WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
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◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈
Chapter 76: Promotion (4)
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'About fifty centimeters is the limit.'
After testing various heights, Gerik concluded that was the highest he could reasonably manage. At that height, he could float as if swimming for a little over ten minutes.
"Urgh...!!"
Had he pushed himself too hard? After eagerly carrying out all sorts of experiments for quite some time, Gerik felt his psionic energy running dry.
Interestingly, as his psionic energy dwindled, the lack of biological energy taken from him during his promotion made itself known, and hunger washed over him.
'Was psionic energy making up for the biological energy I lost...?'
There was no other explanation for what he was experiencing. Intrigued, Gerik grabbed the snacks on his desk and began stuffing them into his mouth.
"Phew..."
Having hurriedly satisfied his hunger, Gerik sat on the floor and immediately began meditating, focusing on recovering his Psionics.
'...One hour.'
Surprisingly, recovery took a little over an hour, no different from before his promotion. Since his output, reserves, and overall capacity had all improved, his recovery speed seemed to have increased accordingly.
'Good. Now it's time to test the real thing.'
After lightly testing his abilities as a whole, Gerik decided to verify them in actual combat. Especially the combat-oriented active skills that he could not possibly test inside his room.
He quickly finished preparing and headed straight for the Demonwild Forest.
* * *
'Found them...!!'
Not long after entering the outskirts of the Demonwild Forest, Gerik spotted a group of Goblins rummaging through the woods.
'Their survival skills really are incredible.'
Gerik marveled at the sight of Goblins, which were easier to encounter than wild animals no matter where he went.
'What should I try first?'
After considering which skill to test first, Gerik decided to start with the Telekinesis he knew best.
Shing...!!
Drawing his sword in case of any unexpected variables, Gerik hid behind a tree and forcefully projected Telekinesis at a Goblin standing at the edge of the distant group.
Screech!!
Telekinesis, strengthened beyond comparison to before, approached like a ghost and wrapped around the Goblin's throat. The Goblin let out a grotesque groan and could not move an inch.
'Oh... It works!'
Gerik had not expected much, so he was surprised that it had some effect. Telekinesis had originally lacked too much output to use directly in combat.
Crack...!!
Surprised by its performance, Gerik squeezed the Goblin's neck hard, like he had seen in a movie in his previous life. The Goblin, overwhelmed by pain, thrashed its limbs while choking.
'...Huh? This is harder than I thought.'
Unexpectedly, it was no easy task. He could clearly feel his Psionics being rapidly drained just from squeezing the throat of a single Goblin.
'The energy needed to handle inanimate objects and living creatures is on a completely different level.'
It was difficult, but he thought he could still strangle a Goblin to death this way.
'The efficiency is... terrible. And besides...'
The excessive consumption was a problem, but there was another, more serious issue. If he focused his Telekinesis in one place like this, he could not do anything else at the same time.
Only then did Gerik grasp its most critical weakness.
'It only worked because it was a pathetic Goblin. Against something like a Boarman, I couldn't even try this...'
Thwip!
Just as Gerik was holding the Goblin with Telekinesis and experimenting from his hiding place, his sharp Perception warned him of something.
Following his Perception, Gerik naturally turned his head and avoided the Goblin arrow flying toward him.
'...Have I been spotted?'
The Goblins had initially been confused when their restrained companion stared in Gerik's direction, twisting its body grotesquely and groaning.
But when the captured Goblin kept staring in one direction while suffering, they seemed to have followed its gaze, found Gerik, and fired an arrow.
"Keck... Kehk...!!"
His focus had faltered while avoiding the arrow, and the Telekinesis squeezing the Goblin's neck came undone helplessly. It collapsed to the ground, coughing and gasping for breath.
'I still have a long way to go.'
Gerik felt awkward. Maintaining Telekinesis while paying attention to something else was not yet second nature to him.
Even so, he faced eight Goblins with a relaxed expression. Unconcerned by their assault, Gerik continued his next experiment.
'Should I try this one now?'
This time, it was Thought Barrier. Unlike in his room, where he had only checked its appearance, he intended to test how it should be used in battle.
Watching the Goblins rush toward him, Gerik raised his hand as he had done at the lodging and willed Thought Barrier into being.
Hummm...!
A translucent barrier edged with a bluish glow appeared before him.
Apparently startled by the sudden appearance of the mysterious object, the Goblins charging Gerik cried, "Screech!" and hesitated.
Thwip!
Unlike the startled Goblins in front, however, a Goblin in the rear seemed unmoved and fired an arrow at Gerik without hesitation.
Sensing it with Perception, Gerik raised the barrier to catch the arrow and test its performance.
Clink!
As if it had struck a steel shield, Thought Barrier easily deflected the incoming arrow. It also consumed little Psionics, so he thought he could use it freely even in a chaotic battle.
'...The problem is me.'
Gerik, who was only used to hit-and-run fighting with Charge, had never properly handled a shield.
As a result, even though he had gained the excellent skill called Thought Barrier, he did not know when or how to use it.
"Urgh..."
Every time an arrow flew toward him, Gerik frantically moved his hand to knock it away. He decided he should set aside time to learn shield techniques or practice on his own.
