I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 33

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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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[033] Flooded Wetland
“Well then… I suppose we should make camp around here.”
“Understood! Everyone hear that?! Get ready to pitch the tents!!”
“Finally, some rest!”
As the sky darkened and Malton suggested making camp, cheers erupted among the Adventurers.
Doran, experienced as he was, erected his tent in moments and surveyed the surroundings, but the others were still fumbling about.
“Damn, I broke a tent peg while hammering. What do I do?”
“Just drive in a tree branch! Wait, that’s my spot!”
“Just throw something over it and sleep. We’ll have to tear it down tomorrow anyway. …But don’t monsters swarm in at night?”
As I watched the excited Adventurers chattering away from a distance, a familiar silhouette approached my side.
“Ah, kid. Got your tent set up already?”
“Yes, and… finally I can breathe. I thought I’d die of discomfort today. People kept asking me questions the entire walk.”
“Really? From what I saw, you fit right in.”
“I was just playing along. I couldn’t ignore fellow Guild members. …They kept pressing me about the three who defeated the Golem, so I had a hard time dodging their questions.”
“You’ll get used to it once you travel with me. Besides, thanks to those people, we got through night watch easily today. We can sleep soundly tonight.”
“That’s certainly appealing… Oh.”
Radi, who had been stretching and yawning, suddenly stopped and pulled the hood down over their head.
I turned toward the Campsite in confusion and saw a Female Adventurer approaching.
“Ah, there you are! Radi, you’ve already finished setting up your tent?”
“Yes, I’m used to camping.”
“I see. Actually, would you like to come bathe with us?”
“Bathe?”
“Yes, we found a nice Stream nearby! The female Adventurers decided to go first, and since we’ve met, I thought it would be nice to wash together.”
“Ah, well…”
Radi glanced around uncomfortably and looked up at me with uncertainty.
The moment our eyes met, I understood instinctively.
‘They need my help.’
Stepping in when a comrade is in trouble—that’s what true camaraderie means.
I smiled warmly and interjected into the conversation.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding… this one isn’t a woman.”
“…Pardon?”
“Haha, it’s an easy mistake to make. They have such a pretty face, and their mannerisms are often quite feminine.”
“Th-that’s…”
「Your Strength has increased by 1!」
‘They’re certainly shocked.’
I went further, gesturing enthusiastically as I continued.
“There’s no need to be so flustered. Actually, I almost made the same mistake at first!”
“A mistake… you say?”
“Yes, the face is pretty, the voice is soft, and every time they go to the privy, they venture deep into the Forest. Even when we shared lodging, they’d insist on changing clothes and set up a partition, shooing me away.”
“….”
“Haha, it’s a good thing I’m quick on the uptake. Most people would’ve been fooled. So please, don’t feel too embarrassed. Anyway, we’ll wash up together later, so it’d be best if you went ahead and got it done before it gets any later….”
Huh?
Why do my stats keep rising?
Ding! Ding! At the sharp notification sound piercing my ears, I glanced at the log window, where text was updating at a frantic pace.
「Your stats are increasing due to the [Chaos] skill!」
「Your stats are increasing due to the [Chaos] skill!」
「Your stats are increasing due to the [Chaos] skill!」
「The stat increase is remarkable! Astonishing!」
“Mm…?”
I clenched and unclenched my fist, feeling strength surging through me abundantly.
Wasn’t this a bit excessive?
The Female Adventurer before me didn’t look panicked so much as resigned—as if she’d been expecting this all along, letting out a small sigh.
“Hey, kid. Something feels off. Did you notice something…?”
As I turned to look beside me, I realized something was wrong.
Radi was trembling all over like a vibrating bell.
Looking closer, her sharp blue eyes blazed with fury, and her fists clenched beneath her robes were quivering violently.
‘Did she… did she have a fit? Why…?’
I only understood why she was like that after reading the next log message.
「Your companion Radi is experiencing extreme rage!」
「She will never forgive you for the humiliation you’ve caused her!」
‘Huh?’
