I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[019] Legendary Ancient Adventurer’s Greaves
“Confirmation: The target of 10kg of Resonance Stones has been achieved! Everyone worked incredibly hard. I’ll distribute the compensation as promised.”
After completing the commission and submitting the Resonance Stones at the Adventurer’s Guild, the receptionist greeted me with a smile.
Razvel didn’t forget to retrieve Radgit’s ear from her material pouch and submit it.
“Oh, and by the way, we happened to capture Radgit….”
“R-Radgit?! Radgit appeared in the Resonance Stone Cave?!”
The receptionist slammed the table and stood up, causing all the adventurers in the lobby to turn and stare.
She looked over Razvel’s entire body as if checking that all her limbs were properly attached, then spoke.
“Y-you managed to come back alive… Radgit would have been quite overwhelming for novice adventurers… Your party has grown tremendously, Razvel!”
“No, Doran handled all of Radgit. I’m embarrassed to say we only received his help.”
“Eh? Th-this person?”
The receptionist’s eyes widened as she looked at Doran.
Wasn’t he just a beginner who had completed his adventurer registration moments ago?
He had managed to defeat the Goblin Shaman somehow, but given his low level, it should have been impossible for him to single-handedly slaughter the Radgit Group….
Something felt off. There was even an odd smell about him.
“By any chance… could you tell me how you defeated them, Doran?”
“Pardon? Why…?”
“When beginners encounter Radgit in the cave, there are usually many casualties. If you know any useful countermeasures, we could reduce the damage to other adventurers.”
“Well, that is….”
Stripping naked, covering myself entirely in mud and filth, mimicking a monster to catch them off-guard, then striking them down.
‘How am I supposed to explain this….’
“It was like this! Doran suddenly started taking off his clothes all willy-nilly… Mmph!!”
“…I was simply fortunate. I had experience defeating Radgit before.”
As Doran covered Razvel’s mouth and deflected the question, the receptionist responded awkwardly.
“I-I see… Thank you again for your hard work! Since Radgit is designated as a harmful monster, I’ll provide an additional 5 gold coins per right ear submitted.”
“5 gold coins each…?”
“Yes, harmful monsters have increased recently, so the bounty has gone up. Strangely, even unfamiliar monsters have started appearing near Verastin….”
‘The dungeon won’t take much longer to fully open.’
At most two weeks. Perhaps less than a week remained.
Razvel’s group’s eyes widened as they received the compensation pouch.
“Look at this! It’s quite heavy! We could use this toward new equipment!”
“Right… I hope there are only Resonance Stone commissions from now on! Of course, assuming we don’t encounter Radgit again.”
“….”
I also checked the compensation in the pouch.
‘Let’s see the amount… roughly 4 shillings, I’d say.’
Not bad for a first commission.
I’d secured the Resonance Stones I originally aimed for, and earned money to cover immediate living expenses.
Capturing Radgit had been particularly worthwhile.
But….
‘…a human life reduced to a handful of cheap coins.’
Even in these leisurely times before catastrophe strikes, this is so characteristically Belheim.
As I pocketed my payment with a self-deprecating smile, the receptionist spoke with a laugh.
“Oh, I almost forgot about this… If you’ll submit your Adventurer’s Badge, I’ll stamp it for you.”
“…A stamp?”
“Ah, since this is your first request with our guild, you wouldn’t know… We stamp badges here when adventurers complete requests above a certain difficulty! And there are special kill marks for subjugating powerful monsters!”
“I see… I understand now.”
So it’s a system to boost adventurers’ sense of achievement and serve as a trust indicator.
The more stamps on an Adventurer’s Badge, the more guild requests that person has completed.
‘I’d forgotten about that information since I only used it during my newbie days.’
From a certain point onward, my very existence had become like an identification card.
After receiving the stamp on my Adventurer’s Badge with a heated seal and leaving the guild, Razvel’s Group chattered excitedly.
“On a day this good, we can’t skip a celebratory drink! Don’t you all agree?!”
“Doran, we were thinking of heading to the Tavern for a drink. Would you like to join us? We’d really love it if you came…!”
“….”
Razvel’s Group looked at me with hopeful eyes, but I bowed politely and responded.
“I’m truly grateful for the invitation, but I have some matters to attend to. I apologize.”
“Oh, no…! We can’t force you to stay with us….”
“…Well, I plan to stay in this city for a while, so we’ll surely meet again if the opportunity arises.”
“R-really?! Would it be okay to act like we know each other next time we meet?”
“Of course. In fact, I’d be sad if you all forgot about me.”
I’d gone through the trouble of keeping them alive and bringing them out—I couldn’t afford to ignore them.
Moreover, given my origins, I inevitably have many enemies, so even these trivial connections might prove useful someday.
As I smiled and bowed respectfully, Razvel’s Group beamed and waved their hands.
* * *
After purchasing medicinal herbs and several materials, I returned to the Inn where I’d stayed the previous night, and the Innkeeper’s Daughter greeted me warmly.
“Ah! The handsome brother is here! Did you get registered as an adventurer?”
“Yes. Is the Innkeeper not around?”
“She went to Windmill Hill to grind wheat for tomorrow morning! She said she’d be back a bit late today….”
“I see? That’s unfortunate… I need to borrow a pot and a basin….”
