Chapter 30

At Fina's stall in the village of Legias, I sold off the items and headed back into the forest to hunt again.

This is going to be tough.

The main target will be Evil Ants.

I wonder if I can stomach it.

When a few of them come at me at once, I do find it rather unsettling.

Will I be okay?

Turns out, I was pretty much okay.

It felt a bit anticlimactic.

Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad.

Still, girls tend to be overly scared when they face G.

G, you know, G.

One of the most notorious pests.

How is it different from the Evil Ants in front of me?

While twisting the head of an Evil Ant, I was thinking about this.

Of course, I was careful not to attract more ants.

I wasn't exactly slacking off, but I was giving them enough time to call for reinforcements.

They are quite convenient opponents for building combat experience.

It's easy because they come to me without me having to summon them.

Oops.

The numbers are getting a bit too high, so I'll have to speed up the killing pace.

I wasn't trying to harass them.

There was something else I wanted to observe.

I thought the compatibility with bows and arrows against Evil Ants might be poor.

This was half right and half wrong.

The arrows with high penetration power from the Evil Ants dealt solid damage.

But other arrows often bounced off.

Well, the armor of ants is quite excellent, so it can't be helped.

The obsidian arrows seemed to deal damage, though their effect wasn't visually apparent.

And the other thing.

I thought the number of arrows might run out during long battles.

How would they react when the quiver runs out?

I wanted to create such a situation to see how they would handle it.

It turned out to be a bit of an overreaction.

They were pulling out the arrows stuck in the ants' bodies and using them.

Of course, that makes sense.

Well, that's what they would do, right?

Whether or not a secondary weapon is needed is something they need to decide for themselves; I can't force it on them.

Oops.

This time, I've almost wiped them out.

I'll just deal with the ants with some strikes and kicks.

By the way, these ants are surprisingly light for their size.

They fly easily with strikes and kicks, but their HP doesn't decrease much.

Their outer shells are light and tough.

That's why they are used in various parts of my equipment.

Therefore, the most efficient way to defeat these ants is to twist and pull out their heads from their bodies.

I thought it was a bit too simple, like a mindless task.

So I tried the cross technique.

In simple terms, it's like striking the target placed on your knee with your elbow.

In practice, it involves attacking by trapping the target between your elbow and knee at almost the same time.

The cross technique.

It's a skill with various names depending on the school.

In my case, I learned it as a hidden technique called "Zetsumichi."

According to my grandfather, once it becomes a mastery, you can break or bend things freely.

It's also effective as a counter against someone who tackles you.

Of course, it's used against the head.

It can kill someone outright.

Naturally, I've never used it on a human.

It's too scary to use.

So I only know the form.

Originally, both elbow strikes and knee kicks are powerful and have a high lethality.

When you use both to increase their power, it's natural that the destructive power is high.

But if you fail, it could be embarrassing!

I can use this technique mercilessly against these ants.

When I tried the cross technique, it succeeded easily.

I separated the head from the body with one hit.

At first, I thought, "This is easy and good."

But I failed the second and third times.

It seems the image of breaking doesn't work well.

So I tried the image of bending.

I slightly adjusted the striking positions of the elbow and knee.

It bends due to the lever principle in the split second.

If you understand it from a scientific perspective, that's how it works, right?

As I tried it repeatedly, I gradually started to land it with one hit.

It felt good.

Extremely good.

And it was fun.

After all, I don't have to worry much about the other members' performance.

They do take damage.

When their HP bars drop to about 30%, I use Wind Heal.

Compared to Aqua Heal, it has a wider range and is easier to use.

There are no restrictions within the party, but the range is narrower for "Union."

But since Wind Heal has a wider effective range, I can use it with peace of mind.

Support is important.

The extermination ability against ants is surprisingly high, so it's more challenging to prevent them from being wiped out.

Especially Mii-chan the tiger is strong.

She can crush an ant's head with one bite.

How long have we been fighting?

I had a timestamp.

It's been about 30 minutes.

The second effects of Physical Enchantment Fire and Earth are about to wear off.

It's tough to keep fighting this long, so I'll let them get wiped out once.

I'll instruct Wolf and Obsidian to slack off intentionally and I'll fight the ants seriously.

The ten or so ants were eliminated in no time.

【Your combat victory has increased your [Strike] level!】

【Your combat victory has increased your [Kick] level!】

Of course, using them so much will level them up.

But I'm a bit sad that I haven't learned any martial arts techniques.

"Let's divide the tasks and strip the items. We should also collect the arrows."

"Umm, sorry. Can I have a moment?"

"Adel, did you level up too?"

"Yeah, Irina?"

"Yes."

"Take your time."

Well, after all that hunting, they should level up.

Ants can become overwhelming when they gather, but there are also these benefits.

That was a good session.

Infinite reproduction techniques are great.

"Oh, Mii-chan leveled up too!"

"Toguro leveled up too."

The two of them looked at each other in amazement.

