“I don’t trust slum dwellers like you.”
“…………”
…What is he trying to say?
As I kept my hand on the hilt of the knife at my waist, staring intently into Castro’s piercing gaze, he seemed displeased with my attitude, raising one eyebrow slightly as he spat out the words.
“Slum dwellers are people who indulge in the ‘nothingness’ of their environment, losing the spirit to live properly. That’s why they turn to crime as naturally as breathing, and betray others for the slightest greed, even when given work. How can I trust such people?”
“…………”
When I didn’t react to his words and kept my gaze fixed on him, Castro muttered ‘Tch’ under his breath and turned his back.
“I’ll give you this knife and the job. Your post is over here.”
“…Understood.”
I pulled the thin knife that Castro threw… a Needle Dagger? …from the ground and followed after him.
Some slum dwellers, like the siblings Jill and Shuri, had no parents and were forced to live there. Similarly, there were hopeless adults who extorted money from those two to drink.
The slums have a side that serves as a refuge for people who can’t live normally. The truth is not singular and must be understood from multiple perspectives.
I don’t know what happened in his past, but I’m not even a resident of the slums, just a street urchin not even counted as a resident, so I’m at a loss if he expects some kind of reaction.
Castro led me through the back of the castle and into the forest to the west. Just when I was wondering what we were going to do in a place like this, Castro pointed further into the forest.
“From here on, it’s a forest area that doesn’t belong to any noble’s territory. There’s a resort, so knights from the forest guard patrol regularly, but very rarely, stray wolves and other beasts wander in. Your job is to watch out for them here. Viro made such a big boast. You can probably chase away at least one wolf, right?”
It’s quite a rough mission. Watching itself can be done by a child, but if an ordinary child was made to do it, they would run away in a few days, I think.
“…How long is the period?”
“At least a month. There should be food in the watchhut over there, so use it as you please.”
“…Understood.”
Castro really only told me that much, leaving me in the forest and returning to the mansion. Apparently, he has no intention of giving a proper job to a ‘slum child he can’t trust.’
Judging from his and Viro’s words, the client’s intention was probably to have a child’s perspective as an observer, since the protection target is a child.
A selfish child might not understand the danger and try to sneak away, out of sight of the adults. I think they considered such a situation, but Castro seems to be against it. …No, is he against using ‘slum children’?
Well, whatever. From my point of view, it’s easier than a job involving nobles. For now, I headed towards the so-called watchhut that Castro mentioned, and there stood a half-rotted barn that barely deserved the name of a hut.
“…Cough.”
When I opened the dilapidated door that barely served its purpose, the inside was dusty, empty sake bottles were scattered haphazardly, and it didn’t seem to have been used for years.
Probably, it’s a ‘nominal’ place where guards who patrol regularly at night use it, and reserve food is stocked.
Of course, there was no proper food left, and even if there was, it was just moldy dried meat full of insect holes, which was inedible.
…I can’t help it. I unloaded the luggage I was carrying and checked my current belongings.
As for weapons, I have a Black Knife and a spare Knife. There are six throwing knives and one iron skewer. Other than that, there’s a string weight made of my hair and a sling.
There’s also the Needle Dagger that Castro left behind, but I don’t really know how to use it. The blade is 30 centimeters long and only 2 centimeters wide, yet it’s almost 1 centimeter thick.
There’s no blade on the side, and the tip is unusually sharpened. …It’s a weapon exclusively for thrusting. Still, with a blade this thick, my strength won’t be enough to stab it in deeply.
As for food, there’s a small amount of dried meat, one black bread, a small bag of nuts, and a little bit of rock candy and salt.
Besides that, there’s a small book with wild plants written on it that that woman stole from her magic teacher’s place, and two potions, but I probably won’t use them.
“…【Water】”
For the time being, I washed the dust off my hands and face with Utility Magic, filled the copper water bottle with water, and moistened my throat, then I shouldered the luggage again.
“First of all, securing a base and food, huh…”
This hut is not suitable as a base. It has almost no defensive power, and it clearly marks my location. Besides, it smells dusty.
