Episode 118: Shaking off the Rust
After finishing my conversation with the gatekeeper-san, I entered the forest.
Should I go for a deer-type Magic Beast?
Or maybe a boar-type Magic Beast would be good too.
I hung my Short Sword at my waist, using a long staff as a walking stick, and walked through the forest with its uneven ground.
…You might be thinking, “Why a melee weapon instead of a bow for hunting?” Well, you see.
Magic Beasts, unlike normal animals, come to kill other living things.
Animals usually run away when they sense people, but Magic Beasts charge right at you.
That’s why, since they don’t run, you can fight and kill them with melee weapons.
Thinking about such things as I walked through the forest… I looked at the trees.
The deer-type Magic Beasts around here, called Horndeer, mark their territory by scratching the surrounding trees with their large antlers.
So, if you’re looking for deer-type Magic Beasts around here, you can tell by looking at the trees in the Forest.
Experienced Striders can even tell how old the scratches are from the depth and healing of the marks left by the Horndeer.
I don’t have that level of appraisal skill, but I can still tell if a scratch is new or not.
New means there’s a Horndeer nearby. I also look for footprints and signs of plants being eaten.
While watching the trees, I walked carefully, making sure not to fall, and stayed alert for ambushes from wolves and the like.
By the way, if a regular citizen really wants to enter the Forest, they’ll carry a sachet filled with Beast-Repelling Incense. It’s quite effective, so you need to be careful of Striders.
The reason being, it also works on Monsters.
It’s true that Monsters attack people when they see them, but they still avoid unpleasant smells.
Of course, I’m not saying it’s a guaranteed rescue! Or a 0% encounter rate! There’s no such thing as absolute in this world.
But going into the Forest with that incense, being avoided by Beasts, and ending up with zero results… that’s a common story for new Striders.
Speaking of that, there are cases where clever Magic Beasts that have eaten a lot of people have learned, “There are people in the direction of that unpleasant smell!”
This world isn’t like a game, you know.
It’s not like using the same item will always bring the same result or the same effect.
The environment is the same.
It’s not like Monsters are infinitely in a specific location, or that the same Monsters are the same strength.
It’s all real.
…That’s why there’s a job like “Strider,” which is based on experience and knowledge.
“Kyyeee!”
And there it is. A Horndeer.
Let’s do this.
“Kyyeee!!!”
That high-pitched cry is a sound of警戒 and threat.
It points its horns forward and charges straight at me.
If it hits directly, a human would die.
In terms of size, Horndeer are like red deer… the type you often see in America. Not as huge as moose.
But even so, being charged at by something with sharp horns, moving at about the speed of a person sprinting, and with a physical weight of around 200kg… it’s more than enough to kill an ordinary person.
But, in the end, it’s just a Beast.
Its intelligence is limited, isn’t it?
“Yes.”
I spun the long staff and threw it.
Then, the long staff, caught on the ground like a support rod, got tangled in the Horndeer’s horns, stopping its movement.
“Gyu?!?”
Since it was suddenly met with a support rod at considerable speed, the Horndeer lost its balance and tumbled over.
And since it rolled in front of me…
“Yes.”
“Gii?!”
My Short Sword, with my weight behind it, pierced its neck, and it died…
With the Magic Skill Adamantine Strength, this is the minimum I can do.
The Horndeer thrashed around for a while, but as I wiggled the Short Sword and pinned it to the ground with my weight, it stopped moving in about a minute…
My victory.
“…Ah, I didn’t even fight.”
Huh? Did I forget the main point again?
Wasn’t this supposed to be to remember the feeling of battle?
…Oh well, whatever.
Anything is fine.
I might say something, but I don’t have a purpose.
Do what I want, when I want, as much as I want. That’s all.
For now, I used magic to drain the blood from the Horndeer and chilled the meat with magic.
Of course, I didn’t forget to scatter the ticks with bug-killing magic.
…Hunting isn’t a clean world.
Look over there?
The fur on the Horndeer’s belly!
It’s covered in ticks.
The meat also has white thread-like parasites, so you definitely can’t eat it without heating it.
I’m lucky that I can instantly kill and wash away those things with a single touch of magic. Really.
The serious hunters in the world peel off these bugs and parasites with their own hands. I have nothing but respect for them.
Anyway, after purging and burying the unusable organs, I’ll tie the legs together to the long staff, carry it on my shoulders.
It’s a stag weighing about 200kg, quite heavy, but I’ll use the Magic Skill Adamantine Strength.
“Nun!”
Ugh, heavy.
But it’s not unsanitary.
It’s easy…
As I was about to return to town…
“Oi!”
Hmm? Did someone call me…?