Chapter 74

As I proceed through the wasteland strewn with rocks of various sizes, Helix is flying at a slightly lower altitude, exploring the surroundings. If we don’t do this, it’s hard to distinguish the Rockworms. Well, it can’t be helped.

The next monster we fought was also a Rockworm. There were only two of them. Since we already know how to deal with them, we dispatched them without any issues. One was lifted by the Oni and slammed into the ground. The other was taken care of with the Force Bullet spell. Another one approached during the battle, but the Oni finished it off by slamming it into the ground.

It was rather anticlimactic. No, the swarm of Rockworms we encountered earlier was probably abnormal. I wanted to fight the smaller group first. Perhaps the ancestral rites are still lacking.

In any map, it’s unlikely that there’s only one type of monster. Helix was flying and confirming the object approaching from the sky. It seems to be coming from the forest, and it’s flying at a low altitude. It looks like it’s trying to ambush us from the right rear.

Unfortunately, we already know about it.

I can’t see it yet, but Helix has definitely caught its shadow. It’s probably a bird.

I turned around just as it was about to attack, and I caught sight of the monster.

Is it a bird?

It has a rather flashy color pattern.

I used the [Identification] skill, and it seems to be a bird monster indeed.

Fire Parrot Level 2

Monster Target Active

Hey.

That’s a big parrot.

The parrot that grazed my head was easily larger than Helix. Is it even a parrot, or more like a parakeet?

The extremely colorful parrot, with blue, red, white, and a bit of black and yellow, flipped in the air and came towards me. I’m ready to intercept.

Helix attacked the monster. The first attack grazed the monster’s wing, but it quickly regained its balance and dug its talons into the wing. What an acrobatic move. It’s fast and agile. What incredible mobility.

The monster, losing its balance, crashed to the ground. Helix didn’t let go of the wing. It easily dodged the monster’s beak, which was coming at us from close range. Amazing.

Of course, I and the Oni are dashing towards the monster. The monster spat something at us.

At first, I didn’t know what it was. It took a while to realize it was fire from the heat on my skin. It was good that I kept dashing. The monster tried to pry Helix off. At the same time, I and the Oni grabbed the wings.

The monster’s beak came at me. It’s a thick, short, and powerful weapon. Something fell on its head. It was Rig. It completely covered the monster’s head.

The monster lost the opportunity to attack me. Its wings were pinned down by me and the Oni, and it was being beaten one-sidedly. Once it got to this point, the advantage couldn’t be overturned. After that, it was a one-sided victory.

Despite the special fire attack, the damage was minor. Except for Rig, whose HP bar was reduced to nearly half. It took too much damage. Slimes are known to be weak to fire, but this much? Even though Rig was attached to the Oni’s back and wasn’t directly hit by the fire. I need to be more careful in the future.

The parrot, as usual, dropped its wings.

[Material Item] Extremely Colorful Wings Raw Material Quality C+ Rarity 3 Weight 1

The wing of a Fire Parrot. A material for decoration.

Hmm.

It’s a bit underwhelming.

Decorations are not really my thing.

I, Helix, and the Oni use potions to recover. Helix is fully recovered, and my and the Oni’s HP bars are around 90%.

The problem is Rig.

Will potions work?

I tried giving one to Rig.

Rig curled up and then changed to a slightly indented shape. I poured the potion liquid into the indented area. Yes, it’s recovering properly. I don’t know the principle behind it.

It’s a game, after all.

Thinking too deeply is a loss.

Rig recovered to over 80%. For now, this will do. If I give another potion after a while, it will fully recover.

We continue further south.

It seems that the closer we get to the forest, the higher the chance of being attacked by these creatures. Helix’s eyes caught a bird flying in the sky above the forest. It doesn’t seem to be coming towards us, but it’s better to be cautious. I wanted to avoid the forest if possible, but it’s right in front of us. If I walk a bit, I’ll be back in the volcanic area.

There’s no choice.

Let’s push through.

The forest was quite dark, even though it was daytime. The undergrowth was deep. Helix stayed on my shoulder. I could see the birds from a distance, but they didn’t seem to be attacking. Can we get through without a fight?

No such luck.

We were attacked by a different monster.

It was a rather unique group.

Slightly larger than a human.

Naked except for the waist.

Those with crude spears are still okay.

Most of them have clubs.

Or rather, just branches, I guess.

Their faces were those of pigs.

No, that’s an insult to pigs.

They have pig-like faces, but they are far more hideous. Clearly evil. I didn’t need to use [Identification] to know what they were.

Orc Level 3

Monster Target Active

The strongest one looked like this.

Orcs, huh.

A classic monster.

That means no need to hold back, right?

The group consisted of 8 orcs.

The undergrowth was deep and unreliable.

But I had hope.

I had been dealing with troublesome opponents in a row, and I had built up some frustration. If they were close to human size, I could handle it. I let go of the rod and took the tonfas.

The orc at the front was blown away by the Oni’s punch to the face. The Oni then charged into the group. I followed. I dodged an orc with a club and hit its temple with my elbow. The tonfa felt like it was embedding into the skull. That alone made the orc faint. It’s too weak. Too weak. The HP bar didn’t disappear; it was still about half, so it just fainted.

Next orc?

Of course, it swings the club from above.

What a crude way of fighting.

I suppressed the orc’s wrist with the tonfa and hit its elbow with my right knee from below. No strength is needed. Just the principle of the lever and the timing of the impact. That’s enough to break the elbow.

