Chapter 21

"Alright, this place will do."

About thirty minutes after entering the forest road, Tōru stopped after confirming that there was no sign of anyone around.

"What's up, Tōru? Gotta pee?"

"No, Mū. From here on, it's adventure time."

Sora, who had a serious expression, stepped forward as if to protect Mū. The girl with the staff surveyed the surroundings.

"First, we need to observe carefully... Sora and I. Alright, Tōru, whenever you're ready!"

"Calm down, Sora. There's nothing here."

In the silent forest, the only sound was the rustling of leaves as the wind blew through the trees. The sunlight filtering through the branches made the forest floor clearly visible, and there was no sign of movement. The atmosphere was so peaceful that one might mistake it for a suitable place for a stroll if they entered without knowing the forest's name. Indeed, Mū was already walking around the grassy area, enjoying the scenery.

"Hey, come here a bit."

"What is it, Tōru?"

The child, wearing sandals unsuitable for walking in the forest, ran over to Tōru with a happy step. Tōru patted the child's head, and Mū let out a chuckle without changing her expression.

"Can you make that tingling sensation now?"

"Sure, I can!"

Mū made a small fist, closed her eyes, and concentrated. After a moment, a group of small, purple electric currents, resembling snakes, ran across her body for an instant.

"Wow, what was that? It was so beautiful!"

"That's a magic technique called <Electric Thorns>. It automatically counters any attack."

While explaining to Sora, Tōru peeked at Mū's skill tree. He confirmed the name of the branch that extended diagonally from the purple trunk.

<Electric Thorns> — Counterattacks with electric thorns when attacked.

Level 1 / Uses per hour: 5 / Activation: Short / Duration: 5 minutes / Range: Self

Tōru then used <Restoration> to revert the branch to its original bump state. With the branch skill at Level 0, Mū's skill points, totaling 1,000, were returned to her water bottle.

This Level 0 branch bump is what is called talent. The skill points given at birth are concentrated on one of many bumps, determining a person's life. This cruelty might be proof of the divine.

The purple-eyed girl had three branch bumps. And there was one more extraordinary fruit growing inside Mū. To confirm its effect, Tōru focused on the root of the skill tree that harbored the blessing of the thunder god.

"Alright, now try to see through my eyes."

Suddenly ordered by Tōru, Mū, who had been in a good mood after being patted, shuddered. The child's purple eyes, looking up fearfully, were trembling with unease.

"Hey, you've done this before, right? What's wrong?"

"......Will you get mad?"

"No worries, I won't get mad. In fact, I'd appreciate it if you did."

"Really?"

"Yeah, so don't worry, Mū."

The child, who had never been called by her name before, suddenly overflowed with joy in her eyes. The moment Mū nodded, Tōru's vision was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange sensation. It felt as if someone was looking through his eyes, just like when he was first summoned to that alley.

At the same time, Mū let out a surprised voice.

"There's a weird tree growing on top of Mū's head!"

"Oh, it worked. Can you see something at the root of the tree?"

"What's this round thing?"

"That's your innate characteristic, <Sensory Sharing>."

<Sensory Sharing> — Share sensations and effects with the target.

Activation: Active / Effect: Large / Range: Perception

This was the mysterious phenomenon occurring around Mū. Based on the conversation, it might be the reason why the young girl lived with cats in the alley. Innate characteristics are hard to detect with a soul detector, and without knowing this, people around her might have found her creepy.

Tōru gently stretched Mū's cheeks with his other hand, loosening her underdeveloped facial muscles. The purple-eyed child slightly lowered her eyes, laughed in relief, and hugged Tōru's waist.

"Alright, let's move on. Can you see the three bumps on the lower part of the trunk?"

"Yep, I can see them!"

"Try to pour water into the middle bump."

"Like this, Tōru?"

Instinctively understanding, Mū poured skill points from her water bottle into the bump. A branch slowly extended toward the sky, and a new skill was born.

<Electric Detection> — Determine the direction and distance of nearby objects.

Level 1 / Uses per hour: 5 / Activation: Short / Duration: 5 minutes / Range: 50 steps

"Can you understand it?"

"What is this? Something weird grew!"

"Can you use it?"

"Leave it to me, Tōru!"

Mū made a small fist again, closed her eyes, and concentrated. A moment later, purple electric currents, resembling snakes, appeared from her golden hair and scattered in all directions.

"Hmm, I feel something unpleasant coming from that direction!"

"Shall we go check it out?"

"Wait, what's going on? Why can you suddenly use two magic techniques? I don't understand at all, Tōru."

With her hands raised in a "Yay" pose, Sora listened to Tōru's quick explanation as they moved.

"Wow, what's this! Mū, you're actually amazing...?"

"Tōru, over here. I can sense something here."

