Episode 8: SB Lance and Slug TCC-06
“I’m home.”
“Excuse me.”
“Welcome back.”
“Welcome home.”
Dad and Mom greeted me when I got home. They tilted their heads, looking at Raymond-san.
“The long and short of it is…”
“I see, you’re going to be a bother. Let’s go ask the village chief if we can rent a room.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“The horse should probably stay with the village chief too, since we have Kamoshika.”
“Right, it’s technically a Monster.”
Some horses are Monsters, but the Knights Order’s horses don’t seem to be Mount-level.
“Oh, Mom, I got you a souvenir. The cloth is drying outside, right?”
“Cloth? Thank you, I wonder if I can make new clothes?”
“I had the shopkeeper pick out the fabric, so I think it’ll be fine.”
I also hand over a bundle of ribbons.
“This is a souvenir too, can you share it with Souka-neesan?”
“Oh my, so many! I’m so happy!”
“I bought sake for Dad and Aniki.”
“Well done!”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.”
I couldn’t help but straighten my back.
“I have a day to spare, so I’ll depart the day after tomorrow, okay? Please spend tomorrow relaxing with your family.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“We will. Dear, why don’t you show Raymond-san around?”
“Roger that, Raymond-kun. I’ll introduce you to the village chief.”
Dad went outside to show Raymond-san around, and Mom happily started preparing dinner.
Well, I guess I’ll go wipe my body down.
“We’re leaving before sunrise tomorrow. Get some rest.”
“Before sunrise?”
“We’re going hunting in the Black Forest. You’re coming too.”
“Hae?”
Isn’t that something you do after you come of age?
While wondering that, I resigned myself to being taken along. Tomorrow’s going to be a tough day.
“The Black Forest, it’s not actually black, is it?”
“Ah, it’s just that it’s overgrown, so there are a lot of dark places, but the trees aren’t actually black.”
The next day, before sunrise, I set off with Dad on Karara. We headed from the usual Forest towards the mountains, passed through a long cave, and arrived at our destination.
This is the Monster domain called the Black Forest.
Beyond the cave in the mountainside, there’s a cliff. There are also horizontal holes, and several hunting tools are placed there, so this must serve as a base.
“Beyond here, there are several Dungeons, and the Monsters inside overflow. They expand their habitat and try to settle outside. They fight over territory, and the ones that lose cross the mountains and escape to our village. That’s the kind of area this is.”
“I’ve heard about it, but it’s amazing.”
The atmosphere is different. Dense Magical Power and… I already feel malice. I’m being targeted by something.
“Well, there were a lot of things I wanted to say. But I thought this kind of situation would be more beneficial for testing your abilities.”
“Huh? Abilities?”
“No, I know you’re not slacking off in training or anything. It’s just… there’s a sense of ease about you.”
“That thing you sometimes mention?”
“Yeah. So, I’m guessing you have a secret weapon you can’t tell people about. How about it?”
“Well, I do have something.”
“But you’d feel frustrated if you couldn’t use it, right? More importantly, it’s meaningless if you can’t use it on the spur of the moment. But here, you don’t have to worry about being seen, and it’s okay to kill B-rank, A-rank, and S-rank Monsters, in fact, it’s encouraged, so you can use it to your heart’s content.”
“Huh? A? S?”
“So, don’t come back until noon, okay? If you die, haunt me.”
“Whoa, wait! Don’t carry me!”
“Heavy! How much are you using magic to make yourself heavy… well, whatever, go, and come back!”
“Don’t throw meeee!”
I was carried up and thrown off the cliff with all his might. Whoa! I was immediately caught by a bird Monster! I’m going to be eaten in mid-air!
“Shh!”
Instinctively, I drew my bow and fired, hitting the bird Monster in the eye. Success!
While adjusting my posture in mid-air, I created a foothold with Barrier Magic.
When I looked up, Dad was aiming an arrow at me with a grinning expression. He’s not going to let me go back, is he? And he’s aiming at me instead of the bird.
