Nido Tensei Shita Shounen wa S-rank Boukensha Toshite Heion ni Sugosu ~ Zense ga Kenja de Eiyūdatta Boku wa Raisede wa Jimi ni Ikiru ~ - Chapter 13

“So that’s Hexi, huh.”

Having left Tougai, I had arrived in a town called Hexi near the Danger Zone by using flight magic.

“But still, what a large forest.”

Looking down from the sky, I could see a vast forest spreading out not all that far from the town of Hexi.

I had never seen a forest this large even in my previous or before-previous lives.

I guess it must’ve expanded after I died, then.

Looking down at it from above, I could occasionally see lights or flames likely originating from magic near the forest’s outskirts.

The adventurers who entered that forest must be doing their best.

“Danger Zone: Forest of Magic Beasts, eh…”

It seemed to be a B-Rank Danger Zone, and from its name, it was likely a place with many beast type monsters.

Now then, I’ll land before entering the town.

‘Cause I shocked everyone in Tougai by flying inside the town.

◆ ◆

“It’s pretty busy here.”

Unlike what I had seen from above, Hexi was overflowing with people.

Only B-Rank adventurers can work here, so I wonder what’s going on.

“Eh, it doesn’t matter. I’ll go to the adventurers’ guild first.”

I walked for a little bit, and easily found the adventurers’ guild’s building.

A large number of adventurers, probably returning from working, were heading in that direction.

“A new base, I’m excited.”

Filled with excitement, I stepped into the Hexi adventurers’ guild.

◆ ◆

If I had to describe it in one word, that would be busy.

Looking around, I saw a large number of adventurers sitting around large tables eating or drinking booze.

It seemed like the guild also served as a tavern.

As proof of that, the reception was on the right, while the kitchen for the tavern was on the left.

I had heard of it beforehand, but it was an interesting setup to see in person.

“Whoops, I can’t have this. I’ve got to go look at the request board first.”

First, I had to check what kinds of requests the town had.

“Huh? Children?”

I saw a couple of really young adventurers as I headed to the request board.

And as for their equipment, well, it was rather mismatched.

They gave off the feeling that they didn’t have any money and barely managed to get their daily necessities.

I wondered if they were newbie adventurers like me.

But only B-Rank adventurers and higher can enter the Danger Zone, right?

What’s going on?

Was what I was thinking, but that question melted away as soon as I saw the request board.

“Ah, so that was it.”

The answer was quite simple, namely that the requests for C-Rank and below were all ones that could be carried out outside the Forest of Magic Beasts.

There were requests for herb-gathering in a different forest, or even a bodyguard request to the next town.

So that’s how it was.

Just because there was a Danger Zone nearby didn’t mean all requests had something to do with it.

My question solved, I checked out the B-Ranked requests.

I could’ve accepted a C-, or even a D-Rank request, but there were requests that could only be accepted by B-Ranks, and I also wanted to accept a request in the Forest of Magic Beasts.

It was at that moment.

“Hey, you! Those are requests you can’t accept at your Rank!”

It seemed like someone was trying to take a request above their Rank.

How careless.

Now then, I guess I’ll take one of the easier requests in the Forest of Magic Beasts.

“Hey! Are you even listening!?”

It seems like that person’s still looking for a request in a daze and can’t hear the person warning them.

They must really want to go on an adventure in the Forest of Magic Beasts.

“I’m talking to you!”

And with that, for some reason, my shoulder was grabbed.

“Eh? Me?”

No way, they were talking about me!?

“Is there even anyone other than you I could be talking to!”

I turned around only to find a young girl standing there with her hands on her hips.

She seemed slightly older than me, and her golden-coloured hair was almost like the finest gold thread…

“You’re pretty.”

“Eh!? P-pretty!?”

Oops, I accidentally said that out loud.

“Ah, sorry.”

“E, a, no… well, since you praised me, I won’t get angry, but… wait, that’s not it!”

The girl, who had been fidgeting with a bright red face, suddenly began scolding me.

“Those requests are for the Forest of Magic Beasts that only B-Ranks and above can enter! A beginner adventurer should properly choose requests matching their Rank!”

