Becoming an adventurer by copying monster abilities

The next day, Luke got up early.

After eating some dry rations, he stuffed all the necessary tools into his pocket and left the village.

According to the client's description, the cultists were located on the outskirts of a wooded area near the village, so he decided to go and investigate first.

On his way to the woods, he encountered a militiaman who appeared to be on patrol.

The militiaman did not stop or question Luke, this stranger.

She just stood there by the roadside, staring at him silently.

As Luke reached the edge of the woods, he looked back.

The militiaman remained standing in the same spot, motionless.

Luke had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Since entering the village yesterday, he has not seen any other villagers besides the innkeeper and the four people dressed as adventurers.

This morning, apart from this somewhat strange militiaman, no one else was seen.

It's wheat harvest season, but the village is unusually quiet.

Thinking of this, Luke couldn't help but become more vigilant.

He gripped the half-sword tightly and began to cautiously explore the outer edge of the forest.

Luke had gained nothing by the end of the morning.

He hadn't seen a single wild animal, let alone any trace of cultists.

Instead of venturing deeper into the woods, he decided to retreat for the time being.

Compared to this seemingly ordinary grove of trees, the strange village outside seems to have a bigger problem.

Returning along the same route, Luke was surprised to find the militiaman he had seen that morning still standing there.

Upon seeing Luke, the bearded man made a stiff expression on his face.

He grinned and actually smiled.

Luke stepped forward and greeted him politely:

"Hello, I am an adventurer commissioned by the Adventurers' Guild to conduct an investigation here."

My name is Todd.

The militiamen seemed to have heard something very happy, and their smiles widened even more.

Luke tried to gather information: "Mr. Todd, have any suspicious strangers been in the village recently?"

Todd's expression turned blank, as if he were thinking.

After a few seconds, he nodded vigorously: "Yes!"

Before Luke could ask further, Todd continued, "You!"

"..."

Seeing the other person's silly grin, Luke already roughly understood what was going on.

The man wearing simple armor and carrying a wooden spear was not a militiaman, but rather someone like a "village guardian".

He immediately decided not to continue the conversation and instead tried to inquire about the village chief's home.

This time, Todd didn't think too much and simply pointed to a house in the village:

"That!"

The windmill in the distance was turning, but there wasn't a soul in sight in the village.

Luke stopped in front of the house Todd had pointed out and knocked on the door.

"Who?"

The door was opened a crack, revealing a somewhat aged face with a strong sense of vigilance in its eyes.

Luke explained that he had been commissioned by the Adventurers' Guild.

The village chief looked at Luca's equipment and opened the door with some skepticism.

"Didn't the adventurers who were clearing out the goblins arrive yesterday?"

"I'm here today for other requests."

As Luke surveyed the room, he asked:

"Has anything strange happened in the village lately?"

The village chief walked to the fireplace and brewed a strong cup of tea.

"The strange thing is that a group of goblins appeared in the woods outside the village, but nothing else is strange."

"Where are the other villagers? I don't see a single one."

"I don't know, they're probably all hiding at home."

The village chief handed Luke a teacup, saying, "You know, with goblins appearing around here, it's not safe to go out to do farm work now."

Luke noticed that the other man's right hand was hidden in his sleeve.

As I took the teacup, I pretended not to hold it properly, and the lacquered wooden cup fell, splashing boiling tea everywhere.

The village chief instinctively reached out to take it, revealing his right hand wrapped in bandages.

He seemed to realize something immediately and quickly withdrew his hand.

However, even in that brief moment, Luca was able to clearly see that the opponent's right hand was missing a section of the index finger.

Luke did not inquire about the origin of the wound; given the other party's evasiveness, he was unlikely to tell the truth.

He pulled out a commission for an investigation into cult members from his pocket and continued to ask:

"Are you aware of the cult activity that has been reported in the woods near the village?"

"I don't know, I've never heard of it."

The village chief shook his head calmly.

"If it's about the woods over there, you can ask Ryan, the hunter in the village. He hunts there often and should know more than I do."

"Okay, thanks."

After asking for the hunter's address, Luke left the village chief's house.

As he closed the door, he also heard the other person lock the door from the inside.

Hunters in a village generally represent high combat strength.

After all, they spend most of their time in the deep mountains and forests, fighting wild beasts and the occasional goblin.

Their first impression is usually that they are quick-witted and strong.

But the man before me...

Luke looked at the somewhat erratic hunter, who appeared quite haggard.

His empty eyes were covered with very dark circles, and he smelled of a sour stench from not having showered for days.

Upon hearing Luke's purpose, Ryan finally put down the hunting knife he was gripping tightly.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she began to sob softly.

The pressure that had been building up for days caused the man to tremble and convulse uncontrollably, like a flood bursting its banks.

After a long pause, he finally regained his composure and began to explain to Luke in detail:

"There's definitely something terrifying in that forest."

A few days ago, Ryan went hunting in the woods as usual.

Although the usual catches aren't particularly plentiful, you can still catch at least one or two wild rabbits or field mice every day.

But that day, he gained nothing.

The entire forest was unusually quiet; there wasn't even a bird's call.

On his way back to the village, he found a cave on a hillside in the woods.

He often walked that road, but had never seen it before.

He thought it was dug by some kind of wild animal and, relying on his years of experience as a hunter, decided to go in and take a look.

He bent down and stepped into the cave; the space inside was much more spacious than he had imagined.

But strangely, even when there is plenty of light outside...

The cave seemed to be absorbing light, so nothing could be seen.

The most terrifying thing was that ever since he entered the cave, a faint, murmuring voice had been lingering in his ears.

Ryan was terrified and immediately backed out, running all the way home.

To his surprise, the eerie murmuring did not disappear.

And ever since then, he has always felt that there is a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows.

Even when he was sleeping, that chilling feeling would suddenly wake him up.

It felt like someone was breathing against his neck, but when he opened his eyes there was nothing there.

"Later, I couldn't bear the feeling any longer, so I decided to go back to that cave to find out what was going on, and then..."

Ryan shuddered involuntarily as he finished speaking.

"That cave has vanished!"