DAY 5

DAY 5

What kind of town would be interested in buying a ton of goblin clubs?

THE CAVE

 

HELLO THERE, Goblin, a pleasure to meet you in this mushroom-filled forest! I killed it. Goodbye, Mr. Goblin!

That’s pretty much how it went as I walked through the forest. Mushroom, mushroom, goblin, mushroom, mushroom, goblin, mushroom, mushroom, goblin, goblin. To hell with this! Even when I looked around with Appraisal, there was nothing to eat besides mushrooms and some herbs, and then a bunch of goblins—but no, even I wouldn’t eat goblins!

That rabbit was delicious, but I didn’t have any ranged weapons or magic to make hunting them easier. I could conceal my presence with Stealth, approach, and pounce. Presence Concealment and Stealth were coming in handy. They were way better than the skills that the old geezer foisted on me, so why even bother with the white room? Was there any point? Next time I saw him, he would have a lot to answer for.

“Mushroom, mushroom, oh, a goblin.”

I became so used to goblins that I was worried I’d start liking them. I didn’t want that to get in the way of bludgeoning them to death for experience.

They were stupid and barely noticed when I snuck up on them with Presence Concealment and Stealth. They couldn’t even react to my surprise attacks. They just held their clubs like idiots.

Surprise attack, a brutal bludgeoning, on to the next. I couldn’t stop moving or get dragged into a drawn-out exchange of blows. I kept repeating my fast attack strategy, and gathered more mushrooms and the occasional herb. Yeah, I definitely don’t need to get involved with those delinquents, I thought. There weren’t many goblins near the cave, but the ones I did find there were strong, between level 10 and 15. I couldn’t kill the level 15 ones in one hit unless I put all my strength behind my swing.

In the forest, there were a lot more goblins, but they were weaklings, mostly under level 10. Oh, and more mushrooms. Yay.

I occasionally heard the sound of a bird overhead. I could really go for some grilled chicken skewers. I didn’t have any way to attack from a distance, though. When I greedily looked up at the flying potential-kebabs, I realized for the first time that the trees of this forest bore fruit. Fruit was edible. At long last, I’m free of the mushroom curse!

Thank god for these contacts, I thought. Even in the darkness beneath the trees I could see tiny objects. Good vision was a blessing. If they sold contacts like these back in the real world, I would definitely wear them. They didn’t fix my face, but whatever.

I climbed up the tree, grabbed a fruit, and tasted it. It’s sweet. A little tart, but it was the first sweet flavor I had tasted in what felt like ages. I didn’t have a sweet tooth or anything, but given how limited my food options were in this world, it tasted delicious. It’s making me nostalgic, I thought. They were small and not especially filling, but I decided to pick as many as I could. These won’t ruin my svelte figure, will they?

Besides that, I encountered more mushrooms and goblins, goblins and mushrooms, and last but not least mushrooms and mushrooms and goblins. Enough! Think of all the suffering they’re bringing to this world—my suffering!

I couldn’t find any more strong goblins anywhere, and I had too many clubs to count in my bag. Maybe I could sell them in a town? What kind of town would be interested in buying a ton of goblin clubs?

I’m losing focus. At this rate, I was going to make a mistake. Just one thwack to the face would still mean certain death. I was getting a lot better at using Movement, but if I couldn’t focus, I would simply go flying. Crashing face-first into a goblin’s club would be a good way to get myself killed.

“All right, time to go home,” I said aloud. “Wait, am I thinking of that cave as home now?”

Regardless, I retraced my way to the cave. More goblins and mushrooms, mushrooms and goblins. If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Well, life’s giving me mushrooms, so I’ll make the most delicious mushrooms the world has ever tasted! The big problem was that my only other ingredient was salt.

Once I got back home, I felt all tension leave my body. A side effect of being a shut-in, maybe? If this keeps up, I won’t be able to leave the cave at all.

In most light novels, when you use up all your magic, your MP and your magic skills improved. That was why I used my magic to heat up my dinner.

“Now I’ve got more dried mushrooms than I’ll ever need. Next, I should use Earth Magic to make a stone grill.”

I kept refurbishing my cave and practicing my magic, and eventually felt tired enough to sleep. I always fell asleep after exhausting my MP, so I was getting really good sleep in this world. Why was I brought to a world without beds?

I’d been summoned to a forest full of mushrooms, goblins, and nothing else. Was I summoned to protect a world from the looming threat of mushrooms and goblins? Could this be all the world had to offer me? Mushrooms, goblins, game over?

Shouldn’t a forest be a treasure trove of ingredients? Why was it only a mushroom trove? I didn’t know if there was something off about the vegetation or if this forest was just weird. I was getting comfortable here, but maybe other places would have better food options. With a shudder, I realized that if I stayed here, I’d have to live the rest of my life on mushrooms alone.

What to do? Even without going back into the woods, I had enough mushrooms to last a lifetime. Going out only meant more mushrooms. I was on my way to becoming an extreme shut-in. At this rate, I was destined to be the ultimate loner.