"Please stay at this house tonight. I will also prepare dinner for you."
While eating breakfast, the village chief announced.
Breakfast was oatmeal with salad and cheese.
It wasn't particularly delicious, but it wasn't particularly bad either.
If I can have meals like this, I can probably survive in this world.
Dinner will probably be a bit more luxurious, after all, it's the village chief's house, and a feast for the hero who saved the village, so this is probably a good meal.
Nothing was said about lunch. It seems that humans only started eating three meals a day recently, so in this world, two meals a day is probably the norm.
"I'll take you up on that offer."
"Tomorrow, a merchant will leave for the town of Baire by carriage. The departure will be early. If you would like to come with us, please go to bed early tonight."
"How long does it take to get to the town of Baire?"
"It takes about three hours by carriage."
I wonder if three hours is the same as Earth time.
If we leave at eight, we'll arrive at eleven. If the merchant plans to return the same day, they would need to leave at fifteen to be back by eighteen. So the merchant will only have four hours in Baire.
The merchant said they would also do some buying, so that might be too short.
When they say "early," it probably means really early. It might be before dawn.
I should be prepared as if I'm going fishing in the morning.
"Then I'll do that."
"I'll let the merchant know."
Now, what should I do until then?
"Are there any monsters around this village?"
"Are you referring to magical creatures?"
"Yes, that's what I mean."
So they call them magical creatures. They do exist, then.
"If you go deep into the forest, you'll find Slow Rabbits."
"Hmm. I've never fought one before."
It sounds like a weak creature, but I should gather information just in case.
There's a possibility that it could be unexpectedly strong.
It's better not to pretend to know more than I do.
"Slow Rabbits don't attack people, so they are relatively easy to fight."
"Oh, is that so? Then I might go check it out."
Lucky.
Well, it's a Slow Rabbit. A slow rabbit. It should be easy.
It will also pass the time, so I'll go take a look.
"…Are you going to hunt the Slow Rabbit?"
The village chief lowered his voice.
Huh.
Did I respond incorrectly again?
"I heard they are easy to fight."
"Indeed, a few villagers working together can defeat them. Thinking about it, for someone like you, Michio, it should be a piece of cake."
"R-right."
Come on.
A few people working together, how strong are they?
"If you defeat a Slow Rabbit, you'll get a rabbit's fur. Sometimes, you might also get rabbit meat."
So the rabbit's fur is a common drop, and the rabbit meat is a rare drop, I guess.
I'm not sure what "remaining" means.
"Hmm. What should I do? Is there any problem with hunting magical creatures?"
"There shouldn't be any problem with slaying magical creatures."
I kind of wanted there to be a problem.
If it's a creature that a few people can defeat, it might be dangerous.
However, if I want to survive in this world, I'll eventually have to hunt my first magical creature. There's no guarantee that it will be weaker than a Slow Rabbit.
If I have to do it eventually, it's better to do it sooner.
I don't really want to go back to Earth. Even if I end up dying here, it's not a big deal. Everyone dies eventually.
Thinking about it, the reason I'm in this world is because of a suicide website.
Dying by being overwhelmed by an overwhelmingly strong magical creature isn't much different from suicide.
Since I said I would go, I have to go.
Well, it's a slow rabbit, after all.
"Then, I'll go into the forest a bit during the time before dinner."
Durendal should be enough.
The village chief said it would be easy.
"Mr. Michio, there are some young people in the village who would like to try hunting Slow Rabbits. Could you take them with you?"
"Hmm."
"If you go with Mr. Michio, they will have a good experience."
What should I do?
It would be safer to have companions.
However, if I show that I'm weak, it could cause problems.
I've reduced a man in the village to a slave. Retaliation from his family or close friends is a possibility.
"No, I'll have to decline this time. I've never fought a Slow Rabbit before, and I'm not sure if I can protect them."
"You are right. I was being presumptuous."
I made up an excuse to decline.
After finishing my meal, I placed the thief cards and took the copper sword, then went outside.
I went deeper and deeper into the forest.
No matter how far I went, no magical creatures appeared.
In games, you'd be surrounded by monsters as soon as you step out of the village.
Thinking about it, you wouldn't be able to live comfortably in such a dangerous place.
"Intelligence Card, Open."
Since I was alone, I decided to try something I was curious about.
...
Nothing happened.
I knew that would be the case. The spell must be different. I only heard it once, so I couldn't remember it.
Do I have an Intelligence Card?
I decided to ignore it for now and keep going.
After walking a bit and getting a bit tired, I finally saw a strange animal.
A white, furry animal about fifty centimeters long.
Is that a Slow Rabbit?
When I thought, "What is that?" information appeared.
Slow Rabbit Lv1
Oh.
So the identification works.
Or rather, it has a level.
I don't know how strong a Slow Rabbit is.
I should be cautious and use Durendal.
I thought, "Character Reset," and opened the settings screen. I reset the necessary experience to one-fifth and the gained experience to five times, leaving 64 bonus points. Then I poured those bonus points into weapon six.
One bonus point remained.
What should I use it for?
Maybe I should try a bonus spell.
Meteor Crash.
It sounds like a powerful spell.
I selected Meteor Crash and finished the character reset.
Durendal appeared in my left palm.
I thought, "If I'm going to use magic, I don't need Durendal," but I can't guarantee that one hit will be enough.
I sheathed Durendal at my waist.
Since I'm not used to it, having two swords at my waist is a bit cumbersome.
I leaned the copper sword against a nearby tree and drew Durendal, gripping it firmly with both hands.
