Episode 22: Testing My Skills
I stocked up on food and Potions and headed for the campsite, but on the way, I decided to gather some companions for Koo-chan.
“You won’t be gathering Medicinal Herbs for a while because of training, right, Shinya-san? So why gather companions for Koo-chan?”
“You heard, didn’t you? I’m going to try collecting Bee-chan’s and Koo-chan’s poison and selling it. And I also want to test poison arrows. That’s why I got empty Potion bottles too.”
“Shinya-san, you really come up with all sorts of things, don’t you?”
I’m just trying various things and searching for ways to earn money easily, that’s all.
Rather than dangerous things like subjugating Beasts, if I collect valuable Medicinal Herbs and poisons, my earnings won’t overlap with other Adventurers, so it’s less stressful.
Until the time I might be able to return to Japan someday, I’ve resolved to do some sightseeing in this world.
I asked Koo-chan where her companions might be and walked while hitting the grassy thickets with my Short Spear, but this turned into a tough job.
If it were Bee-chan, I could have had her call her companions and then knock them down, but Poison Spiders act alone and lurk in grassy thickets.
Moreover, their color is dark brown with a single red vertical line, making them inconspicuous.
Even when I occasionally found a Poison Spider, it was the paralysis poison type without the red line, which wasn’t what I was looking for.
《Koo-chan, isn’t there a good way to find your companions?》
《Master, we don’t flock together, so we only meet during breeding season. We spin our webs in places where we’re likely to catch prey, so I’m telling you about such locations.》
That’s right~, I’ve never heard of or seen spiders acting in groups.
While hitting the grassy thickets where Poison Spiders might be lurking and talking with Koo-chan, I had an idea.
If I could roughly identify where they were hiding, what if I tried to Tame them in that direction?
So, I tried (Tame) at the spot Koo-chan indicated… Missed. Even after parting the grass, there was nothing there.
On the fifth try, (Tame) [Poison Spider – 4] popped into my head, and I could tell the type lurking and a number representing its attack power or life force.
At the same time the information appeared in my head, I was able to pinpoint the Poison Spider’s hiding spot.
A direct hit would be bad, and if I held back too much, I didn’t want it to pounce on me like Koo-chan did, so I hit the spot below where it was lurking a little strongly.
(Tame) [Poison Spider – 1…]
Hmm, what’s this 1…? I wondered, but then (Tame, Tame) […] there was no response.
Thinking “could it be?”, I parted the grass and searched. The Poison Spider was there, but it wasn’t moving at all.
(Tame) […] Perhaps the impact from hitting it with the Short Spear was too strong; it seemed to be deceased.
Reflecting on this, I decided to gather thin branches and hit them with a makeshift broom, like I did with Bee-chan.
Hitting with a bundle of thin branches was also difficult. Hitting normally had no effect, and if I hit too strongly, they would escape.
Since the escaping targets were spiders, if I hit them too hard, they’d get crushed or lose limbs, and Koo-chan would resent me.
In the end, I managed to secure 4 of them by dusk, but I had slaughtered 6 poison and paralysis spiders.
Even when I checked with Tame, I didn’t expect both types to be called Poison Spider.
This time, even when I Tamed them, it showed [Poison Spider, 50-5, Compound Eyes, Tree Climbing], but the last number didn’t appear.
It seems to be a number that appears only once per species, but what happens after the count finishes remains unknown.
One problem was, putting Koo-chan and the others’ nests into the bag tied to my pack frame made it cramped, and carrying five nests made with Earth Magic was heavy.
Koo-chan and the others, who act solitarily, disliked the idea of communal living, or rather, a single nest box, so I gave up on more than five for the time being.
Also, the nests made with Earth Magic were unpopular even with grass put inside, so I needed to prepare wooden nests.
Since Medicinal Herb gathering is on hold for a while, I’ll leave Potion bottles and ask them to put in a reasonable amount of poison.
During the day, I’ll let them play in a safe, dense grassy area, and at night, have them expel their poison, offering them their favorite grilled meat skewers as thanks.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Fran’s archery training is going well, but her accuracy is poor.
It’s partly because she hasn’t had to shoot under pressure until now, but she’s too focused on casting the magic, and her aim is sloppy.
This is in contrast to how relatively smoothly she creates Shelters, Domes, and defensive shields.
So, I had her adopt my shortbow practice method.
She shoots from a distance of 5 meters simultaneously with a shortened chant, but she doesn’t take her eyes off the target until she shoots.
I’m teaching her not to look away from the target after shooting, in preparation for the next shot.
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Not at all. Before shooting, you look at where you’re going to hit, like the target’s heart or stomach, but after shooting, you observe the target’s movements and surroundings to prepare for your next move. Beasts aren’t always alone, and another pack might appear from a different direction, right? That’s why you don’t take your eyes off the prey, but you also check the surroundings.”
“That’s certainly true. I’ve heard that even in the village, there were times when people were attacked by other creatures during Beast subjugations and suffered damage.”
She originally accompanied me on hunts and Medicinal Herb gathering, and she also shot Stone Arrows, so she got the hang of target shooting and improved daily.
