CH 41

A tent is too heavy to lug around while walking on foot. Well, that’s not a problem with my current body, but pile it up with other people’s tents —it will be bulky for sure. Alrighty, let’s get some light leather and sew them together to make a sheet. I can put a rope on one corner, tie it to a tree and pull it up, then nail the other three corners on the ground to make a simple makeshift shelter.

I’ll need a light yet durable leather that’s waterproof and windproof, too.

Yeah, I agreed with Dean in the end. It’ll take 5 days for the one way trip, so add two more days as spare and it’ll take us 12 days back and forth. Let’s try gauging the distance based on my previous life — if I’m not mistaken, it’ll take 12-15 days from Edo Nihonbashi to Kyoto’s Sanjoo Bridge, I think? Then, the distance must be comparable to when you reach the place where you can see a glimpse of Suruga Bay after leaving Edo, I guess. We’re not going through the towns during this expedition, so it’s probably shorter.*

When it rains, both the beasts and the monsters would hide away, so although there’s no need to worry about water, we should also consider that when doing preps.

Ash and I were assigned to carry the food during the expedition, and bring back the raw materials. We also have to protect ourselves. Apparently, there are some guys who leave everything to other people, but Chris and Dean are going to mind their own selves, it seems. They’re gonna prepare or hunt their own food, so our main role was to carry the luggage and raw materials on our way home.

As Dean said, ‘If you can’t even do anything yourself, what are you gonna do if you get separated’, just like that.

And so, I plan to bring lots of ingredients and other stuff that will make my life comfortable — a leather bag for drinking water, a cooking pot, a knife, a hooded cloak, bark cups, plates, flints, firelighter, resin and shovel. There’s a river so I also brought a fish hook and a yarn. Oh, I’ll also bring a needle and thread for repairs.

Rope and sack and…..

The lightweight leather sheet, overcoat — a durable pair of gloves also sounds great. I’ll also make some insect repellent and preserved foods.

It’s cold, but I’ll go to the forest and practice magic while hunting for monitor lizards, and get some provisions, too.

Alright!

It’s not that I don’t feel that I’m getting my priorities backwards — that’s my thought as I proactively hunted for monitor lizards. There were many Bicorns, but as expected, Tri-Horns were also present. I’m not sure which part of the forest I’m currently hunting in, though. The map scaling seems off to me.

Tri-Horns also lived in the depths of the forest that are outside the scope of our expedition, and they apparently settled there, so they don’t go to the human settlements. Does that mean they’re the type to avoid the things they don’t like?

There are more Bicorns here, so it isn’t that further in, but I’m not really sure about that, either.

It’s way too cold so I stopped practicing magic.

I just searched for their tracks, then I slay Horned ones whenever I meet them, that’s my job, alright. But the cold beat me! The ground was also the worst — now I totally understood why Chris decided to let winter pass despite being so passionate about it.

In addition to that, he had requested to embark on an expedition back to the forest as soon as he returned, but the Guild rejected it. Well, to be more precise, he was thoroughly deferred while he was working for the noble who commissioned him. It was supposedly a two-day coaching, but he was even made to escort the noble to the neighboring town — how horrible of you, sir aristocrat.

The guild must have been in chaos at that time due to the spirit that possessed Pink Head. Oh right, I’ll take a peek at the spirits here.

I closed my eyes, then opened them once again.

The world transformed in an instant. A lot of spirits filled my surroundings, from translucent ones down to those who aren’t different from their essence.

Most of them were similar to the ones who came to my house, but there were also red-eyed ones, and some had shadows and bags under their eyes.

So monsterfy happens when possessed by these guys? Almost all of those spirits have translucent body parts, such as the tips of their hands and feet and part of their faces, and they look as if they’re fading away, while some of them turned into small balls, unable to keep their original figures.

The spirits that had defects were trying to take over the bodies of the other spirits, particularly aiming for the body parts that they lost. There were differences in the method, like some tried to dissolve the other party, and some tried to bite and tear it off, but their target was their missing parts.

I heard that even if they still have memories when they lost their powers, the only thing that will be left is a burning emotion that would consume and control them.

I don’t like this scene. If they’re like Riche, then 【 Heal 】 won’t work, but the healing method should be the same — form a contract and pour energy.

I had been cutting our naming sessions off — I limited the number of spirits, and they were more than willing to receive a name, so I didn’t really do anything, but 『 Naming 』normally takes a lot of willpower, apparently, especially if the spirit is strong and doesn’t like being dominated.

Mana is also needed to nurture those spirits afterward. I’m not aware whether they’ve been consuming my mana, but maybe that’s because my physical ability is way over the top.

Also, it seems that recovery and stacking mana will be faster once you get used to expending magical power, so maybe my ability improved proportional to my efforts? I’ve been diligently trying to use it more frequently.

I already renamed the spirits that I’ve numbered before, and they had become bigger, from palm-sized to as big as a tissue-box. I’m transferring a different kind of magic into them whenever I borrow their powers, apparently.

Everyone was faring well, so there’s no need for me to pour lots of mana, but maybe that’s the reason my magic doesn’t decrease that much. Many spirits also participate like rascals playing pranks and secretly observing my reaction.

I also pour magic on Riche every time I fluff and rub him, so he’s supposed to be the one who got the most mana, but he’s still so small, albeit healthy and happy, though.

Well, I can’t do this the usual way, though, seeing that these spirits are brimming with hostility. Hmm, I’ll just do what I can, then. I already slayed more than enough monitor lizards for today, so my business is already done.

「 Alright. 」

Although I decided that I would name them, I didn’t have the slightest idea how to do it. The spirits have been the ones to approach first all this time, after all.

Anyway, I just grabbed one of the spirits near me.

「 Your name is Black 1 」

I stared at it intently as I said its name. That ended pretty quickly huh, although it had been resisting, or should I say squirming all the while until I finished naming it. Maybe this is the way to go?

「 Black 2 」

「 Black 3 」

I chased them all around, grabbing and naming each of them from 1 onwards. They had all sorts of reactions; some got mad, while others were dumbfounded.

There were still lots of them. Time to retreat. I’m afraid I’ll become hypothermic, so stopped here. I also named the normal ones who came to me, but I already forgot the number so I just put ‘forest’ and started from one again. I got more raw materials from lizards and foxes. I think I can also 「 Name 」 monsters if I do my best, but if they’re attacking me then I have to slay them.

I’m doing this for my self-satisfaction, and I totally don’t feel like doing anything about that. My intention is to do things according to my mood and preferences.

That’s why, those guys who escaped, be prepared!! I’m going back tomorrow, alright!!

— I collapsed to the floor when I got home, and Riche worriedly circled around me. I should restrain myself a bit.

———

T/N: Edo is the former name of Tokyo. The Nihonbashi (lit. Japan Bridge) is 284 miles away from Sanjoo Bridge of Kyoto, but there’s a historical hiking trail called Nakasendo that is a popular tourist attraction for avid hikers; it’s 331.8 miles, and there are 11-12 day tours available for that place. This trail connected Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto during the days of shoguns and samurai  Here’s a map of the trail 

Suruga Bay, on the other hand, is 89 miles away from Tokyo.

E/N: I think considering the game trails they will be traveling on about 60 mi or 100KM sounds about right for the one way in 5 days.