Chapter 222 Goddess Iron Fist? Iron waste!
The eastern suburbs of Axel, a seemingly peaceful grassland, was a nightmare for new adventurers.
Arthur unfolded the quest paper in his hand, which depicted a charming frog head with a simple drawing.
[Quest: Subdue five giant frogs in their breeding period within three days!]
[Reward: Five thousand eris per frog!]
The ground trembled slightly, and giant frogs, each the size of a small hill, leaped out from behind the low hills. Their slime-covered skin reflected an eerie light in the sun.
"So that's why they're called giant frogs," Arthur said calmly.
In contrast, Kazuma, facing monsters for the first time, was already weak-kneed and pale.
Aqua, even more dramatically, hugged her arms, trembling all over.
"B-Brother, are we…?"
Bang!
Before Kazuma could finish his sentence, a crimson magic bullet had already torn through the air, precisely shattering the skull of a giant frog dozens of meters away.
The massive headless frog corpse crashed to the ground, scattering grass clippings.
Arthur lowered his arm, the residual magic heat still lingering on his fingertips, yet there was no ripple within his body.
He quietly sensed the so-called 'soul,' but he didn't catch any signs of experience gain.
"Is the boost too small?" he murmured to himself.
Clearing out these monsters didn't seem to make him stronger.
On the other side, Kazuma and Aqua were "battling wits" with a pink-skinned giant frog.
Perhaps that's not quite accurate; it was more like…
The pink giant frog, with half of Aqua's body dangling from its mouth, was looking up at the sky, while Kazuma frantically stabbed at the frog's thick belly with his novice short sword, to no avail.
Arthur had initially thought that personally hunting would allow these two to accumulate experience faster, so he acquiesced to their splitting up.
As a result, he had just dealt with the few in front of him, and when he turned his head, he saw this tragic scene.
One was panting, and the other was half-dead.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Bang!
Another crimson magic bullet ripped through the air, instantly piercing through the giant frog that was still savoring the goddess's taste.
Kazuma immediately covered his nose and dragged the slime-covered Aqua out of the abyss-like maw.
After confirming that she was unharmed, he was instantly furious.
"What are you doing, you idiot! A high priest responsible for long-range attacks and healing, actually ran under a giant frog's feet to die!"
"Waaahhh… Thank you, Kazuma."
Aqua, slowly regaining consciousness, had tears in her eyes and opened her arms to hug Kazuma's leg, but he pushed her away in disgust.
"You stink! Don't just come near me! And the person you should be thanking is Brother!"
Arthur walked over quickly, his eyes subtle.
Even now, he could still clearly feel the pure, extreme divine power emanating from Aqua.
Yet she herself was eaten by a beginner village monster like a snack…
What kind of situation was this?
He turned to look at Kazuma, whose hands and feet were still trembling, and asked.
"This giant frog should count as a joint kill. Did you feel any experience gain?"
Reminded by him, Kazuma ignored the goddess muttering "I've been defiled" and quickly pulled out his adventurer card.
"Brother, my level is still 1. It seems the experience from one giant frog isn't enough to level up."
Arthur nodded slightly. The adventurer cards in this world had various functions, but in terms of the intuitiveness of experience feedback, they were far inferior to [God's Blessing].
"How about it, can you continue?"
"Of course!"
Experiencing the thrill of an otherworldly adventure for the first time, Kazuma gripped his short sword tightly, his eyes filled with excitement.
"Ah—!!!"
Just as the two were talking, Aqua, whose wires seemed to have crossed, erupted again, sprinting wildly towards another giant frog, muttering to herself.
"Prepare to witness the power of a goddess!"
Arthur's eyes lit up, and he raised his hand to stop Kazuma, who was about to go to her rescue, deciding to see what this goddess was up to.
"How dare you attack a high and mighty goddess, you guys, go to hell and repent thoroughly!"
「God Blow!」
Aqua's right fist glowed with a dazzling seven-colored light, like a burning rage. She continued with an inexplicable commentary.
"The so-called God Blow is an Must-kill iron fist carrying the goddess's wrath and sorrow! The opponent has only one fate: death!"
Before her words finished, she punched the giant frog squarely.
The imagined earth-shattering explosion did not occur. The seven-colored divine light instantly fizzled out, leaving only weak ripples spreading across the soft frog's belly.
"Huh?"
Aqua looked up blankly at the giant frog in front of her, completely unharmed, and awkwardly forced a smile.
"Looking closely, frogs are actually quite cute."
The giant frog clearly didn't understand her compliment. It opened its gaping maw and swallowed her again, leaving only two legs twitching weakly outside.
Kazuma glanced at the familiar scene, then cautiously peered at Arthur beside him, who had a face full of black lines.
"Um… Brother? Are you… not going to do anything?"
"…I'll leave it to you. I need some peace and quiet."
Arthur waved his hand weakly, looking utterly disheartened.
Kazuma sighed resignedly and once again picked up his short sword, charging forward.
Arthur gazed at Kazuma jumping around in the distance and Aqua being swallowed again, and for the first time, he doubted his own intuition.
Following these two, could he really find the quest objective he wanted?
After a chaotic scramble, Arthur led the sweaty Kazuma and the slime-covered Aqua back to Axel.
It was already evening, and the comforting smell of cooking fires drifted through the streets.
Arthur hadn't eaten since he transmigrated and felt a bit hungry.
He turned around, looking at his two teammates shuffling behind him like walking corpses, and shook his head helplessly.
"You two go take a bath first. Dinner is on me tonight, and I have other arrangements for later."
Kazuma and Aqua were instantly tearfully grateful, but because of their foul smell, Arthur unhesitatingly shooed them off to the bathhouse.
He himself returned to the guild first to submit the giant frog hunting quest.
While the receptionist Princess Luna was checking the numbers and counting the bounty, he looked at the various quests posted on the bulletin board.
[Subdue Aegil Trees, reward calculated by quantity.]
[Retrieve a lost pet white wolf.]
[Recruiting magic experiment subjects, note: high stamina or high magic resistance preferred.]
"Miss Princess Luna," Arthur began, "considering the balanced development of the party, are there any suitable quests for a high priest?"
"Indeed, high priests gain less experience in hunting quests. Mr. Arthur is very thoughtful," Princess Luna said with a smile, pulling out a stack of separate quest papers from under the counter.
"These are exorcism and spirit-cleansing quests posted by the town. Please be sure to act within your capabilities."
Arthur didn't delve into why such quests required adventurers to ask proactively but quickly flipped through them.
Soon, he selected one.
[Quest: Purge the evil spirit of the graveyard—the Zombie Maker.]
[Description: In the hill graveyard on the outskirts of town, an evil spirit called the 'Zombie Maker' resides. It will attach itself to high-quality corpses and control multiple zombies to cause trouble. Please eliminate it.]
When Kazuma and Aqua appeared at the guild, looking refreshed, Arthur slapped the quest paper onto the table.
Kazuma immediately jumped up: "Brother! Are you serious? You're actually counting on this utterly useless fellow!?"
"Who are you calling useless! You despicable NEET shut-in!"
A fuming Aqua pounced like a hungry tiger, grabbing Kazuma's collar and shaking him wildly.
"Mere low-level evil spirits wandering the human world, watch me, Aqua-sama, purify them completely!"
Watching the two fighting again, Arthur expressionlessly picked up his drink, but a thought flashed through his mind.
Perhaps—this time he should prepare a shovel in advance?