9. A Strange Encounter

But is this guy really dead?

“It’s deeply embedded.”

I put all my strength into pulling out the horn stuck in the tree, and only then did the balance of the body collapse.

Thud…

The heavy body tilts and falls to the side. Yeah, if it’s still alive with a hole in its neck, it would be undead.

“Did I really catch this…?”

I’ve become a real explorer. Now the problem is how to carry this.

“Hmm…”

The huge horn, glowing faintly blue, catches my eye. It’s full of magic, so if I boil it, it becomes a potion, and if I process it well, it becomes material for a staff.

It looks more like a thin branch than a wide palm-like horn.

Clang-

Of course, the strength is solid. The iron sword rings. Damn fresh antlers. I know it’s good for the body if you eat it, but…

The problem is how to eat this. My stamina is almost at its limit because I ran around the forest for 30 minutes to drain its strength.

I need to recover my stamina here, but grain cubes are out of the question. Even if they were an option, they don’t really appeal to me. I feel like eating something delicious.

“Is venison tasty…?”

I think deer would taste better than wolf. Anyway, if I’m going to eat it now, I’ll grill it, so there’s no point in comparing.

“Th-That’s not it! It’s just… it looked dangerous…!”

“Then you should have run over and helped. Were you planning to help with the funeral after I died?”

“Sorry… It felt like you could handle it alone…”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

‘Doesn’t seem like he’s planning to fight right away. What’s he aiming for? Is it the deer’s trophy after all?’

“The battle is over. I caught the deer.”

“Huh? Oh, right…”

Even though I was clearly signaling him to leave quickly, he hesitated and stopped walking. He definitely has something to say to me.

And if my guess is right, it’s probably something bad.

“Are you after the antlers?”

“N-No! I’m not that kind of person!”

“Then what kind of person are you?”

“Well, I, I’m a silver rank…”

Silver rank! That’s crazy!

I’d have to die and come back to life to reach that level. It’s not something I could ever achieve. Actually, I did die once to a direwolf and came back to life, and that’s why my body is in this state.

“What do you want? Speak quickly.”

“I have a request, please listen!”

What could a silver rank possibly want from me? Is it a financial issue? Does he want me to sell the deer and make money?

“What kind of request?”

“Uh, well… that deer…”

“Deer?”

The unnamed woman kept fidgeting, turning her head in all directions, and her lips moved restlessly.

“What is it?”

“Deer… are you going to eat it…?”

“Hmm, it looks like it.”

“Are you… are you going to eat it all…?”

“Eat it all?”

Even after removing the innards, bones, and other parts, it’s still a chunk of meat weighing at least 100kg. Of course, I can’t eat it all.

“Of course not. I’m not a pig, how could I eat all that?”

“Th-thank…”

“What is this? What’s going on?”

Ah, this person is hungry right now.

“Come and eat with me. It’s not that difficult.”

“Really! Can I really eat with you?”

“Yes, please do.”

* * * * *

There’s a pig here.

“Are you even human? Did you eat all of this?”

“Gug…”

“Finish what’s in your mouth before you speak. What are you doing, looking so unsightly.”

They lit a fire far from the trees and dismembered the blue-horned deer.

Rubyka, a silver-ranked explorer. Although she is a bit tall for a woman, she has a very healthy physique at first glance.

Surprisingly, she devoured more than 80% of the massive blue-horned deer’s meat by herself. I don’t usually say this, but she really just devoured it. Like a beast. Damn, she eats so well. It’s like a legendary mukbang. Is she even human? Stop eating already.

“It’s because of my skill. With the [Combustion Acceleration] skill, I can eat a lot more, but I can also exert great power.”

“A lot more? You just ate a two-week meal for a family of four in one sitting?”

“Th-that…”

I wonder how all that fits into her slim waist. It’s like she has a four-dimensional pocket in her throat, and the food loses its volume and disappears into a subspace. It’s almost over now, but there’s no difference in speed from when she started eating. Just like a beast, gobbling it all up. Oh my god.

“Amazing. How do you manage the food expenses?”

“I-I eat what I hunt myself…”

“Anything and everything?”

“I don’t eat just anything! Mostly wild boars on the 8th floor…”

She says the 8th floor is where she usually hunts. There’s a huge wild boar monster there that she often catches and eats. I’ve heard of it. Isn’t it the same meat that’s commonly used in inns?

“Then why are you wandering around the 4th floor now?”

