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(POV Alexander)
After a few dozen minutes of finding the man named Ogata, he took us to a cabin where he was staying in this forest. To be honest, this gave me a lot of mistrust… in all the stories that I know of, the three words, cabin, forest, and children, never had a good development!
If it wasn't because I recognized this guy the instant I saw him, then I would have decided to quickly get away from him! Well... since he was one of the antagonists in the history of this world, maybe things could develop in a much worse way than if the person who found me had been an old woman with a house made of sweets...
This man was someone on the Master level with the number [128] and various fighting skills on his head! Even though it is a lower level than the Ryozanpaku masters, it would certainly be very bad if he decided to attack us.
Although, seeing the color of his aura around him, I couldn't consider him a very bad person. In fact, I don't think the "bad guys" in this world are that evil... at best, in his aura and in his words after Kenichi and I chatted with him a bit, I could only distinguish a desire and ambition to improve his skills.
I think the only problem with Ogata and other antagonists of this world is that to achieve this, they would not mind doing some things that the Ryozanpaku masters did not approve of... even so, I think that very few of them could be considered real bad people.
Also, maybe I'm still more inclined to the ideologies of these Ryozanpaku antagonistic masters... probably as long as it is not doing some too extreme things, I do not see bad that someone seeks to be strong or put their abilities on test with others.
Well, it is also true that perhaps in this world where peace reigns, ideologies like this are not entirely the most appropriate... those masters of... I think they called themselves "Yami", they just have the bad luck of having been born in this world.
"Well, the food is ready."
"Finally! I've been wanting to try bear stew for a while! "
"T-Thank you, Ogata-san..."
In the end, I decided to also share some of the meat from my bear with Ogata. I remembered that I couldn't use my interdimensional storage and probably neither I nor Kenichi could finish the whole bear before its meat started to decompose. Therefore, I decided to give him some too.
...well, since he was the one who had to carry it here and also prepares it for cuisine and cooking, I think he deserved a bit to eat this stew as well.
"D- Delicious!"
After having some doubts, Kenichi tastes the stew and exclaims with glee. But this was not strange, this was really delicious! Although, I don't think it was due to Ogata's cooking and instead it was surely due to the material the stew was made from!
That bear was an animal in the 9th limit after all! If it hadn't been for the fact that I had the spear made with the Kunai that Shigure gave me and also that it was an animal without much intelligence, I would have followed Kenichi's suggestion and fled the place the moment I saw the bear strength.
Certainly, the animals at the top of the food chain in this world cannot be underestimated… besides, this forest was a bit special. From what I could see, it was a level 13 zone! The energy in this place was quite abundant and even surpassed the zone where our mansion on Gaia had been created...
[It's a shame that this World is in decline… this place is probably one of the few zones that exceed level 10 that are still in this world. I think it would even be difficult to find an area with a concentration of energy greater than this place...]
Well, I only came to this world to train in martial arts. It's not like I had an idea to create a base here in this world, so that doesn't matter much, Aurora. We can probably find an even better place on Gaia in the future.
Although… those places always come along with a lot of trouble. So, for now, the girls and I in Gaia can only afford to defend the Mansion place from others. If we got a better place, then we would also have to face and rappel even stronger people.
You might think that's a suitable place for our group for now. Also, because we now have a more solid foundation in Gaia, the girls should have a more relaxed time living there. Also, because of this, I can be calmer by being away from girls.
[Well, that's true. As long as those girls don't do something like go to a level 2 Area, then there shouldn't be a lot of people bothering them and causing problems for them now]
…Yes, I don't think any of them are so impulsive or negligent to do something like that. Probably the one among them who could do something like that to test her skills is Saeko... although she is not stupid to put herself and the other girls at risk. Also, with Rika there who is quite a sensible woman, she would surely intercede to prevent something like that from happening.
For that reason, I don't think there are many problems on that side. In fact, I am a little more concerned about the girls who stayed in Ruananpur… that city was more chaotic than the Kingdom of Delna!
Well… Revy had already lived there a long time and therefore, she should be able to take care of herself without much trouble. Also, Leona is a girl who can fend for herself very well too.
Probably the only thing I need to worry about is that pair of twins... although, maybe my concern for them is more due to the problems that those little diablesses can cause!
…The good thing is that I should be back there in a few more weeks. I just hope something hasn't happened there before I leave this world.
Well, returning to the subject of this forest, it is not strange that many martial artists came here to train and that the creatures here had such strength. What seemed curious to me is that despite the level of the bear, I did not find any crystal in it.
[That just means it was a normal creature and not a Monster, it's just a creature that doesn't have the instinct to create a point where it concentrates its energy. All energy is distributed in its body...]
…Isn't it better to have the energy distributed that way? That doesn't sound too bad to me.
[It certainly doesn't sound bad, but it's not that efficient. It may not be that bad on creatures with a level 1 soul, but... a creature with a level 2 soul without a point to focus its energy has a huge disadvantage with one that does have a crystal.
The latter can use that energy stored in its crystal to use abilities with which, if both creatures fought, there would be no question who would win. The creature with no energy core would have practically no chance against the one with a crystal.
…Perhaps the only merit of a creature without a crystal… no, it is still a great disadvantage probably. Thanks to the body concentrate most of the energy that this one has, its meat is quite tasty…]
… Whaa~ Fuck! Isn't it like those creatures just tried hard to be delicious?! Well... everyone has their own goals in life...
But I must say that this bear certainly tasted better than other 9th-limit critters that I had tried. I thought that this was only due to the bad feeling generated by the idea of trying things like large insects or wolves, which could also be considered large dogs, but it seems that in truth it was simply that this bear was more delicious.
