Ossan Saikyō Chapter 4 Part 06
After that, I upgraded my armor at the armor shop, stocked up on potions, did my training, and returned to the inn.
I asked the inn girl to bring me hot water to wipe myself down, then stripped and cleaned my body.
There was a public bath in Euron, but I still didn’t quite feel ready to go there. Still, just wiping myself down didn’t feel very refreshing, so I figured I’d try it soon.
Putting that aside, when I looked at my arms, chest, and stomach while naked, I realized just how muscular I had become.
It hadn’t even been a month since I came to this world… Isn't this growth a bit too fast? If this was also due to Awakening, then training was only going to get more enjoyable.
Feeling refreshed, I headed to the inn’s dining hall.
I ordered a meat dish and was waiting when someone called out to me.
“Yo, Soushi-san. Mind if I join you?”
It was Gashi, the beastman I had met on my way to Euron.
“Good evening. Go ahead.”
“Then, excuse me.”
He sat across from me with a friendly smile.
“So, Soushi-san, you already been to the dungeon?”
“Yeah. I’ve cleared the F-class, and now I’m working on the E-class.”
“You go into dungeons solo too?”
“For now, yeah. It’s easier that way.”
“Damn… with that kind of strength, I guess it works.”
“Well, I’ll hit a limit eventually. When that happens, I’ll think about forming a party. By the way, are you heading somewhere again?”
“Yeah, this time we’re going to the town of Menage.”
“Is that also a dungeon town?”
“Yeah. It’s got F and E-class dungeons. Smaller than Tolson, but it’s closer, so it’s easier.”
“I was wondering, isn’t it dangerous with just the two of you?”
“Nah, around Euron it’s not too bad. Hardly any monsters or bandits. Though lately I’ve heard there are a few more monsters showing up… like what we saw the other day.”
He meant the Moon Wolf. An increase in field monsters would definitely be bad news for regular people.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t paid attention to the guild’s subjugation requests, assuming they weren’t for solo adventurers. Maybe there had been an increase lately.
Advancing to D-rank required completing multiple subjugation requests, so if there were any I could handle solo, I should probably take them.
“You gonna stick around Euron for a while?”
“Yeah. I plan to base myself here and go around as many dungeons as possible.”
“Go around dungeons? Why’s that?”
“The more dungeons you clear, the more skills you get. I want as many skills as possible so I don’t die.”
“I see… I’ve heard strong adventurers travel around, but didn’t know that was why.”
“Probably. I’d like to check out Menage too. If it has F and E-class dungeons, it’s perfect.”
“Then wanna travel together when we go? Having you along would make us feel a lot safer.”
“That sounds good. When are you leaving?”
“Day after tomorrow, early morning. What do you think?”
“That works perfectly. I’m planning to clear the E-class dungeon tomorrow. Should I meet you at the merchant guild before dawn?”
“Yeah, that’ll do. We’ll stay one night on the way, so I’ll bring some booze.”
“Looking forward to that. The one before was really good.”
“Right? Nari gets a bit mad when I buy it, but without it on the road, you get what I mean…”
So just after arriving in Euron, I’d already be heading to another town, but that was fine.
If I found any F-class dungeons, I wanted to clear them anyway. And honestly… collecting skills was starting to get fun.
◇◆◇
The next morning, after getting used to my new gear during early training, I headed to the riverside dungeon.
I reached the entrance to the third floor without any issues. Thanks to my upgraded weapon, I could now crush Stone Tortoises shell and all.
I had also upgraded my backpack, so I could collect all materials with room to spare, though clearing all the way to the fifth floor while collecting everything would still be tough.
On the third floor, Stone Tortoises started appearing in groups of three, but that was it. They were no longer a threat, so I quickly moved on to the fourth floor.
Here, a new enemy appeared: Slimes.
A classic fantasy monster, but in this world they were gelatinous, semi-transparent, amorphous blobs.
You could see a brownish core in the center, destroying that kills them.
The issue was that the core was protected by their viscous body… but in the face of brute force and speed, that didn’t matter.
When I brought my mace down, both the jelly-like body and the core exploded.
Apparently, normal E-rank adventurers needed tricks to break the core… but my strength was already above D-rank, so this was expected.
They were poisonous, but thanks to【Poison Resistance】, that wasn’t a problem either.
They dropped Slime Cores, which were used as ingredients for medicine.
The fifth floor just had more slimes. I gathered a large number of cores, but since they didn’t take up much space, I could carry all of them.
Now then, my first E-class dungeon Boss.
Given my track record with rare Bosses and irregular encounters, I stayed cautious, but what appeared was exactly what the guide described: a Large Slime.
As the name suggested, it was a massive slime about three meters in diameter, with a central height of about one meter. Its core, about the size of a volleyball, was visible in the raised center.
The Large Slime slowly approached while extending parts of its body like tentacles. Its attack method was to capture prey and drag them inside to suffocate.
If you got caught solo, it would be fatal, so I countered each tentacle strike with my mace, blowing them apart.
After destroying over a dozen tentacles, I realized the Large Slime had shrunk to the size of a Medium slime.
I moved in and shaved off its body with my mace. Once it thinned out enough, I crushed the core, ending the battle.
It felt almost too easy for a boss… but against a physical-type enemy, strength really was everything. Using a mace definitely worked in my favor.
After a while, I felt the skill acquisition.
“【Might】… seriously? Another strength-boosting skill? What is this, are they trying to turn me into a pure muscle-brain build?”
I muttered it out loud, but honestly, boosting strength even further when I was already strong… Is this really okay?
In some games, a single-stat build was optimal, sure… but if I kept specializing purely in physical power, I’d eventually hit a wall. I’d definitely need to form a party sooner or later.
Thinking about that, I left the dungeon with my backpack now feeling significantly lighter thanks to my new skill.
◇◆◇
“That’s a Large Slime core… did you defeat it alone?”
Back at the guild, when I requested a sale, the usual blunt receptionist asked that, again with a suspicious look.
“Yes. My weapon had good compatibility, so I managed.”
“Managed…? You did read the guide carefully, correct?”
“Yeah. It made handling the attacks easy. I’m grateful to the guild for putting it together.”
“…I see. You never considered not fighting alone?”
“Well… I thought I could win.”
I answered casually, and she let out a small sigh, saying nothing more.
“Would you like all the proceeds deposited with the guild?”
“Yes, please.”
Then I remembered what Gashi said about increased field monsters.
“By the way, have subjugation requests been increasing lately?”
“Yes, by about twenty percent. Would you like to take one?”
“If it’s something physical attacks work on. Though I’ll be heading to another town tomorrow, so maybe after that.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, one more thing — if I happen to defeat a monster with an active subjugation request while traveling, I only get paid for materials, not the bounty, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. In that case, please remember where you defeated it. It helps us verify whether it was part of a request.”
“Got it. I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”
As I gave a small bow and turned to leave, she quietly muttered;
“Take care.”
——————
E/N:
What's this, Ossan?! Is this the start of a budding romance with a kuudere receptionist!? 🤣
Stay tuned!
——————
——————————
Check out my other translations -
——————————
Comments