Phantom Forest

That morning, Renato lay in bed staring into space, recalling the first adventuring quest he had completed three months earlier. With a thought, an open book appeared in his field of vision.

[Adventurer's Guide]

[Quest]

Hunt goblins in the forest south of the city. No limit on number. Bring back their right ears. Reward: 5 copper coins each.

[Quest description]

Bloody sacrificial rites, a cruel faith in an evil god, family conspiracies, glory, wealth... all of it has fallen away from you. This is the end of your former identity and the beginning of a new life. Become an adventurer now, start with killing goblins, and work your way up again!

Goblin right ears submitted ×2. Gained 10 experience points.

After glancing over the first quest he had accepted, Renato turned to the next section.

[Character]

Renato de Fernando

Race: human

Class: warrior level 3 (15/500), favored of Dakoul level 1 (30/?)

HP: 45/45

Strength: 14

Constitution: 12

Dexterity: 14

Perception: 15

Intelligence: 11

Resolve: 15

Feats: heavy armor proficiency, martial weapon proficiency, sword specialization, darkvision

Skills: religious knowledge level 6, historical knowledge level 4, linguistics level 4, group tactics level 3, riding level 2

Renato closed his eyes, and the Adventurer's Guide disappeared.

After nearly three months of exploration, Renato felt he had figured out how to use this "book."

He could complete commissions to earn experience points and raise his class levels.

After more than two months of effort, his warrior class had reached level 3, granting him two points of strength and one point of dexterity. The difference was not obvious, but he had indeed grown a little stronger, though Renato was more inclined to attribute that to his training over the past two months.

As for the other class, which clearly seemed rather suspect, Renato had experimented with it too. But even after investing 30 experience points, nothing had changed. He could only set it aside for now. Adventuring commissions were not easy to complete, after all, and every experience point he earned was precious.

As for where this Adventurer's Guide had suddenly come from, or what conspiracy might lurk behind it... Renato, who had been dumped penniless into another world, had long since stopped caring. He put the survival skills of his student days to full use-enjoy what he could now, and leave the future for later.

Besides, this book was the only thing Renato had found so far that had any connection to Earth. No matter what, he would not stop using this [Guide].

Remembering the few dozen copper coins left in his purse, Renato had no choice but to end his aimless daydreaming and force himself out from under the warm blanket.

Renato had long since replaced his damaged blue velvet coat with cowhide armor. To save money, he had deliberately bought only a leather breastplate. It was light and offered the most coverage for the price.

Combined with a pair of iron pauldrons taken as loot on an adventure, a yellowed padded jacket, and the leather gloves and bracers he had bought himself, Renato thought he finally looked the part of an adventurer.

Once he had put on his equipment and hung his sword at his waist, Renato pushed open the door and drew a deep breath of the slightly chilly air.

Brekka Town was the southernmost town under Fried City's jurisdiction. Though it was called a town, Renato preferred to think of it as an adventurers' camp.

Simple wooden houses, thrown together any which way, crowded against one another. Around them stood a collection of shacks Renato could hardly call houses-most were nothing more than a few boards and scraps of cloth cobbled together.

The air was thick with the mingled stench of excrement and rotting animal innards. After living here for over two months, Renato found that he had actually grown somewhat used to it.

His reason for coming here was simple. Competition in Fried City was too fierce, the pay too low, and the prices too high. Unable to make ends meet, Renato had come to this locally famous "adventuring paradise."

As usual, Renato went to the town square, where the Adventurers' Guild normally announced its quests.

Unlike in the city, though, there was no quest board to browse. There was only a bald man on the platform-known to everyone as One-Eyed Holly. He shouted from above, and the people below shouted back to sign up. Once enough people had gathered for a party, they simply set off.

Though the bald man's voice carried well, there were so many people looking for work that Renato could not make out a word from farther away. He had to squeeze through the noisy crowd, trying to make out what One-Eyed Holly was saying amid the curses.

