Chapter 123
Slash―!
As I swung my sword, blood splattered across the air.
……However.
The Minotaur didn’t fall, no matter how deeply the blade cut, its muscles were far too solid.
Kuooohhh―!
Instead, it seemed to get more excited at the sight of blood.
Thud, thud, thud―!
As it charged at me, I threw myself aside and quickly corrected my stance.
‘This is surprising. It was already one of the stronger monsters, but now its endurance has gotten even tougher.’
It was truly, and unexpectedly, strong.
‘If I could use Hwayo’s flames, I’d finish this much more easily.’
The weakness of beast-type monsters was fire.
If I used Hwayo’s skills, this opponent would have been easily handled, but……
‘……I can’t use fire-type skills here.’
I glanced at the dense thickets and trees surrounding me.
Given the place, even my skills were restricted.
‘Ramji’s true wish isn’t for me to burn down the forest just to kill this thing.’
Ramji wished for the invader to be defeated and for peace to be restored to the forest.
So I had to finish the Minotaur before the battle escalated too much, while preserving the forest intact.
‘It’ll be troublesome…… but not impossible.’
So I restrained my movements to minimize damage to the forest, but my effort alone wasn’t enough.
‘Every time it moves, it just damages the forest more.’
And no matter how many times I swung my sword, it was difficult to inflict a fatal wound on the Minotaur.
Even when I succeeded with a strike, the blade never went in deeply, leaving only shallow cuts.
‘If I repeat this dozens or hundreds of times, it’ll eventually bleed out…… but that’s a waste of time.’
I didn’t have time to spare, so I needed to bring it down quickly.
Yet, even with Shurk’s darkness aiding me, for some reason I couldn’t pierce through its hardened exterior.
If so……
I pulled something out of Subspace and revealed it to the Minotaur.
‘Will this provoke it?’
It was a luxurious red cloth.
I held my sword in one hand, the cloth in the other, like a matador.
It had originally been used for wrapping lunch boxes—I hadn’t expected to use it this way.
‘According to the setting, it should react to red.’
My guess hit the mark.
Guoooohhh―!
Thud―! Thud―! Thud―!
The beast grew extremely agitated and charged at me like a raging truck.
‘Effective indeed.’
When the distance was close enough, I tossed the red cloth forward.
Its gaze locked onto the cloth floating in the air.
Even so, it still came at me with crazed speed on its feet.
“Come.”
I didn’t dodge.
Gripping my sword with both hands, I thrust it into the air.
Before my eyes, Boogie’s card appeared, glowing.
A green shield enveloped me at the same time.
Squelch―!
My blade pierced into its chest as it came rushing.
Because it couldn’t stop its charge, it had no way to avoid my sword.
The blade pierced straight through the Minotaur’s chest.
Crash―!
Its body slammed into mine, but Boogie’s shield absorbed everything, leaving me unharmed.
As I felt the strength leave its trembling body, I released the shield.
‘Clean.’
Yes, what I aimed for…… was a counter.
If I couldn’t inflict serious damage myself, I could use its overwhelming strength and massive weight against it.
When I pulled my sword from its chest, the Minotaur screamed and collapsed to its side.
With a thud, its body fell and began turning into black ashes, proof that it was slain.
Confirming that, I also released Shurk’s power.
‘In the game, it wasn’t this strong.’
By settings, the Minotaur was a named monster below the rank of this island’s mid-boss, but the one I fought was closer to boss-tier.
I wondered if it had been upgraded to Lunatic difficulty, but that wasn’t the case.
It lacked the unique patterns only seen in Lunatic, which meant it was indeed the normal-difficulty Minotaur.
‘……Then why did it get this strong?’
Ssshhhhh……
While I watched the beast crumble into black ashes, I noticed a small wound on its neck.
‘……But I never struck its neck.’
And it wasn’t a wound made by a blade.
It was a tiny dot, almost unnoticeable.
