Chapter 96 - Chapter 95: Drink, But Don't Get Drunk
Mika slipped under the arm of the Agu Bear as it swung down, quickly circling to its side.
"Stone Bullet."
Bashu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shun!!!
The Agu Bear, struck by dozens of Stone Bullets fired in rapid succession from point-blank range, fell over sideways.
The fallen Agu Bear tried to stand up, but the arm supporting it collapsed, and it crashed down with a thud!
Guuu... Guuuu...
It groaned weakly in its throat, floundering with slow movements; it seemed to have no strength left to stand up.
"Is it already over?"
Mika muttered while observing the immobilized Agu Bear.
After defeating one Agu Bear with Explosive Flame, Mika had challenged the remaining Agu Bear to a close-range battle.
Within the range of the Agu Bear's hands.
The same distance where ordinary adventurers fight.
Lure the Agu Bear's attacks, dodge them, and fire Stone Bullets into it.
He had been doing just that for over ten minutes.
"Air Cutter."
Mika severed the head of the Agu Bear with countless Air Cutters and let out a deep breath.
"Phew... That was quite impressive. So this is the distance adventurers like everyone usually fights at."
Mika had considered using Explosive Flame to finish off the remaining Agu Bear, but decided against it.
One combat test was enough.
If his mana capacity increased, things might change, but for now, he just needed to know what it felt like.
So, remembering his original purpose, he decided to challenge the Agu Bear.
He deliberately exposed himself to the range of the Agu Bear's attacks to experience the atmosphere of ordinary adventurers fighting.
"Diego and others did this without Physical Enhancement, right? They're real monsters."
He certainly couldn't try it without Physical Enhancement as it was too scary, but he had quite a bit of fun.
Now, if he just collected the Agu Bear's magic stone, today's objective would be complete.
Magic stones are always housed within monsters and magical beasts.
And if you bring them to the Guild, they will buy them for a decent price.
However, the items eligible for purchase are limited to "living magic stones."
Although they are called "living," it doesn't mean they are breathing or their hearts are beating.
It seems that magic stones that glow, just like the red glowing eyes of a magical beast, are called "living magic stones."
And these "living magic stones" are processed and used like the magic stones embedded in the guild cards held by Mika and others.
Until now, Mika had taken hundreds of magic stones from Wraiths.
But all of those were "dead magic stones" and could not be sold. ...Only for Wraiths.
The magic stones held by small magical beasts like Sou-Labi are also "dead magic stones."
In the case of magical beasts, it seems that medium-sized and larger ones usually house these "living magic stones."
For monsters, size doesn't seem to matter much; some small ones hold "living magic stones," while some fairly large ones hold "dead magic stones."
"For now, I was able to test Explosive Flame while under Physical Enhancement, and the harvest was quite good."
Physical Enhancement consumes mana constantly.
So, what if I used another Divine Miracle that steals all the mana while under Physical Enhancement?
The answer is that both can be used normally.
Physical Enhancement continues, and the other Divine Miracle manifests properly.
This has already been tested during the Curse House quest by using Heal on Kaerya and Trys.
Just to be sure, I tried the same with Explosive Flame, and it seems to be the same.
Now I can safely unleash Divine Miracles even while under Physical Enhancement.
"I'm supplying mana with Absorb, and since the mana consumption is low, it's working out somehow."
Well, the reason doesn't matter.
As long as there are no inconvenient specifications I need to watch out for, I'll just use it normally.
"...It doesn't seem very good for the body, though."
Every time I use a Divine Miracle, I feel nauseous and get heartburn. Can't something be done about that?
Since my mana is depleted and I'm about to faint, I'm forcing myself to stay standing with Absorb, so if you say it's unavoidable, it is unavoidable.
"Well, complaining won't help. Let's collect it quickly. ...It's really gross though..."
Mika slumped his shoulders.
He had to retrieve the magic stone from the massive body of this Agu Bear.
In most cases, the magic stone seems to be right in the center of the chest.
In other words, he had to dismember this Agu Bear's corpse to take it out.
"I think I have decent tolerance for gore, but seeing it and doing it are completely different..."
Still, ordinary adventurers do this with swords and knives.
The knife Mika has isn't high quality, so he'd probably struggle even to cut the Agu Bear's skin.
So, he decided to use Air Cutter.
"Even so, I really don't want to do it..."
And thus, he spilled his whining.
"It took quite a while."
Mika was currently flying towards the forest near the capital city.
He had already stopped by a slightly larger town near the village attacked by the Agu Bear to report the defeat of the Agu Bear.
