Chapter 26

I glared fiercely to make it clear to the wallaby that begging for mercy wouldn't work.

"Quack!"

As soon as the wallaby realized that begging for mercy wouldn't work, it spat and tried to resist, rising and swinging its fists.

"It's not like... we can understand each other, right?"

"Quackkkk!"

It's going to kill me! Such a fierce aura emanated from it.

If we could communicate, I think the situation would be quite tragic.

If this had been my first battle, I would have hesitated.

Animals sometimes take you by surprise, and apparently, they often play dead.

Would this one also try to take advantage of an opening?

"Quackgah!?"

I saw the punch coming, kicked it in the face, and then pulled back to counterattack, aiming a punch at the strawberry wallaby's throat as it tried to retaliate.

This guy wouldn't give me the chance to pick up a knife.

The force of pulling back and my punch combined, and there was a satisfying sound as if I had shattered the strawberry wallaby's Adam's apple.

The wallaby staggered, opened its eyes slightly, and raised a mysterious finger at me.

You're the winner. No way.

I can't believe I managed to take this guy down with my bare hands... The power of my level is amazing.

Indeed, I'm strong enough to see the movements of horn rats as slow.

I can tell there's a difference in strength with each level.

Then the wallaby fell on its back... and turned into light!?

"Boom!"

When I turned my gaze to Meguru and Moshin, Moshin was just finishing off a strawberry wallaby with Jitsun.

Jitsun had circled behind the wallaby and hit it on the back of the head with a crowbar, and Moshin took the opportunity to stab it in the chest.

That was the final blow, and the wallaby they were fighting died.

On Meguru's side, the battle was already over... the strawberry wallaby was in pieces.

It seems the power was too overwhelming, leading to a crushing victory.

Why did I have to fight the wallaby with my bare hands? It's a miracle I won...

"Are you okay, Kosei?"

"Ah, yeah... I took a good punch..."

I said it without thinking, and Meguru was smiling.

Well, I did say something like a joke, so maybe this is fine.

"Hey... don't worry us like that."

"Thanks to the armor Moshin made, I'm okay... but"

Looking at the gaps in the armor, I could see some nice bruises forming.

That wallaby really hit me hard...

But it is a real battle, so it's to be expected.

"Jitsun, please heal Kosei."

"Ah, sure!"

"Was it a bit tough to handle three of them?"

"I think we should have worked together to take them down."

"That's true, but even to buy time, we didn't have the luxury... How strong were they?"

Did they coordinate? I fell for the idea of one-on-one.

They felt a bit stronger than horn rats but weaker than rock lizards.

Since my level is 5, I think I could take them down with my bare hands.

If I had used a knife properly, they would have been easy.

"We need to practice more."

"Sure."

"Kosei and Meguru should team up to fight monsters."

Moshin, are you saying this?

But since Moshin is taking turns, I guess it can't be helped...

"Then I'll draw the monsters' attention, and Meguru will attack when there's an opening. Of course, if they target Meguru, I'll counterattack."

"Okay. The blade is too sharp, so I can still go, but I need to be careful about counterattacks."

I have a better understanding of the players' struggles now.

"So, what about this wallaby... what do we do?"

"These punch gloves... they seem to be part of its body."

Moshin examined the corpse and answered.

I took a look... yeah.

It does seem that way.

"Hey, what about the wallaby Kosei fought?"

"It turned into light and disappeared."

"I glanced, and it seemed to be moving well. When the wallaby Kosei was fighting was defeated, the one Moshin and I were fighting paused for a moment."

"Was it the boss of the three?"

"Maybe."

It was needlessly provoking me, and it was the strongest of the three?

The one Meguru fought was killed instantly.

And there's something lying where the wallaby was.

"A medal... and gloves?"

A medal?

Thinking that, Moshin showed me the medal.

"The king of the strawberry wallabies' medal?"

It has a belt-like strap attached.

And it seems to be an equipment name.

"These seem to be the wallaby's punch gloves as a weapon name."

"Drop items?"

...I remember the moment the wallaby died.

It raised its finger as if to say, "You were the stronger one," and then died.

"Should I try them on?"

"Trying to put them on your arm, Moshin, is pretty nerve-wracking."

"Kosei seemed to be having a surprisingly good fight."

Is it because of me?

As he said that, Moshin tried to put the punch gloves on his arm but dropped them as if they were repelled.

"Ouch!"

"Was there something strange inside?"

"No, it felt like static electricity... I remember the player group talking about unique equipment."

"Unique equipment?"

"Yeah, they said that sometimes parts of a monster's body can become weapons, and there are conditions to obtain them."

"Wow... because I beat the wallaby?"

"Maybe I finished it off with a punch."

Then, for some reason, Moshin handed me the punch gloves.

Should I wear them?

Moshin nodded at my gaze.

I sighed and decided to experiment.

"Um? Why is Kosei trying on the gloves Moshin gave him?"

Meguru's point is valid.

Unique equipment? What a joke.

But if it's the wallaby's last words, I have to try it on once.

Or is it an experiment?

"It doesn't seem very strong, but we should try it out. We don't know what kind of unique equipment might appear later."

"Hmm..."

I hope it's not wearable.

As I thought that, I put the wallaby's punch gloves on my hand.

They slid on smoothly, unlike when Moshin tried.

...

I slowly looked at the gloves.

Wallaby Punch Gloves - Granted Effects: Improved Dynamic Vision, Instant Expansion Ability - Boxer

I really wanted to sigh.

"There's an 'Instant Expansion Ability - Boxer' effect."

"What's that?"

"Maybe it's a special ability you get when wearing it?"

Probably.

Checking my stats, it was there.

Then, a boxing fighting stance I had never done before came to mind.

The attack power is far inferior to a knife.

Maybe because the wallaby was only slightly stronger than a horn rat?

Then I looked at the medal.

King of Strawberry Wallabies' Medal - Effect: King Defense - Usable

I raised the medal.

It glinted, and a wallaby of a different color appeared from nowhere, heading towards us.

"It seems the 'King Defense' effect summons other wallabies."

Even though Jitsun's healing wasn't finished, we were already in the second battle.

I faced the wallaby, equipped with the punch gloves... a French Gray Wallaby.

Meguru, Moshin, and Jitsun took down the wallabies as usual.

I faced the wallaby in a fighting stance.

Unique steps... I could see the wallaby's attacks in my mind.

Is this the effect of the improved dynamic vision?

I countered the wallaby's punch and aimed a kick at its body, but an electric shock ran through me.

Kicking is not allowed? It's boxing, not kickboxing?

But I punched the wallaby's face with my left hand, and there was a satisfying sound as it seemed to be knocked out.

It didn't show any signs of getting up... did it die?

"Kosei looked like he was boxing with the wallaby."

"That's because the equipment allows it."

I feel so empty.

And the experience points seem to be a lot.

Maybe the wallaby's experience points are doubled?