Chapter 32 Capturing the nest

I’ve heard the general precautions, so should we go level up? I called out to Bell, Rain, Turu, and Tamamo, who were playing around like they were rolling, and in an instant, they all became friends.

“Alright, everyone, let’s go.”

“Yes!”

“Kyuu!”

“Um, okay.”

Turu seemed reluctant to leave Tamamo’s side. It seems that Turu is really attached to her.

“Okay, Tamamo, we’ll leave the field to you. Please guide us, Sylphy.”

I patted Tamamo’s head as she approached with a slightly lonely expression, and we set off. It’s a small nest, but it’s our first experience together, so we need to psych ourselves up.

“It’s about a 30-minute walk from here.”

“Wow, it’s closer than I thought. I didn’t even notice it.”

“You haven’t been close to where the nest is. Besides, we’ve already taken care of a lot of the weaklings wandering around at night, so there should be fewer of them.”

That’s right, we were crushing them without mercy once we found them near our base. The numbers should have decreased, so it seems like a good opportunity for our first challenge. Oh, I need to make sure to remind Bell and the others.

“Bell, Rain, Turu, we’ll be fighting underground more often from now on, so try not to cause any unnecessary damage to the surroundings.”

“Got it!”

“Kyu!”

“Okay.”

The kids always listen well when I ask them to do something. It should be alright. I don’t want to get hit with a sudden barrage of Wind Blades or something scary like that.

“Here it is.”

Sylphy pointed to a crevice that looked like a crack in the ground. There were also signs that something had been going in and out of it. I’m sure it’s just zombies or skeletons or something.

—-

I swung my hammer left and right, knocking away the zombies and skeletons. Since I was crushing both the skeletons and zombies together, I gave up on trying to get any magic stones. I didn’t have the courage to dig through that mess.

I wanted to fight some proper monsters like goblins, ogres, and dragons. Can I win against a dragon if I make a contract with Sylphy? Dyne once told me a story about how she launched a sea dragon into the sky, so I might be able to win.

Even though I can easily knock them away with one swing, the number of enemies is too high, and the battle doesn’t end quickly. The stench is unbearable, and I feel like I’m going to cry and throw up.

Since there were no more enemies coming from behind, I proceeded further into the cave. It’s surprisingly narrow. Did all those monsters really cram themselves into this small space that’s not even twenty meters square? It’s like being in a packed train with zombies and skeletons. Just imagining it sends shivers down my spine.

There were two skeleton soldiers wearing tattered leather armor and a central skeleton knight wearing equally tattered armor on a higher level of the room. Sylphy mentioned that those were the skeleton knights and skeleton soldiers.

When I approached, they descended slowly. They gave off a sense of grandeur, but according to Sylphy, they were no different from the small fry. I should still be cautious.

They split up into three directions, and the skeleton soldiers on both sides raised their spears, while the skeleton knight in the center drew its sword. It’s supposed to be a tense scene, but Bell and the others cheering me on made me lose my focus.

The skeleton soldiers on both sides thrust their spears at the same time, so I swung my hammer and deflected the spears. The hand holding the spear flew off with it.

I was momentarily stunned, but the skeleton knight rushed towards me, so I smashed its sword from above to crush it.

Turning to the skeleton soldiers on both sides who had lost both hands, I quickly crushed them. It was easier than I thought. The stench was unbearable, though. I’ll just take the magic stones from the skeleton knight and skeleton soldier and leave.

“Good job. I was watching, and it was an easy win,” Sylphy praised me.

“Yuta, you’re strong!” Bell exclaimed.

“Kyu,” Rain added.

“I’m grateful,” I said with a chuckle. “Well, I managed to pull it off somehow. It’s just that the smell is really tough to handle.”

Even after washing my body, the persistent smell still lingers, and my spirits lower a bit.

“Hmm, there’s nothing we can do about that. Every nest has a mix of skeletons and zombies, no matter where it is,” said Sylphy.

It was getting more and more unpleasant, but this was the time to work hard for a fun life in another world.

“Well, it’s just the smell, so I’ll endure it. I’m not tired at all, so let’s move on to the next one.”

“Okay, got it. Let’s start with the nearby nests and work our way through. Once we’ve finished those, we’ll move on to larger nests from tomorrow.”

“Ah, thanks for that.”

Today, we destroyed four more monster nests until the sun went down. There were cases where ghosts and wraiths were present, but Bell and the others easily exterminated them, so there was no problem.

The biggest problem was the nest controlled by the Skeleton Knight. Except for the experience points, there was no reward at all, just the stench, so it was disheartening.

If we had the motivation to take the magic stones from the zombies, there were many of them, so it could be used as funds when we went to town. However, we just couldn’t make up our minds.

According to Sylphy, today was a training day to get used to the nests, so she chose smaller nests with fewer knights and soldiers that would give experience points. Therefore, my level did not increase.

From tomorrow, we would visit places where there were more soldiers and knights, and gain experience with archers and mages.

Once we got used to it, we would embark on an expedition to the ruins of a fortress located a little further away and conquer a large nest where soldiers and knights would appear as hordes. There were too many undead.

Yuta listened to the plan for the future and returned to the base, feeling discouraged. I knew it couldn’t be helped, but hearing that our goal was a large nest with a large number of undead lowered my enthusiasm.

“Kuu!”

As we entered the base, Tamamo jumped on us. She seemed lonely. she quickly separated from me and started playing with Bell and the others, so Yuta felt lonely too.

“Welcome back, Yuta-chan,” said Dyne.

“Oh, you’re back,” said Nomos.

It was Dyne, Nomos, and Dolly welcoming Yuta. It seemed like a waste for the three great spirits to be on guard duty.

“I’m back. Has anything changed?” asked Yuta.

“Nothing has happened. It’s been peaceful,” replied Dyne, who seemed completely relaxed. Yuta had no right to say anything, but he was a little worried.

“I see. Thanks. Well, let’s have dinner. What about Dolly? The other great spirits are already tired of fish, but we have a variety of seafood,” said Yuta.

“Ha-ha. I’ll join you for tonight,” replied Dolly.

“I see. Well, don’t push yourself too hard. I’ll do my best to prepare a dish that everyone will enjoy,” said Yuta.

It seems like the great spirits no longer like seafood and had a disheartened expression. Yuta could only cook simple meals for a single person, but he wanted to make something that would make the great spirits’ taste buds tingle.

The lower-ranked spirits like Bell and the others were not accustomed to meals, so they happily ate whatever was served.

However, how did the spirits who couldn’t materialize eat?… until they got bored? Yuta had a special ability, so he could sit at the same table with the spirits, but usually, humans could only sense their presence. Could I eat food that was prepared by them? It was strange.

“That sounds great. I’m looking forward to it,” said Dolly.

“Please look forward to it. Well, it depends on the ingredients available in this world,” replied Yuta.

“If it’s plants, I can probably tell you what they are if you ask me,” said Dolly.

“Really? Even if they’re processed?” asked Yuta.

If that was the case, Yuta should ask Dolly to check the food ingredients he brought from Japan.

“Even if they’re processed, if I try them, I might be able to tell somehow,” replied Dolly.

It would be helpful to know a lot of things. First, Yuta wanted to eat some hot white rice. He also wanted some soybeans. Soy sauce, miso, tofu, and edamame were many variations of soybeans. Yuta didn’t know if he could make them, but having the ingredients or not made a big difference.

“I’ll ask for your help next time,” said Yuta.

Dolly nodded. She were reliable. Today, Bell and the others enjoyed eating the grilled seafood. Tamamo also seemed happy eating, and the dining table became lively again.