I Wanted to Use Magic, So I Trained My Magical Power. I Wanted to Eat Meat, So I Went Hunting. And Then, Before I Knew It, I Had Become the Strongest... - Episode 8: Winter is a Good Time to Reflect on Oneself

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Episode 8: Winter is a Good Time to Reflect on Oneself

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It became the season where snow begins to fall.

We can’t go hunting for a while.

The meat stock… it’s okay, it’ll work out somehow.

And then, Toruk-san came back.

All the men returned without a single one missing.

There are minor injuries, but no one suffered a serious wound. I’m really glad.

Even though it’s called a war, most of it seems to be just small skirmishes.

What a waste of time and effort.

I really wish they’d stop gathering people for something like that.

If they want to fight, the representatives should just kill each other.

Don’t drag us commoners into it.

—

Real winter has arrived.

Since last night, snow has been blowing sideways. And this morning, everything is covered in white.

On snowy days, don’t go outside. Staying calm inside the house is best.

It’s a good time to reflect on oneself.

I did muscle training first thing in the morning. And after that, I began swinging a wooden sword.

I once heard from a classmate in my previous life, who was in a nationally competitive kendo club.

They said they practiced swinging until they collapsed. The strikes right before collapsing are the best, apparently.

They said if you can bring out that ultimate strike during a match, you’ll definitely win.

My warehouse room is fairly spacious. So there’s no issue swinging around a wooden sword.

I repeatedly swing a slightly heavy wooden sword. I was aiming to swing it down quickly and stop it sharply.

This is unexpectedly difficult. Especially the stopping part.

Then, I make bolts for the crossbow.

I try to recover as many arrows as possible. But they break or get damaged with use.

And good bolts—out of ten made, you might get one good one.

I want to raise that to at least one out of five.

To do that, I have to keep making, making, and making more.

I also want to modify the crossbow.

To be honest, it breaks often. To fix that, I try changing the type of wood used as material.

This way, I can test how easily it breaks.

Working inside the warehouse is very cold.

My hands get numb, and my body heat is taken away. But now I have this—

A *hibachi* (charcoal brazier)!

We make our own charcoal. And leftover charcoal not used in smithing remains.

I collect those and crush them into powder. I then harden them with resin and use that as fuel.

It doesn’t last as long as normal charcoal. But it burns at a higher temperature.

Knowing this, my grandfather and father started using this resin-charcoal in smithing.

And I use the charcoal they used to use.

I place the hibachi beside me. And if I also wear the boar fur from a hunt, I stay quite warm.

I change the type of wood, assemble the crossbow, and keep test-firing it until it breaks.

Doing this, I figured out which materials suit the crossbow.

Saln wood is as hard as iron.

It’s suitable for the crossbow body.

Yuge wood has moderate elasticity. It makes it perfect to pair with metal in the bow limbs.

Also, for arrows, some woods fly straight, some don’t.

For bolts, it seems the hard Ald wood works best.

Doing all that, before I knew it, the snow melting season had arrived.

—

In the middle of harsh winter, when snow piles up, my nephew was born.

My eldest sister Shurama and the next village chief, Toruk-san, had their first son.

Our mother Norsh went to help at the village chief’s house for the birth.

It was their first child, so we were worried. But both mother and baby were safe.

The child’s name became *Neirun*.

Apparently, that was the name of the previous village chief who has now passed away.

In the village chief’s family, they often inherit ancestral names. Toruk-san also got his name from an ancestor.

—

As the snow melted and I could finally go hunting again, I stretched in front of the house.

It’s still cold in the mornings and evenings. But boar fur is warm.

“Nois. Take this with you.”

Kern-niisan tossed something at me. And I caught it in a hurry.

Throwing it all of a sudden—what if I had dropped it?

“This is…”

“It’s the first sword I ever forged.”

“Eh… can this thing even cut?”

“If you don’t want it, give it back!”

“No no, I’ll take it! Thank you so very much, big bro!”

“Don’t say weird stuff!”

Oh my, is big bro “tsundere”?

Giving me a sword—he must really love me!

“But, isn’t it kind of short?”

“You’re still small. So I made it shorter. If it were adult-sized, you’d be swung around by the sword.”

“True. Thanks, bro. So, what’s the name of this sword?”

“There’s no way it has a name. I’m just an apprentice who made it.”

“Oh come on—then how about calling it ‘Divine Blade Kern’?”

“Are you stupid? No name. Got it?”

“Okaay.”

I draw it from the scabbard and swing it a few times. Feels good.

I’ve never done kendo. But with this sword, I can fight!

“Thanks, bro. I’m off.”

“Yeah.”

I strapped the Divine Blade Kern to my waist, shouldered my modified crossbow, and left the house.

Calling it “Divine Blade Kern” is a secret from my brother. Fufufu.

I enter the mountain and search for prey’s presence and mana.

Recently, my full-power mana release has exceeded 100 seconds.

As a by-product, my mana sensing can reach around 400 meters with focus.

But since that requires intense concentration, usually it’s about 200 meters.

There are many mana responses around me.

Most are from small animals—wild mice, rabbits, squirrels, birds.

The presence of medium or large beasts… seems to be in three places.

One is 150 meters northwest, the second 200 meters north, the third 180 meters east.

“Now then, where should I go…”

The one that feels like a boar is to the northwest.

I run up the slope, climb a tree, and jump from branch to branch.

There it is! Definitely a boar. And it’s big. It hasn’t noticed me yet—strike first and win!

I set an arrow in the crossbow, aim.

Pull the trigger—

The arrow flies at high speed and pierces the boar’s neck.

“*Sno-… rt*…”

*Thud.*

Thanks to the modifications, the crossbow has increased power. It took down the big boar in one shot.

In my previous life, I heard boar meat had a strong taste. But it’s sweet and delicious in this world.

Even if things look the same, in a different world they can be different.

Well, the boar’s appearance is slightly different too. And its size.

I tie a rope to the boar’s hind legs and hang it from a tree branch.

As expected, hoisting a boar several times my weight is hard without using body enhancement magic.

“Hup! Funnniiih!”

If I let my guard down, it’ll pull me up.

I firmly plant my feet on the ground.

Somehow I lift the boar and slit its throat with a small knife. The bl00d drains out.

“Time for a short break.”

I lean against a tree.

Never sit down—who knows what could happen.

During winter, I realized staying still helps mana recovery.

Sleeping is best, but even just resting like this helps replenish mana.

Once the bl00d is drained, I slit the belly and scoop out the organs.

I cut Ashne leaves nearby. And just as I picked them up―――

“Tch.”