Mū pointed to a brown lump of mud stuck to the tree trunk. Tōru, carrying the child, handed her a knife and made her grip it firmly.

"Stab it and stir it around. Good job."

"Like this, Tōru!"

In a few seconds, the forest slime, its core destroyed, lost its shape. The liquid dripping from its body was caught by Sora, who was waiting with a snail in hand.

"Did you do a good job, Mū?"

"Yeah, it's great. This is more convenient than I thought... but it will be banned."

"Good job, Mū. I can't let my big sister fall behind."

The child, whose hair had been tousled by both of them, laughed happily again.

"Good job so far, but the next one is a bit tricky."

"Leave it to me, Tōru!"

"Alright, let's switch the branch again. Look at it."

While touching Mū's soft cheek, Tōru used <Restoration> to shorten the branch again.

"Try to enlarge the leftmost bump this time."

"Got it!"

Tōru watched Mū's skill tree with anticipation as she nodded energetically. The new branch that grew was named—

<Thunder Needles> — Enhance the body's transmission speed with lightning needles.

Level 1 / Uses per hour: 5 / Activation: Short / Duration: 5 minutes / Range: Self

"Can you do it, Mū?"

In response to Tōru's call, Mū closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Lightning!"

As she shouted, blue lightning needles appeared in the air, making a crackling sound. A moment later, they pierced Mū's body one after another. With blue needles protruding from various parts of her body, Sora hurriedly spoke.

"Whoa! Does it hurt? Tōru, is this okay?"

"No, it's fine. It feels strange, but I'm okay!"

"Seems fine. Try to avoid something."

Tōru, who had moved to a slightly distant spot, threw a small stone he had in his hand. Understanding the new game, Mū easily dodged by twisting her neck. Tōru, taking a step closer, threw a bit harder. Mū dodged that as well.

Tōru took another step closer and scattered small stones. The child, laughing, dodged the stones falling at different times. Tōru, from close range, quickly threw a stone with a wrist snap. Mū, who had been focused on the stones falling from above, deftly dodged the unexpected throw by twisting her body.

"Wow, you dodged that well... Mū."

Sora, surprised by the movements that a child under ten could never make, expressed her amazement.

"Mū... Mū has awakened to a new power!"

"Yeah, great job. Better than I expected."

Praised by Tōru, Mū jumped and pressed her head against his chest. Tōru, ruffling her hair, continued.

"Can you share that power with me, Mū?"

"Sure! How do I do it, Tōru?"

"Have you never tried the reverse?"

Currently, <Sensory Sharing> allows Mū to use Tōru's senses unidirectionally. However, if Mū's current state could be transmitted to Tōru, it would be a significant enhancement. This was an idea Tōru had when he caught Mū.

However, since Tōru doesn't have this characteristic, he couldn't answer Mū's question. Puzzled, Tōru recalled a conversation with Mū during the wait at the adventurer's bureau.

"By the way, you said <Electric Thorns> makes the itching go away, right?"

"Yeah, it's fine when it tingles."

This was probably because of the sensation of being bitten by insects. Indeed, when Tōru washed Mū, no fleas or lice appeared. The same was true for the two cats.

"Does the tingling sensation affect the cats too?"

"Together? Kuro and Shima are always together, Tōru."

"Yeah, that's it. Can you include Tōru in it?"

Mū's eyes sparkled at Tōru's words, calling himself "Tōru."

"Sure, Tōru is included too!"

The next moment, Tōru realized a change in his body. He was amazed that his body, which he thought was perfectly adjusted, moved even more smoothly.

However, there was one problem—

"Sorry, can you close your eyes for a moment?"

Confused by the sudden low view, Tōru realized he was seeing through Mū's eyes.

"Um, like this, Tōru?"

After Mū blinked a few times, Tōru's original view returned.

"Alright, that's good. ...Yeah, and can you also share your ears and nose? Just the <Thunder Needles> effect, Tōru."

"Hey, you're asking for a lot, Tōru!"

"Alright, perfect. Mū."

Praised again, Mū happily jumped. Tōru quickly moved behind her, picked her up, and threw her into the air.

Catching Mū, who was laughing, Tōru started walking down the forest road as if the task was done.

"Hey, wait! What about me? Am I not included?"

"Sora, it might be a bit too much for you right now."

"No, I can do it. Include me too, Mū."

"Tōru, I'm hungry!"

"Can't be helped. Here, have an apple."

Thanks to the efficient search using <Electric Detection> during the forest road journey, they managed to catch three forest slimes and two mole rats. As they ventured deeper into the forest, the combination of <Electric Detection> and <Thunder Needles> increased the frequency and speed of battles. Even though defeating a pair of goblins only earned one point, the situation was so intense that it didn't matter.

Despite a late start, they managed to eliminate over twenty goblin groups in a single day.