Their gazes then turned to me.

"Quickly, now."

"Yes, yes!"

Are they tired?

Their MP bars are just below half.

It's understandable since they are still low-level.

But their faces were bright.

Well, this is fun, so it's natural.

"We're done!"

"Me too."

"Good. By the way, did your summoning magic level up?"

"Yes, it did."

"Me too."

"Then you can summon one more. But simultaneous summoning is still a ways off."

"Yes!"

Yeah, they look happy.

It's good to be honest.

"Decide what to summon next before logging out today."

"Yes!"

"I'll have you summon in front of me in the morning?"

"Understood!"

"Let's strip the items then."

Indeed, there are quite a few ant corpses scattered around.

We need to divide the tasks or it will take too long.

I had Wolf and Obsidian keep watch while we stripped the items.

How many did we hunt?

Evil Ants generally drop needles. The number of needles equals the number of kills.

Adel, Irina, and I stripped them one after another, but it took quite a while.

We counted the items we collected.

We got 175 needles and 102 carapaces.

It's more than enough.

Still, we were hunting at a pace of about six per minute.

The efficiency is too high.

We bundled the needles and stacked the carapaces in the backpack.

There are a lot, but they are light, so it's easy.

It should provide enough funds to buy some equipment.

Finally, the two of them were about to start talking.

They were eager to discuss, but we're still in the middle of hunting.

"Hey, hey. Let's talk after we get back to Legias. We're still hunting."

"Huh? We're not going back yet?"

"Let's do one more round?"

"Eh?"

"Don't worry, we have recovery items."

I'll heal everyone's damage with potions.

Empty bottles will be recycled.

It's a guild-mandated rule!

"Besides, we have healing spells, so don't worry."

My MP bar is at about 60%.

It's still early in the evening, right?

I'll go a bit Spartan, not as much as my master.

"The ants are enough, though."

"Well, you don't have to hate them so much."

Ants can be troublesome when they gather, but they are becoming good opponents now.

You don't have to hate them.

You might even enjoy hunting them someday.

In the end, we repeated the process with about 100 ants for two more sets and finished today's hunting.

Toward the end, they both had expressionless faces.

They are too soft.

The harshness of a black company is far worse than this.

After seeing Adel and Irina enter the inn in the village of Legias, I decided to return to my master's house.

It was quite an eventful first day.

Since I was tired of combat, I started killing the ants before they could call for reinforcements.

I can somewhat understand their feelings.

They seem to be putting too much effort into it.

They want to finish quickly. They need to stay calm.

When I got home, I headed straight to the basement.

There was a message on the way.

【You have a message from a friend.】

The message was from Saki.

Huh? Wasn't the saddle supposed to be ready tomorrow?

【I had some business to take care of, so I finished the saddle today. The actual item is with Fina.】

It's already done?

Isn't that too fast?

I checked the attached appraisal results.

【Equipment Item: Saddle】Wild Horse Saddle, Quality C+, Rarity 3

Weight: 3, Durability: 120

A saddle made from wild horse leather. The leather is soft and comfortable to ride. The padding is replaceable and easy to maintain.

* +1 to Riding skill, slight increase in positive riding actions, slight decrease in negative riding actions

Wow, this is great.

Thanks to my improved riding skill, I can ride without Physical Enchantment Aqua.

But in mounted combat, fumbles are more likely, so it's still challenging.

This will be a bit of a help.

I sent a thank-you message and prepared for the last task before sleeping.

I replenished the consumed potions.

My MP bar is just below half, so I want to finish with alchemy quickly.

I was a bit sleepy.

I had 16 empty bottles.

The remaining potions were down to 7.

The more people, the more we use.

Maybe it's because we can gather them ourselves, so we don't worry too much.

Let's finish the creation.

I filled the bottles with Liquid Water using water magic.

I made 6 potions at a time, using 3 wound-sealing herbs with the shortcut reproduction.

All were quality C.

I did it one more time.

All were quality C.

It's stable.

I used the shortcut reproduction for the remaining 4 potions.

They became quality C+.

Not bad.

Finally, I gathered the remains of the wound-sealing herbs and made recovery pills.

I managed to make 2 with the shortcut reproduction, combining the accumulated remains.

【Your actions have increased your [Pharmacist] level!】

Huh?

I only used alchemy, but my pharmacist level increased.

Maybe it's because potion creation is considered a skill through alchemy.

It's a bit mysterious.

I organized my belongings for the next day.

There are quite a few items to sell.

If I can get some good equipment, that would be great, but the Evil Ants' needles and carapaces don't sell for much.

Gobo is out of the question.

Still, it's much better than not selling at all.

I'll also check the spells.

I remember learning common spells.

Dispel Magic, Enchanted Weapon, Key Lock, and Unlock, four in total.

Dispel Magic is a spell to cancel magical effects.

It doesn't work on magic items with permanent effects.

But its versatility is undeniable.

