Chapter 17: Red Hare’s First Battle

The figures in front of me, each exuding an aura of life, were all clad in armor.

Among them, the one who spoke to me stood out as a Knight, uniquely dressed in an armor that looked far more expensive than any I had seen so far.

Looking at him, a thought crossed my mind.

‘How much does that armor cost?’

I was genuinely curious about the price of the armor and helmet he wore.

They looked pricier than the defensive gear worn by the Knights I had encountered until now.

I wanted them.

No, just the idea of selling those would make me stronger, and that thought excited me a little.

Thinking about selling not only those but also the rest of the enemy soldiers’ armor, I felt like the possibilities of what I could buy were endless.

My slightly excited body trembled.

But those ten soldiers, lost in their delusions, didn’t know how I felt.

“Hmph. Looks like he’s alone and scared.”

“How can those guys be idiots for not taking down such a coward?”

“Thanks to them, the pay is more higher, right?”

“Hahaha.”

They laughed among themselves, treating me like a fool.

I wasn’t sure whether to be thankful for the situation or not.

‘Thanks.’

Without any mages on their side, their negligence was my greatest opportunity.

I carefully began to move my mana.

“I’ll take care of this.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m better suited for this kind of thing.”

“What are you talking about? I’d bet 1 Gold on you dying first.”

“Oh really? Wanna try?”

“I bet 1 Gold on Kill.”

“Why don’t we make it 2 Gold? Big guys like you should win once in a while.”

They were so excited that they even decided the order of turns and made bets.

They giggled and chattered as if this was the most entertaining thing.

To those idiots, I gave a great gift.

“Fireball!”

A huge sphere of fire, charged with mana, formed instantly in my hand, and I launched it straight toward the enemy soldiers.

Boom!

Ka-wak

A loud explosion erupted, and fiery sparks bloomed.

The fire started burning three soldiers.

They were the same three who laughed the loudest at me.

Seeing their startled faces as the fireball struck, I immediately cast the next skills.

“Magic Missile. Fire Bolt.”

With one in each hand, I skillfully shot the spells toward other soldiers.

Bang! Bang!

Two soldiers died without even a scream.

Taking advantage of the opening, I quickly dealt with five soldiers.

Only one Knight and four soldiers remained.

“Kill them!”

At the Knight’s command, the soldiers charged.

They were startled by the death of their comrades and charged in full force.

On two legs.

“Here we go.”

I kicked Toma’s side.

Toma sensed my intent and charged forward without hesitation.

Thud thud thud thud.

Though the distance wasn’t far, Toma accelerated rapidly, forcing the soldiers to stop before reaching us.

“…..!”

“Crazy!”

The soldier who tried to block head-on was no match for the galloping horse.

Confused and not knowing what to do, the soldiers watched as Toma leapt over them.

“Hiing br!”

From Toma’s back, I looked down and shouted.

“Dig!”

A huge hole suddenly appeared beneath the soldiers, and they plummeted straight into it.

“Well done, Toma!”

“Hiing br!”

I was so thankful that Toma understood my intention and helped me like that.

But those soldiers trapped in the hole would climb out eventually.

Before then, I had to deal with the Knight.

“Fog.”

I quickly drew mana and created a dense fog between the Knight and me.

Through the thick fog, the Knight’s shout echoed.

“You won’t stop me with such a shabby trick.”

“Then how about this? Light!”

I cast Light Magic.

But it wasn’t ordinary light.

I condensed the light to radiate intense heat.

“Light magic? Ha!”

He scoffed at it.

To most people, Light Magic was just a tool to illuminate.

But mine was special.

“Aaaah!”

Startled by the heat radiating from the light attached to his helmet, the Knight quickly removed the helmet, breaking free from the Light Magic.

However, the Knight who slashed his sword in agony wasn’t much of a threat.

His eyes were barely open, overwhelmed by pain.

“Good! Let’s finish this…”

I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Suddenly, Toma stopped mid-charge and kicked the Knight’s chest with his hind leg.

Pow!

From atop Toma, the sound of impact was tremendous.

The Knight flew about three meters into the air, landing hard on the ground.

He lay there, unable to move, bleeding.

“Whoa.”

I was surprised, and Toma seemed pleased as he let out a loud neigh.

-Level up.

-You have gained 5 additional stat points.

The notification window popped up repeatedly, interrupting my stealth.

-Pet ‘Toma’ has leveled up.

-Pet ‘Toma’ Status Window has been activated.

-Stats are distributed automatically.

-Name: Toma

-Level: 1

-Stats: Strength 10, Stamina 50

-Loyalty: 100

-Skills: Sprint (Lv.1), Back Kick (Lv.1)

The continuous notifications startled me enough.

“Whoa, not only pet registration but Skill and Status Window too? And Loyalty is 100?”

My heart swelled.

Toma was not just a horse; he was a loyal companion.

“Damn! Awesome!”

I ruffled Toma’s mane, praising him.

