Translator: Cryus　Editor: Weasalopes

「Hey! You need to adjust your arms!」

「Like this?」

「That"s it! That"s how your arms should be! Let"s try it again!」

「Okay!」

We"ve come to the area due west of the Fire Spirit Rock.
Right now, I"m training him on how to use a sleeper hold.
We"re practicing it on Orcs.
I"ve been showing Lambda how to strangle an opponent.

He"s strangling an Orc in front of me right now.
He"s having trouble trying to keep the Orc from struggling.

「You need to use your body weight, not just your arms!」

「Like this?」

He"s sitting on the Orc now.
Just how is he going to strangle an Orc like that?
It"s more effective to let him gain practical experience instead of just telling him what to do.
After all, he needs to experience how his opponent will react when being strangled.

「Ah!」

「You"re done?」

After some time, the Orc"s HP has finally dropped to zero.
But naturally, Lambda has also taken some damage while the Orc was thrashing about.
I can"t use Dark Heal on him yet.
Oh well, I guess it can"t be helped.

I quickly finish off the Orc I"ve been performing a sleeper hold on.

「It looks like I can learn【Joint Lock】now.」

「Perfect.」

This is undoubtedly perfect for him.
We"ve finished off 4 groups of Orcs.

When it came to the last Orc in the first group, I performed a sleeper hold on it.
He probably wanted to try it out because of that.
It ended up dragging on for a painfully long time.
The Orc didn"t have much MP, so I could only use Dark Heal twice.

「This is it!」

It looks like it"s become his ideal way of finishing off monsters.
For the next group, I let him have the last Orc, and carefully gave him guidance.
And here we are.
It"s going to be more trouble for the Orcs now.

「Alright, let"s go to the Western Forest.」

「Understood.」

He"s probably just obtained the【Joint Lock】skill and activated it.
He looks really happy.
But this isn"t over for him.
There"s still a lot to teach him about sleeper holds.
It"s probably best for him to learn【Throw】too.

I"ve changed my party of monster summons a little.
I have Volff (now a Gray Wolf), Obsidian, Senki, and Bunraku summoned now.
I"ve instructed them not to wipe out all of the Orcs in each group.
No problem so far.
After all, Volff has just become even more reliable now.
He can even detect the groups of Orcs without me having to use Call Monster.
It"s a lot more convenient for me.
It"s probably because of his Sense Danger skill.
It seems to have been enhanced.
And I can see that his speed has increased.
Just having a 3 point increase in AGI gives him a huge boost while running.
The Cla.s.s Change is well worth it.

As for me, I"ve finally felt the difference in my new equipment.
Just by wearing the Silver Necklace, I"ve seen a few differences.
Even when I"m fighting unarmed.
It"s also increased the damage output of my Force Bullets.
Against Orcs, it"s by no means inferior to a direct hit from tonfas.
I can use a Force Bullet to end it in one strike, and even my Wind Cutter brings them close to death.
My offensive spells have clearly improved.

Oops. Back to the present.
Volff has smelled some more monsters.
He"s leading the way to those monsters.
This is really convenient.
But I"m a little hesitant when we get there.

Why is there an Orc Leader here?

===
Orc Leader　Lv.1
Monster　Enemy Target　Pa.s.sive
===

I can finally see its level after using【Identify】.
Maybe it"s because I"ve leveled up since the last time I saw one.
Anyway, the Orc Leader is probably not a good demonstration target.
There are 9 Orcs too.
They"re ranging from Level 1 to 5, and each of them have different weapons equipped.
Hmm.
I guess it"s better to annihilate them as quickly as possible.

I"m casting a spell while going for the first strike.
Volff, Senki, and Obsidian are attacking the Orcs.
Bunraku is staying in the rear and providing ranged support.
What about Lambda?
Eh, he should be fine.

「Gravity Bullet!」

It"s a direct hit on the Orc Leader.
Despite that, it"s not falling over.
Is it because of its body?
Is it because of its fat?

