READ NOVEL ONLINE chapter 26 - Divine Cat - Mii Faces Another Goblin Attack in the Village
26: Divine Cat – Mii Faces Another Goblin Attack in the Village
Returning to the tent, I found Mii sleeping soundly, breathing softly. She must have been really exhausted.
Careful not to wake her, I sat down next to her and focused my thoughts. A transparent screen appeared before me, listing skill names:
Deception, Cooking, Luck, Intuition, Business Acumen, Pain Reduction, Fire, Throwing, Swordsmanship, Fear Reduction, and Presence Detection.
It seems I’m being asked to choose a skill from these. Defeating the goblins must have allowed my soul vessel to grow. I wonder if I can only choose one. This is a tough decision.
Deception… I can think of various ways that might be useful…
Pain Reduction and Fear Reduction seem good at first glance, but if I choose them now, I’ll probably shorten my lifespan. These are skills that only become useful when you’re strong.
The Fire skill is probably available because I saw it in action. It seems impractical, so I’ll pass.
Let’s consider survival as the main goal. What I lack is offensive power. Even if I choose Swordsmanship, it won’t be useful without the physical strength to match, and I don’t plan on engaging in close combat. It makes sense to choose Throwing to make the most of the dagger, which is an AF and useful for mid-range attacks.
Another option is Luck. If I had better luck, yesterday’s events might not have happened. But like Luck Boost, it’s uncertain how it will work. That makes Intuition seem better, as it could potentially help me sense danger. However, it’s risky not knowing exactly how it will work.
So, maybe Presence Detection is the best choice? If I can sense monsters’ presence, I can avoid them. The problem is how far it can detect. It wouldn’t be helpful if I only sensed danger when already surrounded.
Hmm… This is quite a dilemma.
I definitely chose “Throwing” first. Huh? The option screen hasn’t disappeared… looks like I can choose another. What should I do…? I’ve decided, I’ll go with “Intuition.” I was torn between it and “Luck,” but I feel “Intuition” would be more useful to me right now.
I feel a bit stronger now, though it might just be psychological.
It seems Fahren and the others have finished handing over duties to the hunters from the town of Quarto and are resting in the tent. I should sleep a bit more too. I curled up next to Mii-chan and fell asleep.
“Mii~”
I woke up to Mii-chan’s meow. The inside of the tent was bathed in an orange glow from the sunset.
I gave Mii-chan some mineral water. She started drinking energetically, so maybe she’s regained her strength? I tried showing her the cat toy, but she just turned her head away… It seems she was quite traumatized. The cat toy will be off-limits for a while.
As dinner time approached, the villagers prepared another meal for us. After having dinner with everyone, I received some firewood and a fire starter, then returned to the tent to boil some water for Mii-chan’s bath. I also cleaned myself up a bit.
Mii-chan was enjoying the warm water while being watched by the lady hunters. After taking her out of the bath and drying her off with a towel, one of the lady hunters used her skill to help dry Mii-chan’s fur faster.
Using Appraisal, I saw that her skill was “Atmosphere.” It’s not exactly “Wind,” but it seems to have a wide range of applications. It might be worth investigating further.
As night fell, the lady hunters seemed satisfied with petting Mii-chan, so I decided to go to bed. We have to leave early tomorrow, so I need to sleep early. I set the alarm and snuggled under the blanket with Mii-chan.
I’m not sure how long I slept, but I suddenly felt uneasy and woke up. Mii-chan was making little chewing motions in her sleep, as if she was dreaming of eating cat food. I quickly got dressed and stepped out of the tent.
“What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?” Fahren was awake.
“No, I just have a bad feeling…”
“A bad feeling? Do you have any skills, Nero?”
“Yesterday, I acquired the Intuition skill.”
“Intuition, huh? That’s a good skill. In that case, we should assume something might be happening. Sorry, but can you wake everyone up? I’ll go inform the hunters.”
“Is it really okay to wake everyone?”
“Yes, it’s better to be prepared than to be caught off guard.”
With that, Fahren walked towards the center of the village.
Feeling a bit uneasy, I started waking everyone up. While I was doing that, a villager came running to inform us of a monster attack.
“Again…?”
Yeah, that’s right. Two days in a row… While we do have a lot of hunters here today, it’s not like it’s my fault for thinking that way.
According to the report, there are more of them than yesterday. It might be the goblins’ revenge for last night. Even though they repaired the village gate, it’s only a temporary fix. If I were the goblins, I’d attack today too.
Once again, the carriages were gathered in the center of the village to form a barricade. With the large number of hunters fortifying the front of the barricade, it seemed like I wouldn’t have much to do today. I noticed Gais nearby, and when I approached him, I was hit by the smell of alcohol—he seemed pretty drunk. I pulled a water bottle from my bag.
“Want some?” I offered.
“N-no thanks!” he slurred, then shouldered his weapon and walked towards the front line. I wondered if he’d be okay. More importantly, why did he even come here? Gais, seriously…
I handed Mii-chan, who was still sleeping, over to the same girl from yesterday. This time, she wasn’t crying. The villagers also seemed more composed than last night.
I climbed onto one of the carts to prepare, planning to at least provide some support.
Suddenly, there was the sound of something collapsing in the distance, and a guard came running.
“The gate’s been breached!”
That announcement set things into motion, with the hunters raising their weapons. As the goblins came into view, a volley of arrows was released, felling many of them. More goblins surged forward, climbing over their fallen comrades, only to be met with another rain of arrows. This repeated several times until the hunters in the front lines charged at the goblins.
The battle was far more organized than last night. This time, it looked like it would be an easy victory.
The gate on the opposite side of the village was also breached, but there, hunters equipped with shields and spearmen formed a defensive line. They were incredibly reliable—it was clear this was the power of professional hunters.
Only a few goblins made it close to the barricade, and those that did were quickly taken down by my throwing knife or the hunters’ arrows. Thanks to the throwing skill I had chosen, I was getting much smoother at throwing the knife.
From behind, I noticed Gais swinging a large hammer, tearing through the goblins with incredible strength. His muscular physique wasn’t just for show. Occasionally, he would stop and vomit, but it was almost endearing in a way… I guess.
Mii-chan, don’t look; it’s not a pretty sight.
Oh, right, Mii-chan was still sound asleep…