Chapter 84: Black Lizardman (1)

"This place has gotten more people while I’ve been gone," Kai briefly remarked as he looked at the bustling street, dressed in his cleric robe.

And the line at the blacksmith's has gotten even longer.

It was a long line that looked like it would take at least an hour to wait!

But Kai headed to the back of the blacksmith's shop without hesitation.

I was told there was no need to wait in line from now on.

Being given special treatment by Solid, Kai was allowed to use the back door.

When he opened the door with the key he received from Solid and entered, a passageway leading directly to the workshop appeared.

"Hm?" Solid, who heard the back door open, turned around, and upon discovering Kai, his eyes widened. "Who do we have here? If isn't it Kai!" Solid immediately let out a hearty laugh and put down his hammer as he approached Kai. "We've met sooner than I thought. How have you been?"

"I've been well. How about you, Solid?"

"A blacksmith is well as long as he has the strength to swing a hammer. By the way..." Solid, looking over Kai's body, let out a small exclamation, "What have you been eating? You've gotten so strong in such a short time..."

"I've been busy traveling here and there, and it just happened."

"Haha. That's the best kind of greeting for an adventurer. So, I guess you've come looking for new equipment since you've gotten stronger."

"Yes, and I managed to acquire some good materials."

"Oh, hearing 'good materials' from a modest person like you makes me excited."

Unable to hide his eagerness,Solid made a gesture to quickly show the materials.

When Kai placed Hakhas' scales on the table, Solid exclaimed in shock. "Ohhhh! These are undoubtedly the highest quality scales I've seen in my life!" Solid, examining the scales closely, even brought a hammer to tap on them. "They're hard and seem to have high magic resistance. The color is a bit too flashy, but... you don't mind that, do you?"

"No, as long as the performance is good, I don't care about the appearance."

"Tsk tsk... You're completely different from the young adventurers these days." Solid criticized Kai for his lack of fashion sense, but he was still smiling. "Well, I do like you for your calm and practical approach."

Solid affectionately patted Kai on the shoulder as he hugged the scales before placing them on his workbench before asking, "With this amount, I think I can make one set... but you need to choose. Should I make equipment you can wear now with slightly reduced performance, or equipment you can't wear yet but fully utilizes the material's potential?"

"Hmm..." Kai furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

Hakhas' scales did indeed come from a level 165 boss monster...

If Solid went all out, he could produce a set item with a level 165 requirement.

But that won't work.

What Kai needed right now was equipment that could immediately enhance his power.

My current level is 88... so items around level 100 would be just right.

With his recently increased Benevolence stat, he was confident he could manage with the Armor of the Undead set until level 100.

"I don't need to wear it right away... but it would be a bit troublesome if the level requirement is too high."

"Hmm. So, you're saying I should make it to a level you can wear after just a bit more growth?"

Solid understood perfectly even without precise words!

When Kai smiled and nodded, Solid responded with a big smile, "Alright. I'll try and create the best masterpiece just like last time."

"Thank you. Oh! How much will the payment be..."

"Let's see..." Solid calculated for a moment and then said, "Meh, I'll do it for free this time."

It seemed like calculating the price was more work than he wanted to do

"...Really?" Kai blinked with a dazed expression.

Considering that it had cost 7 gold to make the Armor of the Undead set, he thought Solid would charge at least 15 gold this time.

However, Solid instead showed a grateful expression. "Thanks to you, my skills have improved. The rewards from the royal family for acknowledging my skills have gotten better. And since the number of customers has increased, think of this as a token of my gratitude."

"But I thought I received all your gratitude last time..."

"So, are you not going to accept it?"

"No! If you offer it, I'll gratefully accept."

Kai never refused twice!

Solid, scratching his head with the back of his hammer, said, "By the way, it seems this time it will take quite a bit of time. Come back in about two weeks."

"That sounds perfect."

Two weeks was more than enough time for Kai to reach level 100.

"Instead, bring a good bottle of liquor next time you come!"

"You can look forward to it."

***

The most famous hunting ground near the Konderun was none other than the Lizardmen Swamp.

Not only were the floors always sticky, but the lizardmen also understood tactics and used that to their advantage. Just one of those elements alone would be annoying, but this had both and was famous among players as a place that delivered a real headache.

Is it here?

The stone tower piled up at the entrance of the swamp was the rendezvous point mentioned by Tardal.

As Kai stood next to it, looking around aimlessly, a man approached. "You arrived early. Nice to meet you."

When Kai grasped his outstretched hand, a name appeared above his head.

Neil... an NPC.

Neil was a level 130 guide NPC.

He immediately guided Kai into the swamp. "I don't know if Tardal explained it to you, but today you'll just be observing."

"...I didn't hear anything like that."

"Haha. Tardal is very reserved. It's hard to give difficult tasks to a newcomer who just joined, so think of it as getting a feel for how your seniors work in the field."

In other words, there would be no stage for Kai to shine today!

Swallowing a bit of disappointment, Kai nodded. "I guess it can't be helped. So, what should I do?"

"I heard you're a Cleric of the Church of Solaris. If other hunters get in danger, just support them appropriately."

"Got it."

Neil skillfully navigated the swamp. Soon, they arrived at a small hill located near the center of the swamp. There, seven men and women were huddled together, resting.

Kai slowly looked over their faces and then slightly nodded.

Looks like there are no other players.

In other words, today was a cooperative hunt with NPCs!

