Chapter 91.3

91 Part 3

Many adventurers giggled at Kagemitsu’s joke.

Everyone there may have been dissatisfied with the low rewards. However, Kagemitsu’s joke turned that dissatisfaction into laughter, making it disappear.

“That’s why I’ve turned this into a competition, to make this job more interesting.

The rules are simple. The one who defeats more monsters than the rest wins. I’ll give a public commendation to the top three adventurers and post their names in my blog. Since my blog has about 200,000 visits a day, I think people are going to start noticing you more if you’re one of those top three.”

The excitement of every adventurer there could be heard as he uttered those last few words.

It was only natural.

For a vast majority of all those nameless adventurers, the thing they struggled the most with was advertising themselves.

No matter how many entries an adventurer posts on their own blog, no one will really notice them unless they somehow become famous.

But if that adventurer’s name were to be showcased on a Ranker’s blog, which is viewed by several thousands of people per day, they would be easily drawn to that adventurer’s own blog.

And that makes for a perfect opportunity for self-advertisement.

To be sponsored by a company, one needed to have a certain level of ability and an overwhelming popularity.

Most of the adventurers gathered for this event already met the first condition.

In other words, all that remains for them is to obtain the means to sell their name in order to be sponsored by a company.

There wouldn’t be any adventurer who wouldn’t be delighted with Kagemitsu’s idea.

Those who weren’t happy about it wouldn’t have gathered for this event in the first place.

Haruki’s body also trembled after hearing Kagemitsu’s words. And he was thrilled.

— I’ll become noticeable!

— I’ll obtain a strong presence!!

— What should I do?

— What am I going to do if I get a stronger presence?

— First thing I’ll do will be going to the general store without my mask on…

Haruki’s dream expanded inside his brain.

“But be careful. If two adventurers target the same monster at the same time, it will only count towards the adventurer who first landed their attack. You may ask, ‘but what if I just keep attacking every monster I see but not defeat them?’. Well, if you land a first attack on a monster, then you need to stick to it until you defeat it. Otherwise, it won’t count.

If for some reason you can’t determine who landed the first attack, you can use rock-paper-scissors to decide who keeps fighting the monster. I know that something like that may lead to arguments, but if you have the time to argue with each other, then you have the time to go find some other monster to defeat, right? If you’re rational about it, it won’t hurt your position on this competition that much.

Obviously, attacking each other is strictly prohibited. Don’t try to sabotage others.

Only Becky will be here for now, but my other teammates are standing guard somewhere in the woods. They’re there to make sure no monster escapes this area, but they will be also monitoring the adventurers. So don’t try to fool us, okay?”

Those last words from Kagemitsu were very intimidating.

It was strong enough to render a weak person unable to move.

A chill went down most of the adventurers’ spines.

“The time limit for this request is at sunset. The moment the sun is no longer visible under the horizon, that’s when this will end. Don’t worry if there are some leftover monsters after the time limit has elapsed, we’ll take care of cleaning afterwards.

By the way, there’s one monster in the field that we have marked as special. It’s a little dangerous creature, but the one who defeats it will get three points! Though we did mark it as special, it doesn’t actually have any particular marks on it. So think of it as a lottery of sorts. Now, regarding the purchase of materials…”

As Kagemitsu went on, Haruki kept on moving his hands.

This would be the last key to win this contest.

He made extra sure to tie the rope tightly so that there were no mistakes.

“Umm… Karaboshi? What are you doing?”

“What are you talking about? This was your idea, right?”

Haruki looks up at Karen and tilts his head to the side.

He had placed Rhea on top of Esta, and he seemed to be tying them together with a rope.

“No, wait. I never said you had to put Rhea on top of Esta!”

“But you did say they should ‘join forces’.”

Karen’s words had inspired him to do this.

He dubbed the result “Mobile Turret Esta-Rhea.”

Rhea’s strong firepower, and Esta’s nimble mobility.

The best shot at the fastest speed.

Esta-Rhea was packed with all the wildest dreams a young boy would have.

— This is what to ‘join forces’ should look like!

“But… Do you really think they like being tied up like this? I’m sure they’re hating it.”

“Ah, it’s not like that, right guys?”

The now independent Esta-Rhea rustled and moved about, turning its turret around in several directions.

Rhea was happily shaking her leaves, probably because she was now able to move faster than ever.

On the other hand, Esta seemed a bit miserable, like a younger brother being used like a toy by his older sister.

That being said, Esta didn’t completely dislike it.

It was just that Rhea’s older-sisterly love was a bit too much for him.

“Now Rhea and Esta can move about freely, but if I leave them be by themselves, other adventurers might try to hunt them down. Because of that, I’ll leave them in your care, Karen!”

“What do you mean, ‘because of that’?”

Karen dropped her shoulders.

But if Esta-Rhea were to lead the way, they might be attacked by other adventurers.

For that reason, and just to make sure, Haruki added a small twist to Esta-Rhea.

This “Mobile Turret Esta-Rhea” Haruki had invented, would certainly be the talk in the “Narou” forums.

Haruki had never imagined that Esta-Rhea would cause many adventurers to forfeit their self-confidence and fall into a spiral of horror.