When my shift ended, I had just finished learning "Regeneration." Or rather, it was only after I mastered it around three in the morning that I woke Rafthalia up. Yes, now she also takes part in the night watches. Not a little girl anymore — look at that filly she's grown into, already surpassed Akira in chest size...
Okay, my thoughts are wandering off again.
To test the effectiveness of "Regeneration," I made a deep cut on my arm...
Like any seasoned transmigrator would do.
But am I crazy to cut myself?!
Especially since I couldn't keep the experiment perfectly clean anyway.
Unlike in games, HP points in this world work quite differently. They aren't a measure of body integrity, but rather a reserve of some life energy that heals wounds when you take damage. Of course, if your head is chopped off, no amount of HP will help. And if it drops to zero, you don't die — wounds just stop magically healing.
Anyway, I'm sure there will be plenty of other chances to test this spell without cutting myself. Especially since the effects of the others matched their descriptions.
After waking the tanuki, I went to sleep in the tent until morning.
***
In the morning, after hiding all the more or less valuable and fragile things in the camp, we had breakfast and took some food supplies with us, then the girls went off to the meadows to terrorize the orbs.
I, too, didn't stay in camp but finally went to properly explore the forest. I had long wanted to test my strength on stronger monsters.
After ten minutes of killing Bigurs of various colors — just as a warm-up since they also died from a single kick or punch — I decided to go a little deeper into the forest. After almost an hour, I stumbled upon a small clearing with "Krolepirs," monsters resembling thick, fluffy rabbits about knee-high to me, with three-centimeter claws on their front paws and powerful hind legs that allowed them to jump quite high and far.
I learned about the power of their legs firsthand.
When I approached the clearing, pushing aside branches that blocked my path, one of those karate-rabbits suddenly jumped out at me and with a cry of "Pyo!" struck me right in the breastplate with its paws. The force of the blow even knocked my breath off a bit, despite the armor.
But I quickly recovered, and when it made a second strike aimed at my head, I grabbed its paw and slammed it against a tree. Immediately, I got the message:
[Received: 70 EXP]
[Received: 12 copper coins]
[Received: Endurance Potion — 1 pc.]
[Received: Krolepir Hide]
Which confirmed the rabbit's death. Although the brain matter smeared on the tree mixed with blood was just as convincing.
The sight and smell made me nauseous, and my heart pounded wildly in my chest. This was not like wiping out orbs or bigurs in crowds… Blood, guts... Not pleasant at all.
Dragging the rabbit a bit away from its companions, I took out a butcher's knife and, with slightly trembling hands, started to butcher the carcass. Thanks to having already mastered the Travel Grimoire, I had the skill "Butchering Technique," so my hands worked automatically without conscious effort.
I removed the hide, separated the meat from the bones, and stored all parts in my inventory.
This was the first living creature I had ever killed. Back on Earth, I had never had to do anything like this. So the butchering was a kind of ritual for me — a tribute to the first relatively sentient life I took.
I once read about ancient rites of passage where boys had to butcher their first kill themselves to show that the killing was done for sustenance, not for pleasure.
So by ancient tradition, I had just become a real man. But somehow I didn't find it funny — not at all...
Of course, it's not exactly my case, but ignoring the wisdom of ancestors that had been practiced for thousands of years would be foolish. Maybe this will make it easier for me to kill in the future, who knows? So I don't feel so awful every time.
Apparently, the ritual also required drinking the blood of the first hunted creature to inherit some of its power and have a piece of its spirit stay with you.
But I didn't do that — and besides, what power could a krolepir have…
The smell and sight of entrails were enough to make me puke for sure.
I felt uneasy, but I understood perfectly well that this would not be my last kill, even today.
After finishing the butchering and wetting my throat with some water, I returned to the clearing.
Trying not to make noise, I peeked out from behind some branches and began to recite the spell "Lightning Arrows":
"By the power of the Grimoire, I command: decode the laws of the universe: Erst Lightning Bolt!"
Targeting the nearest krolepir about twenty meters away and investing the minimum mana, I sent a lightning arc at the animal.
It didn't even have time to squeak before it was practically burnt to ash. The nearby krolepirs turned their heads at the noise and pricked up their ears to listen.
After a minute, they went back to their krolepir business. I selected the next target and quietly read the spell again.
Within thirty minutes, I killed fifteen more krolepirs. By experience points, this already equaled killing more than a thousand yellow orbs.
And killing them like this from a distance was much easier psychologically. I didn't feel the same disgust toward myself as after killing my first one with my own hands. I hope its bloody face won't haunt my dreams.
