Chapter 9 Towards the town

As the five of us, or should it be seven with Frenzied Panda and Spear Cretin still here, walked towards the town, we saw some boars. They didn’t attack us, but I was wondering if it’s fine to leave them be and not kill them. I don’t know about this world, but in my work, the boars were an invasive species that destroyed everything. Are these boars the reason that these plains are here? Did they destroy every tree in the area, except those cacao trees? The boars didn’t attack us, either because they are not aggressive or because Frenzied Panda is still summoned. “Hey Zay, how aggressive are these boars? Is it fine that we don’t hunt them?” I asked Zayaan. “Yeah, they are fine. They are nearly tame and don’t attack. They look intimidating to beginners, though. It’s the job of new adventurers to herd them and slaughter some for meat.” Zay responded. So boars are passive. That is different. It reminds me of how people in northern Europe keep reindeer. I think they just let the reindeer wander in the wild and have some kind of call that allows the owners to call the reindeer. I saw it in a YouTube video after all, so it might be true. “By the way, how peaceful is this road usually?” (Brian) “The usual trouble is the predators that come to feast on the boars. They don’t attack carriages, but the boars of these plains are the main meat source of Arkwatch. If too many die, they won’t reproduce fast enough. That’s why the adventurers' guild is quick to deal with problems on the plains. Though bison could eat the food of the boars and causing some young boars to die. That’s why the subjugation quests are given out quickly. Can’t have the main meat source running out.” (Zay) “So the main job for adventurers is taking care of predators and herding the boars. Does that mean that higher-ranking adventurers avoid this town, or is there something keeping them here?” (Brian) “Yeah, with no dungeon and this being mostly a farming and forestry town, a lot of high-ranking adventurers head to towns with better prey or dungeons. Most high-ranking players just pass by on escort quests. We are the second-highest ranked party in town. There is one B-rank party, and we are the only C-rank.” “So dungeons bring adventurers…” I think back to the dungeon I woke up in. That info panel said it was a rogue dungeon, but I wonder if it can be made into a normal one. If it could, this town might see an increase in adventurers. It doesn’t seem like they have big issues at the moment that more adventurers would solve, but this does sound a lot like a beginner town. (System, can the rogue dungeon that I destroyed be made into a regular dungeon?) I ask the system in my mind. (Master did not destroy the dungeon; you eliminated it. A destroyed dungeon can not be remade, but an eliminated dungeon can. To reactivate the dungeon, a sufficient magic core must be placed on the pedestal to become a new dungeon core. That would make the dungeon into a managed dungeon.) The system gave me a detailed answer. (What is a magic core?) (A magic core is the heart of monsters. All monsters have a core, but the smallest ones are completely unusable to humans. The only use for them is to be absorbed by a dungeon. For activating a dungeon, the higher the rank of the core, the better. Stronger core means a stronger dungeon that can create more resources faster.) (system) (But that dungeon is super small, right? Wouldn’t a strong core be wasted for a dungeon that small?) (Brian) (That dungeon is not that small, Master. Some dungeons are only the core room. It has a good size to turn into a remote management dungeon. A larger dungeon would need a live-in dungeon master.) (system) (So there are dungeon masters. Does remote management mean the dungeon master can do it from afar? That sounds super useful.) (Brian) (Yes, Master. Remote dungeons are often under the control of the adventurers guild’s master of a nearby town or a noble of the town. The live-in dungeon masters are chosen as a job by the nobles.) (system) (Can dungeon masters be changed, or is it a kind of thing?) (Brian) (Dungeon masters can be changed. It is often done with dungeons. Most people are a dungeon master for a month and then have a month off. But some leave everything and just spend the rest of their lives as the dungeon master.) (system) (Why would anyone who isn’t insane do that? That would make you go crazy.) (Brian) (Being a dungeon master makes you age slower so you can extend your lifespan. But it only gives a major effect if you are a master for a long time. Short times only help you stay healthy. That is why even the short time live in posts are usually filled quickly.) (system) (Do the remote managers gain some of these effects?) (Brian) (Only the health benefits. No extended lifespan. That is why nobles usually try to get the remote control right.) (Then why not make all dungeons live in?) (The smaller the dungeon, the less the benefits. And as Master said, being a dungeon master can be very lonely. And only the active master gains the dungeon master benefit, so having multiple people live in makes little sense.) (system) As you walked to town, the system gave me a quick warning. (Master, the time of Frenzied Panda is up. You must get off of him and unsummon him, or you will crash to the ground.) (system) (Sure.) “Can we stop for a second?” I ask loudly of the members of ‘Prime Rib’. “Sure, we can, but why?” Zay asks and looks up at me. I slide down from the panda's back and say back to them. “I have to unsummon my panda. He can’t stay any longer.” “Are you out of mana then. You should have unsummoned him before running out of mana.” Brian sounded a little panicked as he lectured me. Is running out of mana that bad? “No, it’s not a mana problem. I can only keep him summoned for so long. That’s why I must let him go.” I reassure him that I’m not out of mana. “I didn’t know there were summons with a time limit. Well, not like I know anything about summoning. Lua, do you know about this?” Zay asks their mage for more info. Lucia shakes her head left and right in no motion. I guess she is not an expert in summoning, even if she is a mage. Makes sense with her water magic skill. Or is it blood magic? “I think my summoning might be unique.” I give a vague answer. “Spear Cretin, you come over here as well.” As Frenzied Panda and Spear Cretin stand before me I hold out their cards in my hands and thank them. “Thank you for your service. You can go now.” (Brian) The cards appear under the m, and they sink into the cards. After that, the cards I was holding faded and vanished. All of the members are looking at me with strange looks. Lucia looks like she is going to charge me with a million questions. Please don’t ask, I might not have the answers you are looking for. It was Rico who broke the awkward silence. “Are you not going to explain anything? That’s not how summoning works. Even I know that much, and I have only seen summoning once.” “Ric,o stop that. It’s not polite.” Zay immediately got on Rico’s case. “I’m sorry about him.” “It’s fine. But you don’t know how to answer. This is how my summoning has always worked. I also haven’t seen anyone else use summoning magic.” I gave an answer that would get them off my case. “Shouldn’t we get a move on? Or do you want to camp outside of town?” “We can get into town after dark because we are known to the guards, but you are an outline, so we should try to get to town before dark.” (Zay) So high rankers can get to town after dark. I guess it makes sense when they leave for an emergency guest midday. It would be evil to leave them outside after that. Lucia seems like she still wants to hound me with a million questions, but she seems to have given up for now out of consideration for their leader. Another half an hour after saying goodbye to my sumo, we see the walls of a town. We had already had some fields on both sides of the road, interestingly, though they leave large fields like these unguarded. I guess the junior adventurers guard them during the day. I mean, those boars are the main problem for these crops, right? “Welcome to Alewatch, Brian.” Zay welcomed me to the town. I mean, we still have to get past the gate guard, right? Please don’t jinx me into spending the night outside. Now I can’t even cuddle my panda for warmth.