In fact I should probably finish hunting the ettins and then return to town. I reach the exit and start following the path to the surface, only then do I let out a sigh of relief. Once I reach the surface and exit the cave I go back to hunting down the ettins.

My only goal now is to wipe them out completely before I return to town. Since I have my sword back I don't even need to worry unless there are more than five ettins grouped together. The only drawback is the time it takes to hunt them down since they are scattered all over the area.

I spend the next two days hunting ettins until I am convinced I have gotten almost all of them. The crystal counter is over two hundred so it's probably about time to return and turn in the quest. Besides, I am anxious to return so I can lock myself in my room and rank up.

Taking one last look around the hills area I don't see a single ettin anywhere. Even if there are survivors, they are probably so terrified that they will never come out of the hills. Meaning my objective of preventing them from joining the monster invasion is complete.

So I finally head back to town, in total I have been gone for a little over four days. There are only three days left before I hit the two week mark, the halfway point of the test. It also means that the competition for raising my troop's ranking is coming up soon.

As soon as I reach town I turn and head for the adventurer's guild to turn in the quest. It is the middle of the day so the streets are full of people, but everyone stops what they are doing to watch me as I pass. I notice as the people stare at me that there is a lot less fear in their eyes, it seems rumors about me have spread.

As I walk into the adventurer's guild all eyes turn to me as usual, but now some of the eyes contain respect. Ignoring the various gazes I walk into the quest hall and head to the redemption counter. After handing the crystal to Mapleleaf I reach into my backpack and pull out the demon's head.

"It wasn't part of the quest but I'm wondering if there is a bounty or bonus for this guy."

Mapleleaf says "Is....is that a demon?!?!?"

"Yes, it is. It looks a little weird because I removed the horns."

Mapleleaf says "Um, please wait here. I will have to have the manager identify the head."

As she struggles to pick up the head I realize every adventurer in the room is staring at the head in shock. It is only then that I stop to wonder if anyone has ever killed a demon in this kingdom. If not, then I might have just caused a much bigger commotion than I was expecting.

Mapleleaf says "The manager wishes to see you personally. Please follow me."

"Sure."

As I follow Mapleleaf upstairs I can't help but wonder just what effect me killing a demon is going to have. Rather than a waiting room, Mapleleaf takes me directly to Zimmy's office. The office is really nice and expensive looking, but the demon's head on the desk kind of ruins it.

Zimmy says "Ash, please tell me how and where you encountered a demon!"

"Ah, the ettins summoned him after I killed their chief."

Zimmy says "Even I find it hard to believe that you managed to kill a rank five demon!"

'He was only rank five?!?'

"It was not easy!"

Zimmy says "We only know of demons from ancient texts, one has never appeared before."

"Well, you don't need to worry about it. There aren't enough ettins left alive to summon another one."

Zimmy says "While that is indeed a relief, it doesn't change the fact that you are the first demon slayer in the kingdom's history. Such a special status has to be properly rewarded!"

"Ah, you aren't just talking about a reward in gold are you?"

Zimmy says "No, I'm not. Although, there will be a bounty for it. In fact between that and the quest rewards it is a little over ten thousand gold. Also you will be raised to a grade A adventurer."

"Okay, I can live with that!"

Zimmy says "That is just from the adventurer's guild."

"What do you mean?"

Zimmy says "The king will be rewarding you as well. I don't know what the reward will be though. Normally something like this would earn at least a knighthood, but since you aren't human I don't know what will happen."

"Ugh, that sounds bothersome. Is there any way we can keep this between us?"

Zimmy says "If you had come directly to me maybe, but since everyone in the hall saw the head it isn't possible."

"If I had known it would be such a big deal I wouldn't have brought the head back at all!"

Zimmy says "Well, it's too late now. You will just have to deal with it."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Zimmy says "Anyway, here is your new adventurer badge. And this is a bank card, it contains your reward. That much gold is just too burdensome, but don't worry every shop in town will accept this card."

"Alright, thank you!"

As I leave the adventurer's guild I can already tell that the looks I am getting have changed. Everywhere I look people are talking and looking at me, looks like the rumors are already spreading. Before things can get out of hand I need to take care of things so I head to the blacksmith's guild first.

Paying the 50 gold I owe is nothing now, and happily it turns out that my first order is complete. Luckily the backpack is big enough to contain the fifty sets of armor and weapons. I am told that my personal order still won't be ready for another couple of days.

Now that I have their new gear I head back to the castle and to my troop's barracks. They have completed the day's training so they are all resting and quickly jump up when I walk in. Looking at them I am pleased with the increase in physical fitness since we began training.

Telling them to leave their gear and follow me I lead them out of town and don't stop until we are well out of sight of town. Only then do I start pulling armor and weapons out of my backpack and handing them out to my stunned troops. Once everyone has a set I begin teaching them how to equip, adjust, and care for their new gear.

Then comes the hard part, teaching them how to move and fight as a phalanx. The hours pass quickly and only when the sun goes down do I stop drilling them. When we return to town all eyes are on us, either because of the rumors about me or because of the soldiers in their new gear.