"Wait, but I’m getting paid less than that for killing it," I pointed out.
"Of course you are. You’re getting paid for exterminating it, not for selling off its body. The Hunters Guild only pays people for killing Monsters that are a threat to settlements, and not those minding their own business in their natural habitat. But they can’t stop anyone from going out there and making some money for themselves. Although considering you only brought back its head— and from what I heard, it was in a terrible state— I don’t think anyone would be willing to even buy that for a gold piece."
Gennady chuckled, finally taking a sip from his drink.
"Goddess, this tastes like shit." He grimaced, pulling the mug away from his face. "Well anyways, I wanted to take down this Chimera myself, but even after days of hunting it, it never once attacked me. Although Chimeras tend to be cowards, only attacking whatever they think they can kill without a problem. And considering the size of you, it probably thought you were easy prey, and I was not. Too bad for it, it’s dead now."
"Mhm, they’re pretty stupid," I agreed, not touching my drink for obvious reasons.
"So what do you think?"
I blinked. "What do you mean?"
"What rank do you think they should be?" the Dwarf said, leaning over to me. "I’ve never fought one, so I’ve been torn between putting them between Rank D and Rank C in my bestiary, see?"
He began flipping through his large book, stopping at a page that had the drawing of a Chimera.
"I’ve written down their strengths and weaknesses. And while they have a lot of strengths, they also have a lot of weaknesses. So they’re pretty balanced— any Hunter with the right equipment could take down a Chimera if it attacks them recklessly. They’re not fast, and they’re not anywhere near as strong as even a Horned Wolf. But they sneak up on you, and they have several abilities that make them dangerous to anyone who’s caught off guard. Which was what happened to those two poor Hunters who tried to hunt the Chimera down by themselves. So that makes me want to put them down as a Rank C, see? Because they’ve got strategy."
"Uh," I hesitated, listening to his explanations of things I barely even understood; not sure what to say, I shrugged. "I don’t know? What even is a Rank D or C Monster even supposed to be in your book?"
Gennady paused, then brought a hand up to his forehead. "Right, I forgot to explain that."
The Dwarf inhaled deeply, and began to list out all the different Monsters he considered fitting for each rank. And since I barely even knew a thing about Monsters, it was not extremely helpful.
"So F Rank Monsters are the weakest ones. They’re Horned Rabbits or individual Kobolds— not a threat to most Hunters. E Rank Monsters would be a pack of Kobolds, since those pests always group up together, or Frogzards. D Rank Monsters would be Crawlers— giant spiders that would eat you in your sleep— while C Rank would be Horned Wolves. B Rank threats are entire swarms of Giant Wasps— you don’t want to run into those, they’ll tear entire towns apart— and an A Rank Monster would be something like a Horned Ursa or a Manticore."
"How about an S Rank Monster? You said those are special?"
"Yes. Those would be like Krakens or Hydras. Incredibly rare and incredibly powerful too. But there’s even something above that."
"Above?" I asked, cocking a brow. "But you said your range only goes up to S."
"Well, yes. Because these Monsters are myths. Legends. You only hear stories about them— tales of the widespread destruction they have wrought whenever they appeared in history. Entire countries brought to ruin. There are three, have you heard of them?"
I scratched the side of my head. "I can’t say I have."
"Huh, that’s odd. I’d have assumed that most people would know about these three creatures. You must come from a really sheltered environment," Gennady remarked, taking a swig from his ale before coughing.
"I’m not sheltered," I said, folding my arms. "My mom taught me everything I needed to know that was important. Why would these dumb stories even matter?"
"Ah, you see, that’s because they aren’t just stories. I can’t tell you everything about them right now, but the three are: the Dragon, ruler of the sky, and guardian of Drake Island; the Ouroboros, keeper of the earth, and the destroyer of civilizations; and lastly, the Cetus, master of the sea, and bringer of storms."
"Those are some fancy titles for a couple of Monsters."
"They really are, but they befit their status. The Cetus is a force of nature. Some believe it causes hurricanes and tsunamis, but the commonly held belief is that it simply follows where the winds and tides calls it to. The Ourobors meanwhile, is a chaotic beast. It does not abide by any rules, and brings destruction whenever it chooses to strike next, coming out from its home in the mountains. Finally, the Dragon is seen as a protector of civilization. It is worshipped as the progenitor of the Drakes, and defends them from any peoples that threaten their society."
"Wait, the Drakes worship Dragons?" I asked, mouth hanging agape beneath my mask. "Isn’t that… heresy?"
"No. Why would that be?" Gennady stared back at me, confused at my confusion.
"But isn’t the Goddess the one that… saved us all? She saved all life from eternal suffering?"
"Yes. The Goddess of Light freed us from damnation, and that includes the Dragon, which went on to create the Drakes. Or at least, that’s what the Drakes seem to believe. I think it’s a bunch of crap, and the Dragon is just a Monster that is defending its territory which the Drakes just
