Aiming for a Cozy Life in a Dangerous Forest in Another World! - Chapter 9
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Chapter 9: Let’s Think About Attack Methods
Kaito and Pola fell asleep immediately. They were exhausted, as expected.
Pola was just like how she looked: full of energy. She would always talk to me with a big smile, it was so cute.
Kaito was reliable and taught me a lot about this world. But he was still a 12-year-old child. I had to protect him.
…And to do that, I needed to be able to fight.
With that in mind, I opened my status screen.
Two things had changed from yesterday: 『Earth Magic』 and 『Appraisal』.
The number next to both of them had changed from 1 to 2.
“Did my level… go up?”
Remembering I could also use 『Appraisal』 on skills, I tried using it on 『Earth Magic』.
It wasn’t clear whether magic counted as a skill, but…
♢ ♢ ♢
『Earth Magic』 2
Allows the creation of earth from mana and shaping it into the desired form.
Allows manipulation of the created earth.
♢ ♢ ♢
So, was that what I could do now?
I should have appraised it before leveling up so I could compare…
Anyway, time to test it out.
I created a lump of earth with 『Earth Magic』 and willed it to fly towards the wall.
The lump of earth slowly drifted towards the wall and crumbled upon impact.
…Hmm. That wasn’t quite what I had in mind…
More like a… boom! I was expecting something like that…
Right, magic was about imagination. I needed to imagine it flying with more force…
And something sharper… I created an elongated, octahedron-shaped lump of earth.
It felt less like earth and more like stone to the touch. It reminded me of the crude stone tools we learned about in history class, from the Paleolithic era.
I looked back and forth between the object I had created and the wall, focusing my aim…
And launched it.
…THUD! The lump of earth hit the wall with a loud sound, carving a five-centimeter-deep hole into it.
Yes! It worked!
It was louder than I expected, and I panicked for a moment, worried that I had woken up Kaito and Pola, but they were sleeping soundly. That was a relief.
I continued experimenting, shaping the earth projectiles into arrows and large, ball-sized spheres, successfully launching each one at the wall.
I could even control the speed at which they flew at three different levels.
『Earth Magic』 was incredibly useful.
But why had 『Earth Magic』 and 『Appraisal』 leveled up?
What was the difference between 『Earth Magic』 and my other magic… or between 『Appraisal』 and my other skills, like 『Physical Armor』…?
Number of times used? I had been using 『Earth Magic』 like crazy to make stairs and stuff…
As for the other magic, besides experimenting with them initially, I had only used 『Fire Magic』 a few times when rescuing Kaito and Pola and to cook the meat. And I had only used 『Water Magic』 a few times to get drinking water. I definitely used 『Earth Magic』 way more.
I used 『Appraisal』 quite a bit too, but I haven’t used 『Physical Armor』 since I first changed clothes.
…I see, so the more you use magic or a skill, the higher its level goes up.
“In that case, I should make a conscious effort to use a variety of magic and skills from now on.”
As I thought that, I tried using the 『Appraisal』 skill on Kaito and Pola.
♢ ♢ ♢
Name: Kaito
Race: Human
Age: 12
Magic: 『Water Magic』 0, 『Earth Magic』 0
Skills: 『Physical Enhancement』 1
Resistance: 『Physical Attack Resistance』 1, 『Mental Resistance』 1
Name: Pola
Race: Human
Age: 6
Magic: 『Fire Magic』 0, 『Water Magic』 0, 『Light Magic』 0, 『Dark Magic』 0
Unique Skill: 『Intermediate Magic Power』
♢ ♢ ♢
Now that I thought about it, was it okay to use 『Appraisal』 on them without permission?
Looking at someone’s status without their consent felt like an invasion of privacy.
I’d have to apologize later…
Anyway, back to their status screens.
It looked like both Kaito and Pola could use magic. It must be in their blood since they came from a noble family.
But what did it mean that their levels were 0?
Did it mean they weren’t able to use it yet, but had the potential to?
…Also, Pola could use 『Dark Magic』.
I wonder if I could use it too?
…Thinking that, I tried imagining a shadow. A shadow was the only thing that came to mind when I thought of “darkness.”
However, nothing happened.
Maybe I couldn’t use 『Dark Magic』. As I looked at my own status screen, I noticed that 『Dark Magic』 had been added.
…However, it was level 0.
I didn’t understand. According to my status, I could use it, but I couldn’t?
I tried using 『Appraisal』 on 『Dark Magic』, but it didn’t reveal anything.
…There was no helping it, I’d have to figure it out later.
The next thing that caught my attention was Kaito’s 『Physical Enhancement』. It was already level 1.
I used 『Appraisal』 on it.
♢ ♢ ♢
『Physical Enhancement』
Strengthens the body with magic, improving physical abilities.
♢ ♢ ♢
…Well, that was straightforward.
If Kaito could use 『Physical Enhancement』, did that mean he was the combat type?
And it used magic power. It seemed like 『Physical Armor』 and 『Automatic Defense』 used mana, but what was the difference between mana and magic power…?
I pushed that question aside for later, as usual.
It might be a good thing if Kaito could learn to fight using 『Physical Enhancement』.
I had a feeling I couldn’t bear to watch Kaito and Pola fight, but it was good to have a way to protect themselves.
And then there was Pola’s 『Magic Power』. Mine was “Extreme,” but Pola’s was “Intermediate.” Was it a difference in our races?
Kaito said that not many humans could use magic, so maybe Pola’s was considered pretty good. I hoped Pola would be able to use magic too.
As I was thinking about all of this, I started to feel sleepy.
Come to think of it, I had only been alive in this world for two days.
…A lot has happened in that short time.
I decided to stop thinking and get some sleep so I would be well-rested for tomorrow.
♢ ♢ ♢
When I woke up, Kaito and Pola were already awake.
“…Good morning, Kaito, Pola.”
“Good morning, Kotoha-nee-chan!”
“Morning, Onee-chan.”
“Did you both sleep well?”
“Yeah! The earthen beds are amazing!”
“Yes, they were super comfy.”
“That’s good to hear.”
I used 『Water Magic』 to wash our faces, and we had 『Amaju Fruits』 for breakfast.
…Right, I had something to apologize for.
“…Before we head out to the forest, there’s something I need to apologize for.”
“Apologize?”
“Yeah… Actually, after you two fell asleep last night, I used the 『Appraisal』 skill on you. I’m so sorry for looking at your statuses without permission!”
“…Huh?”
“I’m really sorry!”
Kaito stared at me in shock. Pola didn’t seem to understand what was going on and looked back and forth between Kaito and me.
“Ah, no, it’s not that I’m angry that you looked…”
“…You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be?”
“…Well, I did look at your private information without permission…”
“Hmm… It’s true that you don’t normally tell people about your status, but it’s fine since it’s Onee-chan!
…That’s not the point! Onee-chan, you can use the 『Appraisal』 skill to see other people’s statuses?!”
“…Yeah. I saw mine, and yours, and Pola’s too? What about it?”
“…You see, Onee-chan, even if someone has 『Appraisal』, they can’t see other people’s statuses! You can only use it to appraise things like food and weapons! The only way to see your status is to go to a church and touch a crystal.”
“…Wait, so you’re saying my 『Appraisal』 is special?”
“…Probably. As I thought, you really are… weir- I mean, amazing!”
…Yep, being called a weirdo first thing in the morning. I was on the verge of tears.