Hard Work Will Never Betray Me (WN) - Chapter 123

“Christophe, you son of a bitch!　I’ll beat the shit out of you!”

“Hey, Eberhard. What’s the matter ? You’ve been emotionally shaky for a while now.”

The only reason we’re in this situation is because of that misguided bastard who set the flag on us!　Damn him, he retrieved the flag right at the start of the exercise!”

“Hey, what’s a flag?”

“I don’t know. Eberhard is a bit out of his mind.”

“That’s true. All the guys who are crazy are a little bit strange.”

“You guys!　　　And I could hear what you just said!　You’ll have to prepare yourself later.”

“I know, I ”

“I’m not very good at hand-to-hand combat. .

Muttering this, Oscar and Markus reluctantly join the fight. Oscar is using his special fire magic, while Markus seems to be using his wire and knife to set various traps to keep the monsters stuck in place.

“There are so many of them.”

“Isn’t this normal for a demon forest?”

“I’m getting so tired of it.”

We were killing the monsters one by one without any complaints. The species of the monsters that attacked us varied greatly, but there seemed to be no Jabberwock amongst them.

“I wonder if I should learn to use a bow?”

　Marcus, who has been setting up quite vicious traps all over the place with invisible wires reinforced with magic power to cut to shreds any demons that pass through them, muttered to himself while in the midst of the fight. In his case, setting traps and attacking from the background are his main means of attack, so he doesn’t get too out of breath.

“No, you are strong enough as it is. Besides, a crossbow requires a lot of power, doesn’t it?　It’s not very effective for you, is it?”

“Oscar, I’m strong enough to go through the Demon Forest by myself Well, it’s not thanks to my physical strength. ……”

Well, I guess you could say that Marcus has the best of both ways. I think Markus would be stronger if he mastered the thief profession as he is.

“Eberhardt’s words have a different persuasive power.”

Well, I’m more of a specialist than a generalist, so I don’t know if I’m allowed to call it “mastering one thing”. But since I’ve experienced many times to get to the top of something through hard work, I should be at least allowed to praise and encourage my fellows’.

“How about my fire spell?　I’m sure my combination with Efreet is quite good, isn’t it?”

　Efreet” is the name of Oscar’s contracted divine beast, “Flaming Dragon Salamander. It is quite a cool name. If in the future it grows to be as strong as the original Efreet, the Great Spirit of Fire, we will be very reassured.

“Oscar’s magic is very powerful, and I think his coordination with Efreet is good enough. However, if he could control his magic a little more precisely, it would save a lot of magic power. Oscar’s direction tends to be a little too flashy.”

“Wow, that’s harsh. But I am not harmed . I’m the future great mage!”

“I’d like to see you share a little more of that confidence with Marcus ,” .

As we were fighting, the number of monsters was decreasing considerably, so it was getting much easier. I could even talk with them as I fought the monsters.

“The “active sonar” doesn’t catch any more monsters. Maybe we can take a break for a while after defeating the ones we have now.”

“Yay!　Let’s burn ’em down!”

“Oscar better do a little of what Eberhard told him to do.”

“…… oh.”

As Oscar nodded (albeit reluctantly), he properly suppressed his magic and released fire spells within the minimum range necessary to destroy the enemy. Since he is participating in this training program, he has a considerable amount of talent, so he is quick to learn. The efficiency of his spells has improved significantly, and he is now a fighter not to be underestimated.

　Marcus too, is making a move on Oscar, casually preparing a pit (not a very large one, just enough for monsters to catch a foot and lose their balance) and a needle like a long, thin skewer at the end of the pit, and seems to be reducing the number of monsters precisely. It’s a bit grotesque there.

I felt sorry for the monster that got caught in the trap and fell down, and as a result, the stick got stuck in its eye, and it was literally skewered and trembling, dripping with brain marrow.

　And I myself have hunted the most monsters with my magic sword, Raikiri. I must have slain a few dozen of them.

“Oooooh, this is the end!”

　Oscar’s “fireball” and Efreet’s fireball hit the last monster at the same time.

‘Ughaaaaa……!’

　The gorilla-shaped monster, which had been unbelievably muscular, falls down, its entire body reduced to a pile of fire. The last time I saw him, he was a big, strong, muscular man, but he couldn’t escape death.

“Phew………. I can take a breather now.”

“All right, let’s eat while we’re at it.”

‘I’m hungry. I’m starving.”

　I took out the special spices I had bought in Heidburg from my inventory and showed them to everyone.

‘It tastes so good on meat with this on it.”

“Oh, really?　Then let’s eat it right away.”

Oscar has roasted meat all over the place.

　The exercise will take place over several days, so ensuring food supplies like this is an important part of the training. The forest of demons is a paradise for monsters compared to the normal forest, so as long as one is strong enough, there is no need to worry about securing food. In this forest, the absolute rule is “the weak are the strong, and the strong are the weak.

I” wonder when we will find the Jabberwock. ……”

“Even mutations are rare, and the Jabberwock is even rarer among them, right?　Will we ever find it?’

“I don’t know about all that.”

Avoiding the humanoid monsters, we eat the meat of the herbivorous-looking monsters as much as possible. The fresh meat, cooked through to the inside, is delicious, partly because it contains an abundance of magical power. Also, the spices are the best.

‘..No, this spice is too good, isn’t it?”

“I’m surprised at all the good food I’ve had here. I’ve never had such good food in my village. ……”

　They looked at the jars of spices and were impressed. It seems that my spice recommendation met their tastes as well.

“Right?　Isn’t it delicious?　Ha-ha-ha!”

　”By the way, how much does this …… cost?”

“Oh, ……, that’s right. It’s so tasty, it must be quite expensive, right?”

” Well, it is more expensive than salt. A bottle costs about 10,000 ”

“10,000?’　The two were astonished. Even a rich person would be surprised if a bottle of shichimi sold in the supermarket cost 10,000 .　It’s not something you can just casually spend like that.

“Well, it’s only 10,000 .”

” . Even though it’s a price I can earn, I don’t think I’d buy a spice that costs as much as a day’s wage for a commoner. ……”

“Oh, my God, you spent so much ……”

“It’s okay, I don’t care. I can buy this much as much as I need .”

“Damn!　As expected from the wealth of the aristocracy!”

“You have no idea how we commoners feel!”

“I’m telling you, I bought this with the money I earned as an adventurer. I’ve been saving the allowance my parents give me for years without spending a single elle.”

“…… sorry about that.”

“……, that’s you Comet, isn’t it?”

We were spending our precious break time talking and eating up our precious time. It is necessary in a long-term fight to take a break like this to relax and refresh ourselves. After all, the exercise to defeat the Jabberwock has only just begun.