Chapter 16

"Let's fly to where we were yesterday..."

"It doesn't seem to have changed much."

We take a cautious stance, looking around.

We have to be careful; we never know when a monster might attack.

"Let's aim for Hiyama's level to reach 5."

"Sure, I think that's a good idea."

"Normally, we should be preparing for monster attacks, but is it really okay to keep defeating them?"

Hiyama says something rather backwards.

"If we're going to settle here, it might be fine, but even if we want to return to our original world or find a village, we need to search, and it's true that we should get stronger, right? To be able to fight together with Taniizumi and the others."

"...Yeah. By the way, Hanehashi, you gave your breakfast to someone else again today, right? Are you really not hungry?"

*Gulp!*

Did they see me giving away the rations!?

How do I explain this?

"It's fine, it's fine."

"You'll collapse somewhere if you don't eat."

"I'm really fine. Look at my face, can you still say the same thing?"

Actually, I've been eating properly every day, so they should be able to tell by looking at my face.

"You look quite pale."

"But you didn't look that bad a moment ago?"

Himenosan is even looking at my face with concern.

Don't worry. Just stay calm, stay calm.

It's just that I seem to look unwell because of my anxiety.

"Huh? Your face doesn't look that bad now?"

"Hmm...?"

"That's why I'm fine. If something happens, I'll beg for food from Shigenobu or someone."

"Shigenobu is like that, right? He probably won't push himself too hard, so he won't say anything."

"Right... You really shouldn't push yourself, okay?"

"Of course."

With Shigenobu's support, Hiyama averts her gaze from me.

It's good that they're worried about me, but I hope everyone pays attention to their own meals.

Somehow, I managed to get away with it.

So, we started walking through the forest.

"We shouldn't go too deep; let's take it steady."

"Of course. But they might have been hunted by Taniizumi and the others, so we don't know if they'll be around."

"I hope the number of monsters hunted by Taniizumi and the others is small compared to the entire forest."

As we chat, Horn Rats appear again.

Their name is Green Horn Rats.

Yeah... the color makes them look dangerous.

Green-horned rats... not very appetizing.

Are they numerous because they're rats? Or are they from a different faction?

"We've had enough Horn Rats, so we don't need to bring back the corpses."

"They're not very tasty even when cooked."

So, we easily defeated the Horn Rats we encountered, just like the day before.

At first, we struggled, but it became much easier after our levels increased by 2-3.

"It would be nice if we could move our base to a river and do some fishing."

"But we get water from the well."

"It might be dangerous if monsters appear from the river, but it could be worth it if we're prepared."

That's the thing.

Even with the barrier, we always have to be on guard against monsters.

It's exhausting.

Is this world just a forest?

I can't help but wonder if we're exploring a world that only has a forest and monsters.

Apparently, someone climbed a tree to check if there was anything, but no one has seen anything yet.

Well, that's the players' opinion.

While thinking about this, we came across three large green walking mushrooms called Glass Green Myconids.

There are a lot of green things!

"Take this!"

Hiyama draws her sword and slashes.

With a clean vertical cut, one of them splits in two and stops moving.

The preemptive attack seems to have worked, as the Glass Green Myconids are not reacting to our movements.

"I'm going too!"

I slash at the Glass Green Myconid from the side.

But it feels like I hit something fibrous, and it only flies a little before landing.

The Glass Green Myconid shakes its body, as if in anger, and releases spores.

I don't want to become a mushroom person if I get infected...

"Hiyama was able to defeat it easily, but I can't... Is it a bit stronger?"

"Probably because it's a mushroom, it's easier to split vertically."

"Oh, I see!"

Shigenobu attacks a different one with a vertical cut.

The Glass Green Myconid tries to dodge with a quick backstep, but it's considering the number of opponents.

Hiyama circles around and slashes it from behind.

One left!

"Alright! Let's go!"

I raise my obsidian sword and deliver a vertical cut to the top of the Glass Green Myconid's cap.

Unlike before, it splits cleanly in two without any resistance.

"Victory!"

We raise our swords in triumph, celebrating the defeat of the monsters.

The experience points and points... well, they're in line with their weakness.

"What do we do with the corpses of these monsters?"

"Can we eat them...? Taniizumi and the others brought one back once, but it was too dangerous."

After all, they're mushrooms.

They might have some strange toxins.

"If we eat them, we might get a power-up or something."

"That's dangerous. The materials aren't very good... maybe we should bring them back for Hagizawa."

"They might only be good for dangerous drugs."

"Send a small amount just in case."

"Sure thing."

I gather the corpses of the Glass Green Myconids and activate the transfer.

I'm imagining it correctly.

If I fail and hit the waiting Hagizawa, it would be a disaster.

"I just thought of something..."

"What is it?"

"We don't have to make everything with abilities, right?"

Like the metal turtle shell Shigenobu made this morning.

I think it's possible to use substitutes with some processing.

"Sure."

"Hagizawa might have thought of something similar."

It will be interesting to see what Hagizawa does with the mushroom corpses.

They split quite cleanly, and the skin is tougher than I thought. If dried, it could be used as a bag.

I don't know what effect the spores have, but throwing them at monsters might be useful.

"Let's ask him later."

"Sure. When you think about it, abilities aren't everything."

"It would be great if we can make discoveries by being creative like this."

With that, we resumed our movement.

"Still... how far does this forest extend?"

The deeper we go, the thicker the tree trunks seem to get.

It feels like an ancient forest...

"Taniizumi and the others have only explored for a little over two weeks."

"It would be nice if we could find a way out somewhere."

"Yeah... I just want to get to a village, anywhere."

As we talk, we pass a rocky outcrop.

Well, there are places like this in the forest too.

"By the way, Taniizumi and the others brought back some minerals, right? Did they get them from a place like this?"

"Probably. They might have used their abilities to forcibly mine them."

In games, you can get them with a pickaxe, but how about in reality?

I grab a stone exposed on the rock face and try to pull it out.

Hmm... it just looks like a regular stone at first glance.

"Obsidian and other things might be found in places like this..."

After all, it's something that ancient people used for weapons, so it might be found if you look for it.

Did they find it in a place like this...?

"Obsidian is a volcanic rock, right? Is it really in a forest like this?"

"Come to think of it, it is strange."

"There are explanations like it being a caldera, but the suspicious thing is—"

Before I can finish, a monster slides down the rock face.

It has a tail that looks like a mineral... a large lizard.

Sea Green Rock Lizard.

There are really a lot of green monsters today!