Chapter 91

"Sorry, could you say that again?"

"Where should we level up on the Calmira Islands?"

It wasn't a mishearing.

What are these guys talking about?

"Wait a minute, what are you talking about?"

"Hmm... Well, the question is, where should we level up on the Calmira Islands as a separate party from the Hero? And if there are any monsters or materials you want us to collect, it would be great if you could let us know."

...Why can't I understand even though they're explaining it?

No, I understand what they're saying... but what is it?

A difference in approach?

"This time, let's go together. I'll send out a party request."

"Understood. So the Hero is going to a tough place, huh?"

Hmm... Ryou, what kind of teaching are you doing?

Somehow, it feels like there's a distance between you and your companions.

We left the room and headed to the port to go monster hunting. On the way to the island, I asked again.

"Could you explain it a bit more in detail if you don't mind?"

"Yes. Then—"

Here's what Ryou's companions said.

Ryou's approach is to introduce them to places suitable for their level and teach them the tricks of battle. Their job is to level up as instructed and collect materials from monsters, minerals, and tools.

Sometimes, they also go with Ryou to defeat powerful monsters.

"Also, we are always reminded to be careful not to take any hits from the enemy."

What a...

That's it.

I have a lot of experience with online games, and this is similar to how high-level players in guilds or organizations advise lower-level players.

Actually, it's exactly the same.

"What does Ryou usually do?"

"He fights alone. It seems he's waiting for us to get stronger."

Interpreting it charitably... but this...

I'm starting to understand Ryou's approach.

He thinks it's uncool to hang out with others or he's just not good at it.

Given his personality, he's probably not good at talking to others.

Even if he played online games, he was probably playing solo.

And when he wanted to participate in large-scale events or defeat powerful enemies, he would recruit companions from the organization he belonged to.

Or... he might have been recruiting only familiar people in a small guild and focusing on training them.

He could feel superior, but doing the same thing in a different world... I wonder.

Well, there are a few things that bother me, but we arrived at the hunting ground with Ryou's companions.

"Let's go then."

"Yeah, I'll draw the enemies' attention, so you guys take them down."

"Huh? But it's dangerous if you take hits, right?"

"...Don't worry. It's my job to tank, and my approach is different from Ryou's."

"Hmm..."

I took the lead and drew the monsters' attention.

Most of the monsters on the Calmira Islands are aggressive, like in online games.

So they focus their attacks on the person at the front.

Four Yellow Beetles swarmed around me.

Well, it's just the beginning of the hunting ground, so their attacks are just minor nuisances.

Incidentally, the monsters on the Calmira Islands have a single ecosystem, and so far, we haven't encountered any unique monsters to each island.

The enemies get stronger the closer you get to the center of the island.

The island we went to with the bitches had a large mountain, but this one is more like a forest.

"They're really tough, aren't they?"

Ryou's companion muttered, seeing that I wasn't affected by the enemy's attacks.

"Yeah, well, look. Take them down quickly."

"Y-Yes!"

It reminds me of when I used to help new players in online games.

I think Ryou's companions have a good balance.

There are two front-liners and two back-liners. The front-liners use physical attacks with weapons like swords or axes, while the back-liners support with magic and healing spells.

It's a solid composition.

However, their only defense against enemy attacks seems to be evasion, which can lead to chaotic battles.

When the enemies change their target from me, they focus on evasion, which can make the battles last longer.

"Anyway, I'll take the hits. You guys focus on attacking. It's not like these enemies can one-shot you."

As we approached the middle of the island, other adventurers became scarce.

Well, the bitches only came this far.

"The Shield Hero fights very differently from Ryou-sama, doesn't he?"

"Yeah."

Indeed, according to other heroes, the Shield is supposed to be a losing class.

Yet, I can fight.

By the way, since coming to this world, I've analyzed a lot of things recently.

First, the Shield can fight better than they say.

Second, it seems the Shield fights using endurance and counterattacks, and fatal skills.

It might be just the Laus Shield, but it can deal fatal damage to the enemy at a great cost.

Like Iron Maiden and Pluto's Offering. Dark Curse Burning is also there.

However, those skills can only be used with the Laus Shield.

Iron Maiden has strict prerequisites, but if it could be used with other shields, it would still be useful...

It might also be early in the game for the other heroes.

What is the level cap... does it exceed 100?

In online games, there are many such cases.

For example, the cap for regular players is 40, but it goes over 100, which is like a harsh ascetic path.

In that case, the cap is immeasurable.

"Well."

There's no point in thinking about it.

The monsters I defeated... I've already fought them with one of the girls.

I can't get a new shield, and I've already absorbed the ones I dismantled.

"Um... aren't you going to absorb them into your weapon?"

"I've already released them."

"Huh?"

The representative male was taken aback.

"Ryou-sama doesn't say such things..."

"What?"

You've already released them but are still absorbing them?

What does that mean?

"Do you understand?"

"Well... Ryou-sama doesn't talk much, you see."

Hmm... He doesn't explain things in detail to his companions.

Well, I haven't explained things in detail to Laftalia and the others either...

There's nothing to explain in detail.

"Anyway, it's fine. I'll follow Ryou's example and absorb them. I don't need to tan the skin and sell it or anything."

So, I absorbed the monsters' corpses into my shield.

The next day.

Yesterday, we hunted until just before sunset and rested at the inn.

Ryou's companions don't seem to do much night fighting, so they nodded in agreement.

The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Ryou's companions suggested going to level up early, so I agreed and we set off.

As a result, by evening, we had leveled up by 8 levels.

"It was very easy to fight, Shield Hero."

"Yeah, it was a productive level-up for me too."

This is it.

What is it? It feels like nothing happened, and the two days passed without a hitch.

If I compare it to an online game, it's like the efficiency of a temporary party.

The right people with the right equipment come together to level up efficiently.

A characteristic of temporary parties is that they can fight during free time when guild members are unavailable.

It's nostalgic... It's been four months already.

I wonder how the guild I used to run is doing. They probably think the guild master has disappeared.

By the way, at the request of Ryou's companions, we returned to the main island after it was past evening.

Until then, we had been diligently leveling up.

It was easy, and we had some results, but I lacked knowledge.

Ryou's companions don't seem to be bad people.

However... the problem is their lack of initiative.

They level up and fight in the places and ways they are told. That's why their teamwork is good, but when I joined, their movements were initially awkward.

Well, by the second day, they had gotten used to it and fought smoothly.

"By the way, what do you think of Ryou?"

"He is very strong. We believe that if we follow him, the world will surely be saved."

"Hmm..."

It seems Ryou is highly trusted by his companions.

I was considering recruiting them over the two days, but I decided against it because it might upset the balance. I don't know what Ryou would say if they died.

Besides, there's no standout talent among them.

None of them are visibly inferior, but none of them stand out either.

That's my impression of Ryou's party.

Compared to the original Kousuke party, it's a much better party, but compared to Laftalia and Filo, it seems inferior, even with a bias.

It's fine to accept anyone who comes.

The companions in the party seem to get along well.

"By the way, Itsuki... you fought with the Bow Hero, right?"

"Yes."

"How was it?"

It probably won't be very helpful, but I'll ask just in case.

"We acted together like the Shield Hero, and I used a bow from the back."

"Hmm..."

"However, he didn't help much. We didn't advance as far into the island as the Shield Hero did."

Still hiding, huh?

Ryou and Itsuki both have a tendency to keep things secret, so it's not very helpful.

Besides, using a bow, attacking from the back is normal...

Well, I'll ask Itsuki's companions tomorrow.