“Well then, I’ll bring the map of the Schwein Territory and its surroundings next time.”
Leaving those words behind, Ergo returned through the hole.
“Oh, right, Kouya-kun. I brought the space-expanded bag you mentioned the other day.”
『Oh, thanks.』
I received the bag that Paula took out from the 〖Space Hole〗.
It was a rather large bag that looked like it could hold a lot of things even without space expansion.
I put the map that Ergo had left behind inside it.
If I’m going to travel, I can’t rely solely on my 〖Sense of Direction〗 and the position of the sun. A map depicting mountain ranges, canals, and the locations of towns is essential.
『Alright, then let’s start magic training.』
A time limit has been set for the Forest Turtle subjugation, but it’s not so urgent that I need to disrupt my schedule.
That day, as usual, I helped Paula with her training.
“Um, are you sure I don’t need to help?”
At the end of the training, as we were parting, Paula asked me that.
She was asking if she didn’t need to cooperate in the Forest Turtle subjugation.
My answer to that was already decided.
『Yeah. This is my problem, and I want to take it on alone. Besides, it’s dangerous.』
Paula’s space magic is powerful.
However, her other 〖Stats〗 are too low to face a 〖Feral Beast〗.
The Forest Turtle’s 〖Status〗 has already been revealed, but the additional effects of the 〖Great Forest Sea〗 are unknown.
There might be effects that could be fatal to those with low 〖Resist〗 in an instant.
Also, the Forest Turtle has multiple 〖Skills〗 for wide-range attacks. If she gets caught up in them, it’s doubtful whether Paula’s 〖Speed〗 would be enough to defend.
After all, having Paula come is too risky.
『Besides, I don’t want the 〖Experience Points〗 to be split.』
“Geez, don’t say that, or I won’t care if you lose, you know?”
When I said that jokingly, Paula scolded me with a wry smile.
“Well then, see you next time.”
『Yeah, see ya.』
I saw her off as she returned to town through the 〖Space Hole〗, and then I went to the plaza created by the 〖Zone Control〗.
“(Alright, then…)”
The sun has begun to set, but sunset is still far away. From here on, it’s my own training.
To defeat the Forest Turtle, I’ll polish my abilities.
“(If I’m going to do it, it’s gotta be 〖Skills〗, huh?)”
My 〖Level〗 has already hit a ceiling. Even if I desperately hunted 〖Dire Beasts〗 from now on, it probably wouldn’t go up by ten.
That’s why I’ll train my 〖Skills〗.
Even if they don’t reach a higher level, the more you use them, the stronger their effects become.
“(Yo, ho, hah)”
First, I start 〖Dancing〗 on the spot.
I’m conscious of adding corrections to the small steps and slight hand gestures, and I dance around the plaza with faster and sharper movements.
With the corrections of 〖Soft-bodied Animal〗, I bounce around with smooth movements, using the recoil from stepping on the ground to utilize the next movement.
I jump high and mimic a full set of Hydra weapons while in the air. I swung each of them continuously with different trajectories.
As soon as I land, I jump sideways and swing the weapons further.
Then, I create a whip with my body that isn’t a weapon, wrap it around the void to make a loop, and activate 〖Replicant Form〗 multiple times.
I lined up crimson spears like when I tore off the Hydra’s heads, and then contracted them.
The fangs that bit into the air made metallic sounds in multiple layers.
In this way, I enhanced my combat 〖Skills〗.
~Unnotified Information Recording Area~
…
War-Inducing Weapon Creation, Fue Toukouya has acquired 〖Skill: Swing〗.
Acquired 〖Skill: Compact Swing〗.
Acquired 〖Skill: Heavy Swing〗.
Acquired 〖Skill: Charge Swing〗.
Acquired 〖Skill: Quake Swing〗.
Acquired 〖Skill: Combat Dance〗. 〖Dance〗 is integrated.
…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Bigyuu!”
A poison sword that approached silently from the trees severed the neck of a certain 〖Dire Beast〗.
Perhaps it was because I attacked from outside its awareness, but the response was quite light.
~Skill Details~
Combat Dance: When dancing, corrections are applied to the agility of movements. When dancing, corrections are applied to the agility of weapon attacks.
Assassination: When attacking without being noticed by the opponent, corrections are applied to the power. When attacking without being noticed by the opponent, a certain percentage of the target’s 〖Toughness〗 is ignored.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 〖Assassination〗 that had just been active was a higher-level 〖Skill〗 of 〖Surprise Attack〗.
After eating the prey I had caught, I moved on.
I had set the date for challenging the Forest Turtle to be ten days later.
I had set the nine days until then as a preparation period, but I wouldn’t be spending all of that time training my 〖Skills〗.
“(〖Stealth〗 is a lifesaver, huh?)”
I was sneaking around the outer edge of the Forest Turtle’s 〖Zone Control: Great Forest Sea〗, just barely not entering it.
The area within the 〖Great Forest Sea’s〗 effect range was so overgrown with plants that there was no place to step, so the boundary line was obvious at a glance.
“(Hmm, hmm, the north has a lot of moss, huh?)”
What I’m doing now is surveying the terrain.
The minimum condition for fighting the Forest Turtle is to drag the enemy out of that abnormally overgrown area that is soaked with the 〖Great Forest Sea〗.
The Forest Turtle has 〖Skills〗 that allow it to manipulate the surrounding plants and borrow their power.
Fighting in such a lush green place is more than just disadvantageous.
Well, that itself could be easily achieved by attacking randomly, 〖Challenging〗, and then running away, but the important thing is where to run to.
It would be pointless to move from an abnormally overgrown area to a place where ordinary plants grow. If I’m going to do it, I should prepare a field that is advantageous to me.
“(But, there’s nothing around here, huh?)”
However, I can’t find any noteworthy terrain.
That’s only natural. The area around the 〖Great Forest Sea〗 is, in other words, the area most strongly affected by the aftereffects of the 〖Great Forest Sea〗.
It’s inevitable that plants will flourish.
“(I’d like a place with no trees, like a flower field.)”
The Forest Turtle seems to have a 〖Skill〗 called 〖Sprouting Rock Collapse〗 that ignores 〖Toughness〗.
Since the activation condition is ‘an attack using its own body’, it won’t be like all the plants around it are ignoring defense, but trees could interfere with my evasion.
Of course, if they were just ordinary trees, they wouldn’t be an obstacle to me now, but if they were trees strengthened by the 〖Great Forest Sea〗 or 〖Skills〗, that wouldn’t be the case.
That’s why I’m looking for a place with few plants, but there’s no good place—
“(No, wait, is that how I should do it?)”
—and then, I came up with a solution.
I immediately headed to a certain place to carry out my idea.