Next Life - Volume 1 - Chapter 5

Tenth days has passed since reincarnation.
His body no longer felt pain, it was likely that it had adapted to the environment.
But as expected, he was honestly tired from only having a diet of meat and fruit.
In due time, he wanted to place another type of food in his mouth.

(Snakes can surely be eaten, right…?)

Such a thought flashed through his mind.
In his original world, an army of special force corp, survived in a jungle by eating snake, there was such a remark in his memory.

(Indeed, it is impossible to eat shit, but if it’s just a snake…)

It was becoming painful to the extent of seriously considering it.
Setting aside the lake, the forest so vast beyond Marius’s expectation, until this day he was not able to find something that looked like a human’s path.
That matter made the food variety he can find limited.
Nevertheless, he never encountered other humans.
The possibility of expecting goblins to act as bait ending up as a misfire because it was still too far from human village. This possibility should have also been taken into account.
He only imagined that the forest was about 10 kilometers squared.
This was done with only feelings and in regards to accuracy, he didn’t have self-confidence.
After all, he didn’t even know whether one day was really 24-hours.
He didn’t have magic to measure distance,  magic to preserve food, nor magic that changed weight.
Even in game world, Marius was a versatile being,  but in this world, he had many thing he can’t do.

(Today, I’m gonna seriously put effort in finding a road.)

For better or worse, fast switching Marius already moved on to his next thought.
To this day, he spent time to securing food and magic training.
There must be a way while thinking about all exploration he had been doing.
Renewing his resolve, Marius started to walk.
 
 
 
 
 
“[Wind]”

He Countered the lake snake that came attacking with the wind-system magic.
While spraying red blood, the lake snake that had its head split-in-two, collapsed.
Other than a tree that had been cut down, this showed Marius’s magic control had greatly improved.
Approaching the lake snake’s carcass, he used his dagger to peel away a few green scales.
If the cutting force was wrong, it would become a bloodbath.
There is a poison effect in lake snake’s blood and even after death, the effect didn’t disappear for a while.
Painfully learning it once, Marius carried it carefully.
Currently in his possession are dried meat, feathers of black owls, scales of lake snakes, horns and furs of armor deers.
He could bring himself to gouge out the eyes and beak of the snake but there were no containers to put blood or body fluids.
He wrapped the scales with leaves, tied it up with grass stems, and put it in the bag.
Perhaps, the meat isn’t to be touch thing, was a salvation. (NEETnote: It also salvation for me. Meat, bone, body part, inner part, give me a headache.)

(Well, this will do somehow.)

As usual, he stopped thinking too deeply.
After the peeling finished, he start walking leaving the carcass as it is.
He walked to the direction where the sun and moon rose.
In emergencies, he can come back with “Teleport”, so there was no resistance in going to an unknown place.
The thing he should be careful about was going over and over again through the same place .
Dropping the scales of lake snake and then gouging the ground was used as a substitute landmark.
Goblin and black owl, also armor deer and lake snake, he noticed this while disposing the carcass of lake snake.
As far as using appraisal, the carcasses don’t show any special effects.
But perhaps among the monsters, its level was the highest.
In any case, leaving the carcass of lake snake as a landmark was valid since the scales gave some effects, precisely because of that Marius can leave it with confidence.

“[Detection]”

He didn’t forget to use magic for scouting.
Yet “Detection” is not versatile.
While it can sense living creatures, it could not for not living things, in other word immortal (undead)-type creatures can’t be sensed.
Nevertheless, in the current situation, it was one of the most dependable magic.

(Around the front diagonally to the right, three responses found.)

Black-owls were nocturnal, so they do not appear in the day.
Goblins likely moved in groups of five, acting as a squad.
Through the result of elimination, the responses were most likely armor deers or lake snakes.
His first time encounter with a lake snake was in the night, so Marius thought it must be a nocturnal animal, but in fact it was irrelevant to the snake if it was either day or night.
Moreover, he had witnessed a scene where it was preying on a  black owl. That night, it still tried to eat him while also preying on the black owl — such thing may happen again.
Approaching without letting down his guard, fighting sounds was heard.
Perhaps it happened to be an armor deer fighting-back against a lake snake.
In the middle of the fight, the creatures cannot be differently determined with only “Detection”.
When Marius approached without making a sound, the figure of an armor deer rolled up by a lake snake entered his eyes.
Even the hard fur of an armor deer was powerless in front its constriction technique.
There was no effect even if it was hiding in the corner, he already knew there was another lake snake wandering around.

(Good timing to intrude.)

After the lake snake’s prey was felled by constriction, it poured poison to kill by biting.
If that happened, it can’t be eaten without applying detoxification magic.

