Chapter 1: Hunter Son Reim and Merchant Father DeVein

The Kingdom of Os is one of the largest Common People nations on the Gaobo Continent. To the north, it is protected by the Arcs Mountain Range, which blocks most of the paths between the Silya Forest and the kingdom. The Arcs Mountain Range is home to the powerful and scarce Great Demon Tribe and ancient elves, serving as a natural wall guarding the Kingdom of Os, with only a small connection to the Ghoul Forest in the northeastern corner where it borders the neighboring Gauss Empire.

Thus, while the Kingdom of Os is occasionally troubled by incursions from the plateau tribes descending from the southern slopes of the Arcs, it remains considerably more peaceful compared to the Gauss Empire, which is fully connected to the Silya Forest in the north.

In this northeastern corner lies Poseidon Fortress, the largest stronghold in the kingdom, around which a sizable town has developed. Poseidon Fortress is situated at the northernmost point of the town, housing about two thousand permanent soldiers. Although not a large number, these elite troops have been assigned from the Kingdom of Os army and are tasked with preventing ghouls from the Silya Forest from advancing southward and attacking the kingdom’s territory.

With a resident population of over ten thousand, the town can be described as having developed under the fortress’s protection, with most of its major buildings situated to the south, relying on Poseidon Fortress and the walls extending from it.

Outside the town’s northern gate, which lies beyond the fortress and its walls, is a village of ghoul hunters. While this area bears the brunt of attacks whenever the fortress is targeted, it has still grown into a sizable settlement over the past several decades.

The people who choose to live here are either so impoverished that they can’t afford to rent a room in town or are confident hunters who believe they can fend off ghouls at any moment.

Additionally, due to a serious incident over twenty years ago, where ghoul corpses were resurrected within the town and caused massive destruction, bringing extensive losses, the town now prohibits the entry of complete ghoul bodies.

Thus, the settlement north of the fortress also serves as a processing site for various monster materials. Craftsmen at the forefront will break down monster corpses and facilitate trading, then transport them back into town for further refinement.

Indeed, relying on the prosperity generated by Poseidon Fortress, the town’s economy predominantly revolves around two types of businesses: the so-called “ghoul industry,” which uses the corpses of ghouls and other forest monsters to create weapons, armor, and magic items; and entertainment venues such as brothels and taverns catering to the kingdom’s troops stationed at the border.

Master DeVein’s shop is among those that produce various items using monster materials. Triggered by the turmoil caused by the resurrection of ghoul corpses in town over twenty years ago, DeVein abandoned his ghoul hunting days and partnered with a female artisan whose shop had been destroyed to open a weapon shop.

Today, his weapon shop has become one of the largest in the town, producing weapons crafted from ghoul materials, as well as armor and magic items made from other monster components.

However, despite his commercial success, DeVein still prefers to visit the northern hunter settlement to procure materials himself, leaving the shop in the hands of his partner, who also happens to be his second wife.

For Master DeVein, perhaps his biggest worry is that his son refuses to inherit the shop and insists on pursuing the most dangerous profession in town—being a ghoul hunter in this perilous settlement.

As usual, DeVein arrived today at the branch of their shop in the hunter settlement to procure materials from the hunters and check in on his troublesome son Reim.

“Old man, big business incoming!”

No sooner had DeVein opened his shop than his worthless son, along with three other hunters, dragged a massive ghoul corpse into the processing area.

But this time, besides those three familiar hunters, there was a little girl following closely behind Reim.

“My son has always relied on your care,” DeVein greeted Reim’s hunter companions and then turned to his son, scolding him, “You worthless Reim, I didn’t send you to study in the royal capital just so you could be out here killing ghouls! Besides, you have no talent for hunting whatsoever!”

Here we go again.

Reim’s hunter companions shared the same expression, knowing from past experience that trying to intervene in this father-son spat would only lead to trouble, so they silently waited for the transaction to conclude.

Yet, Reim disregarded his father’s scolding, saying directly, “Enough of the nonsense! Come check out that ghoul outside! I lured it from the forest using techniques I learned in the capital and took it down! It’s a large ancient type, by the way! I waited five days for you to come back to sell it, so you better thank me, old man!”

DeVein stepped outside to take a look at the ghoul tied to a wooden board. Measuring the body, he said, “Is it over four meters long? I suppose that qualifies as large enough. Three gold coins for the whole corpse, how about that?”

“Don’t lowball me, you old fool! This ain’t the final act, so hurry up and give a fair price so we can continue the discussion!”

“What do you think of three gold coins?” Master DeVein directly ignored Reim’s retort and asked his other three companions.

