CH 41

41



Slow Grind



With Momo and Aka with me, I started to scout out the town once again.

Well, to be exact, Aka was not walking.

I was ‘wearing’ it in a way.



“This doesn’t feel too weird…”



I say as I feel the jacked that Aka had turned into.

Its texture and comfortableness were no different than any other clothing.

If anything, it might have been more comfortable than most clothes.

As for weight, well, it was a little heavier than what was usual, but it was no problem for me now that my stats had gone up.

It was an amazing skill.



“…(shaking)”



“Ah, sorry, Aka. Did that tickle?”



Aka shuddered as I rubbed at the material with my fingers.

Apparently, I wasn’t supposed to touch it too much.

But wearing it was fine. That was a little confusing to understand…



I had done some checking in regards to Aka’s mimicking skill, and it seemed that it could mimic anything that it has ever eaten.

As a test, I fed it utensils, garbage, and clothing from the item box. And Aka mimicked them all without any problems.

However, it seemed that the things could not be too small or too big.

They had to be somewhat in line with its original size.



And so I had it mimic the clothes that I wear.

Because Aka’s usual speed for movement was much too slow.

This was also easier than carrying it, and since it was not recognized by ‘Scouting’ and ‘Hostility Detection’, it would not interfere with my skills.



But more than anything, the clothes that Aka mimicked were durable and could also double as a bullet-proof vest.



It was not easily ripped and was strong against impact.

Not that I tested it too much, but I thought that it was probably enough to stop a normal bullet.

Well, the ‘force’ of it would still be felt, though.

Still, it would be a great help.



Thanks to Aka, my defensive capabilities had skyrocketed.

Momo had been right about this.

I’m glad I accepted it.



Additionally, it could only mimic ‘objects’ like tools and clothes.

It appeared that it could not turn into life forms like Momo.

It was still impressive, though.

Maybe it would be able to turn into weapons once it leveled up.

I was getting excited just thinking about it.



Well then, time to look for some supplies and monsters…

I wanted to look into Aka’s skills a little more, but raising our levels was also important.

Plus, I would be able to see how Aka works during battles.



Oh, ‘Scouting’ was detecting something now.

It seemed like…goblins.

They were few in number, so I might as well hunt them.



The goblins were chilling in a park.

There were seven in all… And not a hobgoblin in sight.

Momo used ‘shadow’ and got as close to them as possible. Then, when they were all within the area of effect, she captured them all at once with the shadow.



“Gi…Giii?” “Gigi..gi?!”

“Gigya…” “Guguiiii…!”



The goblins frantically tried to escape, but it was no use.



Perhaps it was because Momo had gained a level, but her shadow abilities were becoming stronger.

Up until now, she had not been able to capture so many goblins, but now it was easy for her. And her power to strangle them had also increased.



I walked up to the captured goblins and killed them with a kitchen knife.

I could have crushed them with the item box, but I would use a knife this time.

And I tried as best as I could do it with one cut.

It wasn’t precise, but I had an idea of where to hit.

I wonder if it was a result of ‘Vitals Strike.’



If I kept using my skills like this, ‘Swordsmanship’ and ‘Vitals Strike’ would also become higher.

And now that my item box was maxed, I really wanted to raise my other skills as well.

It would save some SP as well.



>



After killing the seven goblins, I collect the stones.

I give one to Momo and Aka each and we quickly move on.



By the way, it is necessary for Aka to deactivate ‘mimicking’ when it eats.

And so I have to carefully make sure that no people or monsters are around when I feed it.

But I have to say, there was something surreal about watching the stone dissolve inside of the slime, no matter how many times I see it.



After that, we continued to search for easy prey and killed them.

Safety was the most important thing.

There was no need to take any risks on this adventure.

“Maybe I can go further?” “Just a little more…” I did have such feelings, but I knew that my life hung in the balance.

And surviving was my biggest priority.



After that, we killed several more zombies and goblins, and my level went up.

Great. I do a mental fist pump.



I already knew where to allot the points, so everything went smoothly.

JP was used to bring ‘Assassin’ up to LV7.

The remaining 3 points would be saved for now.



As for skills, I brought up ‘Observation’ to LV6, ‘Danger Detection’ to LV6, and ‘Hostility Detection’ to LV5.

The remaining point would be saved.

As I thought, you needed to use more points for each skill once your level went up.

I would have to try and save some points by becoming more proficient in battle.



Speaking of which, we were now quite a ways away from the shopping center.

Location-wise, I think the home center would be right between us.

Well, it was still too early to relax.

Even if ‘Danger Detection’ was not sensing anything, it didn’t mean that there weren’t any monsters of the high orc class lurking around here.

There was also a possibility of monsters disguising themselves like the mimic had.



“I should probably just choose a destination already…”



The next town? The city? Or I could hole up in the mountains…

There was no guarantee that any of those locations would be safer. But I wouldn’t know unless I checked them out.

The closest of possible locations was the city. But I would have to go near the shopping mall to reach it.

That was one thing I wanted to avoid.



So that left the next town or the mountains.

But then again, I wanted to raise my level here as much as possible first.

After all, I could well end up encountering a monster that was even stronger than a high orc if I left this place.

So in a way, being here and being able to hunt easy monsters was a kind of comfortable situation.

In any case, I was able to gain a level today.



“Alright, let’s do a little more then.”



“Bark!”



“…(shaking)”



I give the newly acquired magic stones to Momo and Aka.

Both of them received their stones happily.



However, Momo seemed to change the moment she swallowed hers.



“…Hm? What is it? Momo?”



“…Hgggguuu.”



Momo did not react when I talked to her. She only moaned and shivered.

What, what happened? Momo?

When I approached her, her ‘shadow’ shot out from her feet.



“What!?”



It transformed into a cocoon that enveloped Momo’s body.

Wh-what…was happening to her?



Right after she ate the stone…

The only thing I could think of was—could it be!



I opened up the status plate and checked the category on the bottom.



“I knew it…”



It displayed ‘Momo Shiba dog LV10’.

Then that would mean that…



Both Aka and I stared at Momo, who was wrapped in shadow.



A few seconds later, the cocoon vanished.

And Momo appeared, looking like—.