“Giiiiii!”

The strange scream hurt my ears. I hit the orc’s throat with my left tonfa to silence it. Then I hit its stomach with my right tonfa. That alone made it fall to the ground.

Show some spirit, orcs.

I hit the fallen orc’s head a few times with the tonfa, and it seems to have depleted its HP bar. Next, next.

I aimed for the orc with a spear who was trying to charge at the Oni. I closed the distance quickly and stopped its movement with a kick. The orc turned to face me.

Don’t look at me.

And the orc’s breath is so bad.

I wrapped my arm around the orc’s neck with the tonfa still in hand. The left tonfa doesn’t do much, but the right tonfa is pressed against the orc’s right side of the neck. What happens if I strangle it?

I pressed the right tonfa against the orc’s cheek and used my head to make the stranglehold tighter. A whistling sound came from the orc’s mouth. The orc’s body lost its strength as it tried to struggle. I didn’t intend to just make it faint. I twisted its neck while applying my own weight.

I heard the sound of bones breaking while checking the battle situation. The Oni had already beaten 4 orcs to death. One was being slowly killed by Rig. I had taken care of 3 orcs.

No.

One is still unconscious.

I wrapped my arm around its throat and twisted its neck. The orc’s head tilted at an impossible angle. It looked absurdly comical.

The Oni brought the orc’s body that was left farthest away.

“Gehi!”

I’m glad, but we can’t communicate.

But it was a great performance, so I can forgive it.

The orcs’ weapons, clubs, and spears were of poor quality, E grade. I’ll pass on collecting them. I tried to skin one with a skinning knife, but nothing came off except for one. But that one seems to be a decent harvest. When I [Identify] it, it looks like this.

[Material Item] Aiolite Quality C+ Rarity 2 Weight 0+

Also known as Water Sapphire. A deep blue gem.

It’s not particularly rare, but it’s known to help with spell casting when processed.

Why do orcs have gems?

I don’t get it.

But it gives a good reason to hunt them. I’ll target them without hesitation.

Just as we were about to leave the forest, we encountered orcs again. This time, there were over 10 of them.

Good.

Give me the gems, orcs!

I have something to say to the developers.

Raise and then drop.

The greater the difference, the greater the damage.

Stop it.

It’s frustrating to expect something and get nothing.

Even though I wiped out all the orcs.

I feel like the developers are malicious.

Are they making us draw losing tickets?

We emerge from the forest into another wasteland. Helix was flying and exploring when it found a monster. It’s a Rockworm. There are probably over 10 of them. We’re still far from the monsters, and we could bypass them, but it’s like a bonus on the way. Let’s hunt them.

Again.

I got no items.

I ended up killing 17 Rockworms. The number increased because some called for help, but it wasn’t a problem. I only used the Enchanted Weapon and Force Bullet spells. The damage was fully recovered with potions.

《Your victory in this battle has increased your [Earth Magic] level!》

《Your victory in this battle has increased your [Dust Magic] level!》

《Your victory in this battle has increased your [Melt Magic] level!》

《Your victory in this battle has increased your [Burn Magic] level!》

My magic skills leveled up all at once.

But for some reason, I’m not very happy.

Rockworms.

Why don’t you leave anything behind?

I moved forward with a lingering dissatisfaction. Exploration isn’t progressing as smoothly as in other maps. It’s different from moving through a grassland with a crescent moon. I can’t even see the shadow of an area portal. It’s just a wasteland. The landscape is monotonous and depressing.

Helix found something.

It’s another swarm of Rockworms.

Rockworms again.

But it wasn’t just that.

Someone is being chased.

As we got closer, the situation became more serious. The red marker is completely red. How many are there?

There’s a green marker at the front of the swarm.

Only one.

This is bad.

What should I do?

What should I do?

In the end, I chose to fight. I cast the Enchanted Weapon spell on myself, the Oni, and Helix as we approached. I’ll leave Rig alone. I also added the Physical Enchantment Wind to the Oni to boost its agility.

Helix went ahead.

It flew straight towards the green marker. I followed. The Oni charged into the swarm faster than me. Rig was still attached to my back.

Yeah.

It’s fine to leave it alone. I could see the swarm’s movements becoming disordered.

I approached a few of the nearby Rockworms and started swinging my rod to eliminate them. I also used Force Bullet. This monster jumps to attack and move. If you observe carefully, it’s not hard to avoid. But there are many of them. I tried to avoid facing multiple monsters head-on, but it was difficult. A few close calls, but I continued the battle without taking fatal damage.

Of course, helping a player in distress has a meaning.

To be honest, I was thinking:

If I defeat this many Rockworms, won’t I get at least one item?

The battle had been going on for about 5 minutes.

The number of Rockworms was clearly decreasing. The number of new monsters might also be decreasing. We caught up to the fleeing player.

The player was in a terrible state.

From the equipment, it was a warrior, probably a tank. He was using a large shield, which was quite damaged.

“T-thank you for helping me!”

“It’s not over yet!”

As I replied, I started killing the monsters that were trying to gather around the warrior. It wasn’t the time for conversation. It was an emergency, so I at least used [Identification].

Goudi Level 7

Fighter In battle

“Where are your companions?”

“They ran away!”

The warrior’s attacks were hitting the monsters, but not enough to defeat them. The monsters’ HP bars weren’t decreasing at all.

“Why can’t physical attacks work?”

“With Enchanted Weapon, you can defeat them! Hold on a bit!”

I selected and