Chapter 3 - I’m a Hero!? 3 (1/2)
Chapter 3 - I’m a Hero!? (3)
“The human body is weak.”
Artpe had a new revelation, the price of which was a scrape on his knee.
“Artpe was always bad at running. Eh-whew, I knew you were running too hard.”
The priest was probably back after contacting the palace. He would immediately try to find them, so they had to be as far away as possible. However, Artpe couldn’t run properly since he suffered an injury, this was why Maetel was helping him walk. He was slowing down the hero. If he was still one of the Four Heavenly Kings, he would have considered his own actions to be a meritorious deed!
“This isn’t the time to…”
“Artpe?”
Artpe had extended a few threads of Mana from his body and his face crumpled when he felt a vibration through them. There were beings born from a spring of evil nearby. Basically, monsters were close.
There were three of them. These monsters were living in a forest near humans, who weren’t very vigilant. As expected of monsters living in such a region, they were naturally occurring level 3 goblins. These were monsters that always showed up in stories that had heroes, knights or magicians as main characters. The main characters always defeat these monsters in the most miserable way possible for the monsters, they were creatures of misfortune, who bowed out early from the story.
Of course, even if the goblins were very weak, Artpe and Maetel had just left their town. They were mere level 1, so the goblins were stronger than them. If Artpe and Maetel had moved through the normal route, they would have faced slimes or creatures weaker than squirrels, they could have raised their levels by hunting them instead of facing goblins!
‘Fortunately, I dispersed my threads of Mana. Of course, it would have been better if I possessed Search or Barrier type magic!’
Level was everything in this world. If one had a low level, they would be low on Mana. There were restrictions placed on Skills and Spells, because one’s soul was of low quality. One could attack an enemy’s weak spot using a Sliding Tackle skill, which was sharper than an attack with a knife, yet they would have a hard time delivering a critical hit. On top of that, one wouldn't be able to equip oneself with good equipment!
“Maetel. You should stop helping me, and…”
“Huh? I can feel a strange energy.”
Artpe was about to warn Maetel, but she mumbled to herself before he could. Her pretty face frowned.
Artpe could see Maetel’s ability change in real time.
[Maetel]
[Level 1]
[Detection Lv1]
“I can feel it more clearly now, Artpe. I’m pretty sure there are beings coming towards us.”
“······ah, yes. I was about to tell you the same thing. ”
Of course, there were also geniuses who learned high quality Skills irrespective of their levels. This was what had happened to the blonde haired girl in front of him! She was a damned genius!
He let out a string of curses in a low voice and decided to look at this in a positive light. His only ally was a genius.
“They are goblins, and they are all level 3. If it were a one on one battle, it might be a fair fight, however, there are three of them.”
“Don't worry, I’ll protect Artpe.”
Her words were very heroic!
However, she was wearing shabby clothes that probably had a Defense of 0. They might even have a negative defense by the look of it, and she had no other equipment. The girl spoke such words while clenching her dirty hands into fists, which amplified the worry he felt.
“Still, you can't fight them with empty hands. It is unreasonable, so please be patient.”
“Yes.”
Artpe let go of Maetel’s helping hands, then he limped around as he quickly searched the surroundings. He could see the composition of the world, and the information was pouring in through his eyes. He concentrated his efforts in finding the most sharp or hard item he could find, and fortunately, his efforts were immediately rewarded.
“Hoo. This should be fine.”
[Burning Branch]
[A trace amount of naturally occurring Mana has hardened the fibers and bark of the branch. It has the potential to be used as a burning weapon, but it’ll break after several swings.]
Sometimes there were artifacts that were naturally formed in nature. It was ungainly compared to a crafted weapon, but it was good enough to be used as a stopgap weapon. He put the item into Maetel’s hands as he spoke.
“Two are coming diagonally from the left, so you should guard that side.”
“Huh? This branch feels a bit strange. I can feel a hot, yet comfortable feeling from it.”
“What?”
Artpe observed Maetel. Sure enough, he saw the newly updated information.
[Maetel]
[Level - 1]
[Mana Sensitivity Lv1]
“...yes, I see.”
“I don’t know what just happened, but was it something good?”
“Of course. This is the attainment of a warrior.”
It wasn’t something a normal warrior could gain, this was the attainment of a high rank warrior! Artpe didn’t know how many skills she could awaken by herself, he decided not to be surprised from now on. He then picked up an ordinary rock and turned around.
His knee was aching, but he ignored the pain, focusing on imbuing Mana into the rock.The only thing he could do right now was to manipulate his Mana.
Mana was basically pure energy. When he imbued his Mana into this very plain rock, it would become a useful weapon that he could throw once.
Fortunately, Artpe had a ridiculous amount of Mana considering he was level 1… There was so much that he wondered if his status as a hero had a causal effect. He had put in enough Mana to fill the rock, yet he still had plenty left.
The rock was filled with magic, and it started to emit a blue light. If he left it be, the Mana would slowly bleed out. However, if he threw it, it would cause a weak explosion, it was enough to kill a level 3 goblin.
“Artpe?”
“I told you there were three, right? Don’t worry about the one coming towards us from the rear, you just focus on the ones coming from the front.”
“You even know where the monsters are coming from, Artpe is amazing!”
“Look towards the front.”
“Yes!”
If one of the bastards had a long distance weapon, they would have to run away. However, this was a forest in the boondocks, it was a novice zone where goblins weren’t allowed to hold any advanced weapons.
As expected, it didn’t take too long for a laughing goblin to push through the brush. The goblins weren’t equipped better than them, they just had sturdy looking clubs.
[Goo-heh-heh. You guys look tasty! Guehk!]
“Die!”
There was no way he would allow a level 3 small fish pontificate in front of him! When the goblin assigned to Artpe came into range, he quickly threw the rock. The rock flew true, and the goblin’s head exploded, making it fall backwards. It was a one shot kill.
[Kee...kee-eek!?]
[Weak humans!?]
“Hyahhhp!”
When their comrade in charge of the ambush died in such a preposterous manner, the goblins were taken aback! At that moment, the hero charged over. Unlike her title as a hero, she had used a cowardly tactic by waiting for an opening!
“I feel as if everything will work out if I swing this!”
“Countless gamblers ruined themselves by trusting their instincts!”