Chapter 348
Chapter 348: Despite outstanding performance at land, sea, and air, its true merit seems to be in underwater combat.
Day 82 – Daytime, the Evil Forest
I wonder if I’ve gotten stronger. My equipment definitely did, it’s actually so overwhelmingly strong that my body is getting destroyed from its strength, getting into pretty ridiculous territory, but what about me?
As slow as it goes, I still raised a few levels. Back when I fought here, I hadn’t even broken through the level 10 wall, but now I’m level 23. But have I gotten stronger?
「Ermm, here it is. 『Level 20 Adventurer Set』. I sort of bought it on impulse back when I just reached level 20, and totally forgot about it since then. Well, this equipment doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, but that’s how it usually goes? I guess?」
I suddenly remembered about it while getting bored out of my mind with gobs and kobs whacking, which couldn’t even qualify as a training.
「Ugh, hard to put on! What a hassle! Can’t move in this thing! A leather helmet, leather boots, gloves, and only the shoulder pads have any metal on them? The cape’s made of cloth, huh… So heavy!」
This is normal equipment for a level 20 Adventurer Trainee. Naturally, it doesn’t have even a single enchantment or effect.
Using 『Magic Wrap』, strikes me with almost lonesome level of something being amiss, from how insignificant the effect feels, as if I’m barely wearing anything at all. Still, I’ve fought plenty of late-night battles wearing nothing but 『Magic Wrap』, so I can adjust to the feeling right away.
A monster with dirty, greenish skin, short but stout squat frame, an ugly face that doesn’t resemble any creature, deserving to be called impish, armed with a club. That’s a goblin!
(*Thud*)
Dead. Yeah, I tried to hype it up, but a goblin is a goblin. A single Lv9 gob is not enough to gauge anything. I whacked it once and it’s dead.
As expected, without equipment 『Teleportation』 wouldn’t activate. Perhaps it might be possible if I really force it, but this skill is far too dangerous to use without being able to control it.
I can kick off empty air with『Air Walk』, but without the equipment it’s kind of unreliable. Even so, I’m perfectly able to land right in the middle of a goblin pack. Having myself shrouded in『Magic Wrap』I chain『Kyojitsu』, taking down six in three swings. Instant destruction.
「So even the strongest one was only level 14? There were six of them, but I sort of ended up ambushing them, so it’s kind of inconclusive?」
(Nod Nod) (Nod-Nod) (Jiggle-Jiggle)
Speak up! Looks like they are getting bored, having nothing to do.
From this fight, I confirmed that 『Kyojitsu』 will activate even without any gear equipped, and it won’t cause self-destruction either, but yeah, the power’s pretty underwhelming!
Well, actually, the likes of gobs would die in one hit even from a normal attack. I used 『Kyojitsu』on purpose, but it ended so fast I can’t even call it a training. The gobs died with a stupid 『Uewh?』look on their mugs. Their reaction is too slow.
With the goblins’ levels dropping, my own level rising, and new skills unlocked, there’s just no sense of challenge at all. The forest where just surviving was a lucky bet two and a half months ago has turned into a place I can breeze through even without equipment.
「No idea if I became stronger, or just more skillful, but this is kind of pointless as a practice, isn’t it?」
(Nod Nod) (Nod-Nod) (Jiggle-Jiggle)
Armored Pres-san and Dancing Girl-san have both taken off their armor and are in their casual clothes now. Though calling it casual, might be a stretch, they’re battle-ready outfits reinforced with high-level skills and mithril, so they’re way stronger than your average armor. But looks-wise, it’s just a blue collared dress and a white sailor-collared one, they honestly look like they’re heading off on a picnic or something. They aren’t saying a word, though!
We even allowed the gobs to ambush us a few times, but regardless if we allowed them to have the initiative or even surround us, they couldn’t provide any resistance at all. Looks like I’ve gotten a bit stronger after all.
I managed to fight, or rather, completely easily win, without relying on any cheating (equipment). Or rather, I had the upper hand in stats and completely overwhelmed them with technique, so I guess my actual skill has gone up a bit after all. All this time, I’ve been desperately struggling, combining various tricks, just to be able to fight despite the odds. I kept up a pointless and futile struggle but maybe it wasn’t so pointless after all.
「Still weak and fragile, but I guess I’ve gotten just a little bit stronger, huh~. Back when we first came here, I nearly died in this forest more times than I can count, you know? Me, the geeks, even Pres and the others… We were all fighting for our lives. Hard to believe that was only a little while ago, isn’t it?」
Eighty-one days ago, I was walking alone through this dark forest, terrified of the monsters. It feels like ages ago, but really, it was just the other day. A lot happened, but looks, all of it wasn’t meaningless. The meaning is in the three walking beside me.