Enchanted Weapon is a spell to temporarily cast a non-elemental magic on equipped weapons and armor.

It doesn't increase attack or defense power.

However, it allows you to damage creatures that can only be harmed by magic and gives a bonus to resistance against magical damage.

Key Lock is a spell to magically seal doors and windows.

It has a permanent effect and is not dispelled by Dispel Magic.

Unlock is the spell to remove it.

However, it may not work on Key Locks cast by higher-level casters.

You can't try again until your race level increases, which is quite strict.

Key Lock and Unlock are not likely to be used much, but the other two spells will come in handy.

I edited the spell list so I wouldn't forget.

And I have one last treat.

My summoning magic leveled up this morning.

I want to decide on the fifth summon monster today.

Actually, I had already decided what it would be.

Eventually, I will be able to summon three at a time.

Considering three for the day and three for the night, the one that can perform in both is Wolf.

The three for the day are already sufficient.

Crescent Moon, Helix, and Wolf are good.

But for the night, it's not enough.

Crescent Moon and Helix are not compatible.

I decided to specialize in night-focused summon monsters.

The main candidate is Bat.

However, looking at the summon monster list, I do have some doubts.

After all, the options have increased.

I called up the new summon list.

Wolf

Horse

Hawk

Owl

Wood Puppet

Bat

Wood Golem

Beast Ape

Oni

Red Fox

Tiger

Viper

I saw the performance of the tiger and snake today.

Both are quite appealing.

Let's check the descriptions first.

【Tiger】Summon Monster, Combat Position: Ground

A tiger. Main attack method is biting.

It has high attack power and can perform well in both day and night.

【Viper】Summon Monster, Combat Position: Ground

A snake. Main attack methods are biting and constriction.

It moves almost silently and is good for ambushes. It can perform well in both day and night but is weak against cold.

Hmm, as expected.

I was determined to choose Bat, but I'm wavering.

But I'll stick to my original plan and choose Bat as the new summon monster.

Let's summon it right away.

I returned Wolf and Obsidian to make room for the new summon.

I designated the empty slot in the fifth row of the summon monster list and selected Bat from the list of candidates.

"Summon Monster!"

A bat appeared in the magic circle on the ground.

My MP bar is quite low, but it was summoned without any problems.

How is the bat?

Up close, it looks a bit like a mouse, but the fangs protruding from its mouth give it a menacing appearance.

It is clearly smaller than Helix or Obsidian.

When it spread its wings and flew, it perched on my arm guard.

Its wings are large and thin, like a membrane.

The body is a matte black.

Right, I should give it a name.

Summon Monster

Jean, Bat Lv1

Dexterity: 15

Agility: 17

Intelligence: 11

Strength: 8

Vitality: 8

Spirit: 10

Skills

Bite, Flight, Echolocation, Evasion, Ambush, Vampire

The stats are generally lower compared to the previous summon monsters.

But the skills are the highlight.

Echolocation and Vampire.

From the description, I understood it as a biological radar using directional high-frequency sound.

And Vampire.

It can heal HP by sucking blood and also deal damage.

Scary.

I hope it doesn't bring in rabies or something.

Still, the low stats are a bit concerning, but the skills should make up for it.

This will be fun to look forward to in the future.

After returning the bat Jean, I went back to the room with the bed and went to sleep.

I logged out immediately.

Protagonist: Keith

Race: Human, Male, Race Lv5

Occupation: Summoner (Summoner) Lv4

Bonus Points Remaining: 17

Set Skills

Staff Lv4, Strike Lv3 (↑1), Kick Lv3 (↑1), Joint Techniques Lv3, Throwing Techniques Lv3

Evasion Lv3, Blocking Lv2, Summoning Magic Lv5

Light Magic Lv2, Wind Magic Lv3, Earth Magic Lv2, Water Magic Lv3

Fire Magic Lv1, Dark Magic Lv1

Alchemy Lv3, Pharmacist Lv3 (↑1), Glassworking Lv3

Coordination Lv5, Appraisal Lv4, Identification Lv4, Cold Resistance Lv2, Grappling Lv3

Riding Lv4, Precision Manipulation Lv3, Jumping Lv1, Heat Resistance Lv3

Equipment: Kay's Rod, Wild Rabbit Chestplate + Series, Snow Ape Arm Guards,

Wild Horse Boots +, Snow Ape Leather Helmet, Backpack

Item Box ×2

Held Items: Stripping Knife

Titles: Apprentice to the Old Summoner (Provisional), Guardian of Livestock

Summon Monsters

Wolf, Wolf Lv4

Crescent Moon, Horse Lv3 (Resting)

Helix, Hawk Lv3 (Resting)

Obsidian, Owl Lv3

Jean, Bat Lv1 (New!)

Dexterity: 15

Agility: 17

Intelligence: 11

Strength: 8

Vitality: 8

Spirit: 10

Skills

Bite, Flight, Echolocation, Evasion, Ambush, Vampire

Companions