Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Blocking-Mon
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Whirrr.
Ding-a-ling.
"Welcome."
As always, the sound of the convenience store's bell and the clerk's greeting filled the air.
I had a lot to buy today.
I needed to focus on 'Astria Online' for a while, which meant minimizing my trips out for groceries.
I headed straight for the instant noodle aisle to pick out the cup ramen that would be my staple for the time being.
As I scanned the selection, my eyes stopped on one particular product.
Mild 'True Ramen'—not too spicy, with a delicious broth.
It wasn't that I disliked the packaged kind, but cup ramen was easier to eat and clean up, requiring no dishes.
Alright, this would be my meal for the foreseeable future.
Ever since my body became like this, my stomach must have shrunk too; a cup of ramen and a rice ball were enough for a day's meal.
Of course, back when I was a Hero, I was much more active and had to eat more.
Rice balls have a short shelf life, so they're not good for stocking up. But even just one cup of ramen wasn't too little for a day's meal.
Placing a small box of six cup ramens on my lap and grabbing a rice ball as a special treat for the day, I steered my electric wheelchair toward the counter.
"......?"
The male clerk behind the counter looked at me with a puzzled expression.
It wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking.
Usually, I only bought one cup of ramen, two at most.
But today, here I was with a whole box, despite my limited mobility. He must have been curious about my intentions.
But I had no obligation to explain. I was the customer buying products, and he was the clerk who just needed to ring them up.
Beep.
As he scanned the barcodes of the items on the counter, he suddenly spoke to me.
"Um, today's my last day working here."
Huh.
I looked up at him, a little surprised.
This was a problem.
The main reason I'd been coming to this convenience store at this time was because this man in his early twenties, who didn't seem to care much about others, was the one working.
Too much attention was a burden.
A professional relationship—that was just right.
I could tolerate people looking at me with pity, but I hated it when they took an interest and started prying into my personal affairs.
It was a shame, but it couldn't be helped.
I'd have to use the unmanned convenience store a little farther away, or just hope the next part-timer was like him.
"...Thank you for your hard work."
I said in a small voice, bowing my head slightly.
And I could see the clerk's eyes widen.
"...I think this is the first time I've heard your voice."
"Is that so?"
"I just, oh, never mind!"
I tilted my head.
I simply hadn't spoken because there was no need to, not because I was mute.
Seeing him wave his hands in embarrassment was amusing, and I let out a small laugh.
"Hee."
With the paid items and the box of six cup ramens back on my lap, I gave another slight bow and headed for the exit.
Whirrr.
As I left the store, the clerk's voice followed me.
"It's nice to see you smile! I hope you'll keep smiling often!"
I resisted the urge to frown timidly.
Ever since returning to Earth, I'd developed an extreme aversion to dealing with people and had minimized my interactions.
Well, since it was his last day, I guess this much was okay.
I don't know who the next part-timer will be, but I hope it's a pretty lady.
Someone who doesn't get too close, doesn't try to make small talk beyond customer service—just that level of interest.
I wonder if people become more expressive when they have something to focus on.
It was his last day, yes, but the usual me would have let him go without saying a word.
The fact that I even had a short conversation with him must be because of a change in my own state of mind.
And the reason for that small change was probably...
[Welcome to Astria Online]
Well then, time to grind some levels again today.
*
Hop, hop.
I jump in place a few times on my two legs.
My silver hair sways, tickling the corners of my eyes.
Stretch.
I stretch my body out long and sway from side to side.
Even with this short, girlish body, I'll look taller if I straighten my back.
Mmm, good.
My body in here is moving well again today.
"Eek."
A few players passed by as I was doing my stretches.
I immediately recoiled and pulled the hood of my adventurer's robe down.
In here, I feel like I'm back to my old, cheerful self, but the moment someone gets close, I shrink back again.
Dealing with people is still so hard.
Calming my startled heart, I headed out of the city.
Clang, clang.
Facing three aggressive goblins that charged at me, I steadily blocked their attacks.
Then, during the delay in their attacks, I activated a skill that chained from my block.
Swoosh!
"Kieek!"
The three goblins' HP depleted, and they collapsed.
[Block]
- Blocks attacks in a 180-degree arc in front of you.
[Slash (Strong)]
- Delivers a strong slashing attack in a 180-degree arc.
- (Instant Cast) Upon a successful Block.
[Thrust (Strong)]
- Delivers a strong thrusting attack to a single target.
- (Instant Cast) Upon a successful Block.
I scanned over the skills I'd obtained after changing my class to Swordsman.
"Hmm, good."
The most fundamental skill for a Swordsman to negate attacks, 'Block'.
And the basic attack skills, 'Slash' and 'Thrust'.
However, the skill versions of Slash and Thrust had a significant wind-up delay.
The condition to cast them instantly, without that delay, was 'Upon a successful Block'.
Basically, all of a Swordsman's skills could be used with an advantage if cast after a successful block.
"Blocking-Mon!"
I raised my Steel Training Sword high and shouted.
A Swordsman is a Blocking-Mon!
