Now Useless, but...
Five days had passed since then. I realized that time had flown by quickly.
The place was not so much a village but a small settlement. Even though it had only been three days, I managed to talk to everyone.
「Ah, Lars.」
「Are you heading out?」
「Yes, just going nearby.」
「Take care.」
Two women who often chatted around the well called out to me, and I waved back with a smile. Both were in their twenties, each with three and four children, respectively.
Incidentally, the children were either my age or a little older, and they were already out hunting with adults. It's an unbelievable form of elite education.
Living in the village allowed me to learn many things.
The village of the beastmen had no name and consisted of simple structures; the paths weren't properly paved.
If they were to continue living there, the infrastructure needed to be improved. However, the reason they couldn't do that was simple: the appearance of large magical beasts.
It's an unavoidable threat when establishing a settlement in a vast forest, but the potential of the beastmen is remarkable.
They can fend off medium-sized and small magical beasts. The village population hovered around a hundred, occasionally exceeding 120, but mostly settled around one hundred.
In contrast, if normal knights were to handle medium-sized magical beasts, they would need about a thousand members. Even elite knights would require two hundred to effectively manage them, and stable defense would be difficult. Yet, a hundred beastmen managed to defend against them.
However, they could only flee from large magical beasts. Therefore, they always kept a watch for them, exploring the surrounding area, and had several candidate sites ready for building a new village.
It's an extremely harsh lifestyle akin to nomads or gypsies, but surviving in a beast-filled forest is extraordinary. However, as a result, many elderly and children fell victim, and the village consisted mostly of individuals between ten and forty years old.
Furthermore, due to such living conditions, most villagers had a job aptitude for warriors. Since a formal assessment of job aptitude required a church or a similar establishment, they judged based on the growth of physical abilities and what skills they learned.
「Oh, Lars. The depths of the forest are dangerous, you know.」
「Irinya. Be careful.」
「Yes.」
「Thank you.」
When I reached the edge of the village, two elderly men called out to us. Irinya and I acknowledged them as we passed by.
I heard that they were beastmen once enslaved. Many were born in the village, but some were beastmen who managed to escape from being slaves in a nearby village and luckily reached this village. Knowing this background, I decided to hide my aristocratic origins.
So, in this village, I was just Lars. If I were to add any titles, they would probably be handsome youth, child prodigy, or a beautiful genius child. Indeed.
Thanks to that, the beastmen, who were initially wary, gradually opened their hearts to me. Well, after engaging them in small talk over a few days, they probably became at ease. They were worryingly pure-hearted people.
As I stood at the forest entrance, Irinya looked around with mild concern.
「... Master Lars. There seem to be no hunters around here. Perhaps we should go elsewhere...」
「Hmm... Everyone in the village is incredibly strong. I can't land the finishing blow. It's not efficient for leveling.」
「Leveling?」
Irinya looked puzzled when I used gaming terminology. Initially, I had the illusion that I had entered a game world, but reality was different. The similarities lay only in job aptitude and skills; everything else was different. There were similar magical beasts, but most were entirely unknown.
Thus, estimating accumulated experience and my current level was challenging. Considering this, I decided to hunt more while thinking about efficiency.
Since the village was surrounded by forest, we found several useful spots. Places where small magical beasts frequently passed and ambushes were possible. The ideal was a spot where I could attack one-sidedly two or three times.
「I'm counting on you, Irinya.」
She nodded and clenched her fist when I turned and spoke to her.
「I-I'll do my best!」
I sincerely relied on her, as Irinya was a vital ally. She was at least above level thirty—evidenced by her proficiency in minor healing miracles and the Wind Shield skill.
Normally, one would either take mid-level miracles or acquire the Blessing of Rain skill halfway, but we were still examining the method for skill acquisition.
Skill acquisition wasn't exactly like in games. There seemed to be some graspable pattern, but it would take more time. If acquisition could happen quickly, I'd want Irinya to learn the Blessing of Rain, which heals multiple people within an area. This is something we needed to study.
However, the Wind Shield that Irinya learned during leveling was a tremendously useful skill. While the target was just one person, it was a powerful skill that could fend off many physical attacks. Amidst more than eighty skills at minimum for one profession, it was undoubtedly a skill that should be acquired.
I aimed towards an ideal skill setup, considering making Irinya the ultimate cleric or a priest specialized in guild combat, like a monk.
Thinking this way, the current environment might be incredible. Though the risks had increased, it was an optimal situation for leveling.
「... Could it be possible for the entire beastman village to level up into a guild of a hundred elite members?」
This thought made me incredibly excited.
-------------= Author's Notes -------------=
If you found yourself curious about 'what happens next,' it would make me happy if you could press the ☆ button at the bottom of the page!
It motivates the author!・:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
You get exiled in the best place you could level up.
【ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌ )】