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**Day 3: Cave**
Ugh, I am starving. Waking up from pure hunger is a total first for me.
Does draining all my mana make me this ravenous? Whatever. Time to eat something. Something means mushrooms, of course. I lightly roast them with fire magic, shred them finely, squeeze out the water from the soaked medicinal herbs, and turn it all into a salad. Hmm, dressing would be nice. The herbs have a slight bitter edge, so I want one more flavor to balance it. The isekai staple is mayo, right? But the only ingredient available is mushrooms. No way. If mushrooms could make mayo, I would be more shocked than I was by the summoning itself.
Hunger taken care of, my eyes finally feel awake. Time to wash my face. My routine is completely out of order now. This is some messed-up isekai life. It feels downright degenerate, but I am a loner, so whatever.
My level went up. Only to level 2, but my stats should be more than double what they were yesterday. Still, if it really doubled suddenly, should not I feel it more clearly? I do feel a bit stronger and a bit faster, but nothing abnormally so. It is probably not a literal two times. More like the effects got doubled. Overconfidence is dangerous.
First things first: I need to strengthen myself with what I can do. Weak monsters might exist if I search for them, but getting ambushed by a strong one before I find anything would be instant game over.
Yesterday I picked up some martial skill. Let me see… yeah, this one: Mana Cloak level 1. Mana control, evasion, and foresight make sense. What needs checking is Mana Cloak. What exactly am I cloaking? Could a stalker be clinging to me? But with mana? Mana stalker? What kind of martial skill is that?
Anyway, Appraisal-san, please explain this.
Mana Cloak level 1: Wraps mana around the body for enhancement. It provides bonuses to body control, physical enhancement, physical defense, and magical defense.
Whoa! It is a bulk pack! Total bargain! Value set supreme! Housewives all across the isekai world would swarm for a deal this good.
I was hoping for body enhancement, but activating the cloak gave me a full four-in-one package. If skills this nice keep coming, I did not need that old man in the white room at all. Could not they have just dropped me straight into the world? Or wait, did I actually get nerfed back there? Am I stronger now than I should be?
It feels like my original stats get multipliers from the status screen. At level 2 they more than doubled. Then Mana Cloak adds even more corrections on top. How strong have I actually become?
Movement is still impossible to control. If I could master it, hit-and-run tactics might work, but right now I just crash into things and trip. I would probably scream "Fugyuuu!" or something. That would earn me the clumsy girl title for sure. Nope, not ready for that yet.
Mastering Mana Cloak seems like the most efficient option right now. Practice, practice.
I can wrap myself in it instantly. The mana cost is barely noticeable. It really is usable like this. Fast, cheap, and effective. The meat lovers would be thrilled.
Also, ever since Appraisal reached level 2 yesterday, everything has turned into question-mark hell. Wooden Stick? Cloth Clothes? Leather Gloves? Leather Boots? Cape? Contacts? Why? Normally when Appraisal levels up, the question marks are supposed to disappear and show more information. Before it was just the attack and defense stats that had question marks. Now even the names have them. Why is this regressing? Evolve already, skill! I am using Appraisal because I do not know what things are. Do not make the unknowns multiply!
My head is starting to boil over, so let us go outside. Yeah, that is what I will do!
The blessings of the forest are… mushrooms. That is it? There is nothing else? Come on, it is a forest. Should not there be a wider variety of ingredients?
In real life this would be mushroom kingdom. Is a war with the village about to start? Wait, was I summoned here specifically to prepare for a mushroom forest war? Does that blood-soaked, chocolate-wrapped horror of a war exist in this world too?
I gathered plenty of mushrooms. A whole lot of them.
Time to try Mana Cloak again. I just think about it and it activates. I start running and move freely in every direction. I am fast, but more than that, my body feels incredibly sharp. It is not think then move anymore. The moment I think it, the action is already happening. My reactions improved and wasted motion disappeared. I probably need time to get used to it. If the level rises once I am comfortable with it, the potential might be endless. But overthinking means losing. Before long I will probably start saying that working is losing.
I swing the wooden stick lightly while getting my body used to the new flow. I trace the movements from yesterday's fight. Hmm, to me it feels pretty good. From an outsider's perspective the motions probably look much sharper. I cannot exactly ask a goblin for feedback, so I will test it by hitting things.
Just so you know, the part where I tried Movement and immediately tripped is a secret. Shhh.
Presences do not appear near the river, as expected. The deeper I go, the more I start sensing them here and there.
Fewer enemies are better. Same as yesterday: two of them, but they are close together, so the risk of one-versus-two is high.
Their levels are 11 and 9. A little stronger? Time for a quick attack. Even with just Walking I can close the distance in an instant. I swing from the side without killing my momentum and dash past. Solid feedback. Goblin A stopped moving. Did I get it? I planted the flag, but it does not move. Read the room!
