Chapter 19
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Xrecker
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: First Friend (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"That Half-Moon Bear... it looks strong."
"It's certainly different from the other Half-Moon Bears."
Usually, when a bandit captain was around, bandit elites or minions would be nearby.
But in the case of the Half-Moon Bear, there were no elite monsters; they were just divided into Half-Moon Bears, Red Half-Moon Bears, and Big Half-Moon Bears.
Of course, since it was captain-level, there were two additional Half-Moon Bears nearby.
"Wh-what should we do, Mr. Shih-han? Th-there are two more in the vicinity. Sh-shouldn't we retreat?"
For safety's sake, Pamela suggested a retreat, but there was no need for that.
No, I didn't want to.
If I got an achievement for defeating a bandit captain, then I should be able to get an achievement and points for defeating that Red Half-Moon Bear, which was of the same class.
'How can I miss this?'
"Don't worry. We can handle them."
"B-but...!"
"Pamela."
I spoke, imbuing my words with the will to pierce through Pamela's anxiety.
"Trust me."
[You have pierced through anxiety.]
Along with the expected notification sound, Pamela was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"O-okay. I-I'll trust you, M-Mr. Shih-han."
The penetrating mouth-jutsu showed excellent results in managing morale as well.
"Thank you. I'll trust you too."
"M-me? I-it would be better to trust yourself than someone like me, Mr. Shih-han."
"No, what good would it do not to trust you, my friend and comrade?"
"F-f-friend and comrade...! Ugh...!"
Pamela gripped her wand tightly and looked at me.
"I-I'll do my best so that you can trust me, M-Mr. Shih-han!"
I could see Pamela's determination rise at the words "a friend's trust."
"Alright. Then, Pamela, I need Vines of Tenacity."
"Y-yes!"
Pamela nodded and immediately used the skill.
"Vines of Tenacity!"
-Kuo!?
Vines of Tenacity wrapped around the two Half-Moon Bears, as well as the Red Half-Moon Bear.
The moment the vines appeared, I immediately charged.
Until now, to coordinate with Pamela, I had deliberately waited after using Vines of Tenacity, giving Pamela time to use her next skill.
But now, in front of Pamela, were three monsters.
It was unlikely, but while I was dealing with the other monsters, the remaining monster might rush towards Pamela.
I would eliminate that possibility first.
Stab!
I thrust my spear at the forehead of a Half-Moon Bear that hadn't yet stood up.
[You have pierced the Half-Moon Bear.]
I immediately pulled it out, twisted my body, and as if performing a combo, I immediately thrust my spear at the forehead of the next Half-Moon Bear.
Stab!
[You have pierced the Half-Moon Bear.]
I cleanly pierced through the foreheads of the two Half-Moon Bears, finishing them off in an instant.
And.
"Pamela!"
"Nail of Shattering!"
Without a long signal, Pamela, who had gotten used to it from our repeated hunts, immediately used Nail of Shattering.
A shower of shattering nails embedded themselves in the Red Half-Moon Bear, which was trying to shake off the vines and stand up much faster than a normal Half-Moon Bear.
-Kroooar!
It roared, stood tall, and tried to swing its arm, but.
To me now, that was far too slow.
I didn't even feel it as a threat.
Pamela had shown her skills until now.
So, against a captain-level monster like this, I should also show Pamela that I used a skill, even if it was a fake one.
"Double Pierce."
Saying the name of an actual skill, I followed the trajectory and quickly thrust my spear at the Red Half-Moon Bear's neck and solar plexus.
[You have pierced the Red Half-Moon Bear.]
Since it was a single entity, the notification only came out once.
Looking at its size, I thought it would still be able to move even if its neck and solar plexus were pierced, not its brain.
But what I had equipped now was a full critical hit damage set.
The damage dealt to an opponent when attacking with a Penetration skill, which was as good as a 100% critical hit, would be greater than simply piercing through.
As proof of that.
Thud!
After quickly piercing through the Red Half-Moon Bear's body and retreating, the Red Half-Moon Bear bled profusely and fell forward.
[Achievement: You have defeated the Red Half-Moon Bear.]
[Achievement Reward: 2 Points, 2 Fame.]
A very pleasant notification rang in my ears.
The points were higher than from the bandit captain Rubid, but the fame I got was lower.
I guessed that the difficulty of catching the Red Half-Moon Bear was higher, but.
'The bandit captain is probably more well-known to people when he's subjugated.'
In any case, getting more points was only a good thing for me.
It was a bit of a shame that I didn't get a "Bear Hunter" title like "Bandit Hunter," though.
'It's a bit shameless to get a title in one day that I got after hunting for over a week.'
As I shook off the blood on my spear from the piercing and looked back, Pamela was coming towards me.
"M-M-Mr. Shih-han!"
"Thank you for using your magic at the right time, Pamela."
This time, Pamela didn't put herself down and just grinned happily.
"He, hehe. It's because you told me beforehand what kind of magic to use, Mr. Shih-han."
"Is that so? I only called out its name."
Of course, I did that on purpose.
"Because we've been using Nail of Shattering after Vines of Tenacity all this time. He, hehe. I was able to figure it out."
"I see."
I nodded and chose a word that Pamela would like and said.
"So it's the result of our accumulated experience and bond?"
