With the long-desired penetration defense skill, โMelting (Young),โ acquired, I decided to seriously begin my activities outside the city.
The game that serves as the basis for this world, โJob Heroes,โ features a free scenario mode where, even in the nearby forest, one might accidentally encounter extremely dangerous monsters that are well above the appropriate level.
I obtained the penetration defense skill for that very reason; activities without this skill are simply out of the question.
(Different from a story where only specific enemies appear, the free mode is risky. Itโs not guaranteed that only level 1 weak monsters will show up around the first village and its surroundings.)
Of course, a village wouldnโt be established in a dangerous area, so typically, the monsters that inhabit the area can be handled by the local residents.
However, in โJob Heroes,โ dragons can also appear, albeit at a low probability, in free scenario mode.
Therefore, โJob Heroesโ is known online as a โdeath game.โ
The reason I left the party of the hero, Blaze, was not only because I couldnโt accept Blazeโs personality but also because I didnโt want to die by encountering an overwhelmingly strong monster while operating without the Melting skill.
So why was I in Blazeโs party in the first place? It was because the guildโs โBeginner Adventurer Trainingโ began with โParty Formation.โโฆ Ah, I had a period of grace to amicably break up with Cotton, who, despite having me as a lover, was happily pursued by Blaze.
Imagining my ex-loverโs face made a bitter taste rise in my mouth.
(No, no, Iโm thinking too much. Weโve already broken up.)
Despite feeling exasperated by the gum-like emotions stuck to the soles of my shoes, I stepped outside the city while being worried by Ed, the familiar gatekeeper, who said, โHey, Ed. Are you exploring outside alone? Are you trying to commit suicide? Well, be careful out there.โ
While walking along the road, I set up the monster skills essential for my activities outside the city, which I selected yesterday, using the โStatus Deviceโ that allows for self-assessment.
Of course, I planned to set โMelting (Young),โ one of my main firepower skills, in one of the four skill slots currently available for monster skills.
As for whether I had other attack skills, naturally, I didnโt.
The bounty hunter class has a diverse array of weapon attack skills in its skill tree, with proficiency in all weapon types. However, the proficiency in all weapon types is no joke, and there are hardly any attack skills that deliver significant firepower, except for guns, which I plan to use as my main weapon, so I donโt intend to acquire any skills other than gun skills.
(If it turns out that I have surplus points for skill acquisition in the end, I might consider taking the whip skill โLeg Sweep.โ)
Still, whether I would actually acquire such an initial skill like Leg Sweep at that time is uncertain.
(Thatโs what the โMagic Stone Hackโ is for, after all.)
I have no expectations for the attack skills of the bounty hunter class.
With the combination of โBounty Hunterโ and โHacker,โ attack skills are obtained from monsters rather than from the job-derived skill tree.
(Even the main gun skill is something I plan to acquire from mechanical beings that appear in ancient ruins eventually.)
That being said, the ancient ruins where I want to acquire the skills I desire are far from here.
I only need gun skills as a temporary measure.
Nonetheless, at this point, my own level is low, and thereโs no surplus of skill points to develop the skill tree.
I was nearly out of points due to the mandatory skills I had to acquire, such as โMagic Stone Hack,โ โHacking,โ and โSkill Acquisition Equipment,โ and I had spent the few remaining points on โMP Enhancementโ from the hackerโs status enhancement tree.
(Making money is important, but I should prioritize leveling up quickly. For now, Iโll definitely set one slot to โMelting,โ and the rest will be the โAdventuringโ skill I obtained from goblins, the โHuntingโ skill from kobolds, and the โTrackingโ skill from Forest Wolves.)
The โAdventuringโ skill is a composite skill that encompasses a wide range of abilities, including exploration, combat, gathering, and disassembly.
Itโs quite convenient, but since I just acquired it and my skill proficiency is low, and because โAdventuringโ itself isnโt a particularly rare skill, the effects of each element included arenโt that powerful.
However, given the limited number of skill slots available, such composite skills are quite useful.
(Once I get the larval skills, I could develop them, butโฆ well, thatโs going to be a lower priority.)
Once I earn more skill points, I plan to invest them in the perception skills available in the bounty hunterโs original tree. Skill development is a form of endgame content, so I donโt have the luxury of leveling up the adventuring skill at this time.
(Alright, I should first make my way through the shallow layers of the forest.)
Following the guidance of the โAdventuringโ and โHuntingโ skills, I walked into the forest near the city.
I had a purpose for coming out of the fortress city this time.
It was to acquire essential skills for my future activities.
The monster I aimed for could appear in the shallow layers of the forest, but since other adventurers were active there and townsfolk were gathering firewood and medicinal herbs, the location was somewhat inconvenient.
Looking at my feet, the โTrackingโ skill clearly indicated the frequent traces left by the townspeople.
(The ground is well-trodden, making for good footing, but all the medicinal herbs that would normally grow here are completely gone. Earnings here are poor.)
