Suteko Ni Narimashita 13

I departed the next morning.

While the travel clothes I bought yesterday weren’t that good, it was the first time I’d worn anything besides second-hand clothes.

Because of the thin leather boots, I could neither feel the unevenness of the ground nor get pricked by the thorny bushes. The denim-like, thickly-woven attire allowed me to navigate without worrying about any protruding branches.

How comfortable. 

My new outfits were an upgrade from the shoes and undergarments made of thin fabric before.

Just wearing it makes me happy.

I exited through the North Gate. A little boy—namely, me—left without anyone seeing him off.

Still, I walked triumphantly.

After all, it was my first-ever expedition. Although, even if I called it an ‘expedition,’ it’d only take me a few days to go home. Nevertheless, I still had a long way to go.

Unlike usual, it wasn’t a hunting trip where I could return right away. Instead, I had to venture far away to procure an item.

I hope this expedition will bring about a change. 

Such was my hope when I accepted the offer. Somehow, I wanted to change my stagnant life.

The scenery expanded beyond the horizon. At this time of the year, the harvest was over, so the field was barren.

Until about a month ago, the golden ears of the crops were fluttering in the wind. If I wasn’t mistaken, weren’t those called wheat?

Also, it’s a 150 km journey. How long would it take to reach the destination by foot?

A simple calculation showed that an adult traveled 4 km in an hour. In other words, it’d take 37 and a half hours—if I walked without stopping, that is. I wouldn’t be surprised if it took more, if not double that.

Moreover, it wasn’t a highway but a forest. I also needed to rest from time to time. In that case, the journey extended beyond a week, so I should brace myself.

—Just as I finished this thought, it occurred to me.

…The topography doesn’t matter if I fly.

If I flew with all my might, my speed would outpace even an adult.

***

…I overlooked something.

Flying was great, but I had no means of concealing myself. As a result, I got targeted—

—by a big bird.

At first, it looked like a black dot in the distance. However, as the size steadily increased, I realized that it was a bird with outstretched wings.

“Caw—! Caw—!”

—In the next moment, it plunged into my stomach, but just in the nick of time, I grabbed hold of its beak.

“Uwaaah, how dangerous…”

I seized the beak, before using [Telekinesis] to fling it far away. The big bird, which had stopped flapping its wings, fell.

Seriously, it’s big. Even its wing span must’ve been two meters long. Brown fur; a sharp, black beak; and far-reaching, sturdy claws.

Should I hide during the flight? 

Just as I was thinking that I saw something at the edge of my vision. Something was approaching from below—

—It was the big bird from earlier.

I sped up, almost reaching full speed, and made myself invisible

The bird circled around, caught off-guard by my sudden disappearance. After a while, it flew back to where it’d come from.  

I took a deep breath.

I could just kill it, but I wasn’t hungry at the moment. It’d be a waste to throw it away.

After turning invisible, I was no longer attacked by raptors. Once again, I was made aware of the versatility of invisibility magic.

***

I arrived at Mt. Kozu in just three hours. After comparing the surrounding mountains with the map given by the shopkeeper, I confirmed that it was indeed the place.

It was just before noon. For the time being, I decided to have a meal and rummaged through the luggage I’d brought. Among them, there was dried meat that seemed like tender beef jerky. I took a bite, but it was firm. I need a drink.

When I went down to the river, I saw various stones drifting in its stream, just as I’d been told.

I scooped the water with my hands. It wasn’t cloudy and, when I sniffed it, there was no strange smell.

Still, just in case, I filtered it. With my magic, I solidified water into a cylindrical container and inserted some stones, before pouring water into the top of it. Then, I collected the water that came out from the lower end of the container.

Lastly, let’s boil it. I made a stone vessel and heated it with fire from below. It’d be nice to boil it a little.

I didn’t know whether it worked or not, but it still gave me a sense of safety. That was all that mattered.

It didn’t taste weird, either. In fact, it was refreshing.

Magic sure is handy.

After my stomach calmed down, I started exploring.

I had to find the jade ore. As I could see from earlier, large stones were lined up on the riverbed.

The target stone was drawn on the paper given by the shopkeeper.

