Translator: Cryus Editor: Weasalopes
We're moving forward on the wastelands scattered with rolling stones.
I got Helix to fly low for scouting.
It would be difficult for him to spot any Rock Worms otherwise.
Oh well, I guess it can't be helped.
We ran into Rock Worms next.
There were only 2 of them.
Since I've already figured out thow to deal with them, it went without a hitch.
Senki grabbed one of them and performed a body slam.
I finished the other monster with a Force Bullet.
I don't know if the Rock Worms called their allies during the fight, but there's one more coming in. Senki finishes it off with a ground slam.
That was really disappointing.
No, I guess it's a normal situation compared to the swarm of Rock Worms we fought earlier.
I'd rather fight them when they're few in number.
I really should pray for more luck.
This can't be the only monster. It's the same with every area.
Helix has spotted something flying towards our direction.
It's coming from the direction of the forest.
It's flying at a low altitude.
It's trying to ambush us from behind, slightly towards the right.
Unfortunately for it, we already know it's coming.
I still can't see it from this distance.
But Helix can clearly track its movements.
It's probably a bird of some kind.
There's approximately 10 seconds before the enemy comes into contact. I turn around.
It's now within eyesight.
It's a bird, right?
It's kind of colorful and flashy though.
I【Identify】it. It is an avian monster indeed.
Fire-Eater Parakeet Lv.2
Monster Enemy Target Active
Uh.
It's a little too huge for a parakeet.
It's slightly bigger than Helix.
Shouldn't they call it a parrot instead of a parakeet?
It's mostly blue, red, and white in color, with a little bit of black and yellow thrown into the mix. It's turning around in midair and aiming for me.
I'm getting ready for its attack.
Helix is attacking the monster.
His first attack only grazed the parakeet's wings, but he quickly redoubled his attacks and sank his talons into its wings.
His acrobatic feats are amazing.
His speed and maneuverability are something else.
He really is agile.
The monster lost its balance and fell to the ground.
Helix is still clinging onto its wings.
Even while the monster is trying to peck him at point blank range, Helix still manages to evade its attacks.
It's incredible.
Senki and I are dashing toward the monster.
The monster spat something at us.
I didn't know what it was at first.
It took me some time before I started feeling a burning sensation on my skin.
I'm probably lucky that I kept running towards it.
The monster has broken free from Helix's grasp.
But that was the moment when Senki and I grabbed onto its wings.
The parakeet is pointing its beak towards me.
Its beak is thick, short, and strong.
Something has landed on the monster's head.
It's Rig.
He's completely covered the monster's head.
The monster can no longer attack me.
With our grip on its wings still tight, Senki and I are hitting it without fear of retaliation.
There's no way the situation can turn to its advantage now.
It's an overwhelming victory for us.
Its fire attacks didn't cause much damage.
To everyone except Rig, that is.
His HP has been reduced to almost half.
It was too much for him.
I knew that Slimes were weak to fire, but I didn't know it was this bad.
Since he was clinging onto Senki's back, the attack shouldn't have hit him straight on.
I should be more careful next time.
I got the usual item drop from the parakeet in the form of its wings.
【Material】Richly Colored Wings Raw Material Grade C+ Rarity 3 Weight 1
The wings of a Fire-Eater Parakeet. Used for accessories.
Hmm.
This is tricky.
I don't think I have a lot of luck with accessories, right?
I'm using potions to heal myself, Helix, and Senki.
Only Helix is fully recovered, while Senki and I have about 90% HP now.
It's a problem when it comes to Rig.
Will potions work on him?
I guess I just have to try.
Rig has curled up into a ball, leaving a small depression on top.
I'm pouring the potion onto the depression.
Good.
The potion is healing him.
I don't know how it works though.
Well, it's a game.
I shouldn't think too much about it.
Rig's HP is now over 80%.
This should be fine for now.
Maybe after a few fights, it'll be worth using a potion to fully heal him.
I'll head further south.
I think the chances of getting attacked by the same monster are higher if we stay close to the forest.
Through Helix, I can see a few parakeets flying above the trees in the forest.
It doesn't look like they're going to attack us, but it's better to stay on guard.
I'd prefer to keep my distance from the forest if possible.
But it's only expanding in front of us.
We'll be back in the volcanic region after a while.
We don't have a choice.
We'll just have to cut through the forest.
It's dark here even though it's the daytime.
And we have to watch our step with the thicket over here.
Helix is resting on my shoulder.
I can see a few parakeets in the distance, although it doesn't seem like they're going to attack us.
