Chapter 4

Chapter 4

4. Career Concerns (3)

Benrik opened his eyes at dawn when pitch-black darkness had descended.

Suddenly, a chilly sensation like cold water being poured tickled the nape of his neck.

Every fine hair stood on end, and tension was pulled taut. Matching that, the heart also started beating like crazy.

It felt as if someone was holding a sharp blade to his neck.

The Crisis Sense that had saved him from countless dangers over the past two years had activated.

‘Surely.’

Did the Black-Striped Fang track them?

···No, it’s still early to conclude.

Benrik, who got up without a sound, crouched his body like a cat and looked around.

It was quiet.

A level of quiet that could not exist in a place with over ten people and horses. Moreover, even though there was a full moon and stars, and even a bonfire, the field of vision was strangely dark.

It was to the extent that it was hard to distinguish objects just four or five meters ahead.

Realizing that, Benrik felt relieved inwardly.

‘It’s not the Black-Striped Fang.’

It’s a Night Spirit.

It’s not a magical beast.

‘No, is it a magical beast?’

Anyway, by itself it’s not a greatly dangerous guy.

People treat it as a magical beast, but the Night Spirit has no form and no magical energy either. It can be thought of as a phenomenon that just stays for a while like the wind and then leaves.

It occasionally appears in places like wild mountains or battlefields and dulls human senses. Other than making people’s hearts chilly like that, there was no known danger.

“······.”

······But.

If it was only that, the Crisis Sense wouldn’t have activated.

‘Should I wake the mercenary group?’

No, no.

If the danger crouched in the darkness is really the Black-Striped Fang, even if the entire mercenary group faces it in a state of full preparedness, victory cannot be guaranteed.

It’s an undeniable fact that Jenkinson confessed while giving the gold coin.

Catching that kind of guy in a state where the senses are dulled was absurd.

‘If it were Gerik···.’

Benrik, who swallowed a soundless sigh, stared into the darkness.

‘What would Gerik have done.’

No, what use is all that. It’s not like he can move like that himself.

The judgment was in an instant. Benrik untied the white pouch at his waist, shook it onto his hand, and scattered it all over his body like powdering.

After sealing the mouth tightly again, he took a deep breath with all his might, huuup!

“Wake up!!! Everyone wake uuup!!!”

He shouted at the top of his lungs along with the swallowed breath.

He ran while shouting haphazardly. He kicked hard what he bumped into and stepped hard on what was stepped on.

“Magical beast!!! A magical beast has attacked!!!”

“Ugh!”

A silhouette in the darkness that was kicked groaned. A familiar voice!

“Jenkinson! Wake up! Pick up your sword!”

“What, what···!”

“I said a magical beast has attacked!”

Hurry up and wake up and protect me!

It was that moment.

A bright yellow trajectory brushed past one corner of Benrik’s vision.

─Krrrr···.

The darkness cried. The dim field of vision opened, and noise gradually filled the muffled ears.

The sound of wind, the sound of swaying grass, the resonance from colliding branches.

“What, what is it? What’s going on?”

“I said a magical beast attacked, arm yourselves─ aack!”

Bewildered voices, irritable voices, painful groans, crack···. The sound of bone and bone rubbing.

From such things, the approaching magical beast with yellow-striped fur.

“Ben─!”

Even before Jenkinson’s cry of alarm ended.

─Whoosh!

The Yellow-Striped Fang flew past over the back of Benrik who had stuck his body to the ground as if sinking into the earth.

The guy that had become a magical beast that just flew through the air crashed into the luggage cart.

─Crash!

Benrik, who stood up elastically from his spot, lightly clicked his tongue.

‘It wasn’t the Black-Striped Fang. No wonder the bone powder was useless.’

While grumbling, he felt relieved. If it wasn’t the Black-Striped Fang, the odds of winning were sufficient.

“Jenkinson, what are you doing?”

“Uh uh···?”

Didn’t he just barely dodge by a hair’s breadth? Why is there so little sense of crisis? It was when Jenkinson was thinking that the child shouted in a fuss.

“What are you doing, didn’t you say you could catch something like a Yellow-Striped Fang even with your eyes closed!”

“Kugh···! I said it was just me acting tough!”

Jenkinson hurriedly collected his mind and raised his sword.

“Just stay back.”

Benrik did not refuse.

It was not a place for him to step forward.

Drawing the magical beast’s attention was Benrik’s role, and cutting the breath of the magical beast whose attention was drawn was Gerik’s share.

─Krrrr···.

The magical beast that dug out from among the wooden fragments dripped saliva drop by drop.

It growled with eyes glaring as if it would chew and swallow at any moment, but it did not charge easily like it had to Benrik.

Whatever the truth was, the fact that Jenkinson had the strongest martial force among the group remained unchanged.

Magical beasts are ecologically sensitive to such things, and they also have intelligence enough to go against instinct to some extent.

Instead of stepping forward clumsily, Benrik took out a small bottle and sprayed it on Jenkinson.

The mercenary who had been standing blinking his eyes at the scattered liquid soon distorted his face fiercely.

“Ugh, the smell···.”

Benrik, who quickly moved away from him, said.

“Endure it. It’s better than getting hurt.”

The attack means of the Yellow-Striped Fang are claws and teeth, and among them the dangerous one is by far the latter.

Because the bite force is hopeless.

It was extracted from a deer’s testicles. It has a smell similar to the musk of a boar.

Fortunately, Jenkinson was not the type to be hindered for long by such trivial parts.

As if finished exploring, the yellow magical beast gradually narrowed the distance.

The eyes of the man who re-gripped the sword changed.

The sword and the fang collided.

─Crunch···!

Oh, more than I thought···.

