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Chapter 202: Getting Timber

Retze said he’ll be going to the forest because of a commission from the Pharmacist Guild so we parted ways. Today’s destination is the land of the north.

The land is mostly cliffs and boulders so it’s desolate, with sparse smattering of grasses here and there. However, it’s a different story once you enter the forests. The spirit of the great trees reigned supreme in this land long, long ago, so the woods covering this region is very dense.

According to the records in the library, the trees here are luscious with far stretching branches filled with verdant foliage even in winter. It’s said that there’s a certain place within the forest that’s still underwater so I decided to get my timber there.

When wood is submerged in water, the dust and dirt trapped within the tree trunk flow out with the sap, which is then replaced by water, resulting in the sapwood and heartwood drying evenly when desiccated. What’s miraculous is that supposedly, the timber is being dried even when submerged in water.

Because the timber is dried evenly, it won’t easily check or crack. A kerf is usually cut into the back of the timber to prevent the wood from checking in weird places because of contraction. On top of not needing to do that anymore, the impurities are also washed away, so the beautiful grain of wood will come out.

Yup, that’s right, it’s a mountain — ah, lake, I mean — of beautifully grained timber, with less waiting time before it can be used because it’s drying out even while submerged in water.

Actually, the conditions here are pretty harsh, with low temperature, food scarcity, no grass to turn into fodder, so it’s a hard place to traverse.

「Whoa!! 」

And it’s a region where monsters use magic!!

I slashed the burning stones with Zanzenken as they came hurtling at me like rocks from an erupting volcano. Argh, wait, wait a sec, I studied it, ack, I studied it at the library I said!! Studied defense magic!! Ugh!

「Fireball! 」
I forgot, so I ended up fighting fire with fire but my flames are fiercer and stronger than my opponent. I brusquely dealt with them all, hurtling spells one after the other faster than anyone else in order to win. It’s easy to conjure attack spells because it’s like playing a game, but what’s the attribute of defense magic?

…Eh, I defeated it. I countered and cannoned the enemy’s attacks head on with my own spells when one of the spells directly hit the monster. And you know, it’s exactly at this moment that I remembered — yeah, earth barriers, steel shields…

Actually, there’s another option and that’s to evade everything. It’ll be a huge problem if a monster who fires wide range attacks that leaves its opponent with no means to escape appears, so I also have to study that.

Ah, but let’s leave that for when I become more capable in battle. I should get used to monsters casting magic and suddenly appearing out of nowhere first.

A round-faced brown monster with a long Pinocchio-style nose, crescent-shaped mouth with jagged teeth like the Cheshire cat appeared; then there’s another one, a dwarf wearing a red triangle hat, tattered robes, red cloth shoes. It emerged from behind a rock and started throwing spells at me while snickering maniacally.

When I calmed down enough to observe them, I realized the dwarf’s attack trajectory is straight so it’s easy to evade. Plus, it’s slower than the tri-horned wolf’s claws.

At least I didn’t even have to use 【Search】, the sound of his cackling preceded his popping out from wherever he was so it goes without saying that he’d be defeated before he could do anything once I hurtled my attack toward the direction of the sound.

I didn’t have to perk my ears to hear everything around me as I made my way through the forest — the whistling wind, the rustling of my own footsteps, the guffaws of monsters, something crashing.

Hmm. Magic is handy, but it’d be a nightmare if I became lazy because of it and ended up freezing in shock right at the critical moment. Besides, if I don’t come up with spells I can use then I won’t have anything to draw from when the time comes.

I explored and experimented on land that didn’t have any signs of living creatures while I slowly made my way towards the lake.

I 【Teleport】 here after checking the map. This is actually common sense, but yeah, it’s a given that the actual place is much larger than what’s on the map, so it’s only natural that there are discrepancies. Well, I’m enjoying the trip as I inch towards my destination, so I guess it’s fine.

After experimenting, I discovered that making the magic as thin as a knitting needle or flattening it like a blade works. The attribute doesn’t matter, you can do it with any of them. And speed, you have to be fast.

If I just wanted to beat them then any sort of flashy spell can do, but if my goal is to reduce the burden on the spirit and also harvest materials, I have to inflict the greatest damage with the minimum amount of effort possible. Well, it’s better to reduce the effort, but these spirits, ugh! Stop sending me power just for fun!!

Ahh, it’s very hard to adjust…

Red hats, yellow hats, blue hats — their attributes differ depending on the color, huh. The forest monsters are animals that transformed after being possessed by spirits, so what about the ones here? Are they dwarf beings that the spirits possessed, or did the creatures transform into something closer to the spirits’ original form? Which is it?

If a dwarf that isn’t a result of monsterfication really exists then I want to meet it. But I doubt it. These dwarfs aren’t living dwarfs, I bet. As for why, their limbs are made out of wood and whenever I defeat them they completely disintegrate with a crash. They come apart no matter how careful I was, so maybe that’s the way it is.

Can I use the parts as material? I tried checking with 【Appraisal】. Apparently, it’s timber that got doused in mana and they can be used as materials for making batons and also short wands for magic and divination. The uses are limited because they’re thin and short.

The path is uphill, but the slope is so gentle that it’s barely noticeable. I suddenly reach a cliff, and the scenery of the lake spread out before me.

I spotted lots of trees with outstretched branches in the midst of the murky, blackish water. Trees that are a lot wider than my spread-eagled arms are submerged in the deeper parts of the water.

So, how to pull them out now? I can cut the roots off and 【Store】 them, but then, I can’t see the bottom of the lake.

At any rate, maybe I should start with naming the spirits that are in this lake and ask them if they know a great way to do it.

And so, I started earnestly naming them. Lake no. 1, 2, Lake Atmosphere no. 1, Lake Boulder no. 2, and so on.

But… even after asking these guys, all they came up with was the absurd suggestion of diving right in.