Ah, so she was speaking to me.

“Umm, I’m a B-Rank adventurer though, no matter what you say.”

“Huh?”

Her face said she was about to ask me what the hell I was saying.

“Look, I’m B-Rank, alright? I ranked up a little while ago, and received permission to explore a Danger Zone.”

“…”

The girl was speechless.

“Erm, really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“…I-I’m sorryyyyyyyy!!”

The girl apologised to me faintly.

Thank goodness, she understood me.

Well, I did basically only just become an adventurer, so it’s no surprise there would be some misunderstandings like this.

◆

“I’m really sorry.”

She had only just finally finished apologising to me when she started doing so again.

“Nono, it’s fine it’s fine. Umm, I’m Rex, and I came here from the town of Tougai. Might I ask as to your name?”

“Rex-san, huh. I’m Liliella, and I’m an adventurer who calls the Forest of Magic Beasts home.”

Liliella-san said with a smile.

“Did you come here to enter the Forest of Magic Beasts?”

“Yes, when I was raised to B-Rank, the guild chief told me to go to a Danger Zone, so I came to the closest one, which was this town.”

“The closest… right, so, have you properly prepared?”

“Eh? What do you mean prepared?”

Herbs and camping tools were standard for adventurers, and I was B-Rank anyway, so why would I need to bother with any more preparation?

“It seems you don’t know then. What kind of place the Forest of Magic Beasts is.”

“Isn’t it a forest with a lot of magic beasts?”

Liliella-san facepalmed and then sighed.

“No, it’s not, not at all. Now listen. In the Forest of Magic Beasts, everything is a monster.”

“Everything!?”

What the heck, that’s scary!?

“The beasts and insects, and even the trees are all monsters. There’s not a single normal living being in that forest.”

I see, so that’s why it’s the Forest of Magic Beasts.

“And that’s not all. There are monsters that disguise themselves as the ground, or springs that actually turn out to be Slimes, nearly everything you can see there is a monster. So, when you enter the forest, not only do you need potions and antidotes, but monster-repelling incense and barriers are also essential. And it’s not uncommon to be attacked while collecting a defeated monster’s materials either!”

What a scary forest.

“So, when entering the forest, either someone who can use barrier magic or a barrier stone, which can create a barrier, are essential. If you don’t have those, you won’t last even a single day! Absent-minded people like you will get splatted from behind in no time!”

Liliella-san insisted ardently.

“If you want to go into the forest, you need to be perfectly prepared, so if you don’t have any companions, join a party with someone who can use barrier magic! Got that?”

“Y-yes.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Liliella-san looked at me unhappily.

Mhm, she’s pestering me a lot, but she’s a really nice person.

The way she said everything was harsh, but the content was all looking out for me.

“Thank you very much for telling me so much.”

“Ara, you’re pretty straightforward. Well, being able to pay attention to someone’s advice is a good thing. And even though you’re young, you’ve already climbed up to B-Rank.”

“The young lady there didn’t heed our advice though and nearly died because of it!”

“T-that was a long time ago! A. Long. Time. Ago!!!”

An adventurer drinking near us said, making fun of Liliella-san.

“Gahahaha”

◆ ◆

“Ugh, that’s why I hate uncouth people.”

Said Liliella-san in an unhappy tone of voice, but her face said she had enjoyed it a little.

I doubt she actually hates them too.

“Anyway, it’s the first time I’ve met someone who’s also B-Rank and around my age.”

Said Liliella-san, staring hard at me.

“Are you perhaps also B-Rank, like me?”

Liliella-san nodded in response to my question.

“Yes, I’m also B-Rank.”

“It’s kind of reassuring to know there’s someone around your age who’s the same Rank, isn’t it.”

“Yeah. Everyone else is older.”

And since we were also both B-Rank, we hit it off right away.

Since there was a tavern in the guild, she treated me to a meal as an apology.

I tried to refuse, but Liliella-san would not give in, saying she had been rude to someone she had met for the first time.

And then, Liliella-san told me various things about the town.

“Since this town is adjacent to a Danger Zone, many merchants gather here for the rare materials that can’t be found anywhere else. Adventurers below B-Rank also have a lot of work to do protecting those merchants.”

