Tale Of Unknown: Hero From Zero

22. Devil Animals in the Grasslands

After about two hours of falling asleep under a tired tree, Riyan decided to wake up and continue his journey to the Tendo continent. Despite having an unusually strong status, everyone had limited stamina, even though he was a hero. While sitting and leaning his back on the tree trunk, he looked at the dirt road he had just treaded that was not far from his place.

'Are there no umbrellas in the world? The heat is not playing, it can die because of my heat.'

Complaining that in her heart, Riyan closed her eyes after seeing the raging hot steam around her. With the temperature of the air so hot, his sweat seeped out from every pore and started flooding his body, plus a dark-colored robe that absorbed the heat.

On the deepest floor of the Hexaphilia labyrinth, the temperature was extremely low for people who were not used to the cold. Fortunately, Riyan was able to adapt quickly to avoid dying from prolonged hypothermia.

(Note: Hypothermia : Low body temperature)

Realizing his throat was beginning to dry up again, he grabbed his bag and searched for a bottle of potable water that had been filled in the city of Lasfile. When he got the bottle, he pulled it out and immediately drank it. But, what he got was just two drops of water on his lips.

'have finished? You kidding?'

He was surprised to find out that his drinking water supply had run out. Surprised, Riyan unconsciously put on a strange face that he had never shown before. Perhaps because in the labyrinth there is a lake with a sufficient volume of water, Riyan does not estimate the amount of water consumed every day, so it is not aware of this.

'Wire, I have to find the nearest river or spring. In this super-hot weather, no water is fatal. I can't rest more than this, I need drinking water!'

He encouraged himself in his heart so that his body ignored his fatigue and began to walk in search of water. It was not much heat compared to the desert, but Riyan was used to the deepest floor of the cold labyrinth for about three months. Therefore, it is not resistant to heat. It takes time to get used to the surface.

Riyan got up from where he was sitting, then walked back down the road to the south. Although he does not have a map, he is quite sure in his memory that says the Tendo continent is south of Alivonia, although he is not sure how long he must take to achieve his goal.

In the city of Lasfile, there was a large horse-drawn carriage that was about to exit the city through the west gate. Among the horse-drawn carriages, there were two carriages carrying large iron-tested boxes similar to stables in the back. Then in the cage sat the men in shabby clothes whose necks were fitted with black necklaces.

True, the humans inside the cage are slaves. In this world, slavery is normal and legalized by all kingdoms. Although it was said to be a slave, there was an official law on slaves that every merchant and slave owner had to obey.

One, slaves must be treated humanely. Two, slave food is still decent food. Three, have a slave ownership letter. Four, slaves should not accept torture for no apparent reason. Five, the slave should not be tortured to death or one of his limbs or senses lose function.

Before that, slaves were divided into several qualities. The division of the quality of slaves can be known by the qualifications of slaves.

One, the slave must wear a slave necklace around his neck. Two, be willing to obey every word of his master. Three, must receive all the treatment made by his master. Four, able to protect his master from all dangers and threats, despite sacrificing his own life. Five, can help the whole trouble of his master.

When the prospective slave meets only one and/or two points, then the slave is a low-class slave. Pass three points, ordinary grade slave. While those who pass the fourth and/or fifth points are high-class slaves.

Such were the laws and official slave qualifications of the five great empires. If there is a slave who does not obey his words or intends to harm his master, he will receive the pain of the slave marks on his body. When a person is made a slave, his body will be given a sign with magic and the sign is a form of contract bond between the slave and the master.

In addition to the slaves and slave traders, there were several others who were in their respective carriages. Judging from the transportation they brought, it can be seen that the horse carriage group is a traveling merchant entourage. Although it looked like the entourage, was actually the owner of this entire horse carriage, except for two slave merchant carriages, only one. If summed up, there were about five cars in the line, including a slave merchant carriage.

The leading and backward horse-drawn carriage was a carriage that carried adventurers hired by the traveling merchant. The horse carriage in the middle contained objects sold by him, jewelry and precious stones. It seemed like this one traveling merchant was so rich that he hired a few adventurers to fill two large horse carriages.

"Siel, since I've given you protection with these adventurers, at least sell one of your slaves to me at a 90% discount%."

"I know that we've been friends for a long time, but I don't know why your nature hasn't changed in the past, Daruth?"

"It's profitable! That's my motto, hahaha!"

While saying that, the rich merchant named Daruth laughed loudly at Siel, the slave merchant who was part of his journey. Daruth was a traveling jeweler who was quite famous for the quality of his wares, while Siel was a slave trader who liked to hide behind the alleys of the city.

