Kays Translations

Chapter 108: Strengthening Village Skills (SSR)

Day 235 of Life in Another World

On the second day since returning to the village, the villagers finished their breakfast and headed off to their respective tasks.

Touya and the dungeon team, as usual, boarded the carriage and were preparing to depart. Today, they were going to face the Minotaur, and even the members who were attempting it for the first time were fired up.

Yesterday, they challenged the boss room on the 15th floor. Since I didn’t participate, I can’t explain the details of the battle, but… well, you can probably guess. With the significant strengthening of their forces and the exceptional level-up of the ruin investigation team members, they conquered it in no time.

According to what I heard, when they opened the majestic door, they were met with a large group of 100 Orcs of different species. The Orc King was sitting on the throne at the altar, surrounded by 10 Orc Generals, and the room was filled with superior and regular Orcs. It would normally be a hopeless situation.

However, thanks to the preemptive attack of the magic users, most of the Orcs were wiped out, and the remnants, which were on their last legs, were eradicated by the warriors. It seems that the Orc King, who was sitting on the throne and feeling smug for a moment, was dumbfounded. He somehow managed to regain his senses, but in the end, he was defeated without even having a chance to let out a roar.

And so, after liberating the teleportation gate on the 15th floor, they returned after trying their hand at hunting the Minotaur.

“Touya, Sakura, make sure not to push yourselves too hard until everyone gets used to hunting Minotaurs.”

“Yeah, we know.”

“For the time being, we’ll support each party, so it’s okay.”

“That’s right, we can be reassured then.”

After exchanging a few words, everyone boarded the carriages and set off.

“Then, Village Chief, I’ll be heading out as well.”

“Yeah. Even though your levels have increased, don’t let your guard down.”

Merinard, accompanied by Urgan and Uruk, headed toward the town. Their purpose was to transport trade goods and gather information while Merrimus took their place.

All three of them have levels equivalent to S-rank adventurers, and they also possess the Barrier Necklaces. As long as they don’t encounter someone with special skills, there should be no worries about anything serious happening to them.

◇◇◇

After seeing them off, I relaxed in the living room of my house.

(Ahh, it’s so peaceful. I should avoid leaving the village for a while. I might become emotionally unstable again… Is this some kind of curse or something?)

As I pondered ridiculous thoughts, I absentmindedly checked my status.

No matter how much I stare at the monitor, there’s no change except for my level. I can’t figure out the conditions to unlock new skills, so it can’t be helped…

(Oh, right, I can strengthen my abilities. ..Should I do it? Yeah, it’d be a waste not to. There’s no wrong choice with whatever I pick… Let’s go for it, let’s do it!)

In these situations, momentum is crucial. If I keep hesitating, I might end up spending hours deciding and then die before I even get to use it… Well, that’s my self-justification to come up with reasons, and I shifted my thinking to “which ability to strengthen.”

I possess a total of nine abilities. No matter which one I strengthen, it will undoubtedly become more useful than it is now. Well, that’s why I’ve been struggling to decide…

—

After about two hours of deliberation, I finally chose “Range Designation.” I secretly hope that it can be extended beyond the Great Forest.

When I focused on the “Range Designation” option, the words “Do you want to strengthen it? YES/NO” appeared. If I hesitate here, I’ll end up spending hours again… So I chose YES, carried away by my excitement.

『I will strengthen the specified area-targeting ability. Please designate the ability you want to strengthen. 』

(Strengthen the target… Is this referring to a skill tree or something?)

I had assumed that the strengthening would be straightforward, but unexpectedly, there were four options presented.

====================

『Area Enhancement+』

– Ability to freely change shape, width, and height

  *Minimum value of 1m

– Expansion becomes possible without regional restrictions

  *Benefits are restricted by the region

– Expansion becomes possible even in distant places not visible

  *Limited to places visited at least once

– Expansion becomes possible within the dungeon

====================

“SSR is here! Without restrictions… It means I can expand it beyond the Great Forest, right?”

It was the content I had been eagerly waiting for, displayed as one of the options.

“…Phew. Calm down, calm down. Let’s look at the other options before making a decision.”

I suppressed my desire to immediately make a choice and checked the other options one by one.

I reread them repeatedly, considering various scenarios. All the options were fantastic, and I’d love to choose all of them if possible… but in the end, if I have to choose, it’s going to be this one.

==========================

『Range Designation+』

Allows you to specify the range and direction of the expanded land

※ No regional restrictions

※ Beneficial effects may vary depending on the region

==========================

After making the selection, the displayed item changed. The wording was slightly different from before, but it seemed that there was no longer a regional restriction, and the benefits were limited depending on the location.

The “benefits” likely refer to the village bonuses. Although I need to confirm it properly, I was already convinced even before making the choice.

◇◇◇

After that, I was very excited. To confirm it as soon as possible, I prepared a carriage and immediately left the village.

Just before departure, Tsubaki noticed something was amiss and rushed over, saying she wanted to go with me. I agreed because I was in such a hurry and hadn’t thought about anything else.

During the journey, while explaining the situation in detail, I was driving the carriage when Tsubaki said, 

“Keisuke-san, please telepathically contact Natsuki-chan and Sakura-san for now. If the Village Chief suddenly disappears, it will cause a big commotion.”

“Ahh… you’re right. I’ll contact them right away.”

“And, are we going to stay in the original settlement today? Or should we stop around the end of the forest?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s already noon. If we arrive at the site and conduct various verifications, we won’t be able to return until it gets dark.”

“Oh no, really? What should we do… go back?”

“We have tents and blankets packed. We can have our meals transferred, and as long as we inform them, there won’t be any problems.”

“… I’m sorry for everything.”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t made any proper preparations. Actually, the thought of staying overnight hadn’t even crossed my mind.

(Hold on… does this mean Tsubaki and I will be sleeping together tonight…?)

“Let’s go to the forest exit today and camp there. If we start our verification first thing in the morning tomorrow, we can be back in the village by evening.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Let’s do that.”

In the end, we arrived at the forest exit before dusk.

By that time, we had settled down and prepared for camping inside the barrier, having an early dinner. It was still bright outside.

“It’s still early evening, but since we’ll be up early tomorrow, should we rest?”

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s do that.”

And so, the long night passed.

To be honest, I don’t remember when I fell asleep at all, but when I realized it, it was morning.

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