There were likely bodies of adventurers who arrived first inside the destroyed houses, but since the ceiling had collapsed, he couldn't confirm.
So, he went to the nearby adventurer's guild and reported, "The adventurers who likely arrived first were probably taken out."
"There were two Agu Bears. Did the Guild know about that?"
Mika told the Guild that there were two Agu Bears, wanting to check if the defeated adventurers had obtained this information.
Proving it is simple.
Mika's guild card has the mana of two Agu Bears stored in it.
Also, he has two magic stones from the Agu Bears.
He had placed two magic stones, each about the size of a volleyball, at the Guild's pickup window.
Mika's claim was accepted easily, but nothing special happened because of it.
Unexpected situations occurring is not particularly rare.
If they had submitted a request claiming there was only one Agu Bear to suppress the reward when there were two from the start, that would be a serious violation, but it is also common for another individual to arrive later.
If another one had arrived later, it would end with "Too bad for you."
If you have the strength to defeat even that without issue, it's an irregularity where you can say, "I thought there was one, but there were two. Lucky."
In short, being weak is the problem.
It is a very severe world, but that is how Mika actually defeated the Agu Bears and completed the requests.
If Mika had gone to the Guild there without defeating the Agu Bears and said,
"There are two Agu Bears. The story is different!"
The request sheet would have been updated, and depending on the client, the reward might have been raised.
But minor irregularities are expected to happen.
Prepare to survive in any situation, train yourself; that is the world of adventurers.
Mika reached the sky above the forest and slowly lowered his altitude.
Then, he stopped Blast when he was about ten meters away from the ground.
Since his durability has increased with Physical Enhancement, he can land safely from this height, and the dust won't rise too badly.
"Okay, there."
"Kyaa!?"
A small scream rose up the moment Mika landed.
(He saw me!?)
Oh no... He turned around fearfully, and there was a girl carrying a large backpack on her shoulder.
It seems the girl was behind a nearby tree, out of Mika's sight, and was surprised seeing Mika fall.
But she soon came to her senses and, looking a bit flustered, ran over and crouched in front of Mika.
"My, my. That's terrible. Did you fall from such a high place?"
The girl looked up at the branch above Mika's head.
From Mika's current position, there were several branches that could be candidates, but they all seemed to be about six to seven meters high.
Normally, it wouldn't be strange to have a broken bone.
"Are you injured? Is there anywhere that hurts?"
"Ah... I'm fine."
Mika, nervous about whether he had been seen flying, peeked at the girl.
The girl looked flustered, but her way of speaking was gentle.
She looked two or three years older than Mika.
Fluffy platinum blonde hair neatly arranged around her shoulders.
Like an older sister worrying about her younger brother, she was checking various parts of Mika's body to see if he was injured.
"Really, I'm fine... I'm not injured anywhere."
When Mika told her again, the girl sighed with relief.
"Oh... that's good."
And thus, she smiled as if truly happy.
But then, she frowned slightly.
"But, you shouldn't do such dangerous things anymore, okay? It would be terrible if you got hurt."
And she scolded him like Mika's older sister.
It was just like talking to Loretta.
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry."
What is this? I can't disobey.
Or rather, I don't even feel like disobeying.
Is this a special effect of this girl's "older sister aura"?
Is this also a Skill?
Yunressa also scolds him like an older sister, but she is a slightly different type.
The girl stared at Mika... and then smiled brightly.
"Did you come with someone? Your family or a friend?"
When Mika shook his head, the girl looked a bit surprised.
"You came alone? To a place like this?"
"Well..."
This was about two hundred meters into the forest.
It wasn't deep enough for wild beasts or magical beasts to appear, but it was a bit too deep for a child to come alone.
That goes for the girl in front of him as well.
"Oh..."
The girl frowned slightly as she thought, then smiled brightly again.
Standing up, she took Mika's hand.
"Okay. Then, shall we go home together with your older sister?"
Saying that, she pulled Mika's hand and started walking.
"Ah, no, wait..."
Mika was surprised by the sudden action, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to shake her hand off, so he walked alongside the girl.
The older sister aura is formidable.
Looking up at the girl walking beside him, he saw her humming a tune and enjoying herself.
(Ugh, this is troublesome...)
After this, he just needs to stop by the Guild to take on "Curse-type" quests for tomorrow and onwards, so even if it takes a little longer to get back, it's not a problem.
It's still early afternoon.
Changing from running to walking won't be a big problem.
"Where do you live? District 2? District 3?"
"District 3."
The Academy is in District 3.
"Oh, same as your older sister."
She said that and smiled.
