Kays Translations

Chapter 22: "Rapid Advance!!"

"Alright! I still have plenty of room... in the cart's cargo bed!"

Thud,

Clang,

Baaang!

Klaus loaded a large amount of dropped items onto the cart.

Hey, aside from the cart's planks creaking uneasily and the donkey giving a 'Huh... really?' look, everything's going smoothly, smoothly.

"There, there. Don't make that face; it's not like I mixed potions into the feed."

It seemed almost as if the horse clicked its tongue in response, but well, once it started eating a mouthful, it devoured it greedily, so it seemed to have taken a liking to it.

Heh heh. Animals are simple creatures!

However, with this much luggage, the movement speed is bound to decrease.

-- Skill activated: "Automated Movement"!

Vroooom...

　※ ※

　《Destination: Valley of Lament》

　　⇒ Travel time “02:01:33”

　※ ※

"Hmm... This speed is just a bit faster than a shared carriage, it seems."

It appears that the load might be a bit too much

Especially with items like 'Burning Water' being heavy.

"Hmm. Next time, I need to consider the resources I gather and rotate more efficiently. And as for the cart... Maybe I should just buy one already?"

Today, I rented this as a trial from the guild, but it seems like I'll be using it frequently at this rate.

If that's the case, it might be better to just buy it and add improvements to Klaus's liking. 

Maybe something like... a drill?

"Hmm... I'll eventually buy a horse too... but for now, I should consider the location and gathering resources. It's probably best to keep the heavy items to a minimum."

Having heard those words, the donkey nodded in agreement.

...Does this thing understand human language?

"Well, let it go for today."

Hee-haw?!

"Sorry, but I have two more places to visit to meet my quota."

Ignoring the horse, whose face had stiffened in disbelief, Klaus climbed into the driver's seat nonchalantly.

"Now, let's move on to the next one!"

Neigh?! Hee-haw?!

"You're noisy... honestly."

Objective: The next hunting ground — "Valley of Lament"!!

Activate the unique skill "Automated Function," "Automated Movement"!!

In that moment,

Klaus's consciousness drifted away.

...And there was someone secretly observing that moment and his form.

"What?! H-He's still going?! And he has so much luggage! It's like, super fast... and he talks to himself a lot too."

Watching Klaus, who seemed full of spirit, leaving the hunting ground and heading to the next one, a small figure stomped its feet in frustration.

...Of course, it was Tierra, the guild's surveillance officer.

However, Klaus remained oblivious to the fact that someone was observing him in this manner.

Unconscious, he reached the next hunting ground, the "Valley of Lament."

This place is unpopular too, and I've only seen the boss once in the past...

Skipping the details.

"Hmph! 'Automatic Resource Collection.'"

- 'Toxic Arrow Bamboo Collection' (Quota: 5 pieces) × 3 sheets

- 'Toxic Mushroom Collection' (Quota: 20 pieces) × 10 sheets

- 'Lamentation Moss' (Quota: 3 pieces) × 1 sheet

- 'Headworm Fire Grass' (Quota: 1 piece) × 1 sheet

Bababababababa!! 

Klaus seemed to be unconsciously collecting resources at high speed.

"─────Huh?!... *cough* *cough*!! Alright, quota achieved!! And I got a Mandragora too!!"

Thud! He placed the materials he had collected into a sack on the ground, then smoothly unsheathed the obsidian dagger.

"Alright, it's your turn next──!"

*Squeak!*

*Mushrooms!!*

Monsters gathered in droves in the valley of lament. Lizards and moving mushrooms.

As expected, or rather, just as he had thought, when Klaus regained consciousness after obtaining the Mandragora in the most remote and desolate place, he found himself surrounded by monsters.

However, the monsters within a radius of several tens of meters either fainted or went berserk and died.

Of course, they must have been overwhelmed by the scream when he pulled out the Mandragora.

The remaining monsters, although cautious, gradually closed in, but they were clearly hesitant.

"What's the matter? Hesitating will only lead to death, you know? And... if you don't come over here──then it's my turn!!"

Sensing their presence 

Klaus activated his detection ability. The image of the monsters was captured in his mind.

"Ouch, ouch. Running mushrooms, as the name suggests, are squeaky lizards. In the wriggling haze, there's a valley cape slime..."

This time, the investigation was conducted in a place with poor footing and varying elevations, even worse than the poisonous swamp.

"Now, I'll hunt them all down!!"

The combination of detection ability and 'auto-battle' is currently the strongest. 

It may be limited to low-level monsters, but by improving the accuracy of the detection ability, it's possible to annihilate them without even seeing the monsters.

《Targets: Running mushrooms x8, squeaky lizards x6, wriggling haze x1, valley cape slime x3》

⇒ Time required for the battle: "00:14:55"

...Cool-down time has ended.

"All right────Charge, me!!"

*'Auto-battle' activated.*

──Take thaaaaat!

Suddenly, just like always, consciousness flickered────and then, when he realized it,

"Ugh!! Ah, my leg's cramping...!"

