Volume 1 - CH 12

Chapter 12 – Weapon Selection, Training, and First Time in the Forest

It’s morning… After eating breakfast and receiving my lunch, the landlady approached me.

“Are you going to hunt horned rabbits today? If you could, I’d like you to bring me five horned rabbits wholesale.”

“Yes, I will go hunting, and I will bring them back on my way back.”

Since the first time I stayed at this inn and wholesaled horned rabbits, I have been asked for them directly by chance. They buy them for the same price as the guild’s commission, and they give me a free side dish, so I feel like I’m getting something out of it.

I chose one more request for the horned rabbit at the guild today and went to the reception counter of the guild’s beautiful fox-eared Onee-san.

“Good morning; I would like this request. Oh, thank you for yesterday. I was able to relax and realized that I didn’t know much about this city at all. I’ve decided to take a proper day off and go sightseeing again.”

“Good morning. I am glad to hear that. There are some fun places and unusual things to see in this city, so please enjoy yourself. Yes, your request is accepted.”

I wish I could say, “Please show me around the western city…” here, but it’s impossible. It takes a lot of guts to talk to someone who’s kind of too beautiful. Let’s go hunting. Yes, Aldo-san and his party might be coming to the hunting ground today. Well, I might as well just buy a club at the guild store.

“Welcome. Can I help you?”

I was greeted by the usual cute shopkeeper. It was the same old customer/shopkeeper thing with no progress.

“I’m looking for a long, inexpensive club that doesn’t weigh too much…”

“In that case, we have these two clubs. They are thirty copper coins each but differ in weight and length.”

“Can I hold them?”

“Yes, you may. If you wish to swing them, please come to the training area.”

“I understand.”

When I hold it, the longer one feels more like the oar. This way, I don’t have to swing it.

“This longer one, please, and here are the thirty coppers.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After paying the money, I took the club and headed out to hunt. After arriving at the southwestern meadow, I looked for the horned rabbit. I feel nervous when I think of hunting without the ship summoning.

The horned rabbit I found jumped on me. Even though I was inside the barrier, I had hunted hundreds of horned rabbits before, so I could somehow understand their movements. I match my club to the rabbit and hit it. Huh? It missed. The rabbit dodges in a hurry. Again, I hit the rabbit with the club, and… it went well.

Whew, I was nervous. I had only swung my oar in time for the rabbit to hit the barrier. I can’t use my weapon very well, even if I know most of its movements. So I have to think about avoiding them. Just one more action is a lot of work.

After hunting for a while, Aldo-san and the others arrived. They all had clubs, so I guessed they were hunting horned rabbits.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning. We talked about it and decided that we wouldn’t know what to do until we tried it. So we came here to give it a try. Excuse us for disturbing you.”

“Hahaha. It’s not my land, so don’t worry about it.”

“Wataru is the pioneer of this hunting ground, so I thought it would be appropriate.”

“Do adventurers have a territory?”

In my case, there was no one who acted as the main axis of this place, so I was monopolizing it on my own, but perhaps I was bothering someone?

“No, not particularly. But you taught us how to hunt, and we’re even in the same place. It’s just a courtesy.”

Good. It seems I’m not bothering anyone with my behavior.

“Okay, good luck.”

They’re really here. I’m glad I bought the club. It sucks that I can’t take a break on the hut boat, but I’m sure I’ll be in plenty of situations like this in the future, so I’ll have to get used to it. I continued hunting, avoiding the location of Aldo-san and the others.

It was about 3 o’clock. The number of rabbits I hunted was..33. I’ll go back after hunting two more. I easily found two horned rabbits, so I quickly defeated them. Now I have 35 rabbits. When I return, I should call out to Aldo-san and the others.

“Thank you for your hard work. I am going back now. How are you doing?”

I called out to Aldo-san and the others who had just gathered and were taking a break.

“It was difficult to find the right amount of force not to smash them, but I managed to get 15 of them. The other members also hunted more than ten rabbits. But anyway, you’re back earlier than usual. Did we cause you any trouble?”

