Heartstone Processing Technique And Throwing Technique

When I selected Basic Aberrant Beast Knowledge, information about aberrant beasts flowed into my mind. Apparently, those horned rabbits were called “Horn Rabbits,” while Minotaurs were simply called Minotaurs.

The knowledge covered three hundred species of aberrant beasts, with detailed analyses of their names, offensive and defensive capabilities, intelligence, agility, and other characteristics.

As for Heartstone Processing Technique, it seemed to be a technique for manipulating the forms of the black stones and other materials left behind when aberrant beasts were killed. Heartstones possessed various attributes, including fire, wind, water, earth, wood, light, and darkness. The black stones I’d collected were darkness-attribute Heartstones.

But what exactly did manipulating their forms mean? When I examined the knowledge that had flowed into my mind, I discovered that it was apparently possible to generate and process various materials from Heartstones. However, at skill level 1, Heartstone Processing Technique could only produce fiber-based materials.

I resumed fishing, caught nine horse mackerel, and returned to the air-raid shelter. I grilled three of them for dinner and prepared to dry the rest.

I had constructed a stove out of stones and clay near the shelter’s entrance, arranging it so I could also build a fire.

Until recently, I’d assumed that a Japan Coast Guard vessel would come to rescue me, but thinking about it calmly, they were taking far too long.

“I can’t go on like this. If help isn’t coming, I’ll build a raft and escape from the island myself.”

The sandy beach was the only suitable place to build a raft. Even if I constructed one elsewhere, I’d still have to transport it to the beach to launch it. I decided to explore the island in search of materials for a raft.

Of course, I intended to watch out for the Minotaur. I set off with my belt hatchet and a backpack containing a plastic bottle of water. I followed the foot of the mountain in a clockwise direction.

Judging by the vegetation, broadleaf trees were abundant from the mountain’s base to its middle slopes, while conifers were more common near the summit. I began walking slowly, crunching fallen leaves beneath my feet. I was encountering Horn Rabbits increasingly often.

Perhaps because I’d grown accustomed to fighting Horn Rabbits, I could now kill them with a single swing of my hatchet. My increased strength and agility probably contributed to that as well.

After walking for about twenty minutes, I reached a bamboo grove. There, I encountered a large black lizard. It was roughly the size of a Komodo dragon and had a distinctive tail. At the tip of its tail was something resembling a spiked iron ball.

“Whoa! There are monsters like this here too?”

I drew my hatchet and readied myself. According to my knowledge of aberrant beasts, this creature was called a “Hammer Lizard.” Its tail was its greatest weapon, and being struck by the spiked ball at its tip could be fatal.

The Hammer Lizard spun its entire body around. The momentum sent the spiked ball on its tail hurtling toward me. I leaped backward with all my strength. The ball missed me and slammed into a bamboo stalk, snapping its hard trunk.

The bamboo, broken near its base, toppled with a loud rustling crash. My face stiffened, and the hand gripping my hatchet began trembling. The weapon that had seemed so reliable against Horn Rabbits suddenly looked woefully inadequate.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to obtain materials for my raft unless I defeated this creature, so I summoned every ounce of courage I had. Narrowly avoiding the spiked ball, I moved closer and brought my hatchet down on the Hammer Lizard’s back.

I’d put plenty of strength into the blow. However, the blade bounced off its tough, scale-patterned hide.

“No way…”

At that moment, the giant lizard spun around, sending its spiked ball flying toward me. One of the spikes tore into the upper part of my right leg.

It hurt! It hurt like hell! Shit, I had to run! I fled, dragging my injured leg behind me. The Hammer Lizard gave chase. With my face twisted in terror, I ran desperately for my life.

Perhaps five minutes had passed when I looked behind me and saw that the Hammer Lizard was gone.

“Pant, pant… I got away.”

I returned to the air-raid shelter and treated my wound. Although I’d lost quite a bit of blood, the injury didn’t appear to be particularly deep.

What was I supposed to do? With something like that guarding the bamboo grove, there was no way I could gather bamboo! I’d been planning to build my raft out of bamboo, so I began reconsidering my options. I thought about collecting wood instead, but cutting down trees with nothing more than a small hatchet seemed difficult. That meant I’d have to use fallen trees or driftwood washed ashore.

“The landowner seems to have kept the beach clean, and searching the mountains and forests feels dangerous.”

Unable to determine the best course of action, I struggled to decide what to do next.

“If this were a game, I’d probably level up until I could beat it.”

Unfortunately, the only enemies I could use to level up were Horn Rabbits. And with my injured leg, fighting them would be difficult.

So leveling up was out of the question too? What should I do? Come on, think! Wasn’t there something I could accomplish while my wound healed? I brought up my status screen and examined the skills I possessed.

