The region directly south of the Kingdom of Argodia is known to many as simply the Great Frontier. It is a wide unexplored region where a great number of people have traveled to from across the continent in hopes of finding riches, a new start in life, or simply to recover from years of war.

After many years of fighting, the kingdoms across the southern continent of Paluvia have formed ceasefire treaties in hopes of recovering from the long years they've fought. The main reason for this is the Kingdom of Argodia, which has already conquered 2 other kingdoms close to its borders within the span of 10 years. Having grown in power, many have now chosen to end the fight before it escalated to a point they could no longer recover from, and also to prevent a difficult struggle with Argodia. Surprisingly, Argodia agreed, and even spearheaded the treaties, which allowed the much-awaited peace to arrive sooner.

This Kingdom’s reason and goal is simple – to expand and to explore. Resources are actually abundant in the southern continent, but what each kingdom seeks the most is land. To control the land is to control the flow of resources as well as the satisfaction of the people. It’s not to say that the continent is small, but regions of land that are considered safe and habitable are uncommon… and unpredictable. The reasons for this are the monsters and the existence of Labyrinths, natural mazes created from years of the mixing of Mana and Miasma that spawn said monsters.

An area of land where people have been living in for decades could one day develop a Labyrinth around the vicinity thus wreaking havoc amongst the populace. This is also why the other kingdoms agreed to the peace talks easily as the number of Labyrinths have increased over the years and losing more soldiers would mean lower security.

Although Labyrinths spawning close to areas with high concentrations of people are rare, the fear and destruction its presence brings is very extreme. This is why the Great Frontier is highly sought by Argodia. A land where life is scarce would mean Miasma would take longer to accumulate, and the area isn’t completely barren that vegetation wouldn’t grow. To tame the Frontier is to monopolize the land; that is the belief that Argodia upholds.

Being at the forefront of the Kingdom’s desire, it comes to no surprise that Orgo, the largest frontier town, would flourish over the years despite the harshness of the region. But being in charge of such a town is no small feat. Only a strong individual, both of body and mind, would be able to reign in the strong-willed people of Orgo.

Unfortunately… the current Town Governor, Bremv Pullac, an obese and balding Raccoonkin, is not such a man.

Currently, the Town-Governor-in-name is racking his brain at a new problem that arrived earlier in town. His biggest rival to his position, Kholdrum, just so happened to encounter a Scalekin that’s willing to sell him extremely valuable materials. Not only that, the Scalekin seems to be a strong warrior who subjugated his powerful prize single-handedly as confirmed by the infamously honest “Copper King”, possibly putting him somewhere around the level of Silver Rank among Adventurers. If he were to believe the report he received today, then there’s no way for him to hire people to get rid of the Scalekin since hiring someone capable of silencing a warrior of that level would bankrupt him. Something he can’t afford with the next Town Council Meeting drawing near and the selection for the position of Governor is at stake. A selection that requires an exorbitant amount of cash.

When he was almost at his wits end, he suddenly heard the door open in his office. He turned around in half-panic but became relieved when he saw who it was.

“Ah! It’s you! Don’t scare me like that… In any case, I’m really busy right now what with the Council Meeting looming over my head. I’ll only listen if it’s important.”

“Hehe… relax Gov. I know about your little problem and in fact, I’m happy to say I bring good news. Especially since we share the same problem.”

“Oh? The same problem you say? Very well, speak.”

“That Scalekin who’s giving you a headache. Apparently, Bolgruk wants its head. Killed his brother and whatnot. With this we can confirm its skill, but that won’t be a problem.”

“! … Are you certain? I knew it was strong based on what the “Copper King” says, but I didn’t know it was strong enough to kill Bolgruk’s brother. Wait… if Bolgruk wants its head, then that means… !”

Bremv was right to panic. After all, killing Bolgruk’s brother would mean he’d be dead set on avenging him, even if it means raiding Orgo.

“Like I said, relax, Gov. I already anticipated this so I talked to Bolgruk. He won’t attack the town. Well, only as long as we offer the Scalekin to him.”

“Then what do you suggest we should do?”

