Chapter 10: The First Companion
Chapter 10: The First Companion
Until this moment, Guwon had been under a huge misconception.
This was a world where things like levels and job systems, just like in a game, were common sense.
He had naturally believed that everyone checked those things through a system window, just like in a game.
But it seemed that in this world, Guwon was the only one who could use the game system.
Come to think of it, that pig of a man at the general store was surprised when I pulled out the rabbit carcass.
I just thought he was shocked by the blood, but did he not know about inventories?
Wait a minute. If the people of this world can't see a status screen, then does that mean…?
“Then what about bonus stats? When you level up, you get stronger or tougher, that kind of thing.”
“When you level up, you’re supposed to get better in all areas, right?”
“No, I mean, yeah, but besides that, you can strengthen the abilities you want, can’t you?”
“No? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Just as I thought.
Come to think of it, the recommended level for the dungeon entrance was 10. When I first entered, my level was only 12.
That was too low a level to go on a slaughtering spree like I did.
I thought it was because the Saint’s stat growth rate was good, but it seems my strength isn’t just from the Saint class.
“Then what about skill points? You don’t have those either?”
“You’ve been saying things that don’t make any sense for a while now.”
Sara’s expression was slowly changing into one that said, Do I really have to go into the dungeon with this guy?, but Guwon had no time to worry about that.
The protagonist buff that every main character in a dimension-traveling story has.
I thought all I had was the Saint class. To think that wasn’t all.
Bonus stats and skill points. And the game system!
With this, going on a one-man rampage isn’t just a dream.
Becoming an overpowered isekai protagonist isn’t a dream either! Well, I’m not a high school student, but still.
Anyway, I can get strong easily, and once rumors of my strength spread, women will flock to me, and then I can raise my level a ton. And as my level goes up, more women will flock to me, and my level will go up again—it’s a virtuous cycle!
My time has finally come!
Wait for me, all you beautiful women of the world.
I’m going to be the Harem King!
Kukuk. Kukukukuk. Kahahahahaha.
A protagonist buff! I’m going to be overpowered!
Kyahahahahahahaha!
“…Hey. Are you okay?”
Hah!
When he came to his senses, Sara was looking at him with the kind of pity you’d reserve for someone with a serious mental problem.
Time to put myself in her shoes. Let’s quickly see this from Sara’s perspective.
From Sara’s point of view, I’m a guy who was spouting nonsense, then suddenly went quiet, and then started grinning like an idiot… Shit! I look like a total psycho!
“No, no. I’m fine. Perfectly fine. Don’t look at me like that. I’m normal.”
The more Guwon spoke, the worse Sara’s expression became.
Maybe it was his imagination, but the distance she kept behind him seemed to be growing.
“Look. I already told you I’m a stranger here. I don’t know the common sense of this place. Let’s help each other out. My head isn’t messed up, I just haven’t adapted to this world yet. So please, stop looking at me like that.”
“…Well, I suppose being suddenly dropped into another world would be difficult. Hang in there.”
It felt like this was the first time she’d ever been kind to me.
But if you’re going to say that, couldn’t you at least close the distance between us?
It’s hard to have a conversation when we’re standing nearly two meters apart.
“Ahem. Anyway, for today, I was thinking we could just stick near the entrance and get a feel for working together. How does that sound?”
Whatever the future held, the current Guwon was just a low-level adventurer barely scraping by at the dungeon’s entrance.
For the sake of that dream-like future, I need to lay the groundwork for my growth now.
“Fine. I’ll show you my archery skills. Level isn’t everything, you know.”
Even the weakest rabbits here have a recommended level of 10. What archery skills is a level 2 Archer going to have?
If I’m going to have her as a companion, I’ll have to raise her level a bit anyway.
Guess I’ll have to stick around the entrance and power-level her for a bit.
After walking a short distance, they soon encountered a rabbit.
“Alright, I’ll hold the front line, so try attacking from the back.”
“Do we really need to do all that for a mere rabbit? Just watch.”
With fluid, natural movements, Sara quickly drew her bowstring.
Whoosh!
Surprisingly, the arrow flew true, but the rabbit dodged it by a hair’s breadth. Then, showing off its characteristic speed, it charged swiftly toward Sara.
“Kyaa!”
“…What are you doing?”
Guwon swatted the charging rabbit aside and asked, dumbfounded.
Seriously, is she suicidal or something? Where did all that confidence come from?
“Wh-what was that? That rabbit?”
“What do you mean? The recommended level is 10, so isn’t this to be expected?”
“A mere rabbit is level 10?! They’re usually level 1!”
