The middle-aged man stopped moving his hands at the woman's words. He turned his head and saw a face blurred by the horse's tail.

"You are..."

"I'm sorry! Please stop! Pant pant." The woman had been running for a long time and was gasping for breath. She spoke with short breaths, "I'm sorry. I have to take good care of my brother but he got into trouble again."

The woman, who looked like she just reached adulthood, pressed the boy's head down with her hands into a bow while apologizing. The little boy tried to break free but he didn't have the power to beat a grown adult. 

"Let me go! I won't apologize!" The little boy protested strongly but he was eventually forced to apologize.

The middle-aged soldier also realized that he had become too agitated. "Cough. Dorothy, looking at your face, I'll let it slide this time."

"Thank you, Uncle Ben." The woman called Dorothy bowed her head once again.

"Merooong!" The little boy poked his tongue at the soldier. His sister interrupted the moment he was about to be hit by the soldier's knuckles.

"Ack!"

"You, come along. I'll give you a scolding once we get home."

"Let me go! Let go of me! I will walk with my own strength!"

The two people moving away. The uproar of the moment quickly ended. We watched from afar and shook our heads at the same time. Sujeong muttered, "That sister would be tired with a brother like that."

I told her, "It is just like seeing my second one when he was a child."

Looking around, I didn't see the monsters I was looking for. We inevitably returned to the carriage and were soon able to enter Windia.

"Recruiting members for the friends.h.i.+p guild, Eunice!"

"Who will raid the ogres of Bahel Forest?!"

"Recruiting a slime king hunting party!"

The somewhat familiar sight made me laugh. It was the same thing here or at Mulan. It seemed like there wasn't anything lacking. Thus, we went around exploring Windia. Then Kim Sujeong cried out, "Look at that! The windmill is so big!"

She was pointing to a huge windmill. The windmill seemed like it was made by a giant and emitted a dark golden light every time it spun around, making the surrounding crops and flowers fresher. It was like coming to the Netherlands where I once went to on a family trip.

Windia was much bigger than Mulan. The surrounding landscape was wonderful. The entire town felt like a rural tourist destination in Europe. According to Sujeong, making people came here for sightseeing apart from the low level users. I saw quite a few lovers among the people walking around.

It was at this time that the napping Kerenos woke up. "Ha~ ap. We've finally arrived at Windia."

"Tsk tsk, this lazy guy. Are you going to sleep the rest of your life?"

Kerenos smiled, his eyes red from sleeping. I could only sigh when I saw it. I vowed to recruit him as a companion but... this was crazy. Sigh.

"Father, where are we going?"

I was troubled when I saw Sujeong's eyes s.h.i.+ning as bright as lanterns. In fact, I wanted to walk around Windia to sightsee but it seemed to take longer than I thought. I was forced to tell her, "Let's meet the guard captain first."

"Ah, yes. That is good."

I started heading toward the garrison barracks. Then Kim Sujeong spoke to me, "Father."

"Huh?"

"Do you know where the guard captain is?"

"......"

There was a moment of silence before I grabbed a young man pa.s.sing by. "h.e.l.lo, young man, can I ask you for directions?"

* * *

After a while, we were able to meet the guard captain.

"Cough."

A middle-aged man who gave off a frightening impression. The sword-like wound on his face made him look even more impressive. He folded the paper he was looking at.

"I'm certain this is Philos' handwriting. It is nice to meet you. I am Kant, the guard captain of Windia."

"I am Jackson."

"I am Crystal."

Kerenos wasn't here. He said he had a place to visit and disappeared somewhere. Drain went to the market, stating he wanted to look at the fabrics.

Kant opened his mouth, "I'm very excited to meet the hero who saved Mulan. Hahaha."

"It just happened by chance. I was pa.s.sing by."

"Hahaha. You are too modest. Doing it twice is inevitable. You came at a perfect timing. I received a personal request from the lord. I think I can trust Jackson with it."

The lord's request...? I knew the position of the lord. On the way here, I learned a lot from Sujeong. To make it easier, it was like a king.

I started to listen to Kant. "As you know, Windia is a town famous for its abundance of crops. There are abundant crops growing around the windmill in the north, including the Aiolia flower. It isn't an exaggeration to say that the inhabitants of Windia live by exporting their crops to other villages. It's the only means of livelihood for the villagers."

"I see."

"These days, the orcs of the Loch Mountains have been constantly targeting our crops. The crops are being stolen and there are also casualties. Thus, the Lord is very angry. He gave me an order to figure out the topography of the orc village in the north. It is an atmosphere where he is ready for war."

...War.

"However, I think it is strange that the orcs suddenly became so violent when they have been silent for decades. They also use the tactics of striking and then retreating. It feels like someone is controlling them from behind. That's why..."

"You want me to investigate it?"

"That's right. Is it possible to ask you to make the map?"

Ttiring~

[Investigate the Northern Orc Village]

[Difficulty: B

Recently, the orcs north of Windia are stealing the crops. The lord has shown a willingness to start a war and ordered Kant to create a map.

Nevertheless, Kant can't erase the feeling that someone is behind the orcs. Thus, investigate and create a map.

-Completion Conditions: Make a map of Loch Mountains 0/1 (0%), Orc Village Investigation 0/1.]

It was more difficult than I thought. I heard from Sujeong that the orcs were ugly guys with pig noses. It wouldn't be easy.

"I'll give it a try."

[The quest has been accepted.]

"Thank you. This is an ident.i.ty card that allows us to pa.s.s freely through the northern gate."

[Windia Scout Ident.i.ty Badge has been acquired.]

"I'll be going now."

