Chapter 25

"......This is going to be more troublesome than I thought."

Toll looked up at the moss-covered stone wall and muttered to himself. The wall was about three times his height, making the top completely out of reach. And its length, at a rough estimate, was over several hundred steps.

The stones, exposed to the elements for years, had weathered and become quite fragile. Within his line of sight, several sections had already fallen off, and there were numerous cracks.

Toll's work today, which should have been a day off, was to repair this stone wall. The cause of this task was the visit of the town elder, Dadan.

A few days ago, the town elder had accidentally left his hair untrimmed, but on that day, he ended up staying at Deputy Director Sakkou's house. After enjoying his fluffy hairstyle for a whole day, he came to Toll's boarding house this morning. Dadan, whose head had returned to its original state, immediately bowed his now hairless head.

"Sorry, but could you do me a favor?"

Dadan's request was to repair the severely damaged parts of the outer wall. If he were to ask the temple of the earth god Gaidaros, it would cost several dozen gold coins. However, it seemed that the budget was not easily approved.

The town had not been directly threatened by monsters for nine years. The memory of that time had already faded, and the number of residents who felt a sense of crisis was decreasing. The lax appearance of the gate guards clearly showed that they believed their job was no more than a scarecrow. There were many opinions that it would be better to raise the salaries of the staff or allocate funds to more beneficial public works rather than repair the town walls, which were rarely attacked.

"Sure, but if we do it openly, it might cause problems, so it will only be a temporary fix."

"Great, I appreciate it. Our main force is currently on an expedition to Bossaria, and I have a bad feeling about it. Also, a few minor reports have come in."

It was difficult to refuse someone who had done him a favor and was now bowing to him. Toll, unconsciously scratching under his chin, listened as Dadan continued with a serious expression.

"I know it's a shameless request, but I can't afford to be proud when it comes to protecting the people of this town."

"I was the one who insisted, so don't worry about it."

"I'm relieved to hear that..."

And so, Toll spent his day walking around the base of the wall instead of entering the forest. As a personal favor, his reward was a debt to the town elder and a few magic stones that Dadan had previously used.

One of them was...

"Hey, Tō-chan, I'm going to check it out, so don't go too far, okay?"

"Got it!"

Muu's voice, though still expressionless, was filled with the utmost cheerfulness. This was because the child was riding a newly <Restored> and shiny transport sled. Not a wooden one that could be rented from the trading post, but a custom-made one of pure silver. Due to the material used, it was light enough for a child to carry under their arm, and its design was sleek with many curves. Muu was particularly fond of the emblem of the multi-headed snake, the dungeon master Dadan had defeated.

"I'm going to be the wind now!"

Muu had been running back and forth along the wall, shouting this for a while.

Toll, once again looking at the stone wall, considered where to start. The stone wall, shaped like a large horseshoe facing east, surrounded the town. The outer gate was located at the iron head of the horseshoe, and just one step outside, the Goblin Forest spread out before them. The inner side had a large main gate that connected to the road behind the town.

The town was divided into an outer and inner district, separated by a moat and a bridge. The bridge was designed to be dropped immediately if the outer wall was breached by monsters.

The outer district had many buildings related to the Adventurer's Guild, while the inner district was the residential area for the general population and the temples of the six major gods. The only exception was the temple of the fire god Rapharit, which was located in the outer district due to its doctrine. For the residents who did not possess martial or magical skills, the adventurers and guards who hunted monsters and protected the town were heroes, but perhaps they did not want to call them good neighbors.

Shaking his head slightly, Toll dismissed the thoughts that came to mind. The power he had gained should be used for his own desires. As long as it did not inconvenience others, that was fine. This was Toll's philosophy.

After a quick inspection, Toll decided to start with the severely damaged north side. He touched the stone wall to verify the effects of <Restoration>. First, he confirmed the repair range. If there was no history of involvement with monsters, it would not be a target of the skill. Fortunately, due to the "Great Outbreak" in the past, the wall could be restored to a state from quite a long time ago.

