CH 20

Night Camp

“Aggh…agghhh!?”

When I woke up the next morning, my throat was completely parched. Now that I think about it, I had dehumidified the room before sleeping last night. What an unexpected nuisance. However, at least my laundry was dry.

I washed up and then went down to get some breakfast before heading to the stable.

“Morning, Emma.”

I said while petting her. She looked at me with a puzzled expression as if to say, ‘Who, me?’

Yes, that’s you. We decided on that yesterday.

I greeted the gatekeeper and left the village. Then I rode on Emma down the road.

Rocking back and forth on the horse made me feel very relaxed, but I could not let my guard down. And so I was watchful of my surroundings as we trotted along. That’s when I saw a shadow move up ahead. Huh!? A horned rabbit!

Our eyes met and we glared at each other. And then it ran away.

However, I then realized a big problem. What should I do if I’m attacked by a monster? None of my weapons would reach them if I was on top of a horse.

But if I got off and Emma ran away, I would lose all of my belongings that she was carrying. After thinking hard on this, I decided to take the load off and carry it on my own back.

Please. Don’t let there be any monsters… And so I continued on, about three times more nervous than before. And then a pack of forest wolves appeared. So they had come after all. They always had to come when you wanted them the least.

I pulled on the reins and dismounted from Emma in order to face the forest wolves. There were four in all. I threw off my backpack and held out my shield and sword as if to protect Emma.

“Grrrrr…”

They growled back. But I was the one who was angry!

“You have the worst timing!”

I shouted back. And then I charged at them before they could surround me.

…Well, I did feel like I had gotten carried away a little at the moment. One of them had bitten into my leg, and blood flowed from the wound, so I drank a potion to heal it.

(Thanks. You did a good job, old man.)

The old man gave me a thumbs up in the blue sky(or so it seemed).

The next thing to address was the defense ability of my lower half. I would have to search for greaves in Ilrak. After all, I was currently just wrapping wood and leather around my shins.

When I turned around, Emma was eating grass a short distance away.

I almost felt stupid for worrying so much. But I was so grateful that she had waited that I threw my arms around her neck.

“Emma! Thank you!”

I said.

“Neeigh!”

Replied Emma. So she probably understood me.

I took only the magic stones from the forest wolves and left the rest in the forest.

After that, I was attacked by two goblins. But Emma waited for me patiently again. I think I was in love.

As the sun started to set, I let Emma drink at a brook I found along the way, and then I set up a fire under a small cliff that hid me from the main road. I tied Emma to a tree with a long rope so that she could eat as much grass as she wanted, and left her a pot filled with water.

This was the first time I used a magic ignition tool. You didn’t need to use any of your own magic energy. You just had to push part of the handle in and a small flame would appear. There was a magic stone inside, and its energy would deplete every time you used it. And so it would have to be replaced once it was emptied. However, it was still incredibly useful when compared to using flints.

(Now that I think about it, I have a magic light tool as well.)

With the light tool, you moved a lever from the left to the right in order to make it light up. I tested it and it was very bright. No, it was too bright.

And so I hung it high up in a nearby tree and attached a string to the lever.

Eating until you’re full would make you sleepy, and so I only ate bread and dried meat.

“Gya!”

“Gggya!”

Goblins.

They weren’t capable of moving stealthily, which was good. But the smell of blood was dangerous.

I held up my sword and shield and waited for them to come closer.

There were two, from what I could see–through the faint light. And then I pulled the string that was attached to the magic tool.

Goblins could see in the dark. And so I shone the light at them suddenly in order to blind them. With that opening, I cut the two down. The light showed that there was another one in the back, and so I cut its throat open as well.

After scanning the area, I quickly turned off the magic light tool so that my eyes would get used to the dark.

These magic tools really were useful.

I took out their magic stone and discarded the bodies in the forest a good distance away from the fire.

Then I returned to my camp and continued to practice magic manipulation while keeping an eye on the forest.

After some time had passed, I started to hear sounds coming from the direction where I had left the goblin corpses.

Something was coming towards me. Light footsteps. Wolves?

Just as I could make out the faint silhouettes, I used my magic tool attack again. The light illuminated the three forest wolves. I cut two down one after another. And then unleashed an upwards slash at the third wolf whose eyes glowed as they narrowed.

I looked around and was about to deal the final blow…

But just then, I heard a rustling sound at my back. When I spun around, it was my turn to be blind by the light.

“Damn it…”

I quickly raised my shield in order to block the light. There was a clang as something sharp hit against it, and a black shadow jumped back.

The thing that appeared under the light was a black spider that was the size of a basketball. I had never seen one before, but was sure that they were called ‘shadow spiders.’ Their fangs were poisonous and their extermination difficulty was E.

It landed on the ground before jumping at me again. But when I blocked it with my shield, it held onto it with its legs. Seeing the legs wiggle from behind the shield was incredibly disgusting.

“Woah!”

While I couldn’t see it, I swung my sword against the shield until I heard a squishing sound and the spider slid right off.

Just then, my body suddenly felt lighter. Had I leveled up?

At the same time, I heard something panting loudly. I turned around and raised my sword, but it was just Emma, who was on the other side of the fire and laying low near the cliff side. Smart girl.

After making sure that there was nothing else, I finished off the forest wolf that was still breathing, and then turned off the magic light.

I petted Emma until she calmed down and then removed the magic stones from the forest wolves before taking their corpses to the place where I had discarded the goblins. Slimes had already appeared, making the sight even more gruesome. I added the wolves to the pile.

Now, there was the shadow spider. It was my first time seeing this monster. If I’m not wrong, the poisonous fangs and spinnerets could be sold. I recalled what I had read in the guild documents as I removed the fangs and wrapped them in cloth, and then opened up the stomach and carefully took out the two spinnerets and put them into bags.

The fire was growing smaller now, and so I let my eyes get accustomed to the darkness.

(Was it just me, or… Status open.)

“Alright!”

I couldn’t help but say aloud, and then I frantically looked around… There was nothing. Good.

But Emma was surprised.

“Sorry.”

I patted her and then looked at my status again.

Name: Ajifu

Race: Human

Age: 36

LV: 9

HP: 84/101(+5)

MP: 12/22(+3)

STR: 32(+1)

VIT: 30(+2)

INT: 13(+2)

MND: 20(+1)

AGI: 23(+1)

DEX: 12(+0)

LUK: 7(+0)

Skills

Eralt Lv2, Reverse Age Lv3, Farming Lv3, Carpentry Lv1, Carving Lv2, Leatherworker Lv2, Gathering Lv2, Shield Art Lv2(+1), Magic Manipulation Lv1, Everyday Magic(water/earth) Sword Art Lv1

Title

Visitor From Another World, Farmer

This was the best boost I had ever gotten.

My MP and INT had gone up so much, as had my shield skill. And I finally got Sword Art Lv1, which I had wanted so much. I had used a spear for three years and never gained the skill, and yet it had only taken me one year with the sword. It was a great surprise.

As for why my magic type status had risen when they had been so slow to do so before, it must be because of all the training I have been doing.

I could not help but grin to myself in the darkness at this clear proof of my growth. That’s when I noticed that the sky had become paler.

Apparently, the long night was going to end.