WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈
Chapter 62: Escape (1)
──────
[Name: Gerik]
[Class: Unemployed]
[Attributes]
Strength: 4 (A stat that affects muscular strength, carrying capacity, and attack power)
Dexterity: 3 (A stat that affects balance, reaction speed, movement speed, dexterity, and more)
Health: 4 (A stat that affects stamina, disease resistance, and vitality)
Intelligence: 5 (A stat that affects memorization, logic, deduction, language, and thought)
Perception: 5 (A stat that affects awareness of one's surroundings, danger detection, and intuition)
Charisma: 3 (Influence over others, such as negotiation, persuasion, and intimidation)
[Skills]
Lv.4 Slash (99/100)
Lv.2 Charge (74/100)
Lv.1 Telekinesis (10/100)
[Achievements]
* One Who Crossed the Line of Death (Passive / Rare)
* Transcendent Procedure Success (Passive / Epic)
* Heir to the Wild Blessing (Passive / Legendary)
After examining his status window, Gerik confirmed that his Strength and Health had each increased by 1.
But what drew his attention most was the new Achievement he had not seen before: Heir to the Wild Blessing.
Naturally excited by the new Achievement, Gerik selected it and checked the details.
『Achievement Name: Heir to the Wild Blessing (Passive)』
『Grade: Legendary』
『Effect: Strength and Health increase, and its owner is protected from evil power. Once only, when struck by a fatal blow that would lead to death, the World Tree's final will accumulated in the heart erupts, regenerating the body and increasing physical abilities.』
『Note: As long as there is something I must protect, death will not be granted to me. - Braktul, the Wild God -』
Gerik shuddered as he saw the blessing's grade and effect. It was practically the same as gaining an extra life.
'Only once, but... it regenerates me if I take a fatal blow...'
Gerik naturally thought of Braktul from the memory. The power of immortality that had allowed the demigod to recover without issue even after suffering fatal wounds on the battlefield.
The power Gerik had gained was likely nothing more than a faint remnant left in his heart, but that alone was enough for him.
'That must be why my Strength and Health rose by less than they did with the Psionic Awakener.'
Having gathered his excited thoughts, Gerik's eyes fell on the mysterious sword lying on the ground.
If he had seen it for the first time, he might have mistaken it for the remains of a broken sword. But after what had just happened, Gerik knew that sword still worked perfectly well.
Gerik carefully picked it up once more. After studying it for a while, he tried infusing it with Telekinesis.
The crystal attached to the end of the hilt floated up with a Hummm, then emitted a soft blue light between itself and the pommel, forming a blade.
Its mysterious appearance, much like a lightsaber, excited Gerik.
'Does it have power like the laser swords from science fiction novels?'
Filled with curiosity and anticipation, Gerik swung the sword.
But his excitement soon turned to bewilderment.
"...It has no physical power?"
Even though he had swung it at nearby brush, the sword passed through it like a phantom, as if it had met no obstacle at all.
"No...! What the hell is this...?!"
The sword greedily devoured his psychic energy, yet showed no effect whatsoever. Dumbfounded, Gerik used his status window on it to check its details.
[Starshard, Psyker Blade]
『Type: Weapon』
『Grade: Epic』
『Effect: Absorbs the user's psychic energy and transforms into a powerful sword capable of inflicting spiritual damage.』
『Note: Aah! A ghost! Bring “that”! - Rubin Bell, Legendary Ghost Hunter -』
"Ah..."
After carefully reading the status window, Gerik understood why the sword could not inflict physical damage.
'Well... to damage Braktul's immortality, spiritual damage must have mattered more than physical force...'
It was unfortunate that it had no physical effect, but Gerik was not disappointed. He currently had no means of dealing with things like ghosts.
The world Gerik lived in was one where supernatural beings truly existed. As long as he intended to continue being an adventurer, a weapon like the Psyker Blade would certainly be useful someday.
'Still... it bothers me that this thing keeps draining my psychic energy...'
The moment he held it, the sword greedily sucked away his psychic energy regardless of his will. The fact that he could not control it bothered Gerik.
"Hmm... Will it do that even if I put it on the ground?"
Unlike before, he was not using Telekinesis now. Reasoning that he was not spiritually connected to the sword, Gerik carefully set it down.
"Oh... It works?"