Then, after looking around the area and confirming that there was no watering hole other than the lake, I decided to make a temporary base on a tree about 50 meters away from the hut. After obtaining the 【Martial Arts】 Skill, climbing a big tree is not that difficult anymore.
After hiding my luggage on the tree, I explored the surrounding forest. And when I found what I was looking for, I pulled out a knife from my waist.
“…【Thrust】!”
When I released a monosyllabic Non-Attribute Magic… a 【Combat Art】 of the dagger, a sapling about 2 meters tall made a cracking sound and fell.
I tried using the Combat Art as a form of training, but it consumed about 10 Mana Particles. It seems like a small amount, but it’s not something I can fire off that many times while using Body Enhancement. Until my Mana increases, it’s better to limit it to twice in one battle.
Even so, I cut down about three saplings, trimmed the branches, and brought them back. Even a stick about 5 centimeters in diameter requires Body Enhancement to carry and climb the tree when it’s nearly 2 meters long. Thanks to that, I passed three wooden sticks over the tree branches and tied them with vines, completing a simple sleeping place.
If I increase the number of sticks later, it will be a little easier. Just in case, I tied the cut-off branches together to hide the sleeping place, ate black bread and water while fumigating with insect repellent grass, and then headed out to secure food.
There were many large trees in this area, and I didn’t see many low-growing Blackberries, but instead, I found nuts with black shells and dark purple fruits growing on vines.
During that time, I was also practicing Stealth and Night Vision at the same time. The normal Night Vision that Viro taught me visualizes shapes by reflecting Mana Particles, and it shows the details better than my ‘color’ Night Vision, but the range felt a little narrow.
I occasionally see green snakes during throwing practice and try throwing knives, but I still haven’t acquired the 【Throwing】 Skill, so I can’t hit small targets.
Castro didn’t come to check on me, and it became night. Until then, I didn’t see Castro or even the patrolling soldiers.
Using Night Vision and Stealth, I returned to my base in the darkened forest, wiped my body with a wet cloth, and ate on the tree. I thought it wasn’t good to light a fire at night since it was a surveillance mission, so I ate only nuts and fruits, took a breather, and then sleepiness came over me, probably from the fatigue of the journey.
The next morning, I woke up to the slightly changing “quality” of the air before the sun rose.
Basically, I don’t sleep soundly. If I don’t let my guard down, it’s not that difficult to keep a part of my brain in an awakened state at all times.
I can’t rest completely, but even so, the fact that there are no ‘other humans,’ which are the most dangerous to me, made me wake up feeling much refreshed.
Even after the sun rose, no one came, let alone wolves.
In the first place, it’s strange that there’s only one child with no replacement for surveillance, but even so, if I miss a wolf, will Viro’s evaluation of me go down?
I ate only nuts and fruits for breakfast and looked around the forest.
It also has the meaning of patrolling, but for me, who only has Skill Level 1, every action becomes training.
Now is the time to increase the skills I can use. If I were greedy, I would want to raise even one of the skills to Level 2, but I think it’s probably impossible.
It is rare for ordinary commoners to reach Skill Level 2 under the age of twenty. I guessed that this was probably due to physical limitations rather than the skill’s proficiency.
My magic power has increased rapidly, making me grow 1-2 years older than my actual age, but even so, I am still only a child under 10 years old in terms of physique.
That growth is also returning to normal as the growth of magic power has calmed down. Then, should I prioritize training to increase magic power?
On that day, I was able to hunt a rabbit by hitting it with a thrown dagger. There seems to be a ‘Horned Rabbit’ that belongs to the Monsters, but I haven’t encountered it yet. Apparently, it has a cute appearance but is carnivorous. Well, either way, I’ll hunt it if I see it, so it’s the same.
I don’t use fire at night, so I bake the rabbit deep in the forest. I realized again that an overly sharp knife is not suitable for skinning fur.
I don’t want to spend too much time on it, so I’ll only do a moderate bloodletting, then skewer and grill it. There’s still a bit of a harsh taste, but I’m not too particular about food, so I don’t mind.
