Chapter 48

He drew his bow. The target was a rock boar. It was scratching the ground with its feet, seemingly unaware of his presence.

Whoosh!

He thought the arrow had hit the boar's eye perfectly, but it seemed to have shaken its head at the last moment. Watching the arrow fall to the ground, he readied another one. The boar turned its face toward him.

"Shh!"

He immediately twisted his body as the boar charged, taking an arrow to the forehead.

Crash!

The boar's body suddenly toppled over, and blood spurted from its neck.

"That was dangerous. Why don't you use the wall?"

Kokushin appeared from the side, a bit angry. Well, that's understandable. The result of trying to do it alone turned out like this.

"Ah, yeah, sorry."

He was stared at intently.

He pulled the arrow out of the boar's forehead. It was shallow. No matter how many times he shot, it wouldn't be a fatal wound. Maybe small animals were his limit.

"Reito?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'll be more careful next time."

He let out a small sigh.

"I'm not angry. If there's a reason, that's fine... but what is it?"

A reason. Well, it's a reason to be exasperated.

Actually, the bow can be replaced with earth magic. Not just replaced, but finger guns are far superior in power, range, and speed. The only thing that decreases is magic power, and it doesn't cost money. You can shoot on the spot, and even if your stance is off, you can still manage.

But he wanted to use the bow because of the so-called romance.

"Huh? Romance?"

While processing the rock boar, he laughed to himself. Kokushin, while keeping an eye on the surroundings, had wide eyes, not understanding.

"Romance, or something. Since I have it as a skill, I want to develop it. Maybe it's just my silly imagination, but I think something will come of it."

To be honest, his ambition was to be able to use crazy techniques like in a game. Homing, rapid fire, or even a dragon's roar...

Kokushin has the skill 'Swordsmanship.' He couldn't use flying slashes until I taught him, but he can now. As long as I have the image and the skill, I should be able to do it too, even without combining it with magic.

After all, if skills weren't that useful, it wouldn't be worth it. According to Kokushin, generally, when a skill is mastered, the weapon becomes lighter to handle, the optimal trajectory is visible, and the power increases... My arrows are weak just because of a lack of strength. There seems to be something like a slash.

Also, he was considering the possibility of not being able to use magic. Magic depletion, or the dungeon having areas where magic is not allowed...

So, that's why he was deliberately using the bow.

"But even so, don't overdo it. Try to take as many safety measures as possible when hunting."

He handed over the bled-out boar.

Kokushin smiled slightly.

"I feel more at ease if you do that. But if you tell me in advance what you're going to do, I can respond to some extent. If you want to do it, go ahead."

Thanks for the cool statement. No, don't be too lenient.

"Then, next time I'll do it with a rabbit!"

Kokushin's face, it's like a Tibetan sand fox... I am reflecting!

By the way, today's request is not for rock boars. It's for Mantakora. I didn't make a mistake, it's not Mandragora, it's Mantakora. It's a wild radish with a face-like part that splits into two. You might think it's a Mandragora, but it's different.

"Ah, isn't that it?"

Kokushin pointed to a radish swaying back and forth. It was wriggling... creepy.

There was a stem in the middle of the spiky leaves, and the radish was stuck to it. It looked like a pineapple. The butt-like part was connected to the stem, and the free legs were wriggling. Sometimes they entangled with others.

As they approached, it started to shake vertically, as if in alert. Scary...

"...We have to pull it out, right?"

Kokushin, who turned around, had a blank expression.

"Yeah. It makes sounds but doesn't attack. I'll do it, so Kokushin, please keep watch."

"No, I'll help too. It'll be faster that way."

"Okay."

So, they harvested together. They grabbed the white radish part and pulled it up, and it came out with a squish. It stopped moving when it was pulled out. They threw it into a prepared cloth bag.

"Ah," "Ah," "Aah," "Ahh," "Ah."

Every time they pulled one out, the Mantakora made a sound. It had no special effect, but combined with its appearance, it was a hellish scene. Sometimes it made a seductive sound, which was irritating.

"Is this enough?"

They managed to collect more than the required amount.

"Mantakora

A plant-type monster. It has strong reproductive power but no attack power. The white body (fruit) is edible. It contains a paralyzing poison, so it cannot be eaten raw. The poison disappears when cooked, so it is generally boiled and dried. It has no medicinal effects like the similar Mandragora."

The bag was full of two-pronged radishes. The faces with a blank expression were subtly unsettling.

"Reito"

While staring at the blank faces, Kokushin's warning voice came. Paying attention to the surroundings, he heard something walking. One, maybe two.

"Goblin"

Kokushin muttered in a voice he could barely hear.

A goblin. It's the first time I've encountered one.

In this world, goblins are two-legged monsters the size of a human child with green skin. In other words, the same size as me. They walk hunched over, with long limbs, a split mouth, uneven teeth, and reptilian eyes.

Yeah. I thought I'd have a phobia of bipedal creatures, but not really. It's a different thing. He made eye contact with Kokushin. He raised one finger. One at a time.

The target part for the kill was the ear. Avoid the head...

"Gigya!?"

When they were in range, he activated earth magic. With a crack, one of the goblins' feet were solidified. The other one would be taken care of by Kokushin, so it was fine.

He drew his bow and nocked an arrow. The image was a follow-up attack. It would count as two attacks in one.

"Shh!"

"Gyapi!"

No good, it was shallow. Next to him, Kokushin was casually cutting down one of them. One more time. Sorry, but you'll have to be my practice target.

In the end, he shot three times.

"Oh?"

Looking at the goblin he had killed, there were shallow holes next to the arrow. The follow-up attack might have been partially successful. Good, good. If he could immobilize them first, it might work. The rest was simply increasing his strength and using a stronger bow. Though it would depend on his height.

By the way, Rada is staying behind today. While in town, Rada decided to stay in and make medicine, which they would sell in the market. They asked her to deliberately lower the rank to make it sellable. He thought she might refuse, but she just said, "Okay." Ideally, she would make good medicine and get scouted by a pharmacy. She seems to enjoy traveling.

Well then. Let's go back.

I found something a bit dangerous just now...