A Middle-Aged Man Becomes the Strongest in Another World: The Physical Specialized Awakener - Chapter 18

Adventurer Level: 8

Weapon Skills

• Mace: Lv. 12

• Longsword: Lv. 5 (new)

• Dagger: Lv. 4

• Unarmed Combat: Lv. 6

Armor Skills

• Buckler: Lv. 9

Physical Abilities

• Stamina: Lv. 11

• Strength: Lv. 13

• Speed: Lv. 11

• Agility: Lv. 12

• Reflexes: Lv. 10

Sensory Abilities

• Vision: Lv. 7

• Hearing: Lv. 5

• Smell: Lv. 4

• Touch: Lv. 5

• Dynamic Vision: Lv. 9

• Aura Sense: Lv. 7

Mental Abilities

• Calm Mind: Lv. 6

• Sharp Mind: Lv. 5

• Berserker: Lv. 2

Special Skills

• Regeneration: Lv. 1

• Stability: Lv. 2

• Iron Body: Lv. 2

The next morning, before the sun was even up, I quietly left the town of Tolson.

I’d made a few friends, but no one came to see me off. Not that I wanted them to, I left early to avoid the awkwardness of goodbyes.

My next destination was the town of Euron, which was said to be about a three-day walk from Tolson. That estimate, of course, was for regular people. For adventurers with far superior stamina and leg strength, the trip could be done in just one day. I figured I’d take two days, since this was my first long-distance journey and I didn’t want to overdo it.

After all, this world has monsters and bandits. Given how “lucky” (or unlucky?) I’ve been since arriving here, I was pretty sure some kind of trouble would find me.

I walked along a dirt road, an established highway hardened by passing carts, making it fairly easy to walk on. The sky was still dark, just beginning to brighten. No other travelers were around. Tolson itself was a pretty rural town, so traffic wasn’t exactly heavy to begin with.

At the moment, I was fully geared up, carrying weapons, armor, food, water, and even my dark metal training rods. The total weight had to be pushing 400 kilograms, and I was walking barefoot to preserve my shoes. Yeah, I’d be embarrassed if anyone saw me like this, but it is what it is. Carrying this weight at a fast pace made for excellent training, no doubt about that.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, I took a short break. Along the way, I’d seen a few farms and small villages, but otherwise it was just forests, grasslands, hills, and streams. It was so peaceful that it made me feel like my soul was being cleansed, especially compared to the concrete gray of modern Japanese cities.

After finishing the meat skewers I’d packed for lunch, I got back on the road.

A while later, I saw a broken-down cart by the roadside with two people standing nearby.

A donkey-like animal was tied to it, so I guessed it was a wagon. But the cart’s platform was tilted badly to one side. As I got closer, I saw that one of the wheels had shattered and was lying half-buried in the dirt. They were clearly stuck and didn’t know what to do.

The two people standing nearby had dog-like ears sticking out from their heads, they were beastkin. Aside from slightly better physical abilities, they were basically just like regular humans. Seeing they were a young man and woman, I figured they might be a couple.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, unable to just walk past them.

The man looked at me, shoulders slumping. “Yeah, as you can see… one of the wheels broke and we’re stranded. Still a ways to Euron, too.”

The wagon was loaded with goods. Maybe they were traveling merchants or moving houses?

“That’s rough. Is there anything I can do to help?”

The man looked surprised, but after giving me a once-over, something clicked for him. “Wait… are you an adventurer?”

“I am.”

“Would you be willing to take a job, then? I’d like you to go to Euron and let the Merchant Guild know what happened. If you do, they’ll send a wagon to pick us up.”

Apparently, adventurers being hired on the spot like this wasn’t unusual.

“I see. But wouldn’t it take a while for help to arrive?”

“Well yeah, but we can’t leave our stuff behind.”

“Fair point,” I nodded, then glanced at the cart and had an idea.

“I don’t mind helping. But how about this, I carry the broken side of the cart and walk alongside you?”

“…Huh? Wait, you serious? Even an adventurer couldn’t manage that, it’s crazy heavy.”

“Let me try first.” I grabbed the broken axle and lifted it. Heavy, sure, but I could probably hold it up with one hand if I really needed to. “Looks doable. Want to give it a shot?”

“…Alright. Man, adventurers really are something else.” The man, eyes wide, took the reins and led the donkey forward. The woman walked on the opposite side, checking the load.

As long as I matched their pace, there didn’t seem to be a problem. It’d slow me down a little, but whatever. So we kept walking until sunset.

“You really saved us, Soushi. You’re strong as hell. You D-rank?” The man, whose name I’d learned was Gashi, offered me a cup and poured a little liquor from his canteen.

We were resting inside a small empty hut in a nearby farming village. Apparently, these kinds of huts were set up near roads for travelers to stay the night, like a mountain lodge in Japan. Way better than sleeping outside.

