Chapter 0006 Assassin Hawk
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The 21st day after coming to 『Phi』.
Ryo was hunting outside the barrier.
His target was a Lesser Rabbit.
A monster that resembles a rabbit.
It would hop unpredictable to close in on the target before biting their throats.
That was the Lesser Rabbit's movement pattern.
Ryo's aim was the moment the Lesser Rabbit hops.
At that instant, he shot Water Jets concurrently from the left and right side at its hind legs.
It was not powerful enough to pierce the legs but it would lose its balance when it lands and he could prevent its next jump.
Then, while approaching it, he would aim the Water Jets at both its eyes.
If he could do so, he would then pierce it with his knife-tip bamboo spear and end its life.
"Fuu."
Ryo finally established a safe way of hunting. Against Lesser Rabbits.
His other foe was the Lesser Boar that he encountered the first time he left the barrier.
From then, he encountered Lesser Boars countless times but this method did not work against them.
The reason was simple.
It was possible to snipe the exposed hind legs of the Lesser Rabbits when they are jumping but the hind legs of the Lesser Boars couldn't be sniped at when they are charging forward.
In that case, he could aim for the front legs with Water Jet but they could apparently use their hind legs to leap forward for the last 3 meters.
He was able to leap to the side at the last moment but it revived the nightmare of his first encounter with the Lesser Boars.
After that, it was a bitter memory where he finally calmed down after shooting Water Jets frantically at its legs, eyes, and everything he could see.
From then on, he reverted to the original hunting method of Ice Bahn + Icicle Lance and dealing the final strike with his knife-tip bamboo spear.
That method was the most suitable because the Lesser Boar would always charge in a straight line forward.
In any case, it was now relatively safe to hunt the Lesser Rabbits and Lesser Boars that appear around the house.
Lately, Ryo's schedule was he would hunt outside the barrier in the morning and practice magic inside the barrier in the afternoon.
He still could not launch the Icicle Lance and Water Jet was still not powerful enough to penetrate the target.
Nevertheless, the hunting success from every day planted a seed of peacefulness in Ryo's heart.
"Peace is the platform for the next step. By Mihara Ryo."
The next step was of course the enrichment of his food.
That food enrichment referred to his aim to obtain fruits and seasoning other than salt.
In general, clothing, food, and housing were the fundamentals of life.
Among them, 'housing' was the home and barrier prepared by Michael (pseudonym) and was rock solid.
Then, 'clothing' … he was no longer wearing the clothes he had when he transferred to 『Phi』. He kept those in a safe place. In frozen storage.
Currently, Ryo was wearing … tanned leather from Lesser Boar skin.
Right, Ryo was performing tanning!
As it was amateur work and he had only seen it on blogs and videos on Earth, the result was quite mediocre but …
First, he peeled the skin of the Lesser Boar.
Then, he washed the peeled fur carefully. Wash. Wash.
He was living up to his worth as a water attribute magician.
After washing and drying, he stripped off the meat and fat on the inside of the skin.
In the case of the Lesser Boar, he could peel them off piece by piece by hand.
All that remained would be the dermis or the part called collagen. All that was left was 'tanning' by allowing the tanning agent to bind and stabilize the material but … the problem was that 'tannin agent'.
On Earth, the mainstream tanning agent was called Chromium … of course, he didn't have it. He didn't even know how to make it.
The other mainstream agent was tannin … it was the astringent component of wine and was derived from plants but he didn't know what kind of plants he can get it from.
In the first place, 'tanning' was written as 'tanning'.
'To soften the leather'
That was the essence of tanning.
In that case, what would happen if it was not done?
It would rot and dry and turn hard.
Rotting and hard clothes … wasn't something he wanted.
To prevent that, the skin is preserved in Chromium and tannin.
Right, basically 'tanning' was 'preserving' the skin but … Ryo knew.
There was a method to preserve without tanning.
Smoke tanning … he saw a video on it before.
That said, he only recalled them burning some leaves to produce smoke but he couldn't remember what leaves they were.
Well, any plant-derived smoke would work, yeap.
In addition to the usual firewood, he gathered lush leaves from the surrounding trees.
Then, he made a fire. Igniting a fire was now his forte.
He kept the fire from getting too strong by putting lush leaves and green grass into the fire to generate a large amount of smoke.
For example, smoke from 'smoking' would normally be from the burning of sakura chips or some other kind of wood but this was an expression of Ryo's sloppiness where he felt that any plant-derived smoke might work the same.
If he did it in a residential area, he would definitely receive complaints.
Lately, in Japan, there have been cases where policemen went down to fields to jot down names … it has become a difficult world.
That said, on 『Phi』, nobody was living around Ryo's home … probably.
The skin of the Lesser Boar was hung on a bamboo construct like a drying futon.
He tried smoking for half a day.
The next day, the smoke tanned Lesser Boar skin … no, it could be called 'leather'.
He first washed that leather.
Smoke tanning wasn't intended to allow the odor of smoke to seep into the leather.
After washing the leather, he finally spread it thinly and evenly with an
Right, this was the true calling of a water attribute magician!
The completed Lesser Boar leather was about the size of a table tennis table.
For now, he cut the part to be used as a waistcloth with a knife.
He turned the remaining scrap leather into thin strings.
He didn't have thread in the first place after all.
That was how Ryo, wrapped in Lesser Boar leather around his waist, was born.
"Peeling the skin off a monster you hunt and tanning it … this is a stereotypical slow life!"
… The definition of slow life differed by the individual.
Lesser Boar leather, waistcloth equip.
Lesser Boar leather, sandals equip.
He wasn't wearing anything apart from that.
If he was in Japan, he would have been reported immediately.
"I actually wanted to make something like a tunic but … as expected of leather not made by an actual craftsman, it doesn't seem that durable."
Ryo muttered while tapping the Lesser Boar leather.
"Hn? If it's durability, can't I just generate ice on the surface of the leather? No, in the first place, I don't even need a chest tunic and can just directly form an ice armor? No, that would be too cold and might even stop my heart? I want to eventually be able to automatically generate an ice shield for defense when receiving attacks … fufufu, I want to try saying 'Fool, such an attack would never reach me!' or something like that …"
Men would always have chuunibyou no matter how old they are.
Once the 'clothing' and 'housing' parts were settled, naturally the final aim was to enrich his 'food'.
He aimed to acquire fruits and new flavors.
The question was which direction to set off for.
From home, the sea was about 500 meters in the Southwest direction.
Michael (pseudonym) said that.
To the South was a flowing river. A river that spans hundreds of meters to the opposite bank. The river where he found the flint.
In the East, he first fought the Lesser Boar and after that, it became the important hunting ground for Lesser Rabbits.
However, he has not traveled far from the barrier.
In that case, he had not set foot toward the North at all.
"There's a chance I can find it nearby in the North … let's go."
Apart from his waistcloth and sandals, he carried his usual knife-tip bamboo spear and jute bag.
He couldn't tell if that jute bag was actually made from jute but it was one of the two bags that Michael (pseudonym) used to keep the dried meat in the storage.
It would be meaningless if he found fruit but don't have a bag to bring it home.
He could only use what he had available.
For now, he kept all the dried meat that was in it inside the storage.
That jute bag was the kind of jute bag used to carry coffee beans.
"Since I am between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator, I wonder if there is a coffee tree?"