Interestingly, the sword stopped absorbing his energy as if it had never done so in the first place.
Having roughly figured out how to control it, Gerik picked up the sword again, hung it from his waist, and let go.
As expected, it no longer hungered for his power.
Having more or less sorted out the immediate matters, Gerik left the cave with heavy steps, lost in thought.
As he walked out of the cave, Gerik reflected on the series of events he had experienced lately and suddenly realized something.
Not long after his reincarnation, he had become entangled in an enormous event that might decide the fate of a world.
'...Could it really be a coincidence?'
Gerik blankly stared at the key in his hand. The chain of cause and effect felt too strong to call it a mere coincidence.
'Maybe... this key is why I was reincarnated into this world.'
As his thoughts became complicated, the small key in his hand felt incredibly heavy.
'Wouldn't it be right to tell a trustworthy person with power, like a priest of a good god or Minos, about the key even now?'
Thinking that he held something capable of deciding the world's fate made Gerik seriously consider his responsibility.
But after thinking for a long time, he eventually sighed and tucked the key deep inside his clothes.
'If I act proactively, will things really go in a positive direction?'
Gerik had lived here for less than half a year, but even that short experience had allowed him to understand the nature of the Aldrun Continent to some extent.
Real gods existed here, and they were not transcendent ideals like those from his previous life.
They had personalities, pursued their own interests, and sometimes made wrong choices. Depending on the gods might even be an act that hastened the world's destruction.
'I need strength.'
After much thought, Gerik realized that his greatest problem was that he still lacked the strength, power, and reputation to involve himself in the affairs of the world.
'...At least enough strength to protect myself.'
He did not know whether the people who had attacked Lugos's party were followers of the evil beings he had seen in the vision.
But the very fact that they had targeted the key despite knowing its nature proved how dangerous they were. Rather than carelessly open his mouth and invite disaster, Gerik decided to remain silent.
'One thing is certain. There's a high chance the Raiders are settled in the Demonwild Forest.'
There was a legend that enraged gods had destroyed a civilization and buried it deep beneath the earth.
Based on that, Gerik became certain that followers of an evil god, or some unknown group seeking the key, had established themselves somewhere within the Demonwild Forest.
As he sorted out his thoughts about the key, another question came to mind.
'Why did the world I reincarnated into meet a different end from Braktul's world...?'
But only briefly. Gerik quickly came up with a simple reason.
'It's probably because the gods of the Aldrun Continent, where I was reincarnated, were more powerful than the ones in Braktul's destroyed world.'
After all, Braktul's world had only the World Tree and Braktul, its avatar, as transcendent beings. But Aldrun had countless gods. Gerik could think of around fifteen off the top of his head.
'Even Braktul, just a demigod, had that kind of transcendent power. How much greater would true gods be...?'
Gerik thought of Braktul, who had displayed absolute power in the memory. Once he had sorted through all his thoughts, Gerik realized that he had reached the edge of the Ruins.
"Haah..."
After putting aside the world's secrets, Gerik realized that he still had a practical problem before him and let out a deep sigh.
'Staying here isn't the answer after all.'
Gerik realized he had to leave through the dimensional gate and return to the underground ruins.
'Damn it... How am I supposed to climb back up there...?'
Thinking about having to make his way back through that endless underground space filled his chest with despair, and he kept sighing.
"Ah, damn it! This is fucking awful!!"
No matter how frustrating or hopeless it was, he could not spend the rest of his life picking fruit and eating it in a place with neither people nor animals.
Realizing he had no other choice, Gerik decided to take the risk and return to the ruins.
"Whew... First, food and water..."
Because he had ended up exploring much of this ruined world, Gerik was now quite far from the dimensional gate that had brought him here.
Even if he used Charge nonstop, the journey would take at least several days. So he set aside his impatience and calmly began preparing food and water.
'The way back...'
Gerik began recalling the route he had taken, including the places where he had resupplied along the way.
Then the Intelligence enhanced by the Psionic Awakener restored the route in precise detail, as if he had seen it only moments ago.
'This really is convenient.'
His dramatically improved memory had essentially given Gerik a navigation system in his head.
Thanks to that, he could easily recall the groves and water sources he had encountered, and did not need to waste time overpreparing.
"Finally...!!"
After a three-day journey, he arrived at the dimensional gate.