“Actually, I’m still E-rank, I just happen to be a bit strong. That weight was no problem.”

“Come on now, you’re carrying three dark metal rods on top of our cargo. That’s nuts.”

Beside him, the woman, Nari, also beastkin, nodded in agreement. Turns out they were husband and wife, working as freelance transporters for the Merchant Guild.

“How long have you been doing this kind of work?” I asked.

“Hmm… over ten years now. I started when I was just a kid.”

“Wow, so you’re a veteran. Mostly operate around Euron?”

“Yeah. It’s the biggest town in the viscount’s domain, so we travel between there and dungeon towns like Tolson.”

Euron, as it turns out, is the capital of the Viscount Barrius’s domain, the largest town in the area. I guess Tolson was actually fairly central. Weird how it felt so empty.

“What exactly is a dungeon town?” I asked.

“You don’t know? It’s a town built near a dungeon. Our job is to haul materials gathered from those dungeons.”

“Materials? Like magic stones?”

“Nope. Magic stones are exclusive to the Adventurer Guild. We handle everything else.”

“Ah, I see.” So even dungeon loot has its own supply chain. That was good to know.

As I sipped my drink, I sensed someone approaching, thanks to my Aura Sense skill. No suspicious movements. Probably just a villager.

“Come in,” I called out.

The door opened and an older man poked his head in. I recognized him as the village chief.

“Sorry to bother you. Just wanted to say, don’t go outside tonight. We heard howling earlier.”

“…Howling?”

“Monster. There’s been one hanging around lately, a Night Wolf.”

“Aren’t you going to post a subjugation request?”

“We plan to, but… we’ve been really busy with the harvest.”

…That seems like the wrong priority, but hey, I’m not a local. Still, Night Wolves are supposed to be E-rank monsters. They’re nocturnal, so you’re relatively safe if you stay indoors, but with wooden houses like these, I wasn’t so sure.

“Just one of them?”

“Yeah. Judging by the tracks, it’s solo.”

“Understood, I’ll take care of it. I’m an E-rank adventurer, after all.” I stood up, grabbing my mace. The chief’s eyes widened a bit.

“You really are an adventurer, huh? I’d be grateful. We’ll pay the usual request fee.”

“Consider it done.”

Looks like trouble found me after all. Hopefully, it really is just one wolf.

Night had fully fallen, but thanks to the moonlight and my upgraded Vision skill, I could see well enough to move around.

After the chief left, silence settled over the village. The type of silence you’d never experience back in Japan. I walked in the direction the tracks had been spotted. The village only had five or six houses, so I was out of it in no time.

Then, not far ahead, I heard a growl,“Wooooon…”

My Aura Sense went off. A monster was approaching fast. Just one. I heard the rustling of something large running through the brush. I looked up and saw a beast charging straight toward me like the wind. A large, white-furred, wolf-like monster.

White…? But Night Wolves are supposed to be dark gray.

As it entered striking range, I swung my mace to intercept, but it twisted mid-leap, avoiding the blow with inhuman precision.

Now face-to-face under the moonlight, I got a better look. It was definitely wolf-like. Its glowing red eyes brimmed with madness.

“…A rare monster, maybe?” Could be an albino variant. Whatever it was, I couldn’t let my guard down.

The Night Wolf crouched low, ready to pounce. I raised my buckler, drew my mace back, ready to counter. It was definitely faster than me. My only shot was a well-timed strike.

The Night Wolf charged, zigzagging like a blur. It moved like it was defying gravity. Probably had some kind of speed skill. It aimed for my left, using the shield as cover, then suddenly leapt right. A feint!

I reacted a second too slow. It lunged, jaws wide, aiming for my throat. I barely twisted away in time, but it bit deep into my right shoulder. Thanks to Iron Body, it didn’t rip the flesh clean off, but it still pierced through and hurt like hell.

As I swung my mace, the wolf retreated, putting distance between us. Smart. It was trying to wear me down before going for the kill.

I raised my shield again. The pain was already dulling thanks to Regeneration. But the wolf didn’t know that. I let my arm hang limp and slowly backed away faking vulnerability. Sure enough, it charged, this time in a straight line.

I lowered my buckler, bracing for impact. At the last second, it accelerated even faster, clearly holding back before. Its fangs crashed into my shield shattering the top half in an instant. Then it lunged for my throat again.

But this time, I was ready. My mace slammed upward, smashing into its belly.

“Gyaaagh!” It howled, blood flying from its mouth as it was launched into the air.

It hit the ground but couldn’t stand. I rushed forward and smashed its skull in with one final blow.

“Phew… in close combat, brute strength really is everything.”

Shouldering the corpse of the Night Wolf, I turned and headed back to the village.