“I’ll lend them to you! Normally I should charge, but I’ll do it for free for you! …Don’t tell Mom, okay!”
“Thank you. Then let me see….”
I took a piece of candy from my pocket and placed it in the little girl’s hand.
“Here, take this. It’s molasses candy I bought from the Shop nearby. …It’s a secret from the Innkeeper, okay?”
“R-really? Can I really have it?”
“Of course. Just promise me you’ll brush your teeth well before bed.”
I gently patted the little girl’s head as she shook it vigorously, then took the basin and pot to the Inn Backyard where few people passed through.
The reason I’d come here with all these troublesome preparations was simple.
“Finally… it’s time to awaken this shin guard.”
Ding―!
[Worn Shin Guard]
“An item combining old leather with metal.”
“It’s so filthy and shabby that wearing these greaves might actually decrease my charm!”
“Is it just me, or does it even smell strange?”
Even the equipment description made me grimace—just another worthless junk item.
I doubted I could get anything but scrap metal value if I sold it to a pawnbroker, but this item’s true potential would reveal itself once certain conditions were met.
First, however, I needed to remove the rust coating the metal surface.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve done alchemy…’
Alchemy.
In most games, alchemy amounted to little more than combining recipes to synthesize items, but Belheim’s alchemy system operated on a different level entirely.
Thanks to its chemistry engine that mimicked reality, there were actually insane players out there who’d crafted rockets from sugar and fertilizer just to bombard monster lairs.
‘Come to think of it, Belheim really did seem to attract nothing but lunatics!’
Perhaps that had also contributed to the transmigrators’ abysmal reputation of the game.
I poured vinegar and rock salt I’d salvaged from the Brewery’s garbage bin into a pot at a 3-to-1 ratio and heated it.
After stirring with a twig to dissolve the salt thoroughly, I extinguished the flame once it grew pleasantly warm and poured the solution into a basin.
Submerging the greaves in this liquid allowed the vinegar to decompose the rust while the salt generated a complex compound, making the oxidation on the metal surface peel away effortlessly.
A redox reaction, in other words.
“Now the rust removal should proceed naturally…”
I crushed the Resonance Stone I’d secretly diverted instead of submitting to the Guild and tossed it into the basin.
This would unblock the mana circuits the stone had been obstructing, allowing it to restore its original power.
The real reason I’d accepted the Resonance Stone quest in the first place.
After roughly thirty minutes had elapsed, the rust that seemed eternal finally began flaking away, and the gleaming metal surface gradually emerged beneath.
As the greaves progressively reclaimed their former luster, I polished every crevice with a cloth dusted in crushed seashell powder instead of sandpaper, bringing out the shine.
Then hidden inscriptions began faintly glowing.
“…It’s complete.”
Ding—!
[Greaves of the Landless Adventurer]
“Greaves once worn by Haruk, a renowned adventurer of the Ancient Kingdom, during his apprenticeship days. They appear ordinary, but dwarves forged the iron and dryads enchanted them with magic.”
“Increases the wearer’s agility by 3. You can use an exclusive skill.”
“You’ve obtained information about Haruk, an adventurer from the Ancient Kingdom era!”
“Since information about Haruk hasn’t yet spread widely in society, you won’t gain fame from this discovery. Even if you discuss this finding at the Tavern, you’ll receive surprisingly little attention.”
I strapped the completed greaves around my calf.
They still looked worn and their durability was mediocre, but these greaves possessed one hidden mechanic.
‘…No one’s watching, right?’
After confirming no eyes were nearby, I quietly opened my mouth.
“Leap Forward.”
The moment I chanted the activation phrase, my body suddenly catapulted forward as if shoved by a gust of wind.
I only stopped after slamming into the wall—such brutish propulsive force!
I waved dismissively at the Innkeeper’s Daughter peeking out nervously, then muttered to myself while wiping blood from my nose.
“I-I definitely can’t use this in tight spaces… I’ll need to practice adapting to it.”
Still, if I mastered it, this would prove incredibly useful.
Rapidly accelerating during combat to escape danger, or closing the distance in an instant to strike a vital point.
In Belheim, where even a small variable could mean the difference between life and death, having more options was always better.
And there was one more thing to keep in mind.
‘…There are still things in this world I don’t understand!’
The existence of reincarnators—something that hadn’t existed during my time in the game.
The variables that stemmed from them, the intentions of the gods who summoned me here, the countless catastrophes that would unfold before long, and more.
And….
“Why does a magical artifact I created long ago exist in this place…?”
The crystal sphere that Razvel’s Group had retrieved from the cave.
It had been so long ago that my memory was hazy, but it resembled an item I’d crafted far too closely.
Had an artifact I created in the game been manifested here as well?
Or was someone who knew of my deeds imitating me?
It could simply be a misunderstanding, but….
“Damn it… I have no idea. Why does every answer I dig for only unearth more mysteries….”
I pressed my temples as a dull ache began to throb and pushed myself to my feet.
Though I yearned for rest, I had to grow stronger to face whatever crises might come my way in the future.
In this world, complacency was as good as death.
I practiced my techniques a few more times in the backyard before returning to the inn and surrendering to sleep.
Once dawn broke, I spent my days hunting monsters beyond the city wall.
Several days passed like this.
A message came through the Guild from Malton.
[Doran, I have news that should interest you.
…Have you heard the rumors of a dungeon being discovered nearby?]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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