Chapter 305: Halfway Point (2/2)

While keeping an eye on the four in front of me, I turned my gaze toward the source. There stood an extraordinary man.

With bright red hair that seemed to have been painted on, and a towering stature of over 2 meters in height, it was a giant of a man.

That alone made him stand out, but what was even more unusual was his attire, being clad in nothing more than ordinary fabric clothing that offered no semblance of defense.

We were technically still in base, but safety wasn’t guaranteed here.

The conditions were only marginally better than outside, so the individuals bothering me and those merely observing all had some form of armor on them.

He alone was the exception.

The only thing on him that indicated he was an adventurer was the enormous metal hammer he carried.

Just who could he be?

“G-Glen.” [Thug 1]

“Tch, an annoying one showed up.” [Thug 2]

“Acting like he’s all that just because he’s S Rank… What do you want?” [Thug 3]

“Huh? Glen the S Rank?” [Ryouma]

Could this person possibly be the adventurer that Schieber-san was talking about? The one who achieved an S-rank solely through sheer physical strength? With how calm he is, it seems likely that he’s powerful.

However, his attire is filthy and tattered, and his hair and beard are both unkempt and uncared for.

Even the way he walked seemed more like that of a random middle-aged man… I understand it’s disrespectful of me to think so, but he appears more like a vagabond than an adventurer.

Could he be someone else with the same name?

“You’re in the way, so get lost.” [Glen]

“We’re busy right now because this brat entered our territory without permission. You won’t stand for that either, right?” [Thug 1]

“Hah? I don’t give a damn. What he does with his life or whatever is his problem. As long as he doesn’t get in my way, I don’t care. Besides, I came here all on my own too. You telling me you have a problem with me too? Hah?　You wanna fight?” [Glen]

“Tsk, I got it already.” [Thug 1]

Thanks to the man called Glen speaking up, the onlookers quickly scattered, as did the people bothering me silently parted to clear the way, so I took the opportunity to offer a brief word of thanks before making my exit.

“Thank you.” [Ryouma]

“Hah? I wasn’t trying to help you. They were just in my way when I’m trying to go hunt. In the first place, it’s not like you needed any.” [Glen]

He said with disinterest. Then while muttering to himself how troublesome this whole thing was, he stretched himself, then in the next moment, moved at a ferocious speed.

“Woah!?” [Thug 1]

“Peh!　Damn it!” [Thug 2]

“He did it again!　How many does this make it!?” [Thug 3]

Glen-san sprinted away, and like a truck crashing into a puddle, mud was sent flying everywhere, showering me and the people around me in mud. From how they were reacting, however, this seemed to be a regular occurrence.

There were quite a few things I was curious about, but leaving this place as soon as possible took priority, so taking advantage of the mud shower, I used dark magic and successfully escaped from the base.

Given how it’s unlikely for there to be any decent bases left up ahead, I’m going to just avoid the bases and minimize any contact with the adventurers here.

This part of the forest is already unfit for human habitation.

The only creatures left here are dangerous creatures.

Whether they look human or not is irrelevant. Fundamentally, all the creatures here are the same. Or at least, it would be better if I saw it that way.

After that I continued to make my way through the forest for the next few hours.

For some, walking relentlessly through an unchanging landscape might not be a pleasant task, but I’m personally fond of quiet monotonous work like this

As the day wore on and dusk approached, I decided to make preparations for camping before it got too dark.

However, while I might refer to it as “camping preparations,” I already had everything set up in advance within my Dimensional Home. Not only did I have a bed ready, I even had a vegetable and poultry farm, so what I’m about to do now is just to ensure my safety.

“This should be a good spot… First, Cutter Tornado!” [Ryouma]

The entrance I chose for tonight’s resting place is located slightly off the animal trail, near the base of a large tree, then I used wind blades to swiftly cut and blow away the vegetation in front of the tree. This spell is weaker than Schieber-san’s magic, but it does a good job as a grass cutter.

“Next up is, ‘Dimension Home’. It’s your turn, Huge Rock Slime!” [Ryouma]

What I summoned with my dimension magic was none other than the emperor version of the Stone Slime. It’s identical to the Emperor Slime in terms of abilities, but apparently, when Stone Slime get bigger, they go from Big to Big Stone, then Rock, then Huge Rock.

It’s probably just because it makes more sense to call them as such rather than calling them an emperor stone. Or at least, I can’t think of any other reason why they’d be called differently.

Also, Huge Rock is so big that it wouldn’t be strange for it to become a specialty product in some tourist mountain.

“Just 20 seconds passed, but my makeshift house is already complete!” [Ryouma]

I positioned the Huge Rock Slime accordingly, then I had it transform to create a space within its body.

Just like that, a sturdy one-room space surrounded by robust rocks in every direction was complete!

It could also keep a watchful eye out on the surroundings, and should the situation call for it, it could create a completely enclosed space by sealing the entrance completely, so there’s nothing to worry about at all about monsters attacking.

Should the need to flee arise, an entrance could also be created anywhere, making the slime ideal for camping and night watch duties!

“Dimension Home is certainly a convenient spell, but entering and exiting it can be dangerous.” [Ryouma]

It’s incredibly useful, sure, but it’s hard to grasp the situation outside without actually leaving it. If you’re not careful, you might just find yourself smack dab in the middle of a monster beast horde.

“But if the entrance is covered by a slime, then there’s naturally nothing to worry about anymore!　…Not that there’s anyone here to hear me.” [Ryouma]

I became thoughtful.

“Traveling by myself isn’t particularly difficult, but I find myself speaking to myself a lot. That never bothered me when I was back in the forest, but…” [Ryouma]

Enduring the temperature fluctuations of the forest for four days straight might have taken a bigger toll on me than I thought. It feels like the time has flown past by me, but I should already be past the halfway point to my destination.

In that case, let’s not push myself too much and retire for the day early today.