aiden.”
The person addressing him was another man who had joined about a month ago, just like Popkin.
The difference was that Aiden had initially joined as a porter.
“This is my first operation, isn't it? I'd like to hear the details.”
‘He was recognized as a full member after only a month because he turned out to be much more capable than expected.’
Jun personally considered him even more skilled than Popkin.
“Well, that's not difficult.”
Unlike Popkin, Aiden did not look down on Jun.
Even after becoming a full member, he still followed Jun around and called him Senior.
He was a rather likable junior.
“It's exactly what I said. This subjugation operation will probably be quite difficult.”
And so, unlike with Popkin, Jun gave him a proper explanation.
“What makes you think so?”
“Let's use an example. An adult with a sword and a child with a bow. Which one is stronger?”
“The adult, obviously.”
“Right. Then let's change the conditions. What about an adult with a sword against ten clever children with bows who know the terrain inside and out?”
“Hmm…….”
Only then did Aiden seem to grasp what Jun meant, and he nodded.
“That's the situation. The current subjugation force is taking the Black Forest far too lightly. Ah, but don't go around telling anyone I said that.”
“Haha…… I'm not quite that oblivious.”
Aiden laughed awkwardly, and Jun drove the point home.
“Like I said before, if you want to survive, get yourself a proper Low-Grade Paralysis Resistance Potion.”
“But the price…….”
Aiden had only just become a full member, so he did not have much money to his name.
“Tsk. How much do you have?”
“This is all I have right now.”
Aiden held up three fingers.
“30,000 gold?”
That was nowhere near enough to buy a finished potion.
Potions made by full-fledged mages were that expensive.
“Well, it can't be helped. Can you give me that? I'll see what I can do.”
“All right.”
“Oh.”
Aiden immediately rummaged through his pouch and handed over the money without hesitation.
Jun had to suppress the corners of his mouth from curling upward.
This was a junior worth looking after.
‘Looks like I'll have to pay the merchants a visit for the first time in a while.’
“Jun! Where the hell is that bastard?!”
“Bring us the potions!!”
“AAAAARGH!!”
Shouts rang out from every direction.
Along with them, the comrades who had shared both hardships and good times with Jun over the past several months fell one after another, bleeding from the goblins' poisoned darts.
Jun's only thought was—
‘Anyone listening would think I was supposed to be carrying all their potions.’
Keeping some distance from the fighting, Jun cast the 2nd-Circle spell [Wind Cutter] and clicked his tongue.
‘Still, this situation is bad.’
Just as Jun had predicted, the battle was turning against them.
The mercenaries were charging all across the battlefield, cutting down goblins without pause, but—
‘There are just too damn many of them.’
The forest was dense with towering trees.
And goblins packed every part of it.
With that many goblins continuously firing poisoned darts from blowguns, there was little the mercenaries could do.
Of course, the mercenary captain had not been a complete fool. He had told his men beforehand to prepare paralysis resistance potions, but most of the mercenaries had either brought none at all or settled for cheap substitutes.
The reason was simple.
A proper Paralysis Resistance Potion was expensive.
That did not mean cheap potions were worthless.
They might not provide enough resistance to qualify as Low-Grade, but they still offered a degree of protection.
Against the paralytic poison of ordinary goblins, that would normally have been sufficient.
But that was only true when fighting ordinary goblins.
“Why is this poison so damn strong……!”
“Damn it! My arm won't move!”
Unlike goblins elsewhere, those living in Blackout's Black Forest possessed high resistance to poison and used correspondingly potent paralytic poison.
After watching the battle unfold, Jun finally pulled out the Low-Grade Paralysis Resistance Potion he had prepared beforehand.
“What a waste.”
There was no point saving it only to carry it with him into the grave.
He was better off drinking it now.
Jun drained the potion bottle in a single gulp, then calmly surveyed the battlefield despite the screams and shouts ringing from every direction.
‘These skills really are useful in all sorts of ways.’
Thanks to [Keen Eyes] and [Unwavering Heart], Jun had enough composure to analyze the situation even while his life hung in the balance.
“As expected, this subjugation is a failure.”
They were already losing ground, and the commander in charge of the operation looked grim.
“Retreat! Retreat!”
Sure enough, the commander shouted the order not long afterward.
