See, I’ve decided on the request already, but

I just can’t shake the fact that I’ll be battling monsters off my mind.

Can I really fight in a battle out of the blue?

All I can do is use Poison Release and throw swamp toxin. I don’t have any weapons

beside that.

‘Is it a

weapon you desire? If so, move somewhere you will not be seen.’

What are

you trying to do?

As per Veno’s instruction, I walked behind the town hall and made sure that no

one was watching.

‘Good. I

shall take it out now.’

As soon as I saw the gleaming in front of me,

a sword and armor simply appeared with a thud.

“Wh-what the h.e.l.l?!”

I blurted out loud before I even realised.

No, I understand that it’s something Veno did, but how it suddenly happened is

astonis.h.i.+ng.

“…”

It was some Western-looking sword and armor.

Though I haven’t seen the real deal before, I’m well-acquainted with ones from

videogames and manga.

I gently pick it up.

I imagined it to be rather heavy, but it was a light as a stick.

Flyiron Sword +4

Quality: Superior

Required level: None

Bonus effects: Flyweight

An alloy sword made with outstanding metal ores. Light as a feather so that it

can even be wielded by a complete novice.

However, the weight is inconsistent.

Smoke Armor +3

Quality: Fine

Required level: None

Bonus effects: Smoke

Magic armor crafted by solidifying smoke. Though it is smoke, it is solid and

light.

However, beware that it is not impervious to water.

Robe of

Concealment +3

Quality: Fine

Required level: None

Bonus effects: Cloaking; Reveal Resistance (Low)

A robe able to camouflage its wearer. Woven to disguise ordinary users.

Made from the skin of monsters with high concealing abilities. Resistant to

revealing magic and grants disguising capabilities.

You can tell this is equipment with a focus on

being lightweight. Even I can equip this no problem.

The armor, though… feels weird to the touch.

Kinda like a beanbag chair? It’s a very odd texture.

However… everything is nicely decorated and you can tell it is quality.

‘Equip

this and you shall be fine.’

… exactly as I was thinking. Won’t deny that.

But there’s a few things I want to point out, if that’s alright.

‘What is

it?’

Where did you take this out from?

‘Ah. I

have employed Compression Storage Magic on those items. I can rather easily retrieve

anything stored. The lot who casted Forced Possession Summoning are unlikely to

be able to detect this amount of magic.’

Judging by his words, these items that

Veno had held on to from the beginning must be good stuff.

‘I, too,

am a dragon. It is more or less in our nature to maintain a collection. If we

could return to my lair, I would show you my h.o.a.rd. Unfortunately, I am uneasy

about that.’

So, I get that he’s telling me to equip the

sword and s.h.i.+eld, but who did it come from?

‘Before I

had Forced Possession Summoning casted on me, challengers recklessly come for to

fight, get defeated, and I plunder their goods. Is that not obvious? They were carrying

fairly good equipment, so I applied storage magic and forgotten about it.’

In short, then, the estate of nameless heroes?

‘I had

not killed them. Merely stripped them of their property.’

Sure, this stuff is quite helpful, but

shouldn’t I just sell it all off for the money?

‘Think

carefully, you fool. You would be a man who cannot be mistaken as anyone

strong, selling expensive-looking equipment and goods, and turning it all into

money. What do you think barbarians—these fools who are devoted

to only their desires—would do

to you?’

Well, yeah. It’s not uncommon to hear of

robbers that specifically target people who are travelling abroad.

It would be rather dangerous if I simply sell off Veno’s possessions.

‘In any

case, I have nothing of the sort at hand. You should not only rely on what I

have either. Anything better than what you currently hold has level

requirements. If not, it is ma.s.s-produced swords and spears at best. Furthermore,

I do not have that much of stock since it is rubbish, aye?’

So, to a dragon, normal swords and spears and

other weapons are trash?

He only takes what’s rare, eh?

Well, I’ll just use what I’m given.

I first put on my armor and then draped the

robe on top… it seems like it should’ve been a nice fluffy robe, but it feels more

like linen. The surface of the robe is also changing colors.

It’s light and helpful too.

I tie the sword and belt given to me to my hip.

‘Then I

will store the clothes you have worn until now.’

The suit, s.h.i.+rt, and trousers I had been

wearing suddenly disappeared, as if they had warped s.p.a.ce-time.

Only the armor and robe was left.

… but why did you store my clothes?

‘So that

you can freely go into combat. I also want to give you a bow and arrows.

However, I have judged that it is too early for you to use what I have in stock.’

Ah, yeah… for someone like me with no combat

experience, a bow or crossbow would be better.

I’m not certain if I can hit anything at distance, but ranged combat is powerful.

I could even smear poison on the arrowheads.

… well, not much I can do about it since I can’t

equip it anyway.

Honestly, having never fought before, there’s a limit to what Veno can do for

me.

There’s a limit to how I can use Poison Release too, right? I mean, all I can

do is chuck it at a target.

Since I’m weak, I’ll have to somehow connect my strikes…

‘It seems

like I can somehow use Compression Storage Magic on your items too. You need

not carry so much of your belongings.’

That skill is really convenient, huh?

Well, no reason not to use it.

‘Humans,

too, can use magic like this if they are a high-ranking magician. It seems like

it does not exist in your world though… was it not inconvenient?’

So sorry, but the j.a.pan I lived in doesn’t have

any magic that handy.

Or rather, nothing so extremely expedient.

Where do the items go if the owner dies?

‘Obvious it

gets scattered by the corpse.’

… what? It feels like I’ve caught a glimpse of

an RPG or something where monsters drop weapons or items.

