Ch.120A New Beginning NPC. (3)

It’s a bit awkward to say this with my own mouth now, but in these past few years, I’ve become quite the anomaly even by this fantasy world’s standards.

“P-please… t-together… it’s too hard…”

“What are you doing? If you don’t hurry up, I’m leaving you behind.”

[-Occupation Striker- : Level 142 Name: Miho. Age 19.]

[Strength: 182]

[Agility: 306]

[Intelligence: 27]

[Luck: 200 MAX]

[HP: 3,865]

[MP: 260]

Miho, a player and a white tiger beastkin woman from [Spirit Demon Kingdom Siltra].

After reaching level 100, all her stats have more than doubled.

Her luck is even at MAX. In game terms, that means her critical hit rate is consistently over 70% even in direct attacks.

No matter how you look at it, her specs are completely broken.

“J-just a little. Let’s rest just a little before going on… seriously, I’m going to die at this rate…”

Yet even she, who has become such an overpowered character, can’t keep up with me now.

My Windows 98, which had crashed after receiving a barrage of kisses from our kids on the first day, successfully rebooted thanks to Miho’s cries.

Thanks to that, when I came to my senses and looked back, the sky had already turned pitch black with the moon sinking, and Neyati was nowhere to be seen, not even a shadow.

Right, I had been running without rest until nearly dawn.

And despite running that much, I wasn’t tired at all. What on earth happened to my stamina?

My speed has increased to a level that can’t even be compared to when I left Ponia, and comparing it to a carriage would be pitiful for the horse pulling it.

[-Occupation: Caretaker NPC- Level: 552 Name: Jack. Age: 19.]

[Strength: 323+???]

[Agility: 364+???]

[Intelligence: 6+??]

[Luck: 12+??]

[HP: 314,255+???]

[MP: 0+0]

[Titles new!: Old Man Attacking Caretaker. Plundering Caretaker. Student-Protecting Caretaker. Are You Serious About Golems? Sister-Loving Caretaker. Spirit King’s Friend. Caretaker Who Taught the Dean. Discriminating Caretaker. Kisser.]

I really wish these ridiculous titles would stop being added.

Anyway. Compared to before, my HP has increased by more than 5,000, and both agility and strength stats have risen by over 100.

Even my luck, though still pathetic, has definitely increased.

But what’s going on with my intelligence? How does it not increase even a little? Damn, is this right? Not increasing by even 1 point is really crossing the line, isn’t it?

And while the stats with question marks remain invisible, my current specs and Miho’s specs are almost identical.

I’m slightly ahead in agility, and about twice as strong in terms of strength. Even that would be meaningless if I fought Miho, due to her luck.

Nevertheless, Miho has to chase after me at full speed when I’m just “moderately” running, and she even collapses once every few hours.

No matter how I think about it, the additional stats attached to caretaker-related skills seem too overpowered.

“Stop exaggerating, how could you die? We just took a break earlier. At this rate, when will we reach Aigram, and when will we get to Siltra?”

“J-Jack sir… please. We’ve only been running for about two weeks? And we’ve already crossed the Neyati border into Aigram territory. At this pace, we’ll reach Aigram in just two more weeks?! One month! Just one month to travel from one neutral city to another!!”

It took nearly four months to travel from Aigram to Neyati by carriage, but now just one month on foot.

It’s certainly fast, but honestly, I’m still not satisfied. If I were alone, I could have arrived twice as fast as now.

As I promised Ira, I need to handle my business at maximum speed and return at maximum speed, right?

“Sigh. I understand what you’re saying, but I really can’t run anymore. Just one hour. Let’s rest for just one hour before continuing. Please?”

“Then, you can rest here. I’ll go ahead alone. You won’t get lost from here, right? Just follow this mountain range straight to reach Aigram. And let me tell you, don’t even think about going back to Neyati to stick by Ira’s side again.”

“……”

There are two reasons why I’ve matched my pace with Miho until now.

One is that even with her increased level, there’s a possibility that Neyati monsters in ep.3 areas might be difficult for Miho to handle.

Of course, there wasn’t much of a problem since monster levels haven’t exceeded 100 yet, but you never know, right?

In the Empire, [Ultra-Acidic Slimes] had their game levels adjusted so that Empire adventurers couldn’t defeat them as usual. If Neyati’s field bosses had their levels raised in the same way, they could pose a threat to Miho.

And the second reason was the possibility that she might try to return to Ira behind my back.

But she probably won’t go back now that we’ve come this far.

Well, we made good time partly because she kept up with my pace and speed, but more importantly because I didn’t follow the roads but cut straight across mountains.

If she takes the roads on her way back, it would take at least a month, right?

