章 3: Chapter 3
I feel better than I have since waking up in this cave when I wake up. I beat a tough monster, got good equipment, and I feel like I can take on anything else this cave has to offer. I can do this. I smile, knowing it is only a matter of time before I escape from this place. Picking myself up, I get moving quickly, ready to finally be free from this hellish place.
I get back into my routine of endlessly walking through these tunnels that are too long to be naturally made. Someone must have built these for some reason. That is not important, so I push the question from my mind. The only thing that matters is getting out of here and figuring out where the hell I am.
Nothing has changed from my exploration routine as I avoid groups of monsters and take out lone wandering ones. The only thing that has changed is I now have begun to take out the giant snakes instead of hiding from them. They are a lot weaker than I thought they were, and I wish I would have started killing them sooner. I keep up the pace for twenty hours, killing multiple goblins and giant snakes along the way, and I find myself resting and enjoying a breeze. I am still in the cave, but now that I feel that breeze, I know it is only a matter of time before I escape. I find a safe spot to rest, so I do not have to go the whole way back if I die.
When I woke, I headed straight for the source of that breeze. I just know I am about to be free, and my hope is fulfilled when I see the sky for the first time in days. I can see the sun rising and a bright, colourful countryside. It must have been raining recently because puddles cover the ground. I am finally out. I fall to my knees, feeling relieved that I am finally out. It is too good to be true. I stand up and look around, hoping to see a village or town, but I see nothing but green hills and pockets of trees. I am not out of the woods yet, but at least I am out of that monster-infested cave. But as I stand up to leave, a sudden roar fills the air, and the ground starts to shake.
It is not an earthquake. I have experienced multiple of those during my life, and the way the ground shakes feels different to what I have felt before. Looking around, I fear a new powerful monster has appeared, but I cannot see anything. Birds take flight from every tree branch, and even the animals do not even know where to run as I see them scatter in every direction possible. Then finally, I see it, or I see them to be more accurate. Massive meteorites fall to earth covered in flames and leave long trails of smoke in their wake. I have never seen one up close before. They fly right over my head, and the explosion from when they land is so massive the shockwave nearly knocks me over.
I cannot believe what I am witnessing. Massive clouds of dirt and dust tower into the air, illuminated by giant columns of fire. I have seen pictures of massive explosions, and that is precisely what I am looking at right now. It is almost unbelievable, but I know I am not seeing things. It does not take long for things to settle down, but monsters and animals alike continue to panic. I see a giant creature fly overhead that looks like a tiny dragon. It could be a baby dragon for all I know, but I was too busy finding a place to hide to figure that out. Fortunately, it does not see me and flies away.
I let out the breath I was holding and came out of hiding. If that thing attacked me, there was no way I would have won. But it is gone now. Taking another look around, I spot a nearby hill and head that way, hoping I could spot civilisation from there. I hope that dragon looking creature does not decide to come back as I head out.
<0>
It is oddly quiet. There are now bird tweets, no insect noises, or any sound at all apart from my footsteps. It is hard to believe those meteorites fell to earth just an hour ago. Unfortunately, I am starting to feel hungry and thirsty again. My resistance has slowed down their effect, but it is coming back slowly. I hope I find someplace soon so I can get something to eat. I wonder what the food here is like in this world.
It took me two hours to reach that hill, but I managed to see a road from the top of the hill. I cannot see where it leads, but I will find someplace if I were to follow it. With that in mind, I pause for a moment to deal with my hunger. There is plenty of wood around, and thanks to once dating a survivalist in college, I know a thing or two about starting fires. The hardest part is finding the firewood since it rained recently, but once I get enough dried wood, it does not take me long to get a fire going. I take out the goblin meat I use for extra sticks to do a split, and I hope to figure out how to cook it.
Unfortunately, I did not know how to cook it, and I had to eat burnt goblin meat. It tasted horrible. It was touch, hard to swallow and left a sour taste in my mouth. I think I would have preferred the hunger pains to this taste. I wish I had something to drink so I could wash it away. Hopefully, there will be someplace nearby where I can get a proper meal that will not kill me.
I start to move as soon as I am done eating and pick a direction, hoping it leads to the closest town or village. Things are starting to get back to normal now. I can hear and see birds, and I even spot a rabbit hopping through a field of flowers. Still no people. If I had not found this road, I would believe I was the only human being in this world. I still might end up believing that as I walk for an hour, and I do not spot any towns or villages.
It takes me another two hours to finally see signs of life. In the distance, I spot a large wall and farmland around the wall. There are fields of crops and windmills. It reminds me of pictures I have seen on postcards. When I get closer, I can see people too and not just ordinary humans but people with animal features too. But for some reason, all the animal people wear rages that barely cover their bodies and thick uncomfortable looking collars. No one looks at me as I approach. I find out I have a big problem. I cannot understand a thing people are saying.
