TEOCH 65

Revisiting the ‘Forest Island’ after some time, it was so peaceful that it was hard to believe a collapse had occurred not long ago.

New plants were already growing lushly in the places where trees had been broken and trampled due to the rampaging giant tree, and in the places that had turned to ash because of Damian’s extravagant fire-setting. Only the giant tree, left in the middle of the island, blackened and dead, gave a hint of what had happened on this island.

“That giant tree hasn’t revived, has it? The other parts of the forest have all returned to normal.”

“Well, that’s a relief for us. If it had revived, that would have been a big problem in its own right, wouldn’t it?”

I shuddered, recalling the battle with the giant tree that had taken place ten days ago. That event was truly nothing short of a nightmare. Tree roots shot up from under our feet to bind our legs, a shower of leaves as sharp as blades poured down from above our heads, and the giant tree, which had begun to move with its own consciousness, chased us with the intent to plow through the entire forest…!

Moreover, because most of the plants had tremendous regenerative power, new tree roots grew far faster than we could cut them down. If Damian, his demonic power replenished with the help of ‘Masochism,’ hadn’t unleashed flames with the resolve to burn down the entire forest, we would have been captured by the plants and had our limbs torn apart long ago.

“You don’t think that giant tree is just pretending to be dead and might come back to life, do you?”

“There’s no way. We removed the jewel that was embedded in its center, so there’s no need to worry anymore. As long as we’re careful of the tree roots, there won’t be any particular problems.”

Only after hearing those words did Rikiel let out a sigh of relief. I led them into the forest, and after searching for about thirty minutes, we were able to find the cave we had stayed in before.

If we blocked the entrance well, there was no chance of tree roots crawling in, and there was even a small spring nearby, making it a pretty decent place to stay. We dropped our luggage in a corner of the cave and flopped down on the floor.

“Phew, I can finally relax a little! We can rest for a while now, right?”

“For now, that’s the case…. But we’re not in a position to just rest aimlessly; it’s better to think of it as building up strength in preparation for future battles.”

“I see. We will need to become stronger to face other monsters in the future.”

My companions nodded in agreement to my words with slightly tense expressions. Although I had put it that way, I had no intention of rushing them as soon as we arrived on the island, so I decided to ease the atmosphere by having a meal first.

I subtly exchanged glances with Damian, and we immediately emptied the ingredients from our bags and started grilling them. We were almost out of ingredients because we hadn’t been able to explore properly on the ‘Volcanic Island,’ but there was enough to satisfy everyone’s hunger. Once the ingredients were mostly cooked, we ate and talked about various things.

“So, what’s the plan for this island?”

“First, in the morning, we’ll explore this island…. Of course, we did explore it once before, but just in case there are places we missed, let’s explore a bit more thoroughly and look for useful items.”

Of course, since it’s a place we’ve already finished exploring, I’m not expecting much, but right now, we’re in a situation where every little item counts. If we can get even some tree sap, it would be helpful for strengthening our armor and swords. As my companions quietly nodded, I continued speaking.

“And in the afternoon, we should do some combat training.”

“Combat training?”

“Well, it sounds grand, but it’s actually closer to physical training. In any case, it’s better than doing nothing, isn’t it?”

Hearing the unexpected words, my companions tilted their heads as if bewildered, but when you think about it, this is also a very important task.

The plant-type monsters on the ‘Forest Island’ do not give any experience points no matter how hard you hunt them. Funnily enough, the act of pulling out their roots and killing them is classified as ‘gathering,’ not ‘hunting.’ Even though they’re just as threatening as animal-type monsters!

‘Damian setting fire to the forest was even classified as a ‘weeding operation.’ And it only gave a useless achievement….!’

I let out a deep sigh, recalling the ‘Master of Weeding’ achievement, which is given for eliminating over a thousand trees through a ‘weeding operation.’ In the end, as long as we stay on this island, we can’t level up no matter how hard we try.

We managed to reach level 15 by catching fleas on the giant bird’s back and defeating monsters on other islands, but we still lack strength. To get stronger in this state, we have no choice but to either gather items to strengthen our equipment and parasites, or to strengthen our physical abilities through diligent training.

Of course, it’s a very inefficient method compared to leveling up, but it’s still much better than doing nothing. In Rikiel’s case, he’s naturally fit, so it won’t mean much, but I and the rest of my companions will be able to build up at least a little muscle strength through sufficient training.

“Your Majesty, once your arm wound heals, I would like you to do some swordsmanship training with Sir Rikiel. Of course, you don’t have to push yourself until then, but if Your Majesty undergoes sufficient swordsmanship training, it will be a great help to us.”

“I understand. It would be a problem if I had the power of purification but could not use it due to a lack of swordsmanship skills.”

Tristan nodded with a bitter smile. By utilizing the ‘Practical Swordsmanship’ skill he has, it should be possible to achieve outstanding growth even in a situation where leveling up is not possible. Of course, I don’t know exactly how much his combat power will increase through that skill, but seeing how his skills improve quite a bit every time he trains with Rikiel, isn’t it worth the effort?

“Um, Mr. Rohan. Should I do physical training too?”

“You…. Well, what should we do?”

“Wouldn’t it be good to have that fellow do some light exercise? My back is about to get raw from carrying him around.”

