NOVEL WEB Chapter 14
A faint mark extends across the damp, earthy ground.
One set of shoeprints, another smaller one from boots, and a third presumed to be from a child… barefoot?
Adventurer Wardlin noticed that beyond the faint traces, dozens of screams echoed.
Following the trail of footprints ahead, he soon found himself in a daring spot.
“Kerr… Kehhh…”
There, amidst a horrifying mass of burnt and ruined creatures, lay the remains of at least twenty enormous boulders and the fallen guardians.
‘What on earth is this…?’
Even remnants of the brutal, bloodthirsty footprints were buried here.
Wardlin began to question what traces had led him to this place, retracing his steps multiple times.
*
Keyal couldn’t hide his overwhelming feelings immediately after receiving the quest.
He worried it was too much and, moreover, couldn’t help but wonder if unexpected variables might pop up like before.
Of course, by variables, he meant complications relating to the rewards.
Keyal, who usually surveyed the area calmly and coolly, found his composure shattered.
Swish!
Boom!
Right in front of him, two women were slicing through the monsters.
There was no need for Keyal to spill any magic or take action himself.
He simply needed to twist the necks of the fleeing thugs while they were distracted.
If he hesitated even for a moment, Elaina and Libera would swoop in and finish them off.
“If you touch Daddy, I’ll kill you.”
“I’ll slay anyone who even slightly touches my Lord’s hair.”
The trembling foreshadowing left the monsters that passed by me as mere heaps of cold cadavers, just because they stepped out of my line of sight.
For that sole reason, they were to encounter a fate far worse than death.
For the first time, the monsters seemed pitiable.
Monsters overwhelmed by fear howled and charged at Elaina.
The outcome was… predictably.
“Kerrhaaaaack!!!”
“Aaaaahhhh!!!”
They bled profusely and collapsed. Their organs spilled out, resembling a grotesque scene from a horror movie.
No, it was worse than that. A movie is just a collection of props or CGI. Yet the scene before me was painted with brutal reality.
They were dying in ways far more cruel and miserable than how I had taken down goblins.
Even the ones with their guts hanging out were the least of my worries.
One had its neck twisted, brain spilling out, stuck headfirst into a tree root, bleeding to death.
Another was being systematically eviscerated by a wind spirit, being reduced to shreds… no, to atomic particles.
If I had to summarize it all, it was a sight to vomit at.
Was it Elaina and Libera?
No way.
The dead monsters sprawled on the ground.
‘Well… zombies and skeletons were once people too. So calling them dead bodies makes sense…’
*
The transaction for rewards began.
“…..”
Silently, they presented the spoils, and the attendant began the calculations.
200 skeletons, 20 undead from the forest, 15 zombies,
From this alone, it felt like quite an impressive haul.
At this rate, even a party of second-rate adventurers could manage a victory.
The sheer number of skeletons caused headaches, but bringing even one mid-tier mage could solve that problem.
The forest’s undead cast magic, but if an agile assassin joined the party, they wouldn’t pose much of an issue.
As for zombies…? Let’s not even mention them.
However, the attendant seemed to gasp with awe at what he discovered.
Two Undead Kings, three Guardian Subordinates, and one Shaman of the Dense Forest.
“…You managed to defeat all of these in less than half a day?”
“Yep.”
“Just… the three of you?”
“Yep.”
Unemotional, Libera clung closely behind Keyal, while Elaina stood tall, nodding slightly.
The attendant’s eyes widened as he assessed the physical state of the two women wrapped around the man before him.
No severe injuries, not even light ones.
“Wait, what…?”
He felt bewildered by their immaculate condition.
Swallowing hard, he began documenting what he saw.
It was enough to bewilder anyone.
‘If they took down an Undead King, each should at least be the level of second-rate adventurers…’
The number of monsters they brought, and their strength,
The attendant began to feel overwhelmed.
An Undead King, a giant towering over three meters, wielded a sword made of its own flesh and bones, capable of decimating an area.
Even seasoned adventurers, lifetime veterans, shied away from such monsters for good reason.
It’s because they are almost immortal. Their wounds heal rapidly.
They possess formidable resistance to magic or curses unless a high-tier mage is involved.
When their heads are severed, they just grow back, and they keep coming back to life even when nearly destroyed.
If an Undead King is that dangerous, what about the others?
The Guardian Subordinate is on par with the best mages among mid-tier.
If just two appeared in the capital without any intervention, they could annihilate the city. They could easily obliterate a small village with a single strike.
And what about the Shaman of the Dense Forest?
Need I say more? A disaster.
If goblin shamans are enough to trouble adventurers, what about the Shaman of the Dense Forest…?
Just its presence would send tremors through the woods and shake the earth?
A single strike of its staff could wipe out elite adventurer parties like they were mere village hounds?
I had never heard of a party bringing back a Shaman’s corpse, even throughout the history of all adventurer guilds worldwide.
Anything from Shamans to Lords were opponents only heroes should face.
They deal with beings that transcend humanity. This is a task only those chosen by the gods can perform, only they can execute.
No matter how hard they tried for a thousand days, mortals cannot transcend the power of heroes.
Yet today, for the first time, a Shaman, and not just any Shaman, but a goblin shaman, has been defeated.
A hunt that had lingered for decades without a single intention for extermination concluded in just one day.
They dethroned the king that dominated the forest and established the first adventurer party to build their tomb.
This party’s name… ‘Edric.’
‘Huh…? I’ve heard that name before…’
*
The reward for catching the Shaman was astounding.
Is it because we’re in an era where heroes stir the pots? Unlike the kings or dukes of noble houses who might take in heroes, even a high-ranking noble couldn’t welcome a hero into their home.
Tales of hero hunts are increasing day by day. However, those who actually host heroes tend to be few and far between.
This is also due to the TBG Heroes game system.
First off, heroes in TBG Heroes don’t become heroes merely by birth.
They must join a guild, and only then can a divine revelation grant them the power of a hero.
From stat enhancements to previously absent special skills or traits, they emerge.
It’s possible to witness humans becoming beastmen and beastmen becoming human.
Even if a kingdom or empire claims to hold heroes, those heroes must have engaged with a guild, no matter how weak it may be.
Hence, the biggest concern for newbie guild leaders establishing their guilds is whether heroes might secretly run away.
If they don’t manage to retain the heroes, the guild cannot prosper.
A guild without heroes is like a blacksmith without a hammer, or a knight without a sword.
And occasionally, there are those who only seek enhancements and leaving the guild at their convenience, which makes management incredibly difficult.
Heroes are made through guilds, but in ‘TBG Heroes,’ more than one person from the same server cannot connect.
It started as a single-player game and without an initial server, it’s more of a multiplayer experience in a distinct world view.
So, what does this imply?
‘The heroes pouring out tales from the kingdom and empire are all…’
Keyal tightly gripped a large sack of gold coins with one hand.
‘They are ours.’
The path of the half-beast boy was now determined.
After settling into this strange world, he vowed to find the heroes once more and make them smile again.
A cool guilt pricked at him from behind.
He was fully capable of executing his plans. It was a matter of having enough funds.
“Next destination, the kingdom.”
He had arrived at the inn.
While unpacking his things, he unintentionally murmured this to himself.