CHAPTER 24: A SHORT BREAK OUTSIDE THE FOREST

When the battle ended and the tense atmosphere broke, Toru felt dizzy and exhausted.

　It seems that he used too much magic power.

“Toru you’re amazing!” (Esther)

“Kehokkehhh! Esther are you okay?” (Toru)

　While being alert, Esther smacked his back making him cough violently.

“Why are you so calm? You just defeated a C-rank monster!” (Esther)

“That’s right… and I’m really tired.” (Toru)

“You were amazing, it’s normal for you to be tired.” (Esther)

　Esther smiled while she was speaking.

　Toru thought that was just fine.

　His ability had improved more than he expected. (SubZero: Proofreader here. Changed ‘better’ to ‘more’ cuz it makes more sense.)

　However, Toru is overwhelmingly lacking in combat experience.

　If the queen rock worm had acted unpredictably, Toru would not have been able to fight as efficiently.

　For example, if it had suddenly targeted Esther…

　Toru became terrified by imagining such a possibility.

　He was lucky to be able to defeat the Queen without taking significant damage.

　If he had fought an enemy with equivalent strength, he might have gotten seriously injured.

“First of all, I have to get proper armor…” (Toru)

“Ah, yeah. Who would have believed that you’ve defeated a C-rank monster without even wearing any sort of armor? A drunk person would be the only kind of person who would attempt such absurdity.” (Esther)

　Toru takes out a water container from his [ Inventory ] and then took a huge gulp. As the water flowed through his throat he began to feel refreshed.

　While Toru was taking a break, Esther plunged her sword into the monster’s body.

“What are you doing?” (Toru)

“I’m taking out a magic stone. There are magic stones in monsters. If you bring this into the guild, it will be purchased at a good price.” (Esther)

“That’s right… Well, I didn’t take it when I was fighting goblins.” (Toru)

“Because goblins have trash magic stones, you can only sell one for two or three garde, but if your clothes get bloody you will have to buy a new one. Unless you are an adventurer who’s going through financial troubles, you will not dismantle goblins. That’s a fact.” (Esther)

“I see” (Toru)

　Previously, Toru threw away all the clothes he wore during his battle with the goblin horde.

　He washed it with water over and over but the goblin smell just wouldn’t wash away.

　It is a big loss when the clothes are useless even though you only get trash magic stones in exchange.

　Sadly, some adventurers need to take out trash magic stones.

　When his physical strength recovered, Toru joined the dismantling and collected the magic stones.

　The rock worm’s magic stone is about the size of a thumb. The Queen Rock worm, on the other hand, was as big as a baseball.

　Putting it all in a hemp bag. Toru then threw it into his [ Inventory ].

“Anything else to dismantle?” (Toru)

“Hmm. Both rock worms’ and queen rock worms’ carapace can be used as armor, but… honestly, there is nothing that can be salvaged from this.” (Esther)

“Sorry, sorry” (Toru)

　The rock worms were shredded by Toru with his [ Magic Sword ]. He thoroughly minced the monsters because he thought they had a strong vitality. But what he did was overkill.

　However, if he eased too much, he could be counterattacked by a rock worm that he thought he killed but was playing possum.

　It was difficult for Toru, who has little experience in fighting monsters, to adjust his battle style.

　Unlike rock worms that fell apart because of his attack, looking for an un-charred carapace is close to none. Toru believed that there was no room for leniency.

　He believes that once he gets used to battling monsters, he will be able to kill the monsters and keep the materials. Until then, he is likely to repeat the same pattern for a while.

“It’s difficult to defeat monsters while leaving the materials intact.” (Toru)

“But that’s part of being an adventurer. If you want to rank-up, it’s a required skill. It’s good to learn as soon as possible. You need to start practicing.” (Esther)

　After collecting the magic stones, Toru and Esther walked towards Finlis.

　After all, it seems that Esther’s physical strength has declined after three days of living like a vagabond. Esther’s legs are heavy with exhaustion.

　Her usually neat and lively ponytail looks dead and dirty today. [TN: Seriously is this a fetish or something?] [EN: Probably, Don’t question it. You know you want to touch that sweet-ass ponytail] (SubZero: That’s gross. Then again, I have seen this kind of Fetish irl.)

　As she walked towards Finlis, Toru asked her to slow down, and then talked to her.

