Adventurers

A NEW DUNGEON HAD BEEN DISCOVERED. Having received this report, a group of adventurers struck out early for the village in the middle of nowhere.

It made a lot of sense, given the dungeon’s location. According to the report, it was in a region with no large cities or strongholds nearby, never mind moneymaking opportunities like mines. Few would ever have reason to venture out there, especially when dangerous monsters lurked in their natural habitats so close by. It was no wonder that the dungeon had gone undetected for so long. That was what many adventurers thought as they gazed at the maps made by the Adventurers’ Guild.

Newly discovered dungeons often contained hidden treasures. An adventurer could also make a lot of money mapping out the dungeon’s interior, writing up reports on the monsters that lurked within, and selling this information to the guild.

A handful were surprised by the area in question, though. Wasn’t it the same location in which a large dragon had just been slain? This rumor spread fast among the adventurers who remained in the capital city. “A dungeon and a dragon?”

They were blown away. It was rare for a place to be the location of not one but two wild encounters. Consequently, all sorts of people found themselves heading to the village in the middle of nowhere: those who were just curious, those who smelled riches, and even those with interests beyond the dungeon.

One such group arrived at Seatoh ahead of the rest, and its members were stunned by what they found. Based on their experience and the location in question, it seemed absurd to call the thing in front of them a village. It should have been a rundown settlement at best, not a “village” surrounded by a massive wall. There was even a moat and a river from which to draw water.

“The hell’s going on here?” one adventurer demanded.

Ortho and his crew passed by on their way to the moat. He made a mental note of the onlookers before the drawbridge came down, granting him and his party access to the village beyond the wall. They strode right in while the new arrivals stared, rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

“H-hey, the bridge is down,” one said.

“Forget that for a sec! What’s with that wall?!” cried another. “And check out those weapons lining it!”

The adventurers were downright bewildered. There was nothing desolate or poor about this village. In fact, it wasn’t even a village anymore; it was more like a fortified city. They tried to imagine what lay beyond that wall, which rivaled the one in the capital.

Eventually, they stepped through the gate and encountered another unexpected sight: the massive square building right by the front gate. They guessed that this was the Chivalric Order barracks. Whatever intel they’d received about the village before embarking on their journey was being overwritten in real time.

The village was sprawling, with buildings of all sorts peppering the land. The road running through it was clearly well maintained, even if a lot of land still stood empty.

A knight from the local Chivalric Order descended from the wall and approached the adventurers, who were gawking at their surroundings. He was equipped with a machine bow. “Welcome to Seatoh,” he said, appraising them.

The adventurers answered every question he asked of them, and then exchanged glances. “We heard there was a village out on the border, but is this the right place? We were trying to get to the ​village on the edge of Lord Fertio’s territory…”

With a smile, the knight nodded. “You’re not mistaken. Everyone who comes here reacts the same way. To be honest, even we’re shocked at how quickly things have changed since Lord Van’s arrival.”

This only caused the adventurers further confusion. “Lord Van?”

He puffed up with pride. “Lord Fertio’s son. He’s still quite young, but he is an incredible person. This place was on the verge of collapse due to repeated bandit attacks until he came along and started developing the village.” Excited and passionate, he listed off Van’s exploits, but he spoke so quickly—and his words were so difficult to believe—that they barely registered with the adventurers.

“Right… So, uh, this guy became the lord of the area, and the village got better?” The knight nodded, prompting the adventurers to look at one another yet again. “Lord Fertio, eh?”

“Makes sense to me. He must’ve spent a year rapidly developing this place.

That’s that.”

“Wait, does that mean he plans on making this place a full-fledged fortress city?”

While they discussed the matter among themselves, the knight spotted Ortho nearby. “Hey, Ortho!”

“Yo.”

One of the adventurers watched the two greet each other. “Hello there! Can I get a minute?”

Ortho turned around. “Hmm? What’s up? I was away from home for a whole day, so I really wanna grab a bite,” he said, clearly annoyed.

The adventurer grimaced. “Look, man, I’m really sorry. It’s just that you look like you’re familiar with this place. I’ve got a question for you, if you don’t mind.”

“Huh? Sure I guess,” Ortho agreed reluctantly.

“You’re a lifesaver. Could you tell me about this place from an adventurer’s perspective?”

Ortho grinned at the direct question and pointed far back in the village. “Here’s your first tip: right that way is a delicious restaurant. I was thinking of heading there myself, so how about you join me?”

The adventurer burst into laughter. “Now that’s what I call a tip! If it’s really that good, I guess I’ve got to see for myself!”

“We just got here, too, so we’ll join you!” one of the other adventurers said.

They were so keen to jump on Ortho’s invitation that they all ended up grabbing a bite at the restaurant.

