Chapter 92

Rig returned, and I summoned Crescent Moon. I mounted it and increased our movement speed. Of course, Lambda-kun ran on his own legs. He couldn’t keep up with Crescent Moon or Wolf over long distances, so he had to maintain a moderate pace. Still, it was impressive.

Our destination was the Earth Spirit Shrine. Naturally, we encountered monsters along the way. Black Bears and Snow Apes. I demonstrated a fight against a Snow Ape to serve as an example. They were significantly stronger than Orcs, and explaining everything was quite a challenge. After the battle, I gave him some advice. Basically, it wasn’t much different from strangling an Orc.

"There’s no PK class tougher than this Snow Ape at the moment, right?"

"Indeed."

"Well, Snow Apes don’t use magic, but they make good practice partners because they’re about the same size as humans."

"Practice partners?"

"Yes. The items you can get from them are valuable, and they’re good for leveling up."

"I see."

Next, I decided to have Lambda-kun fight a Snow Ape.

However, we didn’t encounter any Snow Apes for a while. We kept seeing Black Bears. Lambda-kun and I took turns hunting them and moved forward. We also obtained fur and bear paws, which was nice, but they weren’t our main targets.

We can’t have that. Lambda-kun hasn’t fought a Snow Ape yet. I’ll use the Call Monster spell to summon some nearby Snow Apes.

"Call Monster!"

The spell also revealed the positions of nearby monsters. What’s this? There are Snow Apes around here. There are slightly more of them than Black Bears. Damn. They should attack us!

I summoned two of them with a time delay. The first one is for Lambda-kun, and I’ll take the second one.

"Let’s go!"

"Alright, let’s go!"

Lambda-kun faced the Snow Ape unarmed. I watched him and then attacked the other Snow Ape. I had already taught him everything he needed to know, so I wasn’t worried.

"It was a one-hit kill."

"Do you understand what went wrong?"

"Yes, I used too much force."

If you understand, adjust it. Also, check the HP bar of the monster.

"Yes."

He seemed a bit dejected. Should I encourage him or criticize him? Both are good, but his abilities are too high. Sometimes he can’t learn techniques. It’s a luxurious problem, but I didn’t expect to see it in action.

"Can you adjust your stats?"

"Eh?"

"Can you lower your strength, dexterity, and agility? It’s not much of a practice if you one-shot them."

"I can do that."

I understand his concern. Lambda-kun uses speed to disrupt and attack from behind, then strangle the Snow Ape. If his agility is too low, he won’t be able to use that method.

"Use strikes and kicks. Even with your current skill level, they can serve as a deterrent."

"Really?"

"Sure, if you can overwhelm them with stats, that’s great. But you can’t always do that, right?"

Exactly. What he needs is player skill. He should know what he’s lacking.

"Keep fighting Snow Apes, and you’ll naturally improve. Let’s start."

"Yes!"

Good. Next, I’ll add more Snow Apes using Call Monster. One for Lambda-kun, two for us, and one for Wolf. We’ll continue practicing while heading to the Earth Spirit Shrine.

At some point, I got careless and took damage from a Snow Ape. I did defeat it, but I had to use several spells. I need to be more careful. I’m supposed to be the one teaching.

【Your attack skill has leveled up!】

【Your defense skill has leveled up!】

【Your earth magic has leveled up!】

【You have learned the earth magic spell Stone Wall!】

【You have learned the earth magic spell Gravel Blast!】

【Your summoned monster Crescent Moon has leveled up!】

【Please add 1 point to any stat of your choice.】

Still, I gained a lot. Great. Crescent Moon’s agility has already increased. I’ll add 1 point to strength.

Summoned Monster: Crescent Moon, Horse Lv5 → Lv6 (↑1)

Dexterity: 7

Agility: 23 (↑1)

Intelligence: 7

Strength: 23 (↑1)

Vitality: 23

Spirit: 7

Skills:

Stomp, Sprint, Endurance Run, Gallop, Trample, Kick Up

Beautiful.

And I’ve added two new earth magic spells. They’re wall and area-of-effect spells, like the wind and water magic spells. It’s good to have more options.

We headed back to the Earth Spirit Shrine. It should be close on the map. On the way, we hunted more Snow Apes using Call Monster. Black Bears were just a bonus. We obtained Snow Ape bones and fur, bear paws and fur. The results were satisfactory.

As for Lambda-kun, he was struggling against the Snow Apes, using strikes and kicks. But that’s good. He won’t improve if he doesn’t struggle. His strangling technique is also getting better. Because Snow Apes are strong, he has to apply the technique properly to deal damage. It takes time to finish them off, and he takes damage, but this is better for his improvement than fighting Orcs.

