Not long afterward, Donald left an inn in town and headed straight for the outskirts. Once he was somewhere deserted, he summoned a warhorse, swung into the saddle, and rode toward the forest.
It had to be said that Aid, the strongest hunter in Red Maple Town, had more than a few tricks up his sleeve, despite not looking particularly bright. Donald had learned a little about the Green Cloak Forest from him.
However, the hunter widely regarded as Red Maple Town's strongest had never actually ventured very far into the forest. He knew only a few areas where level-four and level-five magic beasts roamed; beyond that, he knew nothing. And his claim to have captured a level-five magic beast alive was exaggerated. The Shadow Leopard had been pregnant and injured while fighting other beasts over territory. Otherwise, it would never have been caught in his trap and fallen into the hands of a human far weaker than itself.
Still, what Donald had learned was enough. Knowing where a few level-four and level-five magic beasts roamed would greatly aid his hunt, saving him much of the time he would otherwise spend tracking them down and helping him accomplish his goal sooner.
On horseback, Donald crossed most of the outer forest, ignoring the wild animals and low-level magic beasts along the way, and went straight to the border between the outer and inner forest. Beasts above level three could appear here, so he didn't want to alert anything. He carefully dismounted, recalled his warhorse, then took the gear he had prepared from his Space Mark and put it on.
Between Gold Sol and his life, the latter mattered more.
While Donald was deep in the forest, fighting for his life, the eldest daughter of Viscount Macbeth was throwing another tantrum in the castle at Giant Stone City, hundreds of miles away.
Miss Lina had been gloomy ever since returning from the Royal Capital. The Macbeth Family ranked among the leading noble houses in the Kingdom of Selt. Local nobles might have been wealthier and more powerful than most nobles in the capital, but when it came to material comforts, they still couldn't match the extravagant lifestyles of the capital's social circles, where people spent their days competing and showing off. That was especially true in a remote place like North Shire.
On her visit to the Royal Capital, some noble ladies had secretly called Lina a country bumpkin. She had returned with her anger simmering. She knew those daughters of nobles without real power were simply jealous that her father and family ruled over vast lands, but that didn't stop her from feeling deeply offended.
A quick-witted maid then came up with an idea. The Green Cloak Forest was rich in resources, and Cloud-Rising Mountain, deep within it, was home to many rare magic beasts. If Lina could own a shawl made from Silver Fox fur, she would surely outshine those capital noble ladies who thought themselves so refined.
Though the Silver Fox was a level-five magic beast with relatively weak attacks, it was as fast as the wind. Even veteran warriors could rarely get close to it. Despite its beautiful, gleaming silver coat, Silver Foxes had been captured by humans only a handful of times throughout history.
The Viscount's daughter was delighted and rewarded the maid generously. Then she summoned her father's steward and had him spread the word that rare magic beast pelts were being sought.
Adventurers in the taverns of the towns around Giant Stone City all heard the news. Lina didn't expect anyone to capture a precious beast as rare as a Silver Fox, seen only once in a century. She would be perfectly satisfied if adventurers who took the job brought back other magic beasts with beautiful fur.
The Viscount's household was offering a bounty of over a hundred Gold Sol, which was tempting. But if someone really got lucky and hunted a Silver Fox, they could easily exchange its pelt for a thousand Gold Sol at any shop.
For adventurers, that was a fortune they might never see in their entire lives!
Half a day later, while groups of adventurers were making their way toward the Green Cloak Forest, Donald emerged from the woods on his warhorse, wearing light gear.
After half a day of fighting, and with the information Aid had provided, Donald had collected quite a few level-three and level-four Magic Beast Cores, as well as three level-five cores.
Only the three level-five beasts that had appeared together had given him a dangerous fight. He had worn them down by spending a huge number of low-level cores. The other level-three and level-four beasts had posed little challenge to someone with so many summoned creatures at his command.
After all, his summoned creatures were based on the rules of a magic beast game, which made them stronger than ordinary wild beasts of the same level. The Book of Truth had also given them various abilities based on the game's rules and the laws of this world. If they still couldn't handle ordinary, dim-witted wild beasts, that would make no sense at all!
Donald had stored all his prey in his Space Mark to deal with later. When he emerged from the forest, he found that he had already passed several groups of adventurers. The forest's outskirts, where he had rarely encountered another person before, were now busy.
Some adventurers tried to recruit him, but Donald turned them all down. Joining a group of adventurers whose average strength was only level two or three was no better than taking his own army of summons to raid a magic beast's lair. Besides, he didn't want anyone discovering his secrets just yet, and sharing spoils with outsiders could easily lead to disagreements.
Still, he asked the adventurers why they and the local hunters had suddenly headed into the forest. It turned out that the Viscount's household had put out a bounty.
Donald had hunted a few magic beasts with beautiful pelts himself, but he had no intention of going to the Viscount's castle to claim the reward. For one thing, his House Merlinar didn't have a blood feud with Viscount Macbeth, but they did have some old grievances that were difficult to settle. There was no chance of reconciliation.
For another, the Viscount's reward was generous, but he could earn more by taking the beasts' carcasses to an auction house and selling the pelts alone.
The adventurers weren't drawn to the bounty solely for the money. Completing the job would also earn them the favor of the greatest lord in North Shire. For most common-born adventurers hoping to improve their standing and live like the upper classes, that opportunity mattered even more than the Gold Sol.
The journey was uneventful. Aside from passing several more groups of adventurers, Donald made it back to his residence without incident.
The courtyard was nearly filled from end to end with building materials, leaving only a narrow gap wide enough for one person to pass through. Steward Code still hadn't returned, so Donald had to think of another solution.
He couldn't let the merchants take the building materials straight to his estate. That way, no outsiders would discover him using the Book of Truth's materialization ability.
This world had true gods and many powerful beings. The existence of a high-grade divine artifact would be enough to tempt even the gods. The Northern Lands were remote, unlike the prosperous central and southern regions of the continent, where Temples stood everywhere, but word could still get out. Donald decided it was safer to be cautious. Otherwise, any high-ranking Professional above level seven could pose a threat he was powerless to resist.
His only option was to spend some of his energy reserves to exchange for a new Space Mark, expanding its storage capacity to ten cubic meters. Then he put some of the materials inside, freeing up a good deal of space in the courtyard. This one expense used up nearly a third of his remaining Elemental Crystal reserves.
Fortunately, his hunt had been profitable. Once he removed the cores and sold the magic beast carcasses, he would quickly earn back the cost and still make a little profit.
With that in mind, Donald decided to visit Giant Stone City again. He would go to the Gold Sol Auction House, whose name was a little tacky. Apart from keeping the three most beautiful level-five magic beast pelts, he couldn't wait to auction off the other carcass materials. He planned to sell them all directly to the auction house.
The Gold Sol Auction House had the means to take the whole lot off his hands.
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