Incidentally, Seatoh’s food culture had leveled up significantly thanks to Bell and Rango, the pair of merchant brothers who had moved to town. The baron’s maid, Till, also shared the recipes she learned at the marquis’s estate with the villagers, so everyone had become better cooks.

The adventurers from the capital fell in love at first bite. Having eaten their first good meal in some time, they were in high spirits as they listened to Ortho.

“…So we were charged with protecting Lord Van, right? He made us all kinds of weapons, but that’s not all. The kid even took down a bunch of big-ass monsters. He slew a dragon! In a village with less than a hundred people, no less! I tell ya, the bows he makes are incredible, man. They can pierce the shell of an armored lizard, no sweat. Hell, a dragon’ll go down with one shot to the head.”

The adventurers could barely believe what they were hearing. Ortho was already on his second drink and acting a lot more jovial than he’d been when they first ran into him; they all assumed that the liquor was making him exaggerate.

Ortho sensed their doubt, so he grinned and put one hand on his hip. “Wanna give it a try?” he asked, pulling the knife from his belt.

Just like that, the mood at the table shifted. The adventurers tensed and stared warily at Ortho.

“Hey, no worries. I just wanna show you how sharp this thing is,” he said, looking over everyone at the table. “Anybody got an old knife or shield on

’em?”

“Uh, yeah.” The adventurers still hadn’t let their guard down, but one of them offered up a small knife. Ortho took it and switched hands, pressing his own knife into its back.

“Watch carefully.” Ortho put a little bit of strength into his hand, cutting through the knife’s metal with his own blade. From the outside, it looked like some sort of awkward magic trick. He stole a glance at the stunned adventurers and smirked, brandishing the blade in front of his face. “I bought this knife from Lord Van. I also have a long sword that’s just as sharp. It can cut through an armored lizard’s scales no problem. I ain’t lying, either.”

One of the adventurers frowned. “You mentioned bows earlier. Are they as crazy powerful as that?”

Ortho nodded. “Yup. Wanna take a look?”

“Huh?” For a moment, the adventurers couldn’t comprehend Ortho’s carefree reply, even as he stood up and walked outside, beckoning them to follow. “Wh-where are we going?”

The newcomers were completely enchanted by this point, trailing after him despite their confusion. Ortho, meanwhile, was stuffed from dinner, had some booze in him, and was in a great mood. Each step he took was lighter than the last as he headed farther into Seatoh, to the wall on the opposite side of the entrance. The gate there was slightly smaller than the one at the front. They passed through it, encountering a small lake just beyond.

“Wait, no way…” breathed one of the adventurers.

“A-are those apkallu?” asked another.

“You mean that species that’s so rare they might as well be legend? They can’t possibly be in a place like this…”

Ortho scanned the lake while the adventurers stood stock-still, eventually locating someone and raising his hand. “Hiya, Lord Van! Can I have a moment of your time?”

He casually called out to the baron, causing a whole group of people at the lake’s edge to turn around. Among them was a child and a large man who looked to be a knight—a mismatched pair, to be sure.

Approaching Ortho, the child spoke up. “What’s up?” he asked, tilting his head cutely.

Ortho bowed his head respectfully and said, “Sorry in advance, but I’m showing around some adventurers who just got here and, well…I’d love it if you could make them weapons.”

The adventurers, watching this conversation closely, realized something then.

Despite Ortho’s status as a veteran adventurer, he was lowering his head to a child. This was a strange sight and, after observing the way the two of them communicated and the atmosphere surrounding their interactions, the adventurers took a keen interest in the boy.

Van stared at each of the newcomers, as if he was studying them. “That’s fine, but a regular old sword is gonna run you three gold,” he said, sounding like a merchant. “A spear, a great sword, or an axe will cost you five gold. Short swords and knives are one gold each.”

Ortho smiled and nodded before turning around. “Hell yeah, guys. What do you want? I personally recommend a nice, straight long sword. That blade’ll make mincemeat of monsters,” he said, fully assuming that they were ready to make purchases.

The adventurers swapped uncertain looks. “Wait a second, I’m not following. Weren’t you going to show us bows?” one of them asked.

“Hmm?” Ortho cocked his head to the side. Then he snapped his fingers. “Oh, right! I totally forgot. Still, you should definitely all grab at least one of Van’s weapons. I promise you won’t regret it!”

The newcomers eyed Ortho like he was a total drunkard, but he couldn’t have cared less. Van watched this back-and-forth and quickly came to a realization. Politely, he said, “In that case, do you want to watch a test firing of one of our ballistae? You can get a nice view from up on the wall there.”

The adventurers nodded, and Van took over as the group guide with Ortho tagging along. The little lord grabbed his maid and another youth as he led the crowd up the wall.

“Hey, this, uh, Lord Van is the ruler of this area, right?” an ad​venturer asked his compatriot.