He noticed that there was no coffee tree listed in the 『Plant Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition』.
Even f he could gather coffee beans, there was the problem of how to brew them but …
For now, enriching his food with drinks wasn't a bad idea either.
"Let's set out!"
Even though he was heading in the direction of North, it didn't mean that the vegetation would change compared to the East or South.
Well, it would be troubling if he encounters a frigid place where cold wind blows as soon as he goes north.
That would have been very fantasy-like though.
Immediately after he left, he found something that resembled a fig.
"I recall this is called Ichizuku in the Plant Encyclopedia. It's written that it can be eaten." (TN: Fig in Japanese is Ichijiku)
For now, he took one and ate it.
"There's a good balance of sourness and sweetness!"
That was the first time the flavor of fruit was spreading across his mouth since coming to the Other world.
He put about 10 ripe 'Ichizuku' in the jute bag.
"It would be great if I can find all kinds of things like this."
After that, he walked around the area for an hour but couldn't find any other fruit.
"There's no helping it, I should step foot a little further North."
At the moment, he was about 200 meters from the barrier.
He had no experience of leaving the barrier further than that in all directions.
But he was planning to extend further eventually. He was just setting foot a little earlier than planned.
But Ryo was not able to proceed further.
It was not a calculated act.
He didn't think but he sensed it.
He fell prone to the ground.
Something invisible suddenly passed over Ryo's head after he crouched down.
Something was flapping in the direction from where the invisible something came from.
"A bird?"
That bird flapped its wings strongly.
Then, he couldn't see it with his eyes but he heard the sound of something slicing through the air.
He dodged to the side.
"Is that wind magic? A monster that can manipulate wind … and a bird-form."
An invisible wind attribute long-range attack magic. The so-called Air Slash or Sonic.
"Yup, I can't beat that."
He made a quick judgment.
"
It was an ice wall that Ryo devised for protection. He created a wall about one-meter thick and two-meter high in front and to his left and right.
A defensive wall meant for retreating backward.
When he started running toward his house, the ice wall followed right behind Ryo.
In reality, Ryo was channeling magic into it to move it according to his movement speed but when viewed from the side, it looked like the wall was following him.
(200 meters to the barrier, I have to somehow dash all the way.)
But after running about 100 meters, the ice wall shattered.
"What!?"
After receiving three shots of the invisible wind attribute attack magic, it couldn't withstand it any longer and shattered.
It would be impossible to run the remaining 100 meters and escape while showing his back.
Ryo had no choice but to turn around and confront it.
He could see the bird a lot clearer than before.
"Assassin Hawk … its main weapons are the invisible wind attribute long-range attack magic Air Slash and its assault that approaches the speed of sound using its beak and claw."
He inadvertently recited the contents he memorized from the 『Monster Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition』 but he couldn't think of any method to confront it.
He couldn't use the Ice Bahn + Icicle Lance that worked against the Lesser Boars.
Using Water Jet like how he dealt with Lesser Rabbits … maybe.
Maybe he could snipe the base of its wings to hinder its movements a little?
A good plan must be acted on immediately without hesitation.
(
The opponent was a monster with the wisdom to manipulate magic. No chant was better.
The fired Water Jet pierced the target accurately.
Right, it 'pierced' … the air.
It didn't hit the Assassin Hawk's body.
It seemed that its speed that exceeds the speed of sound can be utilized not only for attacking straight but also for dodging enemy attacks.
"In that case, I will suppress with numbers."
(
From Ryo's right hand, 32 Water Jets was shot forth simultaneously and headed toward the Assassin Hawk.
But when the Water Jets pierced the space where the Assassin Hawk was, the Assassin Hawk was no longer there.
It moved far to the side and diagonally forward to the right of Ryo.
"That's bad!"
Ryo couldn't tell but he jumped and rolled to the left.
Immediately after, the place Ryo was on exploded.
It was the Assassin Hawk's charge.
He somehow managed to avoid it and the Assassin Hawk was now right next to Ryo.
He thrust the knife-tip bamboo spear in his right hand toward the Assassin Hawk.
Stab
"Gieeee"
He felt the response of cutting something.
At the same time, the Assassin Hawk's cry deafened him.
That instant, his eyes definitely met the Assassin Hawk's.
Its right eye was bleeding and could not open. His knife-tip bamboo spear seemed to have injured its right eye.
The remaining left eye … was glaring at him with immense hatred.
Normally emotion in a bird's eye was not so easily read like fine glasswork but the Assassin Hawk's eye at that time was definitely full of hatred.
"
An ice wall was formed like a box from above to cover the Assassin Hawk in front of him.
However, as expected of the Assassin Hawk.
Even though it was injured, its agility was still there.
It took a distance from Ryo before the ice wall could form.
Then, it glanced at Ryo before leaving.
Ryo felt like he heard a voice telling him that it will kill him the next time.
Ryo couldn't move for a while even after the Assassin Hawk was gone.
"This time was dangerous."
He firmly checked his condition and injuries as he headed to the barrier.
"How should I confront that …"
Difficult problems were pouring in one after the other … a slow life in Rondo Forest was quite challenging.
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Chapter 0007 Magic Range
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Magic seemed to have somewhat of an effective range.
Currently, Ryo's range was roughly about a radius of 15 meters around him.
He could not channel his magical power beyond that.
For example, even if he launches a Water Ball, it would lose its ability to float and fall to the ground once it passes 15 meters.
Before it reaches 15 meters away, he seemed to be able to control it to some extent as though there was a thread of magical power connected to it.
Thinking back as to how the Water Ball would fall after 10 meters, he was able to verify that the effective range would be extended.
That said, the Water Ball wasn't fast and its attack power was weak so Ryo could not use it as an attack spell …
Even the Ice Bahn that Ryo used when hunting the Lesser Boar could only be generated up to 15 meters in front of Ryo.
It could only manifest starting from Ryo.
It was not possible to create an Ice Bahn directly underneath the feet of a Lesser Boar 15 meters away.
Suddenly creating a Water Ball in a space 15 meters away was impossible.
But what if he could do it …?
Forming a 3-meter radius Ice Bahn underneath a Lesser Boar 10 meters away … just that alone would render the Lesser Boar immobile due to the slippery surface.
At the moment, Ryo's greatest means of attack was the Water Jet.
That was a straight-line attack originating from Ryo toward the opponent too.
In a sense, that made it relatively easy to avoid.
Since the trajectory of the attack was just a straight line.
Sure, avoiding the fast Water Jet was pretty difficult but … that Assassin Hawk dodged it.
Furthermore,
Firing 32 Water Jets at the same time … An all-direction surface suppression, even though they were fired at a slight angle to achieve, but it still managed to move out of the effective range.
There was still room for improvement.
While enriching his food was an attractive prospect … there were still monsters that Ryo could not win against at his current stage.
And it could be found very close by.
He had to become even stronger.
Since everything would be over once he dies.
He would hunt in the Eastern forest once every two days in the morning.
Hunt one Lesser Rabbit or Lesser Boar.
On days when he doesn't go hunting or on rainy days, he would read the 『Monster Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition』 in the morning diligently.
Since he didn't know when, where or what kind of monster he would encounter.
It would be too pathetic if he couldn't cope with the new monsters because he didn't read up on them.
Apart from that, he would train magic.