The Earth Spirit Shrine had changed. It looked like it had been completely renovated, both inside and out. The Knocker and Dwarf were nowhere to be seen, but it was clear they had done the work.

There were already people inside the shrine. They must have reached here first. There were at least 10 of them, probably two parties.

They were setting up tents and resting in one corner of the shrine. They seemed to be logging out in shifts. Some of them noticed us and looked over, and some were eating portable food. I tried not to pay attention to them.

"It’s too early for lunch."

"Yeah, but it’s a good idea to log out for a bit. Is the time okay?"

"Today, I can only play until around 2 PM game time."

"That makes it difficult to hunt PK classes, doesn’t it?"

"I prioritize training myself."

Tomorrow, I have to pick up the quest items in Regias Village. I can just use Return Home, but it’s inconvenient to match my time with Lambda-kun. It’s better for him to continue hunting here and train on his own.

"Log out for a bit. When you come back, we’ll do some training and then have lunch."

"Got it. I’ll be back in 10 minutes."

While Lambda-kun was setting up the tent, I made some adjustments. I returned Crescent Moon and summoned Jericho. I’ve been using Call Monster repeatedly, but my MP bar hasn’t decreased much. I have some leeway, and the effect of the silver necklace should reduce MP consumption slightly. It’s good to have some leeway, but I shouldn’t get complacent.

The number of people in the shrine had visibly decreased. It seemed that six of them had reformed their party and continued their adventure. They were leaving the shrine. I wished them good luck.

I decided to pass the time while waiting. I made some arrows using obsidian I had picked up in the morning to replenish my supply. When I ran out of obsidian, Lambda-kun returned. Let’s do this.

"Let’s continue from yesterday. Let’s do some sparring."

"Training, right?"

Yeah, it depends on Lambda-kun whether this will be proper training. I held a wooden dagger and a small sword in each hand.

"I’ll teach you the basics, but they’re not easy to master."

"Understood."

"To be honest, I haven’t mastered them myself. Keep that in mind."

We started training in the Earth Spirit Shrine. I only taught the basics, but it’s good to learn how to use a sword.

However, what I teach will be based on using a katana. Lambda-kun only held a small sword in his right hand. We started with the basic stance.

What is the basic stance for fighting with a short sword?

It’s a half-body stance. If you hold the weapon in your right hand, you stand with your right foot forward. There are several reasons for this.

It makes it easier to adjust your distance by moving forward and backward.

You can also close the distance by adjusting your footwork as the opponent approaches.

Short swords and daggers have a disadvantage in reach, so it’s reasonable to step out of the opponent’s range before attacking.

This stance helps to compensate for the disadvantage while utilizing the advantages.

When viewed from the opponent’s perspective, the range of attack is narrower.

This is a subtle but significant advantage.

It makes it harder for thrusts and downward strikes to hit, even slightly.

This also works to your advantage when defending.

It’s a non-negligible effect.

But there’s an even bigger reason.

You can accidentally hurt yourself by swinging your weapon around.

This is quite important.

That said, this basic stance has its weaknesses.

With your foot forward in a half-body stance, it’s easier to be targeted.

You should also be aware of leg tackles.

Next, I had him practice forms. We alternated between striking and receiving.

Forms have meaning. They are the essence of various elements.

You can’t neglect them.

On the other hand, I didn’t have him do swings.

I’m not saying swings have no meaning, but it’s better to fight actual monsters.

There’s no better training than actual combat.

You don’t wait to master a technique before using it in battle.

Becoming a master before entering combat is too late.

It’s not even possible.

After practicing the forms, we had a mock battle in a combat format.

Lambda-kun with a small sword, me with a dagger.

It’s like fencing, but with different elements in short sword techniques.

Kicks can come, and if they get close, there are throws and joint locks.

It’s a martial art based on grappling.

It’s designed to knock armored warriors to the ground and take their heads.

It should be effective against monsters and PK classes.

This kind of fighting requires player skill.

"I can’t match you at all."

"Of course, you wouldn’t stand a chance if you became equal right away."

Lambda-kun’s movements were good, probably because he played soccer. His weight shifting was fast.

But his weapon handling skills were not high, even if I’m being generous.

It’s understandable since he just learned the forms.

"You don’t need to grip the weapon too tightly. Imagine putting force into it just before you strike."

"Got it!"

This is hard to understand just by explanation.

You won’t fully understand until you actually strike.

But I’ll teach you the basics.

The grip is simple.

