Chapter 39

Thud. Thud.

Snocs footsteps were heavy andcontainedno energy. His whole body drooped down as ifa heavy burden was pushing him down.

Ah, I forgot my tools.

Since he ran out without thinking, he had no time to pack his pickaxe or other equipment. While holding his head with both hands, Snoc sat on the ground.

I dont think I will lose my tools, but...

Sam had been next to him. They grew up like siblings, so Sam would probably take care of his tools for him. However, it was uncomfortable to meet Sam right aftertheir argument.

Its going to be hard to talk to him for a while.

But Snoc had no choice. He could not continuehis life as a minerwithout his tools. Moreover, Sam would probably nag at him a few times, but he would nothurlany serious insults at him. Sam only nagged him becausehecared aboutSnocswell-being, and Snoc also knew that Sams words were more realistic and reasonable than his dream.

But...

But I still want to be an adventurer.

Snoc couldnt let go of his dream. As if to revitalize himself, Snoc got up witha lot ofenergy. He put strength in his legs and began walking with great force. He straightened hishunchedshoulders and erased allsadnessfrom his spirits by singing,An ancient being filled withwrathcomes down upon us like a tidal wave.It's a disaster that has never been seen before.

As he sang, Snoc began to feel strange. The lyrics seemed to make himmore sentimentalrather than comfort his heart, but he ignored this feeling and continuedto sing. This was his favorite song.

People shiver in fear at his presence. His name is synonymous with fear.

Bam!

Snoc saw stars in front of him. He hit the ground and hurt his butt. While rubbing his sore bottom, Snoc looked up at the man who bumped into him.

He saw a man standing in the darkness. For a moment, Snoc was filled with admiration at the mans appearance. The man looked exactly like the adventurers Snoc had imagined: he wore thick leather armor and carried alongsword.

You are Snoc, right?

Yes?

Snoc had never seentheman before and was shocked that the man knew his name. But the man smiled as if he didnt care about what Snoc was thinking.There was somethingchilling about the mans smile.

I heard you want to be an adventurer.

* * *

Like many days before, Hans and Zich went out to fight monsters. To be more specific, Hans was the only one working hard tofightmonsters. It seemed as if Sam and Paul Chenu were right aboutthe increasing number of monstersbecause theybegan to meetmonstersmorefrequently. Even though this was good for Hans training, this was not good news for Suol and allof its inhabitants.

Haaaaap!Hansroaredand swung his sword. His sword, which carried a lot of his strength, brushed the trolls neck.

Burrrst!

Blood burst out ofthe trolls neckand spilled over its throat; the troll couldnt even scream properly. However, trolls had amazing regenerative power, and their injuries quickly healed.

Hap!

Hans made another shout. His swordflew acrossthe air. He evaded the trolls arms and moved towards the trolls neck again.

Cut!

Hans cut off the trolls neck along withthe hand that was keeping the neck attached. No matter how great a trolls regenerative ability was, they could not survive with a sliced neck.

Thud!

The troll fell to the floor. Hans huffedand wiped the sweat on his forehead.

I can capture smaller trolls with ease now.

Zichhad been quietly watching Hanswhile walkingtowards him. Zich was honestly surprised. When they were at Steelwall, Hans had never wielded a sword and spent all his timedoinghousehold chores. At the beginning of their journey, Hans was out of breath after beating one goblin.

But now, Hans had evolved into defeating a troll(even if it was not fully developed yet). Even Hans could not believe that he had become strong enough to beat a troll. As if he was checking his strength, heclenchedhis fists.

Flutter!

The bush shook. Hans quickly moved back and held up his sword. He stood in a ready position, but Zich raised his hand to stop him.

Lower your sword. Its not a monster.

Zich knew who the figures were. Hans lowered his sword.

Two people came out of the bush. It was strange to see suchdifferentpeople together.

Hey, arent you Snoc?Zich called out to the person he was more familiar with. As if he was surprised to be called by his name, Snoc jumped and stared at Zich. He looked like a child caught red-handed by an adult.

What are you doing? Why arent youmoving quickly?

A low voice urged Snoc from the back. The mans tone sounded as if he was looking down on Snoc.

Snoc flinched and Zich stared at the man behind him.

Was he the adventurer called Drew?

He was one of the adventurers hired by the city to curb the number of monsters before the next large-scale monstersweep.

Itlooks like he has a nasty temperament, which is fitting for an adventurer.

It was surprising to see them togethersince there were no similarities between a miner and an adventurer. DrewpressedSnoc togo forward, but he paused when he saw Zich and Hans. Drews eyes frantically moved around to gauge the situation, but when he saw Hans soaked in sweat and asmalltroll next to him, Drew let out a smile.

Theres a weak ass here who struggles to put down a barely developed troll.

Hans was taken abackfrom beinginsulted out of the blue. Snoc was also surprised. It was only Zich whose facial expression did not change.

