Savage Ascension: Starting with God-Tier Plunder Ability-Chapter 80: Give Up? Not a Chance

"So you’re not going? You’re going to catch the red-furred bear that ate a hundred people by yourself? All its fur is red. Even regular beasts are threatening, and you’re going to catch it alone?"

Large Shield Espin got heated like he was Rowan’s right-hand man. That made sense because he was the shallowest of them all. The few practical weapon techniques of Handless Sendabil that he’d been taught were literally Espin’s foundation.

Naturally, Rowan had given them lightly, but Espin was thinking of them as precious. He’d only learned the single-edged sword and the pretty big shield for just 6 months and still wasn’t used to them, but it was just the day before that he came to think he had a move that could kill something.

He realized the reason for a teacher’s existence, and if he saved money he started thinking about entering the private training ground at Torch Fortress.

In many ways, Rowan was the one who pulled out his thoughts root and stem and changed them differently.

’Well now.’

Rowan thought if he said he was going first, they’d follow out of greed, but Large Shield Espin’s fierce reaction was unexpected.

"I think it’s too dangerous. If you go in alone, you’ll definitely die. A hundred people. A hundred. It’s a bear that ate a hundred people. It’s unprecedented even among red-furred bears. If rumors spread, everyone will be blinded by the hide and come running..."

For the Rowan Mercenary Group that hadn’t earned a single silver coin, it was impossible. These were people who hadn’t even tried one commission in the first place. They were lounging around the tavern and eavesdropping, trying to become mediocre mercenaries, but came to get a commission thanks to Rowan.

Normally it would be standard to enter a mercenary group with more difficulty, and they’d been putting it off partly because of pride.

Rowan had stabbed right between that.

All three stopped Rowan. This was because Espin had opened the floodgates wrong. In the end, it didn’t happen as Rowan intended.

"How about we try catching it. If we dig a trap that triggers directly..."

Rowan explained in detail how to catch it. He said if they sharply cut wood, made about ten pieces, tied them together and lifted them, they could easily kill the charging red-furred bear.

The atmosphere was the same.

’How can they have so much fear.’

Even though Rowan himself had stayed up nights scared of things that hadn’t even happened, he clicked his tongue seeing the greenhorn mercenaries scared.

"Isn’t there a possibility it’s a false rumor? The surviving survivor might have seen it wrong. Isn’t it funny that a bear that awakened to human flesh didn’t attack the village?"

"Still... it’s too big a deal... whether we can do it."

"If we catch it, we can get our hands on big money."

20 silver coins? If competition broke out among merchants, double was possible. But if you killed it with few wounds... if it was a complete whole hide?

’I could get more than 1 gold coin.’

The reason the price suddenly jumped big was obviously because wealthy nobles would covet it. Of course, that was impossible.

Killing a bear that ate a hundred people with few wounds. It didn’t make sense. But even 20 silver coins was great money. Even if the quality wasn’t that good, it was money that could buy heavy armor.

Heavy armor made at a regular smithy was 20 silver coins. Of course it could cost more. For reference, the cost of heavy armor presented by Malrux, the blacksmith of Black Mountain Village, was 30 silver coins. To call him a highway robber, Rowan had made a lot of demands.

The heavy armor mentioned here wasn’t full plate armor. It meant steel armor.

"..."

As they just watched each other, Rowan finally nodded. Because he couldn’t catch it alone. But it was also hard to immediately disband the mercenary group he’d already made. Since he’d spread things out, it was better to tie it up somehow.

’Give up? Not a chance.’

He was thinking of struggling somehow as much as possible until the knight came.

"Can’t be helped. Tomorrow at dawn we’ll head somewhere else again."

"Where will we go? Go back to Torch Fortress and look at commissions again?"

The three people’s expressions improved. Because fear came first about facing the bear. Bears climb trees well, and even in rough terrain their speed is over 60 km/h. Humans had to be generous to reach 45 km/h. And these numbers are the speed of brown bears that modern people know.

Beasts in a fantasy world were different. It was why even greenhorn mercenaries greatly hesitated to face bears. Even Rowan killed the bear he caught in Black Mountain Village through blood loss. He’d tracked it for days waiting for it to die.

The true Rowan collected his thoughts from the greed of the black dream. He neatly abandoned thinking carelessly about the greenhorn mercenaries. Now he had to think differently.

’First I need to raise the mercenaries’ experience.’

More than anything, teamwork had to match. That wasn’t something Rowan could do for them. He couldn’t run them ragged either. Then they’d leave the mercenary group. There was no need to be attached to them, but nothing was easier than a mercenary group for making a force.

’Let’s go with the mindset of taking even one of the three.’

"Captain?"

Rowan raised his head that was facing the ground before he knew it. And opened his mouth.

"We’ll go to Tri-fork Hill Road and secure public order."

"Didn’t you say the pay there was too little?"

At Crossbowman Bedri’s question, Rowan nodded and grinned. He raised a finger and said.

"The commission at Tri-fork Hill Road definitely has little pay. They only give the mercenary group 50 copper coins a day. So I’ll change the method."

