Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 13: “Collective Action”

I could work from morning to night, so I could go from one job site to another without taking lodging.

I took a job, went to the site, finished, and returned to the guild to receive my reward.

I repeated this kind of life for more than ten days.

Currently, I'm working toward the highest level of the lower grades, the Yellow 1 level.

Once I reach that level, I plan to travel to the royal capital.

But I'm getting a little tired of simple tasks.

I wonder if there are any interesting requests...

I look at the request forms on the guild's corkboard.

Should I try a request for hunting?

"Hey, you."

I turn around and see a warrior-looking man calling out to me.

"What is it?"

What's this guy? I've never seen this guy before.

"You have a moderately good body. You're pretty good, aren't you? How about you join us?"

"Does that mean you want me to join your party?"

To be honest, I don't want to be in a party because it's too much trouble to socialize.

Behind the warrior are a man and a woman who seem to be party members.

"No, I'm not talking about officially. We've got a tough request. We're just looking for some help."

According to the story, they have been asked to investigate a strange group of people who have been frequenting an abandoned fortress far from the city.

If it was a group of rogue or other harmful people, they would eliminate them.

If there is a problem, confirm it and report it.

There is also information that bandit damage has been confirmed in the vicinity, and if these people are using the fort as their stronghold, it may be difficult to deal with them on their own depending on the number of people, so they are looking for help.

"The fee will be divided by the number of people. How's that sound? I don't think that's a bad deal for you, right?"

"..."

I wonder what I should do.

I don't mind taking down the bandits, but I don't like the idea of working with these guys.

I don't want them to see my physical condition or anything....

"Well, is it hard for you to answer right away? Then let's have a drink and talk a little. In addition, let's have dinner. Of course, I'll treat you."

"I understand. Let's talk about it."

Oh shit.

I was lured by the food, and I just answered him.

I'm just so hungry....

I was treated to a meal at a nearby bar.

While there, they regaled me with stories of their past adventures and their fledgling days.

I listened to the stories as they went along and ate a lot of food.

When it came time to pay the bill, the faces of the three men were grim, but they were willing to treat me so I simply thanked them and left the restaurant.

After eating the food and saying goodbye to my hunger for a while, I gladly decided to join the party.

It was just this one time anyway.

The three of them said they would recruit some more people and parted ways with me.

The departure is tomorrow, so let's get ready.

The next day, I was told to meet at the entrance to the city, so I went to the meeting place and all the other members were already there except for me.

In addition to the three people I mentioned, there were three more. Including me, there were seven of us.

"I was surprised that you came. Well, let's get going."

The destination was less than a day's walk away, and we would be there by nightfall.

Along the way, we introduced ourselves.

The warrior who recruited me was Hang. His weapon of choice was the sword at his waist.

Hang's companion, Hongum, is also a large warrior and carries a large war hammer.

The other companion was Quingham. She looks at me and sniffs.

I heard that she can use recovery magic. She was a woman with short hair. She has a staff with a big ball on it.

Her face was...normal? Personally, I find her face neither nice nor unpleasant. She seemed unfriendly, so I kept my distance from her.

Yesterday, she was staring at me for some reason, even though we didn't have a good conversation.

She's a terrible woman. I just ate with your wallets....

The rest are the guys Hang recruited, three men.

First is Garvis, a warrior. His weapons are the two swords at his waist.

Next is Baril, a fighter? Baril, a martial artist. He has no weapon and wears sturdy-looking small claws.

Lastly, Korau, a hunter. He has a large bow.

"Then, last but not least, you. Tell me your name and weapon."

After the others have introduced themselves, Hang turns to me and offers me some water.

"My name is Ro and this is my weapon."

I introduce myself briefly and show him the makana on my waist.

The katar... I don't have to show them.

"It's an unusual weapon, isn't it? Where did you get it?"

"It was a gift. I don't know where it came from. I use it because it's easy to use and it feels good in my hand."

Hang would ask me if I was interested in my weapons.

I give him a curt answer and go along with his story.

I look at Hang. I can tell from talking to him that he's a nice, friendly guy, but... I wonder...

I think I saw someone like him in my previous life.

I wonder who it was.

It's almost in my throat, but I can't remember.

As I groaned, trying to remember while talking with Hang, Korau, who had been ahead of me, came back before I knew it.

"A group of goblins and orcs."

"How many?"

"Ten goblins and six orcs."

Garvis quickly responded to Korau's report. He seems to have gotten used to it.

Ah, so these guys were originally part of the party.

Garvis turns his head toward Hang.

"Hang. You're the leader. What are we going to do? We're gonna let them get away ?"

"There's more than twice as many... well, they're goblins, we can handle them. Let's take them out."

At Hang's words, everyone readies their weapons.

I grab my makana.

"The formation is Hongum and Ro in front, me to the left. Garvis and Baril deploy to the right. Quinham and Korau will support us from the back. We are a hastily formed party. Let's be aware of each other's movements as much as possible."

