Chapter 41

Let's put the magic mushrooms on hold for a bit.

I want to heal the HP of myself and the summoned monster first.

Jean came out of the battle almost unscathed.

But the others have taken some damage, big or small.

I'll use potions on myself and Voluf, and let Jericho recover with Earth Heal.

Even so, Jericho's HP bar didn't recover to 90%.

To have been reduced this much despite being reinforced and healed along the way.

It was quite a formidable enemy.

I should check the status too.

Jericho Wood Golem Lv2

Dexterity 4 (+2)

Agility 4 (+2)

Intelligence 4

Strength 33 (+5)

Vitality 32 (+4)

Spirit 4

Skills

Strike, Kick, Magic Resistance [Minor], Self-Repair [Minor], Block

Thanks to the four physical enchantment spells stacked, the base stats have been significantly boosted.

It's as if the level has temporarily increased by 6.

It was a good idea to reinforce him.

There doesn't seem to be anything unusual in the central hall.

Let's check if the places we couldn't pass through before are now accessible.

"I managed to defeat the event monster."

"Congratulations."

"Shall we move on to the next area?"

"Yeah, let's have lunch a bit early. Let's go to a hall where no monsters appear first."

"Okay."

I wanted some time to calm down.

Also, I'm a bit puzzled about what to do with the items I picked up.

We head north-east from the central hall.

Right now, what I want most is a rest.

The three Branch Golems we encountered in the corridor were literally crushed by Jericho, who was still under the effect of the reinforcement spell.

I'm reminded again.

Reinforcement spells are amazing.

The five mushrooms we encountered next were no problem at all.

I didn't have to do anything at all.

We both collapsed into a seat as soon as we reached the hall.

It feels like my body, or rather my mind, wants to do this.

I take out the potion-making and cooking equipment and use Liquid Water to get some water.

I'll leave the cooking to Adel and Irena.

"Both of you, you can listen while cooking."

"Huh?"

"What is it?"

"It's the boss here. Its name is Plant Golem. It was a tough enemy."

From there, I gave them a rough outline of the battle.

I also showed them the items I had stripped.

"Magic Mushrooms, huh? What are they used for?"

"Poison or something?"

"Whatever it is, it's probably best to leave it to the production professions."

While waiting for the meal to be prepared, I write on the bulletin board without giving away too much of the story.

Alright.

I'm starting to come to terms with it.

And the title.

A new one called "Proof of Forest Guardian" has been added.

Or was it overwritten?

The "Guardian of Livestock" is gone.

It's probably a higher-level version or something.

The meal turned out to be a hearty soup with shiitake mushrooms cooked in portable food.

While on an adventure, it might look better to be eating solid food, but right now, this kind of meal is more appreciated.

After finishing the meal and cleaning up, I still don't move.

Jericho remains in a waiting posture without moving a muscle.

This summoned monster has the Self-Repair [Minor] skill.

I wanted to see how it works, as the HP is supposed to recover if it doesn't move.

Compared to us humans or beast-type summoned monsters, the recovery rate is about half.

But it's enough.

Considering the original defense, the effect can be estimated to be even higher.

Adel is taking a long break surrounded by furballs.

Just looking at her face, I can tell.

Her expression of bliss has been continuous.

She's repeatedly petting the fluffy furballs.

It's like a drug.

She's also enjoying pressing the paw pads.

It's a drug.

Adel's eyelids are starting to droop.

This won't do.

"Irena, can you help?"

"Huh?"

"Let's get going."

"Ah! Got it."

I leave it to Irena to bring Adel back to reality and check the potions.

There's still about half left.

We should be able to proceed a bit further.

My MP is also running low.

I switch from the dark magic Noctovision to the light magic Flash Light.

I really want an MP recovery potion.

We arrive at the hall with the northern entrance.

It's provisionally called the Black Hall.

As expected, trying to pass through will forcibly cancel the "Union."

I alone passed through.

It's the same as when we entered the forest dungeon.

It's a bit wasteful, but I send Jean back.

We can only form a party of up to six, so there's no choice.

First, I form a party with Irena and pass through the entrance.

There were no problems.

I dissolve the party with Irena and let Adel pass through in the same way.

Then I form a party with Adel and Irena again and summon Jean.

It's a waste of MP, but there's no choice.