On the way back, I’ll gather some unusual wild plants. If my memory serves me right, mixing them with alcohol should create a cardiac stimulant. However, it seems that too much can also be a poison that causes heart attacks.
Could it be useful for something…? I should start thinking about using poison soon.
I return to the base a little earlier, confirm that no one has visited the watchhut, then climb up a tree and begin contemplating Dark Magic while eating the remaining grilled rabbit meat.
I haven’t mastered Dark Magic yet. Perhaps I don’t have a clear image of “Darkness” itself, more than the meaning or pronunciation of the spells.
Light has a clear energy, like the sun. Fire is the same, and wind becomes kinetic energy. And water and earth have physical forms.
But darkness is just the “shadow” where light doesn’t reach. Nothing exists there.
So, I figured that actual darkness and Dark Mana Particles are different things.
Even so, Dark Spirits are summoned from the darkness, and the Mana Particles of darkness become Dark Attribute. …Maybe Dark Attribute is the word for the Mana Particles that originate from darkness itself.
Darkness isn’t created because there is light, but rather, Dark Attribute is a physical energy that blocks light?
If that’s the case… by treating darkness as particles, could I send thoughts… sounds and images wrapped in it? No, is projecting onto the Dark Particles themselves what “Illusion Magic” is?
Light Attribute is pure energy, so it might be possible to convert it into life force. And Dark Attribute doesn’t have a shape like other attributes.
Inside Viro-san’s Expansion Bag, it was pitch black and I couldn’t see anything. I thought that because it has no shape, it’s possible to increase the bag’s capacity depending on the image.
But, maybe… I don’t even need to stick to the shape of a bag?
“…?”
At that moment, I felt the ‘color’ of Mana Particles move in the corner of my vision.
I can only recognize a clear, shaped landscape up to 30 meters, but I can perceive simple Mana Particle movements about twice that far.
It’s not the movement of the wind… Did a wolf really appear, or have the patrolling soldiers finally shown up…?
“…No.”
The moving objects are five or six… Are they gradually coming this way? As I focus my attention, their shapes are gradually becoming clearer.
“…Goblins? But…”
There’s one large individual.
Goblins are low-level Monsters with child-like bodies. Even so, they have an Overall Combat Strength of about 40, about the level of an average adult, and it’s difficult for me to fight two at the same time, but it’s not a number that a few soldiers couldn’t defeat. …But what about that individual?
I don’t want to waste Mana, but when I appraise it, its identity emerges from my “knowledge.”
【?? Goblin】
【Mana Capacity: 66/68】【HP: 340/340】
【Overall Combat Strength: 101 (Body Enhancement in progress: 116)】
“…Hobgoblin?”
Hobgoblins are a higher species of Goblin, a Rank 2 Monster, if I remember correctly. Is it a stray Monster? I don’t know why it’s in a place like this, but I judge that it’s beyond my ability to handle.
Annoyingly, the Hobgoblins are slowly approaching the tree I’m in, as if searching for prey.
“…………”
I hold my breath and wait for the Goblins, who have approached just five meters below, to pass by, when I notice a small light walking towards the watchhut.
A soldier… no? A maid? All alone?
A petite woman with a small lantern and a small basket is approaching in the darkness with unsteady steps.
If I call out here, both she and I will be noticed. But if I leave her alone, there’s a high chance she’ll be found by the Goblins.
“…………”
I can’t help it… I sigh inwardly and quietly sink my heart to the depths.
Instead of the Black Knife, I pull out the Needle Dagger, which has high penetrating power, kick off the branch without a sound, following the flow of Mana Particles, and jump down directly above the Hobgoblin, holding the Knife firmly with both hands.
Clang!!
“Gugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!?”
The Dagger couldn’t penetrate the skull, and slipped, gouging the face as it pierced the neck. The Hobgoblin screams, and the sprayed blood dyes me red and black.
For now, just die.
Next time: Battle with the wounded Hobgoblin and its Goblin subordinates.
Next update is scheduled for Wednesday.