Endless Leveling Done Right! - Chapter 387

Chapter 387: Sir, I’m Already Taken [Part 2]
Alicia snuck glances at their guests with great interest as she ate her dinner.

She had just turned seventeen this year. Ever since her birth, she’d never left the village, except for the times when she accompanied her grandfather to buy supplies.

Deep inside, she yearned to travel the world rather than remain stuck in this remote mountain location, growing old in the same place until her death.

While there were over a dozen teenagers her age, none of them caught her fancy.

Also, none of them was as handsome as Alex, whom she found very interesting.

Alex and Lumi didn’t say a word to each other and simply focused on the simple meal served to them.

Their dinner was porridge with a few pieces of meat—warm and filling enough for a cold night like this.

When dinner ended, Simon spoke with his two guests and tried to convince them to return to the academy come morning.

“It’s too dangerous to investigate the cause of the increase in monster sightings inside the forest with just the two of you,” Simon said in a serious tone. “Our Hunters concluded they might be a Goblin Clan chased away from their original territory, forced to settle along these parts.

“The Ashenbark Forest spans for many miles, and even now, we’ve only explored a small part of it. Although encountering Goblins inside the forest is common, we recently scouted many Hobgoblins two miles away from the village, which is a very dangerous sign.”

Alex had been dealing with goblins since he first arrived in Arcana, so he understood the danger that the Village Head was talking about.

The Monster Stampede in the Floating Islands of Thaloria was an example of what might happen if this kind of situation were left without intervention.

“Have you seen any Rank 3 Monsters?” Alex inquired.

Back then, a Rank 2 Monster was enough to kill him. But now, he was confident that he could handle them even if he faced them in a group.

Even so, Rank 3 Monsters were tricky opponents, especially when they came in groups.

“During his scouting mission, Mark’s father saw a Hobgoblin Leader riding a Dire Wolf three miles away from the village,” Simon replied. “That leader is also accompanied by other Hobgoblin Riders.”

“Do you think they’ve discovered the location of your village?” Alex asked in a serious tone.

“The possibility exists,” Simon answered. Based on his grim look, he must’ve contemplated this problem for a few days already.

Simon was a Rank 4 Wind Mage and had been the protector of the village for many years.

There were also other Rank 3 and Rank 4 Hunters in the village, keeping everyone safe from the Goblin Scouting Parties.

They also had a Rank 4 Swordsman, who managed the defenses of the village whenever the Hunters were out.

Because of these strong villagers, Oak Village had remained safe despite its remote location.

However, dealing with a party of monsters and an army of monsters were two different things.

They wouldn’t need to worry about groups of monsters attacking their village.

But an Army of Goblins was a different matter altogether.

“Don’t worry, Village Head,” Alex replied with a smile. “Lumi here is an incredibly good scout. She could scout enough to understand the situation without being detected. You saw what she did earlier, right? She launched a sneak attack, and I couldn’t even react until she was done beating me.”

“Hmph!” Lumi averted her gaze from Alex, as if looking at him reminded her of bad memories.

Simon wasn’t able to refute Alex’s words. Even he had failed to detect Lumi’s presence earlier, even though she stood close to them.

Her concealment ability was quite impressive, and unless someone was periodically using detection magic, none of them would be able to know that she was there.

“Well, she’s one thing. But how about you?” Simon inquired. “What’s your profession?”

“Ahoo! Ahoo!” Dim Dim replied, raising the little fork in its hands.

Alex chuckled because he understood Dim Dim’s reference. He was tempted to do the same, but doing so wouldn’t be good manners to their host.

“I am a Rank 3 Oathkeeper,” Alex replied.

“Oathkeeper?” Simon blinked. “That Oathkeeper from the Clawford Tribe?”

“That’s it!” Alex looked at the Village Head in surprise. “You know about the Clawford Tribe?”

“Well, I was an adventurer once,” Simon replied, as if recalling his adventurer days. “Then I took an arrow in the knee…”

Alex and Dim Dim nodded in understanding, while Lumi and Alicia frowned at the same time because they didn’t understand what Simon was talking about.

(A/N: To those who don’t know, that quote meant that he got married. Because when someone proposes, they usually fall to one knee, which symbolizes the marriage proposal.)

Simon then lightly coughed to stir the conversation back to Alex.

“I have heard of the Legend of the Oathkeeper from my friends from the Clawford Tribe,” Simon stated. “As far as I know, no one has been able to get that Hidden Job Class for hundreds of years.

“It seems I have greatly underestimated you, Alex. If that Legend holds true, then you and Lumi might be able to help us investigate this matter.”

Lumi, who had kept quiet until now, glanced at Alex. She had heard a little bit about the Oathkeeper Job Class from Lavinia, but she didn’t fully understand what it symbolized for the Clawford Tribe.

“Grandpa, can you tell me about the Legend of the Oathkeeper?” Alicia asked.

Her grandfather’s comment about Alex getting a Job Class that hadn’t been taken for hundreds of years piqued her interest.

“Okay.” Simon nodded.

He was more than happy to share the tale that his friends had shared with him in the past.

“The First Oathkeeper goes by the name Leonard Hartwell,” Simon said. “The Clawford Tribe hailed him as their greatest hero. But what made him great wasn’t because he was strong and invincible.

“It was because he stood at the front of every battle, wielding his shield and making sure to protect those who couldn’t fend for themselves.”

Simon’s eyes lit up because he liked to tell stories, especially to the children of the village, whenever there was an opportunity to do so.

His story went on for a few hours, and before the teenagers knew it, it was already past ten in the evening.

“Well, then. Would you like to share a room?” Simon asked after his story ended.

“”Separate rooms, please.””

Alex and Lumi spoke at the same time, making Alicia giggle.

No one mentioned Alex’s earlier statement about Lumi being his girlfriend because her reaction made it clear that she wasn’t.

At least, only on the surface.

While their rooms were being prepared, Alex asked Lumi in private about what she was doing in Oak Village.

The young lady replied that she also accepted the mission Alex took since it was meant for a group.

Knowing she wouldn’t say anything more than that, Alex let it be. He then told her that they should hold a strategy meeting in the morning so they could decide how to tackle the village’s problem.

Since Lumi had already shown herself, there was no use in going back to hiding. So, she accepted Alex’s proposal and decided to rest for the night.

An hour after going to sleep, Lumi found herself inside Alex’s dream, who was dreaming of having a date together with her while paddling a boat on a small river located at the outskirts of the City of Harmonia.