Chapter 8 - Chapter 17 Random Battles & Loots

Mixarnt headed north, where he encountered and easily defeated numerous vine monsters. He continued exploring, searching for the Whispering Woods. Five days passed, and he was still lost.

"Damnit! That beautiful, busty lady said the Whispering Woods were near Caspade, but she never told me the direction!" Mixarnt grumbled as he killed a wild boar and some goblins, collecting their loot and storing it in his dimensional pocket before moving on.

Over the past five days, Mixarnt had killed 300 goblins, 200 vine monsters, 50 forest orcs, 300 wild boars, and 150 forest wolves. The monsters had become so scared of him that they started avoiding him altogether.

On the sixth day, Mixarnt returned to the guild. When Mika saw him enter, she choked on her drink. He was covered in blood, dirt, and his clothes were torn, but he seemed unhurt—though he looked disappointed as he dragged three huge sacks of loot behind him. As he pulled the massive sacks of loot, Mika’s expression shifted between amazement and worry. "Good heavens, Mixarnt, what happened out there?" she asked, putting her drink down and hurrying to help him. "You look like you’ve been through a war!"

"Slime..." Mixarnt muttered. "Uh, pardon? Slime?" Mika asked, confused. Mixarnt cleared his throat and explained, "For the past five days, I’ve been looking for the Whispering Woods to kill a slime." Arthur, Mika, and the other adventurers were stunned. The Whispering Woods was literally just outside the south gate—and Mixarnt had gotten completely lost.

A comedic silence fell over the guild hall as everyone processed Mixarnt’s confession. Arthur’s jaw dropped in disbelief, while Mika’s face twisted into a mix of amusement and frustration. "You... you’ve been wandering around for five days, killing everything in sight, and you couldn’t even find the Whispering Woods?" Arthur asked, his voice rising in disbelief. "They’re literally right outside the south gate!" Mixarnt shifted awkwardly under the stares, his earlier confidence fading. "Well, I mean... I didn’t know exactly where to look," he mumbled, avoiding eye contact. "And besides, I got a lot of good loot out of it!" The other adventurers, who had been watching the scene with a mix of amusement and irritation, started chiming in with their own jokes and criticisms at Mixarnt’s expense.

"Also!" Mixarnt, still covered in grime and blood, approached Elyssia’s table. She was sipping tea, though clearly stunned by his earlier admission about getting lost. "It’s all your fault, very sexy beautiful woman with huge racks! You said the slimes are in the Whispering Woods, but you never told me the direction!" Mixarnt said, annoyed. Elyssia felt a flicker of irritation but remained calm and composed, though she couldn’t help but pout slightly at his blunt accusation.

Elyssia stayed calm, her icy demeanor hiding the slight annoyance that made her cheeks flush. She set her teacup down and looked at Mixarnt with a mix of exasperation and mild disdain.

"Oh, so now you’re blaming me for your own mistakes?" she asked, her voice sweet but sharp. "I clearly said the slimes were in the Whispering Woods, not that you needed directions to find them. Maybe if you’d paid more attention, you wouldn’t be covered in dirt and looking so... battered."

Elyssia’s companions, who had been watching the exchange closely, struggled to hide their smirks at Mixarnt’s misfortune. The poor adventurer, still smelling of battle and covered in grime, looked like he might collapse under the weight of their teasing.

"What do you mean battered!? I have no wounds—look! I’m just covered in blood and grime—woah!" Mixarnt said as he stepped forward, only to trip over a table leg and fall onto Elyssia. Her eyes widened, and she let out a squeal of disgust.

Arthur’s jaw dropped, Mika’s eyes widened in shock, and the other adventurers stared in stunned silence, unsure how to react to the chaotic scene. Mixarnt, meanwhile, lay on top of Elyssia, his face a mix of confusion and panic as he realized what had just happened.

Mixarnt lifted his head from Elyssia’s chest, now smeared with dirt, grime, and blood. She was beyond annoyed, glaring at the boy. "Whoops. Sorry, beautiful sexy lady with big... uh, knockers. I tripped. It was an accident," the 11-year-old Mixarnt said with a grin, scratching his head sheepishly.

Elyssia’s annoyance boiled over as she glared up at Mixarnt, her face a picture of icy fury. "An accident?" she hissed, her voice low and dangerous. "You call this an accident? You clumsy idiot, you’ve ruined my dress and probably my dignity too!"

With surprising strength for her small frame, she shoved Mixarnt off her, sending him tumbling to the floor. Elyssia stood up, her movements sharp and controlled, despite the glaring stain now covering her chest. Arthur and Mika exchanged a worried look, sensing the tension in the room. The other adventurers shifted uncomfortably; their earlier amusement replaced by a nervous silence.

"You might be a decent fighter, kid," Elyssia said, her eyes locked on Mixarnt, "but your clumsiness is on a whole other level."

"Hey, it’s not my fault your reflexes are as slow as a sloth when I tripped!" Mixarnt said. Elyssia, too annoyed to respond, just let out an exasperated "Ugghh! Grrr!" before turning away. She stomped off with heavy footsteps, heading back to her room to take a bath and wash off the mess.

Arthur and Mika watched Elyssia leave, feeling both concerned and amused. They knew how tense things could get between the fiery ice mage and the bold young adventurer.

"Well, that went smoothly," Arthur said with a sarcastic chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. "Guess we won’t be seeing much of Lady Elyssia for a while."

Mika gave him a warning look before turning her attention to Mixarnt. "Maybe you should work on your coordination before you have any more... close encounters with the ladies," Mika said dryly, her tone a mix of exasperation and amusement.

"Hmm... You think so, Mika? Oh, right! I haven’t finished the slime quest yet, but I want to sell all the loot I’ve collected over the past five days," Mixarnt said, opening the three giant sacks of loot.

Inside were:

200 goblin necklaces

100 high goblin necklaces

3 goblin king crowns

1 goblin king axe

200 quality vines

50 forest orc hides

1 forest orc leader hide

300 wild boar hides and meat

150 forest wolf hides

All the items ranged from rare to ultra-rare quality.


...
Author's Note

FriedGalacticChicken

Hey everyone! As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been uploading Enigma much faster compared to RRS. With RRS, I have to remove or tone down a lot of violence and gore, along with proofreading. But with Enigma, which I originally wrote back in 2023, there’s less to change in the manuscript. I recently converted Enigma from first-person to third-person (though, honestly, I ended up rewriting most of it because I was too bored to just edit it, and I added new stories to flesh it out since I felt the original version was a bit lacking). Anyway, it’s already 2:25 AM as I’m writing this, so I’m off to sleep now. Lol.