“Easy. I heard our little friend was signing up to be an Adventurer. With its skills, it’ll be rushing up the ranks in no time. Even if it doesn’t, all we need to do is use your authority to put up a Quest that’s exclusive for it passing it off as a rank up job, then inform Bolgruk. The rest is gravy.”

At this suggestion, Bremv, immediately brightened up. After all, how can one lone Scalekin be a match for Bolgruk and his entire camp? Like the man said, once they set it up with Bolgruk, the rest is indeed gravy. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to use his position to set up the Quest, at the same time no one would bother to go up and defend a Scalekin, especially not Kholdrum if he still cares about his reputation in the Council.

While the Governor was lost in his delight, the man reminded the Governor of their earlier deal. In a good mood, Bremv simply gave the man his approval and acknowledgment. With that done, the man left whistling an odd tune.

…

…

“Hey, scaly friend, mind sharing some of your drink?”

I was speechless. I turned to the voice and found the one talking to me right now was a really tall and beautiful woman. By tall, I mean she was way over 2 meters! Even my maximum height through shape shifting is only an inch below hers. She had dark tanned skin and a fit, well-toned body as displayed by her brown/red shoulderless battle corset with exposed abdomen and plated leggings. Her corset seems to further emphasize her freaking huge gazungas the size of watermelons making them stick out like cannons. Her face, angular and well sculpted like a hero’s – or rather heroine’s – looked fierce and valiant. And finally, her long wavy flaming-red hair tied in a ponytail making her absolutely stunning further accentuated her eyes that were of the blue of the sea.

I gulped as I stared at this giant of a beauty. Mostly at her chest since it was at my line of sight, but that can’t be helped right!? It seems I’ve actually been staring silently for a while, as I heard her audibly clear he throat.

“Ehem… Is something the matter? Or are you simply so curious about my breasts that the women of your kind tend to lack?”

Snapped back into reality, I inwardly cursed at myself and made a mental note to punch myself in the face later for acting so obvious and stupid.

“Aha… I’m sorry. It’s just that, I honestly didn’t know what to say since the reaction from women I’ve met all day were screams and pleas for mercy. Um… that didn’t come out right… I meant, they all ran or cowered in fear when I simply approached them. So of course, I was really surprised you didn’t react in the same way, let alone approached me first and started a conversation with me.”

Phew. Thank goodness I quickly corrected myself. I saw her frown and narrow her eyes when I said the first bit, but she soon resumed her smile at the last bit.

“Haha… I see. Sorry about that. After all, we don’t get many Scalekins around here. And most aren’t like you who can hold a conversation without trying to swipe a claw or a tail at the other party.”

Right… I seriously need to go the Scalekins one day and teach them all a lesson in “manners” for all the hell they’ve indirectly put me through.

“In any case, back to my original question. Would you mind selling me a few of your bottles? Orgo Fire Water happens to be my party’s favorite drink, and the old bartender told us you bought all that’s available.”

Urk… looks like I was more out of it than I thought. Good thing pops left me with the kingdom’s treasury, or I’d be seriously broke right now. Seems they accept any currency in gold or silver as long as it has the same weight.

“Ahaha… right. My bad… seeing all the bottles around me, I might have drunk it all. Would you mind if I offer you some of the liquor I’ve made instead?”

Can’t say I remember much about making liquor in my past life, but I’ve had 7 years of trial and error along with my old man’s help and the wealth of knowledge from Ellara. Using some of the fruits and plants that my dad grew, I’m quite confident of our drink.

“Oh? A Scalekin that brews his own alcohol? Now I’m even more curious about you scaly friend. Call me Ellen. If my armor wasn’t obvious enough, I’m an Adventurer and the leader of the party, “Titan’s Hammer.””

“I’m Camus Helmight. You can just call me Camus. And I just applied to be an Adventurer today.”

“I see! A Scalekin who joined the Adventurers! There’s more surprises coming from you by the minute, so I’m starting to like you more Camus. Come and join me, I’ll introduce you to my party. You can then share us some of your drink. Anyone who can enjoy good liquor or make good liquor is someone you can trust I always say!”