“No, no, I hunted 35 horned rabbits, and there is no trouble in this wide meadow. As I said yesterday, I am going to finish early from now on and have the guild members train me with weapons. Thirty-five rabbits are enough for me.”

“Thirty-five rabbits? That’s amazing. We’ll hunt until the evening. See you at the inn.”

“Yes, I’ll see you later.”

I went to the inn first to get five horned rabbits wholesale and then headed for the guild. The scary-looking old man is not there. Is it only during the busy evening hours? I’m the only one I’ve seen using his services, so it doesn’t seem to make sense…

Huh? If so, then from now on, I can have my completion report done by the pretty lady! I immediately head to the counter of the beautiful fox-eared Onee-san.

“Please confirm my request for 30 rabbits.”

“Yes, you are early today, aren’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve been thinking about doing some weapons training for a while today, starting around 3:00. Can you introduce me to an instructor at the guild?”

“We do have instructors. We have a retired adventurer as an instructor, so it’s ten copper coins for an hour. But it’s regrettable. Everyone was happy with the delivery of so many horned rabbits…”

Oof, I made the fox-eared Onee-san disappointed. I’m a guilty man too… Let’s not do this because it’s going to be in vain.

“I’m sorry, but I think it will be alright. Aldo-san and the others were hunting horned rabbits today.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I told them about the horned rabbit hunt yesterday, and they said they would give it a try. So, depending on the frequency, I think the supply will increase.”

“I see. That’s very helpful. Yes, all the requests have been fulfilled. Here are three silver coins.”

Yes, there is a difference between being handed a reward by a scary-looking old man and being handed a reward by a fox-eared Onee-san.

“So, speaking of the instructor, I would like to learn the basics of knife, spear, bow, and scouting. Is that okay?”

“Do you really want to learn that much?”

“I don’t know what I’m good at, and after I learn the basics, I’ll decide which ones I want to focus on.”

“Very well. Will you start today?”

“Yes, I will prepare my weapon, so can I start from the fourth bell? Starting tomorrow, I would like to train for two hours every day, starting at the fourth bell.”

“Do you want to concentrate on the same subject? Or do you want us to do them separately?”

“The same subject, please.”

“All right. Today we have a spear instructor, so please come to the training hall at the fourth bell. That will be 20 coppers.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Now that I have found an instructor, let’s go to the store and buy some weapons. Knife, spear, and bow… did I overdo it a little?

“Welcome. Is there anything wrong with the club?”

“No, I am quite satisfied with the club. From today, the guild is teaching me the basics of knife, spear, bow, and scouting, so I need a beginner’s weapon. And is there anything else I need for scouting?”

“For beginners, yes. We will provide you with the most orthodox one, so please choose the one that fits your hand. I am not sure about the tools for scouting. I am sorry.”

“No, that’s okay; I’ll consult with the instructor. Then let me check the weapons.”

I took one of the weapons in my hand one by one. As a beginner, I don’t really know about them, so I just pick the one I have a vague feeling about. I chose the one I thought was the right one.

“A knife for 20 coppers, a spear for 50 coppers, a bow for 30 coppers, and ten arrows for ten coppers, making a total of one silver coin and ten copper coins.”

“Thank you.”

“We look forward to seeing you again.”

I’ve got the weapons without any problems. It’s almost time for the fourth bell, and I head to the training hall. …When the fourth bell rang, a man with a spear entered, and I checked to see if he was the instructor.

“Excuse me; I signed up for a spear training course at the fourth bell. Are you the instructor?”

“Yes, my name is Aias, the instructor. I assume you are fine with the basics of the spear, right?”

“Yes, my name is Wataru. I look forward to working with you.”

The training began. I learned the basics, from how to hold the spear, to basic thrusting, swinging, and footwork, with rests in between.

“Okay, I guess we’re done. Repetition is important. You must practice every day.”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

It’s pretty hard… but maybe I’ll try to do it before I ask for the hot water at the inn?

After the training was over, I returned to the inn and went to the dining hall, where Aldo-san approached me.

“Yo, Wataru. Would you like to join us for dinner?”

“Yes, I will join you then. How was the horned rabbit?”

