Chapter 393 - Episode 347: Shukkuchi?
Tuesday night was my routine patrol of the southern part of the island.
Today, there was no game caught in the traps, but…
"FUGYAAAAH!"
A Ranziboa screamed and collapsed.
With Lupi, Leda, and Roy, my job was just to stop its charge. No, dismantling was my job too.
"Alright! Here, you deserve a reward."
"Woofn."
""Bow!""
While watching Lupi and the others happily devour thick slices of loin meat, I decided to reset the snare trap.
The rope was about to snap, so I needed a new one. I really wanted a wire trap if possible.
"Grrr?"
"""~~~ ♪"""
Raz was in high spirits, it being her first time on the southern side. She ran up the trees, looked around, and seemed to be happily playing with the Fairies.
"Grrr~!"
"Hm? Ow!"
Shou-kun?
Something hit my head directly… Looking up, it seemed Raz had dropped it?
"Grrrru-lu-lu-lu~ ♪"
Shou-kun. There's a nut at your feet.
"Oh? Oh! Is this…?"
It had a very hard shell, but I'd seen something like it before.
[Ocher Nut Fruit]
*The fruit of the Ocher Nut Tree. It contains an edible seed within a hard shell.
Cuisine: The seeds can be used as an ingredient or seasoning.*
Ah! Is that a walnut?
"Yeah. Can I crack this by hand?"
It would be cool if I could just grip it and crack it open.
My STR was pretty high, so I squeezed it tightly like this…
"Oh, it cracked!"
That's amazing!
"Grrr~ ♪"
Raz, who had climbed down, snatched the cracked walnut and started eating it.
Yeah, you were waiting for me to crack it, weren't you? Oh well.
"If I have walnuts, I could make walnut bread, or something like that."
That sounds good!
"Hey, Raz. We want some too, so if you find more, can you tell us?"
"Grrr!"
At my request, she swiftly jumped back up the tree and started dropping walnuts one after another.
Yeah, she's dropping walnuts with incredible speed… and looking closely, I think she's using magic.
"Woofn."
"Oh, is that a thank you? Alright, let's continue."
………
……
…
"Phew, managed to make it back…"
It was quite a heavy rain.
"It was surprising, really. It came out of nowhere."
After exiting the southwest forest and reaching the [Sandy Beach], it suddenly started raining heavily, so we rushed back.
I didn't want to enter the Mountain Cabin soaking wet, so I dashed to the Storage and took a breath there.
"Woof!" ""Bow!""
Lupi, Leda, and Roy all performed their wolf drill (shaking off water).
Still, I wonder if the weather on this island is prone to sudden changes?
I remember a sudden downpour before too…
"~~~ ♪" """~~~ ♪"""
Sweee and the Fairies seemed to have made umbrellas using Wind Spirit Magic. I'm a little envious…
"Grrr~."
"Eh?"
Raz, perched on a stack of square timbers, seemed to use magic, and instantly turned back into a fluffy ball of fur.
What was that just now?
"Ah, I see. Is it something like this? [Drying Magic]!"
I cast [Drying Magic] on the clothes I was wearing… and sure enough.
"Yeah, it worked. It was successful."
That's amazing.
"[Drying Magic] is too convenient. Well, I guess it might be bad to dry dirty clothes as is."
However, regarding dirt, it seems to disappear after logging out for a certain period, so perhaps I don't need to be too careful?
"Alright, I'm going to read a book, so you can do whatever you like."
"Woofn."
Lupi rolled over onto her side, and Leda and Roy lay down close to her.
Raz and the Fairies piled on top of them…
"Sweee, are you okay?"
"~~~ ♪"
Sweee, apparently not in nap mode, settled on my left shoulder. Well, as long as she doesn't disturb my reading, it's fine…
I still had over an hour, and after that, I needed to level up [Gravity Magic] and [Barrier Magic], which I'd only skimmed.
I returned to the Mountain Cabin and first checked the [Magic Transfer Box]. No incoming messages.
I went downstairs to the first floor and retrieved the books on [Barrier Magic] and [Gravity Magic].
"I'll start with [Gravity Magic] first."
Yes.
I feel like [Gravity Magic] has more potential uses.
Like when I came out on top of the cliff the other day, if I could lighten my own weight, maybe I could have jumped straight up?
………
……
…
[Gravity Magic skill level has increased!]
"Phew, finally Level 4… Is it almost time?"
You still have 10 minutes until 11 o'clock.
"Roger. Alright, let me check… Oh? The rain seems to have stopped."
The sky was still cloudy, but considering what I was about to test, I thought it would be better to do it outside than indoors.
Stepping outside and looking up, thick grey clouds were moving across the sky, suggesting it wasn't safe to let my guard down just yet.
"Woof."
"Mmm. I'm going to try some new magic, so wait there, okay?"
I patted Lupi, who had woken up, and had her stand by.
Leda and Roy, with the Fairies riding on them, also looked on with interest.
Shou-kun. Sweee-chan is…
"Whoa, Sweee… I think she's fine."
"~~~ ♪"
She gave a firm thumbs-up.
If she can fly on her own, she should be fine.
"[Gravity Reduction]… Heave!"
A light jump!
Ah!
"Whoa!"
I felt like I jumped more than double my usual height, nearly 2 meters vertically.
The impact of landing was also less than usual.
Shou-kun. Is that a spell to reduce weight?
"Exactly. But this consumes MP at an incredible rate. Maybe only for a quick instant use?"
How light can you get?
"Ah, I was using it without consciously thinking about it."
I don't have a scale, so let's see…
I used two square timbers from the Storage and placed them like a seesaw.
I see!
"And then, [Stone Wall]!"
I created several [Stone Wall] blocks of the same size and placed one on each end to balance them.
Well, I wasn't going to measure precisely, so after confirming they were roughly the same weight, I cast [Gravity Reduction] to roughly gauge the effect…
"Hmm, normally, it seems to be about half. If I consume more MP, I can get even lighter, but right now, I think about one-fifth is the maximum limit."
Do you think it will have any uses?
"Like climbing to a slightly high place, as we did the other day?"
Ah, that's right.
Also, if I could use it instinctively, it would add more versatility to combat.
For example, when closing the distance with an opponent…
"I'm going to use [Stealth] for a bit, okay?"
Y-yes.
When I use [Stealth], the [Chant Concealment] art takes effect, so—
(Gravity Reduction)
Then, I pushed off the ground!
Whoa!
"Ugh, if [Gravity Reduction] cuts out midway, it puts a lot of strain on my body…"
Are you okay?
"Yeah. It doesn't feel like HP damage, so I'm fine. It's more of a VIT thing."
If I get used to this, I can instantly close the distance to an opponent and use [Backstab], so I'll practice a bit.