I don’t know what’s ‘usual,’ I told you I’m not from this world.
“Why are you the one who’s surprised? Didn’t the guide explain this when you registered as an adventurer?”
“…I felt bad making you wait, so I came straight here.”
No wonder she got here so fast.
She’s diligent in the weirdest ways.
“Still, I heard this much is common knowledge for aspiring adventurers.”
“…Actually, I lived with just my grandfather, and today is my first time ever coming to this city.”
“What?! Then you barely have any common knowledge to share with me. Is this going to be okay?”
It’s not like I recruited her expecting that, but this does make things a bit of a burden, doesn’t it?
“…I see. This isn’t an excuse, but I didn’t mean to deceive you. Let’s part ways here, then. Don’t worry about the money I borrowed. I’ll pay it back no matter what it takes.”
“No! We can’t do that! We may have just met, but once I’ve accepted someone as a companion, they’re a companion! I’m not the kind of trash who abandons a comrade just because they’re not useful!”
She’s saying something dangerous. After all the trouble I went through to recruit you, you want to split up?
I just tried to put a little pressure on her, and she’s already trying to bolt.
It’s a pain, but I’ll have to handle her a bit more delicately until she’s completely won over.
“Anyway, I knew your attacks wouldn’t be very effective, but I didn’t think it’d be this bad. What should we do?”
“…I really think I should leave.”
“We’re done with that topic, so just drop it. …Alright. Since it’s come to this, let’s focus on your growth for now. In any case, I’ll be the vanguard and you’ll be the rear guard; that’s not going to change. Think of it as a process of getting in sync. For the time being, I’ll just draw the rabbits’ attention and hold them off, so how about you focus on attacking from behind and raising your Archer level?”
“But if we do that, you won’t gain anything from it, will you?”
Don’t worry. This is all for my own benefit, too.
If I keep making her indebted to me, it’ll be easier to persuade her later. Besides, I need your Archer level to get to 7 as soon as possible. Kukukuk.
“What do you mean, I won’t gain anything? I told you it’s practice for getting in sync, right? I can’t hunt alone forever, and having a reliable rear guard I can trust is a huge asset, so that’s not true at all. Or what, are you planning to ditch me and go somewhere else once I’ve leveled you up a bit?”
“Of course I wouldn’t do something so shameless!”
“Then that settles it. Let’s get going. We need to get you stronger as fast as possible.”
And so, Guwon and Sara decided to raise Sara’s job level by fighting the monsters near the entrance.
Job levels could be raised by increasing proficiency through job-related actions, not just combat, so she could probably level up just by practicing shooting arrows at a target. But of course, real combat was the most efficient method.
Therefore, Guwon and Sara decided to fight the monsters using only Sara’s bow.
The strategy was truly simple.
When they encountered a monster, Guwon would draw its attention and focus solely on defense while Sara attacked with her bow.
After spotting another rabbit a short distance away, Guwon drew its attention, and Sara drew her bowstring with a natural motion.
But her cool and skillful movements were betrayed by the bow’s lackluster power.
It took several arrows to take down a single rabbit, and if Guwon wasn’t drawing its attention, the rabbit was fast enough to dodge them.
On top of that, if Guwon hit the rabbit, it would die instantly, so trying to draw its attention without attacking was much harder than he’d expected.
Still, considering the people of this world didn’t have bonus stats, the fact that her attacks were doing any damage at all might have been amazing in itself. Besides, setting aside the lack of power, Sara’s accuracy was considerable; most of her arrows flew exactly where she aimed.
After Sara had fired who knows how many arrows, the rabbit, now riddled with them, finally collapsed.
“To think we have to struggle this much just to catch one rabbit…”
“Hey, don’t be so down. For your level, your skill seems pretty impressive.”
“Of course. I pestered my grandfather to teach me whenever I had the chance. It’s just that my job level didn’t rise because of my overall level.”
“Your grandfather must be a good archer, huh?”
“Of course. There was nothing my grandfather couldn’t do.”
Sara said confidently, her face filled with pride.
In this world, if you’re blocked by a level cap, you can’t get any more proficient no matter how much you practice.
Was it like hitting a wall, as they say in martial arts novels? Guwon hadn’t experienced it yet, so he didn’t know.
Anyway, it seemed Sara had learned archery from her grandfather when she was level 1 or 2.
From the way she talks, I guess her grandfather passed away?
She definitely seems to have some kind of backstory…
It was strangely bothering him.
It felt like something was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t quite recall it.
Was there a character with a similar story in one of the games I used to play?
