Chapter 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Diet (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Nice to meet you. I'm Brick, your senior."
The next day, as promised, I headed to the training grounds. Andrew and a burly man were waiting there. The guy who introduced himself as Brick was enormous. And he had a seriously intimidating face.
Well, who am I to judge looks? At least he looked human. Anyway, from my position, he was my one and only master and senior, so I greeted him right away.
"Hello, sir! I'm Hans, the new recruit who just joined!"
"You've got some real spirit in that voice. I like it."
"Glad to hear it. Teach him well, will you?"
"Yes, sir."
Andrew patted my back as he made the request. Brick even saluted in response. I was immediately put to work with Brick. Guard duty in the refugee camp involved more than I'd imagined.
For starters, heading out to pick up supplies. Sometimes hunting beasts or scouting ruined villages on search missions. Then there were guard duties, split between day and night shifts to protect the camp.
And finally, patrolling the refugee camp itself. I knew about it, but it was way more dangerous and tough than I'd thought. Makes sense why the guards get special treatment.
"You're a rookie, so you won't be sent on search missions."
"Do those rotate among everyone?"
"Yeah. Nobody likes going outside."
"Got it."
The wooden palisade surrounding the refugee camp was our lifeline. Stepping beyond it meant facing death head-on. No wonder everyone hated it.
But I had no choice—I couldn't avoid it. Whether I liked it or not, to find a way back to my original world, I'd have to venture out eventually. And that meant fighting monsters, no way around it.
Sure, dodging with time stop was an option. But what if I couldn't use it someday? I'd have to fight eventually, so better prepare now.
"This is the most important spot."
"Looks like an old warehouse."
"It's the food storage."
"Oh..."
I learned more from Brick than expected. And that the refugee camp's situation wasn't great. We had about 300 people under our care right now.
Out of them, 50 were guards. In normal times, that'd be excessive. But in this mess, he said we had to maintain numbers no matter what.
That's where the problem hit. Lately, everyone coming back from hunts or searches returned empty-handed. Our already short food supplies got even tighter.
"We're hanging on by growing turnips, potatoes, beans, and such. But even that's reaching its limit."
"I see."
"Still, we're better off than most. Not at the point of mixing in sawdust yet."
"..."
Turnip-ground-up-and-mixed-with-flour bread wasn't tasty, but way better than sawdust loaves. Turnips were actual food, at least.
Anyway, the day's work finally wrapped up. I returned my issued gear to the guard barracks and headed home. Or tried to. If not for the kid.
The sun had nearly set, but the Red-Haired Kid was dozing off near the training grounds. I let out a wry chuckle. What the heck was she doing here?
"You'll catch a cold sleeping out here. Get up."
"Mm... Uncle?"
"Yeah, it's Uncle. Come on, up you go."
I hadn't expected her to wait this long. Should've given her a heads-up. She looked dead tired, stumbling right into my arms.
"Sleepy... wanna sleep more..."
"Always such a handful."
"..."
No choice—I picked her up. Couldn't just leave her. Then it hit me: I had no idea where this kid lived. Not like I needed to know before.
I wasn't planning to visit her house looking like this. Her parents would probably freak. I tried shaking her awake quick.
But she just burrowed deeper into my arms. With this cold weather, after waiting outside so long? No helping it—had to take her home today.
I hoisted her onto my back and trudged forward. Time Stop Breeding Uncle's place was a tent in the corner of the camp. Already on the outskirts, and the tent was in rough shape.
Perfect spot to freeze without a fire. Fuel didn't grow on trees, of course. But Time Stop Breeding Uncle handled it with time stop.
Did he go chop wood himself? Nah. He stole it from other houses, obviously. Like onions or leeks, that guy never ran out. For real.
"Mm..."
"Hang on a sec. I'll get a fire going."
I grabbed fuel right away. Not the stuff Time Stop Breeding Uncle stole—I went out and gathered it myself. Pile it up, light it, done.
Once the bonfire crackled, the kid's face relaxed. I smirked watching her. Didn't know much, but she was honest to a fault. This should do it.
Confirming she was out cold, I stood. The world tinted gray again. Work done—time to train.
Time flew by like an arrow.
I'd made some progress. First, time stop's cooldown shortened a bit. Didn't time it exactly, but one day I just instinctively knew.
Come to think of it, gifts grow based on user capability, right? Maybe related? It hadn't shortened much. If before was double, now maybe 1.9 times? Still good news. Just using it a lot cut the cooldown. Plus, changes in my body too.
"You're training hard, I see."
"Thank you."
"Not empty words. Your stamina's improved a lot."
"I train every day."
Andrew was a better teacher than I'd thought. I absorbed his sword and body techniques, then reviewed with time stop. Intense workouts, naturally.
Fat started melting off big time. Better than before, anyway. Still a pig, but less of one now.
Daily training plus hard work earned me some respect in the guards. Still "Ugly Hans," but that was fine.
Keep this up, I'd get stronger.
That's what I thought.
But life never goes as planned. That day, mid-training, urgent bells rang from the village entrance. My body froze for a split second.
"...Monsters attacking?!"
"Rookie! Grab your gear, now!"
"Y-yes, sir!!!"
Peaceful lately, I'd forgotten. This world, monsters could hit anytime. Actually, we'd lasted longer than expected.
I geared up fast at the barracks—armor, weapon—and ran with Brick to the palisade. At the gate, guards faced off against monsters, weapons ready.
Stay calm, stay calm. Deep breath. I checked the monsters: black-furred wolves, twice normal size. Sharp, sword-like horns on their heads. Blade Wolves—mid-tier from the game. Levels 20 to 40 max. No regen, luckily.
"Dangerous—so many Blade Wolves."
"Don't worry. I'll handle them all."
"Handle them all? What're you..."
I silently placed my hand on the hilt. The world grayed out around me. Good—didn't use time stop, no cooldown.
If it had... Ugh, don't even think.
Thought about fighting without it first. But no confidence yet. Decided to use time stop to take them out for sure.
"Damn. Tough bastards."
Too bad—no instant multi-slash swordmaster moves. Meant one at a time. Had to kill clean. Even took time.
"Ugh, gotta do this one by one?"
Time stop seemed cool at first. But in practice? Not what I pictured. Grunting, I finally beheaded the last wolf.
"Seriously... gonna die...!!"
Breath to my throat. Legs like jelly, barely standing. Exhaustion? Bones melting feeling. That's when—
Time stop ended.
"Huh? Wait..."
And everyone saw it.
All the wolves dead. Me standing alone in the middle.