NOVEL WEB Chapter 27 - More Labor is Better (2)
✦ Chapter 27 – More Labor is Better (2) ✦
「Translator – Creator」
『Lv.9 King-Tailed Ground Squirrel』
『Capture Probability: 12.1%』
My heart pounded intensely at the encounter I had been longing for. A “Invasion Event” occurring just as I was thinking about the shortage of labor? I couldn’t have asked for better timing.
The only problem was that the capture probability was too low.
A mere 12.1%.
Why was the capture probability so low for a creature that was only Level 9?
I had 10 charges of the「Hel Ball」.
Could I catch it within 10 tries? Just based on simple arithmetic, I thought it might be possible when Phoebe spoke.
“Brother, you have 「Hel Ball」, right? What are you doing! Take it out now!”
I was a bit surprised that Phoebe brought up 「Hel Ball」.
How did she know?
“Why are you so surprised? Sister Somnia told me! She said it was made from a Dantalian heirloom, right?”
It seemed Somnia had told Phoebe about 「Hel Ball」. Even though Somnia herself told me to keep 「Hel Ball」 a secret.
But strictly speaking, 「Hel Ball」was originally a Dantalian heirloom, and Phoebe was the only direct descendant of the Dantalians. This meant Phoebe also had the right to know about 「Hel Ball」.
“Sister Somnia said that to easily catch a Hel, we need to exhaust its stamina and energy first! We have to fight it and make it tired!”
Fight it and reduce its stamina?
That was easy to say.
But if I started attacking that squirrel to exhaust its stamina….
Thwack, Stab-!
“……..…….”
No way. The only future I saw was that squirrel turned into dried squid! There’s no way that squirrel would survive my punch!
“Phoebe, why don’t you hit that squirrel?”
“Me? How can I possibly hit such a cute squirrel?”
Phoebe loved squirrels very much.
When her pet squirrel ‘Barkie’ died, she even starved herself for a few days. My father and I had to force-feed her porridge with a funnel.
Both Phoebe and I were in a dire situation where we couldn’t bring ourselves to hit a squirrel. In this case, there was only one option left.
“Go, Barkie!”
Barkie, who had been working in the field, dashed towards the squirrel.
━ Barkkk!
━ Barkkk!
The two Hels faced each other and distanced themselves. In this gap, I took a look at Barkie’s status window.
『Name: Barkie (Emperor Wolf Spider) Lv.10
「Partner Skill: Howling – Removes harmful effects applied to the partner」
「List of Possessed Skills —」
Death Voice
Sticky Web (New!)
「Status」 「Work Aptitude
Attack : 22 Crafting Lv.3
Defense : 13 Gathering Lv.3
Efficiency : 120 Pasturing Lv.1」
Loyalty : 29」』
Perhaps due to all the work it had done, Barkie’s level had risen to 10; accordingly, its Attack and Defense stats had also slightly increased.
Barkie was now Level 10.
And that invasive squirrel was a mere Level 9.
Even though Barkie had the advantage in terms of Level, I knew that fights weren’t decided by numbers alone. I quickly scanned its “Skill List” and shouted,
“Barkie, Death Voice!”
━Eooooooooooong—!
As if understanding my command, Barkie started to make a strange sound; it swayed its front legs from side to side as if dancing, which was quite a sight.
Fwoosh—!
A small sonic boom formed from Barkie’s dance and cry; the sonic boom rushed towards the flying squirrel and struck it hard, sending it sprawling dramatically!
━Krrr!
“Daniel! You made Barkie attack the squirrel! How could you? Why are you bullying the poor creature?”
Phoebe raged.
However, I brushed off her annoying complaints and aimed the 「Hel Ball」.
『Lv.9 King-Tailed Ground Squirrel』
『Capture Probability: 12.1%』
The capture probability had doubled.
Still, it was not a number I could confidently call high.
━Krrr!
Thud—!
And to make matters worse, the squirrel turned and started to flee.
Did it realize it was at a disadvantage? I’ll lose it if this continues!
“Barkie, Sticky Web!”
Sticky Web, a new skill Barkie learned after leveling up.