After hunting down all of the surrounding monsters we head towards the cave while gathering mushrooms. The Demon Scythes, taking a separate route, will probably join up with us before long. Putting back my usual equipment I proceed through the forest.
After officially coming under my command Demon Scythes’ levels reset to 1, so they likely want to grind some experience in the Evil Forest. They seem to head out logging whenever they have spare time… and they’re probably about to pass me in levels already? Not that it’s anything new.
Alright, I’d say this is a safe zone now. Just a little farther to the cave… I have everyone fall back, carefully confirm the direction, and fire at the furthest controllable range. 「Dimension Slash」
A dimensional cut unleashed using Kyojitsu while shrouded in full power 『Magic Wrap』, with all magic, skills, and effects, all layered on. With Wisdom controlling it, it leans into range over power, with the direction being managed with extreme precision, the slash line tears through the forest. Basically, yardwork. Tree trimming and lawn mowing.
And as surely a natural outcome of that, in what could be called an extremely obvious and expected result, bordering a poetic karma, I took a ton of damage. Torn muscles all over my body, shattered bones, ruptured blood vessels, there’s a lot going on. Naturally, I’ve been munching on a High-Grade Recovery Mushroom I even started. 『Regeneration』 also started on already routine high-speed restoration, so I’ll be resting for a moment. Looks like I managed to clear out more than a kilometer in a semicircle around the cave. That whole area has now turned into a cheerful grassland with the sunlight freely pouring in. While it’s not uncontrollable anymore, it seems I still can’t fully handle the recoil. It hurts, you know?
After healing up, I collect the fallen trees, mushrooms, and the magic stones from the gobs that got caught in the attack, then return to the cave.
「It’s been a while~, I’m back. Well, it’s not like I actually expect a reply? Rather, it would be a problem if there was any? I mean, the sign out front clearly says 『No Cave Kings Allowed』so there shouldn’t be anyone here? I guess?」[1]
(Jiggle-Jiggle! Jiggle-Jiggle!)
Very excited Slime-san is running around, exploring the place, while Dancing Girl-san is looking around with a curious look. Meanwhile, Armored Pres-san and I are chilling at the table while sipping mushroom tea. 「It’s sort of… Nostalgic.」- Armored Pres-san also seems to be in a good mood.
With 『Wisdom』-controlled automatic magic cleaning underway, there wasn’t really anything for me to do, and even the weeding was done in a single blow. Looks like 『Dimension Slash』 grazed the garden a bit, slicing through the stone table and benches, but I’ve already fixed that. Let’s have a meal out in the garden later.
Since then, I’ve trained『Alchemy』 and with my boosted crafting skills under 『Wisdom』’s control, I’ve been upgrading rooms and furniture. Right, back then I didn’t even have iron or Alchemy, so the Eiffel-style base of the chairs had to be made entirely from wood using Wood Magic… But that has its own charm, so I add more Eames chairs to the mix. I’m also making glass tables. If Paolo Piva-san[2] saw the design, he’d probably get mad, but hey, when you say glass table, this is the image that comes to mind. While mass-producing furniture and shelves that look like something you’d already seen somewhere before, I’m also expanding and remodeling the living room as I go.
Then, in the back of the large room I’d once built for the girls, I start adding new private rooms and another big communal space. Just how many days has it been since I last renovated the cave? During the work, I ran into another crystal vein, so I mined that out too. Let’s turn it into a crystal window for natural lighting later.
「Those three rooms are yours, so feel free to use them as you please. Just discuss the assignment among yourselves. Well, it’s not like we can get back that often, but having your own room is pretty nice, right? It’s everyone’s home after all?」
After a fierce, world-shakingly intense game of ladder lottery, the room assignments were finally decided. I start making furniture, taking requests for each person’s room. Just knowing you have a place, even in some far corner of this world, is enough. It’s not like we’re going to live here, so they might not even use the rooms, but still, just having a place to return to must mean something.
And now, BBQ! A barbecue in the garden out front of the cave, now brighter and with a clearer view! Since I’m fanning the coals with a handheld fan it sort of feels like a yakitori joint, but it’s still BBQ! Well, skewers, actually.