I tilted my head and looked at the log window again.
The word “she” stood out distinctly.
As I pondered its meaning, the Female Adventurer opened her mouth with a pitying gaze.
“…Would you like a piece of advice?”
“….”
“…Run. Right now, as fast as you can.”
The moment those words left her lips, Radi slowly raised her crossbow.
Looking between Radi aiming her sights at me and Malton in the distance laughing his head off, I finally understood everything.
“You’re saying you were actually a woman—?!”
“Naga is dead!!”
Thwack—!
A cotton bolt flew in answer, striking me squarely between the brows.
* * *
Click! Click! Click!
As I bolted up the Hill dodging Radi’s bolts, Malton spoke with leisurely amusement.
“You’ve been in good spirits since yesterday. Still, don’t overexert yourself. We have a long walk ahead today.”
“Stop just watching and help me!!!”
“Hmm… you deserve a bit more of this. Don’t be too upset about it.”
“Damn it!!”
I trembled with the betrayal of a trusted comrade and fled in desperation.
After yesterday’s incident, how many times have I now escaped from Radi consumed by berserker mode?
Gasping for breath, I clutched my backpack and scrambled up the hill when a chilling shout erupted from behind.
“Stop right there!!”
“Stop? If I stop, you’ll shoot!”
“Of course! Halt!!”
“Damn it! Where did this tiny thing suddenly get all this stamina… Wait? Hey, look over there!!”
“I’m not falling for it!! Stay right there! I’ll turn you into a beehive!!”
“Hell!!”
A heavy cotton bolt whistled past my temple with a sharp whine.
Even with ten mouths, I’d have nothing to say, but that doesn’t mean I lack an excuse entirely.
After all, Radi always wore the hood pulled low, so I’d barely seen their bare face.
The thick robes and hardened leather armor concealed any hint of their physique.
Then what about the voice?
“I thought you hadn’t gone through voice changes yet…!”
“Ugh! I’ve told you a hundred times I’m an adult! I’m twenty-one and my voice still hasn’t changed, you absolute madman!!”
“Gahhhhh!!”
Another bolt came flying and struck the back of my head dead-on.
The impact felt like a punch, and I clutched my head as I bolted forward.
Honestly, there was one more circumstance I couldn’t quite explain.
‘…The other-race effect, was it?’
The phenomenon where one struggles to distinguish faces of races different from one’s own.
To be frank, badger-folk and weasel-folk all looked the same to me, and I’d only been in this world for a month—how could I tell?
Of course, the other-race effect and mistaking someone’s gender were separate issues, but….
‘…I’m the one who deserves to die, really.’
“Finally caught you, you clown!!”
“Ugh!”
Just as I crested the hill, I tripped on a rock, and Radi came sprinting over to pin me by the neck.
“I nursed you for a whole week and you didn’t recognize me?!”
“N-No, but that was unavoidable! Right after healing at the Temple, I was delirious with fever and recovery pain!”
“Even so, there are limits to what you should confuse! I thought you’d figure it out eventually, but you kissed me in front of everyone?!”
“I-I’m sorry… Wait, look over there!!”
I frantically pointed down the hill, where an expansive wetland stretched before us.
｢You have reached the Medaolinum Dungeon Layer 1 Midpoint, Misty Swamp Wetland!｣
｢A sanctuary for countless aquatic creatures and a treasure trove of nature, this place is perpetually shrouded in mist!｣
｢Take care not to become crocodile food through carelessness!｣
｢According to rumors, sightings of a colossal serpent within the swamp have been reported with increasing frequency.｣
The wetland stretched so vast that the far shore vanished from view.
Overwhelmed by the landscape, I forgot I was fleeing and lay sprawled in a daze as the rich earth-scent of the water’s edge and the fresh green smell of aquatic plants drifted on the breeze.
From the murky expanse where water and land intertwined, frogs croaked loudly, and white birds glided through the hazy mist above the surface.
Watching the vast water surface reflect the sunlight, I felt as though I were tumbling into the depths of some colossal mirror.
