Last night, I met the coachman at the inn.
He was the man driving the carriage I had been riding when I opened my eyes in this world.
Delighted to see me, he clinked his cup of mead against mine and explained what had happened.
According to him, the mercenary company, including the coachman himself, had defeated the Rebels who attacked the carriage.
‘Shouldn’t you have come looking for me?’
He said the Rebels retreated not long after I fell down the mountainside.
The coachman, who had been kicked in the head, excitedly told me that he had pretended to be dead before taking revenge by smashing a rock into the head of the soldier who used Switcheroo on me.
“So they abandoned me.”
According to the coachman, several mercenaries suggested searching for me.
But when the official offered them one additional Silver Coin for completing the escort mission, they immediately abandoned me.
The mercenary company reached the territory, signed a contract with the lord’s son, and was now exploring a dungeon.
They were currently staying at the Bison Inn near the lord’s castle.
“So they’re staying here.”
I was now standing in front of the Bison Inn.
It wasn’t because I suddenly wanted to return to the mercenary company.
While walking around to see the territory I had only ever viewed through a game screen, I happened to pass by it.
The inn itself had no particularly distinctive features.
“It looks exactly the same.”
It looked identical to the inn building where I hired mercenaries in the game.
I soon turned away.
I couldn’t add mercenaries who had already been hired to my party anyway.
More importantly, they hadn’t even come looking for a companion left behind.
I couldn’t trust them as comrades.
“…I’ll look around the harbor and head back.”
Parque was broadly divided into four districts.
District 1 contained the gate and checkpoint.
District 2 held the lord’s castle.
District 3 contained the inns and market.
District 4 was the harbor where ships docked.
Cry. Cry.
Large ships sat at anchor in the harbor as seagulls called overhead.
Although it was still morning, many people were already moving busily while unloading cargo from the ships.
“Seems like there are more pirates every day.”
“What are the navy bastards doing?”
“I heard the Rebels hiding in the forest have been acting suspiciously.”
“Damn it. Labor costs just keep rising.”
“Still, there’s nowhere else to stop and rest around here.”
In the game’s setting, Parque was the last city where supplies could be purchased before traveling abroad.
It had accumulated wealth through intermediary trade between the continent and the island nation, and by selling sailors their final supplies.
“Mm. Smells salty.”
The fishy scent of seawater and salt entered my nose.
Fortunately, that incident didn’t appear to have happened yet.
Judging by the atmosphere, the event seemed likely to occur soon.
I needed to visit the dungeon at least once more and raise my level.
‘I need to reach at least Level 20.’
In the game, a character around Level 20 could barely remain useful through Chapter 3.
This was reality rather than the game, so there would be differences.
Characters who had advanced their class also unlocked new skills at certain levels.
The Jar Warrior relied almost entirely on Jar Throw, but gaining support skills still made the class reasonably useful.
I had abandoned the character because its stats were awkwardly caught between those of a Warrior and mage, and because crafting jars cost so much money.
“But now I know jar crafting doesn’t require Gold Dust.”
One of the reasons I abandoned the Jar Warrior no longer applied.
Didn’t that make the class at least a little useful?
“I’ll take these.”
I bought grilled fish, dried fish, and boiled goose eggs from a stall near the harbor and returned to the inn.
When I arrived, Rion had come down to the first floor.
She and Mary, whom she had called her friend, were handling Miyu together.
Beneath the table, green Mana repeatedly burst from Rion’s staff and was absorbed into her.
I should make her several Purification Jars.
“Let’s eat.”
“Kain, where did you go?”
“I just took a walk.”
“Can Mary and Uncle join us?”
“I don’t mind.”
Miyu was lying on her back like a dog and showing off.
I placed a dried fish in her mouth.
‘Has she grown?’
She had killed several goblins while we traveled to the territory.
Had she leveled up too?
Her body was larger.
The fangs chewing the fish had grown considerably, and the claws gripping it looked sharper.
“…Eat plenty and grow quickly.”
As Rion and I watched Miyu perform, Mary and the innkeeper brought food to the table.
They reheated the grilled fish I had purchased and mashed the goose eggs with boiled potatoes to make sandwiches.
They also brought stew and salad.
“Did you sleep comfortably?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I slept well.”
The innkeeper was a Druid with green hair like Rion’s, and his name was Paradon.
He had a fairly generous build.
Apparently, his claim that he had taught Rion spirit arts wasn’t a lie.
A Sylph lay atop his head and played around, leaving his hair in complete disarray.
‘Considering the Undine too, did he make spirits his familiars instead of animals?’
I didn’t know how much Mana Paradon possessed, but keeping an Undine stationed in every guest room would require an extraordinary amount.
That was realistically impossible.
The more plausible explanation was that he commanded spirits instead of animals.
‘It’s probably thanks to that bracelet.’
At first, I wondered whether it was an artifact I didn’t recognize.
But from the side, I could see that another ornament had been attached over the bracelet to conceal its original appearance.
An item that roughly matched it came to mind.
Tsk.
It was a bound item.
I would have to give up on letting Rion equip it.
“I heard about you from Rion. She says you are a remarkable warrior.”
“I’m not a warrior worthy of being called remarkable.”
“In any case, I heard you saved Rion. Thank you.”
The conversation that followed contained nothing important.
After receiving some meaningless praise, I ate.
“…I heard at the harbor that pirates have been causing trouble lately.”
“Ah, you do not need to worry about that. Those bastards have been doing that for years.”
“Kain, when should we go on our next expedition? After sleeping, it feels like my Mana capacity increased. I think I can now summon Mungchi and still use one or two simple spells.”
Fortunately, it seemed she had leveled up too.
We finished the meal while planning our next expedition with advice from Paradon, a former explorer.