He was practicing creating water and ice away from him.
As expected, he could not immediately create them 10 meters away from him.
He extended his right arm.
He cast a Water Ball in front of him, forming a Water Ball 10 cm away from his palm.
His goal was to extend that distance to 15 meters or even further … that training seemed that it would take a long time as well.
Nevertheless, just because it felt like it would take a long time didn't mean that he shouldn't do it.
When he was practicing outside, he would always incorporate the practice of firing a Water Jet from a point away from him.
By doing so, he could practice both creating it away from him and improving its power.
Growth only progressed in tiny steps.
But Ryo was happy to see the result of his growth.
As it was directly connected to his survival, he had to do it regardless of whether it made him happy or not.
That was a fact but humans are not that strong-willed.
Instead, having visible results from effort would have a great impact on motivation.
It was more related to emotions than reasoning.
Half of the humankind's drive comes from emotions.
Whether that half can be moved was crucial in getting good results.
Ryo knew about that regardless of being a person who leaned on the side of reasoning.
Ryo was not a genius.
Nor was he a talented person.
But he knew the importance of hard work.
That came from his emotional side, rather than his rational side.
For a person like him, the effort didn't bother him at all.
The change came suddenly.
On the day he goes hunting.
He was hunting for Lesser Rabbits or Lesser Boars in the Eastern forest.
Of course, there was a chance of encountering monsters other than those two types.
But he had not experienced it other than the encounter with the Assassin Hawk in the Northern forest.
The Northern and Eastern forests were connected and it wasn't such a large distance so he naturally considered the possibility of the Assassin Hawk appearing in the Eastern forest.
However, he encountered a different monster today.
"Greater Boar …"
The greater species of the Normal Boar that is the greater species of the Lesser Boar.
Capable of shooting stone gravel as a long-range earth attribute attack magic.
And the speed of its charge was close to the speed of sound.
Although there was a difference of wind and earth and sky and ground, its characteristics were similar to the Assassin Hawk.
But it was huge …
Its length was about seven meters. Its head was around three meters above the ground.
Something that large would charge at subsonic speeds. It was a nightmare.
"I'd die if I get hit. I was hit by a truck and died on Earth but isn't that even faster?"
Since kinetic energy was determined by mass and speed, a Greater Boar that charges at subsonic speed produce destructive power that is incomparable to the trucks on Earth.
By visual estimations, it was about the size of a dump truck.
The Greater Boar was so large that even though it was about 20 meters away from Ryo, the perspective seemed strange due to its appearance.
(
First, 16 Icicle Lances formed at a 30 degrees angle from the ground to intercept its charge.
That would prevent the subsonic charge.
The Greater Boar fired two stone gravels while slowly approaching.
(
Two shields about the size of tennis rackets made of ice formed in front of Ryo and disappeared after the gravels that were shot over collided with them.
"Guooooo"
He wasn't sure if it was to intimidate or a cry of frustration. But the Greater Boar cried out.
Immediately after, more than 20 stone gravels manifested around the Greater Boar.
"That's way too many."
(
Ryo chose a wall instead of a shield to prevent all the attacks from the front.
The Greater Boar shot the stone gravels immediately after that.
The stone gravels that flew toward Ryo shattered the Icicle Lances before causing cracks on the Ice Wall.
Ryo jumped to his left at once.
Almost the same time as the stone gravels landed, the Greater Boar charged.
"Charging in at the same time as using skills … are you some knight with a sacred sword technique!"
It was a technique that appeared in Ryo's favorite comic.
"If I were a wind attribute magician, I could form three other bodies and shoot sonic blades before following up with a charge assault!"
But that was impossible for Ryo.
The Greater Boar shattered the Icicle Lances with stone gravels and shattered the Ice Wall with its body charge.
It passed Ryo by from the momentum of crushing the Ice Wall and turned around to face him after about 15 meters.
"You shouldn't have stopped there."
(
He formed a floor of ice with the Greater Boar in the middle.
A radius of about three meters around the Greater Boar became a floor of ice and the space between it and Ryo was an ice floor as well.
The Greater Boar failed to stand on the ice and fell over many times.
It probably never experienced walking on ice before in its lifetime. The Rondo Forest was warm after all.
(
Even after that much practice, he still could not shoot the Icicle Lances forward.
However, after becoming able to form them away from himself, he found a new way of using them.
16 Icicle Lances formed 18 meters above the Greater Boar with their center of gravity placed near their tips.
Then, they fell.
"Gyaaaaaa"
The Icicle Lances pierced the Greater Boar one after another from its neck to its back, except for its head.
Due to the Greater Boars characteristic to favor charging, its entire head, including its nose, was extremely sturdy.
An ordinary sword would not be able to pierce it.
That was how it was able to break through Ryo's Ice Wall.
However, its body other than its head wasn't as sturdy.
It was similar to that of the Lesser Boar and may only be slightly tougher than a regular boar.
Ryo aimed for that.
"I'm glad I read the 『Monster Encyclopedia』. But the hide is now full of holes and no longer useable …"
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Chapter 0008 Northern Forest Expedition Second Team
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"Now, the second team for the Northern Forest Expedition is here!"
Ryo declared to nobody but he was determined.
"This time I will fulfill my food enrichment!"
The previous time, he went to the Northern Forest to enrich his food but the Assassin Hawk blocked his progress.
The Assassin Hawk hunted just as its name 'Assassin' implied, killing its prey even before it was noticed.
It would fire an invisible wind magic Air Slash from a blind spot in the air.
Ryo was able to dodge the first attack of the Assassin Hawk the other time by pure coincidence.
This time, was he ready for the Assassin Hawk?
"I can't win yet so I will withdraw immediately if I meet it."
It sounded like he had not made any progress since his last encounter but that was not the case.
Now, he should be able to retreat with more leeway than before … maybe.
His inability to defeat it was a matter of compatibility.
The Greater Boar was not inferior to the Assassin Hawk in terms of strength.
However, the difference in how Ryo was able to beat the Greater Boar and not the Assassin Hawk was dependent on whether he can impair the movements of his enemy.
Once the Greater Boar enters Ryo's effective magic range, he could stop its movements using Ice Bahn.
However, he could not do that with the Assassin Hawk that flew in the air.
Even when he tried to surround the Assassin Hawk with
The basis of Ryo's hunting style was to block the movement of his enemy and then attack it.
At present, without a means to hinder the Assassin Hawk's movements, it was an enemy with the worst compatibility with him.
And so, he decided on 'retreat on encounter'.
"Regardless of the Assassin Hawk, I gathered Ichizuku (fig) the previous time. The last time I gathered Ichizuku that was about to be ripe so it would be great if I can find something else like pepper …"
His equipment was a waistcloth made of Lesser Boar leather, sandals, a knife-tip bamboo spear, and a hemp bag.
His usual set of expedition gear.
Immediately after leaving the barrier to the north, he reached the location where he picked the Ichizuku the last time and found freshly ripe Ichizuku 'figs'.
"Yup, it's a great haul."
He stored 10 Ichizuku in his hemp bag and headed further north.
Then, he arrived at the location where he was attacked by the Assassin Hawk the other time.
About 200 meters from the barrier.
"I was attacked here the last time. But it looks like it is not here this time."