Gerik recalled how he had been dying when he first arrived here, and a fresh wave of emotion rose within him.
'I was lucky.'
His hardships were not over yet, but he could not help feeling overwhelmed.
After taking a moment to compose himself, he pulled the key from his clothes and cautiously approached the dimensional gate.
Hummm...!!
As Gerik approached the dimensional gate, the key emitted strange waves toward it, just as it had before.
Touched by those waves, the gate began illuminating its surroundings with a contradictory dark light from empty space. Before long, a portal formed.
'It works...!!'
The portal had formed close enough for him to reach out and touch it.
But Gerik did not move. He simply stood there and stared at it.
'Rushing in won't solve anything.'
The underground cavern beyond the portal had no survival resources other than drinking water.
So, rather than blindly returning to his original world without a plan, Gerik decided to prepare thoroughly.
'First, I'll gather exploration supplies for getting through the underground cavern.'
After confirming that the dimensional gate worked normally, Gerik searched the nearby area for branches suitable for torches.
He used Slash to cut branches that could serve as torch handles. For the torch heads, he made use of gathered dry twigs as much as possible, saving cloth and Oilwood oil.
The finished torches were far from proper ones. Looking at them, Gerik consoled himself that he did not know how long they would burn, but they were still a hundred times better than nothing.
However, he needed to make the torches that would keep both his hands free while climbing the cliff as carefully as possible. So he used materials generously to make exactly two proper torches.
'The problem is how to climb that cliff...'
At the beginning and end of it all, every problem he faced now came down to that.
'It would be nice if I had rope.'
If he had rope, overcoming the obstacle would be easy. Gerik's Strength and Health had increased through the Wild Blessing, and he had Charge, a dash skill that would let him conserve strength.
'If I had rope, I could wrap a suitable length around myself, dash with Charge, then use Slash to carve footholds into the cliff and secure myself...'
Unfortunately, Gerik did not know how to braid rope. Feeling regretful, he touched the plants growing nearby and considered trying to make rope from something reasonably tough.
'...Forget it. That's exactly the kind of thing that gets people killed.'
He had neither the skill nor the knowledge of what materials made good rope. No matter how hard he tried, any rope he made clumsily would surely have flaws.
'I don't want to bet my life on a rope that might have been made badly.'
If it snapped halfway up, that would be the end.
Surviving the last fall had been close to a miracle. Gerik was not optimistic enough to believe such a miracle would happen twice in a row.
After twisting plant stems in his hands for a while, he eventually threw them aside, then used Telekinesis to pull over a water skin and wet his throat.
'...Wait. Do I really need rope?'
Looking at the water skin, Gerik felt an idea come to him. He set it down and slowly raised his head to look at the nearby cliff face.
Then he raised a hand, focused on the closest protruding rock, and stared at it.
Sure enough, the invisible force flowing from Gerik's hand gripped the rock firmly according to his will.
'Could... Telekinesis support my weight?'
With that thought, Gerik relied on Telekinesis and lifted both feet off the ground.
To his surprise, the force firmly supported his body.
Though only for ten seconds.
"It works?!"
Encouraged by what Telekinesis had shown him, Gerik carried out various experiments.
Remarkably, within five meters, Telekinesis could firmly grip almost any protrusion.
Narrow cracks where he could not fit his fingers and smooth wall surfaces impossible to hold with bare hands were no problem before Telekinesis.
In fact, it secured him far more firmly than his hands could. In some ways, it was even better than rope.
The problem was Telekinesis's maximum duration.
Because the skill level was still low, it could only be maintained for roughly ten seconds no matter what he did.
That brief time was not enough to climb such a tall cliff, and Gerik felt disappointment rise within him.
'Wait.'
At first, the short duration had seemed like a fatal restriction.
But after thinking for a moment, Gerik realized he had another skill that could overcome it.
'I have Charge...'
Once the idea came to him, Gerik did not hesitate and immediately put it into practice.
The method was simple.
He would use Telekinesis to briefly secure himself to a protrusion within its maximum range of five meters, then use Charge to launch himself toward the place he wanted to reach.
As long as there was a suitable support nearby, Telekinesis's ten-second duration was more than enough.
Sensing the possibility, Gerik did not delay. He repeated the movements several times on the spot to practice.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
