Chapter 10: As a knight’s son

Mireille had to admit.

Ren's activities last night couldn't be ignored, but as a parent, she was still at the stage where she could restrain him from going to the forest. But If the words "duty as a knight" were mentioned there, she wouldn't be able to do so.

If it is said by Ren, who is a legitimate son.

But she strongly told him not to take it too far.

Specifically, the distance from crossing the bridge to half an hour on foot is the range of activities allowed to Ren. He also promised to return to the village without hesitation if he sensed anything unusual and to return before evening.

"I wonder if they're still there. ... Oh, there they are!"

Ren had just crossed the bridge leading into the forest.

He had come to retrieve the two little boar corpses he had left behind.

"Well, it wouldn't matter if they weren't there."

If there were no corpses, the most likely explanation would be that another monster had used them as food.

If that were the case now, one could imagine that the culprit was Thief Wolfen.

"Now —-"

What do I do?

'Bring it home' Mireille said, 'though the meat would be too rotten to eat, the bones and fur would be worth a price.'

Ren was at a loss because of the problem of how to carry it.

"No, I can carry it."

Thinking about it, he's reasonably strong now.

The benefit of physical ability UP (small) is there.

"... Oh!　It's so light!"

He was able to lift the little boar that was lying on its side onto his shoulders without any effort. The smell of the beast stung his nose, but he had no choice but to put up with it.

He was contorting his face.

"Eh —-?"

Something warm flowed out from Little boar's chest.

Ren thought it was blood, but it wasn't..

When he dropped Little boar's corpse to the ground in surprise, something like a glowing particle, like an aurora, was flying slowly from the corpse's chest toward Ren's arm.

Could it be ...!

Startled, Ren removes his leather armor and looks at the bracelet.

——

Ren Ashton.

[Job] Ashton family, eldest son.

[Skills]　　　　　

– Magic Sword Summoning (Level 1: 0/0)

Summoning Magic Sword (Level 2: 58/1000

Gain proficiency by using the summoned magic sword.

Level 1: Able to summon [one] magic sword.

Level 2: Gains [Physical Ability UP (Small)] while summoning a magic sword.

Level 3: Can summon [Two Swords].

Level 4:

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊.

[Acquired Swords]

[Level 1: 2/100] Magic Sword of Wood.

Allows attacks of about the same level as natural magic (small)

The range of attack effect expands as the level increases.

Iron Sword (Open Condition: Summoning Magic Sword level 2, and the level of Iron Sword is 2).

(Open condition: Magic Sword Summoning Technique level 2, Magic Sword of Wood level 2)　　　　　　　

——

The summoning of the magic sword and the wooden sword gained "2" in proficiency each.

"I knew it... it had to be a magic stone from a monster I defeated myself."

It's difficult to be honestly happy even though my prediction turned out to be correct in this way.

Ren, with a hint of joy in his sigh, re-carries the little boar.

"…. I'll have to try the wooden magic sword sometime in the near future."

Since he is going to the forest, he wants to try out all the abilities he could use. Ren, who had been in the mansion so far, couldn't do that, but now he could.

But today he's going back to the mansion, so it will be tomorrow before he tries it out.

Ren's heart tightened even more when he thought that tomorrow would be the real day to enter the forest.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The next morning he woke up earlier than usual.

His mind and body seemed to be in a state of excitement at the thought that today was the big day.

According to the schedule, the baron's reinforcements will arrive in eight days.

After reaffirming with Mireille that he could handle it if he worked hard until then, Ren had breakfast as usual and left the mansion, heading for the forest instead of taking a walk, unlike usual.

"You can tell the direction by looking at Tsurugi Rock."

This was a helpful advice given by Mireille before leaving the mansion.

Tsurugi rock is a large rock that stretches out like a sword, as Roy had explained earlier.

This rock is an hour and a half into the forest and was in Ren's field of vision, as he was remembering this.

"It's hard to see."

The morning mist in the forest blocked his view.

It would clear up in a few minutes, but for Ren, who has no memory of stepping into a forest even in his previous life, there are enough conditions to wonder where to start.

Fortunately, he knew what he needed to do.

"Either way, I just have to hunt the monsters within a 30-minute radius of the bridge."

With determination, he set foot into the forest.

The sound of swaying branches and rustling leaves reached his ears. The only other sounds were birds chirping and the sound of the water still flowing in the nearby river.

After a few minutes of walking, the morning mist that had been blocking his view began to lift slightly.

Or maybe it was just Ren's eyes adjusting, but it became much easier to walk.

"Wow..."

