“Nice to meet you. I’m your senior, Brick.”
The next day, just as promised, I went to the training ground. There were Andrew and a big guy. He introduced himself as Brick, and he was massive. He also had a rather frightening appearance.
Well, I can’t really say much about looks, at least he looks somewhat human. Anyway, as my only mentor and senior, I greeted him immediately.
“Hello! I’m Hans, the new recruit!”
“Your voice is full of spirit. I like it.”
“I’m glad you like it. Please teach me well.”
“Understood.”
Andrew patted my back and made a request, and Brick saluted in response. I was quickly thrown into work with Brick. The tasks of the guards in the refugee camp were much more than I had expected.
First, we went outside to receive supplies, sometimes hunted beasts, or conducted reconnaissance in the ruined village. We were split between day and night shifts to guard the village.
Finally, there was the patrol duty around the refugee camp. I knew it was dangerous and difficult, but it was worse than I imagined. It’s no wonder the guards get special treatment.
“Since you’re a rookie, you won’t be assigned to reconnaissance.”
“Do you take turns on recon duty?”
“Yeah, no one likes going outside.”
“Understood.”
The wooden barriers surrounding the refugee camp were like lifelines for us. But stepping outside those barriers meant literally preparing for death. So, it’s understandable that nobody wants to go.
But I had no choice. Like it or not, if I wanted to find a way back to my original world, I would eventually have to wander outside. Naturally, that meant I’d have to fight monsters.
Sure, using time stop to avoid them was an option, but I might not be able to use it. So ultimately, I had to prepare for future fights.
“This is the most important place.”
“It looks like an old warehouse.”
“It’s the food storage.”
“O….”
I was able to learn more information from Brick than I had expected. And it seemed things were not going well in the refugee camp. Currently, there were about 300 people housed in the camp.
Out of those, 50 were guards. Normally, that amount would be excessive, but given the current situation, he said they couldn’t help but maintain the soldiers, even at risk.
But here’s the problem. Those who had gone out hunting or scouting recently all returned empty-handed. As a result, the already insufficient food was becoming even scarcer.
“Right now, we’re barely managing by growing turnips, potatoes, and beans, but even that is nearing its limit.”
“I see.”
“Still, we’re in a relatively good situation. At least we’re not so bad that we have to throw wood shavings in.”
“….”
Turnip flour bread isn’t exactly appetizing, but it’s definitely better than adding wood shavings. At least turnips are food for humans.
Anyway, my work for the day finally finished. I returned the equipment I received as supplies to the security force and was headed home. Or at least I was trying to, if it weren’t for that little squirt.
The sun was already setting, yet the little redheaded kid was sitting near the training ground, dozing off. I couldn’t help but smirk. What on earth was he doing here?
“If you sleep here, you’ll catch a cold. Get up quickly.”
“Umm… Uncle?”
“Yeah, I’m the uncle. So hurry up and get up.”
I never thought he would wait here until this time. If I’d known, I would have given him a heads-up. He looked tired enough that he finally stumbled and ended up in my arms.
“I’m sleepy… I want to sleep more…”
“Seriously, what a handful.”
“….”
I had no choice but to carry the kid. I couldn’t leave him behind. At the same time, I realized I didn’t know where this kid lived. I had no idea where to take him.
I wasn’t exactly in the right appearance to visit his house either. They’d probably be wary of me if I showed up. I tried shaking him awake, but the more I did, the deeper he burrowed into my arms. Well, it was cold outside, and after waiting so long, it was no surprise.
Today, I’d have to take him home.
I carried the little kid on my back as I walked. The home of the Time Stop Breeding Uncle was a tent located in the corner of the refugee camp. It was already on the outskirts, and the tent didn’t look great.
It would be a perfect place to freeze to death if you didn’t have a fire. Of course, firewood doesn’t just pop up from the ground. The Time Stop Breeding Uncle solved that by using time stop.
So did he go out and chop wood himself? No way. He obviously stole firewood from other houses. It was like an endless onion. Seriously.
“Umm….”
“Just wait a sec. I’ll start a campfire.”
I quickly brought firewood. Not the firewood that the Time Stop Breeding Uncle stole, but firewood I collected myself. I piled up the wood and lit it up, and that was it.
As soon as the campfire was lit, the little kid’s expression relaxed. I couldn’t help but smirk at that. He was annoyingly honest in everything. This should be enough.
Confirming that the kid had definitely fallen asleep, I stood up. The surroundings began to fade into gray again. My tasks were done, so now it was time to train.
*
Time flew by in the blink of an eye.
I had made some progress during that time. First, the cooldown of the time stop had slightly decreased. However, I didn’t really measure the cooldown directly. One day, I just instinctively realized it.
I remembered that gifts develop significantly based on the user’s capability. Could it be related to that? But the cooldown didn’t drastically reduce. If it used to be about double, now it was around 1.9 times? But that alone was good news. Just using it a lot reduced the cooldown of time stop. Moreover, there were changes not only to my ability but also to my body.
“You seem to be training hard.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not just saying that. Your stamina has significantly improved.”
“I always work hard.”
Andrew was a better teacher than I had thought. I absorbed the swordsmanship and martial arts he taught with my body and used time stop to review it. Naturally, it became a tremendous workout.
Thanks to that, I started burning off a lot of fat. Of course, I had improved a lot compared to before. I was still a pig, but I’d say I was a bit less of a pig now.
In any case, after training hard every day and working diligently, I had gained some respect within the security force. Of course, they still called me useless Hans, but that was okay.
If I stayed like this, I could become stronger.
I thought that way.
However, life never flows as you wish. It was during one of those intense training sessions that a frantic alarm rang out from the entrance of the village. My body froze for just a moment.
“…The monsters have invaded?!”
“Rookie! Quickly grab your weapon!”
“Y-Yes!!!”
It had been peaceful lately, so I had temporarily forgotten. This world was one where monsters could invade suddenly one day. No, we’d actually lasted longer than I had expected.
I quickly grabbed armor and weapons from the guards and rushed to the barriers with Brick. At the entrance, I could see guards armed and facing off against monsters.
Stay calm, stay calm. I took a deep breath. Then I checked what kind of monster was facing off against the guards. It was a wolf with black fur, about twice the size of a normal wolf.
It also had sharp, sword-like horns on its head. A Blade Wolf, a mid-level monster that appears in games. Its game level ranges from about 20 to 40 at most. Thankfully, it didn’t have regeneration abilities.
“This is dangerous; there are so many Blade Wolves.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle them all.”
“You’ll handle them all? What do you mean…?”
Without saying a word, I placed my hand on the hilt. At the same time, the surroundings began to fade into gray. Thankfully, this time I didn’t use time stop, so the cooldown didn’t activate.
If this was a cooldown… ugh, I don’t even want to imagine.
At first, I thought about facing them without using time stop, but honestly, I wasn’t confident yet. So I decided to effectively take care of them using my time stop ability.
“Damn, they’re so tough.”
Unfortunately, I didn’t have skills like a swordsman that could take them all out in one go. What does that mean? It meant that I had to kill them one by one. It even took a fair amount of time.
“Are you serious? Do I have to do this one by one?”
At first, I thought time stop was super cool, but actually doing it was a different story. It didn’t match the expectations or images I had. I struggled and finally beheaded the last wolf.
“I feel like I’m really going to die…!!”
My breath was caught in my throat. It felt like I was about to collapse at any moment. Was it due to exhaustion? I felt as though my bones were melting away, and just when I was about to lose my balance.
Time stop was released.
“Huh? Sleepy….”
And people saw.
The wolves were all dead, and standing alone at the center was me.
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