The Darkness Hunters who saw Kai's arrival spoke up.

"I heard you might come in three days, but you arrived sooner than expected."

"Tsk, I still don't know if an adventurer who doesn't understand the greater cause suits the Darkness Hunters."

"He even looks pretty weak."

Their gazes were far from friendly as they evaluated Kai.

"Anyway, we've been ordered to take this rookie along, so we have no choice. Let's get going."

The Barbarian Warrior, who seemed to be the leader of the group, slung his ax over his shoulder and led the way with a strong stride.

Neil, who joined the tail end of the procession, continually taught Kai various facts. "You might feel a bit offended... but please bear with it, Kai."

"Why are they acting like that? Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh! Please don't misunderstand. It's not that they particularly dislike you. It's just... they tend to reject adventurers."

Kai turned his head and stared intently at Neil.

Under the gaze that clearly demanded an explanation, Neil scratched the back of his head and said in a quiet voice, "As you know, adventurers grow quickly. They used to help adventurers in every way possible, believing that rapidly growing adventurers would become a powerful force for the Darkness Hunters.

But some adventurers, once they became strong, started looking down on and ignoring them. Since then, they've started to dislike adventurers."

"Hmm."

Despite hearing the explanation, Kai's grumpy expression did not ease.

Then why don't they complain to the ones who looked down on them? Why take it out on me?

It was like getting slapped by one person and venting the anger at another!

Naturally, Kai, who had become the target of their venting, did not feel good about it. The only reason he could suppress his anger was because Neil kindly explained various things to him.

"Kai, you'll also be performing various tasks in the future, but you probably won't have any solo missions for a while."

"How come?"

"For adventurers to take on solo missions, they need to have excellent performance records or exceptional abilities. So, until you build up your record, you'll mostly receive support missions like this."

"Hmm..."

In a competitive society, demonstrating one's abilities was best done through outstanding performance!

Kai glanced at Neil and asked, "So, what are we hunting today?"

"Oh, right, my mind is all over the place. Today, we'll probably be hunting the Black Lizardman."

"Black Lizardman?" Kai showed a puzzled expression at the name of a monster he had never heard of.

"It's not an official name yet, but it will soon be called that. Do you know that if you kill a monster that has absorbed the Essence of Darkness, the Essence of Darkness will emerge?"

"Yes, and the nearby monsters also weaken again."

"That's right. That's the main job of us Darkness Hunters. Our main goal is to kill monsters tainted by the Essence of Darkness and restore the surrounding monsters to their normal state."

"Then who tracks down the Church of Muldine?"

"That's a task for the more skilled among the Darkness Hunters to handle solo. We're not there yet, haha."

Kai, glancing at Neil, who was scratching his head and responding, switched the topic again. "So, this Black Lizardman is a creature that has swallowed the Essence of Darkness?"

"Yes. I don't know what it was doing before it got tainted by darkness... but from what we've seen from afar, it carries two scimitars, so it seems it was a lizardman warrior."

"I see."

"Stop." The Barbarian Warrior raised his hand, halting the group.

Following his lead, Kai stopped and caught sight of the Black Lizardman sitting on a rock ahead.

That's the Black Lizardman.

As described, it had two scimitars strapped to its back and its entire body was covered in lizard-like scales.

"We'll surround it from seven directions and finish it quickly."

"Let's finish this and move on."

"I can’t believe it's such a defenseless creature... I guess even the Church of Muldine makes mistakes."

The hunters, watching the Black Lizardman's back, prepared for the upcoming battle with a relaxed demeanor.

"Oh, I almost forgot." The leader, the Barbarian Warrior, turned to Kai and pointed to the ground with his finger. "We're going to hunt it now, so just watch and don't get in the way. You can hide behind a nearby tree or rock if things get messy."

When Kai just crossed his arms and didn't respond, the Barbarian Warrior chuckled as he picked up his ax. At the same time, the expressions of the hunters became fierce. Regardless of their personalities, their stance with prey in sight was definitely professional.

Clank.

The moment they drew their weapons, the Black Lizardman's ears twitched. At the same time, the creature that had been sitting started to rise slowly.

"Dang, it heard us even from this distance?"

"Even if it realizes now, it's too late,"

"First, narrow the encirclement so it can't escape!"

The seven hunters, fanning out in a semicircle, surrounded the Black Lizardman from the front.

Then, at the same time, a female Wizard chanted a spell. "Earth Wall!"

Rumble!

The earthen wall that shot up through the swamp perfectly blocked the creature's rear.

In front were the seven hunters, and behind was the earthen wall! With no escape route, the creature's yellow eyes glowed with a murderous glare.

It’s already over.

Even though it wasn't to his liking, Kai had to acknowledge the hunters' skills. The way they completely surrounded the creature in less than two seconds showed they had worked together for more than just a day or two.

"Argh!"

The Barbarian Warrior lunged forward, swinging his massive ax. It was a fast strike that didn't match the size of the weapon or the Warrior's large frame!

However, the next sound wasn't that of flesh or bone being broken. It sounded as if a huge rock had fallen into the water.

At the same time, Kai, whose arms had dropped from their crossed position, furrowed his brows.

...What was that speed?

It was a speed that could truly be called godlike.

Then, the Black Lizardman, looking down at the Barbarian Warrior struggling beneath its foot, licked its lips with a tongue split like a snake's.

Slurp.