The muck on the ground took his feet and mud got into his shoes.

The uncomfortable feeling makes his cheeks tug.

"What is this ... hill ...!?"

As he was brushing off the mud, a creature that looked like a leech was climbing up Len's arm before he knew it. It was not strange for a leech to be in a forest like this, but it was still an unpleasant sensation on his skin.

Ren brushes the leech off with his hand. The leech had not yet bitten him, and it easily fell off.

"This is the real hill climb...."

I looked up at the heavens in embarrassment. After brushing off the mud, I began to walk with a heavy gait.

I'm not tired. I was mocking myself for saying such a stupid thing at a time like this.

After more than ten minutes —- the morning fog had completely lifted.

Around the same time, Ren saw the grass swaying beside the trees at a distance. It was a localized swaying, if it wasn't wind-driven, so he couldn't ignore it.

He squinted his twin eyes and tried to stare.

Then, unexpectedly, the grass shook so much that a little boar covered in mud jumped out.

"Bru! "

"…. So suddenly!"

They say wild beasts are very cautious, but this little boar is not. In the first place, they are monsters and shouldn't be equated with beasts, but even so, Ren didn't expect it to attack like this.

Unlike last night, he didn't expect even one of them to come at him so valiantly and bravely.

"Hmm ..."

If a small boy had appeared, it would have tantalized its appetite.

But Ren does not feel any tension. Rather, because of last night's experience, he raised his wooden magic sword —- without any fear at all against the approaching little boar.

"Bwah! "

He took a sharp swing at its brain.

Even as the little boar lay there, Ren remained vigilant for a few moments.

But when he saw that it had not moved after a dozen seconds, he closed the distance and crouched down. He sighed once when he realized that it had completely lost breath.

"The first day's battle went by so easily."

Saying this, he carried the Little boar's body on his shoulder.

Then, like yesterday, something warm overflowed from Little boar's chest. He immediately checked his bracelet and found that his proficiency in the art of summoning magic swords and wooden magic swords had increased by "1".

"She did say we couldn't use them anymore?"

That was yesterday, when Ren brought back the little boars and gave them to Mireille. As soon as Mireille dismantled the little boar, she said, "The magic stone is empty".

A magic stone is a crystal of magical power that grows as the monster that owned it grows.

When that magic power disappears, the stone turns translucent with a white tint and has zero value as a saleable item.

Mireille said it was strange. ...

"I don't have to worry about it from today…"

Because Ren was allowed to take the magic stones.

A Little boar's magic stone doesn't seem to be worth much, and Mireille said she was fine with that. Instead, she even lamented that he had fallen in love with magic stones just like Roy.

"Ah...."

What should I do? It was fine remember yesterday, but I can't fight while carrying the little boar I hunted.

It was also a bad idea to leave it here.

"I would have to carry it to the bridge."

It was a hassle to carry it every time he hunted, but Ren couldn't think of anything else to do. It was heavy on his feet to turn back on his heels after a quick battle, but he had to persevere if he had no counterproposal.

And so he began to walk.

"Woah...…"

Two little boars appeared as if they were aiming at a when he'd find it difficult to move.

"No problem."

Ren throws the little boar he was carrying at the other little boar that just appeared.

For a moment, the two little boars were frightened at the same time.

Aiming for that moment, Ren closed the distance and again, lightly struck one of them on the head, killing it. The second little boar, finally sensing the danger, backed away and began to flee pathetically.

If only there was some kind of long-range attack technique, he would have launched a follow-up attack... Ren recalled.

"There is…"

Come to think of it, I was going to try it.

I remembered the existence of nature magic (small), which is probably the real power—- that accompanies the wooden magic sword.

However, I had never used magic before.

Lost in thought about what to do, Ren recalled the nature magic he had witnessed in his game days.

He remembered the magic that elves used to bind opponents using tree roots and ivy.

However, there was no sign of activation.

He wondered if there was some condition for activation, so he pointed the wooden magic sword at Little boar's back and waved it.

"Bwah! 』\

Green glowing particles dance from the wooden magic sword that he swung down and they eventually reach the ground.

Then a root of a tree crawling was born from the ground and easily tied up the Little boar that was about to run away.

"Oh!"

When he approached the little boar to put an end to it, he found that it was already on the verge of dying. The tree roots that bind its entire body reveal that it's bound even tighter than Ren thought it was.

"....It's amazing."

Ren said and raised his wooden magic sword to prevent it from suffering more than necessary.

He swung it down with great force toward the little boar's cranium and after making sure it was dead, he carried the three heads together.