How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 33

38. Dungeon Tour Goal (4)

“Doesn’t matter. Fight!”

Kalment instructed the next course of action.

“Their toughness is not to be ignored. Assign at least three mercenaries to each one! Do not engage them alone!”

No matter how tough Orcs are as monsters, a group of about three C~B rank mercenaries can hunt them down with ease.

One person blocks with a shield or draws attention to evade, while the rest attack from the Orc’s blind spot to cut off its breath.

‘I see… numbers are indeed power in group battles.’

Just as the Orcs seemed to falter and retreat.

“Make way!”

The mage, Raman, cast the spell he had already prepared.

“Fire Lance!”

The tip of his staff glowed white, and a lance of fire shot out, falling towards the Orcs.

“Oh! That’s attack magic.”

I almost clapped as I watched it.

Was that definitely the 3rd circle magic, Fire Lance?

My memory only contains descriptions from the original work.

It’s my first time seeing it with my own eyes.

It’s much more impactful in person.

The mercenaries’ response and the mage’s firepower.

The Orcs seemed frightened and took a step back, with a few running away.

“Not a chance!”

Kalment pursued them in an instant.

Dashing as fast as an arrow, he swung the glaive [a polearm weapon with a single-edged blade] he was holding upwards.

Slash!

A sound of tearing through the air and flesh echoed, and an Orc fell with half its body severed.

‘Oh~ he’s using Aura after all.’

Judging from the power, it’s probably around the Aura Practitioner level.

‘At this point, there’s nothing for me to do.’

They are skilled enough to have successfully completed long-distance escort missions several times.

They can handle not only Orcs but also most monsters or bandit groups.

However, perhaps due to complacency, someone made a mistake.

A rookie mercenary with relatively little experience accidentally struck the Orc in the wrong place instead of a vital spot.

“Ah?!”

“You idiot! Dodge!”

Another mercenary warned, but it was too late.

He was struck by the fist of the Orc, who was rampaging in pain, and sent flying.

“Ugh!”

The Orc, already blinded by rage, charged towards the rookie mercenary.

If left alone, he would be trampled or beaten.

‘I have no choice.’

I have to help.

That’s my role from the start.

I can afford to relax, but I have to do my job when it’s time.

And I want to test something.

It’s my first time using elemental magic against Orcs.

“Gnome, bind his feet.”

The sand dwarf that popped out at my feet waved its arms as if understanding, then disappeared into the ground.

The Gnome’s ability is to create and manipulate sand or earth using elemental power.

It’s a low-level spirit, but it’s enough to trap the foot of at least one Orc.

The sand swamp that appeared in an instant sucked in the Orc’s leg as if devouring it.

-Kwar?!-

The Orc floundered.

It’s already heavy.

With its foot sinking into the sand swamp, it would struggle just to maintain its balance.

“And Salamander!”

A fire lizard roared, swinging its tail in front of me.

A fireball the size of my torso appeared in the air, scattering heat as it was launched.

The fireball accurately hit the Orc’s head.

Lastly, Sylph.

“If it’s roasted, it needs to be sliced.”

The blade of wind that Sylph unleashed severed the well-roasted Orc’s neck.

The Orc, its breath cut off, fell backward with a thud!

Simple.

“Thank you, Spiritist!”

I casually waved in response to the rookie mercenary’s gratitude, who had almost died, and continued to support the mercenaries who were being pushed back.

After testing it out, I realized that I could defeat them all alone, but there’s no need to go that far.

Assisting is much more efficient at defeating enemies than acting alone.

More than anything, it’s easier.

After defeating every last one of them, we could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The mercenaries remained vigilant, surveying the surroundings.

There were no signs of additional monsters approaching.

Kalment also shook off the blood from the glaive’s blade and took a moment to catch his breath.

“…Well, this is unusual. Even if these guys are foolish, they shouldn’t be charging so blindly.”

“What else could monsters be? They must have been starving and rushed at humans as soon as they saw them.”

“What can we do?”

“Well, let’s not be careless. Stay alert, and the rest of you, prepare to set off again.”

With the stench of monster blood permeating the area, it’s not wise to linger for long.

The mercenaries explained the situation to the people they were escorting and hurried to set off again.

The horses were reattached to the carriages, and the guild personnel briefly checked for any damage.

I handed out potions to those who needed them, as much as they needed.

The priority was those with fairly serious injuries.

“Spiritist, could you take a look at this guy?”

“I’m not sure if I can handle severe injuries, but I’ll take a look.”

“…Please.”

I examined the wound of the mercenary who came to me supported by another mercenary.

He seemed to have been struck by the Orc’s counterattack.

Fortunately, he avoided a fracture, but his arm was deeply scratched when the weapon he was using as a shield broke.

With Nymph’s healing water, the bleeding could be stopped.

And if he used another bottle after about a day, he would at least be able to use his arm reasonably well.

I gave the mercenary two bottles of potion, along with instructions.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. It’s my role, after all.”

There’s no reason to hesitate to give potions.

What was unexpected was that the mercenaries were assessing their own injuries.

They didn’t easily rely on my potions unless it was absolutely necessary.