He had Garbis and Baril, who were originally partnered with each other and could easily coordinate with each other, team up in front of the big and sturdy-looking ones.

It was a good instruction. The one who is accustomed to it is different.

...But goblins less than half a day after leaving the city?

They are probably different from those who have made Mount Shudras their stronghold.

They are probably those who are called "stragglers" by their own tribe, who have come down from the mountain and formed their own herds.

They are not particularly well-trained, so their quality is much lower than that of the goblins of Mount Shudras.

They are the reason why goblins are treated like small fry.

The strong ones are really strong, though...goblins....

The goblins were getting close enough for us to see them.

When they see us, they let out a yell of joy or anger and run toward us, weapons ready.

"On my signal, the vanguard charges forward. Quinham, please."

At Hang's command, Quinham nodded silently and readied her staff.

Is the magic chanting started?

The goblins are approaching.

50 meters...40 meters...30 meters...20 meters...10.

Quineham's staff glows, and a hot wind hits the goblins.

The goblins, suddenly hit by the sand-filled hot wind, quickly turn their heads away.

"Now! Go!"

At Hang's signal, the vanguard rushes in.

Hongam and I collided first, and my makana punched through the orc's temple, exploding his head.

I looked next to me and saw Hongham slamming his war hammer into the orc's brain, causing it to cave in.

Gervis and Baril were also defeating the goblin with familiar movements.

Baril draws attention with a flashy move, and when an opening is created, Gervis is cutting the goblin's head off.

Korau is shooting the enemy's brains out one after another with his great bow.

Hang is... fast. It is already over.

The corpses of the enemies he was taking on lie at his feet.

Quinham was poised so that she could support but, perhaps realizing that it was unnecessary, she did not let her guard down and watched the progress of the battle.

I also blast the head of the goblin that is coming toward me.

The battle ended when I killed the third goblin.

"Hmmm... It was an easy win. It won't be worth much, but we should strip them down."

When the goblins stop moving, Hang sends out instructions.

The other men are silently cutting off the ears of the goblins and orcs.

Should I do it too?

"Oh, Ro was just starting out. Goblins' and orcs' ears are submitted to the guild for a reward."

Oh, I see.

I'm not sure if it's a separate reward from the request, but it might be a good way to make a little extra money.

When I'm in need of money, I'll kill goblins and cut off their ears.

The body can be eaten.

After finishing the stripping, we burned the corpses with Quineham's magic and resumed moving.

After that, we were able to cover the distance without any problems.

At sunset, we decided to take a rest and a nap under Hang's direction.

"Everyone is just getting started, but first let's take a break here and get in the best shape we can."

We all gathered around the bonfire and threw in the ingredients we had bought in town with our money and made a stew.

"And that's enough of the hard talk. Here's to this meeting today!"

"Cheers!"

Everyone raised their cups to Hang's cadence.

Everyone enjoys this meal time, eating and drinking.

"By the way, Garbis, Ro, tell me about your adventures so far."

I'm just starting out, and there's no way I can tell any interesting stories.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just starting out. I don't have much experience in adventure."

"Oh, yeah, you're just starting out."

Hang lightly bows his head.

I wave lightly and tell him not to worry about it.

"Well... It's not a funny story..."

Garbis begins his story.

"I heard a story about a man who ran into a demon in the swamps south of the continent."

"The devil? That devil?"

The devil...?

"Hmm? Yeah, you don't know about it? It is said that demons exist in literature, but there are few eyewitness testimonies, so the existence of demons is still under suspicion. Some say they are a subspecies, but there is very little information on them."

So it's like an urban legend.

"I'm sorry. Garvis, please continue."

"Ah, it seems that he was on his way to the lizard man's residence, as he was walking through the wetlands at night. he noticed something glowing in the sky."

Garvis takes a sip of the sake in the cup.

"He wondered what it was. When he looked closely, there were two lights, and they were colliding with each other."

Before I knew it, the others had stopped eating and were concentrating on his story.

"It was moving around and the distance was quite far. It's not really clear but it's look like a silhouette of a humanoid with wings."

"You mean they were fighting?"

"I don't know. It seems that they disappeared in less than tens of minutes."

Oh, I know Unidentified Flying Object 'Flying Humanoid'.

Even in another world they exist too, huh.

"That's all I have to say. It wasn't very interesting, was it?"

"No, it was an interesting story. If I ever go south, I will visit there."

"I've talk? Next is you, Hang. It's your turn. I'm expecting an interesting story, you know?"

Hang smiled wryly and then began to speak.

His story was interesting... or rather, he was a good speaker.

A story about a group of dragons that make their home in the Great Valley.

A story about an undead king who lives in a huge abandoned castle.

The story of the Goblin Kingdom that rules the Great Mountain Range. Oh, I know that

Everyone else also brought their own experiences, rumors, etc., and the dining table was lively.

It was quite a fun time.