“By the way, is Esther’s request completed?” (Toru)

“Ah. The reason why the silver wolf has become so common these days is probably because of the rock worms. The rock worms emerged from the depths of the forest. The wolves migrated to escape from the worms. As a result, the number of silver wolves living in the shallow area of the forest increased, and that is the reason people see the wolves quite often.” (Esther)

“So that’s it.” (Toru)

“I think it’s probably the goblins who caused the rock worms to appear around here.” (Esther)

“Hmm, why would they move because of the Goblins?” (Toru)

“Rock worms love goblin flesh above all prey.” (Esther)

“Uhhh…” (Toru)

　Toru frowned and groaned after remembering the smell of goblin blood and offal on his clothes.

　Toru can’t imagine anything liking such disgusting things.

“But aren’t goblins living all over the world? They do have a diverse choice of habitats they could live in.” (Toru)

“Well yes. The goblins are seen throughout Eargard.” (Esther)

“Then, you can’t surely use it as a viable cause, maybe they were migrating.” (Toru)

　Esther gently shook her head.

“Rather, you see… didn’t we just beat a lot of goblins recently?” (Esther)

“Ohhh…” (Toru)

　Previously, Toru had beaten a horde of goblins.

　The smell of the corpse probably invited the rock worms to move to this area.

“If I had burned the goblin’s corpse, it might not have happened…” (Esther)

　Esther shook her head unconsciously.

　If they directly report what happened to the guild, you will not know what had happened.

　However, Toru pretty much did something similar or worse depending on what happened.

　He did collapse parts of the cave where he transferred to Lid’s body. The Queen surely survived even if he blocked that entrance there probably might have been some other opening from that limestone cave.

　If Esther was guilty of such matters, then Toru who didn’t report sighting rock worms and queen rock worms would also be responsible.

　Of course, that would be a dumb idea. Toru, who was not even an adventurer at the time. So he has no responsibility to report the monsters as an adventurer.

　For the same reason, Esther doesn’t have to take responsibility for “not burning the goblins’ corpses that Toru, a civilian, had defeated.

“Anyway, I accepted a goblin subjugation and found a horde, and this time I was doing reconnaissance and found rock worms. Am I seriously that unlucky…” (Esther)

“Well, we’re adventurers and I think there are times when that happens.” (Toru)

“Yeah. But it was quite the blessing to meet Toru. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t even be here talking.” (Esther)

　Esther smiled with pure joy, unlike when she was lamenting her bouts of unluckiness.

　Having that smile directed at him, Toru became embarrassed and turned away.

　Upon leaving the forest, Esther suddenly fell.

“…Sorry. I’m sorry. I just felt so relieved that my legs lost strength.” (Esther)

　Esther’s complexion is very bad. Her eyes are drooping and she’s starting to nod-off.

　Finally, out of the forest and under sunlight, dark circles can be seen under her eyes.

　Wandering in the woods for three days. She must have been unable to sleep well.

“Let’s take a break for an hour.” (Toru)

“I’m sorry. Thank you for letting me take a nap for a short while. Can I ask you to be the lookout?” (Esther)

“Of course” (Toru)

　Toru stands vigilant of the surroundings, while Ester laid down and closed her eyes. She looked desperate for sleep, soon slow deep breathing can be heard

　Toru confirmed that Esther was sleeping deeply before summoning his skill board.

○ Status

Toru Minasuki

Level: 15 → 20

Race: Human Primary Job: Swordsman Secondary Job: Magician

Rank: Ⅰ Skill points: 290 → 340

○ Passives

[Complete Enhancement + 5] [Body Enhancement + 5] [Magic Enhancement + 5] [Natural Recovery +5] [Enhanced Resistance +5] [Limit Break] [Stamina +5] [Magic +5] [Strength +5] [Dexterity +5] [Agility +5] [Intelligence +5] [Luck +5]

○Techniques

[Sword Art Lv4] [Magic Art Lv4] [Intuition Lv4] [Intimidate Lv4] [Thought Acceleration Lv4] [Magic Grimoire LV4][Chant-less Casting LV4] [Language Comprehension Lv4] [Blacksmith Lv4] [Magic Sword Lv1]

“Oh, I am at level 20 now”

　Most of the experience probably came from the subjugation of the Queen. Toru checked the screen while feeling quite giddy.

“The point is… I’m back to 10 points per level. Well, I don’t know what the conditions are for the increase in skill points.” (Toru)

　I didn’t suddenly get a lot of points like I did when I leveled up last time.

　If the number increased by defeating the queen, the requirement must be “stronger enemies, more points”, but unfortunately the points increased normally.

“I wonder if I will acquire any new skills” Toru

　Thinking about it, Toru suddenly remembered what happened in the back alley the other day.

　It was good that he could win without accidentally injuring or killing his opponent. However, there will be situations where things will not work that well in the future.

