kscans

Chapter 10 - The Grimoire and the Diary

Cashing in the giant bird was a huge ordeal.

When I reached town, I was stopped by the guards.

I explained that I had hunted it and wanted to sell it for cash, and then some Guild members rushed over. Looking at the giant bird, one of them said.

"This is a Galebird. It's a rare monster in these parts. How on earth did you encounter such a creature?"

To this question, I replied.

"I decided to go on a bit of an excursion to hunt, and I ran into it then."

The Guild member had a subtle expression, as if he both believed me and didn't.

He was probably thinking that it was too rare a monster to just stumble upon by chance. But I had subjugated it, and I hadn't broken any rules, so there was probably no problem. That's likely why he had such an ambiguous expression.

After that, when I showed him the large wind magic stone I had extracted from the Galebird, his reaction was incredible. He commented on its magnificent size and asked how I had managed to subjugate a monster with such a large stone all by myself.

To this question, I lied.

"When I arrived, there were already several corpses, and the monster was a little weakened. I think I was only able to defeat it thanks to those who had fallen."

It was a lie.

The corpses were there, but the Galebird had been in perfect health. The reason I lied was that if a rumor spread that I had single-handedly defeated a powerful monster at full strength, I would stand out even more, and other adventurers might start trying to get me to join their parties in roundabout ways.

In fact, I had already been asked to join a party during a drinking session, so I really wanted to avoid any more of that.

The Guild member said.

"Is that so? Well, that makes sense. Defeating a monster like this alone would be difficult even for a B or A-rank party. But still, the fact remains that you defeated it. You wanted to cash in this monster, right? Are you selling the magic stone too?"

To this question, I replied.

"I'd like to keep the magic stone if possible, but it's too big. If you could cut it down to a palm-sized piece, I'll sell the rest. Is that okay?"

To this, the Guild member said.

"That's fine. That much is no problem. We'll transport this to the Guild, so please wait there."

I agreed and went to the Guild.

As I entered, the receptionist saw me and approached.

"Congratulations on subjugating such a large monster. By the way, isn't that monster the bird from the investigation notice posted on the board about the one in the rocky mountains?"

To the smiling receptionist, I replied.

"I-I don't know anything about that. Was there such a request? Phew, phew, phew..."

I tried to play dumb while whistling poorly.

The receptionist said.

"Haaah... well, whatever. For you, monster subjugation is a hunter's job, or so you'd probably say. As long as you do adventurer work, it doesn't matter to us either way."

She sounded as if she was exasperated or had given up.

The monster was cashed in ten minutes later. The Galebird's meat and bones fetched thirty silver coins, and the magic stone, minus the palm-sized piece I kept, was worth six small gold coins. I had heard that attribute-infused magic stones were valuable, but I never expected this much. With this, I could finally get my hands on the grimoire I had longed for.

Grimoires were kept in the town library.

They were stored securely in a place inaccessible to the general public. Therefore, it was impossible to buy a grimoire. They were valuable items in themselves, and it was dangerous for individuals to possess them. The reason was that just by reading and understanding them, one could use magic. If individuals possessed them, the number of people who could use magic from a single book would increase dramatically.

Enough people to form a division would be a threat. That's why, to read a grimoire, one had to clear two conditions.

First, one had to be in a profession where using magic was not a problem.

Second, the fee to view a grimoire was one small gold coin.

I had cleared both of these conditions. The profession of an adventurer was fraught with danger, and magic was a necessary, if not absolute, power for monster subjugation. A job that paid in small gold coins was only available to B or A-rank adventurers, but I had the money from the magic stone.

I went to the library and applied to view a grimoire.

Being D-rank, I was initially met with suspicion. But since I met the conditions—the fee and being an adventurer—I was granted permission to view it. I decided to spend one small gold coin and look at only one grimoire. I had no talent for magic.

Rather than learning everything, it's sometimes better to master one attribute to fight effectively.

In that case, my choice was between two types: fire and lightning.

Fire was a perfect match for me. I thought I should choose it, but then I looked at my ring and noticed. I already had the fire rune and could use it freely, so I didn't need to rely on a grimoire. But for lightning, I didn't have a corresponding rune and was using it in a forced way. Therefore, the magic consumption was greater compared to fire. In the battle with the Galebird, I had consumed a considerable amount of magic to make the lightning's power equal to fire's.

