The Hero Turned Into A Potato And The World Fell To Ruin-Chapter 101: Finally Some Pants After a Hundred - s

The old craftsman had never seen anything like this in his entire life.

For what he knew, "summons" fought with their own abilities. Never before had he heard of someone providing weapons to their summons.

Yet today, this strange youngster in his shop was doing just that.

He watched in amazement as this bunch of younglings, each with a little leaf sprouting from their heads, wandered around his store, trying out various weapons. At first, he was worried these little potato beings might knock over his cabinets, but surprisingly, they were careful, moving about without causing any issue.

Still, it was quite a sight. The little potato beings seemed unsure of what gear they wanted, trying out almost everything in the shop. If something was out of their reach, they'd look up at the old craftsman expectantly, and he'd have to help them get it down.

And once he was done helping one, another would require his help. This went on continuously and left the old craftsman rather exhausted.

After what felt like an eternity, the little potatoes finally made their choices.

Some picked great swords, others hammers. Others selected a shield and sword combination, dual blades, axes… The last one who didn't seem to take a fancy to anything eventually grabbed a long metal staff that the craftsman had created.

Strangely, none of them chose the same weapons. The craftsman had thought that given how similar they all looked, they'd end up picking the same gear.

Yaine and the others were equally stunned; they never imagined these little potatoes to have such preferences.

While rather embarrassing to admit, Yaine and the others had assumed the potatoes were simple-minded creatures that were happy-go-lucky and only concerned about food…

In fairness, even Liu Ji had thought the same.

Although these potatoes could speak Mandarin, all they seemed to say was "Grandpa," "Food," or "Hungry." Sure they chatted among themselves, but the topic was always food, making it hard for Liu Ji not to think of them as little food-obsessed creatures.

Looking at them now, armed with various weapons, Liu Ji couldn't help but wonder if they were really going to use these weapons or they were just like kids picking out toys.

Not that it mattered much; the money wasn't his, which made it a bit awkward. He figured there wasn't really an opportunity for the potatoes to test out their weapons here in the streets.

Still, Liu Ji kept mum. If the little potatoes didn't end up using these weapons, they could always be sold later.

But if they did use them…

Well, things could get interesting…

At least, in future battles with enemies flooding in from all directions, Liu Ji might have some helpful little reinforcements.

Though the weapons picked by the potatoes weren't top-tier, they weren't exactly cheap either, costing several tens of gold Kaga.

Fortunately, as a currently wealthy woman, Calidora could still cover the costs of a few hundred gold Kaga.

Between her own staff, Liu Ji's bracers, and the potatoes' mishmash of weapons, she spent around 1,800 gold Kaga and was left with roughly 900.

The group decided to set some of that money aside for clothes, while the rest would be kept as savings for use in the next city.

The shopkeeper, thrilled with such a big sale, cheerfully escorted them out and even pointed them toward a nearby clothing store. On reaching the store, Liu Ji exhaled a long sigh of relief as he saw the clothes on display.

Five hundred years…

Trapped under Five Elements Mountains for five hundred years…

Wait, no, wrong story.

In any case, it has nearly been two months already.

Finally, the day had come.

At long last, he was going to have a proper pair of pants.

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Outside Mir, a frail blond girl limped toward the city gates.

The white dress she wore was stained with dirt, and she was covered in blood. Her left arm hung uselessly at her side, indicating a severe injury.

A hunter stationed at the gates noticed her immediately and rushed over to check on her.

Before he could say anything, the girl grabbed him with her right hand, sobbing in a shaky voice. "Please, please help us! Save us!"

"Calm down, we'll help you," assured the sentry before he turned toward his comrades at the post and shouted, "Hey! Get a healer over here!"

"No, not me! I'm fine!" The girl shook her head frantically. "You have to save my father's caravan! Th-they were attacked by monsters! So many of them! Huge wyverns with terrifying horns… Please… Save my father!"

She dropped to her knees, pleading desperately. Her left arm, still bleeding, left a fresh stain on the ground.

The sentry, startled, knelt beside her. "We need to treat your wound first. Once we stop the bleeding, we can—"

Before he could finish, the girl screamed, "I'm not waiting! There's no time! If we don't hurry…"

She shoved the sentry aside, staggering to her feet and bolting into the city.

"Someone, please! Save my father! His caravan is being attacked by monsters!" she cried, grabbing a passing hunter and repeating her plea.

