Chapter 14: The Daily Life of an Eight Year Old - The Worst of Being
The morning came without any night raids.
At the camp, I also have a guarding duty. I worked with Roland on the first day, Markant on the second day, and Danil last night. They become my vanguard is to protect me as well. And last night Danil was the only magician except for the brute Markant. As the son of a merchant, he had a wealth of knowledge. I took the opportunity to ask him many questions.
What I was particularly interested in was the magic book. I had already mastered the beginner level magic through Virgil's lectures, but the intermediate level and beyond are hard. Even if we do research and training, we should also consider magic books.
If you've got a lot of money, you'll be able to get a lot more than ten gold coins for a beginner's spellbook.
And that's just for the four elements and non-attribute spellbooks. You can find no such thing as freezing, lightning, or denaturation, and it is unknown if someone can create Holy or Necromantic magic, even at the beginner level. I want to learn the sacred attribute as soon as possible because it is in the lineage of recovery magic, but I also have some concerns. Most people who learn it are priests, and they have a strong faith in it. A temple with priests who can use sacred magic would be a quick way to learn, but is there a god or equivalent that will listen to our prayers? The little fat man said that the creator god only sees. It doesn't mean that there aren't other gods, but the whole thing gives me the impression of non-interference. For one thing, the little fat man is a god that exists, and as a result, he's taken care of us, but ...... worshipping him? I can't.
I'm not sure what to make of this. I've heard that they can be found in ancient ruins and dungeons, so if I get the chance, I'll try. Also, Danil warned me. Even if you acquire a spellbook and learn it, there are times when it doesn't work or consumes a huge amount of magic power. This has something to do with qualities. He seems to be telling me in a roundabout way that I should check my qualities, but I probably don't need to worry. I've mastered everything except sacred and mortal, and I'm not unskilled at any of them. I'm almost certain that the little fat man has given me qualities of all attributes. Maybe he's making me care for him in his way. I would at least revere him – I just can't.
After a light breakfast, we finished preparing to leave. The only thing left to do was to return to town.
On the first day we headed east, and the second day we started heading south. Our current location is roughly southeast of Reedwald. We would probably still be in the territory if we went west. But since it was a long way, we decided to go straight northwest.
At the head of the column was Markant, flanked by Roland and Valerie, with Danil acting as a guard. The scout, Ose is ahead of me, on the lookout for surprise attacks. For the past week, we've been moving in this formation. To be honest, when you are surrounded by adults. Your vision is blocked and your mobility is impaired. I asked them to at least put me in front of Danil, but they refused without a second thought.
Also, it was obvious that our luggage had changed since the first day. This was especially true for Roland and Marchant. In three days, we had defeated many demons and obtained a considerable amount of magic stones and materials. I'm not sure what to make of this. Aside from combat, it was a big deal that this did not impair their normal movements. Perhaps it's not just simple muscle strength, but also a knack in the way they carry their luggage and move their bodies. It seems that the subtleties of mastery are hidden in the most humble of places.
As I looked over at the two men carrying the large leather bags, I could sense their inexperience.
At Eras Rhino, I had accused the intruders of throwing away the meat. I had no right to do that. I had to be selective because the materials were too much for an overnight quest. In addition, the burden on me, as great as I sounded, was minimal. I've heard that there's a magical bag called the Telper's Bag that has increased storage capacity, so I'll add that to my goals. However, I was rude to the intruders. I'll apologize if I run into them anywhere. Let's see. ...... What's your name again?
As we proceeded, the forest of Leknod changed.
I noticed that the undulations decreased and the spaces between the trees became wider. It resembled the scenery of a day trip.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.
Without taking any particular rest, we continued on our way.
So far, we hadn't had any battles with demons. Occasionally, Ose would come back and adjust our direction of travel, apparently to avoid a less profitable battle. Besides, the encounter rate with demons decreases considerably when you get to this area. On the first day of the expedition, we had encountered goblins and Eras Rhino in the shallow areas, but originally, the grasslands had few demons due to the activities of adventurers and defeating parties, and the shallow areas of the forest were relatively safe even for beginners.
Wary of us, a squirrel runs up a thick trunk.
