"As expected, it's completely untrustworthy to hire people on the streets."
The next day, at dawn, I met up with the priest Betty and her companions at the restaurant from yesterday. However, as a veteran adventurer, I only needed to glance at them to discover that something was wrong with this party. It definitely wasn't just because of their names.
No, it didn't take a veteran adventurer to notice that something was wrong with this party. No wonder they had sent the priest Betty to hire people. Everyone else was completely unreliable!
Out of my four companions, the most familiar one was the barbarian I met at the restaurant yesterday … the thief!
He was around 2.34 meters tall, and his wrists were thicker than my thighs. His leather armor was already torn apart by his muscles, and his face was so fierce that he could kill people with his face alone. His natural powerful racial talent, Berserk Transformation, and extraordinary strength allowed barbarians to easily change job classes into berserkers. However, this guy actually said something like this the moment I met him.
"Violence isn't good. That's why I haven't been a big brother for many years. The current me, Ah Gen, is a technical thief."
Technical thief? You're telling me that a barbarian is a technical thief? Your War God will be angered to death by you!
Of course, I know what a technical thief is. Those guys are thieves who specialize in exploring ruins, breaking traps, mechanisms, stealing, and other techniques. Their most important stats aren't the usual thief's agility and strength, but rather, the ability to break mechanisms, traps, and grasp the relevant knowledge and skills. This is a job that idiots can't take. Not to mention, because all of their time and energy is invested into mastering their skills, their combat strength is only 5, or at the very least, zero.
But since this job class didn't require combat strength, it was exclusive to the gnome adventurers who were naturally lacking in strength and had dirty hands and feet. Their small physique allowed them to avoid traps that targeted normal people. Plus, they were nimble and had a natural Intelligence bonus, making them the perfect technical thief.
If I remembered correctly, barbarians' racial talent talent would increase Strength, but their Intelligence would decrease. Once they entered Berserk Transformation, their Intelligence would directly drop to around 3, making them no different from wild beasts. It would be difficult for them to even complete a sentence.
With Ah Gen's outstanding natural Strength, if he had chosen an assassin job class that specialized in combat, I could only say that it would have been "a rather unconventional choice." Yet, this guy actually chose a job class that required the most Intelligence, a technical thief. I could only say that this guy was basically a scammer.
"… Manners? I'm now a Holy Knight. It'll be far too damaging to my image to simply shout and complain."
While trying to suppress the urge to complain in his heart, he squeezed out a smile and nodded.
"May the Holy Light bless you, friend."
The huge body suddenly hugged me. Bean-sized tears rolled down his cheeks, wetting my back.
"You … You're the first one who didn't laugh at me!"
"Barbarian brother, everyone has the right to choose their own path. Why would I laugh at you?"
"You, you are Ah Gen's brother from today onwards. Those who mocked Ah Gen deserve to be sent flying by Ah Gen!"
Seeing that Ah Gen didn't send the newcomer flying, the surrounding companions didn't look happy. Instead, they looked disappointed. Clearly, they had planned to watch the show. What kind of people were they!?
The second person I introduced was the priestess I met yesterday. She seemed to be very normal.
"I'm Betty Wenless. You can call me Betty. I'm a guy."
Alright then, the most normal person instantly became the most abnormal …
"I'm a Holy Knight, I'm a Holy Knight, I'm a Holy Knight. The most important thing for a Holy Knight is — even if my head is broken, I can bleed, but my hairstyle … my smile can't be messed up! "
I kept chanting calming mantras in my mind, but my expression still froze for a moment. Then, I returned to my standard professional smile and extended my right arm.
"Mister Betty, nice to meet you again."
"Wow! This guy can actually maintain his smile! Just like Betty said, he has an incredibly realistic fake smile on his face. It's said that a Holy Knight's strength is directly proportional to their fake smile ability. He can even maintain a smile after knowing that Betty's younger sister is a guy. Isn't that super amazing!? "
"I heard everything, you bastard!"
Veins were popping out on my forehead, but I kept chanting "I didn't hear anything, I didn't hear anything" in my mind as I continued to smile at this strange team.
As for the little girl who had just been laughing at me, she was probably one of the few normal people in this team. She had a thick and short body, a simple appearance, a small flying hammer at her waist, a deep voice, and a long blonde ponytail that almost reached the ground. This was the Alaidun Mountain Range's specialty, the dwarven aunties … girls!
Dwarves weren't rare in this world. There were Gray Dwarves underground, and there were Mountain Dwarves and Shield Dwarves in the mountain ranges. Although they weren't tall, they had plenty of energy (Strength) and sturdy bodies (Stamina). They were blacksmiths, warriors, miners, and the children of the earth. They were bold and straightforward, natural-born warriors.