As its name suggests, it was a skill that restrained the opponent by firing sticky spider webs.
━ Barkkk!
Barkie stretched out its front legs.
And spider webs shot out from its legs, hitting the squirrel directly; the squirrel, caught in the sticky web, collapsed.
In the meantime, I seized the opportunity and threw the 「Hel Ball」.
“Go!”
Whoosh, Thud—!
My 「Hel Ball」hit the squirrel perfectly; the squirrel’s body seemed to transform into white light before being sucked into the 「Hel Ball」. The tension was palpable.
Woooong—! Woowoooong—!
This was my third time capturing something with the 「Hel Ball」, but I still couldn’t get used to it. So nerve wracking. Please, let it be caught!
“I got it! I caught it!”
Phoebe shouted triumphantly.
Whoosh—! Thud—!
As if on cue, the squirrel popped out from the rapidly vibrating 「Hel Ball」.
Ah, it failed!
Grab—!
I swiftly reached out and retrieved the 「Hel Ball」.
And threw it towards the squirrel once again!
Whoosh—! Thud—!
“Phoebe, please don’t say anything this time!”
“Why are you blaming me?!”
Woo—ooooong—!
Wooong—!
Woooooong—!
Wooong—!
Woooooong—!
Wooowong—!
Wooong—!
Oong—!
Click—!
“Yes! I really caught it this time!”
It was worth holding my breath and watching with anticipation.
I had successfully captured the squirrel!
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
『Name: King-Tailed Ground Squirrel Lv.9
「Partner Skill: Valor – Increases partner’s attack power by 10%. When the skill is activated, it takes attacks aimed at the partner.」
「List of Possessed Skills —」
Tail Whip
「Status」 「Work Aptitude
Attack: 13 Development Lv.3
Defense: 22 Gathering Lv.3
Efficiency: 99 Pasturing Lv.1」
Loyalty: 39」』
“Daniel! The King-Tailed Ground Squirrel is a squirrel that attacks with its bushy tail!”
Phoebe exclaimed while looking at the 「Hel Encyclopedia」.
The cover was cleaner than Somnia’s, so it seemed she had bought a new one.
Books were considered a luxury in this Pandemonium and therefore expensive.
『Encyclopedia Entry No. 444 – King-Tailed Ground Squirrel』
『A ferocious and valiant Hel. Underestimating it for its small size can lead to significant trouble. It hunts Hels several times its size using its large tail.
Though it is a type of squirrel, it is known for being wild and fierce, making it difficult to tame. It is said that many kings have attempted artificial breeding to utilize its valor, but all have failed.』
“Brother, how did this one lose its tail? Without its tail, it wouldn’t be good at hunting, so it must have been trying to eat our potatoes out of hunger. How hungry must it have been!”
Phoebe seemed to pity the squirrel, but I was more interested in the King-Tailed Ground Squirrel’s work aptitude, ‘Development.’
What could ‘Development’ mean?
Suddenly, I remembered that a new item, “Crusher,” had been added to my crafting list.
「Crusher – A tool that crushes and grinds various things. Used to turn Hel wheat into flour. Assigning a Hel with the Development aptitude increases the efficiency of the Crusher.
「Stone 0/100」
「Branches 0/10」
「Estimated crafting time – 10:00:00」
The harvested [Hel Wheat] needed special processing to be turned into [Hel Flour], and this [Crusher] was the key.
Okay, let’s build it right away.
“Barkie, your turn.”
━Grrr!
The Wolf Spider, Barkie, growled intelligibly.
As I felt awkward watching it, Phoebe clicked her tongue and said,
“Who would like it if you immediately gave orders to someone who just went through a tough fight? At least give it some praise for a job well done.”
“Praise?”
Was that the problem?
With a sliver of doubt, I reached out and stroked Barkie’s back.
“Good fight.”
Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke—!
━Heooong…!
At my praise, Barkie, the Emperor Wolf Spider, began to make strange sounds I had never heard before, swaying its legs from side to side and dancing.
It reminded me of crabs dancing merrily on some tropical island.