Can I make it through without fighting?
Nope.
We're being attacked by a different type of monster.
They're a group of rather idiosyncratic monsters.
They're slightly larger than the average human.
Besides the loincloths they're wearing, they're basically naked.
A few of them are holding crude spears in their hands.
But most of them are equipped with clubs.
Or rather, they're simply holding tree branches.
Their faces look like pigs.
No, that would be an insult to pigs.
They look similar, although they're far uglier than pigs.
They clearly look evil.
Using【Identify】on them only confirms the obvious.
Orc Lv.3
Monster Enemy Target Active
That's the strongest of the group.
Orcs, huh.
They're standard monsters in a game.
This means I can fight them without holding back, right?
There are 8 of them.
I'm standing on tall grass, which isn't flat ground.
But I still have hope.
Recently, I've been fighting bothersome monsters without much of a reward. I need to vent my frustration.
Since these monsters are almost as large as humans, it's perfect for me.
I put down my rod and equip my tonfas instead.
Senki just punched the closest Orc in the face, sending it flying.
He's continuing the assault on the other Orcs.
I'm joining in on the assault.
One of the Orcs is attacking me with a club. I managed to avoid it by turning my body sideways.
I deliver an elbow strike to the temporal region of its head.
I can feel the lingering sensation of the tonfa cracking its skull.
The Orc has become Unconscious just from that attack.
It's weak.
Too weak.
It's not dead yet.
But since the attack cut its HP by half, it must have been enough to render it Unconscious.
What about the next Orc?
As I predicted, it's making a downward swing with its club.
Their combat style really is crude.
I pin down its wrist with one tonfa and use my right knee to kick upwards, aiming for its elbow.
I don't need to exert any force.
I'm only relying on momentum and timing.
That's enough to break its elbow.
「Eeeeeeeeee!」
Its shriek is shrill and grating.
I'm striking its throat with my left tonfa in order to silence it, literally and figuratively.
I'm following up with a strike to its belly using my right tonfa.
It's toppled onto the ground from that simple attack.
Come on, Orcs. Put up a better fight.
After hitting its head with my tonfas a few times, the toppled Orc has died.
Onto the next one.
I'm going for the Orc that has its spear pointed towards Senki.
I quickly close the distance between us and kick it to stop its movements.
Its attention is directed toward me now.
I wish it would stop looking at me.
I can smell its bad breath.
Still gripping onto my tonfas, I wrap my arms around its neck in a lock.
I don't have a reason for holding the tonfa on the left, but I'm pushing the one on the right against its throat.
What happens if I strangle it like this?
I put my right fist against its cheeks and push my head against the Orc's, suffocating it further.
There's a whistling or wheezing sound coming from the Orc.
Even though it's struggling, its strength is starting to fade.
I'm not going to stop at making it become Unconscious.
Sensing that its strength has gone, I twist and break its neck.
I had to use my body weight for that.
I'm assessing the situation while enjoying the sound of the Orc's bones breaking.
Senki has brutally slaughtered 4 Orcs.
Rig is smothering an Orc to death.
I've killed 3 Orcs.
No, wait.
One of them is just Unconscious.
I wrap my arms around its neck and twist it.
The Orc's head is now at a warped angle.
It looks so strange, it's almost funny.
Senki is dragging the corpse of the furthest Orc towards me.
「Gehe!」
He looks happy, but it's too bad we can't communicate.
Oh well, I'll let it slide since he's done a great job.
The clubs and spears, which the Orcs had equipped, are only Grade E.
No thanks.
I'm using my Survival Knife for the item drops, but there's only one.
But it looks pretty good.
Here's the【Appraise】result.
【Material】Iolite Grade C+ Rarity 2 Weight 0+
Also known as a water sapphire. An ultramarine gem.
Not particularly scarce or valuable, but known for its ability to aid in magic spells after enhancement.
Why the hell do Orcs carry gems around?
This doesn't make sense.
But now I have a good reason to fight these monsters.
I should hunt them down without reservation.
Even as we're about to leave the forest, we've encountered more Orcs.
There are 10 of them this time.
Perfect.
All your gems are belong to us!
The higher you fly, the harder you fall.
Don't do this to me.
My expectations have been betrayed. There are no item drops.
And I went out of my way to wipe them all out.
Isn't this just like a rigged lottery?
I really get the feeling that the GMs are playing a prank on me through the game settings.
I leave the forest, and step foot on the wasteland once again.
I got Helix to fly and scout the area. He's already spotted some monsters.
