Chapter 57: One Month Later

“I got it!” (Hiiro)

Bushushushushu (Sound of running on a forest ground)

Hiiro stabbed a large rat with his Thorn Sword-Piercer. Blood gushed from the rat’s body as it collapsed on the ground and stopped moving. He flicked the blood off the sword before placing it in its scabbard.

“Fu~, there’re so many monsters here.” (Hiiro)

Hiiro grumbled. One month pa.s.sed since he departed from Pa.s.sion. He was currently in the [Glutton Forest]. It was also referred to as the “Forest of Gluttony.” Many monsters decided to make this forest their habitat.

Just walking around for a bit would cause someone to encounter a monster. Even up till this moment, Hiiro had barely made any progress through the forest. Of course, this greatly irritated him.

If one were to look behind him, they would see a numerous amount of monster corpses. Hiiro wanted to say that instead of this road being a Gabranth’s Trail, it was more like a Monster’s trail. However, as Arnold, who would usually interject with his tsukommis, was not here, Hiiro felt himself grow a bit lonely.

“I’ve been camping everyday, huh? My MP recovery is quite low. If possible, I’d like to avoid using magic…” (Hiiro)

He wanted to tear through the forest path with >, however, it wasn’t clear if a town was up ahead. There might still be a long way to go, so it was best not to use magic recklessly.

Gusa… (Sound of someone stepping on something)

Hiiro drew his sword, antic.i.p.ating some sort of an attack

“Kuikuikuikui” (?)

“Oh…it’s you.” (Hiiro)

It was the Raidpic, Mikazuki. One month ago she (big surprise) started travelling with him. She was unable to help him fight off the monsters so Hiiro just told her to go hide somewhere whenever there was an encounter.

“Make sure you stay close.” (Hiiro)

“Kui” (Mikazuki)

They began advancing until Hiiro abruptly stopped.

“G.o.ds, this is a gloomy forest. There is also this…” (Hiiro)

He looked at the thing before him. To be more precise, he looked UP at the thing before him.

“Is this the boss?” (Hiiro)

“Ku, kukukuikuikui!” (Mikazuki)

Mikazuki let out a surprised cry as she looked at the giant before her.

It loomed over them at a height of five meters tall. Not only this, but it possessed arms that were large enough to destroy trees in one sweep and muscular legs that couldn’t be damage by flimsy attacks. It was a monster that held the ferocity of a gorilla and a bear. Fang-like teeth lined its mouth.

While observing the monster, Hiiro searched his memory, pulling up what he knew about his current foe.

“Although it’s my first time meeting one, I’m pretty sure this is an S-rank monster called a Troll” (Hiiro)

“Garugaaaaaaaaaa!” (Troll roaring)

It was certainly making a racket. This was probably the leader of this territory, and Hiiro just intruded into it turf.”

DonDonDonDonDonDonDonDon (Drumming)

As a warning, it began pounding on a drum. It was so loud that it hurt Hiiro’s ears.

The troll clasped both hands together, aiming at Hiiro as it swung its arms down on him like a hammer. (TL: Help here) (E: Not an easy one. I think it’s trying to say that the troll made a hammer with its hands by bringing them both together.)

“Run away.” (Hiiro)

“Kuiiiii!” (Mikazuki)

Following his order, Mikazuki fled and hid nearby.

“Yoto!” (Hiiro)

Hiiro barely dodged the attack. However, it was a careless move.

Dogoooooooo! (Sound of ground being smashed, sending a shockwave)

The ground shattered under the troll’s fists, causing Hiiro’s feet to become stuck in the rubble. He began to regret that he hadn’t moved further away when he was dodging.

The troll took that chance to try and grab Hiiro. Although he was off balance, Hiiro still managed to slash at its hand. From the wound, blood began spurting out.

“Come and get me, fat a.s.s.” (Hiiro)

Hiiro’s words and movements angered the Troll. It threw a punch at him, yet Hiiro was already out of its range. He easily dodged the attack, however, he felt a blast of wind pressure from it.

The troll continued to try punching Hiiro over and over again, however, Hiiro dodged them expertly. Then, suddenly, it leaped into the air.

“What?” (Hiiro)

Hiiro thought that the Troll was using its body to attack him. Hiiro planned to take advantage of that moment to drive his sword through its heart. Yet, at that moment, the Troll took out a sharp fang and tossed it at him.

”Seriously?” (Hiiro)

Taken by surprise, Hiiro hastily guarded with his sword. In that instance

Dosuuuuuuuuun (Sound of a something cras.h.i.+ng in to the ground)

The ground shook, as if a small earthquake had just occurred. The Troll, thinking that it was over, slowly stood up and walked towards the area to confirm his victory.

However, when he got there, the wounded body of Hiiro was not what had appeared. It glared forward with bloodshot eyes and was enraged when Hiiro appeared unscathed before him.

“To make me use , as expected of a S-Rank monster.”

Looking closely, the word 『速』had been written on his right hand. Using that word, he was able to accelerate his body and move away at the moment of impact.

“As I thought, it was a good idea to prepare this beforehand.” (Hiiro)

Seeing Hiiro’s smirk, the troll became even more furious as it uprooted a tree and began to swing it at Hiiro.

“Hey! What do you think you’re swinging around?” (Hiiro)

Hiiro knew that if he took a direct hit from that, it wouldn’t be good. He tried to create some distance, however, it was moving too fast.

“This b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

Reluctantly, Hiiro stopped moving and ducked. Taking this opportunity the Troll used both hands to smash the tree above Hiiro’s head.

Dogaaaaaaaaan (Smas.h.!.+)

The troll, thinking it had succeeded this time, grinned.

