Return
Of course, there had been looters before.
But thinking back, it was strange how easily they were dealt with.
Normal looters wouldn’t act so carelessly.
So, I carefully told my companions about my plan.
After a while.
“Um, okay!”
“Got it.”
“Alright.”
Everyone agreed, so I decided to put the plan into action.
My plan was simple.
I didn’t know where they were, but those guys would definitely trust the ‘Ram.’
Based on the forum and Dontas, it was an incredibly expensive artifact.
Therefore, we decided to find all the hidden ‘Rams’ in the vicinity.
There weren’t any strange techniques hidden within the Ram itself, and we already knew it had a technique to prevent teleportation.
‘We just need to steal the Ram and run.’
As a result of using [Sensory Amplification] earlier to examine the surroundings, there were several more objects presumed to be Rams.
So, if we collected the Rams and then used teleportation to escape, the looters would lose their valuable loot.
There was no reason for us to push ourselves collecting Illusion Flowers.
We had already gathered a decent amount.
Of course, more would be better… but the amount we had now was fine.
‘The client said this much would be enough.’
They requested a certain quantity, and we had already fulfilled the request.
However, due to the adventurer’s inherent desire for profit, we had come this far.
With that thought, I deployed the technique again.
[Sensory Amplification]
As I activated the magic again, the locations of the Rams buried nearby became clearer.
So, I informed my companions of their positions.
It would be more efficient for Dontas or someone else to dig up the ground than me.
As I was thinking this, my companions dug up the Rams buried in the ground and brought them to me.
[Lightning Bolt]
I used Lightning Bolt to check the structure once more.
It could be dangerous if there were other magical techniques embedded.
As a result of the check with Lightning Bolt, it was fine.
It had the same structure as the other Rams.
Relieved, I readjusted the technique.
[Affinity]
I changed it to a completely useless technique for the Ram and stored it in my subspace pouch.
And then, I immediately cast the magic.
[Teleportation]
Fortunately, it seemed to work properly this time.
It seemed like the Ram from before was definitely the problem.
With that thought, we escaped from the depths of the Forest of Illusions.
On our way out, I picked an Illusion Flower.
*
“...Captain, the enemies are gone.”
“...What?”
It was unbelievable.
They were definitely monitoring from afar using mana.
After witnessing another group of looters getting detected and retaliated against not long ago, they had been monitoring with mana from this distance.
But to suddenly receive news that they disappeared…
It was a bit disconcerting.
“What do you mean they’re gone? You were clearly keeping an eye on them with mana.”
“That’s… It seems they used teleportation.”
“Impossible. Didn’t we embed a teleportation blocking technique in the Ram?”
“I don’t understand either.”
In this situation, there was no other choice but to go to where the prey had been to figure out the truth.
They were equipped with items too valuable to miss.
So, they cautiously approached the place where the targets had been.
And a moment later.
-Growl…!
The sounds of monsters could be heard from all directions.
*
“Ah, we still made a good profit. It’s a bit disappointing we couldn’t take all the Illusion Flowers there.”
“But it would’ve been dangerous if we got greedy.”
“Isn’t it enough that we got the Rams?”
“That’s true.”
Still, since we secured the Rams, it was a huge gain.
I heard the Rams were incredibly expensive.
It was Dontas’s official statement, so it was reliable.
As I was thinking this, we started chatting and leaving the Forest of Illusions.
Perhaps because things ended faster than expected, we didn’t even need to eat our rations.
In a way, it was fortunate, but also a bit disappointing.
It’s like I wanted to fight more.
I wanted to test the limits of my magic.
“Um, by the way, there are a lot of looters in the Forest of Illusions these days. It wasn’t this bad outside.”
“That’s because incidents in the Forest of Illusions don’t get reported much. Originally, you need to be at least Silver Badge rank to take requests here. The bar was set surprisingly low.
So, once you reach Silver Badge rank, you could take on requests for the Forest of Illusions?
As I pondered this fascinating fact, I opened the forum.
I wanted to boast about our achievement today.
However, I only took a picture of the Ram.
There was a possibility of being identified if I included the Illusion Flowers.
With that in mind, I uploaded the picture of the Ram to the forum.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: Today’s harvest…jpg]
[Content: (Picture) Found a Ram buried on the side of the road lol]
After posting, I waited for a while, and comments started pouring in.
A lot of them.
I immediately went in to check.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: Today’s harvest…jpg]
[Content: (Picture) Found a Ram buried on the side of the road lol]
L: Wow, you're lucky to be alive lol
ㄴ: Right? How are they not dead?
ㄴ: Burying it on the road means it’s a trap; surviving that is legendary.
L: How did they even find the Ram? Amazing
ㄴ: This person is a national treasure-level genius mage…
ㄴ: Ah lol, national treasure-level, I can't argue with that
ㄴ: I mean, it’s not like they're wrong about the national treasure part
L: How did you do this without getting hurt? This has to be fake.
ㄴ: Seriously, reeks of being made up
ㄴ: How can you even fake this lol
ㄴ: Come on, at least try to be believable
Looking at the reactions in the comments, it seems most people used Rams buried in the ground as traps.
The people trying to loot us probably would’ve done the same, but it seems they knew I had healing abilities.
So, I asked the others,
“Did any of you happen to mention my healing skills to anyone?”
I was genuinely curious.
It didn’t make sense otherwise.
I was curious, to say the least.
As I was lost in thought, Dontas spoke up hesitantly.
“Well, you see… while talking with my friends, it kinda slipped out. Sorry about that.”
“Ah, it’s okay, I wasn’t trying to blame anyone. I was just curious.”
I never explicitly told them not to talk about my healing abilities, but usually, people keep these kinds of abilities hidden.
I guess their thought processes were different since we were from different races.
With that in mind, we exited the Forest of Illusions.
“Come to think of it, we didn’t encounter any other adventurer parties along the way. I thought we would.”
“Monsters have been causing a lot of trouble lately. There were even reports of a Legion Commander appearing.”
“Right…”
Even though there were reports of a Legion Commander appearing, we still went to the Forest of Illusions to complete the request.
This could be considered experience.
I’m not sure about others, but it was definitely a great experience for me.
And we even made money on top of that.
With that thought, I cast magic on my companions.
[Haste]
[Freeze]
It was a hot day, so I always used Freeze.
It felt awkward using it only on myself.
Sharing is caring, right?
“Ah, that’s so refreshing.”
“This must be what they mean by ice cold!”
“Feels good…”
Fortunately, all my companions seemed satisfied.
And so, we returned to Baruk.
It took a while.
About a day.
Upon arriving back in Baruk, we handed over the Illusion Flowers to Esily.
We received the reward money on the spot.
I decided to handle the monster byproducts again this time.
Because of the agreement I made with Amelia.
Cling-!
Perhaps it was newly installed, but a bell chimed as I opened the door.
And at the same time, Amelia, who must have been sleeping, shot up from her seat.
“Oh, hello…!!”
“Hello.”
Amelia rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up, then sat down on her chair with a serious expression.
She then spoke to me.
“What kind of byproducts did you bring today..?”
This time, I could speak with great confidence.
Because we had gained a lot.
So, I took out the Troll’s blood, heart, and the ‘Ram’ from my subspace pouch.
“How’s this?”
This was quite a lot, even I had to admit.
As if to prove it, Amelia’s eyes sparkled.
“I was just in need of Troll blood…!”
Amelia and I had a mutually beneficial relationship.
…Probably?
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