Chapter 2: Veil, Part 6

Before we completely left the village and the Chief behind, a thought occurred to me: I might never come back here again, but for me this was my first village, my place of genesis in this strange new world.

Granted, my start in here wasnt exactly a peaceful one and I was this close to being (possibly) turned into a slave over a pair of sandals if anyone ever caught on that I stole them from that barn I woke up in, but other than that the Chief has treated me kindly, so I might reminisce about them from time to time if I ever feel like it.

For a while we were just sitting in our respective seats, taking in the sights. The man in the cage has been silent, not saying as much as a word ever since we departed.

Are the roads safe to travel?

I asked the merchant in an attempt to break the silence which began to get really awkward really fast.

Im not going to lie, monsters are known to be lurking around Veil and the roads that surround it, but they are being exterminated by the Adventurers and the towns guards on a regular basis, so we have nothing to worry about.

With each passing minute, the world around us was getting more and more bright and the wagon was also slowly gaining speed, rattling and shaking as it did so. Could it be that the roads are in such a bad shape or maybe the wagon itself is at fault here? Or maybe both of those things at once? All around us was a leaf forest, exactly the same as the one near the village where I hunted for Slow Rabbits yesterday. I dont know if it also goes that deep, but it does not seem to be the case here, or at least that is my guess judging after the trees unimpressive height. Also, because it was just the same generic, repetitive scenery all the time it grew dull on me pretty fast, so much so that staring at those trees began to hurt my eyes, and when you combine it with the constant shaking, youll get something thats more akin to a passive-aggressive torture than anything else. So yeah, we havent been on the road for more than half an hour and I could already tell that I was not going to have a jolly good time.

That being said, I basically had no choice but to grit my teeth and endure it. In an attempt to divert my mind from this uncomfortable feeling I tried to bite into the bread that was among the things the Chiefs wife prepared for me for breakfast, but this endless shaking made it insanely difficult to enjoy even a smallest bite of it in peace. With that attempt ending up in failure, I returned to staring mindlessly into the space around me since I had nothing better or more interesting to do.

..

.

*Sigh* Im. So. BORED! Not to mention that if I dont shift my sitting position from time to time then my butt will start hurting as if it had wooden splinters piercing into it!

Then a small shadow wandered in front of the wagon. An animal, or maybe some kinda monster?

Oh, a Slow Rabbit. So they are here as well, huh?

You seem to be very familiar with them already, Michio-sama.

Yeah yeah, you said the same about the Slow Rabbit, and we all saw how true those warnings ended up being.

Not to mention that if the Gumi Slime catches you inside it, your body will melt instantly!

He explains with an expression of sheer horror written all over his face. Is it really that dangerous? Because Im doubtful as heck about that.

If what he says is true, then I should be fine as long as I wont allow it to catch me. That and I cant cower away from any Lv1 monster just because someone tells me that its dangerous. I wont be able to achieve anything at all with such a noobish mindset. No pain, no gain, as they said in my old world.

Well be fine. You just focus on keeping the wagon going forward. I will handle the rest.

I command the merchant in the most confident tone Im able to muster.

A-As you command, Michio-sama. I shall trust in your judgement.

The merchant resumed the wagons advance, resuming the sickening clutter and shaking.

While were on the subject of fighting monsters, the Heros Job surely must have some Skills I can use, right? If it turns out that I wont be able to beat it with Durandal, Id have to try using those. With that in mind, I proceeded to check the Job settings.

Over whelming?

Ugh, the name itself does not tell me anything. The spell has floated into my head, but should I be using it now? And more importantly, can it be used by itself, like any other Skill, or maybe I can only use it with the sword belonging to Teirichi-san?

Michio-sama?

Its nothing. Keep going forward.

As you wish. I just hope that you really know what youre doing.

That makes two of us, man. That makes two of us.