Naturally, she referred to herself as "older sister."
She probably actually has a younger brother or sister.
"Um, your hand..."
He didn't want to say it too strongly, but holding hands was a bit...
Thinking that, he spoke up, and the girl looked puzzled.
Then, she smiled brightly.
"Since your older sister is feeling insecure, is it okay if you hold my hand?"
She explicitly said that she was feeling insecure and wanted to hold hands.
(Not hurting the self-esteem of a young child, but keeping the hand-holding.)
This kid is used to handling children.
Or rather, how much younger does she think I am?
(Well, making a fuss won't help, and anyway, I'll reach District 3 soon.)
By the time we get there, she surely won't say anything if I let go of her hand.
Mika quietly sighed so the girl wouldn't notice.
When Mika arrived in District 3, he asked her to let go of his hand, saying, "It's okay now," and ran towards the Guild.
(She was a girl with a unique, fluffy atmosphere.)
She was a stranger, but she probably thought she couldn't leave a small child alone.
She was quite a caring girl.
While walking hand in hand, she had been smiling the whole time.
It seems she has made it a habit to greet young children with a smile.
Thinking about such things, he ran along the Southeast Main Street and arrived at the Adventurer's Guild immediately.
First, he checked if there were any new "Curse-type" quests on the bulletin board, and if not, he would ask the counter to arrange for abandoned "Curse-type" quests.
As Mika headed towards the bulletin board, he immediately saw a familiar figure from behind.
"Trys. Long time no see."
It was Trys, wearing armor made of silver-type rare metal Mithril, exuding a dignified atmosphere.
Trys noticed Mika's voice and turned around immediately.
"Oh, it's you. Long time no see. The last time we met was... about two months ago."
"Yes. Let's go eat together if we have the chance again."
"That's right. Thanks for the meal last time. Sorry, it ended up with you treating me."
Trys gave a bitter smile.
Mika tilted his head there, thinking, "Huh?"
"It seems I drank too much, and I caused quite a lot of trouble for you, Mika-kun, and also for that gorilla—"
"Mika-chan."
Interrupting Trys's speech, Mika muttered.
"Ah... not just Mika-kun, but even that gorilla—"
"Mika-chan."
Trys fell silent with a guilty look on her face.
Silence flowed.
"Mika-cha—wa!?"
Just as Mika was about to say it again, Trys grabbed his hand and dragged him to the wall.
"As you can see. Please forget what happened that time."
Trys put her hands together and begged.
Is it really that serious?
Or rather, a grown adult begging a child like this with hands clasped? People around would be surprised!
Well, Mika didn't particularly want to be called "Mika-chan," but since Trys was trying so blatantly to ignore it, he just teased her a little.
Failing at a drinking party is really embarrassing.
Of course, I don't have any such embarrassing stories!
"It's fine, right? Trys from that time was fun too."
Mika smiled brightly.
(They call it "drunk harassment," but I was really surprised when she actually harassed me.)
Trys pressed her lips together, making a complicated expression that looked spoiled, troubled, and awkward.
"You rested at Kaerya's base, right? I had a curfew so I had to go back, but were you okay?"
When he asked that, Trys collapsed.
"...Relying on that gorilla... a lifetime of regret."
Even though it was two months ago, it seems she is still carrying the shock.
"I haven't met Kaerya yet, but did you meet her? Did you properly thank her?"
"Ugh..."
It seems she hasn't.
"Well, it was a drinking party, and I think Kaerya isn't worried about it. But since you were helped, it's a fact. Even if you can't thank her face-to-face, don't forget to be grateful for that."
When Mika advised her, Trys became like a husk, devoid of her soul.
(It's not that big of a deal, though.)
These two seem to be truly on bad terms.
It must be quite difficult to simply say thanks honestly.
It would be harsh for a third party like Mika to blame them too much for that.
"Does Trys like alcohol? I thought you didn't drink much outside, right?"
He felt like he had heard that.
"T-That's right... I like it and drink often, but I used to drink only at home. ...To be honest, drinking that much was my first time."
It seems it was his first time getting drunk.
Indeed, at a party like that, there are times you end up drinking strangely.
(Well, it's good that you know your limits now.)
No matter how old you get, there are people who don't know their limits and expose their ugly selves to the public.
Thinking of that, this is a good experience too.
"But you remember, right? How much do you remember?"
"U... that is..."
Trys blushed and hesitated to speak.
She must be remembering her own disgrace.
That means she remembers quite a bit.
"It's fine, you don't have to say. But let's go eat again without learning this lesson."
When Mika said that with a smile, Trys slumped her shoulders.