"Come on, you'll have to give me a little compensation because of this guaranteed security issue. Slave traders are also quite often targeted by bandits, right? Then you'll have to pay for his security services as well."

"Yes, I'll give you a piece of gold."

"But spy! You know, this whole adventurer I hired is worth five silver per head! Don't be that stingy dong!"

"Huh... three gold?"

"Well, so dong!"

'This guy wants to blackmail me huh!?'

Complaining that in his heart, a blue vein appeared in Siel's temple. Although annoyed, he inevitably had to pay for it because he was under the protection of the adventurers whom Daruth had hired as a guard during their journey to the city of Flerm, where he had to go, a town about five days away by horse-drawn carriage from Lasfile.

Five days and five nights, in that long time no one could have guessed when the danger would strike them. Siel also relented for the safety of himself and the slaves he wanted to sell in a city different from Daruth's destination.

"By the way, Siel, why did you become a slave trader?"

"Why? They are easy to get and fortunately also great. The lowest quality slave alone is worth seven gold, let alone the highest quality, you can get rich suddenly thanks to just one person."

Daruth nodded at Siel's reply which uploaded his business instincts. It seemed that he was unaware that the jewels and precious stones contained in his carriage were the lowest worth eight pieces of silver.

"Where did you get these kids?"

"Normally I find them wandering the city or in the wild in a sad state, but not infrequently there are also parents who sell their children to me to pay their debts."

Once again, Daruth nodded at Siel's explanation. This time, his interested expression was complemented by a right finger playing on his chin.

"Hm, looks like I should start a slave business as well."

"Hey, you're super rich! Don't make me look even more pathetic!"

Daruth laughed as Siel shouted to ban him from running a slave business. As a merchant, Siel did not want his rivals to increase, especially when a super-rich who wanted to turn his business into a slave trader. On the other hand, Siel snorted annoyedly at the sight of his old friend laughing at him.

Despite being on a separate train, they could somehow chat leisurely regardless if their voices were heard by a group of bandits or nearby monsters. Perhaps because of the adventurers who were ready to guard them from any attack, they did not care about it at all.

"Sir Daruth, it looks like we have a guest."

One of the adventurers who was on the train at the earliest stood up from his seat and reported on the situation they immediately faced in the next few moments.

"Bandits or monsters?"

"Come on, I don't know."

At that moment, the five horse carriages stopped and the adventurers descended from the carriage they were riding in. They took out their respective weapons and prepared for the danger from their right flank which only lay in the vast prairie. Most of the adventurers hired by Daruth used melee weapons and fighters, but there were some who used magic and a magic wand as their weapons.

After twenty seconds, a fairly large creature was seen running towards them. The closer, the clearer the figure, and the more ready the adventurers to finish off the creatures that are far ahead of them. Shortly after, the figure was revealed perfectly and made the adventurers surprised.

"That monster!?"

"Why? Why is there such a monster here!?

They panicked instantly when they saw the form of monsters they were about to face. Their bodies trembled in fear, and some even fell. Although none of them ran away, but all the fear there gathered into one and made the aura full of fear feel terrible.

"He-hew-demon beast!!"

Hearing that, Daruth and Siel, as well as all the slaves that were on the carriage, suddenly felt tremendous fear and panic. Of course, who would not be afraid of hearing demonic beasts? Demon beasts in the fields possessed extraordinary strength that even great knights had difficulty in handling just one.

Demon beasts were a race of monsters that had contaminated mana dirty. This incident was like a monster that had died, then absorbed mana so that it became an undead. Unlike the undead, the demon beast absorbed mana or dirty energy from the surroundings thus making it a very powerful monster.

"He-hey, adventurers, you can protect us, right?"

Daruth asked from the coachman's seat of his carriage to the adventurers he had hired for his safety concerns. Being too scared, the adventurers could not answer the questions of the person who hired them. At that moment, Daruth realized that he and everyone in the group would soon die.

Grooa!!

The monster's roar rang out loud from a distance of about 200 meters, making their fear increase and increase again. Even so, there were some adventurers who were still standing with weapons in their hands enduring fear. It takes a huge amount of mental strength to stand up to forces that are far beyond reason.

"Hoi, cowardly adventurers! I hired you as guards, don't forget that! If you can defeat the monsters up ahead, I'll give you five gold pieces each!"

