Chapter - 016: Let's acquire physical skills

The next day, Asuna and Lisbeth went out to explore the city as planned.

Hachiman had planned to spend the day lounging around, but...

"There's no entertainment in this world... If only there were books..."

I could have spent the whole day sleeping, but I guess it was too hard to do anything.

Hachiman changed his plans and decided to go out.

Coincidentally, Asuna contacted me asking what we should do tomorrow, so

Hachiman then decided to join up with Asuna and Lisbeth.

"Did you find anything interesting?"

"Overall, there wasn't much that was new."

"You're right Liz. Oh, what is that?"

Asuna's interest seemed to be piqued, and she ran off towards the outdoor stalls.

Hachiman and Lizbeth headed in that direction too,

Thinking that this was a good opportunity, Hachiman told Lisbeth,

I decided to ask him how yesterday was.

"I guess they were shocked by the casualties,

I didn't ask about the details and just kept the conversation light-hearted."

"I see, thanks."

"From what I've heard about the strategy, it was something like they did their best with a party of three."

"Well, that's about it."

"Asuna said, during the discussion after the battle,

Hachiman was careful not to say people's names as much as possible,

I don't know what's going to happen in the future with regards to strategy.

It seems that Asuna also tries to be careful not to mention the names of people on the front lines."

(Well, there will probably be a lot of things happening on the front lines from now on...

But no matter what, Asuna is observing a lot of things.

I think it would be okay to mention Kirito's name, but I guess I'll do that next time I have the chance.)

"Hachiman, Liz, over here."

"Okay."

Asuna waved her hand, telling me to hurry up, so I

The two of them jogged towards Asuna.

"You've arrived at a new level, are you two thinking about what to do next?"

"I don't think I've changed much. There's still not much I can do related to blacksmithing.

I explore a little bit to get materials, and at the same time I level up my blacksmithing skills."

"I think I'll just strengthen my weapon a bit more and level up normally."

"Well then, I'll prioritize leveling up for now."

"It looks like the pace of the attack will pick up too."

"Well then, I'll go and see how it goes tomorrow and try to level up and gather some materials."

"Yes, if it's okay with you two."

"Of course I have no problem, Liz."

The next day, the three of them were engaged in constant fighting.

My level has increased and I've collected a lot of strengthening materials.

The materials needed to improve Lisbeth's blacksmithing skills were also gathering smoothly.

Asuna was planning to ask Lisbeth to help her upgrade her weapon to the next level,

He actively cooperated in collecting materials.

At that time, people in the town were saying that the first player blacksmith had been born!

Rumors were circulating about him being a skilled craftsman.

The craftsman eagerly took on work at the open-air market and seemed to have improved his skill quite quickly.

Lisbeth doesn't seem to have any intention of working alone in the city yet.

For now, it seems to be exclusively for Hachiman and Asuna.

(I may end up taking on jobs for other players in the future,

It would be awkward if I failed against a player I didn't know.

It might be better to practice for a while with a close circle of friends where it's okay to fail.)

On the way home after finishing the hunt that day, Hachiman told the two that he would be away for a few days.

"Uh, you two. I'm going to be away for a few days starting tomorrow. I have some things to do."

"Is that something I can't go with you on?"

Asuna asked without even asking what it was. Hachiman was happy inside, but

This time, there was a reason why he couldn't give in to Hachiman.

"Oh, sorry Asuna. It's not like I have any business with you, but I've decided to go alone this time.

For now, the two of you can go hunting or gather information or whatever you like."

This was Asuna's first time being apart from Hachiman for such a long period of time, so she felt a little lonely,

At the same time, I felt that Hachiman's attitude of not telling me his purpose was suspicious.

This is because the usual Hachiman clearly defines his goals and communicates the content clearly.

"Okay, I get it. I've been doing a lot of stuff then."

"Sorry. If there's any emergency, please contact me."

"Be careful, Hachiman."

"Yeah, Liz, do your best too."

That night, Hachiman called Argo and bought information about the location of the martial arts skill quest.

When we spoke before, it seemed like he knew about the existence of martial arts skills,

Argo thought that Hachiman already knew the location.

I made a mental note that Hachiman's knowledge was a bit biased.

The next day Hachiman was on top of a rocky mountain to the east.

While checking the map, you can climb rock walls, go through caves, slide through underground waterways,

He encountered enemies several times along the way, but he used his usual skill in addition to his ability to hide his presence.

It took about a few minutes to get to my destination.

After accepting the quest inside the lonely hut that stood there, Hachiman felt motivated.

This is because in order to acquire martial arts skills, one needs to split a huge rock with their bare hands.

(I was forced to do this once before, but there's a trick to it.)

Then Hachiman continued hitting the rock endlessly.

It seems like they're able to crack it at a pretty fast pace.