You usually put the most force into your pinky.

When you strike or receive, you squeeze the handle.

If you learn to snap your wrist, you’ll improve quickly.

But it’s easy to explain, and hard to perfect.

I haven’t mastered it myself.

In any sword school, the basics are not the same as the advanced techniques.

Martial arts are deep.

Too deep.

We stopped training before noon to have a meal.

It was noon.

There was no announcement from the game operators.

There was a message that an event had been implemented.

The operators here don’t release any information.

They don’t even give hints.

Their stance is the same here.

"Shall we go outside and fight Snow Apes in real combat?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Use a small sword. Finish them with a stranglehold."

"Got it."

This time, I’ll have him use a small sword in real combat.

I think it will add some variety to his fighting style.

Just as we were about to leave the shrine, something strange happened in the center.

Players were teleporting in one after another.

What’s going on?

"They’re respawning."

"Probably the party that just left here."

What a surprise.

They didn’t even have time to respawn after leaving.

What happened?

From their equipment and formation, they didn’t seem to be struggling against Black Bears or Snow Apes.

The party members looked pale.

The sixth member respawned a bit later.

They were all wiped out.

"What happened?"

I thought it might be rude, but I asked.

It’s better to get information if possible.

"Monsters. We suddenly encountered five Snow Apes."

"We only saw one on the way here!"

"We were just unlucky."

The wall warrior, mage, and archer answered.

The other three were a wall warrior, dwarf warrior, and elf archer.

They had a good balance.

Even against five Snow Apes, they should have struggled but not been defeated.

The possibility is that they were high-level individuals.

"Was there an axe-wielding individual?"

"One, right?"

"Yeah, there was one."

"We couldn’t identify the level in time."

"Are you a summoner? You should be careful. It gets troublesome when the number increases."

The female wall warrior warned me.

She must be beautiful under her helmet.

She has a nice voice.

"I’ll be careful."

I bowed deeply and left the area.

Then I went outside.

Encountering five Snow Apes at the event timing.

Something might be happening.

Main Character: Keith

Race: Human, Male, Race Level 10

Class: Summoner (Summoner) Level 10

Bonus Points Remaining: 8

Set Skills:

Staff Lv8, Strike Lv6 (↑1), Kick Lv6, Joint Lock Lv5, Throw Lv5

Dodge Lv6, Block Lv6 (↑1), Summon Magic Lv10, Space-Time Magic Lv3

Light Magic Lv5, Wind Magic Lv6, Earth Magic Lv6 (↑1), Water Magic Lv5

Fire Magic Lv5, Dark Magic Lv5, Ice Magic Lv3, Lightning Magic Lv3

Wood Magic Lv3, Dust Magic Lv3, Melt Magic Lv3, Burn Magic Lv3

Alchemy Lv5, Pharmacist Lv5, Glasswork Lv3, Carpentry Lv4

Coordination Lv8, Appraisal Lv7, Identification Lv7, Insight Lv3, Cold Resistance Lv3

Grapple Lv6, Horse Riding Lv6, Precision Operation Lv8, Jump Lv3

Heat Resistance Lv4, Climbing Lv4, Dual Wield Lv5, Disassembly Lv3

Physical Enhancement Lv3, Mental Enhancement Lv4, Fast Chanting Lv5

Equipment:

Kay’s Rod ×1, Kay’s Tonfa ×2, Anger Pickaxe + ×2

Silver Necklace +, Snow Leopard Hidden Claw ×1, Gale Tiger Hidden Claw ×2

Wild Horse Leather Armor +, Snow Ape Arm Guard, Wild Horse Boots +

Snow Ape Leather Helmet, Wild Horse Belt +, Backpack, Item Box ×2

Items:

Skinning Knife, Carpentry Tools

Titles:

Apprentice of the Old Summoner, Proof of Forest Guardian, Seeker of Balance

Spellbook

Summoned Monsters:

Wolf, Gray Wolf Lv1

Crescent Moon, Horse Lv5 → Lv6 (↑1)

Dexterity: 7

Agility: 23 (↑1)

Intelligence: 7

Strength: 23 (↑1)

Vitality: 23

Spirit: 7

Skills:

Stomp, Sprint, Endurance Run, Gallop, Trample, Kick Up

Helix, Hawk Lv5

Obsidian, Owl Lv5

Jean, Bat Lv5

Jericho, Wood Golem Lv4

Guardian, Oni Lv4

War Guardian, Beast Ape Lv5

Rig, Slime Lv4

Bunraku, Wood Puppet Lv3

Companion: Lambda (Real Name: Omega)