“I see, so that’s why there were so many below-B-Rank requests.”

“And then, there’s also occasionally requests to subjugate monsters that strayed out of the forest.”

“Hee, really.”

“Well, the forest’s monsters rarely leave, so there aren’t any requests like that right now.”

I see, that was quite helpful.

“But still, not only do you look it, but from talking with you, you also feel younger than me. How old are you?”

“Me? I’m fifteen?”

“Ara, so it’s been a year since you became an adventurer then? Becoming B-Rank in a year, you must be quite talented!”

“Nono, I just got lucky.”

“Luck is also an ability. Do you want me to do something to celebrate your birthday?”

“Ahaha, nah, my birthday’s like, a year away.”

Liliella-san is a quick-witted person.

“Eh? Next year?”

“Yeah. It’s next year. I only just turned fifteen a little while ago.”

“With ‘a little while ago’, do you mean you only just had your coming-of-age-day?”

“That’s right.”

“Hang on, so then, how long has it been since you became an adventurer!?”

For some reason, Liliella-san became tense.

“Erm, it hasn’t even been a month yet.”

“…”

“Liliella-san?”

Huh? What happened?

“You were a fake!”

“Eh?”

What does she mean with fake!?

“Um, what do you mean”

I asked what she meant with the word, but Liliella-san just stood up, slamming the table.

“Despicable! Never speak to me again!”

Saying so and glaring at me, Liliella-san angrily left the guild.

“W-what!?”

Liliella-san suddenly got angry, but did I say anything to make her mad!?

What should I do, should I chase after her to apologise!?

But I don’t know why she became angry, so even if I chase after her, what should I apologise for?

“Hahaha, don’t be so downhearted, rookie.”

Said the adventurer-san sitting nearby.

He was amazingly muscled, and there was a huge battleaxe stood against his table.

“She just really hates power ranking adventurers like you.”

“Eh? Um, you are?”

“I’m Ivan, an adventurer based in this town.”

“I’m Rex. So, what’s this power ranking thing?”

Power ranking? What? I’ve never heard of it before.

“Weak adventurers who join high-ranked adventurers’ parties and have them carry them in battle, raising their Rank. Nobles’ kids or crafty people are like that sometimes.”

What the hell!?

They won’t be able to get stronger like that at all!?

“Well, I get what the young lady wanted to say. If you do something like that, you won’t survive in this dangerous forest. I’m not gonna tell you off, but you should choose requests more fitting for your strength and build up your Rank solidly bit-by-bit.”

Hmm, he’s completely misunderstanding me.

“Um, I’ve been solo the whole time though.”

I did do some things with Jairo-kun and co., but I never actually joined their team, and they were all F-Rank in the first place, like I was.

“Oho, so you climbed up to B-Rank with your own strength?”

“Yes.”

“Gahaha, don’t act tough, kid! Acting tough won’t get you anywhere here!”

“That’s right, I won’t bad-mouth you, but start over from F-Rank requests again!”

“Accepting one’s weakness is also strength.”

Oh man. They don’t believe me at all.

Adventuring in this town will be quite annoying in the future like this.

How can I get them all to believe me?

“Then, let’s see what you can do, rookie.”

Said Ivan-san.

“See what I can do?”

“Yeah, there’s a request in this town to measure the strength of rookies, so if you clear that, everyone’ll accept you no matter how weak you appear to be.”

“Ooh, we’re doing That, are we?”

“The newbie’s baptism.”

That? Baptism? What’re they going to do?

“Come on, rookie. Show us your strength.”

Prompted by Ivan-san, all the other adventurers also stood up.

“This way.”

I don’t really get it, but if I can get them to accept my strength, I’ll participate in this baptism thing.

◆ ◆

“Here.”

I had been brought to the outskirts of a large forest by Ivan-san and the other adventurers.

“This is the Forest of Magic Beasts…”

I hadn’t noticed it from the sky, but the forest’s trees were surprisingly varied in height.

There were a lot of shorter ones, with much taller ones mixed in here and there.

And the further into the forest they were, the taller they were.

