Day 9.

Maybe we did go in the wrong direction.

Last night alone, we got ambushed by four goblins. Anyway, thanks to Iddy's bark, I barely able to wake up just in time to repel the attack.

And right now, just as the morning sun shone on our skin, I heard a trumpet and bell sound, even though I didn't level up.

"Hm~ I levelled up." Said Natsuna.

Was it because we were at the same party? But first thing first, I searched for something useful from the three goblins in front of me. Not a single useful thing.

By the time I turned my head, she already sat and opened her status screen.

Natsuna Natsume: Summoning 1 → 2, Divination 1. Skill point 2 → 0.

+8 Magic +4 Magic regeneration.

Level 2

Health(regen per day): 23(7)

Magic(regen per day): 46(25)

Stamina(regen per hour): 35(7)

Rank 1 Summoning.

- Summon Dog: Summon dog (6 → 8 Health.) It can continue fighting for one minute → 80 seconds even though its Health reduced to zero. Duration: 24 → 32 hours. Cost: 13 Magic.

- Summon Raven: Summon raven (4 → 6 Health) It can telepathically communicate with you. Duration: 30 → 45 minutes. Cost: 12 Magic.

- Summon Pony: Summon riding Pony (13 → 17 Health) It has 45 km/h running speed and comes with a bit and bridle and a riding saddle. Duration: 2 hours → 160 minutes. Cost: 17 Magic.

- Summon Fire Beetle: Summon Fire Beetle (1 Health) it has glowing glands to provide light in a 3 → 6 meters radius. You can destroy the fire beetle to create a blinding burst of light. Duration: 12 hours. Cost: 4 Magic.

Rank 2 Summoning.

- Summon Giant Spider: Summon a man-sized spider (16 Health) It can instantly create a many-layered mass of strong, sticky web (2 times, 30 meters radius.) Duration: 60 minutes. Cost: 20 Magic.

- Summon Tent: Summon a 3x3 metres tent (adjustable), firmly pitched in a flat area adjacent to you (if there is no such area, this spell simply fails). Any creature regains 1 health and 1 magic for each hour it rests in the tent, in addition to the usual regeneration. Additionally, the tent can camouflage itself to match the colour of the surrounding area. Duration: 720 minutes. Cost: 5 Magic.

- Summon Wolf: Summon wolf (13 Health.) Its howl emits a thunderous boom audible up to 30 kilometres away and creates a wave of destructive force from its howl (1 time, Damage: +4 force damage, radius: 5 meters.) Duration: 360 minutes. Cost: 20 Magic.

- Summon Wooden Golem Army: Summon four wood golem (6 health.) Each brings a sword, a spear, a bow and a two-hand hammer and have level 1 combat mastery on their respectable weapon. Duration: 60 minutes. Cost: 25 Magic.

It seemed like raising the skill level also double the magic bonus, not to mention the bonus on the former rank 1 spells. No matter how much I looked at it, seemed like it would be better to focus on one category of skills.

Well, anyway thanks to her Summon Tent, seemed like we could say a goodbye to the cold night.

But...

"Natsuna, can you use your raven for scouting?"

She simply nodded and did just as I said. The direction: northeast.

10 minutes later.

"Oh, she found a group of people." She suddenly shouted in the middle of our talk. "Hm?! Erm, Tsukasa, it seems a group of monster is chasing the said group."

My best guess she or the raven was saying something to her right now.

But a group of monster huh.

I scratched my head and asked Natsuna how much, but the raven only answered with a lot.

Seemingly the raven didn't have the capability of counting nor the capability to tell the monster type.

A lot huh... I shifted my gaze to Natsuna, just from her expression alone, I noticed she wanted to help them but seemed like she knew the limit of her own capability.

And pretty much she tried to hold back her will to save them. Well, maybe she just felt bad to force me?

"...Want to help?"

Just as I said that she turned her head to my voice direction with a combination of cheerful and worried expression.

"But..."

