First Time at the Capital

The death throes of the Giant Crow that was slammed on the ground echoed through the valley. The Wind Birds that are still in the sky above flew away like baby spiders scattering away.

「……I can take a breather with this.」

I fought head on without using anything like illusion in order to give a “warning”.

Monster tends to have higher intellect than normal animal. Because I’ll need several days to pass through this valley, even if I’m hiding using Stealth and some other tricks, there is a risk that I’ll be discovered while I’m sleeping or eating.

That was why I showed the monsters that 『it’s dangerous to attack me』. Thanks to that, the presences of the stone rats that wanted to get the “leftovers” from the winner of the fight between the crow and me also vanished.

I used my dismantling knife to gouge out the magic stone from the chest of the Giant Crow whose head is smashed.

The material from this crow won’t make much money. The giant sharp feathers can be sold as material for feather pen, but even that will only sell for around one small silver coin per feather.

The beak and talons also can’t be sold. Because of that only its magic stone can be sold for decent price, but in the end it’s just a rank 2 monster despite its rank 3 difficulty, and it also doesn’t has any element so the magic stone is also non elemental and can’t be sold for high price. At best it will only fetch me one silver coin.

The Wind Bird has element, but perhaps because it’s just rank 1, or perhaps because of its size, they only have small dreg of magic stone so I gave up collecting it.

Even so I still picked several of the Wind Birds that fell on the ground because I want their meat. The crow’s meat is hard and smelly so it’s not suitable for eating, but the Wind Bird’s meat can be eaten without any problem although the texture is a bit parched.

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I used Daily Life Magic Fire to lit fire and grilled the Wind Bird’s meat whole before wrapping it in a large leaf and put it into my bag.

Originally I should use the Darkness Magic that I had trained until now here, but I’m still not used to it and with my total magic power value I’m still not in a stage where I can use it practically.

*Hyun……!*

I unreeled the spare pendulum string that I fastened beforehand, grasped it and made it vanish.

This technique that I used against the Giant Crow isn’t some kind of sleight of hand, but a fully-fledged dark magic.

Viro had a bag with its internal space expanded using dark sorcery. With study and experiment, I learned that the magic particle of darkness isn’t real darkness but 『particle with dark color』 that with the caster’s thought and precise magic power control, it can be changed into various shapes and have effect added to it to a certain degree.

Its application is with illusion or space sorcery. The first step of space type sorcery, Weight isn’t about adjusting weight but enveloping a substance with dark magic particles and then moving it along with the magic particles.

In other words, the basic of space sorcery lies in enveloping object with dark attribute magic particles.

In the case of internally expanded bag, the sorcery worked by fixing dark magic particles at the inside of the bag, it created a fixed space and then widening its inside.

The level of dark sorcery to create an expanded bag is 4. That’s because fixing magic particles at the inside of the bag, making it possible to take and put in things freely, creating a function to absorb the excess magic power of the owner in order to maintain the sorcery are processes that required immense amount of magic power, so such high level is required. That was what master said.

From there I got an idea that I discussed with master. Master said that it’s an interesting idea and helped me with thinking together about the sorcery’s structure.

The idea is to make my own body itself to be an expanded bag. A human body will definitely create shadow without even really doing anything. There is the gap between the clothes or inside the mouth, and of course the inside of the body also has shadow.

By assuming that as a space of darkness and making the shadow into extremely small space of magic particles, if I expanded that space with magic power, I should be able to obtain the same effect like an expanded bag.

I won’t need to cut loose the magic particles away from me and I’ll only circulate my own magic particles. With that I was able to omit a part of the troublesome structure.

And for taking in and out object too, by using magic power each time to the darkness on the surface of my body, the required structure to fix the exit and entrance is also shortened.

Because of that the sorcery’s structure has become one that can be used by a level 3 at least, but for me whose dark magic is still at level 2, I have to split my focus constantly in order to maintain the dark space. With my current amount of total magic power value, the best that I can do is to only maintain a space for putting in my spare pendulum.

Because of that, it’s an experimental dark magic that is still not in a practical stage, but there is a reason why I want to store my grilled meat into there.

In my “knowledge” of general magic, living creature cannot be put inside a space that is expanded by dark sorcery. But this isn’t correct. To be more accurate, living creature can’t live inside a space that is formed by magic particles of darkness and they will die there.

This is just my hypothesis but, the inside of the expanded bag is filled with magic particles instead of air. In a sense, the state of the space inside is nearly like a vacuum.