‘By the

way, this spell does have a few peculiarities to it. Of course, there is a

limit to how many one can store at a time, but as well, items will continue to

deteriorate, and can be interfered with while in holding. A skilled user,

though, would be able to indefinitely keep ice without it melting. Well, one

could always use magic to create more ice, but still…’

How good are you then, Veno?

‘Do not

look down on me, aye? I could swallow up this entire village and still have s.p.a.ce

left over. But, well, there are limitations, so it would be impossible for me

to store away the whole village right now.’

He did say his mana has been strained. It otherwise

wouldn’t be much of a hards.h.i.+p for him.

Still, having that much capacity is a boon.

‘Aye. Anything

that you can carry on your back would be easy, but beyond that would be, for

the time being at least, a spot of bother. On the other hand, I promise I shall

keep your items from deteriorating to the best of my abilities.’

Don’t

mind if I take this convenient item box magic.

Well, now… I’ve finished my preparations and I said I’ll try my hand at

adventuring, so let’s go try picking some flowers.

I take the request off the bulletin board and, as Veno instructed, headed back the

way Arleaf and I came from.

I’m simply going back the same way, but… there’s

an ominous, maybe uneasy feeling in

the air?

I wouldn’t be surprised if a monster were to pop out any time.

When Arleaf was here, it wasn’t like this at all. Maybe it’s because I’m all

alone?

‘I am here, no?’

Veno, huh? A self-proclaimed dragon who is talking in

my head doesn’t really soothe this feeling of isolation.

He did prove his existence by giving me weapons though.

‘If you are feeling lonely even with me… does not that mean that you are

a lonely person?’

… I’m going to pick my battles. I

ignore him and put my feelers out.

If this were a game, then I’d probably be worse than a lv 1 villager.

There are only simple fields around this area so there might be a small fry or

two roaming about.

Random encounters would be scaled to the level of the character in a videogame,

but this is real life. Enemies lv 30 or 40 might pop out all of a sudden.

Suppose the villagers around here are all at least lv 35. It would be an

instant checkmate for me.

It might be better for my chances of survival if I target easy monsters and strike

swiftly.

‘Calm yourself. You have my support. I will use my knowledge to tell you

whether a monster you face is dangerous or not.’

That’s convenient, but a fight safe for a dragon wouldn’t

necessarily be safe for a human.

Again, I have no combat experience.

‘You are certainly helpful to me by focusing on your surviving. However,

how you do not place trust in me is aggravating. I would like for you to not to

get carried away with ridiculing me.’

As I was walking with vigilance…

A monster’s name appeared with a blip

in my field of vision.

Chrome Yellow Poisonwhip

It’s a monster that looked like nothing more than a vine

growing in a nook on the path.

The vine itself is reasonably thick.

This thing wasn’t here when I was with Arleaf.

But it’s got a d.a.m.n long name.

The name is so hard to remember that I’d even forget if this were a videogame.

‘Ah, that is an easy one. Part of the ecology, but the tip of the vine

will first try to spray venom to weaken its opponents, wrap itself around them,

and turn them into fertilizer.’

That right?

So? Is it something a lv 1 can beat?

‘Even I cannot determine any and every human’s fighting capabilities.

But, it would be wise for you to try launching a surprise attack on it and cutting

it down with your sword.’

Will I be alright?

Even with the advice, I’m not fully sure about my own specs or the performance

of my weapon.

‘Fortunately, if you conceal yourself to the best of your abilities, I

believe your disguise will not be seen through. Pretend like you have not

noticed it and calmly walk up to it. Before you are engaged by it, swing your sword

while you run past from behind.’

Gotcha.

Perhaps due to the effects of my Robe of Concealment +3, the Chrome Yellow

Poisonwhip doesn’t fully notice me. I pretend to be calm and walk up to the

tree that the Chrome Yellow Poisonwhip is entwined to.

It senses my approach and waits for its chance to take me by surprise. Before I

let the Chrome Yellow Poisonwhip get the drop on me, I dash out without pausing

and pa.s.s behind it. Like a kid swinging a stick at the air, I brandish my

sword.

The tendril of the Chrome Yellow Poisonwhip was extremely easy to sever. A

clean cut. The part still entwined to the tree turned limp and frail and rolled

onto the ground.

The Chrome Yellow Poisonwhip’s tendril screeches out

as I make contact with it.

“Seems like you cut all right,”

I mutter to the Flyiron Sword +4 while looking at the

blade.

Maybe because it’s amazingly light and cuts well, it’s

rather easy to wield.

It cuts as well as a fresh boxcutter on a piece of paper.

I was merely pretending to be a samurai or something but it went so well.

As its final act of resistance, the Chrome Yellow Poisonwhip crooks its neck

like a snake and sprays its toxin at me.

While I quickly dodge its attack, the Chrome Yellow Poisonwhip

flops limp and became still.

And then it says here that I earned 12 EXP.

My experience of RPGs tells me that anything more than 1 or 2 is wicked.

By MMORPG standards, that was a higher-level monster.

‘It seems like you have emerged victorious for your first battle.’

It doesn’t feel like I’ve fought a lot though…

There would’ve been some kind of victory fanfare when a battle ends in a game,

but in reality, it’s like this.

Still, winning is winning.

At the very least, I’ve still defeated a living monster.

‘For your first battle, fighting an easy monster like this is best.

Experience outweighs anything else. Plus, I get a better understanding of your

skills.’

Since I’ve experienced my first battle, I’ll go check

my status.

How much ‘til I reach the next level?

It seems like I still have 80% to go.

‘Oi. Do not lose focus. Are you listening?’

To level up from lv 1 to 2, I still need 14 EXP, huh?

I wonder if I can level up from fighting one more? I succ.u.mb to an impulse to

search for another monster.

Previously: // /ch005/