Getting a feel for the Swordsman's combat style and skills, I diligently hunted monsters in the field.
[Drizzle Rain]
[Swordsman]
[Level 9 (11.18%)]
How many hours had passed since I started hunting?
I was starting to feel my progress slow down with just goblin hunting.
Thwack, thwack!
A nearby Fighter finished off a goblin in an instant and moved on to find the next one.
"Oh."
Unlike me, who blocked every goblin attack, that Fighter was taking most of the hits head-on to hunt faster.
Farther away, a Mage hunted goblins by safely shooting fire and ice from a distance.
Clearly, both of them had a faster hunting speed than my Swordsman class.
"Ugh, hmmm."
I was lost in thought.
My attack power itself is lower than other classes, but since I can handle multiple monsters at once, my leveling speed probably won't be that much slower.
Still, for faster growth, I needed a more groundbreaking method.
I left the goblin zone.
The orc zone was a hunting ground for level 10 and above.
At only level 9, it wouldn't be easy for me to hunt here.
But if I stayed in the goblin zone, I might fall behind in levels.
First, let's just give it a try.
Clang, cl-clang!
"Heek."
I'd courageously jumped between two orcs, but even while blocking, I could feel a strong impact coming through.
My HP wavered.
The orcs' powerful attacks couldn't be completely nullified even with a Swordsman's Block.
Still, by blocking diligently and throwing in slashes between blocks, I managed to defeat both orcs.
"Hah."
I let out a sigh and slumped down on the spot.
I'd only fought two orcs, yet it took quite some time and used up half my HP.
Even if this world was based on a familiar one from my memories, it wasn't like my old powers just came back.
What was lost remained lost.
Right now, I don't have much.
I have no Holy Sword to augment my physical abilities, nor an endless wellspring of mana.
No sword energy comes from my blade, and it's hard to even maintain my sword path without using the 'skills' forcibly activated by the 'system'.
All I have now are the 'stats' befitting this small girl's body.
Is it fortunate that I can at least move my legs freely?
If my Agility and Strength stats get high enough, I might be able to imitate my old movements.
In the end, I guess I have no choice but to adapt to this world's 'system'.
My past experience of enjoying RPG games, from a now-faint memory of a previous life, was at least somewhat helpful.
"Anyway, my HP recovery is slow."
I wasn't afflicted with any status effects like bleeding, so it would recover if I just waited, but at this hunting pace, it would be hard to keep up with the frontrunners.
There were already quite a few players hunting in the orc zone. Just like in the goblin zone, they were still tanking hits with their bodies as they hunted.
The damage must be pretty high, so is that hunting method still effective here?
That question was soon answered. The nearby players were all drinking something while they hunted.
"Potions!"
HP recovery potions.
If I used those, I could definitely hunt for longer without taking long breaks to recover.
I paused my hunt for a moment and returned to the city.
*
"Ummm... hmmm..."
"What, if you're not buying, then get out."
"N-no! I'm buying something!"
The middle-aged male NPC at the general store spoke to me with a listless expression.
I answered with a start.
Dealing with actual human players was a bit difficult, but I didn't feel much resistance to talking with virtual reality NPCs.
I gave the unfriendly NPC a slight glare with a pout.
I know he's an NPC, but he seems so real.
AI technology is really something else.
I tore my eyes away from him and checked the potion's stats again.
[HP Recovery Potion (Small)]
[Cooldown: 30 seconds]
[Recovers 100 HP over 10 seconds.]
My current HP is 300, so that's a third of my total HP over 10 seconds.
It was more than enough to offset the damage I took while blocking an orc's attack.
Indeed, with this much recovery, it would be possible to just tank the hits while hunting.
The bigger problem, though, was the potion's price.
"Thirty copper for one."
The profit I'd made from about five hours of hunting goblins while doing monster-slaying quests was about 5 silver.
One hundred copper is 1 silver, so that's 500 copper in total.
The money I earned in five hours wasn't even enough to buy twenty potions.
I squeezed my eyes shut and bought five potions.
"I-it's a necessary expense."
In fact, it seemed most of the frontrunners were spending all the gold they earned from hunting on potions.
If fast growth is the goal, I guess I have to consider it a necessary investment.
Fortunately, my Swordsman class has Block, allowing me to hunt while minimizing HP consumption, so it seemed okay to save money while hunting.
On my way out of the general store, I also stopped by the weapon shop.
[Militia Sword]
[Attack Power: 20]
[10 Silver]
"Gasp."
So expensive!
The very next tier of weapon is this expensive?
It was an enormous sum to spend in the early game when currency wasn't yet abundant.
There were people in the orc hunting grounds using the Militia Sword.
Rather than earning 10 silver on their own, they probably bought gold from other players with real money for a head start.
For someone as poor as me, it was the stuff of dreams.
But, but.
This weapon would definitely speed up my hunting, but is there really a need to buy a store-bought weapon with no special options?
I can just get a better weapon from a dungeon or somewhere later.
I left the weapon shop, smacking my lips with regret.