(Wiggle-Wiggle) (Nom-Nom) (Munch-Munch) (((…)))
The Demon Scythes also joined us for the meal. They never miss on food, and their levels are already higher than mine…
「Eating outside
Food is delicious
Delight~」
Looks like Dancing Girl-san liked it too. A dwelling on the outskirts of the continent. The neighbors are nothing but monsters, but this is the home cave. And that’s why it’s everyone’s home.
Since the garden suddenly expanded, I diverted water from the river to build a pool. At the front, there’s a shallow, circular pool. If we fill it with hot water, it instantly becomes an outdoor jacuzzi. And in the back, a full 50-meter pool. I even made buoys out of wood and set up eight lanes. But thinking about it, the only ones in this world who might be into competitive swimming are. Fish Girl and the Nudist Girl.
And with this brand-new outdoor pool-slash-jacuzzi ready, we fill it with hot water and all get in together. The Demon Scythes went off to chop wood again. Would the scythes rust if they went for a bath?
And now it’s a bubble bath, an outdoor jacuzzi, co-ed, but safe and wholesome thanks to mandatory swimsuits. Slime-san seems to have taken a liking to it, floating around carefreely, or rather, sleeping?
Armored Pres-san in a wholesome, athletic black high-leg racing swimsuit, and Dancing Girl-san in a sky-blue high-leg swimsuit, are splashing around with me in the foam, and since it’s under the bubbles, anything goes. Right, it’s not a crime if it’s not visible! These racing swimsuits look like normal tight-fitting suits that cling perfectly to the body, but they’ve got wide-open backs with only crisscrossed straps. And of course, needless to say, no lame pads or support built in. Yep, this level of clinging and wedging is exactly what makes it so good!
The squirmy and wriggling bunch must be absolutely thrilled to be in this hot, bubbly bath. Tangling and wrapping around Armored Pres-san and Dancing Girl-san they are making them go wild, shrieking and thrashing and moaning in complete, blissful chaos. Yup, baths are great… Ah, they sunk?
Leaping from the diving platform, I dive beautifully into the 50-meter pool and start cutting through the water with a sharp crawl stroke. Behind me, morning stars are making one large splash after another, sending up massive columns of water. Looks like they’re not satisfied with the new tentacle types either. Let’s try a drill type next, rotation included.
Realizing that underwater combat puts them at a disadvantage, the two are raining iron balls from the poolside. They’ll still get me even if I were to dive.
They must’ve thought that there is no way I’d be wearing a cloak in the bath, and let their guard down, but actually『Infinite Tentacles』that were slotted into the『Cloak』moved into『Soul Ring』? Yeah, that actually worked. With this, Tentacles and I are friends forever!
The two of them, having been left a twitching wreckage at the bottom of the jacuzzi with delightfully dazed expressions and their voluptuous forms fully exposed, are now coming at me for payback, wreathed in battle aura like shimmering heat haze, launching long-range attacks with morning stars! Or rather, this seems kind of hopeless?
(Target successfully sunk)
And then I got scolded. To make it up to them, I crafted a pair of wide-brimmed vacation-style hats, and finally, their mood improved. Armored Pres-san is unexpectedly weak to hats. Dancing Girl-san is sort of weak to everything, probably because she hasn’t used it yet. She can be placated with anything from sweets to clothes or accessories.
Since I had the chance, I added a beach chair with a table, and served some tropical-looking juice, and that got them back in a good mood. For the record, it’s insanely sweet. The base is juice from forest berries that had been steeping forever, forgotten with those endlessly sweetening fruits left in the mix, making it ridiculously sugary. The orphan kids and the girls loved it, but the boys couldn’t handle it. They said they could taste sugar in their months for three days after it!
However, having two of such peerless beauties, stretching on the beach chairs in sensual swimsuits, showing off their dazzling, radiant, and seductively sexy bodies… Rajingan-san seemed plenty busy recording the whole thing too. Let’s bring them some snacks as well.
And so, until evening, we had fun, cuddled, getting ever more intimate, deepening our bonds with close, soaking-wet affection, clinging to one another, and getting ourselves completely immersed in sticky, wet bliss. We laughed and whispered and shared a paradise of warm connection, building a lovely little honeymoon-like bond together. It was a fantastic, relaxing break, but needless to say, I was absolutely exhausted by the end.
On the way back, we took the long route around the forest, clearing out monsters as we circled wide toward the town. It was a break that felt both relaxing and chaotic, somehow refreshing yet busy, but the three of them were all smiles, so it was worth it. It seems they liked the rooms, so let’s visit again. Or rather, it’s my home, you know?
Alright, let’s work hard tonight. This counts separately.
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