Inside its skin, oxidized blood gleamed faintly green.
‘……An injection?’
It was unmistakably the mark of a syringe.
As I puzzled together the situation while the monster turned to ash……
Chirp, chirp―! Chirp―!
I turned toward Ramji’s cry.
Rustle, rustle……
I heard light footsteps.
Dozens of animals—deer, rabbits, mountain goats, hedgehogs, squirrels—emerged from the trees and bushes where they had been hiding.
Though they watched me warily from afar……
Chirp―!
Ramji called back, telling them it was safe.
And then the animals began to approach me.
Peace has returned to the forest! The wild animals feel gratitude toward you!
Sudden Quest complete.
The holographic message appeared, then dissolved into the air.
‘……It really is peaceful.’
As I leaned against a tree, a deer rubbed its face against my hand, while a squirrel climbed onto my shoulder.
Their gestures seemed to be words of thanks.
In this quiet meadow, with only the sounds of insects, I rested for a moment.
Little Gale Ramji thanks you!
You have a chance to bring it to your Farm!
At that message, I held out my palm, and Ramji quickly climbed onto it.
It looked up at me silently with its big eyes.
“……Isn’t this originally your home?”
I hesitated, wondering if it was right to take away a creature living so well in the forest.
“Would it be alright if you came to my Farm?”
Chirp―!
It answered without hesitation.
Chirp―! Chirp―! Chirp―!
It even seemed to say farewell to the nearby animals.
‘If another monster appears, it could be dangerous here.’
Since that was entirely possible, I spoke to the animals.
“It might be dangerous for a few days, so if you stay near me, you’ll be safe.”
Whether they understood me or not, I couldn’t be sure.
Chirp―!
Perhaps to say thanks, Ramji nuzzled its face against my finger.
Our agreement was made.
I held out my pinky finger, and Ramji clasped it with both of its hands.
“……Animal registration.”
A small breeze swirled around Ramji, then it was absorbed into the system.
Little Gale Ramji has been registered!
The fifth Animal Friend has arrived at your Farm!
Reading that, I checked on Ramji within the Farm.
Little Gale ‘Ramji’
Level: 20
Status: Stress 0%, Feeling Very Good
‘When I brought Hwayo or Boogie from the wild, their levels were much lower.’
The notable point was that Ramji, despite being recruited from the wild, had a remarkably high level.
‘I’ll have to confirm the details once I return to the base.’
I stood up.
With Shurk’s power, it wouldn’t take me ten minutes to reach the base.
But I had promised to escort the animals safely there.
‘……Two hours of walking together should be enough.’
So I headed toward the base with the animals.
Fortunately, I arrived safely without encountering any more monsters or people.
When my house came into view, I spoke to the animals.
“You can stay freely around here. If you see a monster or another person, run away immediately and let me know.”
Did they understand what I meant?
The animals let out small cries as if answering me, then scattered in different directions.
I protected their safety, while they watched the surroundings.
It felt like a mutual symbiosis.
I opened the door to my house and peeked inside, where Laphin and Karin were fast asleep in their sleeping bags.
‘……They’re sleeping well.’
I quietly closed the door.
It seemed there had been no intruders while I went out searching for Ramji.
‘Time to check.’
I stretched my hand into the air.
‘Ramji.’
A small gust of wind swirled around my hand, forming a shining card.
Young Flying Squirrel
Borrow the power of a young flying squirrel.
As I gripped it, information flowed into my head.
Cost 2 - Summon Young Flying Squirrel briefly. It creates a gust using its patagium and returns into the card.
Cost 4 - Borrow the wind of Young Flying Squirrel for a short time.
The skill set was something I had seen before.
‘……It’s almost the same setup as Hwayo.’
It was basically the wind version of Hwayo.
‘I want to test the skills myself.’
But if I experimented here, Laphin and Karin would wake up.
Since it was a “wind” ability, it might even damage the Tree House.
‘I should go farther away, somewhere with flat ground if possible.’
Using Shurk’s power, I quickly searched for a suitable place to test Ramji.
After some time, I found an open plain with no trees.
There, I drew out Ramji’s card.
‘Wind was strong against water and fire.’
Its drawback was being completely vulnerable against earth, light, and darkness, but since this world mostly used water, fire, and earth, wind had great merit.
‘And these seem to be offensive skills.’
As someone who lacked attack skills, this was a very satisfying setup.
Of course, I needed to test their power directly.
‘Let’s start with the two-cost skill.’
I focused upward and activated the ability.
A golden magic circle appeared in the air.
Kyu!
From the circle, Ramji peeked out adorably.
Then it began to flap with its small patagium.
Fwoooosh―!
As soon as Ramji unleashed its power, my uniform coat fluttered violently.
A pillar of wind swirled up with overwhelming force.
‘……This is impressive.’
I could even control the direction of the wind at will.
‘During sword combat, I could use this to break my opponent’s balance, or alter the trajectory of their attack.’
The applications seemed limitless.
‘……Then, what about the other skill?’
Since it was described as borrowing power, I knew it was a timed self-buff skill.
Unlike Shurk’s ability, it couldn’t be used indefinitely.
It seemed similar to Hwayo’s Sword, but with an extra cost of one point.
‘Let’s see if it’s worth the cost…….’
As I pondered with Ramji’s card in hand, a shimmering vortex swirled around my Titanium Sword.
Whoosh―! Whoosh―!
Something clicked in my mind, and I swung the blade.
……The change was undeniable.
‘My attack speed increased noticeably. ……And not just speed.’
Each swing of the sword was reinforced by the wind.
‘I wonder what effect this will have.’
To test it, I approached a nearby valley.
‘First, I’ll swing without using any abilities.’
I swung the Titanium Sword at a small waterfall.
Swaaah―!
The blade cut through the stream, but water only split briefly before rejoining.
Droplets splashed, but nothing more happened.
As expected.
‘But with Ramji’s power?’
I grabbed the card in midair, and a small storm wrapped around my sword.
When I swung it……
Fwoooosh―!
The instant the slash flew forward, the massive stream of the waterfall shook.
The pressure of raging wind surged ahead.
When the swirling gale struck the waterfall directly, it exploded where air and water pressure collided.
Kwoooom―!
Like a bomb detonating underwater, waves and spray burst in every direction.
The wind cleaved the waterfall, opening a “giant rift.”
I could see straight through to the other side.
Mist surged around me.
Water streams shot sideways.
Fragments of water filled the sky in an instant.
Though I was drenched, I smiled at my reflection on the water’s surface.
‘It’s beyond expectation. The vortex turns into a blade.’
By using Ramji’s power, I could cut fire or water with wind-imbued slashes. That was a significant advantage.
‘I like it.’
An attack skill adaptable to various situations.
It would expand my options greatly.
‘……But there’s one more skill?’
I checked the remaining entry.
Danger Sense
Detects monsters within a 500-meter radius.
It was a short, simple passive skill.
At first glance, it seemed useless.
‘But in survival situations like this, or while exploring unknown dungeons, it’ll be very handy.’
Even if it wasn’t useful at low levels, it would shine in the Magic Tower, in high-level dungeons, or in unexplored areas.
……But I had a question.
Usually, spiritual beasts only gained passive skills after evolving from Infant to Adolescent.
‘I thought Ramji was an Infant, but was it actually an Adolescent?’
Come to think of it, Infants were easy to bring in, but Ramji could only be recruited by clearing a specific quest.
‘Which means I could eventually recruit Adults too.’
Of course, the difficulty would increase just as much.
One of my goals was to evolve spiritual beasts from Infant to Adult, but the idea of directly recruiting a fully grown Adult was exciting.
‘……That’s enough testing Ramji’s abilities.’
I dried my wet body with Hwayo’s power and returned to base, where I lay down in the hammock.