I'm alone again.
I entered the Guild's hall in low spirits, but sadly, noone seemed to take any notice.
Or atleast that's what I thought until I paid more attention to the surroundings.
"Tch, those orcs are bullying the newbies."
"Yeah, I heard one of Robert-san's party members got kidnapped by those things."
"They killed and ate our comrades, we must put a stop to them!"
The guild was currently in a state of uproar. Various adventurers was complaining and shouting angrily about a single topic. My absentmindedness was utterly drowned out by the turmoil.
"Be quiet! The Guild Master, Ryan Bang is about to make an announcement!"
Nina-san's voice resonated loudly in the entirety of the guild hall, supposedly amplified with wind magic that it caught everyone's attention. I was surprised to see how stern she looked, this implied that this situation is a serious matter.
From the one door between all the guild workdesks whereas business is conducted with adventurers, an ice cold aura came gushing out at the moment of it's opening.
There, a man with fine black facial hair made his entrance. He gave off an aura of dignity and his black and brown mantle synced with the atmosphere. He had the image of a king yet he actually isn't.
He took a deep breath.
"All adventurers! Pay attention to me!"
With his words alone, everyone felt intimidated. I could tell by their faces. I too felt frightened by his strong voice.
"As you may have heard, an army of orcs and orc shamans had been seen in the Forest of Scritz and killed many of our guild members and innocent civilians! And as the guild, we have full responsibility for what has happened."
The guild fell into silence with everyone's faces warped in dismay. I didn't feel that bad since there was nothing I could do and I was not informed of this. But it's still a fact that my fellow adventurers has died, it's supposedly a kind of bond.
"Tomorrow, we shall assemble a raid team and attack the nest is everyone willing to volunteer?"
Just like he had used a kind of dominating skill, all of us, even me responded to him by shouting with only one answer.
"Yes!"
I was walking outside again. I entered a forest so that I can try and practice magic that I had in the books Leyla gave me.
The forest was calm and peaceful. Birds were happily flying about and some slimes came past me harmlessly.
In the clearing, I saw a sawed off log that looked as if it had been felled. I chose that as my area and sat on the fallen wood.
After admiring mother nature, I didn't hesitate to enter the 2nd Stage of magic usage. Making mana take form outside my body.
According to the book of basic magic, in order to use spells, we have to enter this state first so that the mana taking form outside our bodies would be converted, take form and manifest in reality.
Considering that my character is originally a magic swordsman in my game, my equipment that had been taken with me is most effective for magic and physical combat. For that reason, the first magic spell I am going to learn is 'Physical Enhancement'. The most famous skill in this world used by individuals with high physical aptitudes.
The first step would be to visualize and form in my mind a magic circle again.
By the way, the 3rd Stage in magic usage centers around magic formula formation. After entering the 2nd Stage of magic release, we are able to enter a second state of consciousness when we close our eyes. We could see blackness at first but we could draw the magic formulae in that blackness with enough concentration.
I succeeded after what seemed like 30 seconds of drawing. The moment I opened my eyes, the formula was used up and the mana covering my body has completely vanished. In exchange, I feel my body's strength drastically increase. If I could tell by it's feeling, maybe I became 1.9x faster, stronger and more durable than before.
If I can compare my raw strength with the other adventurers that have physical aptitudes, mine is atleast 100, while theirs are usually around 83-99, for that reason, they value me greatly. Specially for the reason of me being a girl, which is a gender that's mostly common for magic. Because of having 100 in both magic and physical prowess, the guild is doing their best not making it public that I also had magic to avoid me being too bothered by them.
"Hee..."
I'm quite surprised because of how low this spell has in mana consumption. It barely took 1% of my mana pool, but it keeps consuming mana constantly which makes me happy! Also, it seems like I can't absorb mana while using this spell. So maybe the longest I can hold on to this enhanced state is probably 24 hours until my mana pool finally depletes. Having it that long gives me complicated feelings. But I heard the more mana I spend on this spell, the stronger it gets. But I'm not willing to try that out now. Because theres something more important I have to do.
I spent atleast 3 hours in this forest training my magic formula drawing speed. The 30 seconds from earlier had become halved with enough practice and memorization of the formula. That being said, this is like math, and I hate math. It may be alot easier, but I have to memorize elaborate algorithms and geometric shapes that are present inside the magic circle. Before the first time of using this spell, it took me 20 minutes to memorize 4 articulate foreign letters, 4 Triangles and 2 squares and their respective positions in the formulae.
It had became 1pm when I finally realized I haven't eaten lunch yet. Using the fallen log as my table, I sat on the grassy ground and placed my bento on the table(log).
For lunch, I had;
8x Apple Slice
1x Cow Steak
4x Steamed Celery
1x Cup Of Sinigang Soup
That and also rice which is common in my country and also this kingdom. I'm very lucky to have ended up here.
