28. Hunt 1

For some time now, Shiro had been hunting every day, testing level-ups and refining his skills and combat methods.

The sanctum’s barrier repels stronger monsters. Weaker ones linger around the perimeter—perfect for practice. And as he ventured a little farther out, he could test himself against tougher foes.

◇

"Damn, dodging these little buggers is a chore," Shiro muttered.

The opponent was an Earth Fox—level 30, a monster of the earth element.

It was about the size of a terrestrial fox, but being an Earth Fox, it wielded earth magic.

Specifically, it hurled stones the size of golf balls. The impact was surprisingly strong—miss a hit and you could end up seriously hurt. And they came in packs of about twenty, launching attacks in unison. A real pain in the neck.

Dodging stones flying from all directions turned into a natural evasion drill—kind of like a living training simulator (?), Shiro thought, weaving through them with full 3D mobility.

Sometimes he’d bat the stones back like a baseball with a bat; other times, he’d take down each one individually with precise Lightning Needles or Ice Needles, eliminating them one by one with surgical efficiency.

◇

"Never again," Shiro grunted, approaching a Black Horn Rabbit—level 20.

This beast charged straight at him with terrifying speed. It mostly just ran straight ahead, so as long as he dodged just before impact, he’d be fine.

But he’d once encountered one that charged with absurd speed after dying once—so he couldn’t afford to relax. Once avoided, a few well-placed stabs from a side weapon or a few Stone Balls would finish it off.

Shiro had been hunting this thing as practice for dodging charges—meat was good too. This time, six were felled.

◇

"Damn, it's big!" That was Shiro’s first reaction when he saw it for the first time.

A colossal turtle, the Great Tortoise, standing around three meters tall and seven meters across. Despite being terrestrial, its legs were shaped like flippers, and it hovered slightly above the ground.

Because of that, despite its massive frame, it moved with surprising speed—unlike Earth’s turtles. It attacked with stone balls the size of soccer balls or powerful water jets. The water jets packed a serious punch; a direct hit would likely tear through flesh like a drill. Its level was 140—strong.

When Shiro first faced it, it fired a water jet without warning. He flinched, instantly raising a shield in front, then tried to circle around for a counterattack. But the creature spun with shocking agility, firing a stone ball right at him—Shiro had to scramble.

Every attack Shiro launched—ball-type spells, needle-type magic, elemental projectiles—was deflected effortlessly. Physical weapons? Useless. His current skill level and stats weren’t enough.

After a while, he realized it didn’t pursue when he backed off. So he decided to disengage. No need to force a kill.

"Shiro, this monster is significantly larger than average," Mitoka pointed out.

"Really? Could that speed be abnormal too?"

"Possible. Maybe this specimen’s an anomaly."

He checked it with a diagnostic, but found nothing unusual. From a visual standpoint, it was just a massive shell covered in moss and giant mushrooms.

Even if it’s abnormal, I don’t know where to start looking. I’ll just jot down the location, type, and number for now, Shiro thinks.

Incidentally, combat experience still counts toward experience points, even if you don’t actually defeat the enemy.

◇

“Something’s weirdly sparkly,” Shiro muttered, staring at the metal-beast known as the Metal Lizard. Its entire surface was armored in metal plating, reflecting light with a unique sheen—silver in tone, slightly tinged with white.

"Is that... maybe mithril?" Shiro asked.

That’s right. The Metal Lizard is one of the sources for mithril supply.

Mithril is a fantasy metal said to be silver infused with magic—known as "high-conductivity metal" for its ability to easily transmit magical energy.

"Shiro, Metal Lizard—especially solid mithril variants—are tough opponents. Level 180, at least. Magic and physical attacks don't work on them. Your current level, and alone? Not a chance."

And then Mitoka warned me.

Ugh, frustrating. But whatever. Can't be helped. I’ll try again next time.

And so, Shiro stepped back without hesitation.

◇

Shiro kept hunting, in that manner.

"Getting pretty good at this hunting," Shiro murmured, touching the corpse of the giant black forest boar he’d just felled and storing it in his inventory. A level 90 monster.

"Yeah, the movements are losing their shaky edge. Guess confidence is finally setting in?"

Maybe. I think it's because I'm getting used to the method.

Shiro’s hunts had mostly settled into a pattern. First, approach normally and engage in combat. Combat training was essential for building combat experience.

After fighting for a while, the basic approach is to get close using [Stealth] and [Invisibility], then unleash maximum damage magic at point-blank range.

Pay attention to the monster’s weak element when choosing the spell. Perfect for practicing basic magic techniques.

If the monster is vulnerable to a specific type, striking with a staff imbued with magic and elemental properties works just as well.

The edge of a magic-imbued staff is exceptional—most monsters get cleanly sliced through.

Thanks to the [Precision Surface Manifestation] skill, which wraps magic around weapons like a tailored coating, you can recreate sharp blades—literally micron-level sharpness—efficiently and sturdily.

Since it's regenerating magic, no chipping, no blood residue. Only the surface manifests, making it highly cost-effective in terms of mana usage. For one or two targets, this method usually wraps things up neatly.

Incidentally, since the blade is physically manifested, it resists magical attacks. For physical resistance, just don’t manifest the surface—same skill, dual protection.

“Still, this [Precision Surface Manifestation] is insane. If I’ve got this, do I even need a proper weapon?”

“Well, assuming you can actually use it, yeah. Most people can’t manifest magic with this level of precision… not to mention controlling it sharply while reinforcing it for attacks.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yes. Controlling magic tightly enough to make it strong and sharp at the same time? That’s rare.”

“Huh… I guess. Still, I train with mana control every day.”

Shiro mutters to himself, silently vowing to keep training his mana manipulation until he masters it completely.