Chapter 5: Chapter 2 -The Day in the Life of an Explorer- 1-2

As the footsteps approached, there was a clattering sound on the ground.

...It belongs to an Aranea.

Thankfully, the inside of the cave was designed to be friendly to beginners. There were lamps installed here and there.

At the end of the curved road, illuminated by the LED light, were two Araneas. They both looked horrifying.

It's my chance to make money!

However, for only two Araneas to appear, I considered it as strange. After all, it was the 4th level.

Nevertheless, I grasped my sword, ready for battle.

I slowly unsheathed my sword before holding it with both hands. Due to the tension, I began to get breathless. As such, I paused to catch my breath.

The Araneas was approaching.

I snuck behind a wall, finding an opportunity to strike.

Then, when I saw the Araneas—

—I dashed towards them.

My footsteps echoed inside the cave. Immediately, the Araneas spotted me and began to take a stance.

But before I could confront them—

—I stumbled across some jagged rocks and tumbled forward.

"Woaah—!!"

I let out a strange noise.

Worse of all, the Araneas had begun to corner me. We were facing each other from up close.

Although fortunately for me, the Araneas was startled by my previous stun. They froze for a solid second.

Thanks for the consideration, you guys...

Then, as if remembering their cues, one leaped into a threatening posture and hissed at me while the other tried to flank me.

This is not good—! Not good at all—!

I immediately stood up and avoided a close call.

...It was almost perfect, too. In my mind, I had pictured how upon running towards them, I'd deliver a finishing blow to them.

But I had to fall down due to some rocks.

...Seriously? How embarrassing. Not to mention, it hurts so much—

—My dignity, that is.

At the same time, I knew that it wasn't the best time to whine.

The Aranea lunged toward me. Having a perfect grasp on its next movement, I evaded to the side before swinging my sword down.

"Sei—!!"

As the sword passed through Aranea's abdominal segment, I could feel I had managed to land my blow. Soon, green blood oozed as the Aranea wriggled.

I must keep at it—! If I were to let go of this sword—

However, in the next moment, something slammed against my side.

It was the other Aranea.

Not good...!

Because I was too absorbed with that particular Aranea, I overlooked the other one!

The impact was so great that I was stunned for a moment—

—was what I'd like to say. But in reality, I was blown away.

After getting up with a stagger, I glared at the Araneas.

Apparently, the sword I swore to not let go of was firmly held within my right hand.

Well, progress?

The Aranea I had previously struck was flipped over in the pool of its blood. It kept wriggling but gradually ceased moving.

It had died.

...Only one left.

After the death of his companion, the remaining Aranea repeatedly sidestepped on the spot.

What? I've never seen this kind of movement before...

Usually, after jumping straight, an Aranea would try to dig its fangs into the enemy. Other than that, it could also make a slam attack with its abdomen, just like before.

 

Generally, such as the attack pattern of an Aranea.

But as I pondered that—

—the sidestepping Aranea suddenly lunged towards me!

It's a faint!

After calculating the trajectory, I deflected the diagonal attack with my sword, sending the Aranea flying backward!

But that didn't happen.

In reality, I was the one who got thrown off on impact.

I fell flat on my butts.

It hurts!

But that wasn't important.

The Aranea sidestepped once again.

"...no, I can't make it in time."

As expected, the Aranea darted towards me.

This is bad. I'll have no choice but to receive the blow at this rate!

Aranea was unexpectedly heavy.

This isn't like being jumped by a cat or a dog!

In the worst-case scenario, I'd be crushed to death.

Regardless, I braced myself through the fear and swiftly pushed my blade forward—!

D, did it work?

You are reading story The Story of Otherworld’s Conquest at novel35.com

Shock ran through my arm.

When I opened my eyes, I discovered that my sword had pierced through Aranea's throat.

Green bodily fluid trickled down my sword.

The skewered Aranea wriggled for some more before falling motionlessly.

Losing my strength, I soon dropped the sword.

"I, I won..."

I exhaled deeply.

I-if not for what I reflexively did, I'd have been a goner...

...Still, it was my victory. Albeit a modest one.

Nevertheless, I still felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment. After committing tremendous mistakes and practicing over time, I finally attained that result.

Not to mention against two opponents.