I ate by starting out in pouring the soup over my rice and eating it along with a small piece of the steak.
"Mhmmm!~"
I felt such luxury for the first time in 3 years. It's been a long time since I last ate things this good. My mom used to cook me food this good before when she and dad was still with me.
When I was supposed to be happy right now, my heart ached terribly by recalling such memories.
*Squeak!*
Hearing that squeak just now, I froze my body in place while slowly taking an apple slice. I've never done this before, but I know that sound is from a squirrel's.
I want a pet so bad!
Having pets was something impossible for me back in my previous world. My dad was allergic to cats, and my mom didn't like having to clean the house every now and then because of how our first dog always defecated on our shiny oliver floor. While when my parents disappeared, I was already in the middle of having problems taking care of just myself. So maybe now can be a change of pace.
Holding the apple slice with my fingers, I lowered it behind me. I felt something was eating the slice that I was holding.
"Please be mine... Please be mine..."
I was whispering wishfully under my breath, hoping that it wouldn't run away and become my friend. Taking a nervous peek at the squirrel with one eye, I saw it's small blonde fur covered body. When it was about to finish the slice I gave it, I took another slice and gave it to him. It didn't seem too bothered with my presence. I was thankfully... Oh so thankfully able to make it eat beside me.
While I continued to eat my lunch, it ate my apple slices one by one.
The moment I finished my rice and steak, my apple also ran out after the squirrel had consumed it. I slowly reached out my hand with a celery clasped to see if it would eat it.
Yes!
It worked. While it ate the two celeries I gave it, I tried giving it a light pat as it began to chew. Normally, the wild animals on Earth would run away or hurt you if you touch them, but this one didn't. Come to think of it, it looks pretty young. A young squirrel that became independent just recently maybe?
While I was savoring the moment, a pop up screen appeared on the back of my hand. And it said,
『Seven Clavery has successfully tamed an 11 Week Old Recon Sendar.』
Already?!
That's too fast!
But I guess that's good in it's own right. Sigh.
The squirrel looked at me as it was eating the last bit of celery it had in it's mouth.
『The Recon Sendar has recognized you as it's owner. Please choose a name.』
Wha... It was like this in the game too. In the case we had the taming skill, once we tamed the monster we have to name them before putting them in our equipment slot. As I bought the taming skill the day before graduating, I didn't get the chance to use it in the game but I still have it now.
Pets had skills depending on what they were, they were helpful as supports back in my game. I can still remember that one guild mate of mine who bragged about raising a powerful pet that could help revive him whenever he died and still solo the boss in battle before he resurrects to avoid defeat because we only lose when our whole party is beaten. Pets are counted as party members as well. Ahhh! Why am I even explaining this stuff?!
"Okay! Your name will be One!"
Interesting isn't it? It's the first name I wanted to name my pet when I got the taming skill! Though I say it's a skill it's actually more like an unlocked feature in the game system after having it purchased for about 2,100 yen.
『The pet has accepted the name, 'One'. Equip? Yes Or No.』
"Yes."
Though even if I named him, SpongeBob SquarePants it would still accept the name.
『Successful. The pet will follow you from now on.』
Hearing the announcement from the system lady, I continued rubbing the head of my newly acquired pet who just finished it's food. Because of that, options popped up in front of me. The options were aligned from top to bottom, they were Pet Status, Pet Settings, and Skill Settings.
The pets back in my game could level themselves up along with it's owner with the exp being divided by percentage to both individuals. In this world where humans don't seem to have things like levels, it would be an overpowered ability. Sadly, I can't use the leveling system due to this Soul Status issue.
I opened the Pet Status option.
Level: 1
Name: One
Race: Recon Sendar
Master: Seven Clavery
Nature: Calm
Attribute: Wind
STR: 10
AGI: 10
DEF: 3
DEX: 15
EXP: Choose Now
I promptly pressed the 'Choose Now' and pumped it to 100%. Since I can't level up anyway, I'm not wasting this opportunity to have my pet level up as much as possible!
Level: 1
Name: One
Race: Recon Sendar
Master: Seven Clavery
Nature: Calm
Attribute: Wind
STR: 10
AGI: 10
DEF: 3
DEX: 15
EXP: 100%
Skills: Stealth Lv5, Sense Transfer Lv3
So those are it's skills, huh?
Suddenly, I heard leaves rustling from behind me. I was taken by surprise and threw my now empty lunchbox at the origin of the sound to try and agitate the aggressor.
"O-Ouch! What the hell was that for?!"
A lady who looked like an adventurer with claw-like weapons on the back of her palms appeared from the bushes.
Moreover...
"Cat-ears!?"