“···Isn’t it strong?”

People who can endure even for a moment in a one-on-one strength contest with a Yellow-Striped Fang are rare. Even among the village people whose main job is magical beast hunting, it was only Father and a young hunter named Sven.

“Even looking like that, he’s a Silver Badge mercenary.”

A mercenary who had approached at some point said. A man who had tied his brown hair that hung like a mane into one.

“There’s a world of difference between a mercenary who can handle mana and one who can’t.”

It was already strange that the other mercenaries who would have finished treating the injured long ago weren’t helping, and seeing blood dripping from one arm, it seemed there had been a battle.

“From Silver Badge mercenary they can use mana, I guess?”

“Yes, that’s the promotion criterion. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine, but the hyung doesn’t look fine.”

“Hmm?”

He, who checked his own arm following Benrik’s gaze, only then opened his eyes round.

“Huh?”

You only knew now? What kind of bear is that?

“Still, shouldn’t we help?”

If it’s to the extent that the person who boasted he could catch it even with eyes closed and with his toes puts down his pride and spills the truth, it seems really burdensome.

“Even if you intervene uselessly, it only gets in the way.”

It was the judgment of a person who had seen much longer than Benrik.

There must be a reason for that. Benrik, who passed it over as nothing, turned his gaze to the battle site.

The Yellow-Striped Fang takes the form of a quadrupedal beast. The body is similar to a tiger from his past life, but on the face it has two fangs thicker than an adult’s leg.

Compared to that, Jenkinson’s greatsword looked almost like a toothpick. Jenkinson’s figure, who had been watching the guy with calm eyes that were neither excited nor intimidated and measuring the distance, soared.

─Whoosh, thwack!

Even holding that large sword, there is no delay in striking and withdrawing.

The magical beast that was hit on the thigh with the face of the sword howled in pain.

Unlike the appearance, it seems there is impact.

─Slash!

Jenkinson, who recovered the bounced sword, cut the hamstring of the staggering guy, then withdrew far back.

A giant front paw of the fang brushed right in front of his nose.

It was a hair’s breadth difference.

─Kreeee!

The magical beast that had become thoroughly enraged roared. It seemed about to open its jaws and charge as if to swallow Jenkinson’s small head right away, then momentarily hesitated and closed its mouth.

Jenkinson did not miss the opening.

The magical beast’s fur is thicker and tougher than imagined. Jenkinson’s sword dug into that fur as softly as tofu.

─Stab, stab, stab···!

Three consecutive stabs, the intervals in between were so short that it looked like one long stab at a glance.

Was he really just exaggerating? It’s almost at the level of playing with it.

Around the time Benrik was gradually getting a taste for watching the fight,

The half-tied hair mercenary, Hodge, recalled the conversation from last evening.

─No, did you really give the gold coin?

─A promise must be kept. Thanks to him we avoided the danger, that’s a fact.

─Even so.

Having something you can’t keep only brings harm, isn’t that obvious.

─I know too, you punk, so just you know. I warned Benrik not to go around talking nonsense, and I’ll make up something appropriate for the guys too.

─You’re taking care of him that much?

─Well, he’s a promising sprout. It’s a kind of investment.

─Something where you can’t guarantee recovery is not usually called an investment. It’s called gambling.

─······Yes, I did, gambling. What are you going to do about it, you bastard?

Anyway···.

‘Does he see something?’

He tilted his head looking at the child who had clenched his mouth and was immersed in the battle. The exchange between Jenkinson and the magical beast was happening at a speed so fast that even he could miss the movements if he wasn’t careful.

Seeing the eyeballs moving without rest, it’s certain he’s looking at something.

‘Hmm. Is it not just that he knows magical beasts well.’

Hodge thought for a moment.

That it wouldn’t be bad if Jenkinson succeeded in the gamble. It was the first cheer he had given since being appointed vice-captain of the mercenary group.

“Huh.”

At the moment Benrik involuntarily admired, the outcome was decided.

─Crunch···!

The greatsword that largely cleaved the air split the magical beast’s head in half.

─Grrrr···.

Thud! The magical beast collapsed along with its death throes. The light went out in an instant from the eyes that had been gleaming with killing intent.

“Huff, huff!”

It was Jenkinson’s victory.

“Huuuff···! Fuck···!”

Jenkinson, who had been breathing roughly while lying his back any which way, suddenly raised his body. Whoosh, as if the excitement of the battle had not yet subsided, a flashing gaze turned toward the two people.

Step by step, he approaches with a fierce expression.

The closer the distance, the more the small wounds that weren’t visible from a distance came into view.

At the level of the mercenaries they were injuries of the scratching level, and at the level of the merchants they were injuries that would make one go “Vicious guy···.”

Jenkinson, who had come up close, looked at Hodge and growled.

“Why didn’t you help, you, you bastard. Huff, damn bastard, I almost died.”

“But you lived, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“You weren’t hurt that much either?”

“······.”

Was it really the right choice to put this guy in the vice-captain position? It was when Jenkinson was seriously pondering.

“Um, Jenkinson.”

Benrik called him in a careful tone he was hearing for the first time.

“This is just asking out of curiosity”

“Hmm?”

Jenkinson relaxed his expression.

As Hodge said, the fact that he wasn’t greatly hurt was true, and that was entirely thanks to the unidentified liquid Benrik had sprayed.

─Thank you.

Jenkinson, who was about to say it, hesitated. Because Benrik’s eyes were sparkling like never before.

“How do you use mana?”

“Mana? Out of the blue what···.”

The gazes of Jenkinson and Hodge, who had unconsciously raised their heads, interlocked in the air.

Hodge grinned.

“And you raised the success rate of the gamble too?”

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