Chapter 13

"Let me handle this one."

Hagizawa volunteered on his own.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I like bugs, and I've always been curious about their structure, so I thought I'd give it a try. It would be fun to have Morishin process the beautiful exoskeleton, wouldn't it?"

Liking bugs... Is that not so rare for a guy?

Maybe Hagizawa likes biology.

...But even so, we won't get anywhere if we don't make it back to Japan alive.

"Sure. There might be a game-like fun to it."

That's how we steadily hunted down the monsters.

It was probably after the third battle.

I heard a sound, like *pop*.

Lv Up!

Lv 2

"Your level went up?"

Everyone except Hiyama said the same thing.

Well... it seems our stats are growing.

"Going well, but how much time has passed?"

"About 30 minutes, I think."

With Tachibana's words, I organized the situation.

Another 30 minutes... I thought more time had passed.

At a rate of 10 minutes per battle...

"A bit slow, but it can't be helped..."

"Is this slow?"

From what I can gather from Hiyama, the pace is a bit slow.

But, this is the best we can do.

Even so, it's a gain that we can level up at all.

"Let's aim for Lv 5. Taniizumi and the others are trying to hide it, but apparently, there's an expansion of abilities at Lv 5."

"Really?"

I've never heard of this before.

Come to think of it, I heard that Oono's ability improved and the effect time extended.

Was that the expansion?

"Didn't we talk about it at the meeting the other night?"

Huh? Ah... It might have been when I was back in Japan.

In that case, I wasn't there.

I see, that's a drawback.

I can't do anything about it, but I'll be on guard.

"Sorry. I might still be confused from the battle."

But... an expansion of abilities at a certain level.

I'm looking forward to what I can do.

While we were talking, we encountered a green, walking tulip called the Apple Green Tulip.

It moved its leaves, released pollen, and tried to bite with its flower part.

It was about knee-high. Small, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing.

A plant-type monster.

It's still easy to fight, so that's good.

But there were six of them.

It looks like there are more a little further away.

It feels like a full-on monster swarm. Will we be okay?

"Each one isn't very strong! Let's go!"

"Got it!"

Just as I thought, I was cutting down about five of them when reinforcements started coming in, and I felt a sense of crisis.

"Taniizumi would be happy to see this."

Hiyama muttered, wiping cold sweat.

Yeah, Taniizumi would be happy and spreading flames.

It would be a good match, too.

There aren't that many yet, but how many will spawn?

"Everyone! Take cover!"

Then, Hagizawa, who had been quiet in the back, threw something at the Apple Green Tulips.

With a *bash* sound, the area turned into a sea of fire.

It went out quickly, but the Apple Green Tulips caught fire and burned up.

The tulips, frightened by the smell of fire, all ran away.

"Wow..."

Turning around, I saw Hagizawa holding something... a round bomb-like object, with a victorious smile.

"I collected the fat from the meat that was thrown away during cooking. I made it with my ability since I got points."

"Amazing!"

Praising him, Morishin smiled awkwardly.

I'll join in and praise him too.

It's better to release stress in extreme situations.

It's the so-called 'praise and grow' method.

"Amazing, Hagizawa! Taniizumi is an idiot. There are games where items are the strongest, you know."

Hearing this, Hagizawa had a look that wasn't entirely displeased.

Let's thoroughly praise the one who achieved results.

I'm not sure how effective it will be, but it's better for team cohesion if everyone gets along.

"Still, I used up all the points I got earlier. It's not very fuel-efficient. It's better not to use it if we can, considering the future."

Hagizawa muttered self-deprecatingly.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. There will be a time when it comes in handy, and it can be a trump card in a pinch."

Well... the effect time is short, and the firepower isn't that great, which is a drawback.

But it was better than retreating in a losing battle.

I told him that too.

It's excellent for burst firepower.

"Since there were so many, we got a good amount of experience points and points."

Actually, we made a profit if we collected the points.

"Still... it might be difficult to use the materials from the ones killed by the bomb."

Hiyama looked at the charred tulips and muttered.

"We have enough materials, so it's not a problem."

Morishin answered in a supportive manner, and everyone encouraged each other.

Yeah. It's an impromptu party, but we're doing better than I thought.

We're fighting physically, but don't worry about it!

Thanks to the number we killed, we immediately leveled up to Lv 3.

Thanks to Hagizawa.

We steadily hunted down the surrounding low-level monsters.

We had a bit of a struggle with a fast-running Charcoal Gray Horned Rabbit, but we managed to take it down.

Eventually, it was time to head back.

It will take a little more to get from 3 to 4, and Hiyama is almost at 5.

In terms of points... we've earned a bit.

The only hope is to gather them all in one place and have Morishin make good equipment.

Then we encountered something that looked like a shiny rock.

"Ah, it's better to ignore this monster. It doesn't seem to be hostile."

Hiyama warned us.

We turned our attention to the thing in front of us.

A Blue Metal Turtle.

"Is this a turtle?"

"If you watch it from a distance, it will start moving and extend its legs. But it retreats into its shell very quickly, and even Taniizumi and the others can't defeat it... It's a monster with incredible defense. Even Taniizumi and the others ignored it."

"Wow..."

Tachibana tapped the shell-like part with her staff.

It made a hard *knock knock* sound.

If even Taniizumi's fire ability can't defeat it, it must be very hard.

"It's harmless as long as it stays in its shell... Taniizumi and the others said they would defeat it eventually."

"It would make good materials, though."

Morishin and Hiyama nodded at my response.

"Really?"

Tachibana seems unfamiliar with games. Hiyama seems to understand the logic.

"If it's that hard, it would be excellent if it could be converted into weapons or armor."

"I see."

Regardless of attack power, the defense would increase significantly.

"If it's hard... can it be converted into equipment with an ability? I have no idea."

I poked it lightly with my sword, but it didn't budge.

I was afraid the sword might chip.

A turtle that Taniizumi and the others gave up on... it didn't move at all, just stayed in its shell.

"I remember seeing a video online where an eagle or something grabbed a turtle and dropped it from a high place to kill it. Hiyama, can you do that?"

"Teleport it to the ground? Unfortunately, I can't specify the height... I'm not sure if I can fly the monster."

"Yeah, that's right..."

That reminded me of something I thought about on the first day of my transfer.

I picked up a stone and faced the turtle.

"...What if I send this stone inside the turtle with my transfer ability?"