He tried to recall the characters from the Great Earth games he’d played one by one, but in the end, nothing came to mind.
“You’re right. It’s a waste of time to just sit around like this. Let’s go.”
“Wait a second. I have a proposal.”
“A proposal? What is it?”
“There’s a place a little further from here where wolfdogs live. How about we try going there?”
“…We had this much trouble with rabbits. Will it be okay?”
Sara asked, her expression wary for some reason.
“It’ll be fine. In fact, it might even be easier. I have a trick up my sleeve. What do you say? And if we hunt them, you’ll level up faster, won’t you?”
“Is that really possible?”
“Of course. Just trust me and do as I say.”
With that, Guwon took the lead and headed for the wolfdogs’ habitat.
Along the way, Guwon dispatched any rabbits or raccoons they met with a single blow, which earned him a frustrated look from Sara.
Is her competitive spirit kicking in after seeing the creatures she struggled with get taken out in one hit?
In any case, her getting motivated was a good thing.
Upon entering the wolfdogs’ habitat, they immediately spotted two of them loitering about.
“Listen carefully. I’m going to draw their attention and lead them over there. You hide here, and when they turn their backs, aim for their balls and fire an arrow.”
“What? Where?”
“Their balls. B-A-L-L-S. The Magic Stone is in there. If you just separate the Magic Stone, the monsters disappear without a trace, right? We’re using that.”
“I see. Understood.”
Huh? Even if they’re monsters, it’s a pretty cruel method. I thought she’d object to some extent, which is why I waited until we got here to tell her, but surprisingly, she agreed without hesitation.
“So I just need to sever all of their testicles, correct?”
For some reason, her eyes even glinted more sharply than usual.
“Uh, y-yeah. Th-then I’ll go lure them.”
Guwon felt a strange ache in his nether regions and quickly got out of there.
“Hey there! Big bro is here again today. Wouldn’t you guys like to get neutered?”
Of course, the wolfdogs couldn’t understand him, but he threw out the cheap taunt anyway and ran quickly toward them.
The wolfdogs seemed startled by Guwon’s sudden appearance and froze for a moment.
For some reason, it feels like the wolfdogs have been getting scared whenever they see me lately.
Then again, if this game had a title system, I’ve probably killed enough of them to earn something like ‘Title: <Slayer of Wolfdogs> Wolfdogs become fearful when they see the target.’
They were easy opponents to begin with, but them being even easier to deal with was nothing bad for Guwon.
He ran past the frozen creatures and circled behind them. Only then did they turn toward him, as if in a panic.
They looked like they were desperately trying to hide their rears from him, which was somewhat pathetic to see.
Whoosh!
But their efforts were in vain as merciless arrows flew straight into their groins, striking their testicles.
Yelp! Whimper! Yelp! Yelp!
The wolfdogs rolled on the ground wretchedly, letting out sorrowful screams.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
But heedless of their state, more arrows flew—one, then two—mangling the wolfdogs’ groins.
The way the arrows relentlessly targeted their testicles while they writhed in agony was enough to give him goosebumps.
Eventually, the wolfdogs, writhing in pain, slowly turned to ash and disappeared.
At the wretched sight, Guwon found himself becoming solemn without realizing it.
I always took you guys out instantly from behind, so I never knew. So that’s the face you make when you’re getting castrated.
Big bro’s gotta do what he’s gotta do to survive, but… sorry about that.
While Guwon was holding a silent prayer, Sara, the heartless woman, approached him with a smile and said cheerfully,
“I was half in doubt when I first heard it, but it was true. If we keep this up, my growth will be quite fast, won’t it?”
So you can make a face like that.
I think this is the first time I’ve seen this woman look so happy.
To trample so mercilessly on a male’s dignity, even if it’s a monster, and then be happy thinking only of herself… Is she a complete psychopath?
Guwon began to seriously wonder if he had made a mistake in choosing his companion.
You might ask if I didn’t do the same thing.
At least I sent them off without pain. But still, isn’t it too cruel to keep attacking until their balls are turned to rags?
“What are you doing? We need to hurry and find the next prey. Don’t you know the saying, ‘Time is gold’?”
“I don’t. I told you I’m from another world. We didn’t have that saying where I lived.”
Guwon offered a bit of pointless resistance to the gleeful enemy of men standing before him.
“Not even a saying with a similar meaning? That can’t be right. My grandfather said that people are the same everywhere they live. Or perhaps you’re just too stupid to know it?”
Aargh, I shouldn’t even bother talking to this damn bitch. How does she never lose an argument!