"Since it's a group of people, there is a big chance that they are someone from this world. Anyway, if there are too many monsters we can fall back, right?"

I stood up and stretched my body, but considering it was a 10 minutes run more or less, not to mention the amount of time we already waste to make this decision, I personally did not think they would get out of that unscathed.

"Hm~, if Tsukasa is helping them then I'll go to."

Even though she put it in that way, she immediately called her pony and climbing on it.

Grh... yeah I forgot her pony couldn't carry two people.

Anyhow, I bolted down the grassy plain like an Olympic champion at the start gun and slowly quickened my pace to an all-out sprint, slightly behind me Natsuna followed my pace without complaint.

Sweat rolled down from my face in thick, salty beads. I could feel my heart throbbing inside of my chest. I didn't calculate it right but dashing away from the start really wore me out quickly. I was vaguely aware of a stinging in my legs.

10 minutes later, I could see something from the horizon, I already wheezed as my burning lungs gasped for air, my legs felt numb and unsteady. I opened my status screen, not good. By the time I finished the morning combat with three goblins my stamina went down to 49, not to mention we didn't have any chance to make a breakfast.

Anyway, 10 minutes sprinting at a max speed cost me 30 stamina, not to mention there was another one or maybe two kilometres left.

Around two minutes later, I stopped and told Natsuna to step down from her pony, telling both of them to lower their body.

There was a group of... human? but I could see some of them had an animal ear. Yeah, they must be the famous beastmen huh.

And the one that they fought...

Four orcs, all of them had a different weapon, a giant sword chipped sword, a rusty old spear, a mace, and was that a crossbow?

On the ground, I could see one orc lifeless corpse and four beastmen? It was hard to tell since their body was crushed to a pulp, but from their clothes alone I could tell the crushed ones were in the same group as the living ones.

Urgh... seeing them kinda made me sick. Even though I didn't feel this way when I killed the goblin. Maybe because they looked very similar to a human.

Anyway, my magic was full, but my stamina was 13.

I looked into Natsuna, hoping she had at least 20 magic to use summon wooden golem army, but yeah... she only had 17 magic left.

Her summon right now was Raven, with 25 minutes time, Pony, and the dog, Iddy.

Should we bail out, rest for a while and came back at a later time, hoping that some of the beastmen still alive?

Or should I try moved closer? Casting some blessing magic then bail out?

Actually, maybe I could take one of the orcs and then ran away?

Either way...

"Hey, can you give the Fire Beetle and Iddy command to me?"

"Hm? I don't know about the Fire Beetle but if it is Iddy, I think that's possible."

"Well, that's good enough."

Anyway, after a minute had passed our preparation was complete. And just in case, I cast Selective Forticiation: Piercing to me and Natsuna. And for her Raven, I cast Might: Physical and Unarmed.

Magic: 51 → 30

Next, both of me and Iddy were crawling around, making a slight deviation from Natsuna's position.

As both of us arrived slightly on the right side, I cast Might: Vision and Throwing, Feather body and Guidance.

Magic: 30 → 10.

I stood up and took a deep breath. And then I dashed, with Iddy running at my side.

Afraid? Funny enough I didn't feel like that. I knew I could take one of the orc, and if things went wrong, we just need to leave the beastmen behind.

We were charging straight at the orc, as our feet made a loud rustling sound while my mouth made a loud voice. And I attracted two orcs attention, the one with the mace and the one with the crossbow attention.

Well, considering orc(sword) was clashing against the beastmens, while orc(spear) was on the other side, this was just what I expected.

As the orc (mace) charged toward me, the orc (crossbow) shot its bolt right into my face, surprisingly it had a good accuracy.

I wouldn't say I could react fast enough while I was running at a full speed though, but that was why I cast Selective Fortification and brought Iddy with me. Iddy faithfully listened to follow Natsuna's order and leapt right at the bolt. Becoming my meat shield.

Losing its ammunition, the orc(crossbow) started reloading it. But from the sky, the raven dove down and embedded its claw right at the orc face, and right inside of its mouth was a Fire Beetle.