If I wanted to make money, I would have to head deeper into the forest. It would also be perfect for leveling.
So, I pressed onward into the depths of the forest, moving from the shallow layers toward the middle layers.
โYo, ha, to!โ
Naturally, the paths in the forest were beast trails. The ground was uneven with tree roots and mud. In front of me were branches and leaves that would typically make progress difficult.
However, with the effects of the set โAdventuringโ and โHuntingโ skills, I walked at a speed that felt no different from flat ground, even in the difficult terrain of the forest.
I ignored the cheap medicinal herbs I found along the way. My goal this time was to acquire skills. I didnโt have time to waste gathering low-value items.
โMaking a little money at this point doesnโt matterโฆ oh, I found it!โ
Looking up, I spotted a small animal-type monster scurrying lightly along the thin branch of a tree.
It was a charmingly cute monster.
โThe target monster, โLucky Squirrel.โ
When defeated, the โLucky Squirrelโ drops a fruit that has an extremely low probability of increasing luck, and it is also known for learning many convenient support skills through training, making the profession โTamerโ famous in the early stages for taming this monster in my previous life.
Of course, my goal isnโt to tame it but to acquire those skillsโฆ
โHey!!โ
As I suddenly shouted, the squirrel monster spotted me and hurriedly ran away.
The Lucky Squirrel is a monster but is weak in combat and has a tendency to flee as soon as it is discovered by a human.
โโฆIt really is fast. I canโt catch up now.โ
I tried running a bit to chase after it, but the speed difference between a squirrel in the treetops with no obstacles and me running on the ground, hindered by branches and leaves, was immense.
Despite its low monster level, the Lucky Squirrel is a specialized escape monster, so a low-level adventurer like me would never catch up.
(That said, I wasnโt entirely unprepared.)
Using the โTrackingโ skill I had set, I displayed the traces of the Lucky Squirrel in detail and began the pursuitโฆ
Even though itโs a monster specializing in fleeing, itโs just a low-level animal-type monster.
It doesnโt possess skills like โTeleportโ or โShort Teleport,โ nor does it have โLevitationโ or โOdor Nullification.โ
Therefore, there are plenty of traces left by the Lucky Squirrel that I can track with the โTrackingโ skill in the forest.
โWell, found it.โ
At the end of the traces, I discovered a small hollow in a tree.
However, my โAdventuringโ skill informed me through my senses that the Lucky Squirrel had fled inside the hollow.
โAlright then, squirrel. Good work.โ
While climbing the tree with one hand, I pulled out a poisonous smoke bomb from my utility pouch, ignited it with my โLife Magicโ skill, and tossed it inside before jumping down to the ground.
Looking up, I saw noxious smoke billowing from the treetops, and I felt confident in my hunting success.
Of course, even without using such means, the Lucky Squirrel would likely come out if I made a commotion in front of the tree hollow.
However, at my current level, I wouldnโt be able to secure it and would simply let it escape, so I needed to use these tools.
(Using the โMeltingโ skill to dissolve the tree or killing it with magic skills obtained from monsters would consume MP.)
Of course, if I could acquire the desired skill in one go, it would be fine to take such measures, but with my current proficiency in โHacking,โ I would likely fail even if I tried to โMagic Stone Hack,โ and I would probably have to hunt a few moreโat worst, dozens more.
(Furthermore, considering the possibility of encountering other monsters, I want to conserve MP. This is quite a dangerous area.)
Operating as a solo low-level bounty hunter in the mid-layers of the forest is practically a suicide mission.
(There are several dangerous monsters that can appear here. I couldnโt come here until I acquired the โMeltingโ skill.)
While being cautious of my surroundings and looking up at the noxious smoke emitted by the cheap poison smoke bomb for small animal-type monsters, I noticed that the experience points in the โStatus Deviceโ had changed because the hidden Lucky Squirrel in the tree hollow had died.
Of course, the Lucky Squirrel is a weak monster, so the experience points it holds are negligible.
Nevertheless, since my goal is the magic stone, I nodded to myself and approached the tree, reaching inside while carefully avoiding the released smoke.
โOh, lucky me. It had young ones.โ
When killing the nest, itโs sometimes possible to take down multiple individuals, and if Iโm lucky, I might find the young of the Lucky Squirrel.
โLetโs hope it has good skills.โ
What I found this time was one adult individual and about three small squirrel corpses.
(They look cute, but a monster is still a monster.)
Even with a profession like โTamer,โ such a cute-looking monster cannot be treated as a pet. Even the weak young will feel the instinct to attack in the presence of a human.
Itโs common for naive townsfolk to be deceived by malicious pet traders and bring such adorable-looking monsters into the city, only for them to be tossed in front of women and children, resulting in piles of corpses.
(Welp, I need to get back to work.)
I took out my disassembly knife and followed the disassembly skill elements within the โBounty Hunterโ and โAdventuringโ skills to separate the Lucky Squirrel into fur and magic stones.