The Slow Rabbit doesn't seem to have noticed me yet.
I'll ambush it from behind the tree.
Go.
"Meteor Crash!"
I shouted loudly.
...
...
...
Nothing happened.
Nothing changed.
The wind just blew between me and the Slow Rabbit.
If someone had seen me, it would have been a very embarrassing scene.
Good thing I was deep in the forest.
It's a spell. The wrong spell.
The incantation for Meteor Crash came to mind.
I'll try it.
"From the far reaches of the infinite universe, the will of the sky that destroys all, annihilate, Meteor Crash!"
This time, it should work.
...
I thought, but nothing happened.
Nothing changed.
This is it.
Not enough MP.
I think the MP I used for the Flame Sword has recovered since I've eaten and rested.
But Meteor Crash probably requires more MP than a Level 2 character has.
So, I decided to run with Durendal raised.
I felt a bit lighter, probably due to the Hero Level 1 effect.
The Slow Rabbit stood up and faced me.
It's a magical creature, after all, and doesn't run away from humans. It's probably stronger than a single human, as the village chief said a few people could defeat it.
But I have the holy sword Durendal.
The Slow Rabbit should taste the sharpness of Durendal.
I approached the Slow Rabbit and slashed at its shoulder from above.
Durendal cut through the creature, slicing from its shoulder to its side in one stroke.
The Slow Rabbit fell to the ground. One hit.
Green smoke rose from the creature's body and gradually dissipated.
A small white fur was left behind.
Rabbit Fur
I see.
That's why the village chief said the fur would remain.
I took the rabbit fur and returned to where I had placed the copper sword.
I feel like using Durendal is overkill, but I'll hunt a couple more just in case.
The last Slow Rabbit might have been weak by chance.
I placed the rabbit fur next to the copper sword and moved on.
After hunting two more Slow Rabbits, it still felt like overkill with Durendal.
I cut them down with one stroke each.
Now I have three rabbit furs.
Next, I'll try with the copper sword.
I thought, "Character Reset," to make Durendal disappear.
Huh?
The bonus points were back to one.
Did they increase at some point?
For now, I removed the bonus weapon six and set the necessary experience to one-twentieth and the gained experience to ten times. This left the bonus points at zero. Meteor Crash was still checked, so the bonus points had increased since the last time.
With Durendal gone, I attacked the next Slow Rabbit with the copper sword.
The preemptive strike hit the shoulder beautifully.
Hmm?
The sword didn't penetrate at all.
It barely sank in and stopped.
I immediately raised the sword for a second strike, but it stopped in the same way.
It felt more like it was stuck than cut.
The Slow Rabbit charged at me.
Whoa, close one.
I barely dodged.
I retaliated with a strike.
It didn't work at all. There was no sign of damage.
I must be dealing some damage, but it's minimal.
I continued to attack with the sword while being careful of the Slow Rabbit's movements.
The fact that it's not very fast is a small mercy.
It is a Slow Rabbit, after all.
Then it jumped.
I barely avoided its head, but couldn't avoid the body tackle.
Oof.
The impact from the body tackle was intense.
This is bad. I feel like my body is going to break apart.
I struck the sword multiple times.
The Slow Rabbit shook its head.
I barely avoided it and struck the open shoulder. That one felt solid.
The Slow Rabbit jumped again.
But I anticipated the attack. I dodged by falling to the right and struck it as we passed each other.
Damn, still not enough.
I struck it again and again.
I was caught off guard and took another body tackle.
Ugh.
I was focused on attacking and didn't think about defense.
This is bad. A few more hits and I'll definitely die.
I dodged the next attack and regained my footing.
I swung the sword to clear its head and struck its belly. The sword sank in, and I felt some resistance.
I dodged another body tackle and struck again.
It's still not down.
One more strike. One more strike. One more strike.
After striking it three or four times, the creature finally fell to the ground.
It turned into smoke and disappeared, leaving behind a rabbit fur.
"Haa..."
I panted heavily and sighed.
My whole body ached. Breathing was a struggle.
That was close.
There's such a big difference between Durendal and the copper sword.
Or maybe this Slow Rabbit was just particularly strong.
Come to think of it, the Slow Rabbit had a level.
I didn't check. It wasn't Level 1, was it?
Still, I'll use Durendal for all future attacks.
I don't know how many times I'd need to attack with the copper sword.
I remember Durendal had a HP absorption skill.
Maybe the pain will ease if I use Durendal to defeat enemies.
I placed the copper sword and the collected rabbit furs, then took out Durendal and moved on.
Slow Rabbit Lv1
There it is.
I approached the Slow Rabbit at a jog and swung Durendal.
The Slow Rabbit disappeared, leaving behind a rabbit fur.
The pain in my body eased.
I must have absorbed some HP. I don't think it's just a placebo effect.
If I hunt one or two more, I'll be fully recovered.
I returned to where I had placed the copper sword and the rabbit furs, then moved on to find more prey.
Slow Rabbit Lv1
It's Level 1, as expected.
The Slow Rabbit doesn't run away from humans and doesn't attack first. It's a very easy creature to fight. With Durendal, I can almost always land a preemptive strike and finish it in one hit.
I landed a preemptive strike and killed the creature in one hit.
The Slow Rabbit turned into smoke and disappeared.
This time, something other than fur was left behind.
Rabbit Meat
So this is rabbit meat.
It wouldn't be right to keep enjoying the village's hospitality, so I'll offer this as an ingredient for tonight's dinner at the village chief's house.
I have rabbit furs too, so I'll head back to the village.