After looking around carefully, he noticed that at that spot, the dense forest was slightly interrupted and there was not much overlapping of trees.
In other words, it was a suitable place to attack from the sky.
"I didn't notice at all the previous time. I guess that was my limit."
He advanced further north while maintaining vigilance of his surroundings.
By the time he reached around 500 meters from the barrier, he finally got his hands on it.
"It really exists… this green exterior … looks like a pepper …"
A green pepper the size of a Delaware grape soaked with some liquid so that seeds don't stick to them …
Ryo would have been scolded severely if he told that to grape or bell pepper farmers as they were not similar at all!
He picked one and bit into it.
A peppery and spicy scent filled his mouth and nasal cavity.
Typically this would be harvested while still green and dried over time until it turned black and become black pepper.
However, in Southeast Asia on Earth, they use these pepper while still green and fry them with chicken meat and such.
Nevertheless, it was the first time Ryo tasted it while it was in its green form.
"Alright, time to harvest!"
He packed the pepper into his hemp bag until it was about half-full when combined with the Ichizuku.
If it was the Age of Discovery, that alone would have been a fortune!
"Although the initial goal has been reached, let's try going further."
After advancing another 300 meters.
A wetland spread across his view.
"When speaking of wetlands, Lizardmen comes to mind …"
Unfortunately, there were no Lizardmen in the wetlands.
"Well, if there were, I would have no choice but to run away with all my might. They would probably be better at handling water magic than I can now."
The Lizardmen's racial characteristic was extremely high compatibility with water attribute magic.
On 『Phi』, Lizardmen can't communicate with humans so they were not considered as 『Intelligent Monsters』.
A human that approaches a wetland would be attacked without questions by Lizardmen.
"It seems a little difficult to skirt around this wetland and go further north."
A bamboo spear on his right hand, a hemp bag on his left hand.
There was the important pepper inside the hemp bag.
If ever the pepper fell into the wetland or it got dirty with mud …
"I guess I should be satisfied with getting this far this time."
Ryo decided to return home after spitting out lines like a yakuza from somewhere.
However, at that moment, he suddenly noticed a plant growing in the wetland.
He looked once and moved his sight away, before looking again with a startled expression.
"It looks similar …"
Of course, the plants were a lot taller than what Ryo remembered.
And they spread to the side.
Its fruit would fall apart immediately when touched. The color was also a little dark.
But, nevertheless, it was probably that …
"Rice … right?"
It was native rice that was not cultivated by anyone.
Ryo had heard about 'wild rice' before.
Even on modern Earth, there were quite a few areas in Southeast Asia and India where wild rice grew naturally.
But he wondered if such a convenient development could actually happen.
Rice plants, or rice, were something that could only be found eventually after getting used to life after reincarnation to a certain degree and going through tons of trouble to search about half the world.
Right, that was the classic development.
First, one would encounter black hard bread.
Then it would be white soft bread.
Then finally, one would encounter rice.
Despite that …
"In any case, I'll think about it later. For now, I should harvest it and bring it home."
If looked closely, one would see the wild rice growing in a fairly wide area in the wetlands.
With the knife he removed from the bamboo spear, he cut off the ear of the rice and placed them in the hemp bag.
In the end, he harvested the rice until the hemp bag was almost full and ran home so that he wouldn't be attacked and lose the great harvest he obtained today.
When Ryo arrived home, he first made an ice box.
The ice made by Ryo's Water Attribute Magic seems to be able to receive and channel magical power from Ryo automatically so it usually does not melt.
If he consciously cut the magical power line where the magical power flows then it would melt like ordinary ice.
And so there were quite a few ice boxes made by Ryo in the house.
The amount of magical power used to maintain it seemed to be insignificant and had not hindered his life in any way.
The ice box this time was about the size of a large suitcase and he placed the pepper he harvested in it.
In addition, he placed the Ichizuku in the hemp bag on the kitchen table.
Now, all that remained in the hemp bag were the wild rice.
"First things first, these rice … can they be eaten …?"
Normally rice is obtained from threshing the rice ears on the paddy.
The paddy had to be dried well.
The taste would not deteriorate easily if stored as paddy.
If he wanted to grow rice seedlings next year, he could nurture them using these paddies.
And he could use a threshing machine on the paddy before eating to remove the stalks.
Only after doing so could he get what the Japanese call 'rice.
And at the moment, Ryo had no such tools. None at all.
He thought in his heart that he encountered easy mode when he obtained rice but utilizing it after he obtained it was difficult too.
If this was a classic reincarnation tale, there would already be some region or country with the culture of eating rice so this portion would not be difficult.
But in this 『Phi』 Rondo Forest, there was no such culture.
In fact, Michael (pseudonym) mentioned that no one lived here except for Ryo.
Nevertheless, he had to decide on a direction.
"First, tomorrow let's go to the wetland and secure a little more wild rice. I can try to harvest the entire plant, create paddy fields around the house and transplant them."
It seemed that he was already determined to create a paddy field.
"As for what I harvested today, let's try to somehow extract the rice and cook it."
The first was threshing.
Obtaining rice from the ears by threshing … from the Edo period to the Taisho period, it was done by historical threshing machines but … it wasn't needed.
Inside the hemp bag, the rice ears had fallen off.
This was one of the characteristics of wild rice, that the ear would fall off with just a touch.
Because of that, it would make harvesting difficult but this time he didn't need to worry about it.
"Ooo, they came off on their own. Lucky~"
Ryo's knowledge of it was just to that extent.
The rice that he obtained should normally be dried well.
In Japan these days, it would be dried in a large dryer for more than 10 hours to remove most of the water.
"For now, I can set aside the amount I'll eat today and not dry them."
Next would be hulling … in other words, peeling off the skin that covers the surface of the rice.
He tried doing it grain by grain.
The size was around the same size as the rice found in Japan.
"I recall it is called Japonica rice. I thought it would be Indica rice but if it is similar to Japonica rice, I guess I can cook it the Japanese way."
He was quick to jump to conclusions even though he was not even able to hull the rice yet.
In current Earth, the established theory was that the origin of rice cultivation was in the China Yangtze river basin more than 10,000 years ago.
Of course, it was the aforementioned Japonica rice.
It was said that the practice was brought to the west and gave rise to the Indica rice variant and Japonica was the first rice strain to be cultivated.
He picked up the rice grain and tried peeling the husk with his nails.
"It is surprisingly easy to remove. At worst, I just have to peel them one by one."
Just how many hours was he planning to spend on hulling rice … Or was this Japanese commitment to rice?
Was there any better way to peel the husk … Ryo pondered.
The methods Ryo could use were limited to Water Attribute Magic.
Among them, ice would probably be the most applicable.
Then he remembered the
That time, he used it to press the tanned leather to soften it.
This time, he would be using it to 'Peel' instead of 'Press'.
He wondered if by using two ice rollers and increasing the number of revolutions, could he peel the husk through the momentum when he put the rice grains between the rollers?
He made the ice rollers with Water Attribute Magic and made them rotate in the air.
It should be possible if he was able to control the magic well!
The rollers were ready. He placed an ice box at the end where the hulled rice would fly toward.
First, he tried to pass five grains through the roller.
Garri
The husks were peeled off. They were peeled but … the rice was crushed too.
"We-well, it shouldn't affect the taste even if it is crushed."
After that, he continued to pass the rice through the rollers.
