Chapter 10

Stampede.

It's a phenomenon which could rarely occur at random occurrences…Not, there are only a few cases in which a stampede could happen.

The phenomenon in which monsters move in a large group towards a single direction due to inexplicable reasons.

Except, this time… there's a very obvious reason as to why a stampede could start.

The giant pillar of flame a few nights before had removed a massive chunk of the world's crust into nothing but ashes ready to fly with the wind.

The amount of mana needed to do such a thing is immaculate. Some had even speculated that the Demon King had revived itself.

Although, such a thing could not be confirmed due to the urgency of this current problem.

Elisabeth Hannover, also known as Elisa, is an adventurer of the D-Rank.

Although it was not the lowest, it was also not the highest. The ranking system goes backwards alphabetically from weakest to strongest.

From G-Rank to E-Rank, to D-Rank, to C-Rank, to B-Rank and the highest of them, A-Rank.

Elisa had once dreamed of making a ton of money by simply accepting commissions. Even if the vision of reaching A-Rank was quite out of reach, she still believes she could do it.

With that said, all adventurers regardless of rank had been summoned by the Guild. Even more than that 'summoned', they were practically forced to attend this meeting.

It's been a long time since such a crisis had befallen the Empire.

With such a sudden incident occurring at this time, the greatest force of the Empire could not be utilized due to the mission organized by the King.

Nobody knows what kind of mission was given, but it was such a grave one that he needed to use the very asset that had once gone against the Demon King's army.

Perhaps it was a mission more important than the destruction of the Empire itself.

Anyways, while sitting on a random bench across the street, Elisa listened to the guild member's words.

Perking her ears to any information that could be used in this situation, she strives to gain as much merit as possible from this urgent summoning.

After all, how common would it be for the Guild to summon every adventurer available unless it concerns the well-being of the Empire?

She has no doubt that any contributions she gave to this mission would etch her name onto the list of reward receivers.

How else would they pay the highest contributors other than money?

In which case, her goal is clear. Contribute more than the person before her.

Such a simple goal. Elisa could confidently say that she'd be successful in her endeavor.

Unless some unknown variable plays their trick, nothing would stop her from getting as much money as possible from this opportunity.

"As many of you may have known, a sudden burst of mana was detected towards the North. Due to that, we're expecting a stampede to start at the earliest before dusk. The person of the highest contribution would receive handsome rewards for their contribution."

Elisa looked towards the owner of the announcer. A young girl who looked like she barely reached adulthood was commanding rough looking adventurers who look like they eat children for a living.

Perhaps at a different point in time, she would've found such a sight hilarious.

Unfortunately, now was not the time.

Although she had been thinking about contributing a lot, she doubted she'd be able to compete against all the others

Plus, a stampede is not such a simple occurrence that the lower ranked adventurers could survive without a hassle.

There is no doubt that some may even lose their lives.

Elisa has been trying hard to convince herself that this is an opportunity, not a crisis.

That's right, this is an opportunity to make a living!

Ignore all the bad possibilities, think of only the positive ones.

"...Phew."

Letting out a sigh, she let the words of the announcer fly over her head, waiting for the time the stampede would begin.

Leaving her eyes to wander around the nearby buildings, she noticed something.

'...Fox ears?'

She looked at where the last object of her notice was last seen, between a tight crevice of two buildings.

'What's a foxman tribe doing here?'

With that question lingering in her mind, the rumbling of a thousand footsteps echoed far away.

Hearing the voices of the announcer turning urgent, she felt sweat trickle down behind her neck.

'You're serious… It's starting already?!'

With shaking iris, she listened to the words of the panicking receptionist, acting as an announcer.

"Apologies! It appears our information has been delayed! The beginning of our stampede annihilation starts now!"

"ARGHHH!!!!!"

With the screams of a thousand men, our extermination met its beginning.

As everyone marched towards the gate, the previously low number of adventurers began to multiply.

Noticing this, Elisa noted that perhaps the same announcement had been made in different locations. Only then would the increase of the adventurer make sense.

