Pioneering the Apocalyptic World - Chapter 134
Chapter 04: Let’s cross the mountains 2
Because it was dark, the power of the creator god was not working that strongly, so monster attacks were occurring sporadically in the forest.
“It’s a hassle when they come one by one…”
Uru grumbled as she threw a stone to defeat an Evil Boar that was rushing towards her. They weren’t strong or numerous (From Uru’s point of view), so she probably started to feel lazy.
Well, yeah, maybe it’s just boring for her… I’d say she’s still reliable or rather crazy to be able to shatter a monster’s skull with a single stone. Is this what it feels like to play a new game+? I’m like that in terms of knowledge, but my physical ability is not good at all, and I don’t carry over items…
“Damn, It’s jumping around… I’m sorry Liese!”
“In fact, that’s enough…!”
In the back, Regulus and Liese were working together to confront a Bighorn Deer with their spears.
Regulus’ main fighting style is his firsts. But the horn gets in the way, so he’s using a spear, but compared to hand-to-hand combat, it’s undeniable that he’s not trained enough and his attacks are not sharp enough to hit the target. However, the act of making it dodge was important, and just as the monster was about to land and couldn’t dodge any further, Liese stabbed it and caused heavy damage.
I feel like you guys have become a lot stronger too. I could say that they have more mental leeway because Uru, who is overwhelmingly strong is together with us, but even when they are surrounded by monsters, they don’t show any sign of panic and are properly dealing with them one by one.
“Oops. Fricka, the one over there, please.”
“Yes. Wind, gather and twist and become a needle. Wind Needle.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Fricka using magic to pierce a wood goblin that was holding a bow while hiding on a tree branch, then I shoot an arrow at another Wood Goblin that was also on a branch a little further away. Visibility is already poor here, and on top of that they’re overhead, so it’s easy to miss them and get caught by surprise.
“Rion, Fricka, there are two more up there.”
“OK.”
“I got it.”
It’s really helpful to have the excellent radar Uru around.
Everyone says things like it’s too easy to progress when I’m around that’s scary to think what would happen if they got used to it, but isn’t Uru the same when it comes to combat?
Well, Uru is cutting corners to give more training for us. Even so, when it’s really dangerous, she takes care of it, so I feel relieved and think, ‘Ah, so everything is still okay for now.’ Isn’t it a luxury?
We are surrounded from the front, behind, and above, and if I was alone I would have been in a pinch, but thanks to everyone, I think we’ll be able to get through it easily.
“Umu, the surrounding monsters have been completely defeated.”
“Okay. Thank you everyone for your hard work. You guys can rest while I collect the loot.”
With Uru’s declaration, the atmosphere relaxed. Looks like no one was hurt. That said, their SP should probably have decreased due to the battle, so after handing out drinks and snacks, I go to strip the materials from the monster corpses scattered around.
At first, Uru told me, “Rion should rest properly,” but when I said, “If you don’t cut the meat fast, the quality will deteriorate, okay?” and she fell silent and looked away. Her behavior was so funny that when I laughed, she turned red and kicked me (of course, she was being careful. If she was being serious, I’d be in pieces), and that made me thought, “What’s this cute creature!”.
“But there are a lot of them… Rion, isn’t there a dungeon nearby?”
“Hmm… Probably not.”
Uru asked while munching on the cookie, and I replied back without stopping my hands.
Even though my main goal is to cross the mountain, I couldn’t afford to miss any nearby dungeons, so I was careful to not miss any signs of a core, but I didn’t felt anything. It’s not like they’re overflowing from a dungeon, this spawn rate is probably the normal one here.
“Is this the normal? I’m sure it’s worthy of being a training place, but I don’t want to live here.”
“But, Regulus-nii, if you lived here in the first place, your senses would be paralyzed and you wouldn’t be able to say such things, right?”
Or perhaps because no one lives there and no one visits, the monsters continue to accumulate without decreasing. That’s a problem.
Most monsters disappear in the morning… When the power of the creator god becomes stronger. However, they just disappears, it doesn’t mean that they’re dead. They will just repop and show up again the next night. So, unless you defeat them, the monsters will continue to spawn.
