Chapter 31: Law of the Jungle
“Blaargh!”
Leo suddenly puked out everything he ate for breakfast after he snapped out of his daze.
“M-Miss Camille! You killed them?!” Leo looked at her, still with a horrified expression on his face.
“They would’ve killed you if I didn’t kill them,” she calmly responded, acting as though this wasn’t her first time killing others.
“Why would they do that?! I didn’t even do anything to them! There was probably just some kind of misunderstanding!” He exclaimed.
“What do you know? They wanted to kill you and steal your stuff because you looked like an easy target, and they were right.” Miss Camille coldly sneered, and she continued, “If you think monsters are the most dangerous beings in the Wilderness, think again. Humans can be just as dangerous if not even more dangerous than monsters out here.”
“E-Even if you say that, isn’t it illegal to kill other humans in this world? Or are you going to tell me that such law doesn’t exist in this crazy world?!”
“Of course it is illegal to kill others. However, out here in the Wilderness, where there are no people watching, people can pretty much do whatever they want as long as they’re not caught. It’s almost like the law of the jungle where there are no rules. The strong devours the weak, whether it be monsters or humans.”
“Remember this, Leo. You have no friends in the Wilderness. People you think you can trust could be planning to stab you in the back when you’re not watching. Even people that have been friends for a decade could turn on each other in the blink of an eye.”
“I could’ve told you this before letting you come out here alone, but I figured that it would be better for you to experience the cruel world out here for yourself.”
Leo gritted his teeth in frustration. He turned to look at the corpses.
‘What she said is not wrong, and it could even be applied in my old world. Even the most powerful predator out there cannot compare to humans, who can plan and plot against others. However, it just feels wrong…’ Leo sighed inwardly.
“Leo, I know it won’t be easy, but you need to get rid of your morals. What made sense in your old world will not make any sense here and vice versa. If you want to survive the Wilderness, you need not only the resolve to kill monsters but other humans as well.”
“If you’re not prepared to do so, then allow me to kill you right here and right now. This way, you will suffer less, and I won’t have to waste any more effort on you.” Miss Camille suddenly summoned a golden spear and pointed it at Leo’s neck.
Leo swallowed nervously.
“Decide.”
Miss Camille poked his neck with the tip of her spear.
Leo could feel a drop of blood sliding down his neck afterward.
After a moment of silence, Leo took a step back and said, “I would be insane if I could throw away my morals so easily. However, I am not stupid enough to let people kill me without fighting back. I will do what I have to in order to protect myself and this life of mine.”
Miss Camille narrowed her eyes at him.
“You’re a weird one, Leo.”
After retrieving her spear, she continued, “I experienced my first kill when I was only 12 years old, and he was my tutor. He taught me a lot about being an Adventurer when I just became one.”
“W-What happened?” Leo couldn’t help but ask her out of curiosity.
“He tried to take advantage of me one night, so I blew a hole in his chest where his heart was located,” she calmly said.
“T-That’s…” Leo was speechless.
“Even though he treated me like his own daughter for a whole year, I killed him without any hesitation. That’s when I learned that even the one you trust the most can betray you. It’s only a matter of when.”
“Since then, I have killed countless humans alongside monsters.”
‘Things sure got dark pretty fast… As expected, a world where monsters and magic exist cannot be normal…’ He sighed inwardly.
After a moment of silence, Leo spoke, “I don’t know what kind of life you have lived or the kind of people you have met, but I can promise you one thing— that I would never betray you.”
“If I ever betray you, I welcome you to pierce my heart with that spear. Of course, that will never happen because I will never betray you.”
Seeing Leo’s bright smile, it was Miss Camille’s turn to become speechless.
“How can you say something that embarrassing with a straight face? I’m impressed.”
“Y-You!” He immediately blushed.
“Anyways, what should we do with these corpses? Just leave them here for the monsters to consume? Won’t that just make them stronger?” Leo asked her a moment later to change the topic.
