Chapter 5: New Forest Ranger
A few days later, the villagers of Green River Village squeezed together in the small village square. Several apple crates had been brought over and stacked on top of each other, covered with a thin cloth so that the makeshift speaking platform wouldn’t feel too chilly.
The village chief stood on top, waving his arms and gesturing excitedly, proudly announcing to his villagers the “hard-earned” results of his work—he had, indeed, found an adventurer for Green River Village!
Well, strictly speaking, it really wasn’t an easy task, Alan thought, as a former—not-quite-qualified—adventurer.
The work of a forest ranger included setting up magical barriers for their employer, regularly patrolling the valley and forest to check for dangers, and, if necessary, even directly fighting possible monsters or wild beasts.
Unfortunately, considering that only poor and remote mountain villages usually hired forest rangers, the pay for such a complex and demanding job was typically meager.
—It was definitely not the kind of work adventurers would prioritize.
At least, not for those truly sane adventurers.
For this very reason, the forest ranger positions near Green River Valley were perpetually vacant.
Most of the time, the village could only force local hunters to take on the work as a side job. But now, everyone knew there was a “guest” in the forest. Even someone as warm-hearted and kind as Mrs. Pan wouldn’t allow Hills and John to continue this poorly paid side work.
At this moment, the village chief proudly declared that he had indeed found a real forest ranger—and not just any ranger, but a strong and capable one. By that measure, he truly had solved Green River Village’s big problem.
However, compared to the exuberant chief, the villagers’ response in the square was somewhat lukewarm. They clapped sporadically, then quickly resumed chatting in small groups. Some even began selling the fruits and cheeses they had brought along.
The small square gradually began to take on the lively atmosphere of a marketplace.
The village chief cleared his throat awkwardly a few times, trying to regain some momentum.
“Cough, cough… I know some of you are still skeptical about the adventurer’s arrival, but believe me, this time I absolutely will not be fooled—”
“Come on, Hans, you said the same thing last time!”
An elderly woman in a hood interrupted him bluntly. Having been deceived so many times due to his naivety, Chief Hans’ position in the village didn’t quite match the office he held. Not to mention, the forest ranger he had so extravagantly praised was nowhere to be seen in the square, meeting the villagers, which only deepened their doubts. No matter how desperately the chief tried to explain that skilled adventurers often had quirks, the villagers weren’t convinced.
“Our Alan is a skilled adventurer too! He doesn’t have any weird quirks that would make him unfit to meet people!”
Someone else remembered Alan’s past status and shouted it out. Instantly, the villagers burst into good-natured laughter.
Alan’s face flushed bright red.
“No, I—I really am not…”
I’m really not a skilled adventurer!
If I’m still alive, it’s pure luck!
Alan tried to explain, but his voice was drowned out by the villagers’ laughter.
…
But the trouble brought on by mentioning his past identity wasn’t just embarrassment.
“Alan!”
As the impromptu gathering dispersed, the village chief suddenly called out to him.
“Could you do us a favor and deliver this to our new forest ranger?” He handed Alan a cloth bag, inside of which was a roughly stitched cloak, crookedly embroidered with the emblem of “Green River Village.”
Because it was indeed so poorly sewn, it took Alan a moment to realize that this cloak was the uniform of the new forest ranger.
…So that’s probably why Green River Village always struggled to find a forest ranger.
“You used to be an adventurer yourself, so you should know better than I do how to communicate with another adventurer! Besides, the forest ranger’s cabin is on your way back—please, I’m counting on you to deliver this to that gentleman.”
The village chief said earnestly.
Although he had been desperately praising the new forest ranger in front of the villagers, in reality, the chief didn’t dare speak to that adventurer.
The adventurer was truly formidable—far beyond anything Hans could have imagined. When he applied, the tall man hidden beneath his tattered cloak simply raised a hand and shattered the test target, leaving thick frost on the ground. Hans could feel a terrifying aura emanating from him, an overwhelming sense of oppression and danger that only a true powerhouse could possess.
In the presence of that man, Hans even felt an urge to flee.
And when he saw the forest ranger cloak his wife had painstakingly sewn, he felt momentarily dizzy. He really didn’t dare hand such an ugly thing to that person—fortunately, Alan appeared at the critical moment.
“Ah? I… but…”
Seeing Alan’s somewhat surprised expression, the chief quickly told him the location of the ranger’s cabin, then found an excuse to rush away, leaving Alan no chance to refuse.
…
He should have chased after the chief and confirmed the cabin’s location properly.
Not long after, Alan thought to himself.
Clutching the cloak, he trudged through the damp forest mud with a grimace, struggling forward.
By all logic, the ranger’s cabin should have been close to his house, yet even after circling around several times, he hadn’t seen the small wooden cabin that should have been there. Worse still, the surrounding trees grew increasingly dense, completely disorienting him.
Alan was lost.
It was… strange.
Alan stopped in his tracks. His brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed as he studied the surrounding trees with grave focus.
There was something unnervingly familiar about these trees. Thinking this, Alan took a deep breath, stepped off the path, and pressed his hands against the trunks.
Subtle magical fluctuations radiated from the roots, and Alan’s expression immediately darkened.
A magical labyrinth…
Had the new forest ranger been attacked? Why was a labyrinth set up near his cabin? Had he somehow angered the “guest” in the forest?!
Alan’s mind tensed. Reluctantly, he steeled himself and tried to unravel the labyrinth. Fragile streams of magic timidly crept from his palms into the trees, attempting to reverse-infiltrate the magical circuits.
The next instant, his body felt weightless.
His magic had been completely drained by the labyrinth’s circuits, and he himself was tightly bound by vines that suddenly shot out from the trees.
“Ugh—”
Alan let out a short, sharp gasp. He struggled instinctively, but the more he struggled, the tighter the vines coiled around him. Some vines even slithered through his collar and sleeves, burrowing inside his clothes to bind him even more securely. The vines were wet and slick against his skin, radiating a living, humid heat.
Alan felt his spine freeze. He feared he was about to die.
In his panic, he couldn’t even scream; only a single tear escaped his eye, driven by sheer terror. He never could have imagined dying not on the perilous Central Continent, but here, in the peaceful and quiet Green River Village…
“*&￥#%#”
Then he heard a hoarse, deep, incomprehensible whisper.
The vines constricting him suddenly loosened, and he plummeted from midair. A few branches shot out as if to catch him, but the psychological shock from the earlier attack made him instinctively dodge them.
Alan landed on the ground in a thoroughly awkward heap.
“Ow…”
Even though the ground was muddy, he hadn’t been injured—but he couldn’t help letting out a small whimper.
A massive, inky shadow appeared before him, enveloping him.
Alan froze. He looked up, and saw a man of enormous stature standing before him, his presence icy and imposing, head bowed as he regarded Alan with a cold, penetrating gaze.
The man was almost entirely wrapped in a heavy, gray cloak, leaving only a pair of eyes visible.
Eyes that made Alan feel an unsettling sense of familiarity—silver eyes.
“I told that human not to disturb me,” the man said, each word deliberate, spoken with a slightly strange intonation.
His gaze settled on Alan as if it had weight, and Alan could feel a faint prickling along his skin.
“You shouldn’t have used magic to break through my defenses,” he added.
Then there was a brief silence.
“They were self-defense,” the man added dryly.
Alan: “…”
It didn’t take long for Alan to realize—the man in front of him was the new forest ranger.
And the magical labyrinth he had just struggled with… had been set up by the ranger himself.
…
…
…
…Of course. Adventurers who come to work as forest rangers in mountain villages really are all a little… peculiar.