Then, Toma neighed loudly and led me to the hole where the soldiers had fallen.

“Come on, buddy.”

“Get up quickly.”

“It’s heavy!”

Four soldiers were building a human ladder to climb out of the hole.

The face of the soldier at the top appeared over the edge.

“Hiing br!”

Toma kicked the soldier’s head with his hoof.

The soldier, struck violently, fell back down into the hole, and the human ladder collapsed.

“What the—”

The soldier at the bottom cursed and looked up, locking eyes with me.

I smiled.

Then I cast another spell into the hole.

“Fireball!”

Inside, it became a blazing inferno.

Worried it might not be enough, I threw another.

It would be plenty warm in there.

Not a single corpse would remain.

“Well then, shall we take care of the rest?”

I leisurely searched through the remaining soldiers’ bodies until they died.

I stripped off their armor and pockets, taking anything that could be turned into Gold.

It was worth about 100 Gold.

“Ha, if this keeps happening, I won’t mind constant attacks. It’s a money-making machine.”

I hummed happily and climbed back onto Toma.

If we rode cautiously through the night, we’d reach the next territory by dawn.

We could rest then.

Toma and I arrived at the next territory just as the night ended and the sun began to rise.

At the gate, they conducted a thorough inspection, suspicious of my early morning arrival.

After the check, I entered the territory, where the people had already started moving about under the rising sun.

“Hmm…”

I kept sighing while looking for an Inn.

Since I needed an Inn with a stable, I had to move to the outskirts rather than the bustling center.

I chose a decent-looking Inn and fell asleep.

***

Contrary to my expectations of a deep sleep, I woke up several times to check my surroundings before dozing off again.

“Ah, damn it. No fire.”

Despite becoming more sensitive due to multiple attacks, I hadn’t expected to become this restless.

That sensitivity was proven by a new skill.

-Skill ‘Sensitive’ has been acquired.

It literally alerted me to my heightened senses.

Thanks to it, I managed to sleep a bit better.

Still, I couldn’t sleep well if someone passed by my door or loud noises came from below.

Around mid-afternoon, I thought.

“Ugh, I really need to find someone I can trust. This is too hard to sleep through.”

Even in the Inn, it was this bad; I’d be unable to sleep at all if I stayed outside at night.

So I needed someone to follow me on my journey.

The problem was, was there such a person?

Whether moving amid merchants or forming a party, how far I could go depended entirely on that person’s heart.

“In the end, that’s all there is?”

Only one thought came to my mind.

‘Slave.’

It reminded me of the long-obsolete slave system that modern society no longer saw.

But slaves were common in this world.

“Of course. I need to buy other things first, though.”

Becoming stronger was the priority.

So buying Magic books came first.

“All right, let’s go out.”

***

Carrying the spoils of the attackers, I headed toward the shop selling Magic books.

Since it wasn’t closing time yet, the shop was lively, and I started selecting Magic books following the staff’s guidance.

‘First of all, Trap Magic is a must. That way, nights are safer.’

The first book I grabbed was Trap Magic.

Of course, just setting traps wasn’t enough.

Alarm Magic had to be installed for extra safety.

I chose two essential Survival Skills and began looking for useful Magic books.

“I need to pick up a couple more offensive Magics, and see if there’s anything revolutionary.”

While searching for offensive Magicbooks, I found a bundle labeled “Discount.”

[Fire Spear]

[Aqua Spear]

[Wind Spear]

[Rock Spear]

They were the four elemental spear spells.

Each book cost 20 Gold, but the four together were sold for 70 Gold.

‘Heh heh heh. Bundled discounts are the best’.

My offensive magic needs were solved at once.

Next, I picked two more Magic books.

Invisibility, which would hide a person’s breath.

Blink, which allowed instant short-distance movement.

In total, I bought eight Magic books, spending 100 Gold in an instant.

“Thank you, customer.”

The clerk’s face was full of smiles, but I only felt emptiness.

Making money was tough, but spending it was always instantaneous.

“I’m only spending for myself…”

Every time my bank account drained in modern times, sad memories surfaced.

After finishing the transaction, I asked the clerk.

“Could you tell me where the Slave Market is?”

The clerk looked at me with discomfort.

It was as if questioning what I wanted to do with slaves and whether it was safe to tell me.

My reason for asking was obvious.

I had seen someone hurriedly disappear when I first came in.

Though the person vanished quickly, I couldn’t be fooled.

I quietly slipped a Gold coin into the clerk’s hand.

His smile brightened immediately, and he kindly explained the location.

He even drew me a rough map to help me find it.

Finally, he advised me to dress neatly and look respectable.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you as well, customer.”

Satisfied with the deal, we smiled and parted, and I left the shop.

I headed straight to buy clothes.

This was my first clothing shopping since arriving in this world.

And not for survival but for style.

I spent 3 Gold on clean clothes and even robes worn by mages.

“All right, let’s go.”

My next destination was the Slave Market.