Hmmm, its true that Hans is a weak ass.

Zich didntrefuteDrews statementandagreed withhim instead. But he was not going to let Drews insult slide.

Even though its true that he is a weak ass, as his master, Im the only one who can call him that.

Theres a person with shit for brains here that calls a beginner who just started traininga weak ass.

Drews up-turned lips immediately went down. He turned his head, and his sharp eyes glared at Zich.

What did you say to me?

Do you not only have problems with your brain but also with your ear? Youcanteven judgea personproperly, so your eyes are also shit. Oops, I didnt realize you were a sick person and insulted you unfairly. I sincerely apologize.

Zich lowered his head. It was to ask for forgiveness, but nobody thought it was sincere.

This bastard isasking for death!

Drew took out a giant sword from his back.

Hey, dont be like that. I want to live a kind life. I dont want to fight a pitiful bastard who has problems with his ears, eyes, and brain.

Contrary to his words, Zich also took out his swords with swift movements. An explosive murderous atmosphere and tension began to fill the space around them.

W-wait a moment!Snoc intervened between them.P-Please calm down for a bit!

Move it!

Drew glared at Snoc withsharp eyes. Snocs back became immediately soaked with sweat, but he endured Drews glare.

Wont you look over his behavior for m-me? This person is an acquaintance of my friend.

Then Snoc turned back and looked at Zich.

You are Mr. Zich, right? Wont you also calm down? This person is my teacher!

Teacher?

Zich stared at Drew.

He is going to make that bastard his teacher? Thispunks skill seems so-so, and his personalitysucks ass.

The only thingsonecould probably learn from him were provoking fights and making dirty expressions. Then another sound interrupted them.

Shake!

The bush shook roughly once more. Hans and Snoc jumped in surprise.Comparedto them, Zich and Drew merely turned theirheads.

Thud!

A dirty greenfootpopped out. Soon, a ginormous body with a hideous face appeared in clear view; it was a troll.

The troll was carrying a rudimentary wooden bludgeon, and it looked aroundits surroundings. Then itlet outa big laugh. The troll seemed happy to see many availableprey.

Its a big one.

This troll finished growling; the monster was too much for the current Hans to handle. Zich was about to kill the troll when Drewstepped forward.

Grunt!

Drew walked towards the troll with a sword in his hand. A sharp glint shone on hisweapon.

Oohwaaaaa!

The troll made a loud sound and went straight towards Drew. The troll looked ferocious as it moved its enormous muscles. And Zich put back his sword.Then, he folded his arms and watched Drew fight.

Crack!

The trolls bludgeon came down and hit the ground. Dirt and grass flew everywhere, and a giant holewas left on the ground. But Drew had long moved his body to the side.

Hap!

Drew swung his sword. The silver sword shone sharply in the sunlight.

Pierce!

A deep cut appeared on the trolls shoulder.

Kuaaaaak!

The troll let out an angry yell from the pain. It began to move its bludgeon even harder.

Swoosh!

Moreover, the trolls injuries began to heal at a fast rate.ButDrew stayed calm and continued to wield his sword. When one cut was healed, he made two cuts; when two cuts were healed, he made three cuts. The trolls movements became more and more limited from Drews constant attacks.

Hup!

Drew evaded the trolls attack again and cut through the trolls arm as if he was dropping down an ax.

Crash!

Ahhhhhhhh!

The sword pierced halfway into the trolls arm. It was the deepest cut that Drew had made so far. While the troll was shaking, Drew pushed the sword in further.

Haaap!

Then Drew made a loud shout and moved towards the trolls neck.

Slice!

The giant sword pierced through the trolls neck. His swing was wide, and he was almost able tocompletely slice offthe trolls neck.

Cough!

The troll let out its tongue and began coughing, but Drew only put more strength into his sword.

Swoosh!

A roughly beaten head of a troll floated into the air and plopped to the ground.

Swish!

As if to show off, Drew put his giant sword on his back with a loud swing. He looked somewhat cool as he posed in front of a blood-soaked troll.Both Hans andSnoc, who called himself Drews disciple,looked at Drew with admiration in their eyes.

Man, hes showing off so much for a troll.

Obviously, Zich was unimpressed. Drew worked so hard to kill just one troll and was now pretending to be cool. If Zich took as long as Drew in beating one troll, he would have died from embarrassment.

Swoosh!

The trolls corpse disappeared into Drews magic box. Then Drew put the box back into his pocket. He looked between Hans and thesmalltrollandhis gazefinally landedon Zich.

Hmph!

Drew turned around as if Zich wasnt even worth histime.

Lets go.

Drew fixed the position of his sword and began walking, and Snoc followed closely from behind. Snoc made an apologetic expression towards Zich, and after bowing his head once, hedisappeared intothe forest.