“Hand the strong enemies to Maern, and the trades to Reim! That’s the first rule of our team,” Reim’s hunter comrade Kus said, adding, “By the way, lately I’ve been thinking about assigning even cooking and sewing to Reim!”

“Yup, let Reim decide everything from now on,” chimed in Maern, the strongest hunter in the team who used to be a mercenary.

“Hurry it up! I was planning to hit the entertainment street in town to unwind today,” Kaiding shrugged, uninterested in their bickering.

“And what about you, little girl?” DeVein, still not satisfied, even asked the silver-haired girl standing behind Reim.

“Me too!” the girl piped up in a high-pitched voice that wasn’t very clear.

“Alright, four gold coins! Just enough for each of you to get one. How does that sound?” After saying this, Master DeVein pulled out gold coins from his pocket, adding, “But from now on, if you catch any large ancient types, you must sell them to me first!”

Reim immediately agreed, took his gold coins, and split them with the other four partners, who then left first. Maern probably went to reunite with soldier friends, while Kus was dragged by Kaiding to have some fun in town.

“So, what’s next? Following your words, there shouldn’t be another major act, right?” After ordering the apprentices to pull the ghoul inside for processing, DeVein turned to Reim and asked.

“That’s right.” Reim said, placing his backpack on the table. He pointed to the silver-haired girl dressed in ill-fitting clothes, draped in a bear pelt. “This girl, Alice, led us to find these in a big tree hollow to the southwest of the forest.”

“Let me see!” Master DeVein said, beginning to sift through the items Reim had brought.

“A bit over ten antlers from adult horned rabbits, not bad,” DeVein remarked as he continued, his expression turning surprised, “Is this a pelt from the Gray Fire Giant Bear? That thing is harder to deal with than a regular ghoul! And what’s this?!”

Master DeVein stared in astonishment at three dark red stone spheres about the size of tennis balls, while Reim seemed to enjoy his father’s shock, happily jumping in, “You’re not seeing things, old man! Three Fire Bear Crystals! A rare find that only one in ten Gray Fire Giant Bears possesses inside! And here we have three of them, can you believe it?”

“Wow, that’s an impressive haul! How about 30 gold coins for everything?” Master DeVein immediately went into merchant mode.

“Well, these aren’t all mine! You’ll need Alice’s consent too,” Reim said, picking up Alice and letting her stand on the table to talk to DeVein.

“I want to trade these for clothes and weapons, and for the crystal, I’ll only sell two. The extra money can be paid in silver coins,” the little girl insisted, her sharp business sense not matching her age as she struggled with her words.

“What an impressive little girl! You didn’t abduct her from somewhere, did you, you good-for-nothing son?”

Ignoring his father’s question, Reim lifted the girl’s silver bangs to reveal a short, blunt horn on her forehead that looked as if it had been broken. Reim stated his theory, “This inconspicuous horn looks like a broken piece, but I checked it secretly yesterday, and it’s natural! Just like her mother. You should know what this means, right?”

“Mixed blood demon kind,” former hunter DeVein immediately responded.

The silver-haired, red-eyed girl resembled DeVein’s first wife, who had tragically passed away in the turmoil over twenty years ago. DeVein thought to himself, no wonder Reim has been so concerned about this girl.

“And she initially spoke in the dialect of the Great Demon Tribe. I think she might be mixed between the Great Demons of the Arcs and other races. For the residents of the Arcs, mixed blood is a taboo and must be exterminated. I guess the girl’s mother abandoned her, along with valuable materials, near Poseidon Fortress to protect her. Despite the ghoul troubles in this area over twenty years ago, local hunters still strongly discriminate against demon kinds. What irresponsible parents!”

“Her family must have been driven to a desperate situation as well. There are all sorts of helpless situations in this world, but a snot-nosed brat like you wouldn’t understand,” Master DeVein gently stroked the girl’s silver hair.

Meanwhile, the silver-haired, red-eyed girl seemed lost in the conversation again, saying in halting human tongue, “I hunted all those things, it’s true! I didn’t lie!”

“Ah, even if you can handle horned rabbits, a little kid like you couldn’t possibly hunt a Gray Fire Giant Bear!” DeVein affectionately ruffled the girl’s head, continuing, “Anyway, keep your forehead covered and your mixed blood identity a secret from others. Alright then, from now on, you can stay at my place.”

“No way! Who says I’m handing her over to you, old man? She’s a born hunter! I’ve already discussed with my three partners, and we’ll take her hunting from now on. In ten years—no, five years will be enough—she’s likely to surpass Maern as the strongest among us!”

With that, Reim quickly picked up Alice, holding her tightly as if afraid someone would snatch her away, and shot a fierce glare at Master DeVein. Alice, nestled in his arms, seemed a bit confused but likely shy, her cheeks turning bright red.