Day 3- The Cave

I WOKE UP RAVENOUS. It was the first time that hunger forced me

awake.

Did using magic make me hungrier? No matter the reason, I had to

eat. Ugh, mushrooms again. I got a fire going, chopped them up, and

sprinkled them over a salad of herbs. This could really use some dressing.

The herbs were medicinal and bitter—they really needed something. It's not

too much to hope they have mayo here, is it? But the only ingredient around

was mushrooms. This world was definitely not weird enough for

mushroom-based mayonnaise.

Eating woke me up all the way. I washed my face—this is a

ridiculous order for a morning routine, but I'm in another world after all,

and a loner on top of that. No one's gonna tell me what order to do stuff in!

I leveled up yesterday, so all of my stats were double, but I didn't feel

any stronger or faster. Maybe I was still too low level to feel any difference.

I didn't really know how much I could trust stats, anyway.

I'll do whatever I can to get stronger. If I went looking for weak

monsters I might find some, but if I ran into some strong monsters first, I

was pretty sure I wouldn't respawn.

Yesterday, what happened yesterday? Right, somehow I got Magic

Infusion. I could understand Evasion and Foresight. Magic Infusion needed

testing. And infuse what? Was magic going into my bloodstream, like a

drug? What the hell did it mean?

Okay, Mr. Appraisal, tell me what you got.

"Magic Infusion Lv1: Cloaks the wielder's body in magical power

and enhances it. Increases physical strength, physical defense, and magical

defense."

Now that was a killer package deal! Fantasy world moms would go

wild for a value set like that.

If I could get all this stuff on my own, the old geezer shouldn't have

even bothered with the long list of skills. Weren't the abilities I got from

him just holding me back?

If I applied this ability to my current stats, I should be considerably

stronger than a level 2 character. But how much stronger?

I hadn't gotten the hang of Movement Magic, either. I could

potentially use it to launch hit-and-run attacks, but I always just ended up

crashing into something and squealing as I tumbled head over heels. I was

no better than a clumsy anime girl!

Clearly, the best use of my time was getting better at magic. Practice,

practice, practice.

I tried out Magic Infusion. Didn't cost much MP, powerful, and

probably delicious. Man, I'm hungry.

I also remembered that after getting Appraisal Lv2, a lot of the items

in my inventory had a new question mark added next to them: Wooden

Stick? Clothes Set? Leather Glove? Leather Boots? Cloak? Contact Lenses?

What was up with that?

Shouldn't leveling up take the question marks away? Was I

regressing? Get better, stupid skills! Despite using Appraisal on anything I

didn't know, I knew even less than before!

My brain was starting to overload. I had to get my day started. Let's

go already!

Mushrooms, the blessings of this forest… Isn't there literally anything

else?! How about a meat tree? It's a forest, after all!

Was this even a real forest? Did they replace all the bamboo with

mushrooms to stop a war over chocolate bamboo snacks? Was I summoned

here to end the terrible Chocolate Snack War? I could have settled that

debate. Chocolate snacks were delicious whether they were shaped like

mushrooms or bamboo shoots. I could really go for either…

I was just so sick of eating mushrooms.

I tested out Magic Infusion by activating it and running around. I

definitely felt a little faster. It felt like my body acted before I even thought

about it. My reflexes were sharper, and they would probably get better as I

leveled up. Would I have to get used to how my body moved whenever I

leveled up? I'm not gonna hit a plateau, right?

I picked up my stick and idly swung it around. It felt so light! I tried

reenacting my fight yesterday, and for lack of a better word, I felt awesome.

Even an onlooker would surely be impressed by how much better I looked.

Too bad the goblins were too dead to share their opinions, so I kept

practicing alone.

I gave Movement Magic another shot but immediately fell over with

a crash. Uh, let's just keep that a secret.

It seemed like monsters avoided the river for some reason, but I saw a

few deeper in the forest: another group of two, like yesterday. That was

fine, but if I couldn't separate them, there was a good chance I'd have to

fight while outnumbered.

They were level 9 and 11. A little strong, I thought.

I rushed in with a fast attack, closing the distance between us in an

instant. I attacked from the flanks and backed off as quickly as I

approached. I saw the first goblin reel and collapse right away. Did I just

knock it out in a single blow? Ha, get wrecked!