While dodging Goblin B's overhead strike, I duck low, slip past its side, circle behind, and slash as I turn. I immediately pull back and observe. I keep my residual awareness up and stay alert to the surroundings.
Did I get it?
No flag this time. Goblins apparently cannot read the air. It is dead anyway.
That was way better than yesterday. Was it because I got used to fighting, the level up, or Mana Cloak? Verifying is too much trouble. I am stronger now. Good enough. At least I can fight goblins reliably. I do not know about other monsters yet, and I still have no other food besides mushrooms.
Mana Cloak seems to affect even the Wooden Stick. I cannot tell exactly how, but it feels stronger.
I can keep going. Next pair: levels 7 and 8. I one-shot both. The farther upstream I go the weaker they get, and closer to the river they are weaker too. Straight deepest into the forest from the cave is probably the most dangerous area? Goblins move around, so it is hard to be sure, but there seems to be a pattern. I need countermeasures. Aim for the Goblin Common Test!
I move deeper toward the cave side and find a pair at levels 13 and 10. I ambush the level 13 and finish it, then one-shot the other. Level 13 is tough. Three at once is still scary, so I stop here for now.
On the way back to the cave I take out a level 11 and 10 quickly. The closer I get to the river the lower the levels drop. This means I can choose my hunting spot. Anything level 10 and above will overpower me in a head-on fight, so ambush from behind, quick blitz, or evade and hit from the rear are the safe patterns. For anything over level 10 I need momentum to one-shot it. A mutual kill means I lose. I will not be able to go on a rampage until I master Movement. Speaking of which, what kind of combat style is beating things to death with a stick anyway?
In a sword-and-magic world, an unemployed guy is sneaking up behind goblins with a stick… where exactly am I headed with this? At the point where I am clubbing things with a stick, I am basically on the same level as the goblins.
Grumbling the whole way, I head back home. Lamenting the entire return trip. No choice left: dinner is mushrooms again. Itadakimasu.
I pile up firewood and timber in the corner of the cave. Well, calling it timber is generous. Mostly broken branches and trees knocked down by monsters. If I leave them they will dry out and become usable as firewood. If I can process them later, maybe I can make furniture or tools. Also… I have more clubs now. I probably will not use them, but I stash two or three in the item bag anyway. I have no spare weapons, so better safe than sorry.
After bathing I lie down in the tent. The cave floor hurts my back directly. I have a sleeping bag, so I double up the cushioning to make it tolerable. I want a real bed. Even as a loner.
My level did not go up. It is not that easy after all. Level gains are slow and stingy.
There is no way to get suddenly strong. I have to build it up one piece at a time.
Examine skills, train them, test them in real combat, verify the results, and improve again. Endless trial and error to create my own fighting style. Little by little but steadily increase my own power. I got transported to another world, so even without a cheat, could I at least get some flashy technique or weapon? This is way too grindy. Isekai my ass.
Do not think about it. Do not think. Steadiness is what matters. That is probably why high school students right before exams got chosen. My class was hopeless.
Mana Cloak works fine. The effect is massive. There might have been contributions from the level up and other things, but I can definitely fight goblins now. If I take them down quickly, they will not have time to call their friends and surround me.
The level 13 was strong even when I ambushed it. Stronger ones are still out there. Skill levels might rise before my main level does, so I should use them aggressively.
What I need next is a finishing move. Speed lets me control a fight, whether attacking or escaping. Mastering Movement should let me do that.
Right. I will practice Movement until I fall asleep. "Iteee!" "Ugyaa!" "Guwaa!" … "Kuuuu~" "It huuurts" … "Fueeeeeeee!!" This is hard.
**NAME** Haruka **Human**
**AGE** 16
**Lv** 02
**Job** --
**HP** 23
**MP** 21
**ViT** 22
**PoW** 21
**SpE** 25
**DeX** 25
**MiN** 21
**InT** 25
**LuK** Max (Limit Break)
**SP** 05
**Martial Arts** Staff Technique Lv2, Evasion Lv1, Perception Lv1, Mana Cloak Lv1
**Magic** Temperature Lv2, Movement Lv1, Weight Lv1, Packing Lv1, Fire Magic Lv1
**Skills** Health Lv1, Sensitivity Lv2, Gymnastics Lv2, Walking Lv2 (Up), Servitude Lv1, Appraisal Lv2, Clairvoyance Lv1, Presence Detection Lv2, Enemy Search Lv2, Mana Manipulation Lv1
**Titles** Shut-in Lv1, NEET Lv1, Loner Lv1
**Unknown** Report-Communicate-Consult Lv1, Jack of All Trades Lv1, Wooden Puppet Lv1
**Equipment** Wooden Stick?, Cloth Clothes?, Leather Gloves?, Leather Boots?, Cape?, Contacts?, Ring of Struggling Soul, Item Bag
Oh, Walking went up. Speed probably increased, and travel distance too. That just made using Movement even harder… "Fugyuuu~!"
Time to sleep. It is fine. No clumsy girl attribute attached.
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