Chapter 36

Нugо Villаgе.

A villagе lосаtеd between Еldridа and Grodеk, it was quite lаrgе in sсаlе.

“It’s fаscinating. It’s tоo largе tо be саllеd а villаge, with mаny tаll buildings… Isn’t this a citу rаthеr thаn a villagе?”

Bуutek, who was thе first tо step out of thе сarriage, lookеd tоwards Hugo Village аnd sрoke tо Khаn.

Тhud.

Кhаn, who steppеd out of thе саrriage аftеr Вyutek, аlso found Нugo Village somеwhаt fascinаting whеn he sаw it like this.

‘In the gаme, it was just set аs a slightlу lаrge village, but seeing it in рersоn, it’s еnоrmous.’

It wаs so largе thаt it сouldn’t simplу be саllеd а villаge.

А сitу wall, аbоut 3-4 meters high, built by neatly stacking small bricks, was particularly eye-catching.

“Guests with business in the village, please line up here! Merchants and cargo carts, please use the left entrance!”

Hugo Village had a checkpoint, just like a typical city.

That alone indicated the village’s large scale.

The coachman looked at Khan, waiting for instructions.

“You go to the left and enter first to rest for a few days. I’ll come find you when my business is done.”

“Understood. Oh my, even going this far… Thank you!”

As Khan handed over a silver coin and spoke, the coachman repeatedly bowed his head and led the carriage toward the left entrance.

Perhaps because there weren’t many people bringing carriages, the coachman quickly entered the village.

“Shall we get in line quickly then?”

“Yes.”

Sharin walked first toward where people were gathered and lined up.

Byutek and Khan also joined the waiting line.

“Indeed, it seems most of them are adventurers, just as Sharin said. Seeing everyone carrying at least one weapon.”

Byutek said that while looking around and made eye contact with the man in front of him.

The man slightly bowed his head and suddenly spoke up.

“Judging by your appearance, you all seem to be adventurers too, so why are you staring with such curious eyes?”

“I am Byutek, a Knight of Kilpheon.”

“A K-Knight of Kilpheon…?!”

“Yes.”

Since Byutek’s voice was naturally loud, the mention of being a Knight of Kilpheon drew people’s attention.

“Don’t lie. Are you really a Knight belonging to the Kilpheon Knight Order? Why would a Knight of Kilpheon come all the way to a village in such a frontier?”

“Well, there are always circumstances. Don’t bother me any further.”

If it were a typical knight, with their pride and self-respect, they might have drawn their sword immediately upon hearing the adventurer’s remark, but Byutek was different.

In fact, since he hadn’t returned to Kilpheon after completing his mission, Byutek would likely have been completely expelled from the Knight Order by now.

Or they might think he failed his mission and died.

‘Sir Khan isn’t paying any attention, so there’s no need for me to stir up trouble unnecessarily.’

Moreover, Byutek had resolved to dedicate his future life to Khan, who had saved his life.

He couldn’t cause a disturbance in Hugo Village, which they had visited for Khan’s business.

“Hahahaha! How many guys brag about being knights? You look like a kid from a slightly well-off family who’s all talk. Ignore him, Roan.”

Then, the guy next to the man looked at Byutek dismissively and shouted.

“Byutek, stay still.”

“Ah, yes! My apologies!”

Khan also stopped Byutek, worried the situation might escalate.

Byutek immediately closed his mouth.

“What did I say? How could a bastard like that be a knight? The guy next to him looks like he’s nothing special either.”

“Teo, you stop with the unnecessary talk too and just look ahead. If we cause a disturbance here, we might not even be able to enter the village.”

“Kehehe… Right. You guys, don’t stand out unnecessarily once we’re inside. I won’t go easy on you in the village.”

Khan’s party didn’t say anything.

“Master, is it okay to just leave those arrogant guys like that…?”

Then, Sharin whispered to Khan in a small voice, and Khan gave a brief reply.

“It’s fine.”

“Ah, yes… If Master says so, then…”

The reason Khan remained still even though he was openly provoked was because of Hugo Village.

‘In the game, if you lined up at the village entrance and got into PVP with another user or caused a disturbance, you’d be kicked out. It’s entirely possible in reality too.’

Therefore, Khan intended to act as cautiously as possible until they entered the village.

[LV.8 Bellop Guild Adventurer Roan]

[LV.9 Bellop Guild Adventurer Teo]

Khan looked at the two men standing right in front of him.

Besides these two, there was one more man standing right ahead, and they seemed to belong to the same adventuring group.

‘They’re stronger than I thought.’

That Teo guy who was provoking them was an adventurer of the same level as Khan.

And the level of the guild leader named Bellop, who was ahead of them, was even somewhat surprising to Khan.

[LV.15 Bellop Guild’s Guild Master Bellop]

He was definitely not someone you’d expect to find in a frontier village like this.

For a guild adventurer, not a knight or mage, to be level 15 meant he was truly strong.

‘It’s still the early part of the game… I’m already encountering strong guys frequently.’

While Khan was looking at the guy named Bellop, he happened to turn around and made exact eye contact with Khan.

Bellop stared at Khan for about a second, then turned to face forward again and spoke.

“Roan, Teo. Don’t think about causing unnecessary trouble and stay quiet.”