There is misinformation how the time of the item that is put inside the expanded bag is stopped so food won’t go bad inside there, but the truth is inside that space the small creatures that made food rot──what is called germ in that woman’s “knowledge” will die, causing the food to obtain the same effect like bottled food that is used by sailor or canned food like in that woman’s “knowledge”.

However, there is also problem with this. If you put fermented food like cheese inside, even the good germ will die and it will stop being a preserved food.

Well, in short, it will be best if I consumed this grilled meat before two days.

I put the grilled meat inside my baggage and immediately started walking through the valley toward the capital.

.

As expected I had fought showily as an example, so after that no monster attacked me. Even the stone rats that were peeking at me are currently absorbed in swarming the remains of the Wind Bird and Giant Crow that I left behind, so they won’t show themselves again for a while.

I grilled all the meats together so that I won’t need to use fire again when making camp. Bird type monster can only find me when the sun is still up in the sky. It’s still winter so normally it’s dangerous to not use fire when camping, but if it’s me who can use light sorcery to vitalize my body, it won’t be that painful and my need to lit fire is lessened.

It will take around five days of merchant carriage to pass through this valley, but for me who walk without even carrying heavy luggage, I can pass through in three days if I hurry.

When sleeping I’m burning wild grasses with slight effect of repelling animal and shut my eyes in the gap of rocks. I’m already able to use Stealth even while sleeping, so even if the darkness is a danger for merchants, it’s a safe place for me with no malicious enemy like human around.

A Giant Crow attacked again at the last day, but this time I have no need to make an example, so I secured my safety with illusion and poison while finishing it off.

I believed that I’m used with camping in a dangerous place to some degree, but perhaps I’m still feeling nervousness even then. My body has become stiff when I came out of the valley, and I stretched my back to loosen up.

For me who lacked experience even though I have “knowledge”, putting aside flattened path like city road or highway, places with uneven ground or bad footing caused my body to unnaturally put too much strength and caused fatigue to accumulate.

Until now I avoided the problem by learning Viro’s way of walking and also strengthening my body with magic, but from here on I should train to grasp the terrain’s shape even while walking normally.

Fortunately I was able to obtain Night Vision level 2 that surpassed the limit of human race, so depending on my training I should be able to sense my surrounding as good as beastman.

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After I finished my simple meal by eating my last meat, I resumed my travel toward the capital. Although, there won’t be that much danger if I enter a noble’s territory. In the first place I avoided public eye and didn’t even pass the highway, so I didn’t even encounter bandit.

My Stealth that had become level 3 easily hid me from wild animal. As expected monster with rank higher than 3 can possibly discover me, but that kind of monster should be very rare in the noble’s territory that is close to the central.

「…………」

I encountered a monster not long after I thought that. Previously when I passed through a forest, I also encountered a hobgoblin but, guess that means what happened once can possibly happen for the second time.

That monster’s height is two meters. It’s a humanoid monster with firm muscles and wide girth, but its head isn’t humanoid but shaped like a wild pig.

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▼ ??? Beast Demi Human – Rank 3

【Magic Power : 108/110】【Stamina : 343/413】

【Overall Combat Strength : 374 (With Body Strengthening : 430)】

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……It might be an orc. They are born warrior, lived by forming a settlement, and attacked human in group. A dangerous monster. I didn’t expect for it to appear in this kind of place, but from the state of its stamina’s decline, I guess it’s another stray monster that drifted here from somewhere.

In this sudden encounter, the distance between the orc and me doesn’t even reach five meters. But the orc still haven’t noticed me who is using Stealth and located right behind it.

I instantly strengthened my body to the max and accelerated my thought. This is a good chance. Even though the opponent is higher ranked, he isn’t an absolutely strong opponent with my current combat strength.

If I fight it head on, then I will be in disadvantage due to the difference in our latent strength, that’s why I’ll use all the techniques I can use to deal with it. My tactic will be an assassination with surprise attack──an “instant kill” with all my strength.

I concluded my thinking in five seconds since I discovered the orc, wrapped a pendulum around a tree’s branch, and leaped on a tree using the momentum of my movement.

『Buo?』

Although I gave no presence, the weak flow of wind from my movement caused the orc to turn around.

But, it doesn’t find me there. I created the shape and sound of a rabbit hiding inside a bush using dark magic. The orc’s capable senses allowed it to instantly detect that and made it let its guard down.

At that moment, I leaped even higher from the tree’s branch. And then I don’t used the usual black knife that is made from magic steel, but pulled out the thin knife that I fastened on my boot.

It’s the only remaining slender knife that I received from Sera. It’s a mass produced blade made from steel and not suited for slashing, but it excelled in piercing power.

