CH 28

Two weeks after eating an orc’s heart and collapsing, I’ve finally mastered [Step].

However, the material is not as flexible as it used to be; it is now stiff and hard.

The surface is barely uneven to prevent slipping, but as someone who knows how comfortable [Step] used to be, I find the level of workmanship completely unsatisfactory.

The reason why I mastered [Step] as soon as possible is that there is no one who goes to gather medicinal herbs.

No, to be precise, there are those who go out to gather medicinal herbs.

However, since they are not used to it like I am, they don’t know where the medicinal herbs grow deep in the mountains and there is a risk of being attacked by monsters or beasts, so there is an absolute shortage of medicinal herbs.

With my various spells imbalanced, it is very dangerous for me to go into the mountains now.

For this reason, I wanted to be able to use only the most useful, [Step] to protect myself.

The Forest Mouse trap is going as well as ever.

I realized that I could make the capture cage the same size as before by increasing the strength of the [Cage].

As for body enhancement magic, it’s still useless.

If I don’t learn to adjust the degree of reinforcement, rather than choosing between “to reinforce” and “not to reinforce,” I feel as if my body will break down if I misuse the magic even just a little bit.

Even so, I have to keep practicing, even if only by accident, both void attribute magic and body enhancement magic every day.

Perhaps a child at the level of being scouted by a knighthood might have the same problems as I do now, right from the start.

Mr. Zeol is still teaching me how to do staff arts.

My base ability should not have declined, but my [Step] is not in its best shape, so my overall ability has declined.

“There, there, if you only worry about your feet, you’ll neglect your upper body.” (Zeol)

“Ugh… Kuh…” (Nyango)

“Don’t look down, face forward, let’s go!” (Zeol)

“Haa, haa… guhaa!” (Nyango)

Even after Mr. Zeol’s staff hit my head, after writhing in pain, I gritted my teeth and stood up.

After experiencing magic element rampage, I was reminded that there is no easy way to become strong.

I have to get up and walk on my own feet, even if I get knocked down and left crawling on the ground.

By the time I finished my hand-to-hand combat with Mr. Zeol, I could barely stand.

“All right, that’s enough for today. Go home and get some rest.” (Zeol)

“Thank you.” (Nyango)

“Nyango, tomorrow I will drop Miguel off at Ibouro, do you want to come?” (Zeol)

“No, I’m too useless to you right now.” (Nyango)

“Yes, I understand.” (Zeol)

I must confess that I enjoy going to the city of Ibouro.

There are dishes you can’t eat in Atsuka village, and maybe Mr. Zeol will take me to the tavern.

But that is just imitating an adventurer, like a student being led by Mr. Zeol.

To be able to walk on my own two feet as a full-fledged adventurer, I need to be able to handle magic well, no better than before.

For the next month, I spent my time picking medicinal herbs, catching Forest Mouse, and training in staff arts and magic.

My control of magic was still far from perfect, but I had found a shortcut.

If, in addition to my main magic, I activate another magic and consume magic elements, that way I can use magic at the same level as before.

Specifically, with void magic, I would make full armor and put it on, and consume the magic element.

Arms, upper arms, shoulders, chest, abdomen, back, thighs, shins, face, parts that could be called full armor, with gory intensity, I was finally able to make flexible parts.

If I can continue to reduce the number of armor parts piece by piece and still be able to control the magic, I will be able to become better than before.

By the way, when I tried making a [Shield] that was strong enough, it didn’t break even when Mr. Zeol used his sword to slash it.

Even if there is an enemy who slashes at me with a sword, I will be fine if I wear armor, and a shield made of the same material.

Two more weeks passed, and at the end of May, I received a job offer from the village head via Mr. Zeol.

“Nyango, it’s a wild boar hunt.” (Zeol)

“The fields to the west, yes. I heard a bit about it when I went to catch some Forest Mouse.” (Nyango)

“If it’s convenient for you, we’ll do a stakeout starting tonight.” (Zeol)

“Then, I will tell them I am not coming home for a while.” (Nyango)

Originally, wild boars inhabit the mountains surrounding Atsuka Village, but from time to time, a few of them appear to ravage the village’s fields.

This time, one of them began raiding a field on the west side of the village about five days ago.

Once they ravage the crops, they get a taste of how easy it is to get food, and at night they come down from the mountains to the village.

For farmers, this is a matter of life and death.

Nocturnal wild boars hide somewhere in the mountains during the daytime.

In some cases, all the villagers work together to hunt them, but it is not always possible to successfully hunt them out.

The reason why requests come to me and Mr. Zeol is because we can use body enhancement magic and have good night vision.

We know the general direction in which the boars will appear, so our strategy is to ambush them and take them out.