Of course, there were also advantages and disadvantages. Dwarves generally had short legs and slow reactions, so it would be impossible to count on them to jump around like elves. However, dwarven Shield Bearers were world-famous for being excellent defenders. With such a dwarf present, this team wouldn't need to worry about a lack of meatshields.
"Hello, Big Brother Holy Knight. I'm Mary, Longbowman Mary."
As she said that, this female dwarf directly pointed at the ironwood longbow on her back.
Alright, should I say that it was only natural? As expected, this team didn't have any normal people. A dwarf actually became a professional elven longbowman? Her mountain bloodline was crying!
"Nice to meet you, Miss Mary."
"No, I'm Lady Mary. I'm already married, and I even have two children. My husband was too disappointing, so he stayed at home to take care of the children while I worked to earn money. "
"Pfft, you really are a dwarf aunty!"
I didn't even know what to say when I saw this "squarish" face.
There was a saying that the only difference between male dwarves and female dwarves was that male dwarves had sharper voices. Yep, that's right, it was male dwarves that had sharper voices. This was mainly because female dwarves spoke far too manly. Their voices were deep and magnetic, and the moment they left their mouths, they would astonish everyone and echo endlessly.
Judging by appearance, female dwarves would also grow beards, while male dwarves loved to wear braids. It would be difficult for outsiders to tell the difference between male and female dwarves, as their sense of beauty was also quite strange. I just couldn't understand what was so attractive about "a dwarf girl from my hometown with her charming buckets and bushy beards."
Due to their different sense of beauty, it would be difficult for outsiders to tell the difference between male and female dwarves or their ages. However, dwarves who went adventuring would typically be "young men" in their seventies or eighties, which was why I thought she was a "young girl." But since this Lady Mary said that she already had two children, and based on the dwarves' age of 120 as an adult, this Lady Mary was probably more than 200 years old.
Alright then, I already had three strange teammates, and I was already numb to them. The last teammate was a delicate and pretty elf. His gaudy leather armor and the three-stringed zither on his back indicated his identity — he was an incredibly handsome elven traveling bard.
"Hello, I'm Solonor."
Not bad, his etiquette was quite normal. His appearance was normal, his name was normal, and his job was also normal. However, my gentlemanly detective instincts were telling me that this Solonor before me was definitely no ordinary person. My cold back was also reminding me that I was in danger.
"… As expected, Solo has taken a liking to him."
"Brother Solonor is great at everything except for his hobbies. All the warriors were scared away by him … But, if it wasn't for this, we wouldn't have become sisters with him."
My sharp senses allowed me to hear their discussion. This time, my smile was finally shattered.
"Me, me, me! Are you gay?"
"… Please don't make it sound so bad. I just like handsome young men."
As I said that, I secretly squeezed his hand, causing goosebumps to appear all over my body.
"F * ck! What kind of demon is this? Let go of me! Eat my broken shoe slash! "
Alright then, our first meeting ended up becoming a full-on brawl. I was panting heavily as I stomped on the gay Solonor.
"Should Kolos be in a church here? It would seem that I need a healing smile. "
For some reason, I felt like I would feel much better if I had that wild elf's smile.
"Paha! You're disgusted by a gay Solonor, so you're going to find a trap to heal you? You're hopeless as well. "
The silly cat's taunts came as expected. However, I didn't even have the energy to argue with her. Just who were these people? It was likely that there was no adventurer team in the entire Forest of Dreams that was as strange as this. Was my luck really that bad?
"Silly cat, meow and act cute."
"Meow, Master, I want to drink milk. I want it to be white, muddy, and smelly."
Alright then, the silly cat instantly transformed into a young blonde cat girl. She had yellow cat ears, a tail, and a furry meatball glove. She intentionally said that in a sweet and flirtatious manner. As she said that, she even licked her lips and looked at me seductively, as if she was really thirsty. I instantly stood up … yep, I got goosebumps all over.
"Go, I'll choose you, Harloys. Transform into a shooting star in the sky."
I immediately forced her to transform into the silly cat. Then, I suddenly stomped on the ground and threw her like a javelin into the sky, transforming her into a shooting star.
"Stupid blockhead, you deserve to be molested for the rest of your life. Meow, I hate this feeling …"
I turned around while panting, only to discover that my companions were currently discussing this matter.
"He actually transformed his pet into a woman and had an ambiguous relationship with his pet? Is this the legendary sad … sad something?"
"Beifeng! He's that legendary pervert! "
It would seem that any random adventurer would know who he was. Beifeng had truly achieved his dream in life. He was famous, famous!