It didn't instantly detonate like it supposed to be, maybe because the telepathy had a delay but either way, the Fire Beetle did manage to explode right at the orc's eyes, creating a blinding flashlight.

I just hoped it could achieve its role for longer than ten seconds.

The orc(crossbow) foolishly dropping its crossbow and used one of its hand to rub its eyes while the other one was flailing around, searching for the raven.

But buffed with might: physical, even though the crossbow had a bigger size than the raven, she was able to take the crossbow with her talon and flew away. With this, the most troublesome orc, the one that could attack from the distance was gone.

For the orc(mace), while it was charging toward me, and thanks to Might: Vision and Throwing and Guidance, I just knew the timing and the direction, to throw the knife right into its face, more precisely its eyes.

Of course the orc(mace) used its free hand to cover its face.

But just as the orc(mace) did that, at the same time, I was using Launch and directed another knife into its groin.

Green blood splashed everywhere, the orc shrieked and losing its balance, but thanks to my experience from before, I knew it would have a big problem to stop its charging.

And what arrived right at its unbalanced body was a flying kick right into its muscular chest, just a normal flying kick though.

It didn't pierce its skin but it was enough to make an impact to push its body and make a loud crackling sound.

But damn... I felt like I was kicking a stone wall right now.

Anyway, ignoring the pain from my leg, thanks to the Feather Body, my jumping power was increased. And even though I didn't have any running momentum I could use the orc(mace) body as my stepstone and leap to the side; having no worries about any ranged attack.

Meanwhile, the orc(mace) was getting staggered and falling to the ground. I knew it was still alive but it wasn't my job to finish it.

"Iddy! Bite its neck!" I shouted as I started my momentum again from the start and ran to the orc(spear)

In that frozen second between me and the orc(spear). Our faces were unreadable, no fear, no invitational smirk. In that instant, I flew at the orc.

With a big disgusting smirk, the orc spun its spear and using its muscular arm to stab me but it got deflected as if the spear was hitting a diamond, and yet at the same time it made contact with my body me, the spear slid away to the side.

Then my leg was making a contact to the orc's face, so much force in one blow, enough to squeeze the orc's pig-like nose inward. Then I jumped back and started charging at the staggering orc(spear) to deliver rained blows onto it as if I meant to smash it into the very earth.

Next, I ran and then my fist was slamming into the orc (crossbow) chest; it gagged. Then I sunk my fist into its stomach; blood pooled out from its mouth.

I stumbled apart for a brief second to catch my breaths before diving back at the orc, eyes narrowed in determination.

But this time it blocked my fist and came up with its own; for a brief instant, its pig nose widened before I managed to tilt my head back and slammed it into its stomach.

The orc was letting my hand go, though at the same time stars burst in my vision but I shook it off just in time to step back as the orc threw a sloppy kick.

Then I threw my body weight behind the fist that edged closer to the orc's stomach, making it kneeled down. With my own two hands I grasped the orc's ears in my hands and brought my knee cap up to its nose, there was a blunt crack and I released my hands from its ears.

I followed this by uppercutting the orc's jaw, my fist collided with its jaw, then for the first time the orc drew its fist and ploughed right into my face, crimson blood leaked from both my nostrils, my nose was twisted right and I knew there was a bruise on my right eye.

My whole body was trembling and my right vision was hazy. Even though it was only a single hit, but it felt like ten punches pummeling me down at the same time.

I spat the massive amount of blood right from my mouth. I guessed the buff was over, anyhow it was the time to make a retreat.

But just before I did that, the orc fell to the ground, Its chest stopped rose and sank and the big hole on its nose stopped pulsating.

.....

Maybe that was a people call as the last effort, heh.

And as I turned my head it seemed the beastmens finally finished the last orc.

They curiously looking at me and then, seemingly their group leader, a bunny-eared beastmen was opening his mouth.

"[email protected]#[email protected]%[email protected]##^%$."

W...what?