Chapter 3.1

With the long-desired penetration defense skill, “Melting (Young),” acquired, I decided to seriously begin my activities outside the city.

The game that serves as the basis for this world, “Job Heroes,” 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. It’s not guaranteed that only level 1 weak monsters will show up around the first village and its surroundings.)

Of course, a village wouldn’t be established in a dangerous area, so typically, the monsters that inhabit the area can be handled by the local residents.

However, in “Job Heroes,” dragons can also appear, albeit at a low probability, in free scenario mode.

Therefore, “Job Heroes” is known online as a “death game.”

The reason I left the party of the hero, Blaze, was not only because I couldn’t accept Blaze’s personality but also because I didn’t want to die by encountering an overwhelmingly strong monster while operating without the Melting skill.

So why was I in Blaze’s party in the first place? It was because the guild’s “Beginner Adventurer Training” began with “Party Formation.”… 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-lover’s face made a bitter taste rise in my mouth.

(No, no, I’m thinking too much. We’ve 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, “Hey, Ed. Are you exploring outside alone? Are you trying to commit suicide? Well, be careful out there.”

While walking along the road, I set up the monster skills essential for my activities outside the city, which I selected yesterday, using the “Status Device” that allows for self-assessment.

Of course, I planned to set “Melting (Young),” 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 didn’t.

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 don’t 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 “Leg Sweep.”)

Still, whether I would actually acquire such an initial skill like Leg Sweep at that time is uncertain.

(That’s what the “Magic Stone Hack” is for, after all.)

I have no expectations for the attack skills of the bounty hunter class.

With the combination of “Bounty Hunter” and “Hacker,” 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 there’s 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 “Magic Stone Hack,” “Hacking,” and “Skill Acquisition Equipment,” and I had spent the few remaining points on “MP Enhancement” from the hacker’s status enhancement tree.

(Making money is important, but I should prioritize leveling up quickly. For now, I’ll definitely set one slot to “Melting,” and the rest will be the “Adventuring” skill I obtained from goblins, the “Hunting” skill from kobolds, and the “Tracking” skill from Forest Wolves.)

The “Adventuring” skill is a composite skill that encompasses a wide range of abilities, including exploration, combat, gathering, and disassembly.

It’s quite convenient, but since I just acquired it and my skill proficiency is low, and because “Adventuring” itself isn’t a particularly rare skill, the effects of each element included aren’t 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, but… well, that’s 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 hunter’s original tree. Skill development is a form of endgame content, so I don’t 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 “Adventuring” and “Hunting” 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 “Tracking” 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.

“Yo, ha, to!”

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 “Adventuring” and “Hunting” 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 didn’t have time to waste gathering low-value items.

“Making a little money at this point doesn’t matter… oh, I found it!”

Looking up, I spotted a small animal-type monster scurrying lightly along the thin branch of a tree.

It was a charmingly cute monster.

—The target monster, “Lucky Squirrel.”

When defeated, the “Lucky Squirrel” 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 “Tamer” famous in the early stages for taming this monster in my previous life.

Of course, my goal isn’t to tame it but to acquire those skills…

“Hey!!”

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.

“…It really is fast. I can’t catch up now.”

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 wasn’t entirely unprepared.)

Using the “Tracking” skill I had set, I displayed the traces of the Lucky Squirrel in detail and began the pursuit…

Even though it’s a monster specializing in fleeing, it’s just a low-level animal-type monster.

It doesn’t possess skills like “Teleport” or “Short Teleport,” nor does it have “Levitation” or “Odor Nullification.”

Therefore, there are plenty of traces left by the Lucky Squirrel that I can track with the “Tracking” skill in the forest.

“Well, found it.”

At the end of the traces, I discovered a small hollow in a tree.

However, my “Adventuring” skill informed me through my senses that the Lucky Squirrel had fled inside the hollow.

“Alright then, squirrel. Good work.”

While climbing the tree with one hand, I pulled out a poisonous smoke bomb from my utility pouch, ignited it with my “Life Magic” 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 wouldn’t be able to secure it and would simply let it escape, so I needed to use these tools.

(Using the “Melting” 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 “Hacking,” I would likely fail even if I tried to “Magic Stone Hack,” and I would probably have to hunt a few more—at 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 couldn’t come here until I acquired the “Melting” 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 “Status Device” 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.

“Oh, lucky me. It had young ones.”

When killing the nest, it’s sometimes possible to take down multiple individuals, and if I’m lucky, I might find the young of the Lucky Squirrel.

“Let’s hope it has good skills.”

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 “Tamer,” 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.

It’s 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 “Bounty Hunter” and “Adventuring” skills to separate the Lucky Squirrel into fur and magic stones.