Slash!
With an annoyed expression, Gerik used Slash to cut down a Goblin obstructing him in front.
As the pressure around him eased somewhat, he turned his attention to the archers in the rear who stubbornly targeted him.
'The ones far away...'
Irritated by the Goblins constantly firing arrows from afar, Gerik decided to test another skill. Recalling Thought Whip exactly as he had seen it in the vision, he swung his left hand broadly at an archer Goblin.
Crack!!
A greenish psionic whip resembling a tentacle shot from his left hand at terrifying speed and struck the Goblin directly.
Screeech...!!
Though it bore no physical injury, the Goblin struck by Thought Whip seemed to feel extreme pain. It cried out and collapsed as if it had been electrocuted.
Tremble...!!
The shock was so great that the Goblin lay on the ground, frothing at the mouth and shaking all over before soon losing consciousness.
'What is this...!!'
Gerik's eyes widened at the skill's far greater power than expected. Its ability to incapacitate an enemy without leaving even a wound was flawless.
'It's hard to use repeatedly... and it needs some time before I can use it again?'
Of course, it was not without limitations. Its cooldown was fairly long, and its psionic consumption was considerable.
Even so, Gerik was thrilled to realize he had gained a powerful new means of ranged attack.
Thwip! Clink!
Reading the pathetic incoming attacks with Perception and deflecting them with Thought Barrier, Gerik decided to test his final skill, Thought Blade.
'Lastly...'
When Gerik willed Thought Blade onto his longsword, bluish energy overlaid the blade and covered its length.
'I'm not sure why, but my Psionics are a different color from the Tentacled Humans'.'
Having used all his skills, Gerik became certain about the difference in color and found it intriguing.
The Tentacled Humans' Psionics in the vision had all shone an ominous dark red, whereas his own was closer to a clear sky blue.
'Is there some reason for that?'
It seemed likely that there was, but he had no way to find out right now. Gerik soon set the thought aside and used Charge to approach a Goblin so he could test Thought Blade.
Slash!
'...Huh?'
He had not even felt the sensation of cutting something, yet the Goblin before him flew into the air with its torso split in two.
Gerik had felt none of the familiar feedback of Slash, but his eyes widened at the gruesome sight before him.
'What kind of power is that...?'
He could not even estimate its full extent. This time, Gerik decided to test Thought Blade with an ordinary cut rather than Slash.
Slash!
'This time, I can feel it slightly.'
The faintest sensation of resistance. Through it, Gerik realized that Thought Blade's sharpness far exceeded imagination.
'Good. Let's keep going.'
Afterward, Gerik continued testing his unfamiliar skills one by one in various ways, steadily clearing out the Goblins.
Clink! Clink!!
Unexpectedly, after using it several times, Gerik became fairly accustomed to Thought Barrier and could easily block the incoming attacks.
'Hmm. Maybe I don't need to learn shield techniques after all?'
At first, he had felt lost about how to use Thought Barrier. But as he incorporated the keen senses of his Perception into the barrier, Gerik gradually began to grasp how to handle it.
"Screech... Screeech...!!"
As their companions fell one after another before Gerik's overwhelming display, the Goblins became frightened, as they always did, and began to flee.
'At times like this...'
Gerik projected Telekinesis forcefully at their ankles. Caught off guard by the unexpected interference, the Goblins could not even react properly and tumbled about awkwardly.
'Charge...!!'
Thrust...!!
Gerik rapidly closed the distance with Charge, then calmly swung his longsword and cut off their heads one by one.
After clearing out every Goblin in an instant, Gerik let his sword hang at his side and thought.
'I'm not even used to these skills yet... and they're already this strong...'
It had taken only a moment to slaughter all eight Goblins. More than half of that time had been spent experimenting.
If he had truly entered battle with practical combat in mind, a few breaths would likely have been enough for Gerik to deal with all eight Goblins.
But as his rough breathing eased and the heat in his body cooled, Gerik began calmly reviewing the battle from the beginning. Then he noticed one serious blind spot.
'...I was already overwhelming Goblins even before I gained a Class, wasn't I?'
That was right. Slash, Charge, and brigandine made from Grizzly Owl hide. With only those, Gerik had long ago been able to trample groups of Goblins without difficulty.
'...I need a proper opponent.'
An opponent who could kill him. An opponent who would not let his inexperience slide. Gerik thought he would need to clash with someone like that to understand the true power of the skills he had gained.
"Well... today was just practice."
Just as he said, today had been little different from gaining a Class and doing a light tutorial. Having finished his experiments, Gerik headed back to Stonecreek.
* * *
"Hey, Gerik!"
The moment he entered the inn, Ronan, who was manning the counter, waved him over. Puzzled, Gerik asked Ronan what was going on.
"They say the guild is reopening tomorrow!"
"...What? Really?!"
Gerik's expression brightened at Ronan's words.
'Perfect timing.'
He had been desperately in need of a proper opponent to test his newly acquired skills in real combat.
'And there's the leveling problem, too.'
Despite slaughtering eight Goblins just moments ago, neither his Class level nor his skill proficiency had budged. Unless he hunted stronger monsters, further growth would remain out of reach.
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