Chapter 77
『So, why are we at the Adventurer’s Guild instead of the Explorer’s Guild?』
After leaving the Dungeon Core Shop, I headed to the Adventurer’s Guild instead of the Explorer’s Guild.
(I don’t have a choice. Thomas and the others are out on an expedition.)
Unfortunately, Thomas and his team were currently tackling a Rank V dungeon they had explored before.
Since I’d been caught up with my studies and other things, I hadn’t been able to join them. But they told me, “We want to try clearing it on our own,” so they’ve been challenging it repeatedly.
Because of that, I knew I didn’t have any connections at the Explorer’s Guild, which naturally limited my options.
「Maybe I can find a stray dragon or something? If I could just take down one big target with a high bounty, I might be able to afford that second core…」
『If an A-rank monster like that appeared near the royal capital, it’d be a huge emergency.』
Eve interrupted my wishful thinking. She had a point—if something that dangerous showed up, Ares would have to scramble to assemble the knights.
「Hmm… all I see are small fries. And considering the time spent traveling back and forth, it’s not really worth it…」
Hunting F-rank or E-rank monsters wouldn’t make me enough money unless I took down a ton of them. Given that I only had a week before heading to Astana Island, it wasn’t a reliable way to earn cash.
I decided to ignore the bounty board and check out other types of jobs.
「Let’s see… pet retrieval, shop assistant, market research… etc.」
I read through them one by one, but…
『These jobs are boring, and the pay isn’t even good.』
Exactly. They were dull, and the rewards weren’t worth the effort.
At this rate, I wouldn’t have everything ready before departure.
Just as I was about to give up…
「Oh, this one looks promising.」
One particular request caught my eye.
「Excuse me. I’m here from the Adventurer’s Guild.」
「Huh? You’re a student?」
The client, an older man, gave me a surprised look.
「Yes, I’m from the Royal Academy of General Studies.」
「Well, aren’t you impressive. But… are you sure you can handle this request?」
Even after mentioning the academy, he still seemed doubtful.
It was probably because of the job itself.
「The request I put out is for demolishing an old house. You might be a smart kid, but you don’t exactly look built for heavy labor. If you want to cancel, I won’t ask you to pay a penalty fee—just go back to the guild and withdraw.」
In front of us stood a fairly large house.
The walls were covered in moss and grime, a clear sign that the place had been abandoned for a long time.
The old man seemed genuinely concerned for me.
Typically, when adventurers fail to complete a request, they have to pay a penalty fee.
The job this time was to “demolish an old house and dispose of the materials.”
「Don’t worry. Believe it or not, I’m pretty good at destroying things.」
「…Is that so?」
I pounded my chest to emphasize my confidence, but for some reason, he just looked even more unsettled.
「Even if you can somehow break it down with magic or something, you still have to transport the debris. There’s a disposal site a fair distance away.」
「That’s not a problem either. I have an Item Box.」
I planned to smash it with a giant log, toss the debris into my Fake Room storage, and dump it at the disposal site.
For an ordinary person, this would be an extremely labor-intensive task requiring a whole team. But for me, it was nothing.
Seeing my unwavering confidence, the old man finally gave up.
「Alright, fine. Just… make sure you finish within a week, alright?」
With that, he left me to it.
「Alright, time to wreck this thing.」
I drew my twin short swords—one blue, one red—crafted with my [Blacksmith] skill.
With their sharpness, I could slice through the house’s support beams like they were made of tofu. After that, I’d use my specialized log to break them down completely.
Once that was done, I’d just gather the debris and haul it away.
I estimated that demolition would take a day, and disposal would take another. In total, I’d be finished in about two days.
Just as I was finalizing my plan…
『Master, are you really going to destroy this house?』
Eve sounded hesitant.
「Yeah, that’s the job.」
After a brief pause, she responded.
『In that case, why not store the house inside The World? From the looks of it, the exterior is in rough shape, but the interior seems mostly intact.』
Her sudden suggestion made me widen my eyes in surprise.
「Wait… I can do that?」
I was used to storing all sorts of things in The World, but I had never even considered absorbing an entire house.
『I think it’s possible. Master, could you touch the wall with your right hand and try sending it inside?』
Following her instructions, I placed my hand against the house’s wall and issued the usual retrieval command.
Then…
「It actually disappeared.」
The old house vanished in an instant.
『Master, I’ve placed it on the Ranch grounds for now.』
I heard Eve’s voice.
At that moment, I realized…
I had just completed the entire job in mere seconds.