The hunter, startled by the sight of her injuries, responded similarly to the sentry, trying to offer her aid. But the girl refused, insisting they help her father instead.

Her frantic cries caused a stir in the street and drew a lot of attention.

A passing healer noticed the situation and rushed over to help. But even as he tried to bandage her injuries, the girl kept begging him to save her father, seemingly unconcerned with her own pain.

The healer, seeing no other choice, could only try to calm her down by promising to send help. As he questioned her about the attack, he discreetly tended to her wound.

His words worked, at least somewhat. Though still anxious, she stopped struggling and began answering his questions.

"We stumbled into the canyon. W-we were attacked by wyverns and lizards. Huges ones. The guards… the guards were eaten. My father is still battling them. Please, please save him…" she rambled, her speech incoherent at times, but slowly revealing the horrifying truth.

The expressions on the surrounding hunters' faces grew grim the more she spoke.

If they understood correctly, the caravan led by this girl's father had been ambushed by multiple reptiles. From the descriptions, one could be a Blackhorn Sky Wyvern, and there were still two more, which were likely dangerous wyvern species as well. Beyond that, there was also a pack of colossal lizards, possibly Gnarled Lizards that were besieging the caravan.

This only confirmed the worst—the best tide was imminent. And that was bad enough.

As for the girl's father…

Hearing how she described the situation, the caravan was likely decimated…

The girl's father was unlikely to survive this even if he had nine lives. This was an utterly hopeless situation.

The hunters exchanged somber glances, falling silent. After treating her wounds, the healer patted the girl's shoulder sympathetically and quietly slipped away into the crowd.

Seeing the healer leave, panic flooded the girl once more. Desperate, she turned to the nearby hunters, begging for help.

But they, too, could only apologize.

Deep down, they believed the girl's father was already dead. And even if there was the slightest chance he was alive, the level of monsters described were far beyond their capabilities.

Most of the time, just hunting such powerful individual monsters required elite teams that carefully prepared for the risk.

As for now…

The beast tide was impending, and no hunter was willing to take their team into certain death.

Gradually, the girl realized this, and her despair swelled. No matter how many hunters she pleaded with, the answer remained the same.

No one was going to help her.

And her father…

She collapsed to the ground, tears streaming from her eyes. She screamed, pleaded, and offered everything she had, begging for someone—anyone—to save her father.

She crawled on the street, knees bruised and hands scraped. Even the freshly bandaged wound on her arm started to bleed again.

Finally, she caught hold of a broad chest.

A pair of strong hands lifted her to her feet.

"Could you tell me what happened?" Bumigake asked, smiling gently. "Perhaps I can help."

The girl looked up at him, her lips trembling.

Was this a new hope? Or would it just be another disappointment?

However, she had no other choice.

Through her sobs, she told Bumigake everything she could, promising everything she had left to offer if he would just save her father.

When she finished, she waited in silence, watching the warrior's face like a prisoner awaiting judgment.

Then, she saw Bumigake smile.

"I'll help you," he said. "If they're still alive, I'll save them. Let's go."

With that, he scooped her up and dashed toward the city gates.

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"It feels great to finally wear some proper pants," Liu Ji declared as he strutted out of the clothing store in his new outfit. "What was that saying? Like slipping into fresh underwear on New Year's morning—sheer bliss!"

Of course, he said this in Mandarin.

There was no way he would say something that ridiculous in incantation. Besides, it'd be embarassing.

Yaine followed behind him, clutching a large shopping bag. She didn't usually care much about clothes, but as a female, and being in a clothing store, she had ended up grabbing a few pieces for herself.

Just as she was about to stash her new clothes in her magic space, a figure darted past them.

Yaine's gaze followed instinctively.

It was the Hunt King, and he was carrying a…

Thud.

Yaine's bag slipped from her hands, hitting the ground.

"Huh?" Liu Ji turned around and was shocked by what he saw.

Yaine stood frozen, eyes wide and staring intently in the direction the Hunt King had gone. Her expression was as dark as storm clouds.

Liu Ji had never seen her look like this before.

He was about to ask what was wrong when Yaine spoke in an icy tone cold, "Cali, go back and tell everyone. We're not leaving."

"Huh? What happened?" Calidora asked, emerging from the store with a bewildered look on her face.

"I'm going to kill someone," Yaine hissed. "And, the Tyrant's dogs have finally caught up."