“I failed consecutive hunts. Eventually, I became too weak to face the monsters on the 8th floor.”

She seems like a cheetah. If she can’t hunt, she starves and loses strength. While Rubyka was sitting on the ground for about three hours, performing a bone dissection show with the deer’s bones, I lay on the ground and took a nap. I watched her eat for about 10 minutes after I had my fill, but she kept eating for so long.

While I was asleep, Rubyka ate most of the legs, ribs, rump, neck, and other miscellaneous meats that even a butcher wouldn’t handle. Since there was so much meat, she discarded the parts that couldn’t possibly fit into a human mouth, but considering that, it seems like 80% of it went into her body.

Look at the pile of bones next to her. It looks like a pack of scavengers passed by.

“Are you full?”

“Yes, it was a sufficient meal.”

“It better be. How much did you eat?”

“Th-that’s right….”

The way she took out a handkerchief and wiped the oil off her mouth and hands gave off the impression of a beautiful knight who would be admired anywhere. If only I hadn’t seen her just moments ago, stuffing her cheeks with meat like a hamster. Maybe I should have gotten up a bit later.

Around us were roughly skinned deer hides, blackened logs that seemed to have burned for quite a long time, and a mountain of bones. The uneaten parts were casually thrown far away.

“What will you do? Judging by the direction, you were heading to the portal.”

“I need to go to the 5th floor. I’m trying to get promoted to the lead grade.”

“What, you were still at the bronze grade? You didn’t look like it at all.”

“I had some things to take care of. I’ve gotten a bit stronger recently.”

“I see.”

Rubica stood up and slung the greatsword she had placed beside her back onto her back.

“I’m going to return now.”

“Wait. You’re just going to leave after eating all that meat?”

“Uh, uh….”

No way. As a person, if you’ve eaten 0.1 tons of meat, you should pay for it.

“Do you… want something?”

“Yes. I do.”

“I’ll help as much as I can….”

“You said you were returning to the surface, right? Then, could you take that horn over there and sell it for me?”

At the end of my outstretched finger was the head of a blue-horned deer. According to Rubica, taking the head as it is and selling it preserves its value the best.

“Will that be enough?”

“Oh, and you have to give me the money from the sale. I think I’ll be a bit late getting out, so, um. Please leave it at the Goat Rider Inn in the southwest of Kalax. And say hello for me.”

“Alright. What’s your name?”

“It’s Yuwon.”

“Yuwon? Why all of a sudden… Are you going to die?”

“No, my name is Yuwon.”

“That’s… hmm, must be an alias. Got it. I’ll make sure the payment is delivered.”

I often encounter such misunderstandings, but I didn’t bother to explain. It’s easier to let them think that way.

“If you cheat me, I’ll be very disappointed. Rumor might spread that a silver-ranked female adventurer named Rubica devoured 0.1 tons of meat in one sitting.”

“What do you take me for! Of course, I wouldn’t do such a thing, so don’t worry!”

“Yes, it seems so.”

After watching Rubica’s beast dismantling show, I felt full. To be precise, I felt bloated and lost my appetite.

‘Hopefully, it’s not the inn’s food.’

Still, I should be fine since I ate that much meat.

“Oh, and… this is my personal token of gratitude. You might find it useful.”

“What is this?”

Rubica rummaged through her bag and handed me a small ring.

“It’s an artifact. I got it on the 10th floor. It’s not of great quality, but I don’t have much use for it.”

As Rubica said, I put the ring on my left middle finger and infused it with magic, and a large round shield appeared, big enough to cover my upper body. The feeling of the handle fitting right into my hand was quite intriguing.

“This is nice. I’ll use it well.”

“Alright. I’ll be off now. Enjoy your meal.”

As she stepped towards the portal and pressed her foot firmly on the ground,

Boom!

With a loud noise, the body shoots out at an incredibly fast speed. What an amazing speed. Is that a silver grade?

‘Combustion acceleration skill, it would be nice to have if you have a lot of money.’

The meat of the blue-horned deer doesn’t smell much, but I can’t say it’s particularly delicious. Is it that anything tastes good when you’re hungry? I understand, since the combustion acceleration skill must have made him very hungry.

Even with such a large greatsword on his back, he moves at that speed. I would like to see him in battle.

“Phew, time to go.”

I slept for about three hours. I can feel my body recovering.

“Let’s go to the fifth floor.”