Hearing that, the adventurers who had been sitting on the ground from being too scared, started to rise and their spirits suddenly smoldering. For adventurers who aim to make a living like them, the value of five gold pieces is huge. With that amount, they could live a quiet life for five months without having to risk their lives again when completing the guild's monster hunting request. But, it seems there are some who are not inedible with the inducement and choose to hide in the roofed train.

"Five gold pieces, five gold pieces, five gold pieces!!"

"Drink all the beer!!"

Shouting that to the sky, the once frightened adventurers, were now preparing to face the demonic beasts that were currently about 40 meters away from where they were standing. On the other hand, Siel was silent in fear lamenting the fate that would devour him to his bones, as well as the slaves who were confined in cages behind him.

The shape of the demon animal looks like a deer-bodied, horse-legged, and wolf-headed creature, then there are various dark purple crystals that fill his back. The size of this demonic beast was about twice as big as an ordinary horse. Although not too big, somehow the ground can shake violently, maybe it is one of the magic it has.

Most demon beasts were hybrid monster races that had strength above average monsters in general. The hybrid monster race is notoriously difficult to deal with because several types of living things combine in one body, so its movement and strength cannot be predicted, although not as difficult as demonic animals.

"Forward!!"

One of the adventurers who was consumed by money persuasion Daruth ran forward valiantly, followed by several other adventurers who had also gone blind. On the other hand, those who were sober and sane, were still speechless as well as shocked to see adventurers who were blinded by money.

'Are these adventurers no one in their right mind!? Just because they wanted money, they were instantly excited against a demonic beast that even great knights would have trouble dealing with!?'

While shouting in his heart, Siel picked up the short sword he was carrying near his feet for an emergency moment. Indeed he is not a knight, but in this world weapons include secondary needs that must be met after three primary needs are met in order to defend themselves from the slightest threat.

It did not take much time, all the adventurers who advanced to face the demon beast, were exhausted without giving any meaningful resistance. There were about thirteen adventurers who advanced blindly and they all died in a terrible state. Some of his head was torn to shreds, stomachs and chests were hollowed out by the enemy's kick, and limbs like legs and hands were savagely eaten. In addition, human internal organs are also scattered here and there.

All who watched could do nothing to help, whether it was Daruth, Siel, or the three remaining adventurers. They were only silent to see the sadistic slaughter that was not for a minute carried out by the wolf-headed, deer-bodied, and horse-legged demon animal.

The three remaining adventurers remained standing on the right side of the carriage, despite feeling extremely frightened. They knew that adventurers were a profession that risked their lives every time they worked, but they did not expect that death would come so soon.

Then, the demon animal realized that there were still prey that he could eat. He also stepped his feet little by little approaching the horse carriage that was boarded by Siel and Daruth. The three adventurers who had been standing in fear, their pants had been wet because their metabolic waste liquid had seeped out, in other words they had completely resigned.

"S-Siel, since this is our last s-moment, there's something I've wanted to tell you since."

"Huh-huh? What i-it?"

"Pardon me! Du-I was the one who s-often stole your d-da-in clothes!!"

"W-what!? At a time like this, you're still talking about that!?"

"At least I don't want to die in a sorry state!!"

Please note, Siel who is a slave trader is a beautiful woman with short purple hair and bright blue eyes. Although beautiful, he did not take advantage of the advantages to make money by selling his body, she was a woman who was quite hard on herself.

Hearing the confession and regret of his old friend, Siel was very embarrassed. However, the shame was soon piled up by the overwhelming fear of the demonic beasts that were to the right of their horse carriage. Getting closer, the demon animal licked its own muzzle to clean the blood stain attached.

The look of despair was clearly drawn on the face of Siel and all the people who were there. Their only hope was a miracle that came down from the sky, for example a great knight came to save them. Unfortunately, they had gone too far from the city of Lasfile to hope for the miracle.

Siel closed his eyes and resigned to the will of the gods.

'Exit.. already...'

"Excuse me, do you have any drinking water?"

In the midst of the terrible gripping situation, there was the sound of someone from the back of the train. All of them who were there were shocked and immediately turned to the direction the voice came from, even the demon beast also let out the same reaction. When they looked at the back of the carriage that Siel and his slaves were riding, they were shocked.

There was a black-haired young man whose body was covered in a dark brown hooded robe approaching black and on his back were two swords stacked together. He looked very tired and his face was sweating a lot, then his breathing was also quite chaotic as a result of running as hard as possible.

The figure of the black-haired youth covered in dark brown robes was none other than Riyan Klaint, a summoned hero from another world, who ran as fast as he could when he saw the chariot of Daruth and Siel asking for a little water to drink.