"Shall we proceed?"

"Okay."

It looked like a green corridor not much different from before.

What lies ahead, I wonder.

We decided to move forward despite the unease.

When the green corridor ended, there was a wall of earth blocking the way.

Or rather, it was more like a mountain slope.

Thick vines were entangled everywhere, which we hadn't seen before.

It seems we can climb the vines, but there's a big problem.

The Wood Golem Jericho can't climb.

Jean, who can fly, of course, has no problem.

I had him scout ahead, but the vines are densely entangled all the way.

It seems that summoned monsters like wolves, tigers, and snakes would have no problem.

But the humans.

It seems we'll have to climb in some places like tree climbing.

Most of the areas seem to have the vines serving as a path.

Tree climbing, huh.

It's not impossible, but I'd rather avoid it.

I can't bring Jericho, and I need to consider the possibility of being attacked by monsters while climbing.

"Keith, Togoro is reacting to something."

"What's wrong?"

"There seems to be a monster."

Voluf also seems to sense it and takes a low, alert stance.

There's definitely something there.

Perhaps between the thick vines.

Something flew out.

Vine Frog Lv.3

Monster, Target for Elimination, Active State

[Identification] confirms it's a monster.

A frog.

But the next moment, it switched to a passive state and fled.

Maybe it saw our strength.

I kind of want to fight it, but I don't have much MP left.

Let's skip it.

"Let's put this off. It's too troublesome to pass through."

"I think it's fine to check other areas first."

"Tree climbing looks tough."

Even if we manage to pass through, there aren't many places suitable for fighting monsters.

The environment is much harsher compared to the area around the master's house.

It's going to take a while.

We return to the forest dungeon, and I'm a bit worried if we can pass through the entrance, but it seems we can.

Of course, if we couldn't pass without me, we'd be stuck.

This time, we head from the Black Hall to the White Hall.

We kicked the mushrooms and Branch Golems out of the way and moved forward.

Then I realized.

We have to reorganize the party to pass through the entrance again.

Well, there's no choice.

I return Voluf and reorganize the party with Adel and Irena to pass through the entrance.

The green corridor soon ended, and a long, winding downward path continued.

The path, though old, shows signs of maintenance.

It doesn't hinder Jericho's movement.

At first, the surroundings were slightly bright, but it got darker as we went down.

We eventually arrived at a cave-like place.

It was pitch black.

Shining the Flash Light around, there are signs of artificial construction on the walls and floor.

It feels a bit old and damp.

Not only does it feel old, but the atmosphere is not good.

The wolf U-chan.

The tigers M-chan and Mi-chan.

The snake Togoro are all in a battle stance.

I can feel a warning signal from Jean perched on my shoulder.

Something is coming.

I can hear an unpleasant sound.

It's an irregular knocking sound.

The source of the sound appeared in front of us.

Skeleton Lv.2

Monster, Target for Elimination, Active State

The first monster is holding a crude sword.

There are other skeletons behind it.

There are six in the range illuminated by the Flash Light.

Their weapons are varied.

Sword, dagger with a round shield, mace, bow and arrow, spear, and hand axe.

After a long time, I wielded Kay's Rod and charged at the group of bones.

The space here is a bit cramped.

I also wanted to take out the archer in the back early.

Slipping through the sword and hand axe wielders, a spear came at me.

I narrowly avoided the spear tip and thrust the rod into the eye socket.

The skull felt surprisingly light.

The skull flew off the torso, and the body collapsed.

Huh?

Maybe they're weak?

Ignoring the mace wielder, I close in on the archer.

He's trying to change his target to me, but it's too slow.

I knock the bow away with the rod and kick up at the jaw.

The skull flew off with one hit.

The body collapsed, and I check the status of the skeleton group.

The HP bars of the six skeletons were still there.

Huh?

That's strange?

The two skeletons whose skulls were blown off were still moving.

But they don't seem to be trying to attack us.

They seem to be searching for something.

The first skeleton whose skull I blew off found something.

A head.

Its own skull.

The skull was back in place as if nothing had happened.

Well.

In tabletop games, they were cannon fodder.

Blowing off the head doesn't work?

Then I'll try another method.

If I crush the bones, they should stop moving.

Let's try crushing the skull.

The skull the archer was searching for was still on the ground.

I stomped on it hard.

