The Loner Who Conquers the Other World
chapter-7-1

Day 7 – The Cave

The soundproofing of my house is perfect, it’s a cave after all.

But, for safety, I keep Detect Presence and Search on during sleep. And how is it?

With Detect Presence I keep sensing a noisy presence in the forest, and it’s so annoying that I cannot sleep.

I get outside, intending to tell them to stay away, but it’s still nighttime. Is this a biker gang? Are they in the middle of a night ride to disturb the neighborhood?

Using Clairvoyance I find those responsible for the disturbance of my sleep. Geeks and goblins, the creatures I’m familiar with.

Aah, and here I thought why is it so noisy in the middle of the night, so it’s geeks. Damn, the high school kids those days, playing with goblins and causing an uproar at night. What? Are they trying to become delinquents? They deserve a firm scolding.

「Fall back for now.」

「I will hold them.」

「Do you have enough MP yet?」

「No. What about you? Still no good?」

「「「「AYEAYEAYE.」」」」

「Guoo.」

「GUGYA.」

「GAU.」

Aah, what a noisy bunch, for real.

The four geeks are my classmates and not bad guys, rather, they are the ones that were bullied. I’d like to yell at them that they are annoying, but them being in this world, also means that they received skills as well. Of course, unlike mine, they are likely cheats, they are experts in this after all.

I remember there being a book called something like 「Bullied kid goes to another world and with personality changed from cheats plots revenge」. Well, it’s not like I bullied them? And come to think of it, they were the ones who recommended that book to me. Yeah, since it was interesting, I guess I should help them?

Activating Appraisal I approach, the remaining goblins are 5, with levels ranging 13-15, eh? Do they even need my help? The geeks are level 16, and on top of that, they have jobs of Guardian, Shinobi, Saint, and Mage. How cool, why am I the only one without a job?

I see, so the guardian uses a tower shield and spear to stall goblins, the Shinobi performs hit and run attacks, and behind them are the Mage backed up by the Saint. Is what they are likely going for, but the guardian can’t take on all the enemies as their numbers are too great, the movements of the shinobi that’s supposed to act as a support are dull, probably due to some kind of injury. And then, there are no magic attacks or healing from the rear, apparently, they are out of MP. They are using a spear and a hammer to attack physically.

Even so, with stats from level 16 it should be an easy victory for them. Even I can fight those gobs with my level 3, are they exhausted? One of them is also quite busy being fat.

「Okay, I have enough for one shot!」

「Gather the gobs!」

「Roger.」

「Ice Lance!!!」

Ooh, they finally killed 3 enemies. Watching others fight actually makes me more nervous than fighting myself.

「Okay, just two more, surround them.」

「「「Yeah.」」」

What should I do? What sort of action calls this situation? I thought this is going to be okay but isn’t this bad? For real? They are out of MP again, the guardian is all tattered, and behind them, two more goblins are coming.

Without noticing anything, they are getting a merciless surprise attack from behind by two goblins.

A great panic. I’d say they are panicking even more than usual?

Good grief, you four are level 16, right? You have a mage, a saint, a guardian, and a shinobi, right? Why does a level 3 have to save your asses? If your level is above 10, shouldn’t you be able to completely overwhelm goblins alone? Even if they are in a group?

Tch, can’t be helped.

「Wooden stick attack!!! Calm down you lot!」

Using the momentum from the dash, bam, bam, bam, bam, done. For starters, two goblins bludgeoned to death.

「「「「WHAT?! Eh, EEEEEH! Why? Eh, Haruka-kun?」」」」

「……Ehm, good job?」

Except for one person, they still seem to be panicking? Or rather, one of them is pretty composed, still under a question though.

Well, can’t be helped, it’s not like we are strangers. If they died or got seriously injured right in front of my eyes, it would feel pretty bad later.

Well, though they are my acquaintances, it was limited to them suddenly approaching me during my reading time, and handing me their recommended light novels or beginning to talk about reading suggestions, and all that other promotion stuff.

The geeks were making some geeky noises behind me, but I already dealt with two goblins with the wooden stick attack. Also known as 「Beating to death by aiming for the back of the head with a full swing from behind」. Only two remain.