...Maybe, if I were to practice some more, I could win—!

I ran another image training of the current battle in my brain as I lay on the cold, craggy ground.

Back when the Aranea started sidestepping, I was actually afraid.

I was like, "Oh my god, it went that way! And that way! What is it doing!?"

But then, I thought to myself—

—I can't possibly win by giving up.

Then, it dawned on me—I had no choice but to do it.

When I felt the desperation of the opponent, I was able to take on the monster seriously.

It was cruel, but I was doing my best to survive. I also refused to sympathize with the monsters who tormented mankind.

A certain memory resurfaced.

A jet-black monster that robbed me of everything amidst the gentle autumn weather.

That day, I fought with a sword for the first time.

It had been 5 years since. I could only laugh at the fact that I was still scared of a single Aranea.

Well, it was a memory I didn't want to recall. I shook my head, dismissing the memory. Looking at the carcass of the Aranea, stained with green bodily fluid, I pulled out my sword and wiped it.

Afterward, I used the wakizashi to dismantle it. As usual, I stripped off the shell materials, putting them inside my backpack.

At that point, it had become a routine.

Defeat a monster. Dismantle the parts. Bring the materials home. After selling the materials, one could make a living by using them as materials for equipment.

That was the basis of making a profit as an explorer.

By the way, I've heard that Aranea meat is delicious...

...Well, the shopkeeper from Familima is the one who told me that.

...But is it really?

Curiosity had won.

I shoved Aranea's feet in my backpack.

After the disaster, the whole world was devastated, and the oil supply was cut off, causing the price of petroleum products to skyrocket.

Thanks to that, clothes and shoes were sold at a slightly higher price, but not so high that they were unaffordable.

Plastic bags were also somewhat precious. As such, it had become a common practice in Japan to reuse an item as much as possible. In the case of a plastic bag, it'd be washed before being used again.

At the same time, putting fresh food—such as fish and meat—on your own plate before taking them to the cash register was commonplace. I thought I could live without them, but the reality wasn't so sweet.

Vegetables had also become very expensive.

Thanks to that, I was having a hard time surviving...

As if doing a memorial service for the Aranea, I arranged its remains in one place. Then, I took my leave.

Moving around on the 4th level was easy since the ground was mostly flat.

I proceeded at a brisk pace.

I walked through the familiar part of the otherworld while referring to the pre-existing map.

Along the way, I encountered some Araneas, but they were all in groups of three or four. I couldn't touch them.

I bumped into some of them on the way and had to flee.

It sounded pathetic, but I'd be covered in wounds if I didn't run away. Not to mention, there was no guarantee that I'd win.

The situation I was currently in made me feel as if I had been reincarnated into some kind of fantasy world or video game.

However, unlike in the game, it was difficult for me to defeat the monsters, as I couldn't do it effectively.

I had an absurd dream that I wanted to be a hero someday, but I couldn't do it no matter how hard I tried.

No, regardless of how hard I tried, impossible was impossible. As such, there was no need to exert myself. Still, it was frustrating.

After that, I combed the 4th level for Araneas and repeated the process of desperately defeating them.

That day, a miracle occurred.

I managed to defeat six Araneas.

I was overjoyed to get 9 shells and 40 leg shells. I was so happy that even the cave looked like that of a fantasy land beneath the LED light.

Then, I came across a straight path.

The Araneas were nowhere to be seen. There was nothing behind me. I checked to ensure everything was okay before making my way forward.

This might be a bad idea...

Until then, I had been avoiding long, straight paths.

After all, if I were to be sandwiched by a group of Araneas from both sides, it'd be my end.

Hence why, I avoided them.

But that time, I was so excited to have hunted six Araneas that I followed the path.

It should be alright if it's just once...

Even if there was no one else around, it'd be alright since I was just going to take a look around.

Although I was fully aware that I was throwing my life away, I was preoccupied with a strange preconceived notion that everything would be fine.

As a result, I got into a pinch.

You can find story with these keywords: The Story of Otherworld’s Conquest, Read The Story of Otherworld’s Conquest, The Story of Otherworld’s Conquest novel, The Story of Otherworld’s Conquest book, The Story of Otherworld’s Conquest story, The Story of Otherworld’s Conquest full, The Story of Otherworld’s Conquest Latest Chapter