We walked out of the barracks and headed straight to the north gate. I saw many strange foods along the way so I didn't feel bored. There were cotton candy mushrooms. Kobold legs. Melon-flavored slime noodles... this one looked dirty and not delicious.

We arrived at the north gate in the blink of an eye. I showed the ident.i.ty badge to the guard.

"You're a scout. You can pa.s.s through. By the way, this woman has no ident.i.ty badge?"

"Huh? No?"

"Then you can't pa.s.s."

"This..." Kim Sujeong seemed perplexed. It seemed she hadn't received an ident.i.ty card. She understood the situation and laughed blankly. Maybe it was a good thing. "Father, I don't think I can go. I will explore the town with Cer."

"Um, it is too bad. Yes. Then I'll contact you if anything happens."

"Yes. Ah, please receive this."

[You have received the Light's Blessing.]

[Defense has increased by 66% for 15 minutes.]

[You have received Holy Blessing.]

[Maximum health has increased by 55% for 12 minutes.]

Just like me, she leveled up and the power of her buffs increased. I felt fuller and told her, "Then I'm going."

"Please be careful."

"Kwal!"

I turned around after saying goodbye to Sujeong and Cer. Then I looked up at the mighty mountains in front of me.

"This is the Loch Mountains."

The Loch Mountains were rugged from the bottom. I liked climbing but I couldn't help clicking my tongue. It was similar to Jiri Mountain in terms of height but it felt like a high-difficulty course.

[The first apostle, 'Prometheus,' has an ominous feeling.]

...Maybe it wouldn't be easy.

* * *

After 30 minutes, I was in the midst of a fierce battle. In front of me were an endless number of huge spiders. I used Rising Sun and burned them. "You rotten guys!"

[Experience has been acquired.]  

[Contaminated Spider's Leg has been acquired.]

[Giant Spider Web has been acquired.]

[Giant Spider's Paralysis Poison has been acquired.]

[Your level has risen!]

The spider was pierced by the high temperature flames that Solar emitted and exploded with a disgusting scream. I saw it and frowned. d.a.m.n, they were coming again.

"s.h.i.+k!"

I had to keep fighting without feeling the joy of levelling up. The enemies in front of me didn't give me a chance to breathe. I broke their legs one by one.

[Lv. 50 Giant Spider]

"s.h.i.+k!"

"Yes, let's see who will win! These guys!"

I flew up like an eagle and headed for the giant spider's face. As it opened its mouth and tried to eat me, I twisted my body and stabbed it in the eye.

[You have dealt a critical hit!]

[The giant spider can't see with its right eye.]

"Kieeeek!"

The spider screamed at the heat that was suddenly felt. It was swinging its front legs randomly like it couldn't see. I was eventually hit by one.

[You have suffered 103 damage.]

d.a.m.n. It really hurt. Its eyes looked at a prey lower on the food chain and I couldn't help shaking.

"s.h.i.+k! s.h.i.+k!"

...Why did it come to this?

"Come here. Come here!"

"s.h.i.+k!"

After a while, the last spider turned to ash. I sighed with relief when I saw it.

"Sigh, it was endless. I was about to die."

My current location was near the lair of the giant spiders. I had ignited their anger when I came to this place and accidentally stepped on their egg. In the end, I spoke like I was talking to a four month old child, "Aigoo, my joints. Aigoo."

I sat on the rock around me and drank potions. As expected, drinks were the best at a time like this.

[You have taken a low grade health potion.]

[100 health has been restored.]

[You have taken a low grade health potion.]

[100 health has been restored.]

[You have taken a low grade health potion.]

[100 health has been restored.]

Recently, I rarely had to take potions. If my health decreased even a little bit then Sujeong would heal me or I would use cooking. However, she wasn't with me now. If I knew Sujeong's vacancy was so big then I should've forcibly taken her with me. Suddenly, I felt a bit of regret. I wish I could cook but it'll take too long. It was because when cooking, there were unknown threats or monsters that might approach due to the smell. In fact, this had already happened a few times.

"s.h.i.+t, this is why it is hard to see chefs at hunting grounds."

On the way, Sujeong had told me why chefs weren't seen at hunting grounds. At that time, I thought it was insignificant because only wolves or trolls appeared. Now I seemed to understand. A chef shouldn't appear at hunting grounds.

"d.a.m.n, I'm a chef for nothing."

[The first apostle, 'Prometheus,' is telling you to be proud!]

"Shut up, this guy." 

[The first apostle, 'Prometheus,' is depressed.]

"Tsk, stop sulking. I'll make you something delicious later, Proma." 

[The first apostle, 'Prometheus,' has turned pale.]

I had decided to call Prometheus 'Proma' on the way here. The reason was simple. His name was too long. It was at this moment. A loud noise occurred and the birds started flying from surprise. What did this sound like...? The resounding sound was getting closer. The forest was shaking, not the ground.

I had an unusual feeling and quickly hid behind a tree. Soon, a giant figure emerged from the forest.

[Lv. 100 (Champion) Giant Spider King]

"s.h.i.+k!!!"

...Crazy. It was really dirty. I won't have any bones left if I was. .h.i.t by its front legs. If this guy was 100 years old... would it be possible for me to ask him to be my big brother?

Smile.

...My thoughts were ridiculous.

A spider being an older brother, it was ridiculous. Then...

"......?"

I looked down and saw the legs of the giant spiders turning into ashes. Perhaps some debris had flow this way during the battle. By the way, why was this at my feet?

"Siiik...?"

s.h.i.+t. It was bad. The eight ugly eyes were smiling arrogantly at me.

"Big Brother?"

"Kiiiiiik!"

It seemed this spider didn't want to be my big brother.