“Yes, yes~”

“Right, sorry.”

Thus, the brief commotion ended, and about 30 minutes later.

The adventurers of the Bellop Guild, who were right in front of Khan’s party, began to undergo the checkpoint inspection.

The Hugo Village guard in charge of the checkpoint immediately widened his eyes and bowed his head upon seeing the Bellop Guild adventurers.

“You’re adventurers of the Bellop Guild! You must have had a hard time coming all this way! May I ask why you’ve come to our village?”

The guard, who had been conducting the inspection with a bored expression, reacted slightly differently only to the Bellop Guild adventurers.

In response to the guard’s question, Bellop spoke.

“We’ve come to kill the Griffin that’s currently threatening Hugo Village.”

“Ohh…! Thank you so much for coming for our village! I’ll inform the Village Chief right away, so please go inside for now!”

“Thank you.”

Thus, the Bellop Guild adventurers easily passed through the checkpoint.

There were two guards manning the checkpoint; one hurriedly ran off somewhere.

He seemed to be going to inform the Village Chief of the Bellop Guild’s visit.

The remaining one approached Khan’s party, who were next in line.

“Where are you from?”

When Khan looked at Byutek, Byutek immediately approached the guard.

“I am Byutek, a Knight of the Kilpheon Knight Order. Here is my Knight Order identification plate.”

“Ohh, to think you’re truly a Knight belonging to the Kilpheon Knight Order…! It’s truly an honor to meet you in person!”

“Haha, not at all!”

Then, Khan and Sharin also handed over their identification.

In Khan’s case, he had asked Deilis to make an identification for him before leaving Grodek.

“I am called Khan.”

“Sir Khan is an exceptional mage! He’s the one I personally serve, haha!”

“Is that so! No wonder you seemed extraordinary…! Then, the lady beside you is…?”

“I’m Sharin, Sir Khan’s first disciple!”

“Ah, I see!”

Worried that the guard might feel offended by Khan’s brief introduction of just stating his name, Byutek quickly added a short explanation.

“Then, have you Knights and Mages also come to defeat the Griffin near our village?”

Hearing the mention of the Griffin, Khan spoke up again.

“Just asking out of curiosity, has a Griffin appeared near the village now?”

“Ah, judging by your reaction, it seems you didn’t know. About a week ago, a Griffin suddenly appeared in the rocky mountain range near our village. Unfortunately, some adventurers who were nearby at the time lost their lives to the Griffin…”

“……”

The Griffin is a lower-tier monster of the griffon, with an eagle’s head and a lion’s body.

‘Why is a level 30 monster like the Griffin here?’

It wasn’t originally a monster that should be here, but it’s said a Griffin has appeared in the rocky mountain range of Hugo Village.

Coincidentally, the Hidden Skill Khan was looking for was also hidden in the rocky mountain range near Hugo Village.

‘This might actually be an opportunity. Byutek isn’t a fool anymore either… With this party, we should be able to defeat it.’

After quickly organizing his thoughts, Khan spoke to the guard.

“Then we’ll hunt the Griffin too.”

“Really? Haha! With Knights and Mages like you, we can’t help but feel reassured! Many other adventurers have also gathered, so we should be able to defeat the Griffin sufficiently.”

Khan began to recall memories from the past.

What loot could be obtained when defeating a Griffin?

‘It might be more useful than I thought.’

One of the items obtainable after defeating a Griffin was the ‘Griffin’s Horn.’

The Griffin’s Horn is a high-grade material used in crafting equipment; obtaining it now would surely be helpful later.

“No, we’ll defeat the Griffin just the three of us.”

“Huh? Ah, that’s… impossible. Actually, today is the scheduled day for the Griffin subjugation. The subjugation force composed of adventurers will depart to defeat the Griffin in just 30 minutes.”

“Well, then we’ll just wait a bit. We’ll go to defeat the Griffin after the subjugation force returns.”

“Huh…?”

“Standing here is tiring, so just let us in.”

“Ah, yes! Understood!”

Khan’s party passed through the city gate and entered inside.

There were quite a few tall buildings, making it almost unfair to call it a village.

“Master! But why didn’t you say we’d go together? If we kill the Griffin, the village might give a reward too.”

“To monopolize the loot obtainable from the Griffin.”

“Then shouldn’t we also participate in the Griffin subjugation happening in 30 minutes…?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

With the level of adventurers in this area, they absolutely cannot defeat the Griffin.

Thus, 30 minutes later, the adventurers headed toward the rocky mountain range to subjugate the Griffin.

Khan was also watching the adventurers from afar, but the Bellop Guild adventurers didn’t seem to be visible.

And two hours later.

News arrived that the adventurers who went to the rocky mountain range had been wiped out.

* * *

Hugo Village Chief’s Office.

“What? The adventurers were wiped out…?!”

Hugo Village Chief Adrian couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise.

There were twenty skilled adventurers, and they were wiped out facing the Griffin.

Adrian shouted at the village guard who had finished reporting, with a dazed expression.

“Our village is finished… The day that monster invades our village can’t be far off…!”

“That’s not it, Village Chief! Actually, a few hours ago…”

The guard brought up the story about the knights and mages who had visited the village two hours ago.