It cracked but didn't break.

But the HP bar of the skeleton seemed to have decreased significantly.

With another stomp, the skull broke.

A blue soul-like thing appeared inside the skull.

I hit it with the rod, and it scattered like a cloud.

What about the HP bar?

It wasn't completely down. About half was left.

Looking closely, there seems to be something soul-like in the area of the heart of the skull-less skeleton.

Maybe.

The skull-less skeleton aimed an arrow at me.

It doesn't seem to be seeing with its eyes.

Even at close range, the arrow missed widely.

Maybe because the bow is crude?

Still, it's not a good feeling.

I close in on the skeleton again.

I let go of the rod and grab the upper ribs with my right hand.

Then I thrust my elbow in.

It felt good. The sound of bones breaking.

I punch the area where the lever is with my left hand and grab the ribs from the back.

While holding the torso with my right hand, I pull out the ribs.

I knock the skeleton down and continue pulling out the ribs by pressing on the spine with my foot.

A blue soul was exposed.

I kicked it, and it scattered like a cloud again.

The HP bar of the monster finally reached zero.

"The soul is in the skull and inside the ribs. Expose it and attack!"

I whisper to Adel and Irena.

The other skeletons continue to move as if nothing has happened, even though they are taking damage.

Do I have to crush all of them to stop them?

That's troublesome.

Since they were surrounding us, it was easy to knock them down.

Then I realized that Jericho could stomp on them with the souls.

By the way, the wolf U-chan is trying to crush the skull with its teeth.

It looks like a dog trying to chew on a bone.

The tigers M-chan and Mi-chan are breaking the ribs and tearing the skeletons apart.

You guys are scary.

In that sense, Jericho is also creepy.

He silently crushes the bones.

Scary.

The last one had its soul scattered from the inside by Togoro.

The thick body coming out of the eye socket is just creepy.

Skeletons are creepy.

But the summoned monsters are still monsters.

Scary.

But they are reliable because they are on our side.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, somehow."

"I didn't get to do much."

We did win the battle.

But there doesn't seem to be anything to strip.

No, there are targets.

The skeletons' weapons are left.

But none of them are good.

The best is quality D+.

The sword is rusted and unusable, quality E.

Honestly, I don't want to bring them back.

As monsters, they are easy to fight.

Honestly, the mushrooms and Branch Golems in the forest dungeon are stronger.

But the terrain is disadvantageous.

It's a bit cramped for Jericho to fight.

What should we do about moving forward?

"Shall we move forward?"

"Let's just check. We might as well retreat for now."

"This place is creepy."

Retreat, retreat.

The skeletons are weak, and I don't think we can earn much experience.

There's another route left.

We decided to return to the Provisional Red Hall via the path we just came from.

Main Character: Keith

Race: Human, Male, Race Level 6

Occupation: Summoner (Summoner) Level 5

Bonus Points Remaining: 22

Set Skills:

Staff Level 4, Strike Level 3, Kick Level 3, Joint Techniques Level 3, Throwing Techniques Level 3

Evasion Level 3, Block Level 3, Summoning Magic Level 6

Light Magic Level 3, Wind Magic Level 4, Earth Magic Level 3, Water Magic Level 3

Fire Magic Level 2, Dark Magic Level 1

Alchemy Level 3, Pharmacist Level 3, Glassworking Level 3

Coordination Level 5, Appraisal Level 5, Identification Level 5, Cold Resistance Level 2, Grappling Level 4

Horse Riding Level 4, Precision Operation Level 4, Jumping Level 1, Heat Resistance Level 3

Equipment:

Kay's Rod, Hare Chestplate + Series, Snow Monkey Arm Guards,

Wild Horse Boots +, Snow Monkey Leather Helmet, Backpack

Item Box x2

Held Items:

Stripping Knife

Titles:

Apprentice of the Old Summoner (Provisional), Proof of Forest Guardian, Seeker of Moderation

Summoned Monsters:

Voluf, Wolf Level 5 (Resting)

Crescent, Horse Level 3 (Resting)

Helix, Hawk Level 3 (Resting)

Obsidian, Owl Level 3 (Resting)

Jean, Bat Level 3

Jericho, Wood Golem Level 2

Companions:

Adel & M-chan & U-chan

Irena & Mi-chan & Togoro