Chapter 19: “Automatic Battle Verification”

“Aren’t you getting on?” 

The elderly man from the usual shared carriage, who had stopped in front of the guild, looked at Klaus curiously.

“Hmm? Nah, not today.”

“Oh! So you’re finally going straight, huh? Good for you!”

The old man misunderstood something.

“No way…”

That old man sure is annoying. 

What’s he mean by ‘going straight,’ anyway?

“Today, I’m hunting nearby. It’s the ever-reliable and safe ‘Misty Forest,’ everyone’s favorite.”

“That place, only you would go there… But I see, it’s turned into a dungeon again, huh?”

The ‘Misty Forest’ that Klaus had recently normalized had accumulated magic essence over a certain period and transformed back into a dungeon. 

Klaus confirmed this on the guild’s notice board and promptly decided to head there, using his dungeon entry card.

Of course, no other adventurers were around.

“Yeah, that’s right. Well, I’ll be off then.”

“Ah, yeah, take care.”

Feeling the old man’s worried gaze, Klaus adjusted his equipment and headed out of town.

Of course, since it was nearby, he decided to walk today.

The ‘Misty Forest’ was unusually close to the town for a hunting ground.

“…There are so many quests available, though…”

Numerous quests related to the ‘Misty Forest’ were posted all over the request board.

Perhaps because it was an unpopular hunting ground that nobody wanted to visit…

*Pa-lap.*

In Klaus’s hands, there were several request papers.

“Because the visibility is poor due to the mist, everyone avoids it…”

But Klaus had [Automatic Function].

Therefore, his compatibility with unpopular hunting grounds was excellent!

“First, let’s take care of these.”

He pulled out a few quest papers and quickly glanced through them.

– ‘Extermination of Monsters’ × 5 sheets.

He aimed to complete these first.

For each sheet, if he exterminated the quota of monsters, he would receive a high reward of 20 silver coins, considering it was an unpopular hunting ground. 

Of course, if he managed to defeat even more monsters, he could earn additional rewards.

That was the familiar routine of the ‘Misty Forest.’

Now that the normalization period had passed and the ‘Misty Forest’ had turned into a field again, Klaus had no reason not to go.

With [Automatic Function] awakened, the ‘Misty Forest’ became a lucrative prey for Klaus.

“Alright, along with the quests, today I’m going to test out ‘Automatic Battle’! I should have an easy time with the monsters in the ‘Misty Forest’ by now… It’s perfect for getting used to it.”

As he stepped into the mist-covered forest, he took a deep breath and activated his skills.

Using ‘Presence Detection,’ Klaus immediately sensed the presence of monsters. 

Normally, he would have searched visually, but thanks to ‘Presence Detection’ Level 3, he quickly spotted the monsters.

“Oh, as expected, it’s an unpopular hunting ground despite being nearby… but there sure are a lot of monsters here.”

Among the sensed presence were the familiar weaklings: Goblins and Kobolds.

Utilizing his enhanced physical abilities from the increased level, Klaus swiftly closed the gap and plunged into the midst of the sensed presence.

“Squeak?!”

“Grrrrrr?”

Glancing around quickly, he spotted five surprised Goblins and around ten Kobolds.

While their numbers were significant as a group, individually, they were frail—every single one of them was weak!

“Weak, so weak…! There don’t seem to be any higher-ranking species here. In that case, let’s start by wiping them out!”

He didn’t want to defeat them all in automatic battle right away, so for the sake of experimentation, he decided to reduce their numbers first.

“Squeeeak!”

“Gruuuuugh!!”

Undeterred by Klaus’s sudden appearance, the Goblins swarmed him all at once.

“Leave one alive, take care of the rest!”

*Thud!* *Thud thud thud thud thud!*

Dodging the goblins’ attacks, Klaus leaped into the midst of the group, swinging his obsidian knife. He swiftly beheaded several bewildered goblins.

“Gyaaaah!”

Before their blood sprayed, he flipped his body and dove into the crowd of Kobolds.

“Siiii!”

With that momentum, he quickly annihilated about half of the goblins and kobolds. Then, he swiftly finished off the remaining goblins, who were regrouping.

“Gyaaaah!”

Finally, a goblin armed with a weapon emerged, but it met the same fate: total annihilation.

Only a few Kobolds were left.

“Alright, for the remaining Kobolds… Let’s focus on taking down the ones with weapons!”

*Hmph!*

“Yeeeek?!”

Chasing down the Kobold that tried to flee, Klaus quickly wiped them out, leaving only one unarmed.

“Sorry about this. If I leave you guys be, you’ll rampage through the nearby villages, won’t you? That’s why…”

If monsters were left unchecked, they would naturally engage in cannibalism and level up, becoming more vicious. 

As more of these higher-level individuals multiplied, hunting grounds would become chaotic, potentially overflowing from dungeons and fields.

Preventing such a monster panic was also a duty of adventurers.

“────… This is my job too, you know! Come at me!”

Saying so, Klaus handed a weapon to the trembling Kobold.

