Chapter 16 - Vehicle Strengthening
Aina and Lugh had tasked me and Haku with eliminating the grey wolves and collecting medicinal herbs, so we decided to head out in my camper van.
"Going after the grey wolves is fine and all, but do you even know what the herbs look like?”
"No worries. I’ve got a sample right here."
I held up a single medicinal herb to show Haku, who looked up at me.
This particular herb was one that Aina had collected during her foray into the forest.
"Even with a sample, can you really distinguish it among the cluster?"
"I have Appraisal, so it's gonna be fine."
[Kirik Herb]...Stimulates cell regeneration and cures diseases upon consumption. Most effective when brewed as tea. Commonly used as a base ingredient for medicines and potions.
I activated my Appraisal skill, and detailed information about the Kirik herb in my hand appeared.
Even if it turned out to be difficult to identify the herbs in the forest, I could simply Appraise them one by one to differentiate them.
With this ability, even a novice like me could manage herb collection without much trouble.
"So, besides your unique skill, you’ve got a surprisingly handy one as well."
"Don’t call it 'surprisingly handy.'"
I was a bit self-conscious about it, after all.
Haku’s words hit a sore spot, but I brushed it off and climbed into the driver’s seat. Haku took the passenger seat beside me.
"All right, let’s head out."
As the engine roared to life, I pressed the accelerator, and my camper van began to roll forward. Since there were plenty of people in Lulusena Village, I kept the speed at a modest 30 kilometers per hour. In this world, automobiles didn’t exist, and even carriages rarely passed through, so I was extra cautious, fearing kids might dart out unexpectedly.
"Whoa! That’s awesome! It’s really a steel carriage!"
"And it’s not even pulled by horses or oxen! So cool!"
My worries, however, turned out to be unnecessary. The village children kept a safe distance, their eyes sparkling as they stared at my camper van in awe.
"Looks like boys love camper vans no matter which world you’re in."
I chuckled softly as I drove through the village and onto the road.
Once we were well away from the villagers, I picked up speed.
"Do you know where the herb cluster is?"
"It’s supposed to be in the forest near the road where we met Aina."
And so, I drove the camper van toward the spot where we first encountered Aina.
At a speed of 70 to 80 kilometers per hour, it took about ten minutes to reach the area.
"...It’s a dense forest, but can the camper van go through it?"
"That’s what we’re about to find out."
I parked the van and pulled up the GPS to check the forest map.
"Is that a map of the forest?"
"Yep, it is. The camper van automatically maps out detailed information about the surrounding area."
As Haku leaned in, engrossed in the GPS display, I manipulated the controls to check the path widths in the forest.
"There aren’t any proper paths, and the width is pretty tight. But if we pick the right route, we can probably make it through."
I marked only the routes that the camper van could reasonably pass through, as proceeding haphazardly would likely lead to serious trouble.
"...This route will get us through, but I really don’t want to take it."
"Why not?"
"If we go that way, the branches and leaves will scratch the van’s exterior."
In front of us stood a dense thicket of trees, their bare branches and leaves stretching outward in every direction.
Driving through there would inevitably leave scratches on my precious camper van. Just no way.
"So that’s what you’re worried about...
"Yes, that is what I'm worried about! This is a brand-new, precious vehicle I just got! You wouldn’t like it if your fur got dirty, would you, Haku?"
"Y-yeah. Well, that's true, but you’re the one who accepted the herb collection request, right, Tohru?"
"Hnn... Yeah, I did, but still..."
I couldn’t just turn around and say I wanted to cancel the request now because I didn’t want my beloved camper van to get scratched.
But knowing full well that driving it through those branches would damage the body made me hesitate big time.
"This is exactly the moment to use the [Vehicle Add-Ons]."
"You’re saying there’s such a convenient feature?"
It's CP. Spend CP, and all your problems are solved.
This camper van was clearly designed with that kind of logic in mind.
I fiddled with the device, scrolling through the add-on options, until one caught my eye:
[Vehicle Strengthening]...Coats the vehicle in magical energy, significantly increasing its overall hardness. While active, CP is consumed.
"Found it! This is it!"
As I thought, CP rules in this world. CP solves everything.
"So it does have one... Are you actually going to add it?"
"It’s not like having it would be a bad thing, right?"
Without the van being stationary, I couldn’t activate a barrier. Plus, there was always the risk of being attacked by monsters while on the move.
Enhancing the vehicle’s durability seemed like an essential feature for safe travels.
"Oh, but I don’t have enough CP."
The vehicle strengthening feature cost 50,000 CP, but I only had 30,000 at the moment.
Without the funds, there was no way to add the feature.
Hnn... Was I really going to have to accept the fact that my beautiful van might get scratched?
"Have you converted the magic stone from the grey wolf leader yet?”
As I slumped in disappointment, Haku let out a sigh and spoke.
"Wait, I haven’t!"
Back then, I was so focused on helping Aina and delivering her safely to Lulusena Village that I completely forgot.
I grabbed the magic stone from the dashboard where I had left it and pressed it against the device. It converted into CP right away.
Being the leader of the pack, the stone was of high value, granting me a whopping 25,000 CP in one go.
"This will do it! ...Haku, can I go ahead and add the feature?"
"In exchange, dinner has to be meat, alright?"
"Deal. Leave it to me."
With Haku’s blessing, I unlocked the [Vehicle Strengthening] feature.
"Vehicle Strengthening!"
I gripped the steering wheel and shouted the command. A transparent film enveloped the entire camper van.
"Now how’s that?"
I drove the camper van through a place that could hardly be called a road.
The dense branches and leaves scraped and clawed at the van’s body with harsh, grating sounds.
Leaning out the driver’s side window, I checked the spots where the branches had made contact.
"Whoaaa! Amazing! There’s not a single scratch on it!"
The scraping was harsh enough to clearly leave scratches, but there wasn’t a single mark on my camper van’s body.
The silver body, speckled with metallic particles, shimmered in the sunlight like stardust. Its beauty remained untouched and unchanged.
"With this, I can push through without a care."
Now that the body was impervious to damage, I had no reason to hold back.
Following the route marked on the GPS, I confidently drove the camper van deeper into the forest.
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