Chapter 14

"Wow... You really think of some nasty things. But if it works, we can ignore the shell, right?"

Hishiyama-san answered my proposal with a slight look of exasperation, but she didn't seem to be rejecting it.

I had done a few experiments beforehand, though.

After all, I had been thinking about this since the first day.

By the way, when you transfer something into something else, it usually bursts... or rather, breaks.

Probably because it appears inside the object.

According to Earth's laws of physics, it would be quite dangerous, but it seems that the ability doesn't operate based on physical laws.

Well, the fact that Taniizumi's fire ability exists means that physical laws don't really apply here...

As for the sword skill ability, it's a mystery how someone who has never held a sword can use it so freely.

I haven't tried it on living things.

I couldn't try it outside the base in the other world, and in Japan, I didn't do it on living things for various reasons.

Even if it worked, animals like cats and dogs move, and it would be dangerous to conduct experiments that might kill them.

By the way, I was able to put small objects into a water-filled balloon.

It would make it easy to create a bottle ship.

"It might be a good idea."

"Yeah."

"Uh-huh."

Moriyoshi, Hagizawa, and Himenose-san agreed.

Everyone has become so tough, even now.

I don't think they would have reacted like this before the transfer.

"Why don't we try various applications?"

"Well... it takes time for my transfer ability to activate."

It would be impossible to use it in combat.

It takes five minutes to activate, and staying still for five minutes against a monster is unrealistic.

Even if we tried to predict the movement and destination, it wouldn't be practical.

"Since it's completely still and locked in its shell, we should give it a try."

Hishiyama-san also agreed.

So, I held a stone and activated the transfer.

An hourglass appeared in my vision, gradually decreasing.

...The turtle didn't move at all.

This would be easy.

"Time-wise, we should return after this experiment."

"Should we have ignored it?"

"No, it's fine. I think we would have run out of time while looking for monsters anyway."

"Will we be treating everyone's injuries when we get back?"

"No, thanks to Himenose-san's occasional healing, no one is injured."

During the intervals between battles, while I was sending materials to Moriyoshi's workshop, Himenose-san was healing everyone.

So, everyone was in perfect condition for the next battle.

"What should we do with the points?"

"Let's give them to Moriyoshi for the next equipment."

Everyone agreed with this.

I earned 350 points from this hunt.

I don't know if it's a lot or a little, but if we gather enough for each person, we should be able to make something decent.

We were originally making things with minimal materials.

"Then I'll give them to you first."

While I was handing over the points, the stone in my hand suddenly disappeared.

I heard a good thud from the turtle's direction, and the Blue Metal Turtle's head popped out, trying to run... but it hit a nearby tree.

"What...?"

It wobbled and fell on its back.

"Since it's out... now?"

I pointed my sword at the struggling Blue Metal Turtle's head.

But... as expected, it's hard, and the sword doesn't penetrate.

"Is it because it's called 'Metal'?"

It's like in RPGs.

Enemies that are unusually hard but give a lot of experience points.

"Hey, there's a crack here."

There was a crack on the underside of the shell, so Hishiyama-san and Moriyoshi stabbed it with their swords.

"---!?"

The Blue Metal Turtle seemed to have received a fatal wound, as it collapsed, blood flowing, and didn't move again.

I didn't think it would really work.

I wouldn't use this power to... do something to a sleeping Taniizumi.

Taniizumi is a bad person, but I don't hate her enough to want to kill her.

Besides, she hasn't committed murder.

If I used this power to kill, I couldn't face Moriyoshi, Hishiyama-san, and the others, and they wouldn't forgive me.

After all, I want to help everyone, not kill.

That would be putting the cart before the horse.

"Does it give a lot of experience points?"

Everyone's eyes sparkled as they checked their status.

...It wasn't as much as we imagined.

The points, too.

While it's a good amount of experience points compared to the monsters we've fought so far, it's not as much as the metal enemies in some RPGs.

It's about as much as the monsters we fought today.

If we had more, it would be great...

But since my transfer takes five minutes, it's not clear if it's efficient.

After all, we only encountered one in two hours, so there might not be that many.

"Was it because of Kousuke's attack?"

"Maybe not?"

