Chapter 62

"Alright, it's over!"

"We did it!"

After defeating the Armored Mountain Gorilla, we high-fived and started walking to the other side of the bridge.

"Good job."

"Nice one."

"Quite a unique gorilla, huh?"

"Basically, you soloed it, lol."

"That's just like Skuna."

"Your full support role is so cool."

"Marry me, Tōka-chan."

"Tōka-chan isn't interested."

"Huh?"

"No, I'm talking about the comments."

Before I even got to that, I think Rin's wall is pretty thick.

By the way, I wonder what Rin is doing. She must be close to her destination by now.

As we crossed the bridge, a soldier-like NPC at the gate called out to us.

"Ho, you two girls defeated that thing?"

Since he has the same equipment as the gatekeeper at the bridge entrance, he's probably a gatekeeper too. He looks to be in his early old age.

What's different is his strength. I can tell just by standing in front of him. He's a very powerful NPC. In terms of his depth, he reminds me of Kohaku.

"Yeah. It was quite an unexpected monster."

"I see. That thing is indeed quite unique. However, it's been a long time since I've seen two people do it... No, it's inevitable for those who carry that proof. I've heard about you."

He pointed to the Orichalcum shining on my chest, and I didn't react much.

Given Kohaku's example and the fact that, according to her, the "Proof of a Named Solo Slayer" is an item held by only a few people in the world, it's not surprising that a soldier like this would know about it.

"You seem to have already received the baptism, but be aware that wearing that proof itself is a kind of trial. I've seen many people who wore it get crushed by the world. Being recognized by the gods means that."

"Baptism, huh..."

I wondered which battle he was referring to, but it was probably the battle with the Apocalypse.

If what he says is true, the meaning of Kohaku's words about there being only a few holders of this item changes significantly.

If there were more people who held it, they must have been crushed by the world.

"Thank you, um... Gatekeeper?"

"Jest, young Oni girl."

"Then, Mr. Jest. I'll be back, so see you then!"

"Aye. ...Ah, right, let me check your passage permit. You can't deceive the eyes of the gods, but it's a rule."

"Sure."

I took out the card-shaped passage permit that dropped from the Mountain Gorilla and showed it to Jest, who nodded and pointed the way.

"The capital is straight ahead. Be careful of the Eagle-type monsters that target the Rabbits, which are mainly found there."

"Wow... Flying monsters, huh?"

Indeed, when I looked up, I could see something flying.

The plain isn't as vast as the ones we've seen before, with trees growing densely in some areas, so there might be nests around.

"Let's go, Tōka-chan."

"Okay, Suku-nee!"

"Good luck."

Thus, we parted ways with the gatekeeper Jest and headed for Feas.

☆

"By the way, you called Feas the capital just now, right?"

While maintaining vigilance against the sky, we walked along the pleasant climate road, chatting casually.

The Rabbits in the Feas area are basically non-aggressive unless provoked or approached.

"The capital, meaning the capital of the country. I think... From the starting city to the eighth city, it's called the Melsutiv Empire, and Feas is its capital."

"Melsutiv."

"Melsutiv, Suku-nee."

"V, V, not B."

"No, I mean... It's not the pronunciation, but the name is long..."

"Names of countries in katakana are hard to remember, aren't they?"

People who are bad at world history sometimes say that. I'm one of them too.

"Melsutiv is said to be the name of the founding hero who single-handedly held back 100,000 monsters."

"Wow..."

"There's a statue of him in the capital, so let's go see it later."

I was more surprised by Tōka's extensive in-game knowledge than by the story of Melsutiv.

She can answer anything and even adds useful trivia without being too pushy.

Anyway, let's go see Melsutiv's statue when we get to Feas.

Personally, the story of a hero who fought 100,000 monsters is quite shocking, especially after almost being killed by 30 monsters in the Demon Forest.

The scale of the stories of the NPCs in this world is quite large.

Still, this area is surprisingly peaceful.

Since it's called the capital, I guess the area around the city is well-cleared.

If you ask if the monsters are weak, they aren't. There are monsters that easily exceed level 30 wandering around.

I wonder how the people in the capital level up at first.

Anyway, it's peaceful and easy, which is nice.

"Uh..."

"Is something wrong?"

"Be quiet for a moment."

I found something in the distance, where the trees are dense, and took out the iron ball, the easiest projectile to throw from my inventory.

Considering the mace I threw during the Mountain Gorilla battle, my strength is sufficient. The trajectory calculation is also fine. Since it doesn't seem to be moving, I'll prioritize accuracy.

I increased my concentration, held the iron ball in my right hand, and took a small run-up before swinging my right arm.

"......Shh!"

The iron ball, released with a sharp exhalation, flew in a straighter trajectory than the mace.

This time, I used the "Shot" art of the "Throwing" skill to increase the throwing power. It's an art that can be thrown straighter, faster, and with more power than "Shoot."

The iron ball, which entered the trees with great force, bounced off branches and trunks three times before piercing the forehead of its target.

The monster, which had been sleeping on a tree branch, fell due to the shock and pain, and two throwing knives I had prepared in advance pierced its throat, breaking it and pinning the monster to the tree.

The monster, which had stopped moving, eventually disappeared due to bleeding damage.

"Alright."

I aimed for a rare-looking monster, and it felt great to hit it as intended.

I've been in a great mood since the Mountain Gorilla battle. My mind is sharp, and everything feels good.

"Did you see something?"

"Yeah, a rainbow rabbit, just for a moment."

"Did you hit it...? That would be a waste. The rainbow rabbit is the one Suku-nee said she saw on the other side."

"What, what?"

"A rainbow rabbit, huh?"

"Hmm, can't see it."

"Of course, it's already gone."

"Grass."

"Can't see it from Skuna's perspective either."

"It's called a 'Mysterial Rabbit.' The materials you get are... quite a lot."

The meat is delicious. The fur sells for a high price. The experience is minimal, but you get a lot of money.

It seems to warp away when it detects a player, so the usual way to defeat it is to sneak up and kill it before it warps.

If you can kill it before it's detected, like I did just now, you can get a lot of materials.

It seems to be quite fragile, so if you keep finding and defeating it, it might be quite profitable. I killed it by chance just now, but maybe I'll actively target it from now on.

Since my finances have been tight since being stripped by Haruru, I need to find ways to make money, which is a bit of a pain.

Q: Why doesn't the protagonist use a bow?

A: Hitting with her fists feels better and she has more options.

By the way, bows are quite popular weapons. They are divided into crossbows, mid-range bows, and long-range sniper bows.

Crossbows are popular for general use, while mid-range and long-range bows are useful in boss battles. Crossbows are popular for mob battles.

They are generally expensive weapons.

Throwing is very dependent on PS but is actually quite powerful. Otherwise, magic would be better.