It seemed that the size of the grains varied considerably so if he tried to match the roller with the smaller grains, it would crush the larger grains; if he matched the larger grains, the smaller grains would just roll off the roller.
After combining compromise and pretending not to see, he managed to finish about two go (~0.3608 litres) worth of hulled rice.
"Phew, this is even more difficult than fighting the Assassin Hawk …"
Next, he had to cook it. To boil the rice.
In the house Michael (pseudonym) prepared, there was a stove.
And there were two pots with wooden lids to be used on that stove.
Ryo was planning to use that to cook the rice.
First, he washed the pot clean.
Then, he also washed the rice in an ice bowl.
When washing, he could see the rice bran come out from the rice harvested from the wild rice.
He placed the rice in the pot.
Placing his hand on the rice, he added water until the back of his hand was submerged. To be honest, Ryo had no idea how much water was needed to cook wild rice.
As such, he used the knowledge he had from Earth.
Then, he covered the pot with an ice lid.
He made a slightly heavier lid so that it would not fly off from the pressure.
In Ryo's parents' house, they did not use electric rice cookers to cook rice but with a pot on a gas stove.
Because they believed that it was tastier that way.
However, since he never controlled the strength of the fire on the stove, Ryo had completely no idea how to do it.
But! There was common sense in the world to cook delicious rice!
"First let it simmer in low heat, then shift to high heat to bring to a boil, and don't take the lid off even if it cries like a baby."
That said, Ryo did not know how many minutes it should take before he shifts to higher heat …
"For now I'll try 300 seconds? I'll increase the strength of the fire after five minutes."
Handing fire was already his specialty.
A Water Attribute Magician who is good at handling fire.
That seems to give the impression of a jack of all trades but master of none …
In total, it took 20 minutes to cook.
After extinguishing the fire, he waited for a while. It seemed to be steaming.
After steaming for about 15 minutes … finally.
"Rice, is now served!"
After a large amount of steam puffed out, there was white rice … or rather, yellow rice.
"We-well … a slight difference is understandable."
With an ice bowl in his left and rice scoop in his right hand.
He calmed himself down and slowly scooped into the bowl.
He canceled the scoop and formed two ice chopsticks in his right hand.
"Now then, thank you for the meal."
...
"It's a little sticky and different from Japanese rice and the taste spreading in my mouth is also different … but this is undeniably rice!"
Ryo trembled with joy and wholeheartedly scooped rice into his mouth.
There was a figure of a Water Attribute Magician eating rice.
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0009 Wood Processing
-x-X-x-
"Now that I've gotten my hands on rice, I kind of want to have miso soup but … that is probably impossible."
Ryo previously speculated that the house was located between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer judging from the surrounding conditions.
In fact, he harvested pepper and wild rice to back that speculation.
Well, there was something essential in making miso soup.
And that would, of course, be 'miso'.
Soybeans were needed to make that miso.
But the origin of soybeans was from East Asia such as Japan.
The Rondo Forest was too hot.
And the humidity was high.
Soybeans grow easily in well-drained land … therefore when soybeans are sown in a field, high ridges are created to allow good drainage.
With those conditions, it probably doesn't grow in the wild.
"Well, I can't help it. It's already good fortune that I obtained rice."
The barrier with a 100-meter radius around the house was large enough for regular life.
However, if he planned to create a field … it was too narrow.
"It seems like I will have to make it outside the barrier. Moreover, if I do so, I will have to cut down the trees and clear a space …?"
Cultivating new land quickly with magic and sword …
"A pity that Water Jet can't cut trees yet."
On Earth, people would usually cut trees with a chainsaw.
At sawmills, a giant rotating saw would be used to cut the wood.
"Perhaps instead of a water jet, I could make a rotating saw made of water and use it as a long-ranged attack."
He imagined it in his head. The image of a circular saw with a 10 cm radius forming on his right palm and starting to rotate.
"
Just like he imagined, a rotating saw made of water was formed.
"Now, fly forth!"
Basha
The moment it left his hand, it splashed to the ground.
"Ah …"
He collapsed to his knees and hung his head.
Ryo remained frozen in that posture for about ten seconds.
He spoke while maintaining that posture.
"Let's think through the process."
Generate water.
Rotate the water that formed.
Make it fly.
"Hmm, a three-step procedure. I guess I still can't perform a three-step procedure."
He verified while hanging his head down. But then, Ryo abruptly stood up.
"Not yet. It is not yet the end."
Spitting out the phrase of some scarlet comet, Ryo approached a tree outside the barrier.
Then, he cast once more.
"Water Saw."
However, this time, instead of letting it fly, he maintained it in his palm and struck it against the trunk of the tree.
Gyuiiiiin
It successfully cut through the trunk at the same speed as a chainsaw.
"This looks useful when processing wood."
That said, at present, even if he cut something, he had no adhesive or nails …
"Whereas wood joinery without relying on adhesive or nails … yup, that would be impossible."
The task would likely be too difficult.
"Rotary motion …"
Ryo suddenly froze.
"Eh? Isn't something strange?"
The
"The process of the Ice Roller was …"
Gathering the water molecules in the air.
Freezing the gathered water molecules.
Rotating the frozen roller.
"A three-step process … seems like it … but it worked …?"
There was a major issue in his understanding.
"
He formed an icicle lance in his right hand.
"Rotate on the spot."
It rotated like a flying bullet.
"Fire."
Shuu .. bot
As usual, it fell to the ground.
However, today Ryo was not depressed.
He generated an elongated ice bowl in his left hand. He filled it with water.
And targeting it as it was filled with water.
"
The icicle lance was created while still attached to the ice bowl.
"Fire."
The ice bowl flew forward at considerable speed.
That was – breathe. He adjusted his breathing.
"Don't worry, I can fire it. I am different from the past."
That was close to self-suggestion … but it was very important.
Because that had crushed a hardened misconception within Ryo's imagination.
He imagined in his head.
Generation of the icicle lance.
And the image of sending that spear flying from his right hand.
He repeated over and over until he could almost see an illusion in front of his eyes. He imagined it clearly.
"
An icicle lance was formed in front of his right hand.
"Fire."
It flew forward with great speed.
"This … I don't know when it started but at the very least, before I tanned the leather, I had the means to fire it forward."
The image was crucial in magic.
For good and for bad.
The thought that 'I can't fire the icicle lance' was stuck inside Ryo's mind.
Of course, he probably couldn't have fired it the first few days after reincarnating.
However, as a result of the training that followed, he learned the technique to fire it.
But, it seemed that the thought that he 'could not fire' impeded him.
Could that be called a mental block?
"What did I work so hard for … That said, I can be sure that I acquired a lot of power. This is a win!"
The next day, Ryo was in a desperate situation.
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0010 Assassin Hawk II
-x-X-x-
The day after he succeeded in firing the Icicle Lance, Ryo went hunting in the Eastern forest as usual.
He could now send the Icicle Lance flying.
To be honest, he could win even against a Greater Boar.
That's what he thought.
He was filled with confidence.
He felt more motivated than ever before.
However, it was not a Greater Boar that attacked Ryo.
Invisible Wind Attribute magic attacks, Air Slash, were flying at him from the front and back.
"Even though one was already troublesome!
An ice wall one meter wide and two meters tall covered Ryo's front, back, left, and right to defend against the Air Slashes.