They're Rock Worms.
But it looks like there are more than 10 of them.
Since we're still a little far away from the monsters, we can still circumvent them.
But an opportunity shouldn't be overlooked.
I'll hunt them down.
It happened again.
I didn't get any item drops.
We destroyed 17 Rock Golems in total.
Some of them called their allies, but it wasn't a problem for us.
Enchanted Weapon and Force Bullet did the trick.
We healed all of the damage we took using potions.
《【Earth Magic】Level Up!》
《【Dust Magic】Level Up!》
《【Lava Magic】Level Up!》
《【Steam Magic】Level Up!》
They've all leveled up at once.
But for some reason, I'm a little upset.
Damn you Rock Worms.
Where are your item drops?
Still upset, I continue walking forward.
Unlike the other areas, exploration hasn't been going too well here.
It has nothing to do with the convenience of riding on Zangetsu.
I don't see the Area Portal anywhere.
The wasteland is stretching across the horizon.
It's so monotone that it's starting to get depressing.
Helix has spotted something.
Out of every possible scenario…
More Rock Worms.
But it's not just those monsters.
It looks like someone is running away from them.
I get close enough to get a better idea of what's going on.
There are red markers everywhere.
Just how many are there?
In front of them is a single green marker.
Just one.
This is bad.
What should I do?
What the hell should I do?
I've decided to fight them.
I cast Enchanted Weapon on myself, Senki, and Helix while approaching the monsters.
I guess I don't have to bother using it on Rig.
I've also cast Physical Enchant: Wind on Senki to boost his AGI.
Helix is executing the first strike.
He's diving straight towards the green marker.
I'm following right behind him.
Senki is much faster than me. He's already charged straight into the swarm.
Rig is still clinging onto Senki's back.
Hmm.
Is it really okay to leave him alone?
I can see the swarm of Rock Worms scattering a little.
I'm getting rid of a few Rock Worms coming my way using my rod.
I'm also using Force Bullet in conjunction with my melee attacks.
Whether they're attacking or simply moving, these monsters just like to jump.
As long as I pay attention to their movements, it's not too difficult to evade their attacks.
But there's a lot of them.
I'm trying to sidestep a few of them at once, but it's proving to be a little difficult.
Some of their attacks were a little dangerous, but I managed to fight them without receiving any fatal wounds.
Of course, I'm saving a player from a tough predicament.
But I'll be honest.
I was thinking of my own benefit too.
If I defeat all of these Rock Worms, I'll probably get at least one item drop, right?
It's probably been about 5 minutes since we started fighting the Rock Worms.
They're starting to decrease in number.
That's probably including the monsters that were called halfway during the battle.
We've caught up with the player who's been running away.
He looks exhausted.
He looks like a Fighter.
He's probably a tank.
He's holding a large shield.
And even the shield is in bad shape.
「T-thanks!」
「Save your thanks for later!」
I continue slaying the monsters that are converging on the Fighter.
It's not a good time to talk.
Since this is a state of emergency, I'll just【Identify】the player first.
Goudi Lv.7
Fighter In Combat
「What happened to your friends?」
「They ran away first!」
His attacks are hitting the monsters, but it's not enough to defeat them.
He's not even doing any damage.
「How are you defeating them? We couldn't do anything without offensive spells.」
「You can if you use Enchanted Weapon! Hold your ground for now!」
I cast Enchanted Weapon on him.
While waiting for the spell to finish, I'm slaying a few monsters in our way.
Goudi has taken a defensive stance, but he barely has 20% of his HP left.
I hope I can make it.
「Enchanted Weapon!」
Goudi is joining the fight while testing the effects of the spell.
His main weapon is a mace.
He's taken out a monster with a single swing.
He's using his shield to bash a Rock Worm that's jumping onto him. It's dead.
He looks amazed, even though he should focus on fighting right now.
「Fire Heal!」
Now his HP is at about 40%.
But that's where I slipped up.
I couldn't evade one of the Rock Worms.
I blocked the attack with my rod unintentionally.
I've been using my enhanced rod to defeat the monsters, but now…
It's broken in half.
I don't have enough time to equip my tonfas.
I'm using my fists to fend off the Rock Worms.
I'm starting to get nervous since I'm a lot closer to them.
At least I can defeat a Rock Worm after punching it twice.
Kicking them isn't really a problem, but it's going to be difficult if I accidentally use a Leg Sweep.
Seeing that the situation has settled down a little, I equip my tonfas.