Then the next day, Hachiman, who had been working halfway through cracking the rock, suddenly felt someone looking at him and jumped back.

(What is this... This is a safe zone so there shouldn't be any monsters, but is someone here?

…There's someone in the shadow of the hut. And there's more than one.)

Hachiman approached the hut slowly and carefully.

Then he peeked furtively from behind the hut.

(If it was Liz… there's no way Liz could have come here by herself… Ah, no way.)

At that moment, a thud came from above the hut, and someone landed behind him.

Hachiman was grabbed by both of his shoulders from behind by the person.

"Liz, I got you!"

"Okay, I'm on my way."

The voice was very familiar, one I'd heard almost every day recently.

Hachiman crouched down with his head in his hands and spoke to the person, trying to suppress his trembling voice.

"Ah, Asuna-san. Why are you here?"

"Hachiman-kun was obviously suspicious,

I was trying to get information about Hachiman's whereabouts from Argo,

They said they couldn't give me any information without my consent, so I bought some other information.

Please sell me the same map or information that Hachiman bought."

(Argo, you bastards!)

"So, I was given a map, and it was pretty close,

I guess I just dropped by to gather some information."

"Th-that's proactive..."

"Actually, I was just curious, and I thought it might be a bother,

Well, I thought I'd just wait until he told me.

When Argo gave me the map he was grinning and said "Thank you as always."

(Argooooooooooo)

Perhaps he became worried when he saw Hachiman sitting motionless with his head in his hands.

Asuna asked Hachiman fearfully.

"I came here on impulse, but I'm sorry... perhaps I was a bother..."

"N-no, it's nothing like that, Asuna-san."

"Huh? What happened, Hachiman?"

"Oh, yeah, Lisbeth, it's been a while."

"There's something fishy after all..."

"No, you don't look particularly suspicious or anything, Asuna-san."

"face?"

Hachiman seems to have been so upset that he has dug his own grave once again.

The two nodded to each other and began flipping Hachiman over backwards.

"Whoa, wait a second, you guys."

"Liz, let's go!"

"Yeah. Here we go!"

With a shout, Hachiman flipped over. And his face was...

It said "A magnificent beard." If I may express it without fear of being misunderstood, it is exactly like this.

"Hachiemon?!"

Afterwards, the two of them couldn't contain their laughter and continued to laugh for a long time.

"That's why I didn't want to say it..."

Hachiman said with tears in his eyes.

"I-I'm so sorry. I never thought something like this would happen."

"Sorry, Hachiman."

"But if you look closely, you see he looks just like Argo."

"Oh, really."

"Maybe that's it. Argo couldn't clear this,

I guess it just became a kind of trademark. I don't know."

"Taijutsu, huh? What does it involve?"

"First, when you accept a quest, your face will look like this, and it will never go away until you complete the quest.

And the clearing contents are as follows:

Hachiman pounded on the rock, which was cracked halfway through.

"I'll break this with my bare hands."

He said as he punched the rock.

"Wow, it looks hard..."

"It probably won't hurt, but it'll take some patience..."

"Well, that's why it'll probably take until tomorrow night.

Don't worry about me, you two just do your thing."

"Should we do this too?"

Asuna suddenly asked.

"Ah, Asuna, once you've leveled up a bit,

It's better to do it when you have time.

As for Liz, unless you're constantly on the front lines, I don't think you need to do it."

"Well, maybe some other time."

"Right."

"Well then, shall we go home, Asuna?"

"That's right. Good luck, Hachiman."

"Okay, I'll contact you when I'm done."

(Another dark chapter in my history...)

Hachiman was so embarrassed that he kept throwing attacks at the rocks.

We succeeded in splitting the rock by the next evening, a little earlier than planned.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, Hachiman tried to go home as quickly as possible, but it seemed that someone else had come.

(Why do so many people come to a place like this...? Wait, isn't it Kirito?)

Thinking that Argo was behind it again, Hachiman hid in the shadows and watched the situation unfold.

Hachiman seems to have superior overall stealth skills and has not been noticed.

After observing for a while, it seemed that Kirito,

It turns out they didn't come here expecting Hachiman to be there.

Kirito showed no signs of searching for anything.

He accepted the quest normally, was stunned when his beard was drawn, and seemed depressed by the content.

(Oh, so that guy came to take on the quest without even asking about the details...

Argo probably didn't tell me that.

Hachiman saw Kirito start hitting the rock.

I decided to encourage him and head home, and jumped out after Kirito.

"Yo, Kiriemon! The tip is long, but you can break it properly. Kiriemon!"

When Kirito was suddenly called out to, he froze up, and Hachiman gave him a thumbs up and smiled.

Hachiman heard Kirito let out a voiceless scream.

He ran away as fast as he could.