First, I head to the forest. The goal is to hunt animals for gold.

There is a hunting guild in Einfast. This is not the same as a guild, which is a community of players, but a union, as the name implies. It is a place that takes in animal meat, pelts, etc., and sometimes there are mini-quests to hunt a particular animal.

For the time being, this will be the source of income for a while.

I walk alone on an empty plain. Occasionally, I see other parties or solo players, but I don't have a chance to exchange words with them since I have discovered them through 【Farsightedness】. Everyone seems to hunt prey in their own way.

Now, what kind of prey are we looking for? Earlier the players were hunting rabbits and wolves, it seems.

As I looked around to see if anything was around, I spotted a brown rabbit. It seemed to graze with its back turned to us, not seeming to notice us.

「I wonder if they'd run away if I approached .......」

They are wild animals, so they must have a high sense of danger. Well, let's just try to get close to it, just in case.

I have the skill of 【Concealment】, but I don’t dare to use it and try to get closer to the rabbit. The purpose is to see at what distance the rabbit will notice me. Since I am downwind of the rabbit, I expect I will get very close to it.

About 15 meters in, a rabbit turned to me.

「What?」

And then it lunged toward me. I thought to myself; I forgot to check what rabbit this rabbit was, and then [animal knowledge] was triggered.

○Charged Rabbit.

A herbivore. When it sees a weak enemy, it charges at it and strikes it with a bump protruding from its forehead. It hurts a lot when it hits you. It can also break bones.

It is edible.

It was not just a rabbit. However, the fact that it charges at weak enemies means I'm perceived as a lower rank by this guy. Oy, you rabbit.

I prepared myself to kick it as it approached me. If I kicked it on the counter, I could expect to do some damage even though I had no skill. It is only a rabbit, I thought, but I was naïve.

The Charging Rabbit jumped. Its leap was so high that its protruding bump was aimed at my face.

「Whoa!」

I jumped back to the side in a panic. Rolling on the ground, I regained my position. The Charging Rabbit landed neatly and ran straight ahead, and when it was far enough away from me, it changed direction and came toward me again. Is this its fighting style? It looks like a bullfight.

I was surprised because it came out of nowhere, but I am okay this time. If you know it is coming, there is nothing to fear.

Activate the art 【Magic Strike】. My fist is filled with the light of magic power. The next time it leaps at my face, I'm going to give it to it――

「Gohu!?」

Contrary to my expectations, it was the belly that the Charging Rabbit rammed into. I would say it was like being hit with a hammer, but a tremendous impact went through my stomach. The pain is supposed to be lessened than in real life, but it is still painful.

But if I let it go here, I would be subjected to the same attack again. Reflexively, I extend my arm and grab the long ears of the Charging Rabbit as it tries to break free. It thrashes about, but that is not much of a force in itself. If it were to be kicked with the leg that produces that rushing power, it would surely suffer serious damage again, but once it does this, it is mine.

The rabbit stops its rampage, becomes docile, and turns its dull, red eyes on me. It reminds me of a dog that appeared in a certain financial business, but it's too late now. Reality is harsh. It's just a game.

「It's payback!」

I slammed the Charge Rabbit to the ground with a grip on its ear and in pursuit, I slammed a 【Magic Strike】 into its side. With a solid response, my fist buried itself in the Charge Rabbit's body.

That took care of it. With a sound like something hard breaking, the body cracks and scatters, leaving the flesh and fur in its place. The meat and fur of the charge rabbit.

「Huh. .......」

I crouched down on the spot and checked my status to see that my HP had been reduced by half. Was this just from that one blow, It did just treat me like a lower rank ......? Or did It accidentally get a critical hit? Well, a win is a win.

I took a potion out of my backpack and slurped it down in one gulp, and my HP was fully restored. Hmmm, I wonder if the meat and fur will make up for the cost of the potion: ......