I take a nap from afternoon to evening and arrive at our post at sunset.

At this time, I sprinkle a lot of grass juice on our bodies.

I am a catkin, but the smell of Mr. Zeol, a tigerkin, might alert the boars.

“Mr. Zeol, do you mind if I keep an eye out from above?” (Nyango)

“Hmm? Oh, that’s a good idea. I bet the boars don’t think they’re being watched from the sky.” (Zeol)

“Mr. Zeol…” (Nyango)

“What?” (Zeol)

“If it’s possible, may I try to kill them?” (Nyango)

“Oh, can you do it?” (Zeol)

“Maybe……” (Nyango)

Mr. Zeol thought for a moment and then relaxed his cheeks with a grin.

“Good, give it a try.” (Zeol)

“Yes, let’s see who finishes first…” (Nyangfo)

“That’s funny. Good one, Nyango. Life has to be this way.” (Zeol)

Mr. Zeol and I bump our fists together and then split up to our respective positions.

Mr. Zeol hid in the meadow that borders the village and the mountains, while I used [Step] to look down on the fields from a height of about 10 meters above the ground.

On this day, the moon was in its last quarter, and the sky was covered with thin clouds, so the visibility was not good.

“I should try that…” (Nyango)

I tried to use the detection magic that I had been practicing for a long time.

Along the border between the village and the mountains, I made a wall of solidified air into particles that would break if touched.

Now, even if they come out from a blind spot, they will not be missed.

The night in Atsuka village is early.

Because of the waste of magic stones and oil for light, all the houses go to bed as soon as the sun goes down.

There are no streetlights in the village, and once the house lights go out, they have to rely on moonlight and starlight.

For ordinary people who cannot use body enhancement magic, it is a world of near-total darkness.

“Here it comes…” (Nyango)

It was nearly midnight when the boar appeared.

It seemed to have set its sights on the potato fields further north than the ones it had been raiding so far.

“Huge…” (Nyango)

Even at a quick glance, it looks to be about two meters long and weighs more than 300 kilograms.

First, to cut off the path of the wild boar that had entered the field, I lined spears along the border with the mountains.

The spears were placed at 30, 60, and 90 centimeters above the ground, with 30-centimeter intervals for a distance of 10 meters.

I was also prepared to place additional spears at any time.

Once ready, I used [Step] to pass over the boar and drive it in from the other side of the spear.

“What are you doing, you bastard!” (Nyango)

Suddenly shouting out of the darkness, the wild boar jumped up and fled toward the mountains.

I immediately run after the wild boar.

“Oiiink! Oiiink, oiiink!” (Wild Boar)

The spears I had made before would have broken and dissipated as soon as the boar struck them, but now it pierced the boar, and couldn’t even twitch.

I erased all the spears except the one that had pierced the boar and repositioned them so that they surrounded the boar.

“Oiiink, oiiink, oiiink!” (Wild Boar)

As the wild boar rampages, spears pierce it here and there, and blood drips down.

“Well, I should stop this…” (Nyago)

What I made was a wide spear that I could put my weight on.

I put my foot on it and jumped down from a height of about three meters, aiming at the boar’s thick neck.

“Bukyiii……” (Wild Boar)

Just after I felt the spear pierce and gouge flesh, I flew outside of the spear barricade surrounding the boar and landed on the grass.

The boar is flailing about, splattering bewailing blood from its severed neck, but it is unable to escape from the encirclement of spears.

“Nyango, you got it!” (Zeol)

“Yes, it’s only a matter of time!” (Nyango)

Mr. Zeol rushed in with spear in hand and nodded widely as he saw the boar, now covered in blood, weakening with every second.

“You’ve done well, Nyango! If you can take down such a big game by yourself, you’ll be a full-fledged hunter.” (Zeol)

“Mr. Zeol, it’s not dead yet, you’ll have to relax later.” (Nyango)

“Hahahahaha, you got this one.” (Zeol)

The village houses lit up and villagers peeked out, probably because the boar’s screams had echoed through the village.

“Hey, it’s all right, we got the boar!” (Zeol)

Mr. Zeol called out loudly, and the houses waved their lights and shouted with joy.

To kill a wild boar is not only to protect the fields but also to provide a feast for the village.

“The star of tomorrow’s celebration will be you, Nyango.” (Zeol)

“I don’t care about being the star of the celebration, but I do want to eat some good food.” (Nyango)

“Yeah, tomorrow I’ll have the village chief open his treasured liquor.” (Zeol)

In front of Mr. Zeol, who stroked his chin in a good mood at the thought of tomorrow’s feast, the boar ran out of energy, its knees buckled, and died.