Chapter 41 - It Was an Eye-Opening Experience
The training ended because Gail broke the target board. Miguel and Dwan were still working on the cabin, and since there was nothing else to do, Arnold decided to explore deep into the forest with Gail and Dan.
"Dan, where did you catch those slimes?"
"A little further ahead. Monsters start appearing around here."
Unlike the rabbits we usually hunt, there are monsters like slimes and goblins that didn’t exist on Earth.
“Look, over there.”
Dan pointed at a slime near a puddle.
“W-We have to defeat it!”
“Gail, slimes are the cleaners of forests and caves. Unless they’re starving, they won’t attack us, so there’s no need to hunt them recklessly.”
"Is that so?"
Looking again after hearing that, the slime just wobbled near the puddle while ignoring them.
“Young Master, slimes are weak to dryness, so they’re often found near water.”
I see, slimes eat any organic matter, and if they live near water, a place like septic tank is perfect for them. I felt a little sorry for the slimes Dan dropped into the toilet, but maybe it’s not so bad after all.
“Don’t touch them with your bare hands. Even if they don’t mean to attack, their acid will burn your skin.”
Gail was about to touch the slime when Dan gave him a warning.
"It's a Boa."
Arnold gave a signal to stop with his hand.
"What should we do, sir?"
"Boa meat smells and tastes bad at this time of year. It doesn't seem to have noticed us, so let's just let it pass."
The monster called Boa looked like a wild boar from Gail's previous life, but much bigger and fiercer.
"Young Master, Boas become tasty before winter. Let's hunt and eat them when it's starting to get cold."
That's too bad. I’d like to make a wild boar hot pot with it, but I remember that there's no miso in this world.
Suddenly, Gail was told to climb a tree, so he levitated himself with magic to a strong-looking tree branch nearby. In the direction Arnold and Dan were looking, there was a small, dirty, green human-like creature --- a goblin. When Arnold gave him a signal, Dan started moving while hiding his presence. Meanwhile, Arnold raised his sword and charged at the goblin while yelling.
"Hiaaat!!"
"Gigya!?"
The goblin head suddenly fell the ground. Dan had decapitated the goblin from behind while its attention was focused on Arnold.
"It's safe now."
Arnold told Gail to get down from the tree.
"Gail, this is a goblin. Dan's favorite food."
Arnold said while grinning.
"Please give me a break."
Dan made a very disgusted face.
"So this is a goblin, huh."
Looking at the goblin head, it has a hideous face. It really gives a feeling of something not human. Just looking it makes me feel disgusted, so I will not hesitate to kill them.
"Goblins form packs. They're weak individually, but when they come in numbers, they become troublesome opponents. That being said, they don't coordinate their attack and just charge in, so as long as you stay calm, there will be no problem."
"Young Master, please don't use Master Arnold as a standard. Many rookie adventurers get injured or killed by goblins. It's best not to underestimate them."
Dan is right. They say a cornered rat will bite even a cat. Besides, I probably can't defeat one yet.
"T-That's right! You should not underestimate goblins."
Arnold frantically tried to cover it up.
"Shall we head back to where the others are now?"
Just as Gail said that and started walking, he heard a screech.
"From behind!"
A goblin was running towards them from about 20 meters behind. Gail instinctively use fire magic as Dan pulled him close to protect him. The goblin, engulfed in flames, collapsed on the spot. Arnold, who was already just a few steps away from the goblin, was surprised.
"Hot! What the heck, it suddenly burst into flames!"
"Y-Young Master?"
"What!? Did Gail do that?"
"Sorry, I used fire magic without thinking because I was surprised."
"Did you shoot a fireball or something?"
"No, that's not quite right, sir."
"No...?"
Arnold looked puzzled.
"For now, let's head back."
"That's a good idea."
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Aina and Misha greeted the three when they returned to the training ground.
"You're back pretty quickly. Did something happen?"
"There were goblins."
"You went quite deep, didn't you? But goblins shouldn't be a problem for you two."
"Yeah, no injuries or anything, but..."
Aina looked puzzled.
"Hey, it's finished!"
Miguel came to inform Gail.
"Great! Let's check it out!"
Gail immediately took Misha’s hand and ran towards the cabin.
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"Oh, this front door looks sturdy!"