That’s why you won’t be able to find magic stones lying around in the morning. Magic stones and other materials are only dropped when a monster is defeated, or when a monster dies for some other reason. If you leave these monsters alone, over time… They will remain for a relatively long time at night, but they will disappear quickly in the morning, so I must collect the material quickly after defeating them.
But… Now that I think about it, I wonder how this system works? In the game, I could have gotten away with saying, “That’s just the way it is.”…
“Rion-sama, say aahn.”
“Aahn…!?”
The looting had just finished, and I was standing still, deep in thought, when these words suddenly came to my ears. I reflexively opened my mouth and a cookie was inserted into it, and it was only after the sweet taste spread in my mouth that I realized what had been done to me.
“Rion-sama, if the work is over take a break too.”
“… Yesh…”
No, it’s fine, it’s fine, but… It’s a little embarrassing to do it in public. It’s also embarrassing even if it’s not in public. Sorry, Fricka.
Also, Uru-san, I have no intention of taking yours, so you don’t have to make that face like “Should I give mine as well…?”… You can eat it all…
And then, I heard this talk from behind.
“Um… Regulus-nii, would you like to eat some of mine too?”
“Hmm? Liese is hungry too, right? You should eat properly.”
“…… I see.”
… Don’t give up.
“Phew, I guess we made through the forest.”
The tree zone ended, and a mountain surface covered in short grass, sand, and stones came into view.
Looking behind, I can see the foot of the mountain completely covered in greenery. Looking from this way, it seemed like we had climbed quite a bit… But the real work starts from here on.
Unlike Mt. Fuji, which is popular for climbing, there are no huts or walking trails. We’ll have to wrestle our nerves to avoid falling as we walk along the pathless way, and in some cases, we will run out of places to pass and have to go back and try other way… Well, in my case, digging is another option.
Because there was nothing to block the wind and because we were at a higher altitude, it started to get chilly. When I looked at the sky while rubbing my skin, I realized that there wasn’t much time until sunset. It’s dangerous to move at night, we should take a break early. I don’t want to be able to climb a mountain without being able to see my feet.
“Are we going to rest in a place like this? Shouldn’t we at least find a spacious place?”
I can agree with Regulus’ opinion that it’s better to find a spacious place, but unfortunately, that spacious place isn’t necessarily nearby. While we were looking for it, the sun went down… That would be a problem.
However, even if it’s not a large place, there is no problem in resting even if it requires a little extra effort on my part.
“Dig a side hole~, dig into it~, reinforce it~.”
When I started working while singing in a strange rhythm, everyone looked back at me with convinced faces.
As long as I have holy water, a windproof wall, and a rainproof roof, I can sleep pretty much anywhere. In my original world, I almost never even went camping, I guess I’ve gotten a lot tougher.
“And that’s for the bed. Shall we have a barbecue with the meat we got from the monsters from earlier?”
“Mu, that’s sounds fun.”
Skin and bones aren’t the only materials that can be stripped from monsters. There’s meat. Although there are many monsters that are rotten or extremely tasteless and therefore inedible, most monsters that resemble edible animals are edible. If it’s a boar or a deer, there are no blunders unless they’re affected by miasma, and actually after looking at their status, there was no problem at all.
There are some monsters that are delicious even though they look extremely gross. The first person to eat something like that must have been brave… Or maybe just extreme hungry.
When I took out the set I need for cooking from the item box, Fricka helps me without saying a word. She was already good at cooking, but she has become much better at cooking than when she first started, and has even started to anticipate what I need to do. That’s helpful.
Everyone else has also set up a place to eat and prepared the fire. When I took out tables and chairs from my item box for the first time, everyone was surprised and thought, “You’re really putting anything into your item box…” but I guess they have adapted to it somehow. Furthermore, even if I hadn’t stored any, I think I’d make some from surrounding materials, so it will take less time this way, okay?
“The meat is ready. Let’s grill it.”
“”Yeah!””
“Let’s eat vegetables too.”
“”…… Yeah……””
And like this, we spent the first night of our trek over the mountain, which should have been a difficult one, in good spirits.
… And that was the first and last night we all ate together~ — let’s hope it doesn’t turn into a situation from a suspense movie, right?
The words that were cut because Regulus life was in danger.
“Those two look more like a middle-aged couple than newlyweds… And Uru-nee-san is the child waiting excitedly at the table for the food.”
“Who are you calling a child!!”