kscans

Chapter 117 - I Got a Little Bit Stronger

For the sake of acquiring a skill, I was being beaten relentlessly by Yoshino-san. Still, I kept at it, drinking several more Buff Potions (Defense) along the way.

There were times we had to pause our training to deal with monsters that appeared, and times I wondered, ‘Do I even need Presence Detection?’ After all, I have Nanapon.

But what kept me going was what she’d said about her and Lin-san learning it quickly. My pride wouldn’t let me quit here.

Thanks to that persistence, I gradually began to get a vague sense of Yoshino-san’s location. She was good at erasing her presence, but I could somehow feel it right when she was about to attack.

And just a moment ago, when she hit me again, I had been able to pinpoint her location completely.

"Want to keep going? To be honest, I’m getting a little tired," Yoshino-san said, but I wasn’t about to let her get the last hit and run.

"Alright, this next one can be the last."

I’ve already figured it out. Hehe. I’ll pour all my accumulated anger from being hit into my sword, or my bamboo sword, rather.

"You’re so easy to read… Your stance is all about attacking, and you’re smiling, aren’t you? That’s enough. I’m sure you’ve gotten the Presence Detection skill, so check your Status Card."

Hey now.

"No, I don’t think I have it yet."

"Your Provocation skill is going to level up, you know? Because you’ll definitely get cocky if you hit me."

At her words, I opened my eyes. Standing before me was Yoshino-san with an exasperated look on her face.

"I was planning to get back at you for hitting me so much," I admitted.

"I figured," Yoshino-san said with a weary smile. I glanced away from her and pulled out my Status Card from my bag to check it.

--------------------------------
Name: Okita Hajime
Level: 9
Job: Swordsman
Skills:
≪Swordsmanship Lv6≫
≪Speechcraft Lv1≫
≪Provocation Lv1≫
≪Presence Detection Lv1≫
☆≪Alchemy≫
--------------------------------
Level 9
Healing Potion Lv1, Gender Reassignment Potion
Sleeping Potion, Pure Water
Translation Potion, Item Bag
Invisibility Potion, Appraisal Glasses, Appraisal Contacts
Healing Potion Lv2, Buff Potion (Strength)
Buff Potion (Speed), Buff Potion (Defense)
Auto-Map, Healing Potion Lv3
--------------------------------

So I did learn Presence Detection… And my Provocation is still at level 1.

"Is it there?" Yoshino-san asked.

"Yep, it’s there. Thanks."

"Well, I’m glad you learned it. It was weighing on my conscience, whacking someone on the head so much. It didn’t bother me when it happened to me, but I felt bad when I did it to Lin."

This woman is a masochist. A busty masochist.

"What’s your Presence Detection level, Yoshino-san?"

"It’s 1. You only need it in specific situations, so I think 1 is enough."

"Then I guess I’m good with this."

"I think so. In any case, you have Nanapon, so you should be fine. Look, it seems Nanapon is finished too."

Following Yoshino-san’s gaze, I saw Nanapon sitting on the ground where she and Lin-san had been.

"Shall we have lunch…?"

I’m getting hungry.

"Good idea."

I returned the bamboo sword to Yoshino-san, and together we walked over to Nanapon and the others.

Once we regrouped, we spread a sheet near the road and started eating lunch. I had the onigiri Kaede-chan made, Nanapon had bread, Yoshino-san had a convenience store bento, and Lin-san had a homemade bento.

"Okita-san, were you able to learn that Presence Detection thing?" Nanapon asked while eating her bread.

"I did."

"Ooh. So does that mean you’d know if I tried to hit you from behind?"

"I’d know that from the start."

I don’t need a skill to detect an amateur’s movements.

"How would you know that…"

"More importantly, what about you?" I asked about Nanapon’s results.

"Perfect! I’ll show you my Ice Needle!"

Ice Needle, was that the spell Lin-san used before? The one that created an ice spear and skewered a Great Eagle.

"That’s great. Well then, shall we focus on leveling up this afternoon…?"