I can’t help but almost think she was an oversized Dwarf when she said that… Now that I think about it, I’m actually quite curious about this woman. I know it’s probably rude to do this but… I couldn’t help myself.

[Status]

Name

Ellenora

Race

Half-Giant

Age

27

Title

Ellenora the Colossus

Silver Rank

Job

Berserker

Total Base Ability Grade

B+

Stats / Attributes

STR – B+

VIT – B

AGI – D

END – B-

INT – C-

MP – D

Skills / Bonuses / Blessings / Curses

Passive

Battle Mastery 3

Enhanced Strength 4

Coordination 2

Hammer Mastery 5

Active

Berserker Howl – unleashes a roar that either induces fear or provokes a challenge to enemies within the vicinity

Berserker Rage – become endowed with preternatural strength (STR up 3 grades) and gradually loses reason (INT down 1 grade upon activation and loses 1 grade every 5 minutes)

Iron Skin – endows the skin of the body with iron-like hardness (END up 3 grades)

Blessings

Earth God's Favor – Passive: when in contact with the earth, all parameters are increased by one grade

Unique Skills

Juggernaut – Active: unqiue skill gained through the combination of Iron Skin and Berserker Rage. Become an unstoppable juggernaut by increasing STR, VIT, and END by 5 grades until stamina and mana have run out. Can be used in conjunction with Iron Skin and Berserker Rage.

Title Scorn – Passive: when Ellenora hears her title as the Colossus is mentioned, Berserker Rage is automatically invoked. 10% chance activation failure.

Since she wasn't threatening me, the [Status] didn't show a "Threat Level" but... Holy crap! This woman is a monster! I have to be extra careful not to get on her bad side especially with that unique skill… Huh? Why is the bartender giving me a look of pity? Oi!? Why are you shaking your head while looking as if I’m about to be fed to some beast!?

“…? Camus? Is something the matter?”

“Ah, no! Haha… just trying to… uh… find that liquor I promised.”

“I see, it’s no problem. If you don’t have it on you, we can always order something else.”

“No no, it’s here! I just, uh… placed it in the wrong bag. Ah! Found it! Haha, let’s go meet your friends then.”

Gah! It’s been so long since I’ve talked normally with a woman that I’m starting to fumble all over the place. That and the fact that she caught me staring at her again makes this all the more awkward.

We finally arrive at an area in the back that’s mostly secluded and away from most of the noise. There I saw 6 other people seated around a large round table who were probably part of Ellen’s party. There are 3 men and 3 women. One of the women was a Bunnykin made obvious by her long rabbit ears. I heard calling them Rabbitkin was an insult so they’re mostly called Bunnykin… it’s so weird.

“Hey guys! This here’s Camus, who just applied to be an Adventurer and just so happened to have bought all the Fire Water. But no worries! He’s promised us a taste of his own original brew!”

“Oi, Ellen! What the hell? I can’t believe yer at this again! How many times do we gotta tell ya tha’ yer the only one who can take tha’ expensive Fire stuff! Also, what the hell d’ya think yer doin bringin a Scaley over here!? Ya know them Scaleys the pits when it comes ta decent conversation, and they hate us Humes!”

The one who just spoke was a scrawny man with messy dirty blond hair and his head wrapped in a bandana. He had a sour look on his face when he saw me and had his arms crossed while complaining to Ellen.

“Come now, Lawrence. Don’t be rude. I told you, he’s a newly applied Adventurer, and he’s even promised to share his brew. That makes him good in my book already.”

“By your standards, Ellen, anyone’s a friend as long as they can offer you good liquor. I know you’re getting desperate since you still can’t find a willing guy at your age, but I seriously don’t think a Scalekin would make a good choice. Also, I’m with the imbecile on this one, how can you expect anyone to be friends with their kind?”

The one who just spoke in a harsh tone was a girl with amber eyes and long golden blond hair in twin drills tied with red ribbons. She’s wearing a dark brown robe over her body, so she could be a mage. Hey wait… did she just say that Ellen doesn’t have a man yet? How the hell’s that possible with her looks?