‘Idiot. We're already surrounded.’
Jun had been positioned in the rear because he was a mage, but the front line had already been stripped bare like grain fed through a thresher.
Even if they retreated now, very few of the mercenaries would make it out alive.
“Hup!”
Then someone caught Jun's eye.
It was Aiden, who was putting up a respectable fight among the mercenaries.
He had been struck by poisoned darts in several places, but thanks to the potion Jun had prepared for him, he was still moving well.
“Hmm…….”
Still, he was slower than usual.
‘A potion only grants resistance, not immunity.’
Perhaps Aiden had just heard the commander's retreat order, because he turned around and met Jun's eyes.
Jun gestured for him to come over, and Aiden slowly retreated toward him.
If Jun wanted to get out of this place alive, Aiden's help would be essential.
“Senior. Are you all right?”
“I'm fine. But you know we're in a bad situation, right?”
“……Yes.”
Since this was his first mission, Aiden had fought with considerable enthusiasm, but even he understood that the battle was going badly.
“The captain was killed as well.”
Aiden spoke with a grief-stricken expression, and Jun clicked his tongue.
“Tsk…… No wonder I couldn't see him anywhere. He always managed to survive somehow, but I guess his luck finally ran out.”
“More importantly, I heard the retreat order. What should we do?”
“It's already too late. We can't escape.”
“What?”
“Look. Those green runts have already finished surrounding us.”
“Ah…….”
Only then did Aiden look around and notice the yellow eyes gleaming from every direction.
“The regular troops might somehow manage to break out, but the mercenaries are as good as dead.”
More than half the mercenaries hired for the operation were already dead or rolling on the ground after succumbing to the paralytic poison.
“It'll be difficult for us to get out too. The poison's already taking effect on you.”
Aiden's arms were beginning to tremble.
It was proof that the poison had exceeded his resistance threshold.
“Then…… what are we supposed to do?”
“Play dead.”
“What?”
“I'll explain later. [Sleep(Sleep)].”
“Wha? Sen…… ior……?”
Jun placed a hand on Aiden's head and recited the spell.
A moment later, Aiden's body swayed as though he were about to collapse.
“Damn, why does this guy have so much Mana Resistance?”
Jun had expected it to be easy, but the spell consumed a surprising amount of Mana.
Of course, to Jun, who possessed [Mana Incarnate], it was no more significant than scooping a single cup of water from a lake.
In any case, the spell succeeded.
Jun carefully caught Aiden as he fell and laid him on the ground, then gathered every scrap of rotten wood and handful of grass he could find nearby.
He piled them over Aiden's body and was about to camouflage himself in the same manner when—
“H-hey. Jun.”
“……Popkin?”
Apparently, Popkin had somehow survived the collapsing battlefield, because he appeared before Jun covered in blood.
Most of it belonged to goblins, but more than a little was Popkin's own.
Perhaps because of the paralytic poison, his entire body looked stiff and rigid.
As though he realized death was close at hand, Popkin forced a smile.
“You…… have a po-potion, don't you?”
His speech slurred from the paralysis as he stared at Jun through bloodshot eyes.
Jun sighed inwardly.
‘Is this because I took [Potion Crafting] to build up my Reputation? These bastards think I'm a walking potion warehouse.’
Jun's expression turned cold as he looked at Popkin.
“Y-you're going to…… hand it over…… to me.”
He was not asking permission.
The friendliness Popkin had once shown Jun was completely gone from his eyes.
To Popkin, Jun was now nothing more than someone to rob.
“And if I refuse?”
“Then…… you die!”
As though he had been waiting for those words, Popkin lunged forward and thrust his sword toward Jun's heart without warning.
CLANG-!
His blade struck a translucent wall that had appeared from nowhere and stopped dead.
“……?!”
At the same moment, Jun's short incantation rang out.
[Sleep]
“You…… you……!!”
Unlike Aiden, Popkin's body crumpled easily, without offering any meaningful resistance.
Jun looked down at the fallen Popkin and let out a heavy sigh.
“Idiot. I told you to prepare.”
Jun drove his self-defense dagger into the sleeping Popkin's throat.
Then he tossed the corpse aside and resumed camouflaging himself.
“What a goddamn miserable world.”