***
CLATTER.
Rion and I were sorting the loot in my room.
Fortunately, most of the monsters we hunted had been goblins, so we had managed to bring back the majority of their items.
The backpack left at the observation post contained only the sleeping bag and consumable supplies.
“They’re all weapons.”
“Yeah. Considering goblins used them, they seem to contain plenty of iron. I think we’ll get a decent price for them.”
We decided not to sell the telescope, compass, pocket watch, and other items carried by the Hobgoblin scout.
Rion would also continue using the Hunter’s belt she had equipped.
“Are you going to keep using that Hand Crossbow?”
“Yes. I’ll continue using it.”
Against the monsters we would face from now on, a toy like that probably wouldn’t deal much damage.
Still, she wanted to use it.
I would simply replenish her spare bolts later.
For the time being, maintaining the mutant spiritual body alone was enough for her to pull her weight.
After sorting the loot, we arrived at the Emer Trading Company recommended by Paradon.
“Four Gold Coins.”
The smartly dressed employee stated the price with a courteous attitude.
We had asked about buying prices at several other places before entering, but this company offered the highest amount.
“…Would you also like to sell that axe?”
The employee looked at the hand axe hanging from my waist.
It was the weapon Taisan had given me.
“No. Instead, could I see the categories of weapons and armor you sell here?”
“Certainly.”
When I refused, he produced a booklet containing simple illustrations and prices without making any unnecessary comments.
The absence of armor had been what I felt most desperately while exploring the dungeon.
Every suit of armor I found had been made for goblins and was impossible for me to wear.
I didn’t intend to purchase anything immediately.
Ultimately, I was a ‘Jar’ Warrior.
Even if I was called a Warrior, the jars were my main tools.
Strictly speaking, I was a utility character rather than a damage dealer or tank.
‘They’re more expensive than I expected.’
The drawings had been given simple coloring, allowing me to tell whether iron had been added to leather or a blade had been fixed to wood.
I quickly skipped past weapons long or heavy enough to require two hands.
One hand needed to remain free to throw jars.
‘In that respect, I need to replace this sword too.’
My gaze fell on the longsword, which now had many chips along its edge.
Even the trading company had refused to buy it because it was too badly damaged.
After considering all my conditions, the only options left were one-handed weapons and armor made from leather reinforced with iron.
“Do you also modify weapons here?”
“We can send a commission to a contracted smithy.”
“Then…….”
At my glance, Rion placed her Hand Crossbow on the counter.
“On the launching section of this crossbow—”
I explained the modifications I had planned in advance.
The employee’s rigid smile deepened with every sentence.
The man, who had begun writing down my instructions on paper, finally spoke.
“I am not a blacksmith, but at this point, purchasing a new Hand Crossbow may be more practical.”
“Then please commission the smithy to make a new crossbow. Also, give me the buckler and two morningstars listed here.”
“Certainly. That will be one Gold Coin.”
‘Two months of living expenses vanished in an instant.’
I handed the employee a Gold Coin with a trembling hand and accepted the weapons I had ordered.
Rion and I had created a shared fund to prepare for expeditions.
Each of us contributed one Gold Coin.
The weapons cost more than expected.
We might need to leave on our next expedition sooner than planned.
“Shall we deliver them together with the crossbow?”
“Yes.”
“We will deliver everything by the beginning of next week.”
We gave him the name of the ‘Rainbow Bridge’ Inn, where we would receive the weapons, then left the trading company.
Rion and I walked through the market toward the general store.
It looked similar to its image in the game.
A slightly creaking wooden signboard was its most distinctive feature.
The building had a red roof and two square glass windows that resembled eyes.
When we opened the door, a smell like food waste boiling together with medicinal herbs greeted us.
‘Ugh.’
The shop was packed with all kinds of miscellaneous objects from the entrance onward.
Still, they were organized to some degree.
The deeper inside I looked, the more chaotic it became.
Apparently, the owner had tried to organize everything, accumulated too many goods, and eventually given up.
“Welcome.”
At the sound of the bell above the opening door, a young man with curly hair and glasses emerged from the back.
“Paradon from the Rainbow Bridge Inn recommended this place.”
“Ah, Uncle Paradon.”
Paradon seemed to have surprisingly wide connections.
He had never appeared as an NPC in the game.
When I told him which materials I needed for jar crafting, he recommended this general store.
“I’m looking for these items.”
“Yes. One moment.”
The young man placed the jar materials I had listed and the items used during expeditions in the game onto the table.
“…Since you appear to be looking for exploration supplies, the Bull’s-Eye Lantern is bright, but it consumes a lot of oil. Unless you are going to a mine, the Pumpkin Lantern would be more suitable. Also, only Low-Grade Potions are available in the territory.”
The young man neatly packed the items we ordered into a large backpack.
“Two Silver Coins.”
I had already asked Paradon, a former explorer, to estimate the cost.
He said the goods would normally cost around one Silver Coin and seven Pennies, though the pirates’ current activity could raise or lower the price somewhat.
An additional three Pennies was within an acceptable range.
Feeling the weight on my shoulder, we returned to the inn and spent time on our own activities.
Rion trained while bonding with her new summon, Mungchi.
I produced batches of new magic jars.
***
This game had a [Training] System.
By training NPC companions, you could increase their stats by up to +5 or teach them new skills.
Mages were sent to the Magic Tower.
Barbarians and Druids were sent to their tribes for training.
Where were Warriors sent?
To a swordsmanship hall.
My battle against the Orc had made me keenly aware of my lack of combat technique.
I wasn’t using this body’s abilities to their fullest potential.
To raise my stats and learn combat techniques, I came to the Thrust Swordsmanship Hall in the territory.
“No.”
And I was rejected at the entrance.