As I gazed up at the peaceful scene, another worry began to creep into my mind. Would we have enough money to make the armor? It was the last day of the trip, so I felt like I could make a little more money. When I asked Danil about it, he told me that it was enough. He's a skilled adventurer and the son of a merchant. It was the best guarantee I could get, but once I started thinking about it, I couldn't get it out of my head. I'm a commoner at heart, and I don't have a decent amount of savings myself. It would be too shameful to ask them to fund a gift for me. In the unlikely event that I don't have enough, I'll just come back to collect some herbs.
After a while, there were no more small animals in sight.
I wondered if we were close to the meadow.
Just as I was vaguely wondering if we were close to the grasslands, Ose came back without a sound.
"There are orcs ahead."
"How many?"
"Maybe three, five at the most."
"All right. Ose and Valerie will split up and surprise–no, ...... wait."
Suddenly, Markant fell silent.
His expression was somewhat stiff, and the other "Battle Axe of Destruction" saw it gave them a strange feeling of tension.
Roran and I nodded our heads. I'm not saying they're just orcs, but we've already eradicated more than 20 villages. There's no reason to be wary of five of them now, and I don't see any reason to be wary of Ose's report.
With a grim expression on his face, Markant suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.
"This kinda... bad!"
Before the muttering could fade, we quickly prepared ourselves.
There was something wrong.
What was that – a roar, or was it a scream?
As soon as a tremendous voice came from ahead, there was an abrupt silence. The drop was so great that for a moment I thought it was an auditory hallucination. We looked at each other, but only Marchant was staring straight ahead.
"You guys! Get out of here right now–"
Markant cut off his words and hurriedly set up his axe.
When Roland saw it, he lowered me, Danil and Valerie moved to the left and right, and Ose slipped into the shade of the tree while descending.
The treetops rustled.
Something big enough to shake the trees?
No way, it's not Eras Rhino again, is it?
The rustling of the leaves grows louder, and it appears, slithering. I couldn't believe my eyes.
I blinked a few times to make sure my vision wasn't going crazy.
"Hey, ......, what's that?"
What appeared was a wall three meters high and three meters wide.
The material is a light blue jelly. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it'll help.
"Tremble Cube!"
It was Roland who shouted.
I was still wondering about the unrealistic cube, even though turmoil has spread to "Battle Axe of Destruction".
"That's not good!"
"Retreat!"
The combination of Roland's shout and Marchant's instructions caused me to suddenly float. Roland grabbed me by the arm and started running.
The front and back of my body were reversed due to the spur-of-the-moment situation. It was my feet that were facing the direction of travel. As he ran off in the same formation, Markant, the vanguard, was the one who took the lead. I turned my gaze to the light blue cube swaying lazily ahead of me.
It was also a monster. It looked as if it had been cut out of a giant slime. It seems to be chasing us, but with its huge body and texture, it should be no problem. But something seems fishy.
I hurriedly activated my "appraisal".
Name: -.
Race: Tremble Cube
Level: 27
HP: 252/252
MP: 113/113
Ste: 14
Int: 1
Dex: 1
End: 34
Agi: 15 (16)
Charm: 1
Skills
Dissolve, Tentacle Arm, Slash Resistance 4, Strike Resistance 8, Water Resistance 8, Ice Resistance 2, Lightning Resistance 6
Magic
None
Title
Leader of the Forest
What's with this guy...?
It has several skills that are higher than Roland's. And it is resistant to abnormal physical strength. More than our number. More problematic is its 16 agility. I'm the only one who can surely shake off this guy, and if it's Ose, even with 15 agility, he may be able to escape with his evasive skill. Others are tough.
"Markant! It's impossible, it'll catch up!"
"Avoid–"
I heard someone's voice, but there was no time to check.
The trees were spewing smoke, the grass and flowers were losing their outline and crumbling.
White smoke curled up in all directions.
The impact of the fall had scattered bodily fluids from countless wounds.
The momentum of the spewing quickly diminished, but before I could catch my breath, a scream went up.
"Roland!"
Roland was cowering, holding his face.
His beloved shield had left his hand and was spewing smoke on the ground.
He was the only one heavily armed. The acid was being sprayed in all directions, and even his shield couldn't prevent it.
I don't know where it is sensing it, but tentacles are rushing towards Roland.
I activated my "Fast Movement" and swung my sword with all my speed to repel the tentacles.
"Someone get Roland!"
My words are cut off as my legs are pulled back.
A detached light blue tentacle tightens around my calf.
Is it still moving?
I inserted my sword between the armor and the tentacles, forcing it to swing free.