“Hey! Angela, that’s a low blow! You now how sensitive I am about that! And no, that’s not the reason I brought him here! What’s wrong with you? Aren’t you being a little meaner than usual?”

I can’t help but feel sad when she said that, but it’s not like I was expecting it. In any case, the atmosphere seems to be getting kind of awkward. Should I leave?

“Um… Ellen thanks for the kind gesture, but I’m fine on my own. I can just leave the drink with you.”

“What? Oh no, I’m really sorry. Everyone’s usually not like this. It’s just that we had a bad day. That’s why I brought them here to drink to help make them feel better, so please don’t mind what they said.”

“Hmph. Unfortunately Ellen, I do mind, so if you’ll excuse me… Silvi, Alma, let’s go home… We’ll take our leave first, Ellen. After all, we still have to go through that again tomorrow.”

With a huff, the girl called Angela pulled the Bunnykin and the smiling-waving-with-a-pitying-expression short blue haired girl in an airy one-piece robe – or dress? – away heading for the exit.

“Since the girls are leavin’ I’m outta here as well.”

The scrawny guy from earlier also got up and left in a rush. Apparently, he was only here for the girls. Now, I’m left alone with Ellen, a mild mannered and handsome looking guy with short hair, and a burly bald man with scars all over his face… and his whole body for that matter… how the hell can anyone survive with that many wounds? I could barely see regular skin on the guy even though he’s wearing a tank top.

“You’ll have to excuse our friends. Lawrence, our Thief from earlier, may sound crude, but he’s honest and always thinks about his comrades. Angela may sound cold and harsh, but she’s diligent and takes care of everyone in the team. As our leader explained earlier, we just happened to have met misfortune while we were doing a Job in the Labyrinth earlier. Lawrence felt responsible, while Angela felt she could’ve done better, so it’s really unfortunate that you met us in this state. Oh, pardon me, please call me Dustin.”

The mild mannered man from earlier explained their situation and spoke on behalf of his friends. Looks like this is a good team I met up with.

“It’s fine, I’m used to this sort of thing.”

No I’m not! But what the hell can I do about it? Sigh… might as well hang out with these guys since I’m already here so I took a seat…

“Anyways… I still owe you guys a drink, so here you go. I haven’t let many others try it, so I’m not sure if it’s to everyone’s taste. I call it, Dragon Spirit Brandy.”

Thanks to the fruits and plants available in my dad’s garden, we were able to make something that resembled wine. I then distilled it further to make some brandy. To be honest, I’m a rum kind of guy, but I couldn’t find a source of sugar yet.

“Oh! It has a nice color, and I like the smell already! Alright, gimme a swig of that stuff!”

Ellen couldn’t hold herself back and drank directly from the bottle. Looks like she’s a heavy drinker, so I’m preparing several barrels on account of her “constitution.” I’ll just use the excuse of Space Magic that Glenn mistook it for when taking them out.

Hmm… I wonder how Half-Giants fare against Dwarves when it comes to drinking? I gave some to Kholdrum and he loved it as well, but it seems it was strong enough to almost knock him out after two bottles of the stuff. I have to say, I’m pretty proud of making something a Dwarf would love and almost immediately get drunk over.

“Oh! Oooooh! This stuff’s great! I knew I made the right choice to bring you over!”

“Camus was it? Your drink is good indeed! It might be a tad too strong for me, but it feels like this’ll go well after a meal.”

“Scalekin called Camus. Gregor likes your brew. Hope to become good friends.”

The large scar-filled bald man finally spoke out and gave a toothy smile while closing his eyes. Contrary to his looks, he seems to be a nice and simple guy. Also, did he just speak in third person while having a fake Russian accent? What the hell is with this stereotype…

“Haha. I’m glad you all like it. If you guys don’t mind, do you all have any pointers for a newbie Adventurer like me?”

“Of course! Actually, we’re one of the few Adventurer Training parties affiliated with the Guild. We’re what you call Trainers that assist starting Adventurers get their bearings when doing Jobs or Requests. This is all to decrease the number of newbie Adventurer deaths that happen so often because of ignorance and naivety. In other words, you’re quite lucky to encounter us first before you head out on your first commission.”