I wondered whether I could increase my skill levels through practice. Apparently, skill levels ranged from 1 to 9, with levels 1–2 representing beginners, 3–4 competent practitioners, 5–6 advanced practitioners, 7 masters, 8 grandmasters, and 9 godlike mastery.

The three Active Skills seemed to be the ones whose levels I might be able to raise through practice. However, because of my injury, I couldn’t practice Axe Technique.

That left Throwing Technique and Heartstone Processing Technique.

“I guess I’ll try Heartstone Processing Technique first…”

I took a Heartstone out of my pocket. Following the knowledge that had flowed into my mind when I acquired Heartstone Processing Technique, I focused my attention on a single Heartstone. I stared at it and visualized what I wanted it to become. This time, I pictured a thin, durable thread resembling fishing line and poured all my willpower into the image.

Something clicked inside my head, and the Heartstone instantly transformed into a length of thread. It had become approximately five meters of fishing line.

“Whoa! It really turned into fishing line!”

Deep down, I’d been only half convinced that it would work. Nevertheless, the Heartstone had transformed, probably because the Heartstone Processing Technique skill within me had activated its power.

I transformed three Heartstones into thread. Then I tried turning the remaining stones into cloth. The result was a square of black fabric measuring twenty centimeters on each side.

I displayed my status screen and checked the skill section. It still showed “Heartstone Processing Technique: 1.” Apparently, using a skill a few times wasn’t enough to increase its level.

With my Heartstones exhausted, Throwing Technique was the only skill I could still practice. I was feeling a little tired. Since I was injured too, I decided to rest. I crawled into my sleeping bag.

I lay down inside the air-raid shelter, but I couldn’t fall asleep. My wound hurt a little, though not enough to keep me awake. The real problem was that I couldn’t stop remembering the moment the Hammer Lizard had attacked me, and the fear kept returning.

My thoughts turned to the captain, Nagase, and the others who had abandoned me, and anger welled up inside me. However, that anger never lasted long. My heart was soon overwhelmed by the fear that I might die on this island.

Even so, after lying there for about an hour, my exhausted body finally reached its limit, and I fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke to the sound of rain. It was pouring outside the air-raid shelter.

“Looks like I won’t be going fishing in this weather.”

Ever since I’d been left alone on the island, I felt as though I’d started talking to myself much more often.

I grilled some dried horse mackerel and ate it for breakfast. Afterward, I examined my injured leg and discovered that the wound had completely closed. It hadn’t fully healed yet, but it seemed safe enough to move around a little.

I desperately wanted to escape from the island as soon as possible, and I wasn’t in the right state of mind to sit around doing nothing. That’s right… I could practice Throwing Technique.

The moment the rain eased into a drizzle, I went outside, collected several small stones, and returned. Then I began practicing my throws, using the wall at the back of the shelter as a target. Since the fundamentals of Throwing Technique were already stored in my mind as knowledge, I practiced according to those instructions.

I threw the handful of stones I’d collected, and whenever I ran out, I gathered them from near the wall and returned to my original position. I repeated this process over and over. After one hour, then two, my shoulder and wrist reached their limits, so I took a break.

I continued repeating that routine until the day was over. The speed of my throws increased, and my accuracy improved as well. However, my skill level remained unchanged.

The following day was clear, so I knew I had to go fishing. I’d eaten all my dried fish. Carrying my fishing equipment, I headed toward the beach. Along the way, I encountered a Horn Rabbit.

Since there was some distance between us, I decided to test my Throwing Technique. I placed my belongings on the ground and held a stone in my right hand. Keeping my eyes fixed on the Horn Rabbit, I threw the stone with all my strength.

It seemed to have flown at approximately one hundred kilometers per hour. The stone struck the Horn Rabbit in the face. The impact sent the aberrant beast’s entire body flying upward. Although the blow hadn’t killed it, it appeared to have inflicted considerable damage.

I approached the creature and finished it off with my hatchet. At that very moment, the familiar voice echoed inside my head.

“Why did it go up now when all that practice didn’t do anything?”

Perhaps practice alone wasn’t enough, and the system required me to use a skill in actual combat before its level could increase?

When I reached the beach, several black rabbits noticed me and began approaching. I drew my hatchet and assumed a fighting stance. As the Horn Rabbits attacked one after another, I swung my hatchet in every direction and fought them off.

After killing every Horn Rabbit that attacked me, I hoped that my Axe Technique skill level might increase as well. Unfortunately, it didn’t.

I wondered why, but then the answer occurred to me. During that fight, I hadn’t used the movements of Axe Technique stored in my mind. I’d simply swung my hatchet around wildly. That couldn’t really be considered using Axe Technique. To raise a skill’s level, I probably needed to practice until I’d mastered its prescribed movements, then use those techniques to defeat enemies in actual combat.

“So it’s a little different from a game.”