Chapter 59. Returning to the City. Part One

Of course, I didn’t have a shovel, so at first I started digging the earth with my hands, and where the soil was denser, I used a rock. My hands got dirty quickly, and so did I.

But as soon as I started, Rem came over and handed me something that looked like a shovel—only much smaller.

"Oh… thanks," I said, looking at my already filthy hands.

Good thing she gave me that small shovel, or digging would have taken much longer. Even though the earth yielded easily, it still took a lot of time.

It took a little over half an hour. Surprisingly, I managed to dig more than three meters down.

Damn… the ground gives way so easily. It was so soft that I even started doubting myself.

I already thought Sherial had gotten the spot wrong. Or maybe she really was messing with me.

But no.

I found it.

My sword was at a depth of about three and a half meters.

How the hell did it end up that deep? Yeah, I understand how it happened, but still…

If Sherial hadn’t pointed out the exact place, I would never have found my sword on my own.

Happy that I’d finally found my sword, I climbed out of the hole and handed Rem her shovel back.

And only now did I notice…

Could you even still call this a shovel?

It was completely dented and twisted, most of its surface deformed, and some parts were missing altogether. Rem had given me an almost new shovel, and I was returning some kind of trash that probably couldn’t be used without serious repairs.

How did I even manage to damage it this badly in just half an hour?

However, that wasn’t the main problem.

"Sorry, Rem. I’ll buy a new one," I said.

But Rem simply took it—and the shovel vanished from her hands.

"Doesn’t matter. It’s a cheap thing," she said calmly. "You’re just not used to your new Strength stats yet."

"Ah… yeah," I replied.

To be honest, I thought the shovel was just low quality.

But like Rem said, that wasn’t it. I simply forgot how much stronger I’d become.

And apparently, the ground wasn’t as soft as it seemed at first. Digging was easy not because the soil was giving in, but because I had become too strong.

Judging by how badly the shovel deformed in just half an hour, the earth here was much harder than I’d thought.

"There are still a few hours before nightfall. Let’s not waste time. We’re leaving," Rem said.

Yeah, she was right. There was no point wasting time now, especially since we weren’t even that tired.

By evening, we were already deep in the forest among the trees. We began preparing a night camp—setting up tents temporarily.

I took out mine too and somehow set it up, but looking at the result, I couldn’t help thinking: could you even still call this a tent? The material was torn in most places, worn through here and there—it was very old. I hadn’t used it in a long time.

Alright. I’ll survive a few nights like this.

As for Rem and Sherial’s tent, as always, it was in excellent condition. The same tent they used even in my Training Room.

I suggested we spend the night in the Training Room, but Rem refused. Considering how time worked there, if we slept inside and then teleported back into the forest, it would still be night outside.

And traveling through the forest at night isn’t the best idea, even if the danger to us is minimal. It’s better to walk during the day, Rem said.

Yeah, she was right. I understood that perfectly, but for some reason I still suggested sleeping in the Training Room.

Still, sleeping under the open sky is always pleasant. Especially after tasty food.

POV: Rem

The tent was closed, and now they could talk to Sherial calmly, without worrying that Alisar would hear their conversation. Even though the tent was inexpensive, it was still a magical item and didn’t allow sounds from inside to escape outside. No one outside could eavesdrop on the conversation inside.

Of course, because of its low quality, if you spoke too loudly, your voice could still be heard from outside. But despite that, the item wasn’t bad—those inside the tent could hear perfectly everything that happened outside.

"So, why did you invite Alisar into our team without consulting me?" Rem said strictly.

"Hey! Stop talking like you’re angry," Sherial replied in a playful tone. "If you were really against it, you would’ve stopped me back then—when I invited Alisar into the team."

Rem couldn’t answer that, because Sherial was right. She wasn’t against Alisar joining their team, but she also wasn’t fully confident about it. It seemed to her that Sherial rushed into inviting him.

"Still, I think you rushed it," Rem said.

