บท 24: 24. Lone Job
3 days after the delivery job, Ben takes a difficult job. He goes alone, and not even taking Bella with him. His current job might be more dangerous than the previous one, so he doesn't take anyone with him.
Ben's job is to kill a giant serpent that lives near a village. The serpent has eaten 10 livestock in one night. The villagers want it to be killed before it eats any villager.
Ben drives his car fast to a village on Mt. Hakobe. The village is rather deep inside the mountain range. The villagers there are raising livestock and sold them to butchers from towns.
Ben arrives in the village after an hour of fast driving. He goes to the village chief's home and confirms his job. The village's Chief is a middle-aged man that seems so plain like other extra mob characters.
"Y-you're the one that will take the job? Where are your adult teammates? Are they waiting outside?"-Chief
"There's no team or adults, it's just me."-Ben
"H-huh? H-hahaha, you must really like to prank people, boy."-The chief laughs nervously.
"Sigh, just shut up and read the letter from my guild!"-Ben didn't want to talk nonsense anymore.
"O-okay."-Chief
The chief take the letter and read it carefully. His hands start shaking, and his eyes bulge a little.
'NO WAY, THIS KID IS REALLY ALONE. AND HE IS AN A-CLASS?'-Chief
"How is it? You'll let me do the job or not? Other guilds might not take it today, so you can assume that your livestock will die again tonight."-Ben
"W-well, I think I'll leave it to you, the magic council has approved your rank after all. But you should know the risk, right? You can die in this job, so unless you're sure of it, don't take it and go back."-Chief
"I'm sure of it, so don't worry."-Ben
"Alright then. Don't say that I didn't warn you."-Chief
The Chief then takes Ben to check the farm where the attack happened before. There are traces of destruction in the farm's surroundings. Ben also sees the traces of that giant serpent that leads to the forest.
"That serpent's diameter is around 2 meters, length 35-40 meters. With that size, 3 cows & 2 pigs won't be enough. It will come back here to eat. This village is the easiest target for that thing, with so many fat livestock here."-Ben said while looking at the plump cows & pigs on the farm.
"When did the attack happen?"-Ben
"4 days ago, and we haven't seen any sighting again until now. We thought it has gone, but we are not sure."-Chief
"4 days, it must've finished digesting the food, or at least it will finish soon."-Ben
Serpent & snake are slow eaters. They need some time to digest all their food because they eat their prey whole. Ben didn't know much about this world's snake & serpent, but it must be similar to Earth.
"Old man, that serpent can come anytime, so I think you need to warn your villagers. Make them stay in their houses, so the serpent will prey upon the livestock and not chase any human."-Ben
"I think you're right, I will tell everyone about this."-Chief
"I will search that thing in the forest, but it might come here while I search, so you need to be careful."-Ben
"Alright."-Chief
After talking with the Chief, Ben goes to follow the serpent's trace. Even after 4 days, the trail is still very clear because of its size. Ben has walked for 15 minutes now, following the trail. He finally finds the trail enters a rather big cave.
"Should I destroy the cave? Hmm, no, there might be something important inside. Besides, I'm not sure if the serpent is inside. My sensing isn't that good yet."-Ben
Ben decides to not destroy the cave, and bait that serpent out instead. Ben goes to the forest to find an animal for the bait. He finds a small boar after some minutes. So he attacks it with a hard punch to knock it out.
After knocking the boar, Ben ties its legs and takes it to the cave. He places it in front of the cave and slaps it to wake it up. After it wakes up, Ben immediately hides on a nearby tree.
The boar make some noises because it can't stand up with its legs tied up. It will surely alert the serpent if it's inside, so Ben waits patiently. He waits for a few minutes, but the serpent hasn't come out.
"Damn, did it leave the cave already?"-Ben
Ben decides to check inside even if it is risky. Ben freed the boar, and enters the cave. He keeps his vigilance while moving, and he keeps his sensing active.
'Hmm? There are 2 different smells in here. Are there 2 serpents that live here and not just one?'-Ben
Ben keeps walking until he reaches the deepest part. When he reaches it, he finds the serpent there, so he sighs in relief. But the scene in front of him makes him regret his decision to come inside.
'I never thought that it didn't come out because it is mating with its spouse.'-Ben sweatdrop
What Ben sees in front of him are 2 serpents with brown scales. These 2 serpents are in mating session now. No wonder they don't come out at all because they're currently indulged in worldly pleasure.
'Should I attack them now? It's a perfect chance.'-Ben ponder
'Ugh, no, I'm not that cruel, so I'll let them enjoy this for the last time. I don't want anyone to disturb me if I'm in the same situation, so I won't disturb others either.'-Ben
Ben walks back a little and sits on the ground while waiting for the serpents to finish their deed. He lean on the wall and spend his time reading some scanned books in A.I. Chip's database.
'I hope they finish soon.'-Ben
After 1 minute, the serpents finally finish their ritual.
'That's fast.'-Ben
Ben stands up and peeks at the serpent couple. He sees them talking to each other with serpent language. But Ben can see their expression, and he can guess what they're talking about.
"Phew, that feels very satisfying right, babe?"-Male Serpent
"Meh, it's average."-Female serpent
"I-is that so?"-Male serpent seem disappointed
At least that's what Ben thought. It's already strange that he can understand their expression, not to mention their conversation.
'Hmm, maybe it's because I'm a Dragon Slayer, so I can understand scaly beasts' expression.'-Ben
While Ben ponders about a useless thing, the 2 serpents realize his presence.
""HIISSSS!""-Serpents
"..... Uuh, hi?"-Ben said with a sheepish smile
""SHHYYAAA!""-Serpents
The serpents lunged at Ben at the same time with their mouth wide open. Ben run to the entrance as fast as he can with a panic expression.
"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! LET'S TALK FIRST! I DON'T INTEND TO PEEK, I JUST HAPPENED TO SEE IT."-Ben
"SHHHYYAAA"-Female serpents get angry
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING."-Ben
Ben run until he gets out of the cave, then he stops & turns back to face the serpents.
"I don't know what you're saying, but if you want to fight, then come! My job is to kill you or drive you out from this area after all."-Ben gets into a fighting stance.
The serpents now realize that Ben is really their enemy, so they also get ready to fight.
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