Oh yeah. In this game, items basically have to be carried around. There is a limit to the number of tools you can carry with you. You can check what items you have in your possession from the menu, but if you are not good at putting things away, you might lose track of what you have and where you put them.

Some items, such as a bag that has a storage space inside, like the pockets of a certain cat-shaped robot from the future, are very expensive. The price is 100,000 Pedia. Approximately 1,000,000 Japanese yen. If you can get this, you can store up to 100 items, regardless of the size of the items.

And time does not pass while the food is stored in this space. In other words, foodstuffs can be stored without spoiling, and if you store freshly prepared food, you can eat hot food anytime.

However, this bag also has a durability value, and if it is broken, the contents will be smashed on the spot; there is a story of a player who stored several large rocks in his bag when he was in beta, and as soon as the bag was broken by a demon, he was crushed to death by the smashed rocks.

Still, the ability to store them without regard to their mass is a significant advantage. I heard players are trying to earn money to gain this first. I'm hoping to get my hands on one eventually, so I'll have to work hard.

There is still a long way to go. After collecting the meat and pelt, I continue onward.

By the time I reach the forest, I find three ordinary rabbits, but two of them run away and I get one.

The wind direction still seemed to have something to do with it, and two of the rabbits ran away before I could get closer to the Charge Rabbit.

I was able to get the other one alive because I was able to get very close to it and used 【Concealment】, and I got its meat and pelt by jerking its neck on the spot. Although it is difficult to consume MP, I found out that it is possible to capture a rabbit alive by using 【Concealment】 from just before it detects you. Ordinary rabbits run away quickly. Once they escape, it is difficult for me to capture them.

I wonder how other players catch rabbits. I wonder if they kill it before it escapes with a long-range attack like magic.

Now that I think of it, I remember I can attack at long range with spirit magic too. However, I don't think the quality of the pelts will be reduced if I defeat them with that. Well, there is no guarantee that the pelts will drop.

「Well, let's see: ......」

In front of the forest, I shifted my attention to the trees in front of me. The back of the forest was too dim to see well, but using 【Night Vision】 in with 【Farsightedness】, I was able to see vaguely, albeit in black and white. I think I can probably see much better at night with this. I mustn't be overconfident, though.

Nevertheless, from a while ago, because of 【Plant Knowledge】, the names and characteristics of plants are displayed in a window from one side to the other. It's true that this place is a treasure trove of plants, so it's just right for leveling up my skills.

In fact, the same thing happened at the stalls in Einfast. Then going to the market should be more efficient. There are so many vegetables, fruits, and meat relations to sell there, without metaphor. Knowledge is power. I'll try it when I get back.

Well, as far as I could see, there were no animals. I went deeper into the forest to see if there were any animals, but I decided to leave that for later and decided to collect some of the things I had my eye on from among those I had caught in my botanical knowledge.

First, the wound healing yuyu grass. The name sounds like a seasoning, but it is the raw material for a potion. It would be worth money if I sold it, so I will collect it here.

Then, aconite. It is used as a medicine and poison. The image of aconite is probably stronger as a poison. I don't know if there is any use for it, but let's collect it too. If I can sell it, I will sell it.

The last one is the poison-eliminating grass. This is not a plant that eliminates poison, but only an ingredient in an antidote. I wonder if it has any detoxifying effect. I'll collect this one too.

While I was collecting them, I noticed that the sun was setting. It would be about the right time to go back to the city. Even though I have 【Night Vision】, today is the first time I have experienced the field. I don't want to overdo it.

Besides, my backpack is almost at its limit. Next time, I will have to think about how I will carry the harvest back home with me.

In fact, there is another way to put items away besides using a bag with storage space. It is a skill called 【Spatial Storage】. It is also known as an item box, and the way to obtain it is to pay for it. It costs 10,000 yen in real money. Whether you consider this expensive or inexpensive depends on your financial resources. Personally, I think it is cheap.

