Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 212

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Chapter 212 – Territory

The next day:

Eager to arrive before the crowds, I skipped breakfast and headed north of Grille Morg. From above, I looked down on the E-rank hunting ground, Waro Hills.

Even though it was a hill, the entire area was visible from above.

I decided to first familiarize myself with my skills, as I had intended to do when I came here. However, my enthusiasm was quickly dampened.

“No way…”

A little way off, several tent-like structures were easy to spot, even from a distance.

Even though the sun had just risen, several groups and individuals had already started their activities.

There were also some Peaky Boars and Hall Plants, which I hadn’t seen in a while. However, no one was paying any attention to them.

I never expected them to camp out and hunt sheep. These people are serious.

I tried to fly as far away from the road as possible, deeper into the Waro Hills. However, people camping out probably don’t care about distance.

The deeper I went, the more groups of tents I saw clustered together like territories. I realized this was no good, so I started thinking.

Many hunters were skinning their prey right there.

They seemed to be loosely organized into teams for hunting, skinning, and carrying, and there were pots hanging over fires next to the tents, suggesting that they were cooking the meat they had hunted for meals.

(This is bad…)

I landed on a hill where there didn’t seem to be many people, but I could only think of resignation.

I decided to hunt the remaining prey in the area while keeping an eye on the situation.

I wish I could hunt at least five of them.

Depending on my skills, I could probably catch more, but I don’t want to stay in such a crowded, inefficient hunting ground.

However, it seems that even the first five will be difficult.

Even when I spot a floating Photol Sheep, the archers easily fend off the first attack from their high position.

From afar, I watch as the Photol Sheep doesn’t die; instead, the monsters charge toward the archer who drew their aggro.

As if waiting for this moment, an average of two melee classes beat it to a pulp.

This seemed to be the established hunting method in the area.

It was as if they were claiming the area within the range of their bows as their territory.

Should I use Provocation first?

No, the range isn’t that far.

I’m level 5 in Archery, so should I become an archer?

No, I don’t have a bow or arrows.

Should I dive in as soon as I spot them from above?

That would be really conspicuous. Even now.

Muttering to myself about the possibilities, I quickly moved around and used my level 3 Investigation skill to search a 90-meter radius for sheep.

No, I really can’t find any.

Huh?

At that moment, I sensed something about 20 meters behind me.

As I passed by, I suddenly sensed something. When I turned around, there was a Photol Sheep.

Where did this thing come from?

That was my first thought, but my priority was hunting down the sheep in front of me.

I was definitely the closest.

Faster than a bow… With that thought, I instinctively threw the sword I was holding.

My Throwing Technique and greatly increased strength must have had an effect.

The sword flew at incredible speed, piercing the Photol Sheep and passing right through it. Then, it flew away into the distance.

N-nuuuooooooo!?

My precious sword!

After using Body Strengthening and Rush repeatedly, I flew over 100 meters to safely retrieve the sword.

I was relieved that it didn’t hit anyone. However, when I returned, some strangers were collecting the sheep that I had killed.

“What? Wait…! That’s the one I killed first!”

“Oh? You went somewhere, didn’t you?”

“Well, that’s true, but the right to the prey goes to the first attacker, right!?”

“First attacker? What the hell are you talking about? What’s that?”

“Oh, I think it means the first one to attack.”

“…Hmm, then it’s us. Here.”

When I looked at the spot he was pointing to, I saw that there was indeed an arrow stuck there.

“No, no. I’m pretty sure my sword was there first.”

“Then prove it.”

“Huh?”

“If you can’t prove it, then the world is decided by majority rule, right?”

“…”

Ah, here we go again.

The man was convinced he was right and looked down at me with a smirk.

When will this ever end?

My heart races whenever I see those eyes.

When you have that look in your eyes, it means…

“What’s up? I thought you were just an annoying kid. Are you looking for trouble?”

Yeah, this newbie doesn’t know any of the rules around here.

“If you want to hunt a Photol Sheep, the rule is to bow down to one of the groups and ask to be accepted. Don’t do whatever you want.”

“You’re hunting so badly that you’re leaving a huge hole.”

I unconsciously gripped the sword I had retrieved tightly. This was definitely against the rules, though.

The guys who make up their own rules and act like they’re in charge are jerks, but that doesn’t mean I want to kill them.

They see me as a nuisance because I’ve interfered with their interests.

“I’m sorry. As an apology, I’ll give you the monster’s materials.”

“Hah! You should have said that from the start, you idiot. You wasted my time. By the way, you can’t come with us.”

“You can’t come with us either, right?”

“Me neither. Then I guess you should go to Nikolog Forest and hunt goblins!”

I confirmed again that the men surrounding me were laughing crudely.

I memorized their faces.

Yeah, this should be fine.

I feel no guilt.

“By the way, if I prove the initial strike, that’s all I need to do, right?”

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

I suddenly remembered a player from an old game who said, “This room is my hunting ground, so no one is allowed to enter!” He was then repeatedly PKed.

I must have been a kid back then.

Still, I can’t help but dislike people like that.

The men who had been staring at me with puzzled expressions but had said nothing seemed to have grown bored and left with a snort.

I flew up to about 30 meters above them while watching their movements.

Some of the men stared up at me, but I didn’t care.

――Investigation: Photol Sheep.――

Looking down at the hill from above, nothing seemed to be happening within my field of vision.

However, a sudden reaction emerged from an unseen location, so…

“Destroy! Lightning Spear!”

I unleashed a lightning spell, killing it instantly.

Even at level three, the corpse remained, but half of the two-meter-long Photol Sheep’s body was blown away. The rest was blackened and unrecognizable, so I don’t think it has much value as a material.

I threw away the material anyway, so I don’t really care.

The men below are making a commotion, but they were the ones who said I had to prove the first attack.

There’s no doubt my lightning will reach them faster than a bow.

At this height, with me casting the spell from inside my cloak, even if it creates a hole, they won’t be able to see the black magic.

The men screaming from a distance, no bigger than grasshoppers, are no longer a concern.

The problem is this sudden reaction.

Come to think of it, this is a hunting ground with a fairly good view, so it’s a mystery where the Photol Sheeps are coming from.

With so many of them hunted down, monsters should have disappeared from this place.

Logically, they should be extinct in this area, at the very least.

Nevertheless, adults of a similar size walk around as if nothing has happened.

“Disappear, Lightning Spear!”

“You brat! I’ll kill you!”

“Come down here, you brat!”

Ah—

—―Voice Amplification—―

“Archer, if you shoot me, I’ll kill you, so please stop.”

“Eh… me? Just me!?”

“”””…””””

They suddenly appeared again, just like in a game.

In a world where skills and magic exist, it’s only natural that things don’t fit into our common sense.

However, I still can’t quite wrap my head around this phenomenon, which is too game-like: monsters suddenly appearing right in front of me.

Monsters suddenly appear right in front of me?

I’ve never heard of anything like this before.

Even though I can see the hills in my field of vision, the Photol Sheeps are appearing from outside it.

Could it be…?

It probably wouldn’t mean anything if I were the only one experiencing this.

Thinking this, I closed my eyes.

Maybe the condition is that no one else can see this happening.

After trying it out, as I expected, it felt like the monsters were spawning a little faster.

“Disappear, Lightning Spear!”

It’s just a hypothesis.

However, if the number of monsters I need to defeat decreases while I’m alone, it might be worth trying this method to restore the monster spawn rate.

Despite being puzzled by this mysterious phenomenon, I came to that conclusion and continued to interfere with their hunt. I took the first attack while diligently collecting skills.

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‘You have acquired Sleepy Eyes Lv1.’

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