"Experience and b-bond...! He, hehhehehe. Th-that's right! A friend's b-bond!"
As expected, Pamela was very happy.
She was smiling to the point where it looked like her face would melt with joy.
If this were a game screen, I would have immediately pressed the screenshot button.
"Pamela, let's finish hunting the Half-Moon Bears for now. We don't want it to get dark on our way back."
"Y-yes! Mr. Shih-han!"
After taking out the magic stones from the two fallen Half-Moon Bears and the Red Half-Moon Bear and putting their corpses in my inventory, we went down the mountain where the Half-Moon Bears lived and waited for a carriage.
In the game, you could just run for a bit or use the mini-warp stones installed in between to get to the monster's habitat right away, but.
In this world, there were no mini-warp stones, only regular warp stones.
Therefore, to get to a monster's habitat, you would take a carriage that regularly passed in the same direction, and on the way back, if you found a carriage heading to where you first started, you would take it to return.
For reference, if you saw a carriage, you had to immediately take out your adventurer's badge and hold it up high to prove that you were an adventurer, not a bandit or a thief.
It was a similar feeling to raising your hand for a bus at a bus stop or showing your pre-prepared transportation card.
Since there was no carriage in sight yet, Pamela spoke as we waited by the roadside.
"M-Mr. Shih-han. Th-that, that was really amazing!"
"Is that so?"
"Y-yes! To catch the Half-Moon Bear so easily without even using a skill... and the way you used a skill when you caught that Half-Moon Bear was also amazing! When you quickly pierced through that Half-Moon Bear's chest and neck, I was really impressed!"
"Thank you. It feels good to be praised by a friend."
"Uuugh...!"
I was the one who was thanked, but Pamela was the one who was more moved.
"But you were amazing too, Pamela. At first, I was just checking how much your magic would affect the monster... but it was more than I had imagined. I've already told you how amazing I thought you were... but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it several times."
"Heh, he, hehehe, no... it's the magic my master taught me that's amazing. I'm~."
Even though she was speaking in a self-deprecating tone, her face, and even her body, was swaying with joy.
"You, who handles that magic so skillfully, are amazing too. That's why, Pamela, I have a favor to ask of you."
"A f-favor?"
At the word "favor," Pamela stopped her swaying body and looked up at me.
"Yes. Pamela, I plan to create a group after I enroll in the academy."
"A g-group?"
"As you know, the academy has a school of magic, which mainly teaches magic; a school of combat, which, like me, mainly teaches tactics and skills other than magic; and a school of development and a school of theology, right?"
"Y-yes...."
"But besides the factions, there are also clubs created by academy students with the same hobbies, regardless of their school. That's what a group is."
In an event story, there was even an event called the Academy Group Competition, where representatives from various groups would come out and compete.
Besides that, there were also many mini-games to enjoy the events created by the groups.
"Th-then what kind of group are you going to create, Mr. Shih-han?"
"It's a kind of study group."
"A s-study group...? But isn't the studying taught at the academy enough...?"
"The learning I seek is not like that. It's a kind of strength."
"S-strength?"
I told Pamela the first stage of my plan to defeat the Demon King of Chaos, which I would implement at the academy.
"To train myself further and obtain strength. And with that strength, to explore various countries, hunt monsters, and at the same time, confirm our achievements by saving people in trouble is the main purpose of this study group. It's a group that aims for activities that are in line with the academy's rules of protecting people from monsters and the Chaos Cult."
In reality, it was a group to recruit and raise a fixed party to defeat the final boss.
Of course, since multiple memberships were welcome, if any gacha character showed interest, I would immediately grab them and tr... train them to become as strong as possible.
"A-a group with a wonderful... purpose."
"Yes. So, Pamela."
I placed my hand on Pamela's shoulder and brought my face close to hers.
"Won't you join the group I'm creating? If you, my friend, are in the group with me, I would feel much more at ease."
"Huh!? M-me, in the group you created, Mr. Shih-han!?"
"Yes."
"B-but I-I'm weak. I'm not that strong... and even if I use magic consecutively, I couldn't defeat the Half-Moon Bear on my own...."
"I've already said that's because your magic is mainly for weakening. But if you think that's not enough, we can just improve our skills together."
In the first place, even if she was a debuff character, if she just got the right equipment and was raised properly, she could defeat a Half-Moon Bear in one or two hits with her basic attack.
Even if this world was different from the game, if she couldn't do at least that much, it would be impossible to defeat the Demon King of Chaos.
Even if she couldn't do it now, I just had to raise Pamela to be able to do it.
"I-I'm getting chills for some reason...!"
"Pamela."
"Y-yes!"
"I'm asking you. With you, my friend, by my side, I'm sure I'll become stronger. Please join the group I'm creating."
With Pamela, the best burst damage combination was possible.
But even without that, it was my sincere wish to be with Pamela, a character I had grown fond of.
Pamela, who had been looking at me, was silent for a moment, then finally opened her mouth.
"M-Mr. Shih-han...! I-I-I understand. I-I don't know if someone like me will be of much help to you, Mr. Shih-han, but... I-I'll join."
"Pamela...!"
I had succeeded in recruiting Pamela.
"Thank you. You're the best friend."
"Th-th-the best friend...! Aaaah...!"
Pamela trembled as she savored the words "the best friend.”