The orc is covered with muscle armor over its whole body, but in the end that’s only with the assumption that its flesh is strengthened with body strengthening. I stabbed the neck of the orc who is distracted, its guard down, and relaxing. The stab from midair using my whole body’s weight pushed in the slender knife until the hilt.

『BUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!?』

With the sudden intense pain, before the orc’s brain can grasp that it’s being attacked, I let go of the knife and circled to its blind spot to erase my figure. Then I slashed its neck from the opposite side using the black knife.

The orc’s stamina value dropped down drastically, but the black knife stopped midway due to the muscle holding it back. I once more let go of the knife that is held down by the muscle and pulled out the steel knife that I received from Feld from my waist.

All this time it’s a reserve knife that I had been using only for dismantling corpse, but this knife itself has really good quality and if it’s just in pure strength from a single attack, it rivaled even the black knife.

I circled behind the orc’s back and swung the steel knife in a big swing believing that it will definitely turn around.

「──Thrust──!」

And then the orc that finally realized that it’s being attacked turned around, at the same time the Battle Skill of short sword that I unleashed avoided its thick skull and pierced into its mouth until its brain.

I spent two weeks travelling since I encountered the orc and finally arrived at the capital of Claydale Kingdom.

I didn’t really collect any material from the orc and took only its magic stone. It seemed that woman was under the impression that orc’s meat is high class ingredient, but in reality the meat of monster that ate bizarre things has bad smell and won’t sell. Its skin can be used as material for armor and the like and can be sold, but it would take time for me to dismantle that huge body so I gave up.

「──Next person.」

My turn finally came while I’m running my mind.

The admission gate for ordinary people in the capital is one of the places with the strictest security in this country, but even the guards are just human in the end, so if I show my tag from the adventurer guild together with my childish appearance, I’m able to enter inside without really getting suspected.

The tag’s name also isn’t Aria, but Anya so it looks like there is no problem. Perhaps there is also a chance of me being suspected because “Anya” is the name of rookie adventurer who vanished together with the rookie hunters, so perhaps it will be better if I also reregister in the capital.

Compared to the tag of Anya that is mostly brand new, the tag of Aria that has gone through many training and battle is in a very worn out state. Looking at it made me felt the flow of time.

It was the beginning of winter when I left master’s place, but I’m also feeling the sign that spring will come soon. It already nearly one year since I ran away from that orphanage. I’ll be nine years old in half a year.

Until now I have avoided exposing my true identity as much as possible, but my action will also be hindered if I spend too much effort just running around trying to escape. Taking that into consideration, remaking my tag in the adventurer guild of the capital is an option.

Either way, I also need to visit the guild in order to obtain information about the Mercenary of Dawn. Also…….

「Galbas said that his eccentric little brother is also in the capital too……」

Let’s try searching for him if I have time……while thinking of such thing, the streets of the capital that I’m seeing for the first time is more thriving than even Dandall that is called as a metropolis.

「………?」

As I’m walking while watching the streets of the capital that is filled by so many people, I’m feeling a bit of unpleasant gaze on me.

There are also the usual curious gazes but, this is different from that. Having said that, I don’t think that this is the contact from assassin guild or thief guild member.

In this city that is said as the safest city of the country, there shouldn’t be any “pro” who would try doing such foolish interference. In that case, I guessed that this gaze came from some stupid thugs who are aiming at country bumpkin who visited the capital for the first time or a traveler’s children for extra money.

I can just leave it alone but……this is troublesome. I can also try reporting to the guards, but I’m still not attacked yet, and I don’t know if they will take the words of a free person like me seriously. Well, perhaps this is a nice chance. They are someone who I can hurt in order to obtain information of this city.

I walked away from the main street and entered a back alley. The unpleasant gaze also followed me.

……Three or four people? Considering the roughness of their footwork, perhaps they aren’t even thugs but just teenage delinquents. ……I don’t think they’ll have any worthwhile information. This is a miss.

I passed through a place that seems like a street of bars with such mood and headed to a place with even fewer people. When there is completely nobody else in the surrounding anymore, the footsteps following me became a small jog.

Four people as I thought……all of them looked to be around the middle of their teenage until late teenage. They are grinning seeing me stopped walking while approaching. The young man who seemed to be the leader pulled out a small iron knife as though to boast of his strength. It’s at that timing──

「You guys, what are you doing there-!」

Another person’s voice resounded from the entrance of the back alley where they came from. The silhouette of a familiar man with tall and solid body came out from there.

This voice…….

「………Feld?」