Inside, Gail saw that the windows without glass and the toilet door were also finished. Misha was also happily squealing as she looked around.
"How is it? Do you like it?"
Miguel asked Gail.
"You are the best, Bossman. It really looks like a proper cabin now. Thank you!"
"I see, I see...."
Miguel smiled while looking proud. Shortly after, Arnold and the others arrived. But instead of commenting on the cabin, he immediately asked Dwan to do something.
"Dwan, can you shoot a fireball for me?"
"What, is there an enemy?"
"No, there's just something I want to check."
Dwan looked puzzled.
"Gail, come with us."
Come on, give me some time to celebrate the completion of the cabin!
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Arnold placed two logs in the center of training ground.
"Dwan, shoot a fireball at the log on the left."
"The log? I don't know what you're up to, but sure...."
Dwan started muttering an incantation.
"□□□□□ Fireball!"
A ball of fire formed in front of Dwan and flew toward the log. The log burst into flames. Aina then conjured water with her magic and extinguished the fire.
"Your turn, Gail. Try attacking the log in the right with fire magic like what your did to the goblin."
"Got it."
Gail cast fire magic and the log burst into flames. Everyone was stunned.
Huh? What's with them?
"Hey, kiddo. I knew you could use magic without incantation, but what happened to the fireball?"
"Fireball? Do you mean this?"
Gail conjured a ball of fire this time.
"That's right! I didn't see the fireball earlier...."
Gail made the ball of fire disappeared before answering Dwan.
"Do we really need it?"
"Eh!?"
"You have to go through the process of creating the fireball and then use wind magic or telekinesis to launch it, right? That is too much work, and it might be dodged. If it’s dodged, something else might catch fire."
Hearing Gail's reasoning, everyone except Misha froze.
"I mean, at that speed, people like Dad could easily dodge it, right? Or am I wrong?"
"Young Master, people use fire magic to attack the enemy by firing fireballs or fire arrows. Not by suddenly making them burst into flames...."
"Look, do you shoot fireballs or fire arrows when you light the firewood? You do not, right? It's the same thing."
The five seemed to have come to a a realization. The scales had fallen from their eyes.
"Y-You are right. I don’t shoot fireballs or fire arrows to light the firewood, but...."
"In the end, the purpose is to set the enemy on fire, right? It's the same like lighting the firewood."
"Like firewood...."
Dan muttered to himself.
"So, if you become the kid's enemy, you'll suddenly burst into flames.... How terrifying...."
Dwan shivered. Meanwhile, Dan tried to put Gail theory into practice.
"Hnggh.... Hnggh.... It's no good, Young Master. I can't do it."
"I'll try it, too."
Arnold also started concentrating.
"Hnggh.... Hnggh.... Damn, I can't do it either!"
"I'll give it a try."
Dwan also followed the two.
"Hnggh.... Hnggh.... Hnggh..... It's useless. The image of fireball always comes out."
Hmm, I see. Everyone already has a strong image of fire magic attacks being fireball or fire arrow.
"Maybe it's because you subconsciously associate fire magic attacks with fireballs or fire arrows. Just like when you swing your sword incorrectly every day, you'll develop bad habits that are hard to fix."
"M-My fireball is... a bad habit.... "
"Is it really important? Pops has no problem with his fireball until now. In addition, you all already retired from adventuring."
"""It’s important!"""
The three answered in sync.
Oh well, let's talk about the cabin with Misha instead.
"Misha, let's think together about what else we need for the cabin."
"Yes, Young Master!"
Gail felt relieved by Misha's innocence.
"It would be nice to have a table and some chairs."
"Yeah. Maybe a big table and chairs for about eight people. I have a feeling everyone will end up coming here often."
"I'd like a stove inside the cabin, too. It could double as a fireplace when it gets cold."
"Oh, that's a good idea. If we had a stove and something like an oven, we could bake bread too."
"I want to eat freshly baked bread with meat."
"That's a great idea!"
Hearing the two talking excitedly, Miguel finally spoke up.
"Are you two newlyweds!? The table and chairs are fine, but where are you going to put the stove and oven? There won't be much space left after we put a table for eight inside."
The cabin was originally built to ensure Misha's safety, so it wasn't made that big. I need to expand the cabin if I want to build a kitchen.