Saying stuff like「Guoooouh」the goblins turned my way. I don’t get what they are saying.

Since they are saying Guoooh at such a time and place, it’s probably not a morning greeting. Gob language seems to be too difficult for me.

I suppose I can’t count on the geeks’ help, but I still don’t want to reveal my skills too much.

And while I was wondering what should I do about this, one of the goblins charged at me with his club raised overhead.

Actually, gob-san. Are you going for that pattern again? As always, I effortlessly take it down with a swing of the wooden stick, also known as「Crushing goblin’s cranium while sweeping the incoming club sideways」, good kids, don’t try this at home.

「Hey, Geek Squad, are you alive?」

I ask. But,

「「「…………」」」

「……Ehm, alive and kicking?」

Hm~, once again, with the exception of only one of them, all failed to reboot. However, one of them is pretty amazing. How come he is so calm? Don’t tell me that it’s a skill from another world?

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「Ah, there is a lot I’d like to ask, but for now, thank you for saving us. That was a great help.」

「「「Many thanks.」」」

Looks like they finally managed to reload. It somehow feels like I didn’t talk with other people in a very long time, but it’s probably just my imagination. Even in the original world I often had days when I didn’t talk… with anyone… for a whole day? Yup.

Now, what should I do? Though I saved them, what now? Should I put them where I found them?

「Eh, aren’t you too cautious of us?」

「Eh, caution?」

「What? Monsters?」

「……Ehm, death game?」

Ooh, one of them is very perceptive. Well, he is the one that lent that book to me.

「Sorry, well, it’s another world after all. 」

Though I might have offended them by that, but I can’t get dumb enough to have no caution. After all, there was plenty of dangerous stuff among the skills, rather, it’s even strange that such harmless skills like Health or Walking were among them, well, as a bonus I also received some harmful skills, to myself only though.

Among the skills that, taken by someone had turned grey, was something called 「Puppetry」. It’s undoubtedly a dangerous skill. I wonder if they would be willing to trade it for Muppet?

After exchanging glances, the geeks began putting their swords, shields, and even their luggage onto the ground, ah, disarmament? How nice… And all I have is a stick…… Ah, no.

「No, no, you don’t have to go that far. You are being too careless in a forest.」

Saying that I make them pick up their stuff.

「……Is this okay?」

「……It seems to be?」

「……I guess it is?」

「Do as thou see fit?」

Whoa, we have a lord here. I wonder what kind of job a lord would have? While they put back their equipment I asked them a few questions.

「What about the others? Exploring at night all by yourself?」

The four of them frowned and replied the following.

「We left them, or rather……「We parted with them, or actually……「We had a falling out, and……「We ran away」and are on the run.」」」

Eh, though they were bullied at school, don’t tell me that it’s the same even in another world?

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I took four trashed geeks to the cavern, and since they were way too tattered, I splashed them with a pseudo-potion made by boiling mushrooms and medical herbs. A clinical trial. It reeks of mushrooms.

「Whoa, what is this fancy cave?!」

「All of this alone?」

「And we were stuck in a tent for a week.」

「Are you from the countryside?」

Leave me alone, asking a loner if he did it 「alone」is taboo. And also, don’t say the countryside, it’s 「remote place」or 「unexplored region」, right? A permanent residence in a cave…

To tell the truth, the cave became quite tidy, since it was rough and uneven I worked on it and used packing magic to wrap the floor and the walls, during that time I got「Earth Magic Lv 1」and getting carried away even applied some structural alterations, by now it has a space of about 55 square meters. I thought I’d get level 2 of Earth Magic from that, but got level 2 of「Hikikomori 」and「Loner」…… Really?

「Modern storehouse「All this space for yourself「And we, four guys, had to share a small tent「Studio? Design interior?……」, unfair.」」」

Since they were annoying, to shut them up, I brought out the berry juice of suspicious color that I had in reserve.

「「「「So good.」」」」

「So these were sweet berries.」

They seem to be very happy, just what were they doing the whole week they spent in the forest?

I tried to ask.

Uwaaa, heavy stuff. How should I put it, are they idiots? That’s what their story made me think. I don’t mean them, but the lot that they left.

The story was long, half of it was resentment and bitterness. No kindness involved it seems.