“[Wind]”

The wind blade created by magic, cut off the armor deer neck and lake snake body.
If it was a lesser magic lower than the 10th-class, he almost certainly could control it.
However, it was still too early to relax.
By only cutting off the lake snake’s body, it was still not dead.
Moving away from the armor deer that had lost its neck, crawling on ground dragging its body, it started to try to runaway.
Then its head was split-in-two by another wind blade.
Previously, he was attacked in a group because he let it escape once.
And every time a lake snake preyed on, its level would go up.
Individuals that prey upon armor deers and black owls can have their levels up to 80.
That is why every time Marius saw a lake snake, he put his mind towards killing it.
Thankfully, it’s doesn’t have a habit gathering around the smell of blood.
Quickly proceeding to dismantling the armor deer, its horn is also taken.
The same with the lake snake’s scales, the horn was used as a landmark.
Marius never liked killing randomly.
However, resistance to killing living creatures being weakened was also a fact.
Dismantling the armor deer was also so quickly performed that it couldn’t even be compared to his first time.

(Maybe I’m becoming more wild~)

With such a thinking, Marius still has leeway.
 
 
 
 
 
Finishing the work, the remnants were left as it was and once again, he walked.
Confirming the surrounding, he regularly used “Detection”.
More than the caution against monster he would encounter, it was an implication that magic training got harder.

(No reaction.)

Battling with monsters that spawned sporadically didn’t happen.
Perhaps he was finding nothing but a dead end.
Thinking that, Marius’s walking speed rose.
Finding one of dead end in a sense had a big meaning.
In situations like wandering around in dessert without a signpost, little by little he would be able to assemble a map.
There was no time to be pessimistic.
Proceeding straight for a while, a towering cliff came into view.

(What a cliff.)

For Marius that can use flying magic, no matter how high a cliff was, it can’t become an obstacle.
Whether there is a road ahead or not is the problem.
Marius without hesitation proceeded forward.

“[Flight]”

“Levitate” was simply magic to float an object while “Flight” was flying magic.
It could be said he was unaccustomed to flying with speed like riding bicycle in his original world.
There was mood like he was at an amusement park. Calming himself, he used detection magic.

“[Detection]”

Surprisingly,  responses came.

(What!?)

Numbered more than twenty.
Further ahead, located on top the the cliff.
He wanted to avoid being surprise attacked in the middle of flight, but that caution led to an unexpected situation.
There is something happening on other side of the cliff.
Quickly suppressing his heart, Marius maintained his flying speed.
Upon reaching the top of the cliff, a mountain road paved with cobblestone entered his eyes.
On the other side of the curve slope, a metallic sound and monster-like roars is heard.

(Humans!)

The long-waited presence made Marius’s tension went up a bit.
While carefully making sure not to deal collateral damage, by all means he wanted get involved.
And he wanted to get along!
However, he himself was originally a dead person.
Wariness that was tempered since coming to this world, put a stop to Marius’s body.
Not slow nor fast he approached, the first thing that caught his attention was a luxurious carriage, and ten people enclosing it to protect it.
Seven people in silvery white armor held firm long-swords or spears while taking a stance, the remaining three people wore a robe and held up a cane.
Then, on the other side, horses had lay fallen.
The being they were opposing was dancing in the sky, six dragon-type monsters.
Grey scales with large wings and claws and a long tail intimidated the people by spitting fire from its mouth.

(A wyvern!)

No wonder Marius was surprised.
In the FAO world, wyverns were the boss monsters put for the beginning to middle stages.
Although physical strength and offensive power couldn’t be compared to a dragon, it was good at continuous attacks that took advantage of high mobility. Their lowest level was 80.
In other words, to defeat it, it took at least five or more level 80 players. A monster proud of its strength, it was in another dimension compared to the lake snake.
When it came to six of them, it was nothing but a difficult situation.
Looking closer, there were men’s feet but the back of their shoes facing here did not move even an inch.
It seems like it has already beaten several people.
Even now, the wyvern was flying around at high speeds, spitting fire breaths in cooperation.
Even the magicians spreading their barrier can’t be prevent it all and it hit the knight’s body. Even raising a groan-like sound,they kept standing on the spot to counter-attack.
However, the wyverns effortlessly avoided, its allies put another attack and the wind split while its tail counter-counter-attacked.
Not even one person showed any signs of running away.
Face hardened, teeth clenched to keep fighting.
They desperately bet their lives protecting the person in the carriage.
It was a common scene in the original world’s fiction and Marius did not particularly feel anything.
However, the sight of the reality of it happening in front his very eyes made his chest become hot.

(Let’s go.)

With Marius’s help, things will turn around.
It doesn’t matter what they think.
He only wanted to saving lives.
End of Episode 5

(NEETnote : Next episode heroine coming up!)