A whitish, durable yet soft stone that could be polished to a glossy finish, or something like that? I didn’t know if I could find it, but it’d be nice to witness it in person.

From my perspective, a few of the stones were viable options, but I still couldn’t decide on one.

Other than their color, the stones looked almost identical. Not to mention, there were streaks of white along with cobweb-like patterns, which weren’t mentioned in the paper.

Well, it was my first time, so there were bound to be mistakes. I rallied myself and stuffed everything that matched the description into my bag. In no time, my bag was full.

It’s heavy. 

The bag, which reached up to my waist, was brimming and weighed around 10 kg. I couldn’t carry it anymore.

So, I used [Telekinesis] to throw it to the riverside, before taking a short break.

***

The trickling sound of water echoed.

There was an abundance of water around me, deep enough to reach my waist.

I could see fish swimming around. Even when I got close and disturbed the water’s surface, the fish weren’t agitated. It’d make a wonderful fishing ground—though I didn’t come this far for that.

The chirping of birds, along with the rustling sounds of the trees, entered my hearing.

Later, I have to fly again for about three hours while lugging around such heavy luggage. So, let’s rest for a bit first.

Thinking this, I looked for a place to take a nap on top of a tree, aka my usual habit.

As expected, the forest is peaceful.

***

After taking a nap for 15 minutes, I stretched myself, about to go home.

There’s nothing left for me to do. Go home, cash out, and then call it a day. I looked around, my hair swaying in the refreshing breeze. I couldn’t stop yawning.

That was when I realized something was amiss.

Not a single fish could be seen and the birds were quiet.

For a moment, I thought it might be because of the time, but as expected, it was simply unusual, even for nighttime. 

I had an ominous feeling.

Reflexively, I cast magic around myself. Immediately after, I sensed something in the water emerging from the depths.

I couldn’t put my finger on it. My magic would vanish as if it’d melted before it could reach whatever it was.

“—!”

I immediately tried to evacuate to the sky, but couldn’t.

A long tail whipped towards me—I conjured a barrier using [Telekinesis]. However, it shredded my barrier to pieces. 

As expected, it’s a monster!

I managed to defend myself just in time with my arms, but I was blown away by the impact.

I was knocked down and fell with a thud onto the riverside mud.

“Owww…”

I couldn’t breathe. My arms were numb after taking damage. My back throbbed, so intensely that I couldn’t even stand. I was seeing stars.

“Ugh, what the hell!?”

Just as I was about to go home, this happened—! I glowered at the river and my gaze collided with the serpent. Looking at how it was able to perceive me, the previous attack must’ve dispelled my invisibility. 

This must be the rumored serpent…

His head was about a meter high and his yellow eyes bore into me.

The serpent flicked his tongue, tracking my scent.

Is it about to eat me?

I figured out that the answer was ‘yes.’ As I stood around, the serpent lunged at me with its jaw hanging wide open, threatening to swallow me whole.

I dodged it by rolling around. 

I won’t be eaten by you.

He glared at me, disliking the fact that his prey had just escaped. I was still a little wobbly, but I had enough time to stand up. I desperately adjusted my breath.

Previously, he didn’t just dispel my magic but also removed my invisibility. Judging by those facts, the serpent could probably use [Fighting Spirit]. If so, magic with weak output wouldn’t work on him since it’d just vanish. Although this guy didn’t use magic, those qualities alone were enough to render him a formidable adversary.

After all, magic wouldn’t work on him. Not that I couldn’t work around it, but it’d be troublesome if I ran out of magic and fell asleep.

Thus, I clad myself in [Fighting Spirit]. I felt a sudden surge of strength and the pain in my back was alleviated.

The serpent flinched at the sight of me, clad in [Fighting Spirit], but only for a moment. In the next moment, after he’d regained his composure, he lunged at me again.

I jumped to the side to evade it, before throwing a single punch at his profile.

With a dull thud, the serpent flew away and crashed onto the rock ahead.

After squirming a few times, the serpent twisted his neck and began charging towards me once more.

So, you still haven’t learned your lesson.

I focused my [Fighting Spirit] on my feet and flew towards his head. Caught off-guard, the serpent froze. 

I won’t miss this chance.

