The campfire crackled, sparks dancing within the flames.
Rei watched the fire idly while keeping a keen ear out for his surroundings. At night, the frontier lands surrounding the City of Gilm belonged to the monsters. Even the highways weren't safe. While monsters with a shred of intelligence could gauge an opponent’s strength and numbers to decide if they were a threat, the mindless ones would attack anyone they encountered without hesitation.
In fact, five goblin corpses lay in a haphazard heap nearby. They weren't Rei's kills; they had been dispatched by Culotte and Superbia during the previous watch.
Fortunately, there had been no further attacks since then, and the atmosphere was relatively relaxed. Filma poured some tea, which had been warmed over the fire, and held the cup out to Rei.
"Here."
"Thanks."
Rei took the cup, inhaled the aroma, and took a few sips. It was already late summer, but the nights remained stiflingly hot—the kind of heat that made even sleeping a struggle.
Despite the temperature, Rei drank the steaming tea without breaking a single drop of sweat, a fact Filma observed with great interest.
"Hey, how can you drink hot tea in this weather and not sweat at all?"
Rei’s brow twitched at the question, but he simply looked back at her. "Aren't you the same? Or are all Elf-kin that resistant to the heat?"
"Hmm, well, I suppose so. Maybe it's because we live in the forest, but our race is naturally pretty good with heat."
"I’ve heard that Elves stay secluded deep in their woods and never come out to human settlements," Rei remarked.
"Ahaha. That might be true for the older ones," she replied with a smile, though her expression carried a hint of melancholy.
Rei sensed there was a story there, but he chose not to pry. Instead, he shifted the topic. "That bow of yours looks like quite the masterpiece."
He gestured to the bow resting beside her. Rei didn't have the ability to sense magic power like a proper mage, but he could feel a certain aura emanating from the weapon. It was the same sensation he got from Arrogan’s Magic Sword or the Orc King’s greatsword. It was undoubtedly a Magic Item.
"Oh, you can tell? It’s a family heirloom. It’s a masterpiece that can imbue arrows with the wind attribute."
"Wind, huh? That’s exactly what I’d expect from an Elf."
"Ahaha. I’ll take that as a compliment. But Rei, that massive scythe of yours is quite the piece of work too, isn't it?"
Filma’s eyes turned to the Death Scythe leaning beside him. She had watched him during yesterday’s battle and in the mock battle they’d held before bed. This slender, young man handled that hunk of metal—which easily exceeded two meters—with terrifying ease. Sometimes he even swung it with a single hand.
"Judging by the mock battle... it must have an ability to negate its own weight, right?"
"Yeah. It definitely has that capability."
"Heh, the way you say that makes it sound like it’s hiding even more secrets."
"Who knows... Maybe you'll get to see them eventually if things get dire enough."
Rei dodged the question and finished the last of his tea. Filma likely hadn't expected him to reveal the full capabilities of his trump card anyway. She simply moved on to the next question.
"Hey, can I ask you something else?"
"Sure."
"Why did you decide to become an adventurer, Rei?"
"My reason? Well..."
Rei recalled the fabricated story he had told Ranga when he first arrived in Gilm.
"Originally, I lived with my magic master. We were deep in the mountains, in a place where there wasn't another soul for miles."
"Heh. Deep in the mountains... you really were living like an Elf."
"I guess so. Anyway, once I finished my training, the moment my master was done with me, he used teleportation magic to forcibly send me and Seto—that’s my tamed Gryphon—to a place called the Forest of Magic. I had to find my way out of that forest before I finally reached the City of Gilm."
Filma stared at him, stunned. As an Elf who lived in the woods, she was well-aware of the rumors surrounding the Forest of Magic.
They said that once you entered, you never came back. They said it was a den for Dragon Species and the resting place of an ancient Majin. They said it was crawling with A-Rank or higher monsters. There were countless rumors, and while no one knew how many were true, the place was legendary.
To Filma, someone who had survived such a place should have been an A-Rank adventurer, not a D-Rank candidate.
"...It’s a miracle you made it out alive."
"Well, we didn't run into too many monsters, and I had Seto with me. Anyway, escaping was one thing, but as you’ve seen, Seto is huge. He needs a massive amount of food every day. I realized I could hunt monsters to feed him, but if I became an adventurer, I could feed him the meat, turn the subjugation parts and materials into cash at the Guild, and take on subjugation requests at the same time. It seemed like the perfect solution. My reasons are really that simple."
He obviously couldn't reveal that he needed the magic stones of monsters to grow stronger, so he stuck to his usual cover story. It wasn't an outright lie, though, since he did use the monster meat for Seto and traded the materials for money.
"So, that’s my story... Hm? It’s gotten quite bright while we were talking."
He looked toward the east, where the sun was beginning to crest over the horizon, painting the sky in the colors of dawn. Filma, who had been about to share her own story, was momentarily breathless as she took in the beautiful sunrise.
The two watched the dawn in silence for a while until the sound of movement came from the tents.
"Oh, what a shame. I missed my chance to tell you why I became an adventurer," Filma said, tossing a piece of dry wood into the fire and greeting Culotte as she emerged.
With that, Day 2 of the Rank Up Exam began.
"That’s the bandit gang's stronghold."