"Relax, even if you're Beifeng (I've already changed my name to an adjective), we won't look down on you. Everyone has the right to choose their own lover. "
Solonor nodded sincerely as he spoke words of understanding.
"Ahhhh! I'm being pitied by a gay for my sexual orientation! "
At this moment, I was seriously considering returning to the Gui Ming River and starting all over again.
"To tell you the truth, we're all relieved. You're obviously more suitable for our team. Normal people won't last long in our team!"
Betty's words caused everyone to nod in agreement. However, I wanted to cry but had no tears.
"I'm clearly a normal person!"
[The King of Gentlemen …]
"Shut up!"
…
Since the introductions were over, according to the unspoken rules of adventurers, the next step was to find a simple quest to improve our teamwork. Actual combat would be more convincing than any words.
The wood spirits' major operation was scheduled for three days later. This didn't affect the simple hunting quests. I casually accepted a quest called "One Hundred Corpse Ghouls with Venomous Fangs" from the Forest of Dreams. I then rode a black carriage that cost two silver coins per kilometer and left the Forest of Dreams.
Corpse ghouls were undead type undead that were slightly stronger than zombies. They looked like skinnier and uglier zombies. They didn't have much strength, but they were rather agile. Their teeth and claws contained poison. If one accidentally died to a corpse ghoul, there was a high chance that they would transform into another corpse ghoul.
Corpse ghouls were all capable of using other corpses to strengthen themselves. The name 'corpse ghouls' indicated part of their habits. These ghouls were highly aggressive, had a sharp nose, and were skilled at ambushes and ambushes.
All six major Undead Planes were open to the public. These bloodthirsty creatures smelled the scent of the living, and many swarmed over. Corpse ghouls were quite common around the Forest of Dreams.
Soon, we found a group of corpse ghouls on a hill. There seemed to be more than ten of them, and the strongest seemed to be a Corpse Ghoul King.
I had already asked around, and the members of this strange team were all quite strong. They were all at least Silver rank. A normal corpse ghoul would be easily taken care of by a Bronze warrior, and the Corpse Ghoul King was only at the top Silver rank, so it shouldn't be too difficult.
"For the Holy Light!"
In order to act like a typical Holy Knight who hated the undead and redeem my image, I let out my habitual battle cry and was the first to charge.
And then, I returned at an even faster speed …
At that moment, I instantly understood why this team had been unable to find any meatshields.
Solonor and "Betty" were both support members at the back. Basically, they were just there to watch the show. Mary, who was an archer, wouldn't be on the frontlines either. According to the unspoken rules of adventurers, it was possible for technical thieves to not participate in battle. The end result was that I was the only one charging.
Although the corpse ghouls' venomous fangs and claws were venomous, I had an Epic-ranked shield, "Ömdiroken's Wall of Sighs", so of course I wouldn't be afraid. The ones who made me turn around and run were my teammates!
"You must've been sent by the enemy to mess with me! Did you really not kill off your last teammate? "
Mary's longbow was specially made from ironwood. This type of wood was native to the Hengduan Mountain Range and was as hard as iron. A Wooden Sword made from ironwood could be used as a real sword. However, if it was made into a bow, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to pull it.
However, Mary was a hundred-year-old dwarf warrior. Her brute strength was in no way inferior to that of a professional warrior. Her bow, which should've been swift and nimble, transformed into a "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" Not only did the arrow fly right past my face, it also felt like the Grim Reaper could descend upon me at any moment. If I had lowered my head just a little bit slower, I would probably be bald right now.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the corpse ghoul king and our "technical thief" Ah Gen were engaged in a fierce battle.
Technical thieves couldn't fight? Had you ever seen a technical thief who wielded a greatsword? Had you ever seen a technical thief who hacked a corpse ghoul king into pieces? Ah Gen even went berserk!
Judging from his bulging muscles and the whites of his eyes, this was a high-level "Complete Berserk". This meant that not only did Ah Gen's strength increase exponentially, he also transformed into a killing machine that didn't feel any pain or reason. In just two attacks, only the upper body of the corpse ghoul king remained. Judging from how Ah Gen was still drooling as he stared at me, I was now his greatest threat!
"Hurry and run, Brother Roland! Ah Gen is afraid of blood. The moment he sees blood, he instinctively goes berserk and won't recognize anyone! "
Alright then, I finally understood why Ah Gen didn't choose his job class as a warrior. Complete Berserk was his final trump card. Since he couldn't even control himself, wouldn't that mean that he would kill everyone on the battlefield?
"You professional scammers! You're scamming me!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