Why did it suddenly start moving? I'm sure it hadn't moved a muscle until just now.
This is not a coincidence. The Tremble Cube was looking for an opportunity to catch its prey. I underestimated it. A monster that the guild had warned me about was not going to be easy to defeat.
And intelligence includes education. Many wild animals are great hunters, and their intelligence is generally low. Being a good hunter has nothing to do with intelligence. It's up to the user, no matter how useful the "appraisal" is. What do you mean, "Stay alert"?
I kicked away the tentacles flailing at my feet.
My cheeks twitched as I looked up at the sound of someone calling my name.
Then, countless tentacles were covering all of my sides and a huge wall loomed into me.
An orc with no outline was pointing its black eye sockets at me.
Just as I realized my fate, the orc swayed as if urging me to do something.
What appeared from the shadows caught my attention.
A dark blue sphere.
Is that a nucleus?
I immediately unleashed my magic. It doesn't matter what it is. Anyway, the power to blow it up.
I activated the "Earth Bolt". I shot it over and over again.
The "Earth Bolts" that pierced the wall one after the other became like spears and flicked the nucleus out of his body.
However, the wall did not stop.
The tentacles spread out and squeezed to envelop me.
There was a presence behind me. Someone is rushing towards Roland.
If I avoided it, Roland and the others would be swallowed – or even if they were. They'll swallow me, and they'll attack behind me. I have to control this thing somehow.
All of my vision turns light blue, and my thoughts blur.
I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.
Intense pressure and shock me from feet to my entire body.
My world was enveloped in darkness.
Slowly, my thoughts returned to normal.
I stifled a breath and looked around.
It's pitch black. I can't see a thing.
Am I dead again?
No? I'm alive, at least?
I was supposed to be swallowed by .......
No matter where I moved my body, it immediately collided with something. I moved my fingertips and searched carefully.
This feeling is earth. Is this – is this under the ground?
I heard the sound of something creaking and a human voice. I turn my head and see a light as short as a strand of hair. I put my face fearfully close to the gap and finally understood what was going on.
I'm inside the Tremble Cube.
A wall of earth separates me from the light blue world. Through it, I could see Markant's figure.
What the hell just happened?
I can feel my magic power through the wall of earth.
Is this the Earth Shield?
But I've never heard of one that covers your entire body. It's just magic that creates an earth shield. As I slid my hand down, I could see the bumps in places. It seems that several shields are overlapping each other. If I look under my feet the shields have been assimilated as if they grew out of the ground.
As I let my mind wander, someone moves behind the light blue.
Roland opened his big mouth and was about to jump in. Markant was desperately trying to restrain him.
If he can move that much, he's not seriously injured. As I was relieved, I saw Valerie out of the corner of my eye. She was desperately swinging her sword down. Arua Sero is covered with a water blade again. But it seems impossible for her to reach me.
When I turned my attention back to the scene, I saw that Markant was now trying to jump in, but Danil and Ose were holding him back. Why are they fighting over the order? What's that guy doing?
The sight of them naturally brought a smile to my face.
I can't go on like this forever. It's only a matter of time before those two idiot vanguards jump in.
I took a deep, thin, slow breath.
Perhaps now I'm in a stake sticking out of the earth. Either it knows the food is hidden there, or no large mass can pass through. Either way, I was able to hold off the assault of the Tremble Cube. And this thing can't dissolve dirt. At least not easily. Otherwise, it would not be able to move through the earth, and it would sink forever. What it is good at is the biological mass.
Still, it would not last long. The creaking sound is getting louder and louder. Is it the pressure, or is it simply digesting the organic matter in the soil? Whatever it is, the shield will collapse in a few minutes.
I stroked the surface of the pile.
Countless shields, huh? An impossible phenomenon under normal circumstances. But once it happens, I can imagine it.
I opened the status and chuckled.
I knew it. Then there's only one thing to do.
I fired an "Earth Bolt" over Valerie's head as she continued to swing her sword.
Valerie jumped back, surprised by the earthen arrow that suddenly came out of nowhere.
You get the idea.
Comparing the huge stake and the earth arrow, Valerie quickly moved away. Then she shouts to everyone. Roland and Marlant seemed to argue with her, but Valerie gave them a shove and they reluctantly moved away.
We're all set now.
Now, Tremble Cube.
If you're that hungry, I'll feed you my full magical power.