Her accuracy reached 80-90% at 30-35 meters, and we started practical combat training around the time two weeks had passed since we came to the plains.
It’s Goblin subjugation and Magic Stone hunting, but there’s another purpose too.
《Master, I found them!》
《Can you guide me?》
《Okay! Number 39 will show you!》
“Looks like they found them, so shall we go?”
“This won’t be any Search practice, will it?”
“We can do that at night inside the Dome. Our purpose is different right now.”
“Can you really do it?”
“I think I can. Koo-chan and Bee-chan are both insects, but a Tamer should be able to Tame animals.”
“That’s two types with Koo-chan and Bee-chan, and this will be the third. If you can do it, Shinya-san, you’ll be completely different from any Tamer I know.”
“If you say that, then taming insects is also outside of common sense, isn’t it?”
“That’s true, but… Who would believe that insects follow orders?”
“Fran, it’s not an order, it’s strictly a request!”
“Yes, yes, a request it was. Hurry up, it looks like they’ve noticed us too.”
“Alright then, shield and hold them back, please.”
A 1.5m wide, 2m high earthen wall rose up almost instantly in front of me, and at the same time, a shield formed in front of Fran.
Behind it, I nocked an arrow to my shortbow, drew it taut, quickly loosed it, and pulled the next arrow from my quiver.
From the shield where Fran was hiding:
As expected, with her shortened chant, she’s faster than I am at loosing a second arrow.
I got two, Fran got five. I thrust my Short Spear into the necks of the Goblins writhing with arrows or Stone Arrows in their bellies.
“I’ll leave the biggest one for you, Shinya-san.”
“No, no, just because I Tame it doesn’t mean I’ll make it serve me. It’s just a test.”
(Tame) [Goblin – 5] It was still quite energetic with just one Stone Lance in its belly, so I poked its stomach with my Short Spear, and (Tame) [Goblin – 3].
I left it for a while until it became limp, then (Tame) [Goblin – 2].
(Tame, Tame) […]
I waited a little longer until it became (Tame) [Goblin – 1], then again (Tame, Tame) [Goblin, 6-1].
It seems I can’t Tame them unless they reach 1, but with this, I’ve Tamed my third species, so I’ll name it.
《You can hear me, right?》
《Yes, Master.》
《Your name is Gobu No. 1.》
《Thank you very much, Master.》
I looked at my palm (Skill).
[Shinya, Human – 18 years old. Tamer – Ability 1, Amadeus’s Blessing, Tina’s Blessing, Life Magic – Magical Power 10/10, Search Intermediate-Low, Presence Detection Intermediate-Low, Stealth Intermediate-Low, Tree Climbing, Poison Nullification, Killer Bee Domination]
[Poison Spider, 50-5, Compound Eyes, Tree Climbing]
[Killer Bee, 50-50, Compound Eyes, Poison Nullification]
[Goblin, 6-1, Omnivorous, Reproductive Ability, 40]
Search, Presence Detection, and Stealth have all changed to Intermediate-Low, but everything else is unchanged.
The Goblin is 6-1 with Omnivorous and Reproductive Ability; I don’t need stuff like this, and the last number is 40.
I have no intention of making Goblins serve me, so (Tame – Release)… The moment I released it from Tame, I thrust my Short Spear into its chest.
“Were you able to Tame it, Shinya-san?”
“Yeah, I did. If you want to add it to your companions, shall I Tame one for you?”
“Spare me, please. The smell of Goblins is as intense as a bear-man’s feet.”
“Don’t worry, I released the Tame and killed it. Next, I want to try with a Slime or a Horned Rabbit.”
“If it’s Slimes, they’ll gather if you just leave the Goblins alone. Or rather, they’re the forest’s scavengers that eat things like Beast leftovers, you see. Tonight, Beasts will likely devour this, and Slimes will clean up the rest. When your magic improves, it’s like the trouble you had with Goblins was a lie, isn’t it?”
“Well, yeah. But when it comes to Goblins, I want to be able to take care of them without Bee-chan’s help.”
After extracting the Magic Stones, I recalled Koo-chan and the others, set up a Camping Barrier near the Goblin corpses, and decided to wait for nightfall.
However, to think the Goblins’ abilities were indiscriminate eating and reproductive power. I wouldn’t want to be overflowing with vigor and constantly in heat, and I’m not a gourmet, nor do I have a taste for bizarre food, so those are abilities I definitely don’t need.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Night fell, and I could hear what sounded like Beasts groaning and fighting, but it was pitch black outside, and the large, orange moon… wasn’t visible.
It’s a strange moon, but without it, I can’t see anything, which is a problem. Especially since I really feel like looking outside today.
We’re a little far from where we left the Goblins, so I can’t tell what’s going on at all.
“Can you tell anything?”
“I think they’re Dog-type, but it’s so dark, there’s nothing I can do.”
“By the way, are Slimes strong?”
“Even if you ask if they’re strong, I don’t really know. Slimes aren’t worth any money, and since they’re the forest’s scavengers, no one bothers them. Young children, when they find them while gathering Medicinal Herbs, sometimes poke at them for fun, but they get sent flying, so you should probably be careful of their body slams.”