"Maybe," Sherial answered calmly, "but think about it. It looks like lately he hasn’t been living the best life. And that’s despite the fact he became much stronger than before—it’s surprising how quickly he gained that kind of power."

"But notice how naive he is at the same time. Though, if you remember what he said about living in an isolated village, it’s not surprising. With that kind of personality, either someone will use him, or he’ll just get killed somewhere along the way."

"And if he somehow survives, his heart will harden. And then the world will most likely get a very dangerous and cruel criminal—especially considering his skills. Maybe over time he’d even go down in history as a legendary criminal, and then some high-ranked adventurer would execute him."

"Hey, don’t fantasize. That’s unlikely to happen," Rem said.

"Yeah, maybe," Sherial said calmly. "But I’m almost sure he won’t become a criminal. He’ll most likely just get killed. Somewhere."

Rem didn’t answer, but she agreed with her in her mind.

This world was too cruel—especially for adventurers.

Naivety almost always led to death.

Though even if you aren’t naive—it can still lead to death.

"And also, you saw how we can work together," Sherial continued. "The three of us could fight monsters much stronger than us. And you know it would help us become stronger much faster than before."

She paused for a moment, then continued:

"Considering your golem summoning skill, you could fight entire armies. And if we’re together, we could stand against entire armies as three. Of course, if our opponents aren’t stronger adventurers or monsters. I think we’re fully capable of fighting against any sixth-rank."

Sherial frowned slightly.

"But with a seventh rank… I’m not sure. Most likely, against a seventh rank, with our current strength, we’d lose. But even the fact that we can resist a sixth rank—that’s already a huge result."

Yeah, there was a lot of truth in her words.

Being in the special space Alisar called the Training Room, Rem could summon her golems into the outside world almost without limitations.

Against a normal human army, they would be unbeatable. At least in theory. Of course, in practice there would surely be some weaknesses. But even so, combining their powers would greatly increase the team’s combat strength.

That would open the path to more dangerous dungeons and more dangerous places. Which meant it would make them stronger and allow them, over time, to challenge even more serious threats.

"And also, you heard about the last skill he got, right?" Sherial continued. "Looks like this time he got another very valuable and rare skill. And as usual, he probably doesn’t understand how valuable it is."

"By the way, since we’re talking about skills, what skill did you get?" Sherial asked.

"I told you already. You can’t tell your skills to just anyone," Rem answered.

Of course, that didn’t apply to close friends or team members. For a team, it was important to know each other’s abilities so they could build proper combat strategy and fight monsters effectively. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of comrades was an essential part of teamwork.

But Rem was still a little annoyed—because of how easily Sherial had coaxed that information out of Alisar. Yes, Alisar himself was to blame, but it still irritated her slightly. Still, it didn’t matter anymore. Alisar would become part of their team.

"Nothing bad happened. Fine, I’ll be the first to tell you about my new skill," Sherial said. "Like you already know, it lets me detect magical items within a few hundred meters. But that’s not the main thing. Mostly, this new skill lets me hit any target I mark, as long as it’s within a radius of three kilometers. Or it can be farther, but then I’d have to invest much more mana," Sherial said.

"Isn’t it true you were already a great shot?" Rem asked. "I thought even without this skill—using your other abilities—you could hit a target at that distance. I don’t quite understand the benefit of this skill besides searching for magical items."

"That’s not all," Sherial shook her head. "If the target is marked, I don’t even have to see it. It’s enough to invest the required amount of mana and shoot—the arrow will find the target on its own. And it doesn’t have to fly in a straight line; it can go around some obstacles. Of course, it’s possible to stop it—but it’s much harder than stopping ordinary arrows I use."

"So with a skill like that, you could become an excellent hired assassin," Rem noted.

"Don’t joke like that," Sherial answered immediately. "Besides, the skill has a serious limitation. It only works once a day. So if you use it for killing, you have to hit the first ."

Rem only snorted. She knew perfectly well that Sherial wouldn’t become a hired assassin or anything like that.