Chapter 308: Glen the S Ranker

“Wa ha ha ha! If it’s like this, then we’ll get there before we know it!” [Glen]

He didn’t even know where we were headed, yet the S Rank adventurer, Glen, just laughed loudly as he boldly took the lead.

Since we ended up traveling together, I figured I might as well use him to clear the way, but the way he’d wreck everything apart with a swing of his hands, tearing vines and weeds alike, to pave the path was just like watching a bulldozer at work.

I used the soil slime’s slime magic to expose the roots and make it easier to remove them, but he’s great strength was still something else to behold.

“Are you sure it’s okay for you to be following me around? I’m not gonna bother to tell you not to come anymore, but don’t you have a job to do or errand to run?” [Ryouma]

“I’m just hunting monsters, so anywhere is fine. I was just walking around randomly too before I happened into you, so if you’re headed deeper into the forest, then nothing could be better. Monsters are sure to show up along the way, and some of those should fetch a high price.

Besides, I rarely takes jobs from the guild. I go where I want when I want and fight whoever I want. It’s gross being ordered around, and it’s a hassle once they start tacking on a bunch of conditions.

I can make plenty just by hunting monsters and selling them to the guild. You can also borrow money just on account of being S Rank, so it’s convenient. People rarely even ask me to pay.” [Glen]

“Are you borrowing money everyday?” [Ryouma]

“Yeah, it piled up a bit more than usual, so the lender came to me and begged me to pay up. I’ve been in a bad mood lately and have been walking around town aimlessly. Who knows how much I’ve spent on liquor and women?” [Glen]

He’s out here to pay his debts, but it seems he doesn’t actually know how much he owes. Moreover, the reason he’s in debt is because he’s been playing around… It wouldn’t be wrong to describe him as trash. He’s just so extreme be it in personality or in strength.

I thought I’ve been quite selfish lately, but meeting this guy has made me realize that I’m still mature despite acting as I please.

“I don’t know how much I owe the guy, but it doesn’t matter as long as I pay him, right? It’s precisely because I pay up, that he bothers to lend me money.” [glen]

“That’s true, but if you don’t know how much you borrowed, won’t he try to pull one up on you?” [Ryouma]

“Oh, that’s fine. If I find that someone’s been up to no good with me, I’ll just send him flying with a punch, then no one will try to trick me again!” [Glen]

What a brutish solution. If he weren’t an S Rank he’d be charged for assault and imprisoned. Actually, it’s a crime regardless, but whether they can arrest him or not is another question.

“Well, either way, anyone picking a fight with you would be no different from suicide.” [Ryouma]

“You think? There are a lot of people who do just that, though.” [Glen]

“Really?” [Ryouma]

“Some do it because they think they’ll become famous after beating me. Most of them are trash. Just one hit and they’ll leave you alone. They’re still decent though since they pick an honest fight.

The ones I can’t stand are the ones who try to use me. People who try to line up their pockets using me. Those guys are dime a dozen. They start buzzing around once you get to S Rank. Wait, something’s coming.” [Glen]

10 seconds later, I sensed a horde of monster beasts approaching. Just how far can his senses reach? More information soon came up.

“Oh? Looks like, we’ve got a big one. Ryouma! Let’s take down the small ones quickly!” [Glen]

“Okay!” [Ryouma]

As soon as I said that, the pack of raptors appeared, and they came at us from the front, from the right, from the left, even taking the long way around to leap at us from the grass behind. Due to how Glen-san and I were positioned, I inevitably took the back, while he took the front.

“Ora! You’re in the way!” [Glen]

Glen-san nimbly swung his giant hammer and swept against the pack of raptors.

“Gyaa!” [Raptor 1]

“Your mouth stinks!” [Glen]

One of the raptors managed to get away and bit Glen-san on the arm, but he didn’t even look like he felt anything, and he just swatted it away as though it were some annoying bug, sending it flying into the air before crashing violently into the trunk of a Heat Emitting Tree.

…Seeing him fight like this, I feel like I’m able to understand why he’s so strong.

First of all, just as I suspected in our spar, he’s definitely using ki to reinforce his body. He might still have an ace up his sleeves, but that’s his main trick, and he’s really good at it.

Most of the ki users that I’ve seen until now leak ki from their bodies. That’s true for me too. Especially before an attack. The ki would leak out so much that you can see it like steam rising.

But Glen-san doesn’t have any of that. His speed and power suggests that he’s reinforcing his body, but there’s not even the slightest ki leaking out of him. In other words, he’s using his ki with 100% efficiency.　Without wasting even the slightest ki, he uses everything for the purpose of strengthening his body.

The same holds true for his defense. Those fangs and claws would normally leave a fatal wound, but he doesn’t even bother to block or dodge against them. He doesn’t need to. No wonder he doesn’t bother to wear armor. There’s no point if it’s just going to be more fragile than your body, after all.

“Ryouma! The big one is here! I’ll leave the small ones to you!　I’m sure you’ll be able to take care of them just fine since you’re leisurely enough to watch me while fighting!” [Glen]

He didn’t even wait for me to respond before literally running ahead. He covered meters with a single jump, then repeatedly bounced off the trunks of the heat emitting trees to effectively fly in a zigzag pattern.

His destination was none other than the leader of this pack. The so-called small raptors attacking us were much bigger and stronger than the ones near the entrance, but that particular raptor was big enough that its headed jutted out of the plants that should have normally obstructed it. It was in a league of its own in terms of size. But…

“Goahh…” [Titan Raptor]

Not even a dozen seconds later, its death throes could be heard from the distance. Apparently, the battle ended in an instant, and with their leader gone, the remaining raptors too scattered away.