Ryo held the front part of his knife-tipped bamboo spear that had broken off from the middle with his right hand.
The part from the middle to the end, the butt end so to speak, had already been dropped somewhere.
The ice wall was transparent. As such, he could see the other side of the wall.
An Assassin Hawk was flying in front of his ice wall.
An Assassin Hawk with a closed right eye due to injury.
That was the Assassin Hawk that Ryo almost died to.
Moreover, another Assassin Hawk was flying behind Ryo.
Both hawks maintained their distance from Ryo and only attacked with Air Slashes.
Furthermore, the nasty fact was that one of them always remained in and attacked from Ryo's blind spot.
And most of the time the one-eyed Assassin Hawk would face him head-on while the newcomer Assassin Hawk would attack from his blind spot.
The Ice Wall in front cracked after receiving the third Air Slash.
At that moment, Ryo raised his left hand at the one-eyed hawk, and countless lines of water shot out.
(
But with some uncanny aerodynamic characteristics, as though it performed instantaneous lateral movement, it dodged by moving out of the effective range.
And then … the Ice Wall protecting Ryo's back also broke after receiving the third Air Slash from behind.
To be honest, Ryo had not had the chance to catch his breath.
After all, he had been running around to avoid the Air Slashes from front and back while trying to retaliate.
However, putting aside avoiding his opponent's attacks, Ryo's attacks were all dodged like the example given above.
His bamboo spear was sacrificed to defend against an Air Slash that he couldn't avoid and he withdrew like a turtle into his Ice Wall shell to regain his breath but the Ice Wall broke with three Air Slashes.
Every time his Ice Wall broke, he would counterattack only once before regenerating the Ice Wall.
"I want to flee but … I'm sandwiched front and back and have no path to escape."
The newcomer was perfectly behind Ryo, that is, it was going around Ryo's blind spot and attacking while denying his retreat path.
Ryo honestly did not know how much magical power he had left.
At the current pace, he could probably persevere by repeatedly casting Ice Wall and Water Jet but … he was getting tired.
『Tiredness will lead to mistakes.』
It was a battle against the inevitable fatigue.
And he would die if he made a mistake.
That in turn caused even more fatigue to accumulate.
"What should I do?"
He regenerated the Ice Wall and organized the situation.
Until now, Ryo had only shown his Ice wall and Water Jet.
And he knew that it could avoid a simultaneous salvo of 32 Water Jets.
The victory condition this time was not to defeat the enemy but to escape into the barrier.
To achieve that, it may be better to deal damage to it such that it would withdraw like the last time, even if the damage wasn't fatal.
"Should I lure it?"
The moment Ryo muttered that, the front and back Ice Walls broke at the same time.
Ryo fired
And then he ran.
Of course, the one-eyed Assassin Hawk dodged the Water Jets.
And then, Ryo thrust out this left arm while running and attempted to release magic.
But at that instant, he stumbled.
The newcomer Assassin Hawk dove toward Ryo as he stumbled.
It must have been impatient because of the Ice Walls and Air Slashes.
It charged in as if it was shouting 'I got you!'.
But that was Ryo's aim all along.
After stumbling, he rolled to the left and dodged the assault of the newcomer from behind.
Then, Ryo thrust his half-length knife-tipped bamboo spear at the newcomer that was directly next to him.
No, he was about to thrust but he stopped his spear and rolled further left.
By a hair's breadth.
The one-eyed Assassin Hawk struck the spot where Ryo was.
As though it saw through Ryo's trap.
Furthermore, it didn't stop after its assault and immediately flew backward.
It seemed that it had learned from its previous experience.
Meanwhile, the newcomer Assassin Hawk also returned to the air.
"Gyieiiiiegyigyue~"
The one-eye seemed to be lecturing the newcomer.
Perhaps it was telling it not to let its guard down.
And once again, the one-eye faced Ryo directly and the newcomer positioned itself in Ryo's blind spot behind him.
They were both 20 meters away from Ryo.
Ryo slowly stood up without breaking line of sight with the one-eyed Assassin Hawk.
"
Seeing it, it felt like the newcomer Assassin Hawk was sneering.
It was dangerous a while ago but it was disappointed that he reverted to this method.
(Newcomer-kun, you are already dead. I want to say that aloud but the one-eyed guy has a good intuition so I'll refrain. … You will move to that spot without fail by centering on me.)
The instant Ryo had that thought.
Icicle Lances rained over the newcomer's head.
There were 256 lances.
It was a rain of shining ice that fell with a radius of 30 meters centered on the newcomer Assassin Hawk.
"Gyiiiiaaaaaa"
The newcomer tried to move and dodge but the range was too wide.
Multiple lances injured its wings and it was knocked to the ground.
All of the Icicle Lances were formed in midair and fell by free fall.
Even if he could fire Icicle Lances now, he could only consciously control one at a time.
That one lance had already been formed outside the Ice Wall.
"Fire."
Without straying, it pierced the head of the newcomer Assassin Hawk that had been knocked down.
"Guaaaaa"
The one-eyed Assassin Hawk screamed out.
Its eyes glaring at Ryo showed the same hatred, no, even more hatred than the previous time.
Their eyes met for just a few moments.
The one-eyed Assassin Hawk turned around and left.
"Phew … I somehow survived. But this Icicle Lance from the air, free-falling spears of light looked quite cool. All right, this shall be one of my decisive techniques."
Although it was a tough battle that he was prepared for death, he was completely fine when it was over.
Ryo managed to survive the battle with the fated Assassin Hawk but the challenges were apparent. It was the need to strengthen his physical aspect, or rather, his physical body.
In the early stages of the battle, he ran around and caused his breathing to become rapid and it took a considerable amount of time to regulate his breathing.
This time the one-eye focused on maintaining a distance as it attacked so he was able to buy time with Ice Wall but that would not always be the case.
"Stamina is important."
Ryo said with a clear voice.
The next day onward, the flow of a day in Ryo's life changed a little.
First, after waking up would be some calisthenics. He would do it for 30 minutes.
Flexible muscles would prevent injuries.
Ryo had, by no means, a flexible body but he knew that flexibility would be achieved by anyone if they did it every day.
After that, lunch.
Lunch was essential. The foundation of a day. He ate a proper meal.
After eating, he would read or practice magic until his digestion was complete.
After about 30 minutes, he would run around the outer edge of the barrier. Walk. Earnestly … walk.
While using magic to create ice and water in his hands, he would run … and when he got tired, walk.
In the afternoon, once every two days, he would leave the barrier and hunt in the Eastern or Northern Forest.
Since then, he had not encountered the one-eyed Assassin Hawk.
But Ryo knew that the battle would eventually have to be settled.
It was not a theory.
That was just how it was.
After hunting and procuring food, he would return and practice magic.
On the days he does not go out to hunt, he practiced magic.
And before entering the bath, he would perform 1000 swings.
Not with a baseball bat.
He would use a bamboo sword cut out of bamboo, adjust the weight with ice, and swing it.
Ryo attended the Kendo dojo from the first grade of elementary school to the winter of the third grade of junior high school.
He joined with an attitude to play.
He had never participated in any competitions either.
During junior high school, while his friends were participating in school club activities, Ryo would be part of the go-home club and visit the Kendo dojo in the district martial arts center on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
The martial arts center coach was a junior high school student.