"Success or failure, everyone gets one silver crown when they come back! Listen up! One silver crown each! Whether we succeed or not!"

"Count me in!" Before One-Eyed Holly had even finished, an adventurer eagerly raised his hand.

"Over here, over here! Old Holly, we've had drinks together!"

"Bullshit! When did One-Eye ever drink with you?"

The argument soon turned into a brawl, but everyone took it in stride and waited for One-Eyed Holly to continue.

"This time, we're heading into the Phantom Forest. You all know the place, right?"

At the mention of the Phantom Forest, the crowd below immediately grew much quieter. A few people shrank back and left.

The Phantom Forest was also the reason Brekka Town had been founded. Legend had it that the ancient Niter Kingdom had once stood there before the entire kingdom sank underground. Accounts differed as to why, but uncontrolled magic still haunted the land, filling it with all manner of illusions and bewildering magical mazes.

Renato was not worried, though. Thanks to the "pioneering" efforts of countless adventurers, most of the magical traps had long since been disarmed, and a number of relatively safe routes had been mapped out. He had completed quite a few commissions there himself. It was not nearly as terrifying as the rumors claimed.

One-Eyed Holly seemed quite pleased with the quiet. He coughed and continued:

"The giant spiders in the Phantom Forest seem to be different from the ones elsewhere. I can't tell the difference myself, but a mage wants them!"

As he spoke, Holly winked. With one eye already blind, it made him look rather comical, but no one below laughed. Upon hearing that the job involved hunting giant spiders, half the crowd began thinking about backing out.

Giant spiders did not appear alone, after all. Who would go looking for a whole swarm for that paltry sum?

"Mages are much more generous than noble lords. Not only did he give us plenty of money, he even told us where to look. Right in Mute Valley, there's a big spider nest..."

No matter how much One-Eyed Holly shouted after that, or how high he raised the price, more and more people left. Just as Renato was about to leave as well and see whether there was any other work available, his Adventurer's Guide popped up.

[Quest]

Hunt the giant spiders in Mute Valley within the Phantom Forest. No limit on number. Reward: 5 silver coins each. If you bring back spider eggs, the reward is 20 silver coins each.

[Quest description]

Within the dark spider nest, the webs conceal not only corpses, but countless treasures. With a mage providing cover, fight for silver! This is not merely a matter of survival, but of the glory of humanoid kind.

Quest reward: 1,000 experience points.

Looks like old Holly was taking a cut again-and a pretty hefty one this time, was Renato's first thought as he looked at the reward of 20 silver coins.

But the [Adventurer's Guide] had never been wrong. Whatever reward it listed was exactly what he would receive.

The generous reward made Renato waver. With a little thrift, 20 silver coins would be enough for him to spend the entire winter living in the city.

If he could bring back two, that would be 40 silver coins. Renato could not help thinking:

Not only could I have meat with every meal, I could even visit the bathhouse now and then...

Most important were those 1,000 experience points. Renato had taken on a dozen or so quests, large and small, over the past three months, but even the most rewarding had never given him more than 100 experience points. With so much experience, he might be able to gain two levels at once.

And judging by the quest description, there would apparently be a mage providing magical support... After turning it over in his mind, Renato decided to go for a big score.

Isn't taking risks for money what adventurers do?

After nearly an hour, only three people had signed up, including Renato. Just as One-Eyed Holly continued shouting, a man wearing a dark blue robe patterned in silver stepped forward. One-Eye immediately shut his mouth and waited for the man to speak.

His voice was slightly hoarse and quiet, yet Renato felt as though it were sounding right beside his ear:

"The giant spiders in Mute Valley. Five silver crowns each, and you keep the materials. Giant spider eggs, twenty silver crowns each, and the materials belong to me."

The mage's brief words proved more effective than an hour of the bald man's shouting. In less than five minutes, they had assembled a party of ten.