Even though I've been using them as sub weapons, Enchanted Weapon seems to have affected them as well.
I can kill them with one tonfa strike.
This will help kill the Rock Worms faster.
How long did it take for us to wipe out the monsters?
I think it took about 10 minutes.
There are literally heaps of dead worms.
Getting all of the item drops is going to be tough.
《【Ice Magic Level Up!】》
《You have learned the【Ice Magic】spell: Resist Ice!》
《You have learned the【Ice Magic】spell: Skating!》
《You have learned the【Ice Magic】spell: Freeze Bullet!》
《【Tree Magic】Level Up!》
《You have learned the【Tree Magic】spell: Resist Tree!》
《You have learned the【Tree Magic】spell: Forest Walk!》
《You have learned the【Tree Magic】spell: Branch Arrow!》
《【Dual Wield】Level Up!》
《Your Summon Monster【Rig】has leveled up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
Okay, I've gained a level in Ice Magic and Tree Magic and learned a few spells.
But I should focus on Rig first.
His DEX has already been increased.
I'm going to add a point into STR.
Rig Slime Lv2→Lv3（↑1）
DEX 12（↑1）
AGI 6
INT 6
STR 6（↑1）
VIT 8
SPI 5
Skills
Dissolve Shapeshift Viscosity Surface Tension Nullify Physical
I didn't think he would level up so soon.
And where the hell is he, anyway?
I see Senki coming towards me.
Never mind.
Rig is with him.
He's been passing off as Senki's armor all along.
He's pretty smart.
I guess it's only natural that he's barely taken any damage.
Senki has lost about 20% of his HP.
I thought he would've taken more damage.
「Thank you so much for your help. I'm Goudi, and I'm a Fighter.」
「I'm Keith, a Summoner.」
「Um, are you that Summoner who made it to the tournament finals, by any chance?」
「Huh?」
「Huh?」
Oh.
I barely paid any attention to it, but I think they publicized the videos of the tournament finals.
I didn't think I'd be recognized like this.
「Uh, never mind that. What did you mean when you said your friends ran away?」
「It's a little embarrassing…」
He looks really angry.
Oops.
It seems like it's going to be a sad story.
Goudi and I are collecting the item drops using our Survival Knives, while Senki is gathering the monsters' corpses into a huge pile.
I'll listen to his story while we're at it.
Protagonist Keith
Race Human Male Racial Lv9
Job Summoner Lv8
Bonus Points Remaining 6
Skill Sets
Staff Lv7 Punch Lv4 Kick Lv5 Joint Lock Lv4 Throw Lv4
Evade Lv5 Block Lv4 Summon Magic Lv9 Time Magic Lv2
Light Magic Lv4 Wind Magic Lv5 Earth Magic Lv5（↑1）Water Magic Lv4
Fire Magic Lv4 Dark Magic Lv4 Ice Magic Lv3（↑1）Lightning Magic Lv2
Tree Magic Lv3（↑1）Dust Magic Lv2（↑1）Lava Magic Lv2（↑1）
Steam Magic Lv2（↑1）
Alchemy Lv5 Pharmacy Lv4 Glassmaking Lv3 Woodworking Lv4
Cooperation Lv6 Appraise Lv6 Identify Lv6 Discern Lv2 Cold Resistance Lv3
Grab Lv6 Horsemanship Lv6 Precise Manipulation Lv6 Jump Lv3
Heat Resistance Lv3 Climb Lv3 Dual Wield Lv4（↑1）
Physical Fortification Lv2 Mental Fortification Lv3 Speedcasting Lv4
Equipment Kaya Wood Rod ×1 Kaya Wood Tonfas ×2 Snow Leopard Push Daggers ×3
Wild Horse Leather Armor+ Snow Ape Armguard Wild Horse Boots+
Snow Ape Leather Helmet Rabid Horse Belt+ Rucksack Item Box ×2
Items Survival Knife Woodworking Toolset
Titles Old Summoner's Pupil, Guardian of the Forest, Man of the Middle Path
Spell Archive
Monster Summons
Volff Wolf Lv7
Zangetsu Horse Lv5
Helix Hawk Lv5
Obsidian Owl Lv4
Jean Bat Lv4
Jericho Wood Golem Lv3
Goki Demon Lv3
Senki Beast Ape Lv3
Rig Slime Lv2→Lv3（↑1）
DEX 12（↑1）
AGI 6
INT 6
STR 6（↑1）
VIT 8
SPI 5
Skills
Dissolve Shapeshift Viscosity Surface Tension Nullify Physical
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