Chapter 8

Yūto's Adventure - Day 4

"Forget about the existence of fire magic. Such a thing never existed."

Early in the morning, feeling dejected, Yūto casually threw a twig he had been fiddling with into the river.

He had survived with all his might and finally leveled up, earning skill points.

Losing those points was a significant blow.

Well, technically, he had acquired the skill, so he hadn't lost it, but the fact that he couldn't change his current situation was, for Yūto, the same as losing it.

"Probably, right? There must be some specific words or magic names in this world, and without knowing them, you can't activate the skill. How would I know? I'm not a native of this world, am I?"

Yūto, feeling dejected, had been in this mood since last night.

Fortunately, this other world was currently in a climate similar to summer, so he didn't need to keep warm at night to be able to sleep.

On the contrary, if he wore his work suit, it would feel quite hot and humid.

However, without fire, he couldn't properly cook, especially meat, and so, even though he wanted to forget about "fire magic," he couldn't let go of the idea of "fire" and was troubled by it.

(I found something edible in the river. I could eat the fish that got caught in the trap earlier, even though it was raw. If I don't worry about parasites, I can manage for now. But how many days will it take to follow the river downstream? When will I meet people? If I don't know these things, giving up fire seems risky...)

Yūto vaguely knew the primitive method of making fire.

By rubbing a wooden stick between his hands and rotating it, he could create a spark in flammable wood shavings and then blow on it to turn it into a flame.

However, he had tried this method during an outdoor class in elementary school and only had the memory of crushing the blisters on his hands and regretting it.

If he tried it again now, he could only see a future of wasting time and energy and getting more blisters on his hands.

(I remember there was a method of tying a string to a stick and moving it to create a spark... something like a bow drill. I have shoelaces, but I only have a vague idea of how it works.)

If he had a string, he could gather the materials and try to make a fire based on his vague image, taking a cautious approach to avoid hurting himself.

Or, he could give up on fire and rely on the food he could catch in the river, aiming to find civilization as soon as possible.

This was a difficult choice, but considering Yūto's thoughts and goals, the answer wasn't that hard.

(I don't want to survive. What I want is to enjoy and master role-playing.)

This was the essence of it all.

For Yūto, who had no practical experience with making fire and could only understand the mechanism through vague images, the task of starting a fire was a high hurdle.

He might eventually succeed if he tried, given the materials, but there was no telling when.

Moreover, Yūto intended to move downstream every day.

Since his goal was to reach civilization, not to hunt, it made sense.

If he had a fixed base, he could efficiently use the fire he had started, but moving every day meant he would have to start a fire every day.

Even if he didn't need to start a fire, he would want it to cook meat and safely eat fish and other river creatures.

Additionally, he would have to untie his shoelaces each time, making his already loose shoes even worse.

For someone skilled at making fire, it might be realistic, but for Yūto, it was not a practical task.

Then.

(I've decided. If fire magic doesn't work, I'll give up on fire and focus on river food to get out of the forest as quickly as possible. I'm tired of this primitive life.)

And so, Yūto started moving downstream.

The riverbank had areas where he could walk easily on small stones, as well as places with large rocks or cliffs.

So, he walked along the riverbank when possible, and only when it was too difficult, he walked in the mountains along the river.

To avoid moles, he took the safest route, assuming they wouldn't come out from under the rocks.

---

About two hours later.

I had already encountered two goblins.

Naturally, I had defeated them, and the flashlight blinding strategy I had thought of earlier was very effective.

One of them was holding a wooden stick, so I was more cautious, but whether they had a weapon or not, goblins would run straight at me as soon as they saw me.

So, when they got close enough, I aimed the flashlight in my pocket at them, and while they were blinded and cowering, I hit them with a screwdriver.

This method was stable, and I felt I had established an efficient routine for defeating goblins.

At noon, I was about to search for food and take a break at a nice spot by the river when I discovered a horned rabbit.

I used the jacket strategy to defeat it, and an unexpected event occurred.

"Level up to 3."

I expected that.

"Acquired [Charge] skill level 1."

...What?

Charge?

I thought my level would go up soon because the experience from the moles was good, but what is the Charge skill?

Is it a combat skill?

I just waited for the rabbit to charge, I didn't charge myself.

It was a skill I couldn't relate to at all.

However, since I had acquired it, I had to check it.

I looked around to make sure there were no enemies and then opened the status screen.

"Hmm, it's not there... not listed under combat skills..."

I scrolled down the skill list and, at the very bottom, found that the [Charge] skill had been added to the previously empty [Other] section, with a gap of about two spaces at the top.

"Oh... here it is!"

I couldn't help but exclaim and, of course, checked the skill details.

[Charge] Lv1: Charge forward at 130% of your speed. Range is arbitrary, maximum distance 5 meters. MP cost 5.

Ha ha ha...

"This is it! This is exactly what I was looking for!"

I was moved to shout.

After the incomprehensible explanation of [Fire Magic], this was even more touching.

I need to check my status before getting too excited...

Name: Yūto Kanami <Salesman>

Level: 3

MP: 22/22

Strength: 14

Intelligence: 15 (+1)

Defense: 13

Magic Defense: 13

Agility: 13 (+1)

Technical: 12

Luck: 18

Blessing: None

Title: None

This is my current status.

The +1 to Intelligence and Agility is concerning, but I'll verify that later tonight.

There's no point in worrying about it now with my vision blocked.

It's enough to confirm the increase in status and that I now have 3 skill points.

Let's try it right away!

I closed the status screen and walked forward.

"Charge!"

Suddenly, my vision blurred, and I felt an unfamiliar acceleration, as if I had been launched by a spring, a force beyond my will.

I realized I had moved about 5 meters.

"Amazing... this is a skill!"

I could tell I had moved faster than my full sprint, even if only for a moment.

Checking the status screen, my MP was "17/22," confirming that the skill had activated.

So, let's try different patterns.

Next, I tried activating it while jogging.

It activated, but the charge speed was the same as when I was walking.

This means the maximum movement speed of the charge is fixed.

It probably depends on Agility and will increase with higher skill levels.

Also, I couldn't change direction during the charge, confirming it was a straight-line movement.

Of course, it makes sense for a charge. Thinking of a boar helps.

However, it feels easier to transition into an attack while jogging, due to the reduced acceleration and motion.

So, it might not be meaningful, but...

I tried activating the skill while standing still.

"Charge!"

Hmm... it didn't activate.

And this one.

I tried focusing on it in my mind while jogging.

(Charge!)

"Ah! This works!"

I was a bit worried that I might have to shout something like "Slash iron keeeen!!" in the future.

It's a relief that there's no cruel restriction that skills must be spoken aloud, like many heroes might have.

Hmm, my first usable skill! My first MP consumption!

It's a bit emotional.

With this skill, although I'd rather avoid it, it would be very effective if I were caught off guard by a mole.

If I notice, I can close the distance before they can cast a spell.

However...

I can take off my shoes, right?

It might be better to take off my shoes before activating it.

It's a bit unsettling to think about, like someone about to die.

Well, let's pick up my shoes and find some food quickly.

Shrimp and crabs, please wait for me.