However, it was not possible to <Restore> the entire wall at once. This was likely due to the limits of Toll's perception. He tentatively touched a large crack and restored it to a state from about ten years ago.

Satisfied with the neatly sealed wall, Toll looked at the adjacent section and frowned. The difference was clearly visible, as if a line had been drawn.

"This will probably be noticed..."

Although he did not think anyone would come to such a place, it was not desirable for it to be immediately apparent. Looking up at the restored stone wall, Toll decided to switch to a more gradual repair method.

"One section at a time—"

He limited the restoration to the parts of the wall that were severely crumbling and tried to <Restore> them to their original state. The targeted section was beautifully repaired, and Toll's lips curved slightly in satisfaction.

It was impossible to completely restore large sections, but he managed to fill in holes and cracks nicely. However, this method quickly depleted the number of available uses.

"This makes me want <Target Dispersion>."

<Target Dispersion> was a characteristic that allowed the user to aim at multiple targets when using a magic skill. The effect was reduced due to the dispersion, but with practice, it was possible to burn or slash several monsters at once. It was a highly coveted characteristic for magic users.

There was no point in wishing for what he did not have, so Toll decided to try a method he had been experimenting with recently.

This was a method he had been trying to improve for a long time, to quickly find the desired state of the target. In the past, he had to read through a large amount of history one by one to find it, but he had succeeded in simplifying the process.

The trigger was the concentrated training he had done while enduring the itching poison from the giant caterpillar a few days ago. The attempt was to use <Restoration> while unable to concentrate, but when he focused on the itching, only past itchy states appeared in his mind. It seemed that by focusing on the desired state as a keyword, he could narrow down the search to some extent. It was like picking out specific words from a book without considering the context.

"Undamaged, undamaged... This is too long ago. Alright, this should do it."

After using up his available uses in about fifty steps, Toll stretched. He had only been working for about twenty minutes. Muu, noticing Toll's state, kicked the sled and approached.

"Tō-chan, are you done with work?"

"No, I'm waiting for <Restoration> to recover. You can keep playing."

"Got it!"

Watching the child run off energetically on the sled, Toll drew his sword from the sheath at his waist. It was not his usual wooden sword but a dull, iron sword. A cheap cast-iron one-handed sword. It cost about five silver coins, which was roughly a month's earnings for a day laborer.

The reason Toll had used a wooden sword until now was simply because it was cheap. A wooden sword made of oak cost four large copper coins, so he could buy ten and still have change compared to this sword. However, in terms of lethality, the iron sword was definitely superior.

Lifting the iron sword, he swung it down. It was heavier than the wooden sword, causing a slight wobble in the blade. The difference in weight was significant. The techniques Toll was good at, such as tightening his grip to increase power and quick counter slashes, were only possible with a lighter wooden sword.

However, it was a fact that using only a wooden sword with inferior cutting power would be difficult to advance. It was also common sense to have multiple weapons on hand for emergencies.

For now, he could only practice swinging it until he got used to it. Feeling this, Toll continued to swing his sword until the limit on <Restoration> use was over.

While repairing the stone wall, practicing with the iron sword, and occasionally changing the sled's magic stone for Muu, Toll's day off passed.

By the time the evening bell rang, the repair of the north side of the outer wall was almost complete. He planned to work on the south side during his next day off, and Toll and Muu returned.

He had become quite accustomed to the new search method for <Restoration> and had also adapted to the weight of the iron sword, making it almost ready for practical use. Muu had mastered a spinning landing after a rapid ascent using the outer wall.

When Toll and Muu returned to their boarding house, Yuril and Sora were preparing dinner together. They had spent the day cleaning the room and doing laundry.

Back in his room, the underwear he had ordered was neatly folded on the bed. Sora had picked it up for him.

That night, Toll and Muu slept soundly in the sheets stiffened with slime adhesive, feeling deeply satisfied.