Besides, I had a feeling that lightning had more potential for application than fire.

As a result, I decided on the lightning grimoire.

I informed the staff of my decision. After a while, the lightning grimoire was brought to me.

I began to read it immediately. The content was about the origin and history of lightning. As I read, I felt the information smoothly entering my mind. I also felt something entering my body.

By the time I finished reading, I felt a new power within me.

The staff member said.

"If you wish to test the magic you have learned, please do so in the open square outside."

Following the staff member's words, I went out to the square.

I imagined lightning and gathered it in my palm. Sparks flew, and a yellow sphere formed. I fired it at the practice wooden dummy in front of me. It was a direct hit. The wooden dummy vanished without a trace. I felt that the magic consumption was about the same as fire.

Satisfied, I decided to go home.

I returned to Earth and checked my earnings so far.

Seventy silver coins, five small gold coins. I felt like a bit of a rich man.

However, the design on the small gold coins was one that didn't exist on Earth, but the purity of the gold was ninety-five percent. I had checked this using `Analysis`. If I sold this, I could probably get twenty to thirty thousand yen, but with this design, there was a possibility that a curious historian would investigate and eventually track it back to me.

I might be able to deceive them for a while, but eventually, I would be found out. Then the historian would probably say they wanted to go to the other world.

If I refused, they would threaten to go public. If I agreed and took them, there was a high chance they would boast to their colleagues. Even if I asked them to keep it a secret, it would probably be impossible.

It's human nature to want to boast about the unknown. I wanted to boast too, but I didn't want to get involved in trouble. I didn't think other people would share my way of thinking. But if I didn't sell the small gold coins, I wouldn't have any money. As I was looking at the small gold coins, wondering what to do, an idea struck me.

With `Matter Conversion`, I could turn it into iron and control it. So, if I analyzed gold, converted the coins to gold, and then turned the gold into different accessories... I started immediately.

I analyzed the small gold coins in detail and understood the properties of gold. I converted the small gold coins to one hundred percent purity. Success.

I converted them into a necklace. Success.

Wonderful! My ability is an ability that creates wealth!

But I wouldn't abuse it. Gold is valuable because it's scarce. If there's a lot of it, its value will drop, and it will become like a pebble. It's a common pattern in anime and manga. I would only use it in emergencies. That was the best way.

After finishing my work, I looked around the house and found my grandfather's desk. In a drawer, there was a diary.

It was a very old diary. Out of curiosity, I read the contents. It said that my grandfather's father was a magic enthusiast who often bought foreign books and researched magic.

"So the foreign books on that bookshelf belonged to my great-grandfather."

I murmured as I read the diary.

My grandfather seemed to have looked at his father with exasperation.

One day, his father suddenly disappeared. He had gone into the storehouse and never came out. When my grandfather went to check, no one was there. The police investigated, but they couldn't find him, and he was declared missing. Ten years later, my grandfather entered the storehouse for the first time in a while and was looking at the bookshelf on the second floor when he found the book 'How to Go to Another World'. He thought it was ridiculous.

But then he remembered that on that day, there had been something that looked like a magic circle on the first floor, but he had erased it because it looked suspicious.

He tried it half-believingly, and when he did, he found himself in another world. There, he met some people of the forest who told him that people with black hair were killed, so he never went back again.

But the skills he acquired at that time were `Detection`, `Deodorize`, `Silence`, and `Invisibility`. He used these in his hunting work.

As a result, he was able to hunt a considerable amount of prey, and his timid personality gradually became more assertive.

"So that's why he was so hot-blooded. But this combination of skills is the strongest imaginable. No wonder he became so assertive."

Erasing scent with `Deodorize`. Erasing sound with `Silence`. Erasing his body with `Invisibility`. These were skills that would be useful in any field.

I finished reading the diary while thinking about such things.

Today had been a really long day. I'll have to work hard tomorrow too, I thought as I went to sleep.

In front of the gate of the regional city of Alum.

"Well now, let's go ask what he's all about."

A large man with a huge axe on his back entered the town.

The guard said.

"Welcome back, Bardos-san. Are you here on business with the Guild?"

The large man, Bardos, replied.

"I'm here to meet someone interesting."

He answered with a smile.