Placing a palm over her chest, she felt the beating of a heartbeat.

"Huh…."

Exhaling one last time, she followed along the marching of the people, striving to make the most out of this opportunity.

After marching for a few minutes, the rumbling becomes louder and louder every passing second.

The range between the fighting ground that was set by the guild was a few hundred metres away from the gate separating the wilderness and the civilization.

This way, any strays that manage to pass would simply be taken care of by the rangers in the back.

As the rumbling got closer, Elisa could feel the tenseness of the adventurers around her. Perhaps this is one of the few times she'd be able to witness such nervous looks from these rough looking people.

Along with the nervous ones, there are a few that looked confident.

Her gaze fell on a man with golden armor, shining across the battlefield. She had to cover her eyes due to the fact that the armor was blinding her despite being so far away.

'Is nobody else bothered by this?'

While thinking so, she looked around her. As expected, many adventurers were disturbed by his distracting armor.

Though, nobody could say anything about it. That man was an adventurer of a B-Rank after all.

Although there are many people here, not that many could compete against a B-Rank. Perhaps he was one of the highest ranking people here.

Therefore, although many people didn't like the way he was showing off his wealth, they had to let it be, lest they'll be facing the wrath of a higher ranked adventurer.

With the command of the guild member in the back, the adventurer in the front successfully makes a formation with the attacker and shielder in the front, mages and range attacker in the back and the healers waiting in the middle for any emergency that might occur.

Just in time, the stampede of monsters finally entered the horizon covered in trees and leaves.

If the way the trees were tumbling over nothing was not a clue, perhaps the roar of monsters could give hint as to what was approaching this place.

"First wave incoming! Swords and Shields! Prepare for engagement! Mages and Rangers! Support the front!"

Like an illusion, the image of a young adult crumbled in Elisa's eyes. The way the receptionist screamed was not at all, in a way, feminine…

Though that is an issue of another time.

For now, they'll survive this.

"Charge!"

With the scream of a thousand men. Our battle truly begins.

—

What in the hell is that!?!?

Looking at the battle-hardened people engaging against monsters multiple times their size, my mouth gaped open.

'This is real!?'

At first, I thought that this might've been a simulation or something similar, but the smell of bloody metal and the screams of a pained individual brought me out of my stupor.

Aria sees no human amongst the monsters attacking this city. With the knowledge of this world being in the medieval fantasy, she's already accepted the fact that people could use magic.

But this… She could not yet accept the fact that there's monstrosity such as this happening in the short time she's arrived.

Looking at her bag filled with copper coins, she thought of returning back to town and hoped for the best for the people fighting…

But that wish was turned upside down when the people holding onto bows and staff suddenly grabbed onto her shoulder and pushed her towards the battlefield filled with blood and screams.

It was a wonder how she even got here…

—

Right after leaving Rachel's abode, Aria found herself looking forward to locations she doesn't even know exist.

Everywhere she looks she sees something new. To the left, there seemed to be a coffee shop, meanwhile to the right there's a flower shop.

More steps echoed through her ears as she saw the people flood the street. Not finding this to be a bother, she just minded her own business trying to find a new place to stay, perhaps finding a job too.

Although she still felt quite flabby due to her condition, she figured some simple work such as a waiter or a cashier could work out in her favor.

She had thought of volunteering in labor before she had forgotten that she was a woman now.

Since this was a medieval period… Do they even accept women in construction sites?

Aria figured that before the 1900s, all the women were expected to do house chores instead of hard labour outside.

No wait, perhaps even after then the women were still expected to keep themselves away from work that requires physical prowess.

Although… What year is it currently?

'Ah… I forgot to ask Rachel about that…'

I really didn't think this through while relying on her…

Suddenly, a commotion caught Aria's attention.

As her eyes left the street, she saw a giant wall far away with people gathering in massive groups.

'What is that?'

Curious, she jogged towards the location, wondering what had garnered so much attention.

Hiding behind a building, she perked her ears, especially the canine ones on her head, seeing as to how it has a higher capability in terms of listening when compared to her human ones.