「Gehu!」

It"s screeching in a weird manner. Its HP has dropped considerably as well.
It wasn"t a waste after all.
Volff is going right for the Orc Leader"s throat.
Blood is splattering all over.
Volff immediately puts some distance from the Orc Leader. He"s running sideways and zoning in on it.
The Orc Leader is following his movements.
It doesn"t seem to have noticed Senki approaching it, even though he"s right in front of it.

Senki is a lot beefier than I am.
But the Orc Leader is meatier than Senki.
Even though it"s fat.

Senki is kicking it and grabbing its right arm with his left hand.
Putting his free right hand to its groin, he"s lifting up the monster.
That"s absurd.
But he manages it.
Wow.

「Groaaaar!」

With a loud roar, Senki throws the monster onto the ground.
The monster lands flat on its back and faints in agony.

Wait wait wait wait.
This is too good to be happening!

I"m closing in on the Orc right in front of Senki.
I get in range while avoiding its spear.
I pull on the monster"s arm while threading my head under it.
The monster is rushing towards me at the same time. Using its momentum, I manage to hoist it up my shoulder.
I immediately throw it onto the ground.
But I"m not going to let its back hit the ground.
I"m going to make its head hit the ground instead.
Recovery?
I won"t let you.

It"s a judo technique called a shoulder wheel. The Orc has landed head first and died instantly.
I don"t need to use a lot of strength to perform a throw.
As long as I can break its posture, I can pull it off."

Senki is closing in on the Orc Leader again.
Dodging its attacks barely, Senki is lifting it up once again.
Whoa.
It"s way too huge for me to do what Senki is doing.

Senki is throwing the monster face first onto the ground.
Nice.
His attack is a lot more resolute than before.
The Orc Leader"s HP has decreased by half.

Oops.
There"s an Orc coming my way from the side while swinging a club.
I dodge its sideway swing and give it a kick.
That"s enough to cause the Orc to topple.
Its neck is defenseless before me.
I"m performing a sleeper hold by reflex.
But I"m in the middle of a melee right now.
I can"t afford to suffer a blow while I"m busy strangling the Orc.

I grab the back of its head with my left hand and its cheek with my right hand, and twist its head with all my might.
The Orc dies from that in its moment of helplessness.
Weak.
Too weak.

How is Senki doing now?
He"s carrying the Orc Leader on his back.
It looks like he"s going to wring its neck.
You don"t have to mimic me every time!

But it seems to be effective anyway.
It"s probably because he threw the Orc Leader face first just now.
The Orc Leader"s head is bent at a weird angle.
Naturally, its HP has dropped to zero.

I look around to see a bunch of Orc corpses.
But there"s still a red marker here.
Its HP is dwindling though.
Lambda is fighting the last remaining Orc.
There"s no way he can lose at this point.
He"s strangling it the way I taught him to.

「Is this good?」

「Yup. Wanna try twisting its neck?」

「Huh?」

The Orc is on the verge of death.
Do it now. Do it quick.

I should tell him how to do it first.
Remove one hand from the lock, put it on the cheek, move the other hand to the temporal region.
Tilt its head, with force.
But the angle has to exceed the movable range.

「Here goes.」

The Orc"s face is upside down.
Its HP has been depleted.
Wonderful.

===
《【Throw】Level Up!》
《【Evade】Level Up!》
===

My Throw skill has finally leveled up.
I really have to use it more often.

I was looking forward to the item drops.
Nothing.
【Disa.s.sembly】, do your job!
I almost shouted that out loud.
I"ve barely gotten any item drops from the Orcs in this forest today.
At least the Fire-Eater Parrots are dropping some items.

Oh well.

It"s almost 3 pm.
I"ve already entered the S1W2 area on the map.
It"s a plain.
There"s a healthy growth of trees and tall gra.s.s in this area.
It kind of feels like a bush savanna here.

「I don"t know what monsters there are in this area. I"ll scout ahead if that"s fine with you?」

「You"ve never been here before?」

「Mhm.」

I"ve only seen it before.
I"m not lying, right?

Normally, I"d be riding on Zangetsu in a place like this.
It makes it more convenient when I"m trying to find the Area Portal.
But I"m traveling with Lambda right now.
He walks just about as quickly as I do, but I doubt he"d last if he has to catch up with Zangetsu.
We shouldn"t push ourselves.
And since we"re probably going to fight monsters here, there"s no need to travel too quickly.