When Ryo became a high school student, he was advised to practice at the prefectural police headquarters but he refused.
He didn't hate Kendo but he did not want to do it that seriously either.
His reflexes were decent. He liked baseball, soccer, and basketball. Whether it was watching or playing.
But he couldn't get into anything.
Ryo was never completely absorbed in doing anything for his life.
It wasn't as though he hated working hard. He knew its value.
So he tried doing whatever came to mind.
He wrestled with hard work.
And then he was able to do it.
After that, even though he didn't exactly lose interest, he never tried to push to the limits.
Ryo was by no means a genius.
Still, he could get most things done to a satisfactory degree if he put in some serious effort.
However, after coming to this world, that changed a little.
The experience that transformed Ryo was 『Magic』.
He may not have a teacher but that might have been for the better.
It might have been better that he didn't have anything such as a spellbook.
For the first time in his life, Ryo was absorbed in using magic.
He couldn't get good at it easily.
There was a mountain of things he didn't understand.
But that was fine.
And there were many other things needed to make the most out of that magic.
He almost died because he didn't have stamina.
His bamboo spear breaking in half made him realize his lack of skill.
Stamina could be acquired by running. Anybody could acquire it just by running.
The methodology had already been established on Earth.
But there was something to be aware of.
That would be stress fracture.
The bones below the knee could break … calcium intake was required but … he didn't have milk which boasts the best absorption rate.
In that case, small fish with the bones included … would have to eventually be the main means of acquiring it.
Was there any other way to prevent stress fractures other than food?
Of course.
That was calisthenics … stretching.
Flexibility is versatility!
So today, he ran as well … he walked when he was tired. But he didn't stop. He kept walking.
He kept moving to strengthen his cardiopulmonary function.
Stretch, run and walk.
Just by continuously doing that, anybody could gain stamina.
The issue apart from stamina … was his skill with the bamboo spear.
But he'll give up on that.
In the first place, he decided on the knife-tipped bamboo spear because he wanted to deal the final hit from a longer distance.
He had never even seen a video about how to handle a spear.
Then what should he do?
Instead, he had done Kendo before.
He had not held a bamboo sword in the last five years … but he did in the past for nine years.
His body still remembered it.
Swordsmanship and Kendo were different things.
That was probably true.
However, Kendo did not begin from nothing.
Its origin was obviously from Swordsmanship.
In that case, the thing Ryo had to do was not difficult.
All he had to do was reverse the flow that changed Swordsmanship to Kendo.
It was not an easy matter but it was possible.
Well, it didn't matter even if he couldn't.
Fundamentally it was a sword meant to be used as a means for magic.
His main forte was Water-Attribute Magic and Ryo was a Water-Attribute Mage after all.
-x-X-x-
Ryo was running today too.
Or rather, he was walking today too.
Because the sun rises quite early, even though it was in the middle of the morning, he had been moving continuously for quite a considerable amount of time.
About five hours on Earth time.
However, he did not always run at a constant speed like in a marathon and sometimes added in some interval running.
The outer edge of the barrier was about 600 meters and he ran quickly for two laps, did a slow pace run for the next lap, and walked for the subsequent two laps. (TN: He took 5 hours to travel 3km?? Even by walking the entire journey it shouldn't take 5 hours :x)
By doing so, even though he walked, he still moved for at least five hours.
And as he moved, he trained magic too.
After morning training, Ryo's body was already at the peak of fatigue.
But he could not collapse then.
First was icing.
He cooled the elevated temperatures of his muscles.
That was truly living up to the name of a Water-Attribute Mage.
He created a film of water encased in ice and cooled his muscles.
About 15 minutes of icing would cause blood vessels to contract.
After the icing is done, the blood vessels would dilate once more due to rebound and cause more than usual fatigue substances to effectively flow through the blood.
Then, he cooled down with calisthenics.
That also helped to prevent injuries … probably.
At noon, he would eat the rest of his breakfast.
When making breakfast, he would prepare two meals. Since the preparations wouldn't change much if he made one or two meals.
Then, it was finally time to hunt.
It was a hunt but … lately, it became almost like a routine.
Naturally, he would not fall into a pinch against Lesser Rabbits or Lesser Boars.
There wasn't much difference against Normal Rabbits and Normal Boars either.
Of course, that didn't mean that he let his guard down.
And there was no telling what could happen if he came across an Assassin Hawk.
In that line of thought, it showed that the Assassin Hawk was truly a nasty enemy for humans.
Until now, he had been struggling with his morning training regime which affected his afternoon activities but after getting used to it a little more, Ryo wanted to expand his activities a little more.
For now, it was either the East or North.
And eventually, Southwest … the sea!
Yup, eventually he would have to go to the sea.
Since he needed to procure salt.
Water and salt are absolutely necessary for human life.
He could produce water infinitely but he couldn't do so with salt.
The miracle of God that turned Lot's wife into salt in the Book of Genesis … Ryo could not do that. Or rather, it would be terrifying if he could.
To be honest, it would be safer to go to the sea and get salt normally via salt farms or other methods.
The salt that Michael (pseudonym) prepared was enough to last for more than a year at the current pace.
However, for Ryo who has never done salt farms or other methods, he wanted to know how much time it would take to obtain salt.
He wouldn't want to panic when he was about to run out of salt.
Besides, there was a possibility that he could eat seafood for the first time in a long time.
Ryo loved meat but he didn't hate seafood either.
It had been around two months since he started his training menu to build endurance.
Finally, his morning routine did not affect his afternoon activities.
"All right, let's go a little further today. First, I'll need to leave a landmark."
After saying that, Ryo began building an ice tower within the barrier.
It looked more like a flag pole rather than a tower. Although it was about 100 meters tall.
When seen from a distance, it was a beautiful sight as the sun rays reflected off it.
"With this height, I should be able to see it from most places."
Although Rondo Forest was a dense forest, there were still quite a few locations that could be called gaps in the forest.
With this height, it should be visible from about … two kilometers away?
For the time being, if he uses this as a landmark, he wouldn't make a mistake in the direction to return to.
Although it was about 100 meters tall, it was quite suitable since it was made with an emphasis on speed.
The thickness of the tower was about 3 meters in diameter and was a cylinder shape.
It was a shape that wouldn't fall over easily but … with Ryo's magical power in effect, he somehow 'knew' that it would not fall.
"This is different from the laws of physics that I know."
As Ryo's magical ability rose, he felt the differences from Earth.
Or it may be more accurate to say that the phenomenon that cannot occur on Earth has become possible. However, Ryo still had very little awareness of it.
His expedition tools were the same as usual.
His loincloth and sandals.
His usual knife-tip bamboo spear and hemp bag.
He swung a bamboo sword-like bamboo every day but he did not have a weapon that could be used as a sword.
For the time being, this new knife-tip bamboo spear had to remain as his physical weapon.
No matter how many times it breaks, he could just replace it as long as the knife portion is intact!
Extremely economical!
"All right, let's head Northeast."
There was quite a wide expanse of wetlands to the North.
He didn't know the Eastern end of the wetland laid so he tried setting his course for Northeast.
It would be fine if he traveled and still came across wetlands.
That would confirm that the wetland extends considerably from East to West.
There was no particular change for about one kilometer from the barrier.
