**Day 22 – Night – Forest**
After gaining my thoughts, I waited until nighttime and entered the forest.
For some reason I ran into an orc the moment I entered the forest. Long time no see? "Bok!"
They're normally only deep in the upper reaches of the forest—why are they out here? Maybe after I said "that nameless town is super popular even among monsters," the orcs got excited and came out? Well, the fake bandits from before had orc-like faces anyway, so maybe orcs showing up in town wouldn't have been an issue… except they're already beaten to death, so they can't go. Poor things.
Actually, maybe not going was a blessing. Town life is harsh. No money means nothing gets done, but there are no jobs that pay decently. Scrape together cash by clinging to rocks and it gets confiscated anyway. Brutal. Cruel. That's what towns are. I got screwed over too. And yelled at every day.
The forest is still full of gob-gob and kobo-kobo as usual, but orcs keep popping up here and there. Sightseeing? Is the town really that popular with monsters?
Weirdly, even though my level hasn't gone up, the orcs feel weak?
Maybe the gear I bought from that shady street vendor was way more effective than I thought. 8 million ele vanished, but maybe it was worth every bit. Even the "Pheromone Ring" might actually be doing something.
At this point I can probably fight head-on normally. No need to be careless, but I don't have to slow down and hide anymore.
Monsters have level walls too, after all. But I was already fighting things Lv 10 and up normally. No problem.
Sure, most of my kills were sneaky backstabs, so I haven't really traded blows much. Maybe I just never took a weapon skill head-on.
They only ever yell "Guooo!" or "Guaaa!" so I couldn't tell if it was a weapon skill or not.
But thinking back—even against Lv 10+ goblins I was losing in ranged exchanges. That's why I always ambushed. My PoW is higher, yet I was losing those trades.
Those might have been weapon skills too? If so, maybe the level wall isn't as absolute as people say.
I mostly dodged the fake bandits' weapon skills, but when I blocked with the "Tree Staff?" it was fine.
That's probably thanks to the "Mistletoe Vine – Wooden Rod, Staff Enhancement ????" I bought from the shady vendor. When combined with the "Tree Staff?" it automatically wraps around and becomes "Mistletoe Vine – Wooden Rod, Staff Enhancement – Magic Technique Absorption ????". It probably absorbed the weapon skills. Normally those are supposed to be instant-death level threats, so it shouldn't have been that easy.
Whether it's the mistletoe vine or the tree staff (or both), as long as I don't take a direct hit and can block with the tree staff?, I might be able to endure them.
Those annoying, good-for-nothing, never-reflect-because-they're-idiots, never-grow-because-they're-scum, fake-delinquent types—and even normal guys who don't know who the enemy is—both groups are at minimum Lv 10+, probably Lv 20+, worst case Lv 30+. If their stat growth is on par with Class Rep and the others, they're way stronger than isekai natives. And they have cheats. Not just level walls—stats and skills might be superior too.
・
If they've survived in the forest, that's what it means. If they were dead, problem solved.
But letting them out of the forest would be disastrous.
If those guys leave the forest, it's no longer just an otaku problem or a girls' problem—it becomes dangerous for isekai residents too.
And if they cause trouble in this world, I'm in deep shit. This town had no black hair or black eyes. If they do something, people might assume they're my comrades or acquaintances. And I can say with certainty: they will not behave.
Ideally I wanted the otakus and muscleheads to support the girls, but neither group is here.
Leaving town or leaving the cave vicinity—both are risky. To reach that town without passing the cave would take over ten days.
So if I avoid the cave route, at least I buy time. In that time Class Rep and the others can level up. They've got the adventurer guild behind them, I've made connections with the town lord and done him favors—he won't abandon us. If the otakus come back in the meantime, that's plenty of reinforcement. The otakus are probably the strongest in this world by now. They were otaku-otaku-ing, but they've gotten strong. There are other strong girls besides Class Rep. Buying time is enough. Whatever comes after can wait.
Underhandedness, cowardice, cruelty—that's their strength. No matter how strong Class Rep and the others get, no matter if the otakus become world's strongest, they're still dangerous.
