Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King - CH 7.1

A Man Who wants to Use Magic

After the mole battle where I experienced magic for the first time.

Confirming that the mole was dead, my spirit was exhausted, and I sat down leaning against the root of a tree.

Not more than half an hour has passed since the goblin battle.

My cheeks has become swollen to the point of being painful to the touch, my nose is bleeding nonstop, and my fingernail wounds throb and ache as if they were poking through my skin.

Then there is my back, which is directly hit, weighing me down, and aching painfully.

In addition, I can’t sleep well, I can’t eat, and the only thing I put in my mouth is some fruit, so it’s no wonder how exhausted I am now and how I have been walking around.

A normal human may have been broken by now.

And I am not an exception.

(As one would expect, the mole is bad… really bad…)

A goblin which, although small, is still of a reasonable size.

It did not help that I was also distracted, thinking about my previous battle.

I have not been paying attention to my surroundings, so I fail to notice the approach.

The body of a Horned Rabbit is small, but the color makes it noticeable.

A white object moving in a forest is easy to notice.

I have yet been caught in a surprise attack until now.

And this mole…

It has an excellent camouflage, its overall color is brown with dark spots that let it blend well with the ground.

It’s around 30 cm in length, and it came out of a hold in the ground.

So, it was probably hiding when I entered its territory.

And worst of all, it uses magic that has enough power to kill me in one direct hit.

“Hahaha…it’s impossible…how am I going to get out of the forest while avoiding that thing’s surprise attack?”

Well, I let out a weak cry as I look at the mole.

And beyond my gaze, I can see the hole where the mole may have been hiding just a few minutes ago.

(Huh… I should check it out just in case…)

Lifting my heavy body, I stand in front of the hole, holding a piece of stick, and peek inside.

It was dark inside, but it didn’t look that big.

I insert the stick into the hole, which easily reaches the deepest part of the hole, even though I didn’t insert it very far.

(Hmm? Is it not a long cavity that seems to be connected to somewhere else?)

My image of a mole in Japan is that it digs long holes, connects them, and then moves around in them.

Curious about this situation, I light up the hole with my flashlight, confirming what is inside, and I am convinced that this is the mole’s home.

The hole is a long and narrow cavity of less than one meter, and deep inside is a bed of grass.

There are also seeds of fruits and small bones, perhaps as a result of the creature’s eating habits.

I then realized that this is a nest of a single individual.

(I probably entered its territory or the vibration of walking have been transmitted… whatever it may be, it means that if I keep watch of the ground, I may notice an unusual spot like this.)

I do not know what condition the nest was in before me passing by.

However, the presence of soil that looks like it has been dug up around the nest suggests that the mole that was in the hole may have come out after digging the soil.

If this is the case, I may be able to take countermeasures, though not completely, and it seems unlikely that the mole may escape if it feels threatened, or emerge from another hole and attack again.

(Whether I can notice the hole, or… conversely, if I can find it, I can make a preemptive attack before it comes out of the burrow.)

Thinking of this, my downcast feeling is somewhat restored.

“Yes!”

I shout out and confirm to myself.

At any rate, it is suicidal to get lost in thought while walking, so I’ll stop doing that.

It’s not that I’ve been slackening off, but it would be a mistake to think about a more reliable and efficient method of defeating my enemies only to die because of it.

If I walk, I’ll do my best to be vigilant against any enemies and to forage for food.

Put all my thinking together at night when I can’t move around!

I reprimand myself, check the status screen for a few seconds to see if my level has increased, and then proceed toward the river with maximum alertness.

▽▼▽▼▽

About three hours later at dusk.

On a single rock, a soaking wet, naked man was howling as he stood on a rock.

Yes, it is me, Yuto, who is 13 years old but lives a life that would surprise even a homeless man.

Hearing the slight sound of running water, I unintentionally forgot to be alert about potential enemies and made a mad dash for the river.

As soon as I saw a river of about 5 to 10 meters wide, relatively shallow, and gently flowing, I plunged in without even taking off my clothes.

I am so happy that I forgot about my previous reflection.

Parasites? Water monsters?

I have no time to worry about such things.

The thirst, the craving for fresh water, the body odor so bad that I can smell myself.

It is unbearable.

It truly has been too much for a former modern man to endure.

The result of these piled-up feelings overflow, and the result is the bizarre act of being completely naked on a rocky beach.

Being suddenly abducted and sent to such an environment would have made anyone lose their mind.

But I am no mere fool.

While standing there, I am staring at the river with a firm purpose.

My eyes are bloodshot.

Of course, the purpose is to see if there are fish or other living creatures, or anything that can be eaten.

The water is drinkable.

But my hunger has yet to subside.

Fish, crustaceans, or whatever that can fill my stomach will be welcome.

“Let me eat something!”

This is the reason why he is standing there howling.

And then…

“I found it! !!!! There’s a fish!”

I don’t think I can grab it with my hands.

There is no way me, who claims to be an extreme indoor person, can catch a fish in such a wild way.

However, I know there are fish out here.

Then…

I grasp the approximate flow of the water and begin to act with the stones lying around.

With my amateurish knowledge, I have created a kind of enclosure along the riverside where once the fish enter, it will be difficult for them to get out.

Fill gaps with pebbles whenever possible and block escape routes except for one open entrance along the stream.

To prevent fish from easily escaping, I also remember to place a stone as a wall around the exit of the enclosure.

In addition, when I move the stones, I can’t resist eating the creatures, which look like prawns or crabs, that were hiding when I moved the stones.

While trembling from the long-awaited non-fruit meal, I smile and feel happy with the quality of the trap that I somehow made.

As an added bonus, I brought with me the horned rabbit that I killed on the way to the river.

Yes, I even thought of the possibility of roasting the horned rabbit whole, even though I didn’t even have a knife.

After the mole battle, I confirmed that my [skill points] have increased to 2 due to my level up.

And on the way, in the unlikely event that the river I am aiming for do not exist.

I am planning to transfer this point to [Water Magic] regardless of whether I can use it or not, but if it was a river as I had anticipated, I decided to transfer the point to [Fire Magic].

I desperately, desperately wanted to eat meat.

The sun was already setting.

It was almost dusk, and I spotted a tree that would make a good place to sleep.

“Hmmm! Well then, let’s verify it!”