「Loyalty: 35」
What was even more surprising was that Barkie’s loyalty had surpassed the crucial mark of 30.
Does loyalty increase when petted?
I tried petting Barkie some more, but unfortunately, its loyalty didn’t increase any further.
Instead, new words appeared in my vision.
『Tip — You can increase a Hel’s loyalty once a day by ‘petting’ them.』
Why are you telling me this now?
It was fascinating. Just by being praised and petted, its loyalty had increased.
‘Come to think of it, Dimensia was also very happy to receive my praise.’
I was not generous with my praise.
However, it made me want to make a habit of praising everything from now on.
While we’re at it, how about another compliment?
“Phoebe, I really appreciate you eating potato chips every day.”
“What? Are you making fun of me for gaining weight? I haven’t gained a single pound!”
I guess I need to do some research on how to give compliments.
Anyway, let’s make that [Crusher] now.
“Phoebe, gather some stones. I’ll be in the woods nearby getting some wood. Do we have an axe at the mansion?”
「Stone 100/100」
「Branches 10/10」
We gathered all the materials for the [Crusher] in less than an hour.
Now all that remained was crafting it.
━ Barkkk!
Barkie got to work, and eventually, the [Crusher] was completed. It looked like a watermill, but instead of being powered by water, it seemed to be operated manually.
「Stone 100 pcs → Pandemonium 10 pcs」
「Estimated Work Time – 50:33」
Let’s give it a test run.
“Squirrel, come out here. It’s your turn.”
Whoosh—! Thud—!
━ Squekkk!
The squirrel emerged from the 「Hel Ball」.
Without its tail, it looked more like a giant Roborovski hamster than a squirrel.
“Don’t call it Squirrel. It’s pitiful. Let’s give it a proper name. I think Barkie would be nice. It’s been Dantalian law since ancient times to name squirrels Barkie!”
The squirrel was Barkie, and the Wolf Spider was Barkie. It was a Barkie extravaganza.
Both Somnia and Phoebe had a strange knack for naming.
Next time I catch a Hel, I’ll make sure to name it myself.
“Alright, Barkie, go inside the wheel.”
Thud—!
As if understanding my words, the squirrel Barkie went inside the water wheel.
Spin—! Spin—! Spin—! Spin—!
It started spinning the [Crusher] as if running on a hamster wheel, and soon it began to grind the stones with a rumbling sound!
「Pandemonium (10) – A mysterious ore found in the land of Pandemonium. It is imbued with ancient magical power.」
“Yes, this is it!”
Although Pandemonium was a common ore on this continent, it was still a hassle gathering even a small amount.
Now that I had the [Crusher], I could take a load off.
“The Wolf Spider will be in charge of crafting and gathering. The squirrel will be in charge of crushing.”
It was my first time collaborating with others, and I found the smooth division of labor, fitting together like gears, quite enjoyable.
So this is the beauty of companionship?
I had lived a life where I solved everything with my own two fists, with no need for comrades.
However, I recently learned through my interactions with the Hels that there were problems in this world that could never be solved with fists alone.
‘Could it be… that my way of life so far has been wrong?’
For the first time, I looked back on the path I had lived.
The path of the strongest, which I had walked alone, was desolate and solitary.
A true lone wolf’s path.
After much deliberation, I came to a conclusion.
‘No, the path I’ve walked until now wasn’t wrong either. I affirm everything about myself. I can say with certainty. I wasn’t wrong. However—.’
“Daniel! Phoebe! Long time no see! How have you all been? We’re leaving for the city tomorrow for the [Round Table Conference], so we need to pack our things today. But what’s with this giant squirrel…!?”
“Sister-in-law! Say hello! This is Barkie!”
“Two Barkie…!? Then who is the real Barkie?”
━ Barkkk…!
━ Squekkk…!
━ Krrr…!
━ Krrr…!
“Oh my, they’re fighting because they have the same name! I think they both truly believe they are the real Barkie!”
—The path ahead seemed to be bustling and lively, whether I liked it or not.
I couldn’t yet judge if this path was right or wrong.
But at least, I could look forward to tomorrow.
— End of Chapter —
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