I was worried they might exaggerate, but it seems that won’t be the case.

‘…They’re worried about the potion supply.’

The destination is far away.

They know they shouldn’t waste potions easily.

Only a few who had difficulty moving took potions.

After distributing the potions to those who needed them, I had some free time.

‘…Should I help with the cleanup?’

Even if roles are divided, it’s not good to be seen slacking off too much.

Image is important.

My end-of-service sergeant’s blood is whispering [referring to a sense of duty ingrained from military service].

‘It’s not time to loaf around yet.’

Just pretending, just pretending.

‘Should I help move something?’

Looking over there, the mercenaries were struggling to move something.

But was there luggage to move?

Slightly puzzled, I looked over there.

And I was a little surprised.

The mercenaries were dismembering the corpses of the dead Orcs.

Skinning them, deboning them, and sorting them.

‘What are they doing?!’

At first, I thought it was work to dispose of the bodies, but they were loading the cleaned-up Orc corpses onto an empty carriage.

A little curious, I helped the mercenaries with their work and asked.

“…Why are you moving the Orc corpses onto the carriage?”

“Huh? Oh, is this your first time on a journey, Spiritist?”

When I nodded, the mercenary laughed heartily and explained.

It’s not surprising since many rookie mercenaries don’t know.

“It’s a waste to throw away monsters. It’s beneficial to take what we can.”

“Is that so? It’s just Orcs, though?”

“Even if it’s just Orcs, there are many uses.”

Monster bones and hides have many uses.

The hide can be used as a material for armor or to make durable tents.

The bones can also be used as materials for weapons or tools, or boiled down to make glue.

Orc bones are said to produce better quality materials than using cow or pig bones.

If they say so, it must be true.

‘…Ah, that’s how they’re used.’

I didn’t know this far.

In the original work, even if the corpses of monsters were used, the protagonist only used materials from rare or powerful monsters.

I couldn’t know the value of using common monsters like Orcs.

“Will you try disassembling them too, Spiritist? It’s also experience.”

He smiled and held out a knife for deboning, but I politely declined.

The blood and oil dripping from the knife… I’m sorry, but it gave me the creeps.

I’ve gotten used to it, but I still have a weak stomach.

“…I’ll pass. Um… I’ll go check the potion stock for a while…”

It’s not because I dislike it.

I’m avoiding it because I think I might get hurt if I do it.

Please don’t misunderstand.

* * *

Traveling isn’t just about setting off without a plan.

Surprisingly, those who depart usually make thorough calculations in advance.

The distance to the destination, how much they can travel in a day.

If it’s a known road, they think about the points to use as campsites in advance.

Camping anywhere is extremely rare.

This journey has already been traveled by countless people thousands of times, so the route is thorough.

“Let’s set up camp here.”

After rechecking the map, Kalment gave the order, and the carriages stopped.

Today’s journey was a bit slower due to a battle.

Considering that, they reassess the distance to travel and find a suitable spot for camping.

They don’t push themselves too hard just because the road is long.

If they’re a little late, they can’t help but be delayed by a day or two.

That’s the mindset of traveling.

With so many people, preparing for camp is quite a big deal.

It feels like building a small village.

It was quite a sight to see several tents being set up in an instant.

The campsite is divided into areas for the mercenaries, tents for the merchants, and tents for the slaves employed by the merchants.

The mercenaries form groups and assign one person from each group to stand guard.

Of course, those being escorted don’t stand guard.

Instead, the slaves seem to be guarding the bonfires used by the merchants.

Mage Raman and I also don’t stand guard.

There’s no need to have mages or spiritists stand guard.

They only do so when there are no people available, but there’s no need for that now.

I pitched my tent and crawled inside.

Unlike the other mercenaries, I can occupy it alone.

‘…Because I need to make potions.’

If I have a good enough reason, I can spend my time a little more comfortably like this.

I briefly sorted the materials for the potions I’ll use tomorrow and sat cross-legged, closing my eyes.

Meditation cannot be neglected even during travel.

I need to increase my elemental power even by just 1.

After concentrating for about an hour, I summoned Sylph.

There’s something I need to do before going to bed, just in case.

-What’s the matter?

“Sylph, can you create a barrier of air currents around the campsite for a moment?”

-Hmm… very simple!

Sylph nodded greatly and flew out of my tent.

Sylph, a low-level wind spirit.

As a wind spirit, its ability is to control the flow of wind and air.

Wind always blows somewhere.

Sylph’s ability is to control its flow.

In fact, even if it controls the wind over such a wide area, it can’t create a strong wind.

‘But it’s possible to create a certain flow.’

By manipulating the wind, it deliberately creates a circular flow around the campsite.

Also, Sylph can sense the flow of wind it controls.

Even if it can’t know in detail what’s touching it or what’s there, it can sense that something is there.

It’s like a kind of wind radar scan.

“Sylph, the result?”

-There are. A lot!

…There’s no need to think deeply.

I’m glad I was vigilant.

‘Tch… just my luck.’

I clicked my tongue and got up from my seat.

It’s not time to sleep.

No, maybe I won’t get any sleep tonight.

We have visitors.

A large number of them, too.