“Guki…ga….!?” (Troll)

Hiiro, skillfully dodging the tree, drove the sword into its neck from the left.

“I’m not done yet!” (Hiiro)

Hiiro pulled his sword from the throat, slipped into the troll’s chested and stabbed its heart. Following his series of attacks, he created distance between himself and the troll.

He distanced himself to avoid any of the troll’s wild, unexpected movements. The troll thrashed around for a while before its movements became sluggish. It spasmed one more time before becoming completely still.

A level up tone rang in Hiiro’s head. His level had went up significantly in the last month, yet, consistently leveling up was something to be appreciated.

Hiiro Okamura

Lv: 68

HP: 578/1400

MP: 1870/2340

EXP: 364852

NEXT: 15500

ATX: 426 (488)

DEF: 340 (355)

AGL: 546 (548)

HIT: 304 (312)

INT: 477 (481)

Magic Attribute: none

Magic: Word Magic

(One-Word Chain (Unlocked)Air Writing (Unlocked)Parallel Writing (Unlocked)Two-Word Chain (Unlocked)Simultaneous Invocation (Unlocked)Invocation Management (Unlocked))

t.i.tles:

Innocent BystanderWorld TravellerWord MasterAwakened OneRipper

The One Who ImaginesKiller of the UniqueGourmet b.a.s.t.a.r.d

One Who Follows His Own PathFriend of the FairiesMikazuki’s OwnerMonster Slayer

Wanderer

Guild Card

Name: Hiiro Okamura

s.e.x: Male

Age: 17

From Unknown

Rank S

Quest:

Equipment

Weapon: Thorn-Piercer

Guard: Red Robe

Accessory: Fairy Ring

Rigin: 7854000

When he reached level 50, he unlocked the skill >. At level 60, he got >.

> MP cost: x 30

Before, when Hiiro wrote a new word, the previous word’s effect would be erased. With this skill, this limitation has been removed. Hiiro is now able write other words simultaneously, however, he can only activate words one at a time, thus, he still needed to exercise caution. Also, activating the same word will still trigger a synergistic effect as shown with the skill >.

> MP cost: 250

It is now possible to manipulate the invocation of a maximum of 5 words. It is possible to activate a previously written word at any given time. However, this skill can only be applied to the > skill. In addition, the user must be within 300 meters of the words written before they can be triggered.

While reading the description didn’t help at first, after applying the skills, he was able to comprehend their functionality. There cannot be skills any more useful than these.

The first skill was >. Before if he invoked the word > 『防』 , there would be a wall of magic to protect him for one minute. However, if he wrote a different word before the duration time elapsed, the effect of > would wear off straight away, overwritten by the new character

However, with >, when the word 『防』is used, the >『防』 word’s effect will remain in place, and the word 『雷』 can be used to a.s.sault the enemy, or the word > 『飛』can be used at the same time to fly away.

However, the restriction was that only one word skills can be activated. Two-word skills cannot be invoked. Similarly, if Hiiro were to activate a two-word character while the one-word spell is still active, the effect of the one-word character would immediately dissipate.

Nonetheless, it is a very versatile skill. He would be able to use the word 『防』while he prepares his two-word spell. Furthermore, he could increase the effect of 『速』by writing another right away.

If he didn’t use the word he wrote, he needed to be mindful of the increasing MP costs. The first Simultaneous Word would cost 30 MP, the second would cost 60 MP, and the third would cost 90 MP, and so on and so forth depending on how many words he wanted.

The second skill was >. Before, when he used word magic, he would write out a word in thin air and it would remain there, disappear only if it was left alone for a long period of time or if it was activated. With this skill, if he wrote with the > skill, he would write the word as usual, but the word would disappear and remain at that location. This meant that it would be invisible to other people

As long as he is within a 300 meter radius, he can locate and activate those words at will.

Not only can this be used as a potential trap, he could also activate all five words at the same time for a full frontal a.s.sault. It’s only limitation was that it could only be used with One-Word spells. This is definitely a cheat. Incidentally, writing a Two-Word Spell would cause any planted One-Word spells to disappear.

He also needed to take extra precaution if he moved outside the range of the words. Should he go out of range, the words installed would disappear. It was a little disappointing that only one-word spells could be used. This skill would prove much more versatile if it accommodated the use of two-words.

Also, the word > he had used earlier was triggered instantly because he set it up using the > skill. Thus, this ability can be used to prepare words on the body, equipment and weaponry, which could all be activated at will.

During the month that had pa.s.sed, Hiiro practiced using his . Specifically, he was experimenting with the penalty incurred when he was disrupted while using the > skill.

The description he received was proven correct. For six-hours, he was unable to use and all his stats were halved. This was a significant penalty. If he had incurred this penalty in the middle of battle, he would be crippled and would have a high chance of getting himself killed.

For example, if he incurred the penalty while fighting the troll, it would be have been difficult to run, let alone fight when his stat were halved and his sealed. He would most likely be killed if he made a single wrong move.

Although Word Magic is like a cheat, if a mistake was made, the user would suffer a harsh penalty. Thus, he had to be very cautious when using it.

“Either way, I have to get out of this forest and find a village!” (Hiiro)

He had encountered several monsters along the way, but none of them were as strong as the troll he faced. After a short while, he finally reached the forest exit.

“It is finally over. Now…” (Hiiro)

Hiiro stepped out of the forest and looked around, however, he could only see small hills in the distance.

“I guess I no choice. I don’t want to use too much MP” (Hiiro)

He wanted to find the nearest town as soon as possible so he wrote and activated the word