48 - to the next place

Go through the outer gate of the border town and head north along the wall.

After continuing along the road for a while, a road suddenly appears as if it has been cut through the forest.

It takes us an hour to swing along the road, which is marked by several ruts.

After driving northeast, the carriage finally breaks through a gap in the trees.

All that remains is to continue on the gently undulating road for the next three hours, with the dense forest of kobolds on the right.

To the left, there is nothing but wilderness dotted with rocks and bushes.

The blackened clumps that can be seen here and there seem to be a forest inhabited by imps, just like here.

The carriage is quietly approaching its destination, without any bumps to sway its wheels due to the well-maintained road.

Moe, who had been excited at first by his first ride, soon became bored with the view and was now drooling in Yuril's lap.

Sora, whose eyes had been shining brightly, is now sitting on her cheekbones, lost in thought.

The girl yawned softly and cutely, and turned around to talk to Thor.

"You're tired, Thor.

"Yes, I know. I'll take the watch, you can go back to sleep."

The overhead seats in the coach are inexpensive and offer a great view, but sometimes it is my duty to warn people if I see goblins coming out of the forest.

Also, although it is almost never this time of the year, if it rains, you may have to endure being soaked to the skin.

Therefore, the seats on the roof of the wagons are empty except for Thor and the other four.

This was explained to us before we boarded the carriage, but we chose it because it was the first time for us.

It was also because Thor was a little bit flattered by Moe, who clung to his back and begged him a little.

The fare for the back seat of the boxcar was three silver coins per person, two coins for the rear seat, and one coin for the overhead seat.

We had bought a lot of necessities on this expedition, so it was nice to be able to save some money.

Thor stretched lightly and looked upward.

The sky was bright and clear with the sun in the mid-sky.

Only a few thin, stretched and shredded clouds are floating in the sky.

A lukewarm wind caresses your cheeks as it passes by, perhaps making you feel sleepier.

Again the girl yawns and tears lightly trickle down the corners of her eyes.

She left the house a little earlier than usual today because of the 8:00 a.m. departure time.

Since it would be about an hour before the noon arrival, Thor suggested to take a nap again.

"I'll wake you up when we get there, so get some rest."

"No, I want to chat with you more, Thor.

"Well, it is an ironclad rule for adventurers to rest when they can."

"If so, would you like to take a break, Thor?　One knee is free."

Thor looked a little annoyed when Yuril interrupted the conversation in a calm voice.

Today Yuril's long silver hair was tied up in a tight bun, which looked unusually good with his white flaxen robe.

Even Thor, who had seen enough adventurers in his years of living in the border town, was put off by this.

And it is a bit of an ordeal for a big man to be standing head to head with a dumb-looking child who is so comfortable that he has opened his nostrils to the full.

"No thanks. Maybe some other time."

"Then I'll fall on my knees for you. Come on, come on, come on."

"No, thanks. Then let's go over your abilities one more time to kill some time.

"Too bad. Well, I'll go first.

Sola raised her hand in a show of enthusiasm, as if she were getting over her drowsiness.

"I can use , which means that if I'm attacked, I can say 'aye' in return.

"It's amazing to hear you say that over and over again, Ms. Sora's magic."

"Heh heh, but I'm only halfway there."

Sola currently has around 1,800 skill points, which is about 200 points short of the level 2 skill point requirement for .

Today, Sola was determined to accumulate enough skill points during this expedition.

Of course, the does not become stronger rapidly just because it reached level 2.

What the girl was hoping for was a possibility. So, this is not the time for carefree napping.

Now she had a little trouble.

In the last conquest of the kobolds' cave, obviously only Sora had earned a few points.

The problem was that the only way for Sora to participate in the battle was to use the spell, and she only had five chances to do so in an hour.

This situation was almost indispensable against the Hobgoblin Shaman in the second layer, but due to the aggravation of this situation, he could only watch the battle in the latter half of the attack in the first layer.

Sora is now seriously thinking that this is not good enough.

However, the girl is not the same as before.

In addition to the existing , , , , and have suddenly been added to the list.

Among them, the benefit of is especially great, and it is almost no problem to use up to three times in a row.

It is no exaggeration to say that the instantaneous firepower alone is the best in the party.

As for the rest of the equipment, since I returned the old ones to Yuril, I am now wearing a linen robe and a boar-skin body suit.

He also has boarskin gloves and boots, so he is well-protected in every detail.

"Mu is sleeping, so I'll take his place. He can use , , and .

"You're very good for such a little guy, Mumu."

"The only thing that makes it a little tough is that you have to every time you want to use it."

Since Moo has about 2,500 skill points, it is possible to learn up to two at present.

If he focuses on only one of them, he can even make it to level 2.

But it is still a low level.

The only changes that have been made since the last level were the number of usable moves increased from five to six, the duration increased by ten seconds, and the range was extended by two steps.

Therefore, he continues to use it at level 1.

Since Moo's greatest weapon is its characteristic, Thor does not consider the slight increase in this area to be of much importance.

He has gained four other characteristics exactly the same as those of Sora.

The biggest advantage for Moo seems to be that makes him less tired.

He wears a large red cape of river horsehide covering his knees, and a short-sleeved cotton shirt and half pants underneath.

On his feet, he wears short shoes made of mole skin and black boar skin elbow and knee pads.

He was also wearing a pockmarked hat with earpieces made of armored boar's fur, which suited him quite well.

"And me, I can restore some things with .

"Hmm, I'm one of them."

"Yes. Are you not inconvenienced?"

"No, you have a wonderful heart, Thor."

Besides , Thor also has the same four characteristics as everyone else, especially .

Furthermore, now that he has completed the iron sword, which can make its sharpness unusually sharp for only two minutes, and the cloak of the blue-striped serpent, which can improve defense performance, he has become a key member of the party both in name and in reality.

"Last of all, it's me, isn't it? I am mainly skilled in ice magic. I have already mastered , , and of the lower branches and of the middle branch. Unfortunately, we are still a little short of .　

"I don't know what it is, but I know it's very impressive!

"Thank you, Ms. Sola. But with a little time, anyone can do this easily.

Speaking casually, no one usually grows out three lower-branch skills.

Most of the time, they are more interested in the more powerful skills of the upper branches, and easily neglect the less powerful magic skills.

However, if you cultivate even a weak skill, it will be transformed into an existence of great effect.

Thor knew this more deeply than anyone else.

What is even more frightening about Yuril is the many characteristics that support his well-developed magic skills.

With , , and , he is unrivaled in his ability to hinder the monster's actions.

When Thor glanced at Yuril, Yuril gave him a smile like a white flower.

He is looking forward to it, but unfortunately for him, his black-rimmed adventurer's card is visible above his white hard-copper breastplate.

The hunting ground we are going to now is mainly for D and E ranks, and C ranks are restricted in the number of days they can enter.

Specifically, they are allowed only two days a week.

Even so, with Yuril's skill, it is certain that he will be able to achieve terrific results even in a short period of time.

The four of us will be fighting monsters we are meeting for the first time in a place where everything is new to us.

Thor, conscious of his uncharacteristically high chest, turns his gaze back to the road ahead.

At the end of the long stretch of road.

A thick, reddish-black line crossing his field of vision, drawing his eyes in an irresistible manner.

It was a large stream of water meandering through the wilderness.

The name of the place with blood-red water is the River of Blood.

It is the new hunting ground of Thor and his friends.