He felt a sharp pain in his calf but managed to endure it somehow.

"Indeed, fighting on unfamiliar terrain seems dangerous."

Although he hardly moved much, judging by the scattered remains of the monsters, it appeared he had been fighting while unconsciously moving up and down considerably based on the terrain. 

Collecting materials seemed like a daunting task.

"This, maybe it's better to train the body or refrain from engaging in battles in places with elevation differences."

Ouch...

The moment consciousness returned, my legs cramped... What a situation.

There might be situations where I can't handle it if leftover monsters from the extermination or higher-ranked monsters attack.

The drawback of 'auto battle' is that situations like this after the battle cannot be predicted...

"But this time, it went well."

Alright!

Once I gather the drops from the monsters here...

"To secure safety in the valley, I'll defeat the boss here!!"

Status open!!

'Auto battle'

Vroom...

　※ ※

　《Battle target: Lesser Evil Bat》

　　⇒Battle time “00:54:43”

　※ ※

"Huh...? Oh, it's taking longer than I thought?"

I'm pretty sure the boss here is a lower-tier monster, but it's of demonic lineage—definitely a demon that resembles a bat, I think.

Or was it a bat-like demon?

Well, at least it's a monster from the demonic lineage, so it'll use weak magic.

However, the troublesome part is—

"...I see, it's because there's no countermeasure against enemies that can fly, that's why it's taking so long."

But it seems it can be defeated.

I don't know how, but 'auto battle' asserts that it can be defeated in 54 minutes.

"In that case, I'll believe in my own skills!"

*Sigh...*

Activate 'Auto Battle'!

With a puff, consciousness faded.

...The moment sanity returned, Klaus felt a chilling sensation.

"W-why am I here?!"

When Klaus regained consciousness, he found himself standing on a steep cliff inside the valley.

On all sides—left, right, and behind him—there were sheer rocks.

With only a dagger in hand, he stood on the precipice of a rock that was dangerously high; one wrong step could lead to a severe injury.

"I see... So it lured me here and planned to deliver the finishing blow..."

On the ledge below, the bat-like boss lay crushed, as if it had collapsed from above.

As its life expired, sunlight flooded the valley, and the wind, reminiscent of a woman's mournful cry, ceased.

Now, the valley returned to its peaceful state, with only the gentle flow of water trickling through the gorge.

"Al-alright... It was close at the end, but I've cleared this place too!!"

Now, onto the next challenge!!

Using a carriage is convenient because you don't have to worry about the schedule of shared carriages, allowing you to hunt until the last moment!

Yes, it's a race against time—!!!

The time limit is... whether I can make it in time for dinner!!!

"Just wait for me, my sister!!"

With that, in a hurry, I quickly collect the dropped items and swiftly ride the carriage to the next hunting ground.

"Hyahhh!!!"

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!

"...Are you still goinggggg?!"

There may or may not have been a girl sighing as she watched Klaus hurry off to the next hunting ground.

　*Ching♪*

Results from the "Valley of Lament."

~Dropped Items (Proof of Subjugation)~

- Mushroom Caps of Running × 10

- Tails of Crying Lizards × 13

- Fragments of Valley Cape Slime's Core × 3

- Wriggling Clump of Hazy Mist × 1

- Fangs of Lesser Evil Bat × 1

~Dropped Items (Materials)~

- Spore Sacs of Running Mushrooms × 10

- Skin of Crying Lizards × 13

- Meat of Crying Lizards × 13

- Murky Liquid of Valley Slime × 3

- Fragrant Smoking Wood × 1

- Skin of Lesser Evil Bat × 1

~Dropped Items (Magic Stones)~

- Magic Stone (Small) × 6 ⇒ Used

- Red Magic Stone (Small) × 1

- Blue Magic Stone (Small) × 2

- Rainbow Magic Stone (Very Small) × 1

- Magic Stone (Slightly Small) × 1 ⇒ Used

- Magic Stone (Medium) × 1 ⇒ Used

~Collected Items (Herbs and Plants)~

- Poison Arrow Fern × 15

- Poison Mushroom × 200

- Lament Moss × 3

- Mindbug Fire Grass × 1

- Mandragora × 1

　※ ※ ※

"Argh...! No level up yet...!!"

It seems consecutive level-ups were a bit too ambitious.

But I'm not giving up!

Let's keep going like this!!

I'll visit just one more place today!

"Next up, it's the 'Twilight Mine'!!"

With energetic shouts and determination, Klaus loaded the dropped items onto the carriage, paying no mind to the donkey mule's reluctance, and urged it on despite its protests.

Today's final hunting ground, the 'Twilight Mine,' was to be cleared at high speed!!

Meanwhile, in the shadows...

"Waaahhh! Youuu...! That guy using a carriage is getting too cocky just because he has one!!"

*Splash, splash...!*

A marathon after another marathon!

No matter how skilled the intermediate adventurer might be,

"Put yourself in the shoes of the one doing all the running!!!"

Tierra, secretly watching, may or may not have quietly shouted something like that.

...Who knows.

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