Well wouldn’t you know it? Looks like my luck’s finally turning around after that massive depression bump I just had to go through.

We talked away most of the night as I asked them all the important bits I wanted to know. As to be expected, Adventurers are basically glorified Jack-of-all-trades. Jobs from all types are posted, and it’s up to the Adventurer to select a Job based on their rank.

Speaking of Rank, apparently there are several levels. From weakest to strongest, it goes from Copper, Bronze, Iron, Steel, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. There’s also a Mithril, Obsidian, and Orihalcum rank, but it seems those are reserved for Heroes or people outside the norm. I found out that Obsidian isn’t actually the volcanic glass that I know of in my world, but an entirely new type of ore that has a weaker conductibility with Magic than Mithril, but has higher density and hardness outstripping even diamonds. It’s also the ore with the minimum hardness to be able to pierce dragon scales, so now I know what kind of weapons to watch out for.

I also found out about Labyrinths. It seems they aren’t called dungeons in this world, but now that I think about it, it’s probably the work of Origin of Words since I always wondered why something that was originally a prison in a castle started becoming a maze of magic and monsters in popular fantasy. As for the Labyrinths, there are two known types: Ruins and Nests. Ruins are basically Labyrinths that produce natural traps and magical resources instead of monsters, so they are mostly the favored kind. The other ones are called Nests since instead they spawn monsters. Once a Nest’s population goes out of control, a Monster Wave is formed and released outside. Monster Waves are so dangerous that it seems two kingdoms in the past were overhwlemed by a single wave. The size of the wave varies depending on how many levels a Nest has, while the type of monsters would vary depending on the type of monsters the Nest spawns. When left alone, a Nest can at times continue to grow, but if not, it would simply wither until Mana and Miasma built up again.

It seems Nests aren’t always considered bad. Apparently, different Kingdoms are currently working on ways to manage Nests in order to harvest monster parts and resources from them. In fact, Orgo is currently maintaining one Nest close to the town, and it’s estimated to have at least 50 levels. It’s considered a large nest, but because Adventurers frequent it, the monsters never grew out to unmanageable numbers. It’s a risky business, but the larger benefits it brings couldn’t be ignored. The Town Guards are even frequently sent out in intervals to “increase their levels” at the Nest.

By the way, attributes in this world are gained through a “Proficiency” system. Instead of levels, as long as you keep doing something over and over with increasing difficulty, then that attribute would grow. The same applies to Skills and Titles. Sounds almost like simply bulking up at a gym, but here the difference in attributes can be in leaps and bounds. In other words, someone who only has a C grade in STR will never overpower someone with a C+ on their own. A grade C in STR will allow someone to be able to lift a washing machine with hardly any effort, but a person with C+ STR will be able to juggle said washing machine. The difference is that huge, and can only be matched through the use of enhancing equipments, skills, magic, or further training.

There were other things I learned as well, but the previous information was the most important for me. After several hours, Dustin and Gregor seemed to have drunk too much and ended up dozing off. Ellen on the other hand, only just became drunk. It seems being part giant afforded her enough resistance to last two barrels. Looks like I’ll have to make several more batches.

“H-Hey, hey! Listen t-to thish Camush! None of the guysh around here are willing ta shleep wiv me… all becauss they’re shcared of me cuz I’m big! Big! What’sh wrong wiv being big!? Aren’t I shtill a woman!? They all shay they wanna do me but none of them ever have the ballsh to go ou’ wiv me! Why ish that? I even g-go out of my way ta dressh like thiss sho they’d get the hotss for me!”

Looks like I found out half the reason why she doesn’t have a guy yet. I’m also compelled to think the other half is because of that unique skill of hers… Sigh… to be honest, I can somewhat sympathize with her, and it’s also making me depressed. It’s even worse for me since I actually can’t get drunk. Poison resistance apparently also applies to alcohol poisoning…

“I’m sure you’ll eventually find someone, Ellen. After all, I haven’t seen anyone here more beautiful than you.”

“Awww! Thatsh sso shweet of ya Camush. If I didn’t have the shtrength to shnap ssteel in half, I’d probably eat you up right now~ I wouldn’t w-want to ssnap ya like the previoush guyss.”