I want to reach level 10 too.

"Sounds good," Yoshino-san said.

"I’d like to move my body a bit too," Lin-san added.

It seemed Yoshino-san and Lin-san were both on board.

"Alright, then. Let’s see Nanapon’s Ice Needle."

"Leave it to me. As for your Presence Detection, Okita-san… I guess I don’t need to see it."

It’s not really something I can show off, so I don’t mind, but show a little interest in me. If I were Eleanor-san, you’d be all, ‘That’s amazing!’

I sighed at Nanapon’s attitude as I ate the onigiri Kaede-chan had made for me, while everyone else ate their respective lunches.

After finishing lunch and taking a short break, we packed up the sheet and went looking for monsters. We strayed from the road and were walking across a plain when we spotted a black mass in the sky above.

"Nanapon, it’s a Great Eagle."

Having spotted the Great Eagle, I called out to Nanapon.

"Oh, you’re right. Alright, just watch this."

Nanapon aimed her wand at the Great Eagle in the sky.

"Are you going to shoot it right away?"

The standard strategy was to wait for the Great Eagle to descend, attack it, and then use magic on its back as it tried to flee.

"I feel like I can do it. If I fail, I’m counting on you."

Well, if she says so, I guess we can let her try.

I drew my sword so I could provide support at any moment and moved closer to Nanapon. Yoshino-san and Lin-san also drew their swords.

As we stood ready, the Great Eagle began to circle, gradually losing altitude. However, it didn’t seem like it was about to attack.

"Is it not coming because we’re waiting for it?" I asked Yoshino-san.

"They get wary when you’re lying in wait for them. But it’ll come."

Just as Yoshino-san said that, the circling Great Eagle suddenly dove straight down. Its target was… Nanapon. Well, she is the smallest and looks the weakest.

The Great Eagle was heading for Nanapon at a considerable speed, but she remained calm, her wand still aimed. Then, the tip of her wand began to glow faintly.

"Ice Needle!"

As Nanapon shouted the spell’s name, an ice spear materialized from the glowing tip of her wand and flew towards the Great Eagle. I was impressed, but there was still some distance, so I thought it might be dodged. And just as I expected, the Great Eagle swerved to the side, deftly avoiding the ice spear.

So it didn’t work…

With a sigh of resignation, I readied my sword. But in the next instant, an ice spear pierced the Great Eagle.

"Huh?"

While I was tilting my head in confusion, the Great Eagle, with the ice spear still stuck in it, fell to the ground. It died and vanished into smoke.

"How was that?" Nanapon asked, looking at me with a smug expression.

"I was watching the Great Eagle, so I’m not sure what happened, but did you do that?"

"I did. It’s my special move, Continuous Magic."

Ooh, that sounds a little cool.

"Can magic be cast continuously like that?" I asked Lin-san, who had taught her.

"Specialized mages can do it. Yoshino and I can’t."

Is it a benefit of her job? What’s the benefit of being a Swordsman?

"Huh. Mages are amazing. Nanapon, go on and defeat monsters with your magic."

This will make things easy.

"Are you sure? My level will go up, you know…"

No, that’s not good.

"Let’s go find some High Wolves. I want to level up too."

"You can’t just find them by looking, you know? Besides, you should be happy when your comrades get stronger," Yoshino-san said, exasperated with my petty pride.

"Now, now. Okita-kun is the oldest, and you shouldn’t stop a man from trying to be stronger than the women," Lin-san said.

Lin-san seems good at stroking a man’s ego. As expected of her. …No, she’s just trying to get me carried away to raise my Provocation level.

"Well then, let’s leave the rest to Okita-kun. You can handle Great Eagles too, can’t you?" Yoshino-san asked.

Hmm, is it just my imagination, or am I being treated like a complete child?

"No, I’ll leave it to Nanapon."

"Hmph… No, no, I yield to you. I hope you reach level 10 soon."

Nanapon scoffed at me. I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve seen Black Nanapon.