Rehas grumbled and thumped his lower back, but I couldn’t help but shrug while suppressing a bitter smile.

Well, honestly, I doubt we’d see any real results from making Damian do physical training. In the past, I used to torment him relentlessly to build up at least a minimum of physical strength, but not once did any muscle actually form on those thin limbs of his.

There was the professional characteristic of being a magician, but more than anything, Damian’s body itself was not the type to build muscle easily. If I made him eat a lot of meat to get enough protein, he would get diarrhea, and if I made him exercise even a little too much, he would suffer from body aches the next day and be unable to get up properly.

I did wonder if there was a problem with my method, and if it would be better if I asked someone else, but that wasn’t necessarily the case.

I don’t remember which playthrough it was, but Rikiel, who had tried to train Damian by any means necessary, even went so far as to say, ‘Training this person is beyond my abilities,’ so at this point, it’s probably better to just give up. It probably won’t be much different for Rehas….

“Huh? Was it very hard for you to carry me?”

“Of course it was hard! Even if you’re light, I’m still carrying a grown man. Even when my daughter was alive, I didn’t carry her this often!”

“Eh, I didn’t know. You always scooped me up first whenever we had to run, even when I didn’t ask to be carried….”

“That’s because you’re so light! How can I leave you alone when you look like you’d blow away with a gust of wind, with that slender body of yours?”

“Ah, ahh-ha-yeo-eo!”

Watching Rehas pull Damian’s cheeks, a chuckle escaped me. It didn’t seem like Rehas was genuinely reprimanding Damian, but if Rehas himself really wants it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make Damian exercise. Of course, I don’t expect any exercise effect at all. Still, in terms of letting Rehas face Damian’s reality (?) and resign himself to it, wouldn’t it be quite good?

‘Ah, right.’

A thought suddenly occurred to me, and I turned my head to look at Rikiel. Unlike Tristan beside him, who was smiling as if amused, Rikiel had a strangely serious expression. …It seemed that man was also getting started. He was originally the type to be the first to step up and conduct physical training whenever something like this happened.

If left alone, Rikiel will probably jump in more actively than anyone else and try to train Damian. Of course, it’s obvious that he’ll fail, but at least after experiencing failure once, he’ll also learn to give up. I casually threw a word to Rikiel.

“If you really feel that way, why don’t you give it a try? Sir Rikiel, if you don’t mind, would you help Rehas with Damian’s physical training?”

“Hm, I will do so. But…”

“Yes?”

Rikiel trailed off strangely and averted his gaze. I had spoken thinking he would naturally agree, so I couldn’t help but be puzzled by his strangely reluctant reaction. What’s with him? If he were his usual self, it wouldn’t be strange for him to drag Damian out of the cave right away.

Moreover, Rikiel’s next reaction surprised me even more.

“Hm, how should I put this…. Damian doesn’t need to overdo it, does he? Let’s try to keep it at a moderate level so as not to strain his body.”

“What did you say?”

I stared at Rikiel’s face with wide eyes. Strange, did he eat something bad? Or was I misunderstanding his personality?

I instinctively turned my head to look at Tristan’s face, and only after confirming that his face was also colored with surprise did I feel a sense of relief. I’m not misunderstanding him because of some prejudice, right? It’s true that Rikiel is acting strange right now, isn’t it?

“Rikiel, that sounds rather unlike you.”

“Pardon? What is it, Your Majesty?”

“No, I was sure you would be the one to train Damian the hardest…. How strange.”

“Since Damian is not a knight, there is no reason to apply such strict standards, is there? And this is just my personal opinion, but… I also feel that training Damian would be beyond my abilities.”

“Um, do I seem that unreliable?”

“Ah, no! I did not intend to belittle you! I just meant that you are fine just the way you are! Er, I am sorry. That is not what I meant…!”

Uh, wait. I think I just heard something familiar. I paused for a moment, but Rikiel, not paying any attention, was sweating profusely trying to soothe Damian. Tristan and Rehas were also just watching Rikiel’s antics with amusement. But it’s strange. What is it? Somehow, this feels very unsettling….

‘His personality has changed a lot since coming into the second playthrough. How strange.’

I felt a strange sensation for a moment, but in the end, I decided not to mind it. Well, there’s no rule that a person’s reaction will always be the same. He could say something similar to the past by coincidence.

It was a bit peculiar, but since Rikiel’s behavior had changed so much in the second playthrough, I thought it wasn’t something to be too surprised about.

“Ahem. Well, as Sir Rikiel said, let’s take it easy with the exercise. In any case, His Majesty’s wound hasn’t fully healed yet either.”

“Don’t worry too much! I was just kidding.”

“No, even so, it is true that I spoke rashly. I apologize for that.”

“Well, let’s leave it at that. If everyone’s not tired, how about we go for a light exploration? There’s still quite some time before the sun sets.”

More urgent than such trivial matters was the food for tonight’s dinner, so I lightly changed the subject and got up from my seat. My companions, who had finished their meal while we were talking, chuckled with amusement and followed me to their feet.

We left the cave with only a few containers for collecting sap and an empty backpack. It would be nice if we could find some other good items besides sap, but even if we can’t, it won’t be a big problem. In any case, we were enjoying a long-awaited peace.