“As far as I can tell…”

Van’s tone and aura were the antithesis of what one would expect from a noble, and the adventurers feared that they were being misled. Behind them, Ortho’s shoulders shook with mirth.

Once he was atop the wall, Van looked around and spotted one of the

members of the Seatoh Chivalric Order. “Heya! Can I have a sec?”

“Why, it’s Lord Van! Of course. What do you need?”

The person in question was a female knight, which was more than enough to ignite the adventurers’ curiosity. They murmured among themselves. “A lady knight, eh? That’s pretty rare.”

“Nah. No matter where you go, 20 to 30 percent of the soldiers are women.”

“That’s definitely not true.”

Meanwhile, Van smiled at the woman. “Sounds like lady knights are rare. How about we surprise them with one of our ballistae, good dame?” he said with a teasing look on his face.

“You betcha!” she replied, grinning. She promptly took her place next to a ballista.

After confirming that it was already loaded with a bolt and ready to fire, Van turned around and raised a hand to the adventurers. “Now then, I present to you one of Seatoh’s primary weapons, the ballista! The bolts this thing uses are custom-made by yours truly. They come in wood and iron, but either version packs a formidable punch!”

The adventurers kept their mouths shut and listened attentively.

Van ensured everyone’s eyes were on him, then went on; “We will now proceed with a test fire. Please look over there.” He pointed to a far-off mountain, then locked eyes with the knight. She aimed at a forest grove right at the mountain’s base—a target that would be easy to see from their vantage point. “Proceed. Fire when ready!”

As soon as Van made the call, the air quivered and a great boom cracked loudly around them. The ballista shot its bolt in a straight line toward the trees. Moments later, the high-speed projectile pierced multiple trees, which collapsed to the ground.

Even from this distance, the group could see and hear it all. The adventurers watched with wide eyes, looking between the ballista and the damage in the distance.

“Wh-what amazing power…”

“We’d be screwed if one of those came at us.”

“A shield wouldn’t do jack. We’d be sent flying.”

Van smiled at the muttering adventurers, then turned to the boy beside him.

“Show them your katana, Khamsin.”

“Yes, Master.” The boy called Khamsin drew his sword from its sheath and held the blade up to the adventurers, who watched with great interest. “This weapon is called a katana, and Lord Van made it himself. It’s one of a kind.”

“Really? That’s what you’re explaining to them?” Van cut in, laughing dryly at the way Khamsin bragged about his treasure.

The adventurers were intrigued. They gathered around the mysterious weapon.

“A katana, you say?”

“Hmm, it’s got a flat edge on one side.”

“Yo, look how thin it is.”

“Could one of you please hold up your shield?” Khamsin asked.

“Huh? Uh, sure. Is this fine?”

One of the adventurers held up a round buckler for the boy, who nodded and took a stance with his katana. Though they didn’t know it, this was a classic kendo position. “Please do not move.”

In one fluid motion, Khamsin slid his sword toward the man’s shield. A moment later, a third of the shield fell to the ground.

“Wha…?!” The onlookers could barely put together a single word.

“This katana is uniquely sharp, but Lord Van’s standard swords and spears have their own merits. Fear not,” Khamsin said as he smoothly sheathed his blade.

After seeing his precise, flowing movements, the adventurers gaped at one another and rounded on Van.

“I would like a sword. For length, let’s see…”

“Ah, I’ll take a knife! A throwing knife!”

“F-for mine, I’d like something uniquely shaped. Um, a curved sword…”

Just like that, the adventurers were scrambling to be first in line to purchase a weapon. Van, of course, was up for the challenge.

He smiled and picked up the broken shield in both hands. Focusing his magical energies, he gently changed its shape and properties, morphing it into a weapon. It became a double-sided straight sword that, including the handle, was about a meter in length. As a bonus, he applied an intricate design to the blade and handle.

“Wh-whoa!” This process took only a few minutes, and the onlookers made all sorts of surprised grunts and hollers. The finished blade shone a beautiful silver, and the adventurer who took it into his hands held it as if it were the king’s own prized sword.

“That’ll be three gold,” said Van.

“O-of course!”

The adventurer hurriedly readied the money while Van began to prepare the next orders: a throwing knife and a curved sword.

“This is armored lizard hide,” Till explained. She handed it over to the adventurers, who were still shocked that their weapons had been finished so quickly. Armored lizard hide was said to be stronger than iron itself, and Van looked on gleefully as the adventurers tested their weapons on it.

“All of the weapons I make can be purchased at the Bel & Rango Company in the village. We also have great armor that’s super light and easy to move in, so feel free to make a purchase if it pleases you.” Van beamed, and the adventurers nodded fervently.

In the future, Seatoh would become famous throughout the nation as the place to acquire the very finest weapons in the land. Van, who was just happy to make weapons for some quick side cash, knew nothing of its reputation.