Deep in the forest, Culotte—acting as the party’s scout—whispered while staring at a massive cliff. It was the afternoon of the third day. Just as Gran’s intel had suggested, Culotte had easily located the hideout.
The cliff had a drop of several hundred meters. Thieves were moving in and out of a narrow crevice at the base. That crevice was likely the tunnel leading into the cave system they used as a base.
"I see. With an entrance that narrow, a large monster would never be able to get inside."
The cave entrance was tiny; even the bandits had to stoop to enter. A small watchtower, roughly the height of a man, stood nearby.
Having confirmed the details, Culotte slipped back through the woods to where Gran and the others were waiting.
"I found it."
"Whoa! Don't scare me like that!"
Culotte had emerged from the forest without a sound, causing Arrogan to reflexively level his magic sword. Once he realized it was her, he lowered his guard and grumbled.
"What? It's your fault for being in a daze."
"Honestly, you two. Give it a rest," Filma said with a sigh.
Ever since they had left the City of Gilm, Arrogan and Culotte had been at each other's throats. They were fundamentally incompatible, and Schola or Filma usually had to step in to mediate. Superbia ignored them as long as it didn't affect him, and Gran was the supervisor, so he stayed out of it. Rei had tried to intervene a few times early on, but his social awkwardness only made Culotte angrier, so he eventually gave up.
Still, Arrogan’s lingering fear of Rei usually caused him to end the arguments quickly whenever Rei looked his way, which was a form of mediation in itself.
"Tch, fine. We’re about to start the real work; fighting here only helps the thieves."
Arrogan backed down easily this time, and Rei turned his attention to Culotte.
"So, you found it?"
"Yeah. Just like Gran-san said, there's a cave in the cliff past this forest."
"A cave, huh? This might be over sooner than I thought."
"How so?" Schola asked, curious.
Rei’s answer was blunt. "Simple. I could just hurl my fire magic into the entrance. Everyone inside would either burn to death or suffocate. Even if they have a mage, they couldn't possibly protect the whole gang."
"That’s... a bit much," Schola stammered.
Superbia was the one who voiced a formal objection. "Wait. That might be efficient, Rei, but what if they have captives inside? You’d be burning them alive along with the bandits."
"Besides, bandits mean treasure," Culotte added. "It’d be a total waste to incinerate all the loot they’ve hoarded."
Adventurers were generally allowed to keep whatever valuables they found in a bandit stronghold. While merchants might occasionally try to claim their goods back, they usually had to pay the adventurers for the recovery. Since most victims were killed anyway, recoverees were rare.
"And one more thing," Gran spoke up from the sidelines. "Lest you forget, the purpose of this exam is to see if you have the resolve to kill people. If Rei handles everything by himself, I can't judge whether the rest of you are fit to rank up."
Faced with a wall of logical objections, Rei had to concede.
"I know it’s a pain," Gran said, patting Rei on the shoulder. "But that’s part of the job. Now, take charge as their leader and give us a real plan."
Rei went back to the drawing board. "Culotte, was that the only entrance you saw?"
"I’m not sure. The cliff is massive, so I'd have to circle the whole thing to be certain. But from what I could see, there wasn't anything else that looked like a way in."
"Unknown variables, then. In that case, a surprise attack is our best bet. Listen up. We're launching a night raid tonight."
"Why not attack now?" Superbia asked. "To do a night raid, we'll have to navigate this forest in the dark, which means more monster attacks."
Rei nodded. "True, the forest will be more dangerous at night. But if we attack during the day, there's a good chance many of the bandits will be out on 'jobs.' We want to catch them all in one place."
"I see. They won't be wandering around at night because of the monsters," Superbia realized.
"Exactly. Go on."
"Even at night, they’ll have sentries. Culotte, what did you see?"
Culotte thought back. "There was a small watchtower near the entrance. I’d bet they have people there around the clock."
"How many?"
"I can't be sure, but probably two."
Rei looked at Filma and Schola. "Can you two take out the sentries from a distance? We need it done as quietly as possible."
"I can definitely take one out with my bow," Filma said. "Schola?"
"Depends on the distance. Culotte, you know my range. Is it doable?"
"Yeah, your Wind Arrow should reach."
"Then I’m good to go," Schola confirmed.
Rei nodded. "Once the sentries are down, Culotte will go in for advance reconnaissance to confirm their numbers and check for captives."
"Got it."
"Then, Superbia and Arrogan will move in as the vanguard. Filma and Schola will provide rearguard support."
"What do I do after the scouting is done?" Culotte asked.
"If there are no captives, check for other exits. If there are, your priority will be rescuing them. Understood?"
"Understood. ...What about you, Rei?"
"I’ll take the rearmost position. We need someone back there to protect Filma and Schola in case of a pincer attack. Besides, the Death Scythe is too long for tight tunnels, and my fire magic is a liability inside a cave."
The five of them nodded, satisfied with the logic. Gran watched from a distance, looking impressed.
He’s not as bad at this as he thinks, Gran thought. He looks surprisingly natural in the role of party leader. I think I can leave this to them.
"Alright," Rei commanded. "We’ll rest until tonight. Keep the same watch rotation as before."
Following his lead, the group split into those sleeping and those on watch, preparing for the impending night raid.