Even if you don't use the 【Spatial Storage】, a bag with storage space can hold more than 100 items depending on how you use it. The logic is simple: it only takes one item to fill an item slot.

For example, if I put away my backpack, which now contains various items, into the bag with storage space, the item slot will be for one backpack. The number of items in the bag is not counted. In other words, if I have a bag that can hold 100 medicinal herbs, I can store 100 herbs in one box slot. This means that one box frame can hold 100 medicinal herbs. This has been a well-known issue since beta, and the management has not fixed it.

But with this, you can get by without having to pay for item boxes and such. I think I've become less thankful for the charge. No, but item boxes are protected, so I don't have to worry about losing the contents. It must be convenient.

I put the last of the medicinal herbs in my backpack and put it on my back, hoping to get it eventually, when I sat up.

「Hmm?」

I felt something cross my vision. Before I could even figure out what it was, another thing came across my vision.

「Gawd!」

A shadow leaped toward me from behind a tree. I quickly put my arm out in front of me. The shadow bit my left arm. It was a dog, or rather a wolf.

「This guy, where did he come from?」

Even though I was concentrating on picking medicinal herbs, I had checked my surroundings from time to time. And yet, I had not noticed him at all. Was it my own fault?

But it's not good. Wolves are usually pack animals. There was no way there was only one of them, the one that was biting my left arm. If I don't do something about it soon, they'll all bite me at once and I'll be dead.

「Son of a bitch!」

I try to finish him off with 【Magic Strike】, but I can't seem to get it right. When I tried to hit it, it kept biting me and deftly shifted its body so that I could not hit it. Kicking is also difficult at such a close range. If that's the case――

「Gyan!」

The decision was made in an instant. I jam the thumb and forefinger of my free right hand into Wolf's eye socket. As expected, this worked, and the wolf let go of my arm. So I gave chase and put my arm around his neck, then mounted him and tightened it as hard as I could. The wolf struggled for a while but eventually stopped moving.

The wolf's body shattered, dropping its fur and flesh. While retrieving them, I get up and look around. No other wolves seem to be attacking me. I maintained my vigilance as I gradually made my way out of the forest, but I still couldn't find a pack of wolves.

「..... must have been a lone wolf.」

A straggler wolf who can't join the pack. In short, a lone wolf who doesn't belong. Lucky for me, I guess. It's no joke to be surrounded by a pack when you're playing solo.

I was worried that a pack might approach from somewhere while I was doing this. Maybe I should learn the skill to know when the enemy is approaching.

「Let's go back to the city. ......」

I'm not going to take it easy. I leave the forest as fast as I can.

I enter the town before the gate closes and head for the hunting guild.

The guild was crowded with people. I submit the day's results to the counter, and the guild staff assesses them and pays me. Now, I wondered how much my results would be worth this time.

After waiting in line for a while, my turn came.

「Bring out the game then.」

Following the instructions of the staff member, I took out my findings from my backpack. I pulled out a rabbit pelt and meat, a charge rabbit pelt and meat, and a wolf pelt and meat.

「The pelts are all in good condition.」

「Does it still make a difference how you beat them?」

I was curious, so I asked. If the value changes depending on how it is killed, I should try to kill it in a way that makes it as expensive as possible. Of course, if I can afford it.

「If you cut them up roughly with a knife, the fur will be damaged, and the usable portion will be reduced.」

It makes sense. It's funny how this game is set up in such detail. 

It is reasonable. I wonder if I should say that this game, which has such detailed settings, is funny ...... or amazing. The most important thing to remember is that you can fight without worrying too much about how you're going to defeat the enemy.

However, even though the combat skills I have mastered are 【Hand-To-Hand】, more than half of today's catches were finished off with chokes and takedowns. It may be because of the bad situation, but it's just not cool.

Next time, I'll try to use my fists more. Thinking of this, I accepted the money.

I think I'll have a little more time, so I'll go to the market and work on my 【Animal Knowledge】and 【Plant Knowledge】.