I easily ducked under the second goblin's attack. The momentum of

the goblin's swing left it facing away from me. I struck a blow to the

creature's back and dashed away in a flash. Looking back cautiously at the

battle scene, I studied my surroundings.

Did I win?

No "KO!" text popped up, and a victory fanfare didn't play. Come on,

give me a sign that you're really dead!

That went way better than yesterday. I didn't know if I'd gotten used

to fighting, if my level up helped a lot, or if it was the Magic Infusion, and

it'd be way too much of a pain to figure out which. Being stronger was

good enough for me. Goblins? No problem! But other monsters were still as

mysterious to me as food that wasn't mushrooms.

The Magic Infusion might as well have had a question mark next to

it. There was no doubt that it made me stronger, I just didn't really

understand how.

I wasn't tired, either. The next two goblins I saw were level 7 and 8.

One hit each. The ones further upstream and nearer to the river bank tended

to be weak, it seemed. In that case, would going downstream into the forest

lead to stronger goblins? The goblins were always on the move, so I

couldn't be sure. I needed a strategy. Movement patterns, strategies, I was

figuring things out. I would definitely ace the AP Goblin Slaying final. Not

that I planned on taking exams ever again.

I made my way deeper into the forest. I fought a level 13 and a level

10. Even the level 13 went down after a surprise attack and a finishing

blow. I'd gotten pretty damn strong, though I didn't know if I was ready to

face three at once yet. That's enough for today, I decided.

On the way back to my cave, I took out a level 11 and a level 10. The

weaker ones definitely stay closer to the river, so as long as I stick to my

hunting ground I should be safe. In terms of raw strength, I might lose to a

level 10+ goblin. I developed a three-step routine to fight these hardier

goblins: sneak attack, a quick strike, dodge, and then circle behind for a

final blow. I had to put all of my energy into that final blow or it wouldn't

kill them. I still had to worry about getting hit, too—just one and it would

all be over. I needed to figure out Movement Magic if I wanted to really

mow them down. Why the hell am I just beating them up with a stick? I

thought. I'm an unemployed loner in a world of swords and sorcery. How

could I be satisfied with just a stick? There are vicious monsters around!

Grumbling to myself, I made my way out of the forest. Back in the

cave, I sighed over my dinner options. Mushrooms, again. Bon appétit…

I piled up the firewood and timber in the deepest part of the cave. It

was just a bunch of wood that I felled and dried out with magic. If I had a

crafting ability, maybe I could make furniture. In addition, I had collected a

bunch of clubs. It wasn't like I could use them, but I added them to my Bag

of Holding anyway. I didn't have any armor or anything; I couldn't afford

to get careless.

I took a bath, set up my tent, and lay down to sleep. The hard cave

floor hurt to sleep on. I pulled out the sleeping bag. Even a loner wishes for

the pleasure of a big fluffy bed.

I was still level 2—leveling up wouldn't be that easy and fast. I need

to keep testing my skills, I thought. Training, battling monsters, leveling up,

seeing what works. I'll discover my own fighting style through trial and

error.

The only thing I could do was ensure that I got stronger a little at a

time. This was a fantasy world—I knew there had to be more exciting skills

and weapons out there. This world is too damn realistic!

That's enough, that's enough. Realism in a fantasy world wasn't

necessarily a bad thing—at least I had some idea of what to expect. Maybe

that's why they dragged a bunch of high school kids into it right before an

exam—they wanted us to display some real world knowledge. If so, our

class was doomed.

Magic Infusion was definitely proving itself useful. Leveling up and

practicing were helping, too. Taking on goblins was no problem anymore,

even by myself. I didn't need to join someone else's party.

While I did defeat that level 13 goblin, it was pretty challenging, and

there had to be much stronger monsters out there. Even if it took a long

time, I had to keep working to keep my skills sharp.

I just needed a trump card. I was fast enough to attack and retreat and

control the pace of a battle, but these fights were still dangerous. Movement

Magic was probably the trump card I needed.

Yeah, that's right, I should practice Movement before going to

sleep…

"Ouch! My head! Ow, ow, ow!" This is going to be harder than I

thought.

My Walking skill was now level 2. I assumed that meant I could walk

faster and farther, which meant that Movement Magic would be even harder

to use. My poor head! Just go to sleep! At least I don't have Klutz…at least

not officially.