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chapter 26




The Wallaby understands from the intense scowl on my face that I won’t accept its plea for life.
“KYU!”
As soon as it realizes that it’s plea won’t be accepted, it spits, and gets up while swinging its fist at me with killing intent.
“If we can communicate
 doesn’t seem like it.”
“KYUUUUU!”
I’ll kill you! Such feelings are transmitted towards me. I think if we were able to communicate, this would be a pretty tragic situation. If our first battle had been against these guys, I would’ve hesitated. It’s said that animals can take people by surprise. Some even seem to play dead against each other. I wonder if these guys also know how to take advantage of such openings?
“KYUGA!?”
It gives up on punching, and kicks towards my face while bringing its head forward with its counterattack. I aim at Strawberry Wallaby’s throat and punch. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to give me time to pick up my kitchen knife.
The force of its momentum combines with that of my strike, and the sound of the Strawberry Wallaby’s adam’s apple being crushed rings out. With faint, fluttering eyes, the Strawberry Wallaby points at me for some reason.
It’s saying that I’m the victor, isn’t it? I was able to beat this guy barehanded
 the power of Lv is amazing. It’s true that we’ve obtained enough strength that the movements of horn rats now appear slow to us. The difference in strength every Lv is clear to us.
The Wallaby then falls back face up
 and turns into light!?
“Tou!”
I look in the direction of Shigenobu and Meguru-san. Shigenobu and Minori-san are about to finish off their Strawberry Wallaby together. Minori-san, who went around the back of the Strawberry Wallaby, hits the back of its head with her crowbar. Shigenobu uses that opening to thrust into its chest. That ends up being the clinching blow, and their opponent wallaby dies.
As for Meguru-san, she has already finished her battle
 a shredded Strawberry Wallaby lies scattered about the area. Looks like this is a complete victory due to our overwhelming power after all. Why was I the only one fighting the Wallaby barehanded? It’s a miracle I won

“Is Yukinari-kun alright?”
“Ah, yeah
 I took a pretty good punch.”
Meguru-san smiles at words I unintentionally speak out. Well, if I tell myself that it’s something like a gag, then this might be fine.
“Well
 it’s nothing worry about anymore.”
“It’s thanks to the armor made by Shigenobu to an extent
 but”
I peek through the gap in the armor and see a good bruise forming. That Wallaby hit me with all it had
 Well, it’s a real battle so something that happening is natural.
“Minori-, heal Yukinari-kun, please.”
“Ah, yes!”
“Was taking on three of them too harsh?”
“Honestly, I think we need work together when fighting them.”
“That’s true, but there wasn’t really much of an opportunity to buy time
 how was their strength?”
Is this what they call partner coordination? I was drawn in by its desire for a one on one fight. It felt a bit stronger than a horn rat, but weaker than a rock lizard. Because I’m Lv 5 now, it feels like I can somehow beat them barehanded. If I use a kitchen knife properly, they’ll end up being small fry.
“Looks like we need to keep practicing.”
“Yeah.”
“For now, I think Yukinari and Meguru-san should fight mamono as a pair.”
Shigenobu, what are you saying? Or, thinking about it, I guess Shigenobu can’t do it due to the turn system

“In that case, I’ll draw the attention of the mamono while Meguru-san attacks upon seeing an opportunity. Of course, if Meguru-san is the one who gets targeted, then I’ll be the one to attack.”
“Got it. Although our weapons are sharp enough to let us go deeper, we need to careful of any counterattacks.”
Just a bit, I feel that
 I understand the troubles of the player group now.
“So, about those wallaby
 what should we do with them?”
“The punching glove
 seems to be part of the body.”
Shigenobu answers as he examines a dead body. I also check
 Yep, looks like he’s right.
“Huh? What happened to wallaby Yukinari defeated?”
“It disappeared in a flash of light.”
“I only checked for a moment, but didn’t it look like it was moving pretty well? Also, when Yukinari-kun killed the wallaby he was fighting, the wallaby that Shigenobu-kun and I were fighting paused for a moment.”
“Out of the three of them, could it have been the boss?”
“Maybe.”
Was the one that pointlessly challenged me the strongest one? The one Meguru-san fought was killed in seconds. Something is scattered about on the ground where that wallaby stood.
“A medal and
 a glove?”
A medal? As I think that, Shigenobu shows me the medal.
“Medal of the King of the Strawberry Wallabies?”
There’s a belt-like cord wrapped around it. Furthermore, something like the item’s name is on it.
“This other one seems to be the wallaby’s punching gloves”
“Are they an item drop?”