"…!"
Someone shouts something, but I do not understand, so I turn my head and see a horse heading straight for me. A horse! A large brown horse is running straight at me, but it is too late. Before I can even think about moving, it knocks me over, and everything goes black. One good thing came from this. While I was out, I noticed that I could learn a new skill called the Shiga language, and I have enough points to level it up to level three. Hopefully, that is enough to understand and communicate with the people when I wake up. I also can learn the cooking and fire-starting skills, but I would have to wait to level them up.
<0>
"You're finally awake,"
I blink as I open my eyes, but I could have done with a better sight to wake up to. I am sure plenty of ladies would like to wake up to the sight of a big strong man watching over them, but I wish he would not be staring at me too closely.
"We were getting worried about you," The man says. "You were out cold for two days."
Two days. I sit up apart from feeling stiff. I do not have any injuries. Nothing hurts, nothing is broken, and nothing is missing. For someone struck by a runaway horse, I got off lucky.
"You were hurt pretty bad when you were brought in, so we were not sure if you were going to make it," The man continues, but I find that hard to believe with how unharmed I currently am. "You do not have to worry about paying for the priest to heal you as the count already took care of that since the horse that hit you belonged to his farm."
So, I was healed by magic. That explains why I am perfectly okay.
"You will find your belongings on the table beside you, but there is something that we need to take care of before I can let you go," I glance at the table and see my robe and my magical sword lying there. "We couldn't find your identification papers on you are we need to get you reissued. Since the city is at fault for the incident, there will be no charge, but if you lose them again, you will be required to three silvers plus tax."
"I understand," I say as I get up.
"Please follow me, and I will get everything sorted out," I follow the man into the next room and see a desk and some stone object with runes carved into the top. "I am required to ask this but are you currently or ever have been a wanted criminal?"
"No," I shake my head. Unless you call killing goblins a crime, I am a perfectly law-abiding citizen.
"Good, then place your hands on the Yamato Stone," He points to the stone object, and I do as he instructs, causing the runes to glow. "Now speak your name."
"Kura Suou," I say as requested, and a faint white light comes from the Yamato Stone.
"You can take your hands off now," I let go and take a step back as my information is displayed by floating letters.
<Name: Kura Suou>
<Age: 15>
<Gender: Female>
<Level: 10>
<Affiliation: None>
<Job: None>
<Class: Commoner>
<Title: Monster Slayer>
<Skills: One-Handed Sword Level 3, Surprise Attack Level 3, Evasion Level 5, Sprint Level 5, Magic Manipulation Level 5, Hunger Resistance Level 2, Thirst Resistance Level 2, Appraisal Level 1, Dissection Level 1, and Hiding Level 6.>
<Bounty: None>
It showed quite a bit, but for some reason, it left out my unique skills and the Shiga language skill. There must be a reason for that, but it does not interest me. I think asking will only get me into unnecessary trouble, so I keep my lips sealed.
"So, you are a former Mon-Hunter," The man comments as he fills out the paperwork.
I do not know what he means by Mon-Hunter, but I nod my head as he finishes the paperwork with a wax seal. He gives the papers one last look before handing them back to me.
"Thank you," I give him a slight bow of my head.
"Take this, too. It is your visa token. It is good for ten days. If you want to stay longer, come back to this station or to the town hall in the central ward and apply for an extension. They'll take care of the process at either place for three copper coins," He hands me with a small wooden with some information branded into it. "If it expires and you do not apply for an extension, the guards can fine you a silver. And if you cannot pay that, you might end up as a slave, so be careful."
It seems a bit harsh for being unable to pay a fine, but I bite my tongue and keep quiet about it. I pretend to put my papers and visa in my pocket, but I slip them into my storage in reality. He does not know about it, and I see no reason to tell him now.
"If you are looking for an Inn to stay at, I recommend the Gatefront Inn," The man says. "Just this morning, I had to reissue paper to some young lad who looks similar to you and should be staying there."
I thank him for the advice and step out. The place is really lively. Horse-drawn carriages, hundreds of people and multiple market stands are all over the place, and I can hear people trying to sell their wares. Stepping onto the street, I do not see any signs for the inn, but I have plenty of time to wander around and find a place to stay. Unfortunately for me, I must stand out as a tourist as a big-chested girl suddenly grabs hold of my arm.
"Hey lady, you look new to town," The girl smiles as she starts to lead me down the streets. "If you are looking for a place to stay, then the Gatefront Inn is the best place in Seiryuu City to stay. We may not be the cheapest, but we have clean beds and tasty food. What do you say, missy?"
"Um, sure…" I nod my head and let her drag me down the street.
I was going to the inn anyway, so I have no problem with being guided there. I just wish she would have more compassion for me. It hurts having such large pillows pressed into my arm when mine are… it does not matter I am still growing. One day they will be like hers.
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