Alright.
I wonder what kind of monsters we"ll encounter.

The tall gra.s.s is the problem here.
It"s tall enough for monsters to hide in.
Even Obsidian would have trouble spotting them.
Volff is on alert, so I doubt it"s really going to be a problem when monsters approach us.
Now that I think about it, I should maximize my combat capabilities.

Immediately after I replaced Bunkraku with Rig…
A monster appeared.

===
Sturmtiger　Lv.5
Monster　Enemy Target　Active
===

It"s a tiger.
It has a German name.
Isn"t it supposed to be the name of a tank?

No, that should be the least of my worries.
The monster has approached us while avoiding the detection of Volff and Obsidian.
How did it do that?

I should leave the questions for later.
What kind of attacks will it use?
I only had a moment to stand ready.
The tiger shot a gust of wind towards us.

The wind has stopped.
The tiger is gone.
My HP has been reduced by about 20%.
Where did the monster go?

Is it gone?
No, I can hear the sounds of a struggle behind me.
It"s Volff.
He and the tiger are biting at each other.

It doesn"t seem like I"m in a position to interfere.
They"re toppling over while gnawing at each other"s necks.
As soon as they let go of each other, they started growling at each other menacingly.
They"re clawing at each other"s faces.
I"d say they"re about evenly matched.
No, Volff is able to keep up with the tiger in terms of speed, but the tiger is physically stronger.
I"ll cast a spell.
Volff needs a.s.sistance.

Obsidian is interfering before I can do anything.
He"s flying straight towards the tiger"s face.
But that"s just a diversion.
Senki is attacking the tiger a moment later.

「Raaaawr!」

The tiger is directing a low howl at Senki.
But that"s not all.
Senki took some damage from it.
There"s a welt growing on Senki"s skin.
Is it a special attack like Wind Cutter?

Still, Senki isn"t backing down.
He"s grappling and wrestling with the tiger.
He"s wrapped his arms around its torso in an attempt to pin it down.
The tiger is slowing down.

「Physical Enchant: Fire!」

The spell was intended for Volff, but I cast it on Senki to raise his STR.
The tide of the battle is turning even as I"m casting my next spell.
Rig is clinging to the tiger.

He"s slowly wrapping himself around its entire head.
The tiger is trying to peel him off with its forefeet, but it"s not doing much.
Also, is it trying to howl again?
I don"t think Rig can make it.

Volff is biting the tiger"s throat.
Senki is suffocating it by applying his body weight on its torso.

「Delay!」

I cast the spell on the tiger.
I have to delay its movements, even if just a bit.

「Raw-!」

The tiger managed a short howl.
Rig received the full brunt of it. Just like that, his HP has been reduced by more than half.
This tiger is a pain.

I kick its belly while Senki is pinning him down.
Even while Volff is biting its throat, the tiger is glaring at me spitefully.
Its yellow eyes are filled with intense wildness.
It"s really scary, to be honest.
I thrust my rod straight at its eyes.
The tiger is trying to growl in anger, but fails.
Rig has entered its mouth.
To a bystander, it would probably look as if the tiger was drinking some liquid.
That was the final blow.

===
《Monster Summon『Senki』Level Up!》
《Monster Summon『Senki』has learned the【Throw】skill.》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
===

Senki has leveled up from that battle.
But everyone, including Lambda, has lost a lot of HP.
What the h.e.l.l? Is this for real?

「I"m sorry I couldn"t be of help.」

「Nah, don"t worry about it.」

「Are you alright?」

「Yeah. Go ahead and heal yourself.」

「Okay.」

Lambda was. .h.i.t only by the tiger"s first attack.
Even though he was standing quite far from the tiger, he still took about 10% HP damage.
It was truly a fearsome opponent.

I use Potions to heal Volff and the other Monster Summons while checking Senki"s stats.
His AGI has already increased from the level up.
I"ll add 1 point to SPI.