　Isn’t there a skill that does not kill or severely injure the opponent?

　For a long time, he searched for the innumerable skills that he can view, and finally, Toru discovered the skill he wanted.

“The battle this time ended in my victory due to the cards being stacked in my favor. And it may be just for today and the next battles… well. Okay, I will raise a lot of skills.”

　Toru decided on his skills and quickly assigned points.

Skill points: 340 → 5

○Passives

[Complete Enhancement + 5→8] [Body Enhancement + 5] [Magic Enhancement + 5] [Natural Recovery +5] [Enhanced Resistance +5] [Limit Break] [Stamina +5] [Magic +5] [Strength +5] [Dexterity +5] [Agility +5] [Intelligence +5] [Luck +5]

○Techniques

[Sword Art Lv4→5] [Magic Art Lv4→5] [Intuition Lv4→5] [Intimidate Lv4→5] [Thought Acceleration Lv4→5] [Magic Grimoire LV4][Chant-less Casting LV4] [Language Comprehension Lv4] [Blacksmith Lv4] [Aikido Lv5] NEW

[Magic Sword Lv1]

　[ Complete Enhancement ]’s effect, which has the highest skill point requirement, is still unclear. However, I had already leveled it up to such an extent. So I will increase the level until I see an effect.

　Also, the techniques used in battle have been raised evenly.

　He chose Aikido as his new skill. With this, Toru thought that he would be able to predict and counter the attack of his opponent. (SubZero: Cool. Aikido is normally VERY hard to master. I know cuz I am a practitioner of Aikido.)

　It was the influence of a video of the aikido master he saw on the internet when he was still in Japan.

　The master defeated a larger man without using much force or weapons.

　If Toru can imitate those actions, he should be able to surpass most human enemies.

　Of course, this is not just for self-defense.

[ Aikido ] is a martial art that practices on using the body to its fullest. It is based on logical and scientifically proven theories that join muscle movement and force vectors, and the principle of leverage and applying it by positioning your body to redirect or neutralize the attack.

　Toru was in quite the anticipation that it would have a synergistic effect on other skills as well, like [Sword Art], if he has aikido.

　The effect of skill acquisition was immediately felt.

　He can clearly understand how the trees, flowers, and air around him are moving, and where they are heading. It was as if his understanding of the world had suddenly increased.

　The range of his techniques like [Intuition] has been expanded.

　That’s not the only change. After testing his skills, Toru adjusted his center of gravity slightly. And with that change alone, his body was in a state of equilibrium like a great tree whose roots make him almost impossible to move.

　Now he is confident that even if a professional wrestler rushes in, he won’t be blown away.

“Amazing… I think I’ve become a completely different person with just one skill.” (Toru)

　Toru felt that the change from Lv1 to Lv4 and the change to Lv5 were completely different.

“Why does it feel like when my skills leveled up from 4 to 5 it drastically changes?” (Toru)

　Although the skill name has not changed, it is a possibility that evolution to advanced skills could occur within the skill.

　Or if there is a certain level reached new effects are being added as boons for reaching that level.

　Another skill affected him greatly and is quite far from the norm.

“…I have a lot of thoughts simultaneously going through my mind.” (Toru)

　Toru noticed that he had multiple thoughts that are running in tandem with one another. Toru was verifying his skills, but he can somehow also focus on thinking about what he will have for dinner today.

“I’m really hungry. I know that. But what is happening?” (Toru)

　Toru felt like he had a completely different person in his head.

　But all the thoughts are his. He can improve his skills, and he can also think about other stuff. Toru thinks that complaining is unnecessary.

　Toru thinks that practice can help him make simultaneous thoughts feel normal.

　Toru’s thoughts are moving smoothly and at a fast pace like parallel highways and his thoughts are in overdrive.

　Meanwhile, [ Thought Acceleration ] helps in optimizing the use of his and Lid’s memories helping him make better judgments.

“–!?” (Toru)

　Toru, who realized something from the conversations he had before.

“He seems a little dangerous” (Toru)

“Oh, did he mean that…!” (Toru)

　When I recalled the conversations something clicked, the dialogue spoken by the guard had a completely different meaning.

“Maybe that person knew something was happening.” (Toru)

　The guard controls the people who come in and out of Finlis. It is possible that he obtained information from the people who came in and out, and he might be implying something.

　But he had no evidence.

　And at present Toru can’t think of a way to prove his hunch.

“……What should I do?” (Toru)

　Toru continued to stare at the skill board until Esther woke up, and he continued to think about his next course of action after returning to Finlis.