It appears she'd arrived a little bit late since she was only able to hear the last sentence said by the announcer.

"...The person of the highest contribution would receive handsome rewards for their contribution."

…What a coincidence.

Perking up her ears more, she could make out more murmurs with the topic being something along the lines of "...So much money could be made here."

Aria wondered if the goddess of luck had finally embraced her since such an opportunity arrived straight at her doorsteps when she most needed it.

Distracted by the thoughts of making money, she was once again surprised by a loud scream of combined efforts of the people here.

She was forced to cover up her ears, successfully doing so but forced to listen to the ringing that was an aftermath of loud sounds.

But suddenly, an invisible force, seemingly made out of pure hatred, rage and agony washed over her, leaving her trembling while hugging her own shoulders.

Fortunately, that feeling only lasted an instant before it was replaced by the sound of wind blowing and the echoes of the footsteps that had just left the place.

Her instinct… is telling her to leave this place immediately.

And leaving she did… before she was caught by the people that were late to the gathering.

"What are you doing here, adventurer? The battle is about to begin! You looked like you left your equipment back home! Fortunately, my husband had left some extra weapons for me! Here, take them and set your battling sense ablaze!"

A woman who looked like she was in her 30s had grabbed both her shoulders without her notice. With fiery red hair, Aria figured that she would be an easy person to talk to… had she not forced her along in this voyage.

The fiery woman grabbed both her hands before talking to her again, "This calluses, you're a swordswoman? How fortunate!"

With said words, she handed over a long sword that would have appeared on a knight in shining armor, but was instead given to a girl with no experience in wielding a sword whatsoever.

"Um.. Actually.." Although Aria tried to solve the misunderstanding, she could not compare against the woman's spirit, suddenly feeling like not wanting to disappoint her.

"Yes?" The woman blinked at her. Looking at her, Aria thought that she most probably would've listened to her words had she explained her situation… But now her instinct is screaming at her to follow the fiery women.

"Did you not feel that just now…?" She changed her question, now wondering if this person had felt that invisible force just now.

"Feel what? The only thing I can feel is my spirit to kill these monsters! Haha!" Laughing like a madman, the woman suddenly grabbed Aria and placed her on her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Aria accidentally let out a yelp but covered her own mouth to reduce the sound.

Immediately after, she ran. And she ran fast. It was so fast, Aria thought that she might've left her soul behind in this position.

Being carried by a woman was never in her checklist, nor did she once think of such a scenario. But this… is too fast!

—

Ah… That's how…

First, the super energetic and red haired woman, now the support that was stationed at the back…

Did my instincts finally lie to me?

"A Druid has appeared!"

As she was about to move, a familiar term entered her ears.

'Druid… you mean the forest people?'

She's familiar with the term. Although they're not really tied to only forest, they were mostly known for inhabiting the forest and using the power of mother nature.

In terms of lifestyle, they could be compared to the elves! But instead of only eating vegetables, they absorb mana from mother nature instead.

'I can see the druid people…!'

Feeling excited, she looked towards the front runners, still clashing against monsters of many kinds. Some with massive horns, while some even wield their own weapons.

She recognized the ones that wields a weapon… They're the green gremlin that had chased her down into that freaking Ent Forest!

Aria was indeed holding grudges.

At the same time… a shadow casted itself above her. Although she heard the people around her scream, she was not able to react in time to the massive impact that came along with the drop of a massive sentient mushroom with tentacles, right beside her.

"The rear has been breached! Mages, fire your magic! Keep that warrior away from your casts!"

Before they could fire anything and before Aria could finally land on the ground from the impact that had caused her to fly, she felt her legs being grabbed.

Suddenly, she was pulled upwards into the sky, still not being able to react to the sudden escalation.

That was only for a few moments before… She was thrown far into the forest by the legs which were held onto by the druid.

"Agh!!!!!"

Her scream echoed throughout the battlefield, leaving some to lament her fate. Soon, her voice faded from the distance.