The only monster he encountered was a Lesser Boar.
As for the harvest, he obtained about ten Ichizuku and red fruits called Lindo that resembled apples.
"It looks and tastes like apples! I can make apple pies with this … of course, I can't bake though!"
He was having a one-man comedy act … after reincarnating, Ryo was clearly having a lot of monologues.
After securing about 10 Lindo, he continued further Northeast.
About two kilometers from home.
Parin.
The Ice Wall behind him broke with a single blow.
This was an expedition into the depths of the Rondo Forest so Ryo didn't know what would happen and constantly moved with a thin ice wall behind him.
Although he called it thin, it was strong enough to withstand two shots of the Assassin Hawk's invisible wind-attribute attack magic Air Slash.
And it was broken with one hit.
His body moved before he could think.
He dove diagonally to the right, fell with his shoulder to the ground, and made a full turn after softening the fall.
He got up and chanted as he looked behind.
"
His chest, waist, back of his hands, and legs were equipped with armor made of ice.
For now, to prevent instant death upon hit, he found it better to have simple armor even if a full plate mail was not possible.
"Looks like a cobra … Kite Snake? It could deal direct attacks by swinging its tail like a whip. Or an Air Slash could be generated from the tail movement. And its ultimate weapon was the venom from its mouth. How troublesome."
It looked just like a cobra as Ryo muttered.
And like a cobra, it had a hood on its neck.
But its size was unusual.
He couldn't tell its total length … because it was coiled.
The position of the hood was about three meters from the ground. He had to look up quite considerably.
It was likely a direct attack from its tail that destroyed the ice wall with a single blow.
He experienced Air Slash many times when facing the Assassin Hawks.
It was a rather troublesome attack because it is invisible but it shouldn't be possible to break his ice wall with a single blow …
At the very least, its tail attack could reach his current position so he was already in the Kite Snake's range.
He poised himself and decided that he had to regain the initiative.
(
The Ice Wall surrounded the front, left, and right of the Kite Snake.
Originally he used the
And while chanting internally, Ryo jumped backward as soon as the Ice Wall was created.
The Ice Wall could at least survive one tail attack. In the meantime, he would fall back and leave the Kite Snake's range.
However, the Kite Snake's movements exceeded Ryo's expectations.
Instead of breaking the Ice Wall, it bypassed the Ice Wall and chased after Ryo as he retreated.
"As expected of a snake. It moves so fast on grass but!"
(
He froze the grass and turned it into an icy road.
The Kite Snake, who got on the Ice Bahn with strong momentum, could no longer stop itself.
(
It could already be called Ryo's specialty, the Ice Bahn + Icicle Lance.
16 Icicle Lances formed at an angle of 300 from the Ice Bahn to meet the sliding Kite Snake.
Bakin.
"What!?"
A boar would be pierced through but the Kite Snake snapped the Icicle Lances.
Yes, with the tail attack that broke the Ice Wall initially.
"
Its sliding momentum was not stopping … in other words, the distance between it and Ryo was shortening at every moment. He first tried to stop that with an Ice Wall. But …
Bakin.
It broke once again from a tail attack.
"Right.
Instead of the usual thin Ice Wall he always deployed, a 5 layer Ice Wall with a width of three meters, a height of three meters, and thickness twice as usual was formed.
That was a spell completely geared for defense.
Gakin. Dogo
It tried to break it as it did before with its tail but it could not break it with a single blow and only cracked the first layer. Its sliding body slammed into the Ice Wall and stopped.
But Ryo could not catch a breather.
As soon as it found that it could not catch Ryo by sliding, the Kite Snake manipulated its tail outside the Ice Wall and approached Ryo.
All the while releasing Air Slashes as well.
(
A shield similar to a tennis racket was created in the air to prevent Air Slashes.
However, that allowed the Kite Snake's tail to close the gap.
It was a fatal mistake in choice.
"
The Ice Wall 5 Layers was the most robust of all the defensive spells that Ryo had.
However, while a normal Ice Wall took below one second to form, the Ice Wall 5 Layers took close to one second.
Normally it could be said to be sufficiently quick, but in such a close-neck battle, one second was not quick at all.
And that was revealed this time.
Although he chanted for Ice Wall 5 Layers, it did not form in time.
Even though it reduced the Kite Snake tail's momentum, it barely reached Ryo.
"Gah"
Ryo's chest armor shattered.
He jumped backward to reduce the damage so he didn't end up with a hole in his chest.
Although he might end up with a terrible bruise or a cracked rib.
But Ryo did not feel the pain.
Like a battle junkie, it seemed that his brain was filled with adrenaline.
He raised his left hand and chanted without a second's break.
"
The Icicle Lances fired from his left hand drew a trajectory and crossed the ice wall to aim for the Kite Snake's head.
To intercept it, the Kite Snake quickly pulled its tail back.
And it intercepted it.
Ryo finally succeeded in retaliating.
"
He regenerated the cracked chest armor.
Without it, he would have died.
Currently, Ryo was 15 meters away from the Kite Snake.
There was an Ice Wall 5 Layer in front of the Ice Snake. Its height and width were three meters.
Below the Kite Snake was the Ice Bahn. But only about two meters in radius.
The Kite Snake had its hood out. It was about three meters in height and the Ice Wall was just about the same height.
"I retaliated but I don't want to engage in close quarters fight again."
The Kite Snake's tail was too vicious.
It could shoot Air Slashes from a distance and if you got close to it, it had the physical strength to destroy his Ice Wall in a single blow.
However, the Kite Snake had the next move.
It leaped while its hood was flared.
"What's with that!?"
It leaped over the Ice Wall 5 Layers and closed in on Ryo.
"
However, before it reached the Ice Bahn, the Kite Snake moved sideways as if saying that it had already seen that technique before.
It changed from a direct attack to a curved attack.
It shot Air Slashes continuously while moving.
"
Ryo intercepted the attacks with four floating Ice Shield as the Kite Snake approached while moving left and right as if trying to feint.
And finally, it released venom from its mouth.
It was a far more widespread poison attack than Ryo had imagined.
The range was too wide that it was impossible to escape from.
Normally that would be checkmate.
However, Ryo was not normal. And he was a Water Attribute Magician.
"
The instant he chanted, heavy rain common in Southeast Asia occurred locally.
Centered on the Kite Snake in front of Ryo.
The heavy rain battered the venom in the air and flushed it to the ground.
That was probably the first time it encountered such a counter.
Although it was a different race, Ryo could tell that it was surprised.
"
He chanted toward the Kite Snake drenched by the Squall.
His target was the water from the Squall on the Kite Snake as well as the water puddle below it.
He used to take a few minutes to boil water but now he could do it in less than a second like any other magic.
In other words, the Kite Snake was forced to bathe in boiling water all over its body in an instant.
"Gyoeeeeeee!"
As it screeched, he targeted the wide-open mouth.
"
And fired a thick Ice Spear.
The Icicle Lance pierced its oral cavity … and the Kite Snake died.
Ryo unconsciously fell onto his backside and remained seated.
"Fuuu …. I was saved by bathing … This boiling water technique, I wouldn't have learned it if I didn't want to have a bath. I must thank Michael (pseudonym) for preparing the bathtub."
Zukin.
While feeling relieved, Ryo started to feel the pain in his ribs from the Kite Snake's strike.