And he made eye contact with each person, one by one. Not one person was quick-witted enough to say the answer.

"We’ll capture mountain bandits, robbers, thieves and the like and turn them in. It’s 10 copper coins per person."

"Isn’t subjugating a mountain stronghold dangerous?"

Again it was Crossbowman Bedri. Since he’d passed over the monster commission saying the risk was too great, Bedri seemed to often mention risk factors. To think of it as a kind of revenge was too excessive, so Rowan couldn’t get angry.

"We need to target the ones moving around."

Saying that, Rowan smiled with his eyes. Already the image of them making groaning sounds while climbing rough mountains came to mind. That hell would make them stronger and give them confidence.

’I’ll use my money to feed guys who’ve completely fallen behind in society.’

At the same time he’d train these three. Whether physically or mentally. Rowan’s goal was to quickly change the Rowan Mercenary Group into a skilled mercenary group before the knight was dispatched to catch the red-furred bear.

’A tracking mercenary group would be good. Show Torch Fortress the perception that we’re so skilled at tracking that the dispatched knight would point us out immediately.’

It was a world without even trains, and even if damage to villages was great, knights only appeared after villages disappeared. Because they were doing countless missions. In this world with monsters, beasts, and all kinds of enemies, knights could only ever be insufficient human resources.

In fact, even in the subjugation battle of Giant Axe Sendabil before he was called Handless Sendabil, knights didn’t participate. It was such a big subjugation battle but there weren’t knights. Rowan knew about Sendabil through the essay in the original secret manual handwritten by Rakson.

’There’s plenty of time.’

Rowan thought favorably of his wasted trip instead.

"Capturing robbers and thieves and turning them over to soldiers..."

They all felt Rowan was exceptional. They couldn’t not feel it. Just from Yuval and Merein giving Rowan convenience, Rowan’s exceptionality stood out. That could be felt even without just the characteristic calluses that mercenaries with some experience know.

’It’s possible.’

It looked like work they could do too. There were many votes in favor.

"The actual money we receive won’t be the main income, the money we earn from capturing will be the main income."

Rowan said that and said they’d be climbing a lot of forests and mountains.

"We’ve got stamina to spare."

Espin said sturdily, but Rowan only smiled. Like that, the Rowan Mercenary Group’s first steps stumbled from the start. An ordinary beast that had seen a little blood instantly became a hundred-beast.

The mercenary members he thought would follow if he talked big had great fear of the bear.

’They have good judgment about blatant threats.’

Like that, the very next day the Rowan Mercenary Group turned the donkey’s head and headed to Tri-fork Hill Road. It was where the roads heading to Torch Fortress, the southern Golden Plains, and the Empire Road split, and conversely where they met.

It wasn’t an earth fortress or a wooden fortress, just a kingdom camp. You’d think there was no fortress because building one on hills that went up and down would take enormous labor, but the reality was it was because of pressure from the Central Empire.

Building a fortress at the strategic point of Tri-fork Hill meant doing politics opposing the Empire, so compared to its strategic value, there was only one pathetic camp here.

Naturally, mobilizing a lot of soldiers wasn’t allowed either. Through the Empire Road you could reach the border in a fortnight. Of course, you had to ride horses for it to be a fortnight.

It was a journey full of talk about the red-furred bear. Rowan saved his words. But he nodded or shook his head, sorting out the truth and lies about the information they were talking about.

Crackle. Pop!

The campfire spitting out sparks made sounds. Espin watched with interest as Rowan drank water after boiling and cooling it, then quickly did the same, boiling water and blowing on it. He was thinking of copying whatever Rowan did.

"What’s good about boiling and drinking it?"

"Your body warms up. The more nights you spend sleeping in places like this without walls, the bigger the difference."

It sounded plausible. Actually, mercenaries always slept on hot stones covered with dirt when camping whether summer or winter. Even Crossbowman Bedri who’d eavesdropped quite a bit followed suit, so Bearded Doren also drank boiled water.

Seeing Rowan also put boiled water in his leather pouch, when everyone copied him, Rowan burst out laughing. Because they were like ducklings following their mother.

"Why are you laughing?"

He didn’t bother saying it was because they were like ducklings. As Rowan changed his mind, the mercenary group’s daily routine also changed a bit.

"Ugh."

Just one step and Rowan’s foot suddenly went into the lower body, immediately bending the knee and breaking balance. Rowan grabbed Bearded Doren’s forearm as he was about to fall and said.

"If you come in like that, it’s immediately visible."

"What’s visible?"

"Your feet. Feet. Disrupt your opponent’s line of sight and move your feet. Otherwise it’s over."

He started sparring with them. It was only once, but just with that the greenhorn mercenaries’ experience shot up.

’Am I strong? Or are these guys weak?’

Rowan felt confused even while teaching. Because the greenhorn mercenaries’ martial power was more pathetic than he thought. To put it harshly, even if a truckload of guys like this came, Rowan even felt confident he’d win.

Since he’d been using Sendabil, who was a great bandit chieftain before losing his hand, or orc warriors as his standard for martial power, that gap couldn’t help but be very confusing.