I Broke Off My Engagement and Got a Job at the Academy

25 – 25. Hunt

“Alright, got another one.”

I pulled a mana crystal from the monster’s corpse. My clothes were soaked in blood, but there was no helping it.

“Well, I can just use magic to clean them later.”

More importantly, at the moment, catching even one more monster was urgent for me.

The more mana crystals, the better. It was a natural rule. I wouldn’t stop using magic after just one or two times, and it was advisable to gather as many mana crystals as possible until I reached the 5th circle.

Not to mention, trying to fit that amount of essence into a single mana crystal was ridiculous; it was better to gather multiple crystals and fuse them to get the desired results.

I placed the collected mana crystals into a pouch enchanted with magic. I had gathered quite a few, but I still needed at least a hundred more.

“Darn it.”

Where are the hundred of them? When facing monsters in battle, one had to concentrate intensely, unsure of what might happen. And go through that process a hundred times over.

The feeling was as if even imagining it made the mind distant.

But what could be done? I tightly gripped the staff. Though I could feel the magic slowly draining away, I had no choice but to gather mana stones.

Fortunately, there was no need to actively search for monsters. They were scattered enough that a simple detection spell could easily find them.

“…Strange. Is there a reason there are so many monsters?”

I felt a sense of oddity and tilted my head. It was a situation half-filled with monsters and half-filled with air. Even in a magical area, it seemed unusual to have this many monsters.

It didn’t stop there. There was another strange point.

“…With this many monsters, why aren’t they attacking people?”

The behavior of monsters was simple: survival and anger towards humans.

Among them, the instinct to attack humans went beyond the instinct for survival. Therefore, monsters heard the word that anger towards humans was a god-given command.

Monsters might not get along with each other. No, most monsters had a fierce nature, and they would fight even with their kind, or sometimes, especially with their kind.

However, even so, the primary target for attack was always humans.

If humans were nearby, monsters would attack them as if asking when they had fought each other.

But in a situation where there were so many monsters…

“They aren’t attacking?”

Something was strange. I bit my lip. There was no way these monsters didn’t know that there was a human village nearby. So why?

I rolled my head, unable to find an answer, and eventually spat out a curse.

“Damn it.”

There was no meaning in me alone pondering like this. Even if I miraculously found the answer, what could I do?

“It’s not like I can take care of all the monsters alone, and it’s a good thing if the monsters don’t attack the village.”

Thinking so, I gripped the staff alone. For now, collecting mana stones was the most urgent task for me.

And suddenly, I felt a gaze.

“…?”

I moved toward that gaze. Thanks to a quick spell, the owner of that gaze couldn’t react to my movements.

“Huh, what’s this?”

The owner of the gaze was the woman in pure white I had seen at the inn. I spoke while looking at her.

“What is it?”

The woman in pure white, either unaware she might be discovered or deliberately pretending so, had a surprised look beyond the mask.

“Are you watching me?”

As if momentarily pondering what to say, the woman in pure white looked at me with a determined gaze.

“Yes.”

A nod accompanied her words. I felt a sense of doubt at that response.

“Why bother?”

There was discomfort in being watched, but my primary curiosity was about why I was being observed.

Then, after a brief hesitation, the woman opened her mouth.

“There aren’t many wizards in the north.”

… I already knew that. Wizards were a people who advanced through self-improvement via research. The uneasy north, not peaceful enough to sit idly by, had almost dried up in terms of wizards.

“…I understand that. But does that justify watching me?”

“There are many odd things in this village. A high number of monsters, yet they don’t attack.”

“So what does that have to do with…?”

I scratched my head as I spoke.

“Do you suspect me? Is it related to that situation?”

“…Watching you gather magic stones.”

Yes, indeed, it was beneficial for me that peaceful (?) monsters, who wouldn’t attack unless they discovered a human, were scattered nearby. Thanks to that, I could gather a considerable amount of magic stones. However, even so…

‘I was being watched, huh? I can’t just overlook that and move on.’

I concealed my body with a considerably high-level camouflage. The talk was that I was a skilled swordsman. If someone with that level of skill was trying to watch me, where could a fool who just sat still be?

In all honesty, is there a way to know whether I am being watched simply because I am a threat, or if it’s an attempt to attack when I show vulnerability?

From Noble mtl dot com

I looked at her and spoke with an irritated voice.

“Laughable. So, were you deliberately hiding and watching me? You…”

I twisted my face, squinting.

“Are you looking for a fight?”

At that, the woman in pure white bowed her head.

“…I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to see if you were not a dangerous person. If it was impolite, I apologize.”

“Apology enough, isn’t it?”

Even with the apology, my anger didn’t subside. I was not in the mood for someone to apologize after watching me without any reason.

Then, the woman in pure white bowed her head.

“If an apology isn’t enough, I’ll compensate.”

“So, after compensating, will you stop watching me?”

When I asked, the woman hesitated for a moment. I looked at her and made a sarcastic sound.

“Seems like you’ll keep watching.”

“I’m sorry. I have a duty to ensure people aren’t in danger.”

What duty is she babbling about?

After thinking it over, I chuckled.

“Well, fine.”

“…What?”

She looked at me suspiciously. Looking at her, I clenched my fist and replied.

“I mean, it’s okay to keep watching. However, compensation must be certain.”

“…What should I compensate with?”

As she hesitated and asked, I answered with a laughing voice.

“Join me in hunting monsters.”

“…What?”

As the woman in pure white asked blankly, I explained to her.

“I came to this northern region because I need mana stones. So, help me collect mana stones quickly and kill monsters. While doing that, you can check if I’m suspicious, right?”

She displayed a thoughtful expression. I addressed her.

“Earlier, you were saying something about having a duty to ensure people’s safety. Well, isn’t helping the monster extermination also a good thing?”

Upon hearing my words, the woman finally showed a persuaded expression.

“This is a compromise as much as possible. If you can’t accept these conditions, be prepared for consequences, compensation, and whatever follows.”

The woman, after hearing my words, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Well, alright then. Let’s go save Maseok. It’s urgent.”

Considering the use of Maseok for research, time was of the essence. The woman, having heard my words, shrugged her shoulders and walked hastily. As soon as she spotted the monsters, she drew her sword and charged.

When the number increases, there is a significant advantage. That is the essence of a driven hunt.

It’s difficult to face several opponents alone, no matter how strong or skilled one may be. There could always be unforeseen variables.

Frankly, even if it’s a weak goblin, what if it suddenly appears behind me with a dagger and stabs me? Since you can’t predict such variables, an individual cannot handle multiple opponents.

However, just becoming a pair changes the situation drastically.

“There’s a monster behind! Watch out!”

I shouted to the woman and then cast a fireball towards the orc rushing from behind her.

The orc hit by the third-circle magic exploded on the spot.

And the woman, who was looking towards me, shouted, “Watch out!”

She rushed behind me in an instant and swiftly severed the neck of the goblin that was targeting me.

In this way, the ability for someone other than oneself to defend against variables is already a significant help.

After finally drying up the monsters nearby, I looked at the woman who was catching her breath and said, “Come with me tomorrow too. We need to find a lot of Maseok.”

The woman seemed slightly shocked by my words, but whatever. If she had issues, she shouldn’t have been spying on me from the beginning. Who asked her to recklessly monitor others and get caught?