“Oh, I hunted twenty-eight rabbits, though the one that I failed to control my strength ended up only worth five coppers. The best was Sismondo, who used a spear with 35 rabbits. Everyone is happy because their reward has tripled. It’s thanks to you.”

“No, no. So will you continue to hunt horned rabbits in the future? The guild seems to be happy that you are taking requests for horned rabbits.”

“Oh, that’s the plan. But I am certainly worried about the decline in cooperation and ability, as Wataru said. So until our equipment is ready, we plan to alternate going to the forest as well as hunting the horned rabbits. How did your training go, Wataru?”

“The training was just the basics, but it went well. From now on, I will sign up for two hours of training every day from the fourth bell.”

“Don’t take it every day; you should take a break once in a while.”

Oh, that’s right. I always forget to take a break and push myself too hard. I’ll try not to forget to take a proper break.

“That’s right. Rest is important too, so I’ll take a moderate break.”

We continued eating, talking about the horned rabbits and the southwestern forest. The more I hear about them, the less I want to fight goblins and such.

“Thank you for the meal. See you later.”

“Oh, see you later.”

I finished eating, so I parted from Aldo-san, who was still drinking. Now, after taking an after-dinner break, I’m going to train in swinging and daily life magic. It’s going to be harder and harder every time I learn more.

Balance: 1 gold coin, 33 silver coins, 45 copper coins

＊＊＊

It had been a month since I met God and two months since I fell into the other world.

I repeatedly trained and hunted horned rabbits and went sightseeing in the city on my days off. While going sightseeing, I prayed at the church and reported that I would go to the forest after training and would go to the southern city after getting accustomed to the forest. Since I was not called to the divine realm, well, I don’t think he was angry.

I haven’t been able to find out any more information about the southern continent than what I have found in books. I desperately need a merchant acquaintance.

I had some information about slaves. Aldo-san and his party said they wanted slaves, so I asked them about it. It seems that Aldo-san and his party didn’t know much about the details, but they said that rich people or adventurers with a certain degree of ability buy slaves.

The reason I had not seen any slaves in this city was that the area of activity was different from that of the rich, and the land does not require adventurers of high rank, so it seems that adventurers with slaves do not come to this city.

I finished the knife training in two sessions… And it seems it’s not suitable for me. With knives, the distance to the target would be so close that it would freak me out. I was told that I should extend my spear and bow, which are more distant from the target.

The other courses are going well. They don’t tell me I’m talented, but they also don’t tell me to stop, so I practice diligently every day. I have learned how to draw the bow and have managed to hit the target. I have never hit the horned rabbit, though.

The instructor came to the hunting ground of the horned rabbit to teach me how to search for the rabbit. I also train the spear by swinging it and hitting it with the instructor. I wonder if everything is going well.

Since I fight only horned rabbits, my level only went up by two, but my funds surpassed two gold coins.

Name: Toyomi Wataru

Age: 20

Race: Human

Occupation: Ship’s captain　

Level 15

Physical Strength: 380

Magic Power: 36

Strength: 40

Intelligence: 50

Dexterity: 46

Luck: 15

Skills:

Language Comprehension (Unique)

Ship Summoning Level 1 (Unique)

Balance: 2 gold coins, 13 silver coins, 85 copper coins

My status hasn’t changed that much, but I’d like to believe that my training has made me a little stronger.

And today, I finally went to the forest. I started to meet Aldo-san and his party frequently at the hunting ground of the horned hare. When I told them that I was thinking of looking for a temporary party, they said they could not take me every time, but they would take me once in a while.

“Good morning. Are you ready?”

Aldo-san and his party came out.

“Yes, I don’t think I forgot anything. I’m a little nervous, though…”

“Hahaha, relax. We are not going deep into the forest. There are slimes and goblins at most, and then you have us as well. You’ve practiced enough. You’ll be fine.”

“Y-yes.”

But I’m still nervous. Goblins, I think I can beat them, but I don’t like the gross look of them.

“Words alone won’t take the edge off, will it? Well, I’m sure you’ll calm down after one fight. So let’s get going.”

Finally, I’m in the forest. Let’s go for it.