But I wasn't able to calmly shoot them from ambush for long.
My intelligence in my head kept bothering me.
I decided I could speed up my leveling as I did with the orbs.
Taking a palm-sized piece of meat from my inventory, I crawled out from behind the bushes and threw it about thirty meters away from myself, as close as possible to the grazing krrolepirs in the grass.
Thinking that, judging by the structure of their teeth, they were herbivores was not my fate.
Almost half of the krrolepirs got agitated by the strong smell of blood, but unlike how they reacted to the death of their kin by lightning, this time they didn't stop there. When one of the monsters closest to me saw me, it let out a loud scream, "Pyo," and the whole crowd rushed towards me.
I was very lucky that I didn't panic and run away. It simply wouldn't have worked — they run faster than me, especially through the forest.
When the first krrolepir jumped at me, aiming its teeth for my throat, it met my fist, which just smashed its head. I didn't hold back any strength and hit with all my might.
Then the real bacchanalia began.
I was hitting with fists, feet, and elbows. Receiving blows that I physically couldn't block in time. The hits that landed on my armor were tolerable, but some struck less protected spots. A couple of times I got hit in the head, and one particularly lucky krrolepir clawed me from the forehead through my left eye down my cheek — luckily, I managed to dodge slightly, so the eyeball wasn't damaged.
Because of this, for a while until the wound healed thanks to my "HP," my eyes were streaming with blood, and I lost the ability to see properly.
After I killed the last monster almost blindly and managed to wipe the blood from my eyes, I looked around. At my feet lay about twenty krrolepir corpses, in various states of intactness, and others lay on a bloody trail marking the path I had slowly retreated under their pressure.
Leaning tiredly against a tree, I slid down it exhausted. At least I was smart enough after that to cast "Mirage" on the spot where I sat, a minimal energy drink to save at least a third of my mana — just in case.
They say pain and fear are the best teachers!
I have a lot to rethink. But first…
After washing my face and rinsing off the dried blood, I mechanically started cutting up the corpses with a knife. I needed to keep my hands busy; during mechanical, monotonous work, I find it easier to think.
First, magic is not a panacea! Magic is good, but even without considering that my mana isn't infinite, there is still the time needed to pronounce a spell. You can't just say it as a tongue twister! When I use magic, I realize how to properly say it — the right intonation and speed. That can't be changed; all I can control is the volume, and only within limits.
I had the example right in front of me: I simply had no time to pronounce a spell. And no matter how strong it was!
Second, I need to buy a helmet! Losing my vision turned me into a punching bag. Before the blood filled my eyes, I was still holding up well, at least for me. But without armor, and instead of krrolepirs, it would have been my body lying there. I need to thank Elhart for the armor when I get a chance.
Third, since the only thing I can use besides magic is my own body, I absolutely need to learn some kind of effective martial art against monsters. The key word is martial art! Such things must exist here.
There's also a fourth and so on, but they aren't as urgent as the first three points.
Dragging the corpses into the "Mirage," I calmed down a little but kept analyzing my mistakes and looking for ways to avoid them in the future.
After finishing, I washed the blood off my hands and sat again under the tree, leaning my back against it.
I touched the claw wound with my fingertips. Three thin scar lines could be felt there.
There are special ointments that remove scars. They're not that expensive. But I think I'll keep this scar.
Often, when I read novels about heroes leaving scars despite having the chance to remove them, as a reminder… I didn't get it — why? When there are many scars, they reduce the body's effectiveness. A scar is a trauma, and sometimes it distracts, which in battle can cost your life.
Now I partly understand why they did it. Partly, because usually they leave all scars, as a history of their fights and other nonsense. I'm not going to go that far. But this one, received from a krrolepir — a herbivore, damn it, a low-level monster resembling a fat rabbit — I'll keep it as a reminder of what a thoughtless and stupid act can lead to in this world.
And maybe someday this will save my life.
Maybe, when I start thinking about some outright stupidity again, the faint feeling from the scar will sober me up.
And I'll remove it only when I'm strong enough not to worry about that — or when I finally get smarter. Though I don't really believe in the second.
While thinking pompously about all this in my head…
…when I touched the scar again, I realized it had gotten smaller!
My first thought was: "Have I gotten smarter that fast?!"
Well, let's say I have! And this was a sign…
To be fair…
Two smart thoughts appeared besides those above. I singled them out for myself.
First, I need a group too — at least a few comrades.