“You should undo the magic that makes you heavy!”
“Instead of aiming at your son, aim at the bird over here!”
The bird Monster attacked me as I landed on the Barrier. I don’t know its name, but it’s quite fast. But since I have a foothold, I can intercept it with my dagger.
But if I stay in the air like this, I’ll just keep getting attacked. I can’t go back to the cliff, so I have no choice but to descend into the Forest.
“That bastard, he’s really doing it.”
This is abuse. I’m going to sue… well, the one I’d sue is the village chief. That’s how villages are.
I created footholds by continuously deploying Barriers and jumped down one after another. Several bird Monsters fell to the ground. I’ll secure them just in case I can eat them. I’ll put them in my Spatial Storage.
“And, it looks like the next one’s coming.”
Without time to taste them, I sensed the next presence and jumped onto the overgrown tree branches.
What appeared there was a War Orc. The highest-ranking species of Orc, and a special cut of meat that rarely appears on the table.
“Seriously?”
I couldn’t help but gulp.
And I thought. I want to eat it.
While suppressing my presence, I kicked off the branch with all my might and got behind the War Orc. And with my dagger, I slashed its neck with all my might…
“Whoa!”
With a high-pitched sound, the dagger broke! No way!
“Bumoaa!”
Counterattack! Evade! I rolled on the ground to create distance. Okay, it’s slow… but, to think my Sword would be ruined. It seems it hardened its body with Magical Power the moment my attack landed. What a feat.
“Don’t smirk. I’m the one who wants to smirk.”
However, it seems my regular weapons won’t work. That dagger was a high-quality steel one, and its sharpness was considerable.
“Well, I hate to be played by Dad… but there’s no way I can let this one get away!”
It’s the finest Orc meat. There’s no way I can let it escape.
“I’ll use it?”
I selected a weapon from my Spatial Storage. It was the hilt of a black Sword. No, even if people in this world saw this distinctive grip, they wouldn’t imagine it was a Sword hilt.
“SB Lance, activate.”
One of the weapons I had stored in my Spatial Storage ‘before I was reincarnated’. As Dad said, one of my means of attack that I can’t use in front of people. A Magic Blade called a close-quarters weapon. A Magic Sword developed by Sharma Security.
“Hmph.”
The blade, composed of Magical Power and emitting a pale blue light, cuts through anything. One of the Magic Blades developed with that slogan, it can be used not only for cutting but also as an electric baton. The length of the blade can also be adjusted, extending up to two meters.
It cut off the War Orc’s hard neck without sound or sensation. I don’t have time to clean up this one either. I quickly stored it in my Spatial Storage.
“I’m glad you’re offering seconds. But there are a lot of them.”
Orcs, regardless of species, usually act in groups of 3-8. This one is probably no exception.
I deactivated the SB Lance and hung it on my waist. Next, I took out a Magic Gun.
“Spatial Storage is convenient because time is stopped. I don’t know how much time has passed since then, but it’s great that I can still use things from before.”
Slug TCC-06. A handgun-type Magic Gun developed by Slug Corporation. A simple device that generates bullets with Magical Power charged in the Magic Core and fires them.
“If I had a helmet on, it would have been a different story.”
I aimed and shot bullets into the War Orcs’ exposed foreheads. Six War Orcs fell with six bullets.
“As expected of Slug Corporation’s masterpiece.”
However, I didn’t have time to attach a silencer, so the sound echoed.
I don’t know what kind of Monsters will come out from here, but either way, I won’t be allowed to return to that cave until noon.
“Since I’m here, I might as well try out various things for the first time in a while.”
I can’t use the Magic Launcher or Magic Missiles because I’m afraid of fire, but I should try out the other items.
An assault rifle, a shotgun, should I try out the Summoning Charms and defense Drones too?
Ah, I want to try out the attack Drones… but those come with a Head-Mounted Display. It’s hard to use in the current situation.