I continued forward, leaving the complaining Miho behind, and confirmed that no one was following me.

If Green Stone asks me where Miho is when I arrive alone first, what should I say?

‘I’ll just say she’s hunting monsters somewhere near Aigram.’

Happy that I could finally put some legal distance between Miho and myself, I started running even faster.

*

“…Did he really leave?”

Catching my breath while leaning against a tree, I see the back of the gray man moving away at tremendous speed.

And as that figure instantly disappears, even his scent rapidly fades away.

He really ran off alone, as if he had no interest in me whatsoever.

“That’s too cruel.”

It’s been two whole weeks. Two weeks of running together. We didn’t have much conversation during that time, but still, people develop attachments, don’t they?

No matter how much he dislikes me, to leave me behind in the mountains and run off… Considering everything I’ve seen of him so far, I wonder if he’s really the same person.

‘…He said he would carry and help Ira, Miss Ray, and Miss Ragni when they were tired.’

But he just left without even asking me. The Jack I saw and heard about was definitely someone who took good care of the people around him, worried about them, and always extended a helping hand.

For some reason, that doesn’t apply to me.

Of course, he told me coldly that he hasn’t forgiven what I did to Miss Ragni, that I almost put Ira in danger.

But the problem is that I don’t think he’s really unforgiving, angry, or furious with me because of that.

‘If that were the case, he wouldn’t have come with me in the first place. He would have said, go by yourself, I’ll kill you if you return to Ira’s side. He would have ordered Gor or the others to kill me if I approached them. He would have given such orders right in front of me.’

He’s quite merciless to those he considers enemies.

I felt that deeply during the time I lived with him. And he doesn’t see me as an enemy.

I even thought that maybe he’s just soft on women.

But there were female instructors among those he captured and killed when rescuing the children. And he didn’t even glance at those women. He didn’t even treat them as human beings.

Yet he brought me all the way here, and even during our journey, whenever we encountered monsters, he always took on the majority and let me hunt just one.

No matter how I think about it, he doesn’t seem to hate, dislike, or see me as an enemy.

“…Sigh, I wanted to rest for an hour.”

I dust off my bottom and get up to follow Jack’s scent.

“Wow, is he really planning to abandon me? Has he gone this far?”

I’ve only rested for about 10 minutes, but I can smell him from the direction of the next ridge. Honestly, this is a bit strange too.

The old me wouldn’t have been able to track a scent from this distance, so why can I do it now?

“…When I’m with Jack, I keep learning things I didn’t know, and I find out so many things I was wrong about. It makes me want to stay by his side and learn about the world, about common sense.”

The sun will set soon. Even Jack won’t continue sprinting through the mountains at night, so I’ll close the gap in the meantime and catch up to him before he wakes up.

Can I do it? I don’t worry about that. After all, I’m a white tiger beastkin. A nocturnal tiger beastkin.

I become faster and more sensitive at night. I can definitely not lose track of him.

“Someday I’ll ask him directly why he’s trying to distance me like this!”

If I were truly hated, I would have kept my distance too, but thanks to calmly reviewing his actions, I’m confident that I’m not hated by him.

So I won’t give up yet.

Ira’s brother, the benefactor I someday want to serve as my lady. For now, I’ll follow him and grow a little more. Surely, I can grow by staying by his side.

With that renewed determination, I chased after his scent with all my might as he was already heading toward the peak of the next ridge.

*

It’s been a while since I’ve had a night alone. How many years has it been since I’ve had a night to myself like this? Back when I was working as a caretaker, I would feed Ira dinner and then patrol the mountains as the rainy season began, often staying up all night.

Every time, I would hurry back home before Ira woke up in the morning.

This too becomes a memory when it passes… like hell it does. Damn, after working so hard for the village and the country, they treated Ira and me like that. May they collapse right now!!

“Still, it’s a bit comfortable.”

Though I miss having Ira in my arms, I guess as a man, I needed some time alone.

Lying on a tree where no mountain beast or monster can climb, wrapped in a blanket I brought along, looking at the bright sky, this world has such clean skies perhaps because there are so many mountains and trees.

The stars and moon are as bright as sunlight.

Feeling somewhat poetic being alone, I slowly close my eyes while gazing at the sky.

At this rate, we can definitely reach Aigram within a week…

[Danger!] [Danger!] [Danger!] [Danger!]

“…What?”

[Wraith: Level 156]

[HP: 1,560]

[Physical Attack Immunity]

A status window suddenly appearing before my eyes. Gor is with Ira now, so this is just a normal status window without reason, but that makes it even scarier.

It means there’s real danger.

“Kyaaaah!!! Ghost!! It’s a ghost!!!”

And hearing a familiar voice not far away, I unconsciously squeezed my eyes shut.