“You heard earlier that all creatures and plants in the Forest of Magic Beasts are monsters, right. And, unfortunately, the plant-type monsters keep spreading their seeds and expanding the forest.”

Ah, and plant-type monsters having a lot of life force makes that even more troublesome.

“So, the countries bordering the forest have permanent requests up to stop the forest’s expansion any more than this.”

Said Ivan-san, pointing at the forest.

“Look over there. The adventurers are cutting the trees, yes?”

I did as I was told, and there were indeed a number of adventurers cutting trees with their axes.

Hmm, or rather, they weren’t trees.

“Plant-type monsters?”

The adventurers were fighting plant-type monsters with axes.

Ivan-san nodded.

“Yeah, Trap Plants. They’re irritating things that mimic trees and attack your blind spots. The taller ones are Killer Plants, a superior species. And, the permanent request is to stop the expansion of the forest by exterminating the plant-type monsters that make up the Forest of Magic Beasts.”

I see, if the forest were to expand, it would swallow up villages and towns.

“So, the newbie’s baptism is to fight with the plant-type monsters at the forest’s entrance to get a feel for going further in.”

So in other words, they want me to do something, not do something to me.

“Defeat ten plant-type monsters however you want. If you can’t do that, you’ll die if you enter the forest.”

“So the permanent request is like a training request.”

“That’s right, if you’re weak, the only way to get stronger quickly is to gain experience. Well, usually though, the request is here to train thieves or monks, whose combat power is low. Even rearguards have to be able to fight in close combat here.”

Uwaa, this is a rather serious place.

“If you get it, then go! If it gets too dangerous, we’ll save you!”

“Okay!”

I walked towards the forest while being watched by Ivan-san and the other adventurers.

“Don’t push yourself!”

“Running away isn’t shameful!”

They all spoke as if making fun of me, but I could tell they were looking out for me.

Well, that was probably because they all thought I was a newbie who just claimed to be B-Rank trying to look good.

First, I used search magic to check for any reactions in my surroundings.

This wasn’t in order to see where there were monsters, but in order to see where there were people.

It would be terrible if people who had nothing to do with this got caught up in it.

Luckily, it seemed like the only people there were Ivan-san and the others, as well as the adventurers we had seen earlier, who were fighting the monsters.

“Then, I’ll do it over there, so no one turns into collateral damage.”

Refining my mana, I aimed it at the outskirts of the forest.

The whole forest was made out of monsters, and even the country wanted to stop its expansion.

So basically, I didn’t need to hold back.

“So, let it burn!”

I chose magic that would burn only the designated parts away in an instant so as not to disturb the adventurers further in the forest due to the flames spreading out.

“Flame Inferno!”

A blue sphere of light flew out from my outstretched hand.

Then, it swelled up in an instant, then stretched out forwards in the same blink of an eye.

Hellfire Magic Flame Inferno.

It was magic that shot ultra-high-temperature, blue flames straight forwards.

The ball of light instantaneously sucked in the surrounding air, and the flames swelled up for a split second.

Then, since all the oxygen in the surrounding air was used up, a fake vacuum was created, instantly extinguishing the flames.

It was an effective flame magic you could use when you didn’t want the fire to spread out over a wide area.

“So, like this?”

A large plot of clear land stretched out in front of me.

I had removed a part of the Forest of Magic Beasts’ outskirts.

Thanks to that, the Forest of Magic Beasts, which had stretched out in an irregular circle-shape, now had a straight line jutting into it, completely cut away.

“Was that all right?”

I asked Ivan-san, turning around.

“…”

But for some reason Ivan-san just trembled, his eyes opened wide.

The other adventurers were the same way.

“Huh? Was that perhaps not enough? Then, round two it is.”

“Waitwaitwaitwait! What the hell was that!?”

Screamed Ivan-san as I was about to burn the forest again.

“Just your ordinary hellfire magic?”

“What do you mean ordinary!? Just from its name I can tell it was absurdly dangerous!?”

“Nah, it’s just weed-removing magic we use for removing, well, weeds.”

““““What kind of hellish place is your homeeeeee!!?””””

The adventurer-sans’ voices harmonized beautifully.

Eh? It’s just a normal farming village.