Thinking back to when the wallaby died, it seemed to point to me as if proclaiming I was the stronger one

“Should I test it out?”
“Shigenobu has some nerve to to try putting it on.”
“It’s because I saw the amazing way Yukinari won his fight.”
Because of me? While saying that, Shigenobu tries to put his hand into the punching glove on, but flinches and lets it drop.
“Ow!”
“Is there something strange inside?”
“No, it felt like static electricity
 oh yeah, some guys in the player group mentioned unique equipment before.”
“Unique equipment?”
“Yeah, I heard that occasionally, a part of a mamono’s body turns into a weapon. It seems like some conditions need to be met to obtain one.”
“Huh
 was it because I beat the wallaby to death.”
“Might be because you struck the finishing blow.”
Then, for some reason, Shigenobu hands me the punching glove. Should I put it on? Shigenobu nods in response to my gaze. I sigh and try it out.
“Etto? Why is Yukinari-kun trying on the punching glove handed over by Shigenobu-kun?”
Meguru-san has a point. What kind of a joke is this, “unique equipment?” Well, if it’s the final request of that wallaby, then I should try it on at least once. We can call it an experiment?
“Although it doesn’t look very strong, we won’t know what the unique equipment can do until I try it out.”
“Haa
”
Hopefully, I won’t be able to equip it. With that in mind, I put on the wallaby’s punching gloves. Swish – unlike when Shigenobu tried, the gloves fit smoothly over my hands
 I slowly look at the gloves.
Wallaby Punching Gloves | Granted Effect : Dynamic Vision Increase | Instant Expansion Ability : Boxer

I want to sigh out with all my heart.
“There’s an instant expansion ability called boxer.”
“What’s that?”
“Isn’t that an ability you can only get while wearing it?”
Seems like it. If you check the status, it’s clearly attached. Also, my mind is somehow filled with knowledge over boxing fighting poses. The attack power is far below that of the kitchen knife. Maybe it’s because the wallaby was only a bit stronger than a horn rat?
Well, what about the medal.
Medal of the King of the Strawberry Wallabies | Effect : King’s Defense | Use : Available
I hold the medal up and look at it. With a flash of light, wallabies of a different color appeared out of nowhere.
“King’s defense seems to be an item with the effect of calling nearby wallabies.”
Even though Minori-san’s healing isn’t finished yet, we’re hurled into a second battle. Wallabies equipped with punching gloves
 French Gray Wallabies enter the battle. Meguru-san, Shigenobu, and Minori-san bring them down the same way as before.
I face the wallaby in a fighting pose. Unique steps
 the opponent’s attacks appear in my mind. Is this the effect of the dynamic vision increase? In response to the incoming fist, my counter punch strikes the wallaby’s face, although an electric shock runs through my body when I try to kick it.
Is kicking not allowed? Is it not kickboxing, but just regular boxing? However, I follow up with my left and strike the wallaby’s face with a good sound, knocking it out.
It isn’t evening trying to get up
 did it die?
“I-It’s almost like Yukinari-kun was boxing with the wallaby.”
“No matter how you look at it, it’s equipment for doing just that.”
It’s really pointless. Yet, there’s a lot of experience. Do wallabies give double experience?