I rendezvoused with Glen-san later, and the corpse of the Titan Raptor, whose head has been crushed, could be seen beside him. With its giant stature and thick scales that covered its body, it looked just like the T-Rex that I saw from a movie before.

“I’ve heard of this monster before, but seeing it in person is something else. It really is quite big, isn’t it?” [Ryouma]

“It was easy, though. It’s stronger than the smaller ones sure, but it moves slowly because it’s so big. It’s not hard to kill like that snake of yours earlier either, so it’s just perfect for making money.” [Glen]

He stored his spoils inside a small waist pouch under his clothes. It’s probably been enchanted with dimension magic, but it looks especially small because of how big he is, and it also makes for a strange sight seeing something so big enter something so small.

“Have you figured out why I’m so strong yet?” [Glen]

It was such a random question, but he was basically telling me that he’s been watching me, so I just gave my honest thoughts, and he laughed with satisfaction.

“Picking up where we left earlier, another bunch that’s dime a dozen are people asking me to teach them the secret of becoming stronger. I ask what them why I need to teach them, and they’re just like, a little is fine, right?　All the while looking like they’re not asking for much. Those guys are pests.” [Glen]

“Well, it’s certainly annoying.” [Ryouma]

“In the first place, I don’t know how it feels to use ki. My body has just been like this since the day I was born.” [Glen]

“…So you’re doing it subconsciously?” [Ryouma]

“Yep. Apparently, it’s a fairly rare constitution. I don’t know much about it either, but basically, ki is something like stamina or life, right?　All humans possess it, but the ability to freely manipulate it is called Kikou.” [Glen]

So, in other words, he’s not using his ki when he needs it, he is using his ki all the time. Even while we’re talking like this, his ki is continuing to circulate throughout his body. In fact, his ki not only protects him during combat but even outside of it.

For example, the poisonous insects and leeches. I have to rely on equipment and special-made insect repellents, but in his case, they can’t even penetrate his skin. Even if they do succeed in penetrating his skin, they aren’t able to hurt him, and even if they are able to, it heals right away.

“So your body reinforcement is able to enhance not only your strength but also your internal organs and even your healing capabilities.” [Ryouma]

His constitution has brought him nothing but advantages so far, but apparently, it wasn’t all good.

As he’s mentioned earlier, ki is the energy that brings about a person’s stamina and life. If you expend it, you’ll get tired, and if you waste it, it’ll affect your life. Consuming your mana completely will leave your body in a poor state, but exhausting ki comes with even direr consequences.

Of course, most people, including me, would collapse before that happened, but in Glen-san’s case, his constitution makes it so that he can’t control his ki. So it just keeps on flowing even when he collapses.

It’s particularly burdensome on the body during childhood, and the enhancement can lead to a vicious cycle of a weakened constitution. In fact, because of his rare constitution and the lack of established methods for dealing with it, his parents, who were neither wealthy nor nobles, could only resort to the method of ‘providing as much food as possible’ to compensate for his energy consumption, incurring disapproval in their village.

“Pops and mom said that everyone had been cooperative, but all I remember was everyone looking at me as though I were an eyesore. When the harvest was bad, they would tell me, ‘We don’t have any food to spare for some brat that will die at some point anyway! So just hurry up and die and give us your portion!’

Because of that I would leave the village to hunt monster beasts for food, and when I became strong enough to keep myself fed, some other annoying guys started showing up. ‘Give us your meat! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the gratitude of us raising you up!?’ They would tell me.

For the record, I wasn’t eating at the village for free.　Mom paid up properly, while my dad was the village’s smith, so he compensated for the food by working almost for free. Mom said that his products would sell for five times if sold at the city too.

Also, I didn’t hate those guys. My parents understood the situation and paid up, so I didn’t have any complaints, and even if I did, I wouldn’t say anything. But since they’ve exploited my parents so much, there’s no way I would feel indebted to them. It was just a trade by that point, after all.

Don’t you think it’s too much not to help someone then ask for help when you’re in trouble?” [Glen]

“People like that do appear from time to time. There are also people who, when things get tough, push the burden onto others and only take the good parts for themselves, seeking personal gain.” [Ryouma]

“Right? It’s annoying when they mob you. It feels like they’re picking a fight with you even if they don’t mean to.” [Glen]

It was a rather heavy topic, but the person himself doesn’t seem to mind it all that much. To him, it’s already the past, and he’s just mentioning it as an example.

“Well, humans are all the same. The world is full of selfish people, so there’s no need for me to hold back. It’s fun to just do what you want when you want to, and it’s easier that way too, right?” [Glen]

What to do? To be honest, I understand how he feels. When I found human society to be too problematic, I isolated myself in the forest. I might not have been as straightforward about it as him, but I can’t deny it. Of course, it’s not as if I plan to do so anyway.

“I agree it’s fun.” [Ryouma]

“Oh? Looks like we get along better than I thought. I thought you’d be more stiff.” [Glen]

“I think most people would seem stiff compared to you.” [Ryouma]

“Da ha ha! You said it! I’ve certainly never seen anyone more easygoing than me!” [Glen]

That was rather rude on my part, but he didn’t mind it at all. He randomly changes the topic, but he’s not the sort to two face. If he’s laughing then he means it.

His loud voice continued to echo within the Great Forest as we proceeded along our way.

I ended up picking up a traveling companion, but it might not be so bad to explore the forest in this lively manner.