Chapter 82

"About the talk earlier, I should tell Hashihara a bit more about what the combat-oriented ability expansion is."

I know the specifications are different.

Well, I don't really know much about combat-oriented ability expansions, so it's probably better to ask.

"At Level 5, it's detection, like Kumako's wild instincts. At Level 10, it's attack prediction; you can predict attacks to some extent if you focus on them. There are various others, but special moves are also part of the expansion ability slots."

"Wow..."

"Watch this..."

Just then, a Frosty Gray Club emerged from the sand, and Ito got ready.

"Heavenly Demon Slash!"

As he shouted, the tip of his sword glowed and extended significantly.

Then, he swung it down and struck the Frosty Gray Club.

Eventually, the light from the blade dissipated, and it returned to a normal sword.

Ah... I feel like I've seen this light before, in a corner of my memory, when Oono was dealing with a barrier.

But back then, he couldn't break the barrier.

Maybe it was because his sword skills were taken away?

The weapon he had back then was also much poorer compared to now.

The Frosty Gray Club was split in two.

One hit... It really feels like a special move.

"Thanks to the weapon, the power is limitless. It's my trump card."

"Amazing."

"The downside is that the cooldown is quite long and it consumes a lot of magic power. Well, the expansions of those who are combat-oriented are mostly like this."

"I see."

"In terms of usage, the production-oriented ones have a bigger impact when they get expansion abilities."

That's how it looks to combat-oriented ability users.

Indeed, for me and Shigeru, the range of what we can do increases with each expansion ability.

It seems that combat-oriented abilities are specialized for combat.

"Also, there are things like Insect Killer, which is effective against specific monsters, and ones that enhance the sharpness and attack power of the weapons you have. So, there are many skills you can acquire, and it's good to rely on them."

Ito pointed at Kumako.

Ah... I see, he wants to say that using Kumako effectively is the key to getting stronger.

That's right... If I use the glove to get stronger, I can also fight like a combat-oriented person.

Ito must have noticed that I want to fight and is telling me this.

"Growl!"

Sometimes, I might need to combine my strength with Kumako.

It's something I should consider.

"Got it. I'll think about it."

With that, we continued walking along the coast and defeating monsters.

Indeed, the more we moved away from the village, the higher the spawn rate seemed to be.

We came across a cliff that separated the beach and the land, with a significant height difference.

Following Ito's instructions, we walked along the beach, and the cliff gradually became higher.

Eventually, we saw a cave.

The ground was a bit damp.

"Sometimes, seawater flows in here depending on the time."

"Then, can't we come during high tide?"

"It's not that deep, so it's not a problem, but the spawn rate of fish-type monsters increases."

I see.

So, the monsters that appear vary depending on the time.

Ito headed towards the cave, and I followed.

There were barnacles growing inside.

As soon as they spotted us, they started spitting water.

"Those barnacles are slow-moving and don't move from their spot. They give a lot of experience points for their strength, so let's take them down."

Indeed, they are easy to hunt in terms of safety.

"Moreover, Hashihara, Kumako should be a good match for you."

"Eh?"

"Growl!"

Kumako, understanding Ito's instructions, hit the cave wall.

The shockwave traveled along the wall and hit the barnacles.

They fell off one by one.

A large amount of experience points came to us.

"Wow..."

It's efficient.

Experience points and points are accumulating quickly.

There's a reason why combat-oriented people recommend it.

"Amazing."

"Well, we'll focus on hunting easy and safe monsters for a while, so everyone just needs to stay alert and come along."

"I'm a bit scared of becoming a head-heavy character like in an online game."

"That's something you can learn gradually. If Hashihara and Sakae want combat experience, I'll look for good monsters for you."

Under Ito's guidance, we safely leveled up.

By the end of the day, my level had reached 32.

It's an incredible achievement.

The expansion ability I acquired is Auditory Transfer... It seems to work in conjunction with Visual Transfer.

"It's Auditory Transfer."

When set, it works in conjunction with Visual Transfer.

"You can eavesdrop all you want."

"I have no intention of misusing it."

I smiled wryly at Shigeru's words.

I didn't really want to hear the voices... I don't want to hear Shigeru and the others talking as if they don't know me when I'm back in Japan.

Since it can be turned on and off, I'll keep it off most of the time.

"Shigeru, you got synthesis. You're really becoming a blacksmith."

"Don't tease me."

I'll return those words.

For synthesis, it seems you can combine weapons to create new ones.

The number of forging recipes has increased significantly.

The key is combining weapons.

Apparently, you can create things like a sword that can switch between fire and ice at will.

Ito mentioned that it would reduce the need to switch weapons depending on the situation.

Incidentally, unique equipment cannot be synthesized.

We finished hunting for the day and returned to the village.

As usual, our classmate with carpentry skills was remodeling the accommodation.

He's working diligently.

"Kannie!"

Everyone was excitedly gathering the clubs from the monsters we defeated.

There was also a lot of seafood.

Our classmate with cooking skills, along with others, was preparing the ingredients and cooking the crabs, fish, and shellfish.

"Growl?"

Kumako... was wearing a wig made of seaweed by our classmates and dressed up like a strange rapper.

What are they doing?

"Hahaha! Kumako! What are you wearing!"

Hagisawa burst into laughter as soon as he returned and pointed at Kumako.

"Growl growl!"

Kumako finally showed signs of discomfort at being laughed at.

That's right.

It's fine to make people laugh, but it's not good to be laughed at.

"Uu... Everyone, Kumako is a girl, so we should dress her in cuter outfits."

Saying this, the girls, led by Mami, dressed Kumako in a swimsuit.

Who made a swimsuit for Kumako?

"Is that okay?"

"Growl...?"

Kumako looked embarrassed as she looked at me.

It's not just my imagination.

"Until the food is ready, we'll have a beach day."

The sun is quite strong...

"Don't go too far out; shark-type monsters appear."

"I suddenly don't want to swim..."

"The barrier set up around the village extends along the coast, so it's safe to a certain extent."

Shigeru pointed to the float marking the boundary.

The range is quite wide. It's about 100 meters from the shore.

Monsters can't enter that far.

"Let's play on the beach then."

"Sunscreen..."

"We'll get sunburned..."

The girls muttered.

"Should we buy some?"

It feels like I'm being sent on an errand...

But it's fine.

Hagisawa and the guys stepped in between the girls and me.

"That's already taken care of by Hagisawa!"

"Sure thing!"

It's taken care of, huh? That's considerate.

But something feels off.

"Come on, ladies. We'll apply it for you."

Hagisawa and the others approached the girls, slowly applying the sunscreen and sunblock.

Is this the direction they're going?

The girls are hesitating.

"N-no..."

"It feels kind of dirty."

"We can apply it ourselves, so you guys go swim."

"Don't be so shy."

"Let us apply it for you."

The girls all ran away at this point.

"Wait!"

"No way!"

A chase began on the beach.

To me, it looks like they're really trying to catch them, but the others are just looking on with exasperation.

"Wait... Really, wait—"

Ah, Hagisawa is out of breath and kneeling.

His opponents are combat-oriented and have high levels.

"Hehehe, you can't catch me, Hagisawa-kun."

"Ugh..."

She's so confident... It must have been my imagination that she was running desperately.

Still, what a line.