I kicked the ground and sent an upward kick to his chin. The serpent’s head recoiled. The sensation of his powerful, rippling muscles transmitted to my leg.

I channeled my strength into my right arm. Then, I struck the belly of the serpent with all my might. Despite how solid it was, my fist, full of [Fighting Spirit], easily broke through it.

“Gyuuuuuuu…!”

A scream-like cry rose. My arm was covered in blood from my elbow down. The serpent swung his head down, attempting to crush me. However, he was no longer as powerful as when he managed to knock me down.

When I dodged to the side, his head crashed into the ground, shaking the air.

As the serpent began thrashing wildly, toppling the surrounding trees, I kept my distance so as to not get caught in it. Although the wound was small, it was bleeding profusely, dying the river bright red.

Time to finish it off.

This guy attempted to eat me—to kill me. 

Then, I should kill him.

Despite thinking that, I couldn’t inflict any fatal blows.

I could try to behead him, but my magic wouldn’t work on him. Well, perhaps I could by using a tremendous amount of magic. But if I used up all my magic power, I wouldn’t be able to go home today.

While I could pierce his body like before, a single blow or two wouldn’t be enough to finish him off. Even if it guaranteed his death, it was both troublesome and risky to attempt such a thing repeatedly. If possible, I’d like that to be the last resort.

After all, it was similar to imbuing a dagger with [Fighting Spirit]. The small dagger, which could only dismantle small animals, left only a small cut.

—As such, I came up with the idea of using multiple weapons. I suppressed my [Fighting Spirit] before using my magic to soar high.

My magical power could disintegrate and my magic could dispel. However, an object can’t be erased.

Using [Telekinesis], I lifted up the nearby fallen logs of trees. They were quite heavy. Well, thanks to the serpent, I had enough bullets at my disposal.

“Gyuuoooooooo—!”

I shot the multitude of logs at the head of the serpent, who was still rampaging around without regard for its surroundings. Although the magic was erased, the momentum wasn’t.

A dull sound was heard as the tree dug into the serpent’s neck. After three blows, the serpent was motionless—only his tail twitched.

Is he dead?

When I tried to sever his tail using a wind blade, it was cut off rather easily. It seemed that the serpent no longer had any [Fighting Spirit].

I’m tired. 

My whole body hurts. My arm was bruised—most likely my back, too.

For the time being, I had to take care of the small scratches. That was enough [Fighting Spirit] for today.

Looking back, the carcass of the giant serpent remained lying there.

According to what I heard from the shopkeeper, the fangs, hide, and water sac should fetch a price.

Let’s do it.

If anything, it was just extra work. Still, I could sell them while also gaining experience.

I’ll just use magic. 

After all, I didn’t really know how to dismantle it. The shopkeeper only said, “Carve it out carefully.” So, let’s just do that.

Underneath the serpent’s gills, I saw a rubber-like sac that was connected to his mouth. Not only was it flexible, but it could also store water, so it seemed to have various uses.

I plucked the fangs off from the base, along with some excess meat, but it didn’t matter.

Forget about the hide. Rather than removing a portion of it, I preferred to bring the whole thing back. But that wasn’t an option, considering that it was more than 10 meters long. Besides, I was too lazy to skin it.

After dismantling the serpent, there was another issue.

What should I do with the carcass?

The shopkeeper did mention that the serpent’s meat was edible…

I slayed the giant serpent that preyed on me; therefore, I should rightfully eat it. Besides, I was curious about how it’d taste, though, I doubted that I’d finish the whole thing.

For the time being, I cut off a piece of meat from his tail and grilled it, but it was no good.

I don’t understand.

I could bite it, but my teeth failed to chew the rubbery muscle fibers into smaller pieces.

While the taste was delicious, it was just impossible. Still, it wasn’t poisonous, making it edible. If I had strong jaws, that is. I’d complain to the shopkeeper later. Wasting food was a serious crime.

Ultimately, I sliced it using magic just so I could swallow it.

The issue persisted—I still couldn’t eat the serpent. What should I do?

I glanced at the serpent’s remains and was immediately taken aback.

The hawk that attacked me in the morning was pecking at the carcass.

I see. He’ll take care of the rest. Well, I hope so.

Considering that even I can’t eat it, nature sure is amazing.