Damn. I might actually have a chance here! … or so I’d like to think, but it’s probably just the alcohol talking. That and now I know the full reason why the men avoid her. I swear, if those guys she mentioned weren’t the large bull men I saw the other day, then I can only imagine they were split in half. That B+ STR is no joke!

“Pfft… did you guys hear that? Sounds like “Colossus” is actually desperate enough to sleep with a Scaley. I dunno who’s got it worse. Hehe.”

And now I’m starting to hear people talk about us behind our backs. Are they really that bored? … Wait a minute… did he just say what I think he said? It also seems I wasn’t the only one who realized it.

“O-Oi! Y-You dumb fuck! You’ve killed us all!”

“W-What’s wrong with you guys? She’s drunk! There’s no way she coulda heard me!”

“You idiot! It’s worse when she’s drunk! Oh Arrhanea’s tits, I forgot you weren’t here the last time someone called her that when she was drunk!”

Seeing everyone’s reaction, I then turned to look at Ellen. To describe what I’m seeing of her right now, I could only think of two words… “Oh shit.”

“WHO THE FUCK JUST CALLED ME THAT!? YOU DON’T LIKE GIANT WOMEN, IS THAT IT!? C’MON THEN YOU BLOODLESS DYSFUNCTIONAL EXCUSE FOR A DICK! LESSEE IF YOU EVEN HAVE THE BALLS TO CALL YOURSELF A MAN!”

I take it back. “OH SHIT!” is more like it. I quickly moved a sleeping Gregor and Dustin out of harms way while I made myself scarce. As for what happened next… Ever seen a tornado with muscles go through a China shop?

“Gaaaaaaaah!”

“Ellen, stop! We surrender!”

“Someone call the guards!”

“What the hell’re the guards gonna do!? You all bloody well know we’ll be the ones arrested instead for sayin’ the damn taboo!”

It was complete and utter chaos. She’s like a living force of nature that just can’t be stopped. Surprisingly though, no one died, but I think it’s time I stopped this before someone actually does.

As she was busy using a poor bull beastkin like a one-handed mace, I made to grab her wrists and stop her. She instantly reacted and tried to punch my face, but I dodged and closed in behind her and touched her nape with my palm.

[Vital Drain]

The magic I used is self-explanatory. Basically, I sucked out what’s left of her energy using a magic I devised. It’s a spell to absorb stamina and mana at the same time, hence the name.

No sooner than my spell connected, she immediately slumped down onto my arms, unconscious. She may be big, but I can use World Breaker easily, which is three times her weight, so I’m currently carrying her like a princess.

The panic soon subsided and only the bartender was left. Although surprised, he thanked me for my intervention and informed me that the bigmouth group from earlier will pay the damages. I nodded, and then grabbed Dustin and Gregor with my tail. I asked the Bartender for their residences and bid him farewell.

It was one hell of a night, but it was fun in the end. I left them in their respective homes, and made for the Apple Bear Inn to have a good night’s rest.

…

Early the next day, I finally got my Adventurer’s ID. Good thing the Registration Crystal doesn’t show the attributes one has since it’s confidential and only used as a recording device, but I doubt that the Guild head doesn’t know about it. Well, I’ll deal with it when the time comes.

I was currently with Glenn and we were eager to prepare as we go out to do some Quests, but a familiar Half-Giant was actually standing outside of the Guild waiting for us.

“Hehe! Camus! It’s great to see you again! Why don’t you join us for a Quest? We’ll teach you well!”

With a big smile on her face, Ellen was standing in front of us with her hands on her hips and a giant two-handed hammer on her back. Behind her was her entire party with Dustin and Gregor smiling and waving at me.

I shrugged my shoulders and gave a wry smile since I somehow had a feeling this might happen. Well, it’s not so bad since I actually want the experience, but somehow Glenn was currently staring at me with his mouth hanging open and his body shaking like a blender.

“Y-Y-You know the Titan’s Hammer!?”

Sigh… looks like it’s gonna be another one of those long “Glenn Reaction” days…