But what truly startled me was something else entirely.
‘…Why are there so many people here?’
The area surrounding the Wetland was packed with a throng of humanity.
Though this was indeed a bottleneck, I never expected it to be congested to this degree.
As I stared at the unusually large number of Adventurers, Radi sighed and rose to unfold a map.
“…Let’s discuss that later. This Wetland is far more expansive than the map indicates. Swimming across is obviously out of the question….”
“There are far more people than expected. Seeing the Tents pitched, it looks like they’re stuck here… Should we go ask what’s happened?”
To reach Layer 2, we had no choice but to traverse this Wetland.
Descending the ridge, I stopped an Adventurer who had been leisurely hanging laundry and questioned him—the reason for the gathered crowd became immediately apparent.
“The water level rose because of a downpour?”
“Right, you know how it hasn’t rained on the Surface for a while? All that pent-up rain came pouring down at once and flowed here, submerging all the side paths. That’s why everyone’s stuck here now.”
“What about rafts? Hasn’t anyone tried building rafts to cross?”
“Of course people tried. But those who came before stripped all the timber clean. The merchants did set up rental stations, but finding a decent raft is nearly impossible even if you pay a premium.”
“That’s terrible….”
Radi’s expression twisted in frustration.
Since this area was Grassland, finding usable timber would require traveling quite far.
With no practical means of procuring logs from distant sources, most would rather wait for the water to recede than endure such hardship.
And that’s what created the situation before us.
The Guild members began to grow restless upon hearing the news.
“The Wetland flooded and blocked the path? This is serious… How much food rations do we have left?”
“I’m not sure… Maybe a week’s worth? If we supplement with wild game hunted nearby, we might last a bit longer.”
….
As I fell into contemplation, Malton glanced around and spoke.
“This was unexpected. What do you think, Doran? Should we wait until the Flooded Wetland stabilizes?”
“…No, that would take too long. Even if the water level covering the side paths recedes, it’ll turn into mud—we won’t be able to cross immediately.”
“Hmm… Then should we pay the merchants’ exorbitant rental fees and cross by raft?”
“I’m not sure about that either….”
I pondered as I walked toward the Water’s Edge.
At the Temporary Dock constructed from stacked stones and earth, the merchants’ rental rafts were lined up in rows.
The problem lay not just in the expensive rental fees, but in the abysmal quality.
With insufficient timber hastily lashed together, a few collisions with rocks would send them straight to the bottom.
It wouldn’t be impossible to force our way across, but….
“…No, crossing like this is far too dangerous.”
“May I ask why?”
“Monsters could emerge from the Wetland. Especially now with the water level swollen from the downpour.”
“A valid point. Some creatures do become more active in their feeding immediately after rainfall.”
“But we can’t simply sit idle and wait either.”
With this many Adventurers lingering in one place, the surrounding monsters would be hunted to extinction in no time.
If we failed to hunt and exhausted our emergency rations, we might have no choice but to return to the Surface empty-handed.
Reaching Layer 2 and achieving the secondary Quest while attaining level 30—for me, this was a critical necessity.
“…Then what do we do? The water’s already swollen, and those rafts seem unusable.”
“I’m not sure yet… First, I need to negotiate with the merchants. Perhaps they can construct new rafts.”
Whether I could negotiate smoothly remained uncertain, but I had to try—otherwise nothing would change.
As Radi and I walked further along the Temporary Dock, I spotted merchants clustered together in front of an ornate tent.
But before I could even speak, they turned to face us and began whispering among themselves.
‘What’s this?’
The atmosphere felt strange, so I listened carefully….
“Wait, those two over there… a tall human male and a petite female… silver hair and beautiful features….”
“Just like the rumors said—three crimson marks on the female’s cheek! Then it really must be…!”
“”…!””
Had rumors about us already spread?
After exchanging glances with Radi, I gripped my pack and prepared to bolt, but the merchants rushed toward us instead.
They dropped to their knees and began weeping openly.
“Waaaaahhhhh!!”
“Huh?”
What in the world was happening?

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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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