The only one who can match them in underhandedness, cowardice, and cruelty is me. Because they're nameless opponents. Nameless classmates from the same room.
I'm behind in levels, skills, stats, equipment. But I bought and upgraded as much gear as I could in town. No idea how far it'll go against cheat weapons, but I did everything possible. I've gotten stronger. Levels, skills, stats are hopeless, so I have to counter with something else. Luck is the one thing I absolutely dominate. Overwhelmingly so. Doesn't feel like it's helping, though?
In the end, the path to victory is training technique and judgment. Which means staying in the forest is better.
If I can kill them, problem solved. If I can win, fine. Even a draw is okay. Time is on my side.
And if—by some impossible fluke, never gonna happen—I lose and die… then the otakus and Class Rep and everyone else won't hesitate anymore. They'll win. They'll kill them. I don't want it to come to that, but survival comes first. Probably. Definitely.
So the only path to victory is me fighting. Just like planned from the start. Exactly as expected.
Well, the easiest would be if they never leave the forest, or go somewhere else entirely—peace for everyone. But I can't count on that. If I just wait in town expecting that, the musclehead idiots will cause disaster.
The idiots, the morons, the scum—they're not leaving the forest.
Which means the idiots are holding them back. They probably abandoned the otakus and girls once already, so now the idiots feel like they have to repay that debt or something and are staying in the forest to keep everyone there. That's the kind of idiotic reason it would be. Because they're idiots.
Underhandedness, cowardice, cruelty—that's something only I can match.
So obviously it's impossible for the idiots.
All I can do is get even a little stronger. Hunt one more monster. With luck maybe hit Lv 10.
The "Tree Staff?" has become some incomprehensible weapon by now, but I can still handle it with staff arts.
A swing reaches. Distance doesn't matter.
Then no matter how many enemies, if I'm faster it's fine.
A hundred enemies' attacks → return with a thousand strikes.
A hundred enemies' charges → endure with a thousand spells.
Against humans, I've already fought the soldiers enough.
Just move faster. Strike faster. Dodge faster. Simply be faster than every single enemy. Just faster.
I reached the cave in the middle of the night.
Everything in the forest on the way here is exterminated. Mushrooms will grow like crazy now.
Killing this much and still no level up? This is way too impossible.
I tested everything I wanted to test. Confirmed everything I wanted to confirm. This is my full power now.
Shortly, I ran into the dumb jocks.
"O-i-su— you're in rags, huh. Idiot on top of idiot and now rags too—nothing good left about you… You alive?"
I pour top-grade potion after top-grade potion over the ragged idiot slumped against the cave entrance.
The general store big sis stamped it as "top-grade, regrows even severed arms" level. Beyond recovery—actual regeneration super-premium stuff. So yeah, it should really regrow. Severed arms, crushed eyes, torn-off legs, gouged bodies, all those rag-covered wounds—I tested it, so it should work. No baldness, so back to normal body.
Truly too idiotic.
"""""O— Haruka— you good—?"""""
They really were idiots.
"You're the ones worrying about my condition? Are you idiots? I told you to retreat to town without forcing yourselves, didn't I? Why are you this idiotic?"
"Well… we already abandoned everyone once. If we abandon our own bodies too and retreat…"
"But if Haruka's coming back here, isn't it better to stay here?"
"Yeah— thanks for the mushrooms. You would've died without 'em."
"Well, we figured it'd somehow work out… and it did?"
Endlessly idiotic.
"If it didn't work out you'd be dead, right? Is it normal to fight until you need that level of recovery potion just to stay alive? Even if you're not here, you could've sent word to town, right? Common sense! If you throw your body away you die, idiots!!"
Utterly boundless idiots.
"""""Ehhh~"""""
"'Ehhh~' my ass! Why fight until your arms get torn off? Why hang on until your legs get torn off? Why not run until your eyes get crushed? Why tie a spear to a severed arm and keep fighting? Why keep trying to fight with holes in your body? How idiotic can you get?!"
Truly endless idiots.
"I get it—you're infinitely idiotic. Shut up now. And sleep a little."
Infinitely idiotic. I should've realized the moment no one left the forest. I knew what kind of people they were. Turns out I was even more idiotic than the idiots.