Moriyoshi, Hishiyama-san, and Hagizawa peeled off the cracked part of the shell and examined the internal organs.

There, the stone I had was crushing the heart.

"So, you can really do this kind of thing."

"You can defeat monsters that even Taniizumi and the others couldn't! That's amazing!"

"R-Really?"

It made me feel good.

So, this is what my ability can do.

However, there are too many problems to use it in actual combat.

"It only worked because it didn't move at all..."

We can't wait five minutes for a moving target.

It's not practical to use it in combat, where we need to think several steps ahead!

"At least we got the materials from a monster that even Taniizumi and the others couldn't defeat. We might be able to make good weapons."

Moriyoshi's face lit up with joy.

I hope we can make good weapons.

"Let's head back."

"Yeah. Next time... at night?"

"I think that's the problem. According to Taniizumi and the others, monsters get stronger at night, and visibility gets worse."

"If we light a lamp, we might be noticed from the base."

"Better to avoid night battles just to be safe."

"Once we get stronger and can go to a place where we can't be seen, we might do it."

I could buy a night vision scope in Japan and use it, but that might also be a problem.

It's not easy to say I can fight alone.

Reflecting on today...

...It's impossible.

But if the Blue Metal Turtle doesn't move, I might be able to defeat it alone.

Next time, I'll aim for the head instead of the heart.

Thinking about this, we returned.

Back at the base, we sorted the monsters we brought back in Moriyoshi's workshop.

"We're getting used to the task of dissecting monster corpses."

"Yeah... So, can we make something good?"

"Yeah, it seems we can make new weapons with the materials from the monsters Kousuke hunted. I knew some materials were rare, but... we don't have enough points."

"Right. I kind of expected that."

It's common to sacrifice points when making weapons from abnormally hard monster shells.

In fact, the materials were of high quality.

"If the materials are of good quality, it would be nice if we could convert them into points by selling them... Then we could focus on getting good weapons."

"Maybe someone in the base group will get a skill to raise their level and obtain such materials."

That would be nice.

Hishiyama-san was in a good mood and helped us with our work, and Hagizawa was working efficiently.

Maybe we have strengths and weaknesses based on the abilities we were given?

"This time, I sent the monster corpses to Moriyoshi's workshop on a whim, but now that I think about it, it's quite dangerous."

My ability also has offensive capabilities, so if a monster corpse suddenly appeared in the workshop, it might be noticed.

But is there a place to hide it...?

"Why not let Hanehashi decide where to send it?"

"I thought about using a large box and sending it inside, but there's a risk of it going off target if I just imagine it."

"Worst case, the materials might collide."

There are problems even in this area.

"Well, just decide on a range to send it to. Like, a spot on the floor of my workshop."

"Sure, with practice, it might be possible..."

"Worst case, we can ask a friend to hide it for us. Hanehashi's ability has a long cooldown, after all."

Yeah, it takes at least five minutes, so we can ask someone to tidy up during that time.

"For now, I'll practice sending things into a box remotely without anyone noticing."

I can do it in Japan without anyone noticing.

Well, my parents might see it.

If the player group finds out, it would be bad.

"Got it. Is Himenose-san okay?"

"It seems she's fine. Look."

Hishiyama-san pointed to Himenose-san, who had returned.

Good, at least we can hide it.

"But... it's quite a hassle to make even one piece of equipment."

"Yeah. Thanks to Hanehashi, we can send things here directly, but what if we catch something too big for anyone to carry?"

"Something the size of a bear... the others might be able to carry it back."

The carpentry ability guy might make a cart to transport it, or we could disassemble it on-site and carry it.

Taniizumi would never rely on me.

I really want to ask her if I've done something to her.

She might be making some mysterious choices.

If I were there, we could carry everything back.

Thinking about it, maybe my ability has value in this village?

"..."

Hishiyama-san's face turned dark again.

She's probably thinking that if she weren't here, I wouldn't be unfairly evaluated...

I've started to understand her.

I signaled to Hishiyama-san to not worry.

"Just ignore the people who don't understand the importance of teamwork."

Now that we've found elements that might make the others notice my ability, we need to be more careful.

But given their nature, they're more likely to bring me along if they can't carry a monster back.