===
　Senki　Beast Ape Lv4→Lv5（↑1）
　DEX　10
　AGI　19（↑1）
　INT　 5
　STR　25
　VIT　25
　SPI　 5（↑1）

Skills
　Punch　Kick　Throw Object　Block　Evade　Climb　Throw（New！）
===

What the h.e.l.l have you learned, Senki?
投げ技?
Well, he did use it on Rock Worms and Orcs continuously.
Whatever, I guess.
I"ll use a potion on Senki too.

Rig has also received a lot of damage.
I noticed something when I fed him a potion.
Doesn"t his body look a little red?
Did he absorb the tiger"s blood?
Or is he just dissolving the potion?
I guess it"s possible that he"s just absorbing the contents of the potion, but somehow it gives me the creeps.

I"ve just given Obsidian a potion, and I"m drinking one now.
But these potions weren"t enough to heal the damage.
I"m casting a healing spell on the whole party.
Honestly, that ambush was brutal.

As for the item drops I"ve been looking forward to…
It"s probably going to be skin, fangs, or claws.
It turned out to be claws.

===
【Material】Sturmtiger Claws　Raw Material　Grade C　Rarity 4　Weight 0+　
The claws of a Sturmtiger. Extremely sharp and tough.
===

They look slightly bigger than the Snow Leopard Claws.
I could probably make concealed weapons out of these.
They seem pretty rare too. Nice.

「That monster was formidable.」

「It was.」

Alright, what should we do now?
I still have some MP left to spare, but I don"t want to relive the experience of dying again.
I"ve decided to go back to the forest.
This"ll be a good spot to visit when I"ve gained a few more levels.
I think I"ve really learned to be careful now.
Yup.
I think I"ve become a coward now.
But I"ve been tasked with a request.
I shouldn"t be careless.
===
Protagonist　Keith
Race　Human　Male　Racial Lv10
Job　Summoner Lv10
Bonus Points Remaining 8

Skill Sets
Staff Lv8　Pucnh Lv5　Kick Lv5　Joint Lock Lv5　投げ技Lv5（↑1）
Evade Lv6（↑1）Block Lv5　Summon Magic Lv10　s.p.a.cetime Magic Lv3
Light Magic Lv5　Wind Magic Lv5　Earth Magic Lv5　Water Magic Lv5
Fire Magic Lv5　Dark Magic Lv5　Ice Magic Lv3　Lightning Magic Lv3
Tree Magic Lv3　Dust Magic Lv3　Lava Magic Lv3　Steam Magic Lv3
Alchemy Lv5　Pharmacy Lv4　Gla.s.smaking Lv3　Woodworking Lv4
Cooperation Lv8　Appraise Lv6　Identify Lv7　Discern Lv3　Cold Resistance Lv3
Grab Lv6　Horsemanship Lv6　Precise Manipulation Lv7　Jump Lv3
Heat Resistance Lv4　Climb Lv3　Dual Wield Lv5　Disa.s.sembly Lv2
Physical Fortification Lv3　Mental Fortification Lv4　Speedcasting Lv5

Equipment　Kaya Wood Rod ×1　Kaya Wood Tonfas ×2　Snow Leopard Push Daggers ×2
　　　Silver Necklace+
　　　Wild Horse Leather Armor+　Snow Ape Armguard　Wild Horse Boots+
　　　Snow Ape Leather Helmet　Rabid Horse Belt+　Rucksack　Item Box ×2

Items　Survival Knife　Woodworking Toolkit

t.i.tles　Old Summoner"s Pupil, Guardian of the Forest, Man of the Middle Path
　　　Spell Archive

Monster Summons
Volff　Gray Wolf Lv1
Zangetsu　Horse Lv5
Helix　Hawk Lv5
Obsidian　Owl Lv5
Jean　Bat Lv5
Jericho　Wood Golem Lv4
Goki　Demon Lv4
Senki　Beast Ape Lv4→Lv5（↑1）
　DEX　10
　AGI　19（↑1）
　INT　 5
　STR　25
　VIT　25
　SPI　 5（↑1）
Skills
　Punch　Kick　Throw Object　Block　Evade　Climb　Throw（New！）
Rig　Slime Lv4
Bunraku　Wood Puppet Lv2

Companions　Lambda（Real Name: Omega）