…seeing how Kenichi and I repeat one dish after another, it might not really have been difficult to eat that all bear on our own… it might not need to share it with Ogata after all.
"Haa~ That was delicious!"
"Yes... maybe we should look for more bears in this forest?"
"P-Please don't do it, Alexander-senpai! E-Eating something like that so often probably wouldn't make it so delicious anymore, r-right? ! "
"Well... maybe that's true."
"Hahaha, really are two pretty energetic guys."
After emptying the large pot of stew that Ogata had prepared, me and Kenichi pounded our stomach lightly to express our satiety. Well, now that we have our stomachs full, then it would be nice to move on to do a little digestion.
"Let's train a bit, Kenichi. It seems that your opponent this time is a little stronger than before... "
"E-Eh? T-That's... "
Now that there were only two members of the Ragnarok left that we haven't defeated, the leader of this group finally had to make his appearance. So now that Kenichi had discovered that the person who had been making his life difficult was none other than his childhood friend... well, he was probably the second reason why his life is now more complicated. Those who hold the first place to be responsible for that, without a doubt, are those Masters of Ryozanpaku.
A few days ago the guy with the nickname Odin had appeared in front of him... at first Kenichi was glad to meet a friend from his childhood days, but unfortunately, that quickly changed when he revealed himself as the final boss who he had to defeat.
...it affected him so much that he even seemed to be avoiding thinking about it, and now that I mention it, the face of anguish that he showed that time reappears.
I didn't want to pressure him, but he had to fulfill the mission of defeating Ragnarok for me! Well, I could also defeat him myself, but… that seemed to be something personal and besides, I was more interested in fighting against that guy's right hand.
It wasn't a matter of strength since, if you compare both of them, he was only a 7th limit while Odin had a level of 85. I wanted to fight Berseker simply because I thought that was more interesting.
The funny thing is… it seemed like the problem between the two of them was for Miu-chan. The guy was jealous that Kenichi could be close to her... if he found out that she has a closer relationship with me, then he would probably change his focus to vent his resentment towards me...
So maybe it's better to push Kenichi a bit into fighting him before that happens! The problem was that his current strength differed a lot from that guy, he was now only level 68. That meant he was almost two limits completely exceeded by him! If they both fight now, Kenichi will most likely be defeated.
I have to help him a little so that this difference decreases… so, if we take advantage of the abundant energy in this forest, he can really improve more than doing the same in the dojo! I just hope it's enough for him to defeat Odin, if not, then I will have to defeat him myself in the end... and that would surely be more complicated given my current limit!
Let's hope I haven't altered the history of this world so much…
After dragging Kenichi out of the hut, we both started to practice a bit. He obviously can't be compared to Miu-chan... for various reasons. But he had actually become a good opponent to fight.
It's just a little annoying how he repeatedly makes me promise not to use the technique with which I nearly killed Siegfried on him… if he's still that annoying, I'll actually use it!
Well, even if I wanted to, I don't think I can use it now... I didn't want the subject watching us practice to be interested in that technique! That would be quite troublesome!!
"you both are really quite talented ..."
"..."
"R-Really? Ogata-san, do you think I'm talented really?!!"
"E-Eh? O-Of course… it's admirable how despite being so young both of you have such skills in martial arts. "
"Ogata-san, you really are a good person! My Masters often tell me that I have no talent for martial arts ... "
After watching us train for a while, Ogata chimes in by saying that. Of course, the happiest for his words was Kenichi who with bright eyes like stars approach him with enough enthusiasm... this kind has perhaps forgotten that this guy killed a bear with his bare hands before?
"Hahaha, it seems that they are quite strict with you"
Well... more than strict, those guys are sadists... besides, they probably just like to tease Kenichi by telling him that he has no talent...
"But I really think you are both like two rough diamonds… after polishing them a bit, they will surely become a pair of precious jewels!
What do you think? …Wouldn't you two like to become my disciples?"
"..."
"E-Eh? Y-Your disciples? "
... then, in the next moment, Ogata makes us that proposal that leaves Kenichi quite surprised and me sinking in my thoughts...
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(Old man Furinji POV)
After leaving the boys in the forest, I had been watching them so that nothing happened to them... well, the one that worried me the most was Kenichi... the little imp seemed to be able to handle himself quite well.
…Haa~ It's a pity that my granddaughter seems to have inherited her father's aspect of taking an interest in slightly troublesome people. Well… Shizuha was a good girl, something I can't say about that little brat too…
It would have been better if Miu took an interest in Kenichi… at least, that way I think I could have annoyed that boy a bit before accepting the relationship between the two of them. That other damn brat doesn't seem to care about my approval to take my granddaughter!
I really expected to see him suffer a little in this forest...
Well, I didn't just bring him here for that. Here they could train a little and improve a lot... also, I think it was time to see the true disposition of that boy... everyone in the dojo knew very well that this boy could perhaps be easily attracted by the Masters who have a different ideology than us!
The others had been avoiding this, had let it slide, or maybe they were also a little scared what this boy ended up deciding in the end, but… if was inevitable that this would happen, then we couldn't stop it. Also, it would probably be best for everyone else to avoid being more affected by this if this goes on too long...
So, to test the boy, I had brought him here after arguing with the others a bit. There was no better way to see what he decided than to make him meet one of those Masters… besides, it would also be good for Kenichi to meet someone like Ogata.
And now, it seems that things have reached the point of seeing what those two boys decide...