To revive the stems of the green onions that had been reduced to just roots, water was needed.
I could probably get a small amount of water from plants, but...
"Since I'm here, I might as well look for a water source.
The 'Unthirst' magic Nickbacca mentioned will probably start weakening soon too."
So for the afternoon, I decided to go on a "water source search."
I left the house in the mood for a leisurely forest walk, but as I wandered through the woods, I started seeing more animals than before.
"Until now I only saw birds, but now there are rabbits and deer...
Could the 'Repel' magic be starting to weaken?"
But if animals had originally lived here, there should definitely be a water source somewhere.
I went deeper past the mushroom patch where I had met the alchemist Akemi before and came out into an open area.
It was a peaceful pond bathed in bright sunlight.
On the opposite bank, deer and boars were already there, drinking water together.
"Oh, this is a nice pond. The breeze feels good too."
I felt a sudden urge to take a nap, but I held back and decided to draw some water.
However, I then realized I had nothing to carry the water in.
"Hmm, what should I do? The pockets of my coat have capacity expansion, so they could hold it, but pouring water directly in feels wrong."
While I was pondering by the pond, heavy, thuggish footsteps approached from behind.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing, huh?"
When I turned around, three mohawk-haired men were glaring at me with hostile eyes.
They were idly spinning clubs studded with nails.
Their bare skin was wrapped in fur, their arms bulged with muscle, and they flaunted their tattoos threateningly.
It was an extremely standard bandit style.
The red-mohawk man stepped closer.
"This pond is our territory, Class 1-15!
A pathetic weakling like you has no business being here! Got it!?"
Class 1-15...
If I remembered correctly, that was the class from a school that trained bandits, barbarians, curse users, and dark mages.
Most of the class was male, with only one female student.
While I was thinking about that, the mohawk trio burst out laughing.
The blue-mohawk man sneered, "Look, this guy's shaking in his boots!"
The yellow-mohawk man added fuel, "He's about to piss himself!"
"Can't blame him! No one can face the Pira Brothers without getting scared!"
I echoed, "Pira Brothers?"
"You don't know us!? This guy's so scared his brain's fried!
Then before we beat you up, we'll teach you. I'm Tin Pira!
The blue one's Tsin Pira, and the yellow one's Twin Pira!"
"Now do you remember!? We are your 'terror'!"
"We were already pissed off after getting a big attitude from that Weiss guy!"
"We're gonna take it all out on you! So, jobless garbage, you're getting half-killed right here~!"
"Cry, scream! But we won't forgive you! Gyahahahaha!"
The Pira Trio kept hyping themselves up.
I couldn't help but be impressed at how they could get this worked up.
"I see. If you want to rampage that badly, I don't mind keeping you company, but..."
Lightning-like veins bulged on the three colorful mohawks.
"You bastard, dieeee!!!"
They swung their clubs and charged.
Their stances were completely amateurish, as expected from barbarians.
I calmly switched to Martial Artist and took a boxing stance.
With lightning-fast triple jabs, I lightly countered all three brothers right on the nose.
All three sprayed nosebleeds at the same time and tumbled backward.
"My... my nose!? My noooose!!!"
"My nose exploded!? What the hell was that!?"
"Damn it, what did you do!?"
The trio clutched their noses while crawling backward.
"Buuuumooooooo!!!"
Suddenly, a tremendous snort came from behind me.
When I turned around, a massive boar burst through the bushes, knocking them down.
The moment the giant boar appeared, all the animals at the pond fled.
It seemed the true owner of this watering hole had shown up.
The Pira Trio screamed "Hiiiiiiiiii!!!" and scrambled up the nearest tree.
I stood motionless, staring down the boar.
Safe in their tree, the trio regained their bravado.
"Hey, look at that garbage! He's completely frozen in fear! He can't even move!"
"If it were us Pira Brothers, we'd crush that boar easily, but that'd be boring!"
"Yeah! Let's watch from here while that garbage gets wrecked!"
The giant boar snorted violently and pawed the ground with its hind legs, ready to charge at any moment.
It was twice my size and had sharp tusks, so charging head-on would be suicide.
"Then...!" I kicked off the ground.
At the same time, the giant boar roared "Buuuumooooooo!!!" and charged.
From behind me came cries of shock.
"That garbage is charging straight at it!?"
"Idiot, he's gonna die!"
"He's seriously crazy!"
Right before colliding with the giant boar, I switched to Ninja.
I leaped at the last possible moment, dodging the cannonball-like charge by a hair's breadth.
In mid-air, I grabbed the boar's tusk and spun my body.
I yanked the tusk upward with all my strength, lifting the boar's upper body.
Like a carriage that had ridden up onto a curb or a neighing horse, the boar was lifted so only its hind legs touched the ground.
I planted both feet firmly, lowered my hips deeply to build power, and leaped with everything I had.
"""It... It flew uuuuuuuuuuuuuup!!!?!?"""
The trio's screams rang out as I soared through the sky with the giant boar.
I rotated in the air, and both I and the giant boar plummeted headfirst.
Since the boar's head was lower, naturally...
...DOGWAAA... SHAAAAAAAaaaaaaaah!!!!!!
The giant boar slammed face-first into the ground, creating a crater.
The impact spread, causing waves in the pond and rustling the trees.
Birds took flight, and the Pira Trio fell from the tree like rotten fruit.