Raftalia, Firo, and everyone else who should join the Shield Hero are Akira's team, not mine. I'm not going to steal them from her. And alone, I won't achieve much, at least with my current strength.
How easy it is to talk about this, and how hard it really is to find someone you can trust with your back.
Second, about my strength. I have plenty of power — my body holds enormous might, but I can't use it effectively. The force of my punches almost tore those krrolepirs apart… when I hit them. To waste my abilities so badly… I'm not special forces, not military… But if you look at it differently, even that trio of degenerates aren't great fighters, yet they somehow train, complete missions, and so on. Am I worse than them?!
This thought made me flush with heat!
No, no, that won't do! As soon as I thought this, I felt a second wind.
What nonsense am I talking…
Don't know how to fight properly? That comes with experience. And experience is gained in battle!
So, I'll fight until I learn!
And judging by the small pack of large wolves waist-high to me, attracted by the smell of blood… battles will find me themselves, given my luck. The main thing is to survive those battles.
When the wolves got very close, I realized they didn't see me because of the "Mirage." But if I hit them with a spell, they'd know exactly where I was. So I needed to make it so it didn't matter whether they saw me or not.
Looking up, I saw a thick branch strong enough to hold my weight overhead. It was quite far — almost one and a half meters. I could definitely jump that high, just had to avoid overshooting. Squatting down, I thought the plan over once again. It should work. At worst, there were only seven of them, including the leader.
While the wolves licked the blood left on the ground by the krrolepirs, I jumped up, grabbed the branch, pulled myself up, and put a knee on it to free my hand. Then, without hesitation, I started chanting the spell:
"By the power of the Grimoire, I command: decode the laws of the universe: Erst Lightning Bolt!"
When I began casting, the wolves turned towards me but didn't have time to react before a fully charged "Lightning Arrow" arced thickly from my hand into a cluster of three wolves standing close together.
Exploding with lightning discharges, only splinters remained where the wolf I aimed at had been. The other two nearby were killed by residual charges, judging by the sounds, and collapsed to the ground.
[Received: 155 EXP]
[Received: 56 copper coins]
…
The leader immediately reacted, running and pushing off the ground, jumping straight at me. Since I was above where the "Mirage" ended, it was no surprise he noticed me.
I wasn't going to cast again, and as he lunged, I prepared to act. I couldn't hit him with a fist or foot from that unstable position. But I didn't plan to. Leaning back, I jumped down, grabbed his hind legs while he clung to the branch with his front paws, pulled him towards me, stepped back, and rotating around my axis, slammed his body into the tree twice. There was a loud crunch of breaking bones.
If it worked on the krrolepir, why wouldn't it work on a wolf? After the second slam, I released him and turned toward a new opponent. Judging by the lack of messages, the leader was still alive but not dangerous yet.
I stood back against the tree and waited for them to come closer. But they circled and growled, wary of approaching. I had to help them a bit:
— By the power of the Grimoire… — I didn't plan to say the spell; I wouldn't have time anyway. But wolves are very smart animals, and when I started saying this while pointing at them alternately with my hand, one wolf charged, aiming its fangs at my left hand I was pointing with.
When he grabbed my arm, I didn't resist; the bracers were fully steel anyway. Seeing the other wolves left us alone and fled, I hit the wolf in the head. The blow was weak due to the awkward position, but still, he staggered; his jaw never unhinged, though he broke a couple of fangs on the armor.
I knocked him to the ground, stepped on him, freed my arm, then smashed his skull and finished him off.
Making sure no more capable enemies were left, and the other two ran off, I went looking for the leader.
Finding him was easy. He growled and tried to crawl into the bushes. When he saw me approaching, he growled louder, turned to me, scratching the ground with his only intact paw. In his intelligent eyes was the determination to fight to the end, though blood was dripping from his mouth due to internal injuries. He tried to stand, almost succeeded, despite three broken legs with bones sticking out.
While the adrenaline from the fight hadn't worn off, I approached to finish him. He tried to bite me, snapped his jaws, and growled. Grabbing his head, I broke his neck, but he didn't hurry to die. Then I stabbed him in the heart with my knife, which shocked me with a jolt, and the knife was knocked out of my hands.
It hurt to watch his suffering, and I wanted to help him go. Even after that, he lived for over a minute, fighting until his very last ragged breath.
[Received: 170 EXP]
[Received: 56 copper coins]
[Received: Forest Wolf Leader Pelt]
I did it. Maybe clumsily… but I did it! I killed strong enough enemies and gained real combat experience…
But why do I still feel so crappy inside?..