It was a club the Goblin had been using, so the Kobold might not be familiar with it, but that was fine.

With the weapon in hand, the Kobold, who had been attempting to flee, hesitated.

“That’s right, that’s the spirit. Don’t run away, monsters! Fight until the end!”

He had no interest in their backs as they fled.

Besides, if they escaped, his experimentation would be ruined.

“──────[Automatic Function: Auto Mode] Activate!!!”

Status Open!!

–Skill: ‘Automatic Battle’!

*Buzz…*

※ ※

《Combat Target: Kobold》

⇒ Time to engage in battle: “00:00:01”

　※ ※

Wow, just one second?

Alright, let’s start the experimentation then.

What happens if I increase the numbers…?

*Gyeeen?*

The Kobold, puzzled by Klaus’s lack of movement, stared, but Klaus ignored its presence and continued his experimentation.

The Kobold approached hesitantly, but Klaus paid it no mind.

*Buzz…*

　※ ※

《Combat Targets: Kobold x 2》

⇒ Time to engage in battle: “00:03:12”

※ ※

Oh, it’s possible to specify multiple targets.

“Hmm… So I can designate x2 Kobolds, huh? That means the combat time increased, right?”

…Which means, even if I defeat this one, there will be Kobolds within three minutes.

I see, the travel time also counts as combat time…

“…………Ah, I can choose multiple monsters!”

The monster names are floating on the status screen.

Adding specific designations…

※ ※

《Combat Targets: Kobold x 2, Goblin x 1》

⇒ Time to engage in battle: “00:03:13”

※ ※

“Hmm. The combat time hardly changed… that means, other than this Kobold, there’s another one in a group with a Goblin.”

In other words,

Combat in [Automatic Function: Auto Mode] is estimated to optimize the battle by annihilating the specified number of enemies in the shortest distance possible, regardless of the enemy’s distance or other factors.

Otherwise, there’s no way the combat time would only differ by a second.

“Alright! Let’s continue the verification!!”

Swiftly eliminating them, Klaus gradually moved deeper into the forest.

During this process, he included some minor verifications as well.

It seemed that, besides the Kobold right in front of him, there was a nearby group estimated to consist of six Kobolds and three Goblins.

When he increased the number of Kobolds and Goblins later on, the battle didn’t end within three minutes; it took more than ten minutes.

“I see… I’ve got a general idea now.”

Auto Mode eliminates the specified number of monsters.

It accurately calculates the travel time and combat time involved and ensures “mandatory combat” against the designated targets.

The real issue is whether ─────── we can “always” win.

If not, a skill this dangerous wouldn’t exist.

“…………Alright!”

But………… 

If we can “always” win, then there wouldn’t be a skill this invincible.

“────… Let the experiment begin!”

Against the creatures of the Misty Forest, as long as Klaus doesn’t make a major mistake, they’re not his enemies.

Initiating ‘Automatic Battle’ ───!

Status Open!!

Buzz…

　※ ※

《Battle Targets: 7 Kobolds, 3 Goblins》

⇒ Estimated Battle Time: “00:03:30”

※ ※

“Automatic Battle, activate!”

Suddenly, Klaus felt his consciousness drift away, just like usual ──── ………… And then, when he realized it,

“Plahhhh!”

………… Phew!

He felt his knees go weak.

And, as expected, the scene before him ────.

“Y-yeah…?”

He felt the sticky sensation of blood on his hands.

It seems like Klaus had just pulled out the obsidian knife.

He stood there, his stance relaxed, in front of the goblin’s corpse spurting blood.

His eyes no longer showed any emotion, indicating that the battle had ended.

He had definitely… won.

And not a scratch on him??

“…This ‘Auto Battle’ is way too overpowered, isn’t it!?”

At the same time as Klaus’s astonished words echoed,

Thud, thud, thud…

The bodies of the kobolds and goblins fell simultaneously.

…Without even intending to engage in battle, Klaus had emerged victorious.

※ ※

“There are still many things I need to verify… But so far, I’ve emerged victorious in every battle? And without a scratch…”

He can’t say for sure until he fights against a higher-class opponent, but, apart from some fatigue and slight muscle soreness, Klaus didn’t seem to have any significant injuries.

Moreover, it was supposed to be a group fight, yet he emerged completely unscathed.

“Is this some unbelievable skill?”

Its performance surpassed that of a mere unique ability.

Indeed, it was something that could be called a cheat or the like.

N-No. Overconfidence is still unwarranted.

I need to verify this more thoroughly!!

“Fortunately, the Misty Forest is perfect for verification!”

In the familiar forest,

And moreover, there were only weaklings around.

First, while dealing with the weaklings…

Verification through a battle with hobgoblins!

“All right! I’ll confirm it!!”

First,

“Hehehe. Target: all monsters in the ‘Misty Forest’! I, will exterminate the monsters of the ‘Misty Forest’!”

Here I go!

Me───!!

‘Auto battle’────activate!

Gyaaaaaaaah!!

…On that day, whether the screams of monsters echoed throughout the Misty Forest all day or not, no one knows for sure.

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