“Yes, monsters will grow stronger if they eat humans since we contain mana in our body. However, it doesn’t really matter in this situation since they’re so weak. Just leave them here. Oh, make sure to search their bodies for any valuables first.”
“We’re going to rob them as well? My god…” Leo was speechless.
Even though he said that, he was the first one to start searching the corpses, dumbfounding Miss Camille.
Sometime later, Leo said, “Miss Camille, since you’re here and have been following me for a while now— according to your own words, why don’t you just stay with me for today’s training? I seem to have trouble finding monsters without you.”
“You don’t mind?” Miss Camille raised her eyebrows.
“Mind what?”
“You don’t mind being with me? I killed a lot of people, you know. More than even many other S-Rank Adventurers.”
“So what if you killed a lot of people? That’s how this world works, right? I don’t like killing people, but it’s not like I don’t understand why it must be done. If this was my old world and the Miss Camille I know turned out to be a mass murderer, then I might be a bit worried.”
“…”
“I know I said this before, but you’re quick to adapt…” Miss Camille mumbled in a dazed voice.
Sometime later, after looting all three corpses, Leo sighed, “These people are really poor. They only have a stamina potion on each of them with the magician having a mana potion instead.”
“Unless they’re rich or they’re staying out here for longer than one day, it’s normal to carry around that much, and they’re F-Rank Adventurers like you.”
“What about their weapons? Are they worth anything?”
“No, they’re just ordinary weapons.” Miss Camille shook her head.
“Then forget it. Fortunately, they also have three mana cores.”
“You don’t like killing people, but you don’t mind robbing their corpses?”
“Don’t compare apples with oranges. It’d be a waste if we just leave it here with them, and it’s not like they will be needing it,” he said.
“You may not be insane, but you’re definitely not completely normal, either.” Miss Camille couldn’t help but smile.
Once Leo was sure that he didn’t leave anything of value behind, they walked away from the crime scene and returned to hunting monsters.
After hunting for about an hour, Leo managed to kill four monsters.
“I have been wanting to ask you this for a while now… Just how do you do it? It’s like you have some kind of radar that tells you where you can find the monsters. Is it a magic spell?” Leo suddenly asked her.
“No, it’s nothing like that. When a monster is nearby, the mana in that area will have a certain reaction. You can actually do it right now if you know what you’re looking for.”
And she continued, “Focus your eyes and try to see the mana around us.”
Leo nodded. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened his eyes, he was able to see the mana in the air that would normally be invisible.
“This is what undisturbed mana looks like. Memorize it for now. I will let you know when to look again.”
“Okay.”
Sometime later, once they were close to a monster, Miss Camille said, “Look at the mana again and tell me what’s different.”
Leo nodded and looked at the mana around them.
“Oh? The mana in that direction appears to be distorted.” He said.
“Indeed. If you see that, there is most likely a monster in that direction, and the closer you are to that monster, the stronger the distortion.”
“Of course, monsters are not the only thing that can distort the mana in the air. If you use a powerful magic spell, that could also distort mana. This includes artifacts.” Miss Camille explained.
“I see… You should’ve taught me this sooner! You have no idea how frustrating it was to walk an entire hour without seeing any monster!” Leo sighed out loud.
“You never asked.” She shrugged.
Now that Leo knew the secret to finding monsters, he started confronting them without Miss Camille’s help.
And for the rest of the day, even though Miss Camille was by his side, it felt like he was experiencing the Wilderness by himself.
“I have harvested 66 mana cores. That’s a little over 30,000 dollars. Where can I sell them?” Leo asked once they returned to the city.
“You can sell them at the Adventurers’ Guild. They are guaranteed to have the fairest rates out there,” said Miss Camille.
“I understand. Let’s drop by the Adventurers’ Guild before we return to the academy. I want to sell my mana cores.” He suggested.
Sometime later, they checked out of the hotel and started making their way back to the academy.
Since the Adventurers’ Guild was on the way to the academy, they made a quick stop there so that Leo could sell his hard-earned mana cores.