I kept at the game. On my screen, Tria was busy beating the life out of a turtle. It was technically a "Young Turtle," but it was still massive. Then again, after seeing the parent turtle, I had to admit the name was accurate.
Once she started swinging, I could basically leave her to it until the target was dead. It was convenient, almost like playing an idle game, though the constant threat of a counter-attack resulting in instant death kept me on edge.
Her parameters were growing steadily. Since last night, her level had jumped by seven, bringing her to Level 9 and netting me 21 SP. That confirmed it—every level up yielded 3 SP.
I had 61 SP remaining. The Gun of Ancient Ruins my colleague mentioned cost 90 SP, meaning I could afford it by Level 18... but simply following in their footsteps felt uninspired.
I needed to carve out my own path. From that perspective, leaning further into her Unarmed Combat skill seemed like a solid plan.
The inventory appeared to stack identical items. Since I only had Young Turtle drops right now, I had plenty of space to spare. It looked like I could even specify the freshness level when pulling items out; otherwise, the game just grabbed them at random.
Having a large inventory was great, but keeping this mess organized was going to be a nightmare.
I directed Tria to find another nearby turtle and move in for a punch. Since she still didn't have any gear, she was fighting bare-handed. I wondered if there was a crafting system, but then I remembered Tria was just a Sacrificial Village Girl. It made sense that she lacked those kinds of technical skills.
Still, making a village girl punch turtles to death with her bare hands was pretty extreme.
Maybe I should spend some SP to give her a weapon? But SP was still a precious resource, and I didn't know any other way to earn it besides leveling up. My colleague advised spending it freely, but I didn't want to waste it on a weapon she’d outgrow in no time. It would also be annoying to spend SP on a skill that turned out to be easy to find through normal play.
In the end, I decided to hold off and see how things developed.
Wait a second. Wouldn't a wooden stick be stronger than her bare hands? Humanity had evolved from apes by picking up stones and sticks, after all.
I decided to see if I could equip a wooden branch I'd found on the ground.
It worked.
The attack power only went up by two, but I figured it was better than nothing. I tracked down the next Young Turtle and let her have it. Thwack, thwack. She struck it several times, but it didn't look like she was dealing any real damage.
Then, the wooden branch snapped before the shell even cracked.
I see. So there's weapon durability in this game... Her bare hands must have been fine because they didn't count as a weapon with durability.
At this rate, the "bare-handed is best" theory for turtle hunting was gaining some serious ground.
The hits with the wooden stick had been practically useless, so I had to put in the extra work to punch the turtle to death. I finished the harvest, adding more items to the inventory. Her Status continued its upward climb.
Defeating that last turtle pushed her to Level 9. Her Strength was now at 45—triple what it was last night.
Man, leveling up raises parameters way faster than steady training!
Of course, level grinding would eventually hit a ceiling, so the fact that training could still boost parameters was a low-key important detail for the long game.
As things progressed, the Young Turtles' behavior finally shifted.
Now, as soon as Tria started punching, they would stretch out their necks to retaliate. It was as if they hadn't even recognized her as a threat until now.
"Hmm, has the Tutorial phase shifted?"
However, the head was a much softer target than the shell. Their movements were sluggish, making it easy to time a Counter Punch against their slow lunges. Finally, the combat was starting to feel like an actual game.
Compared to a rhythm game, the timing was incredibly generous, and their attacks were telegraphed.
A few hits to the face would Stun the Young Turtle, leaving it wide open. From there, I could trigger a Rush. With her shell-shattering attack power directed at its head, I could wipe out its HP in a single burst.
The Young Turtle Hunt accelerated dramatically.
Find a turtle, punch it, wait for it to show its face, punch it, wait for the attack, punch, punch, Stun, then punch, punch, punch until it's dead!
For looting, I just shoved the entire corpse into the inventory. As long as the shell was intact, I could store it as a single "Young Turtle Corpse." It was so much easier that way! Plus, it eliminated the risk of being ambushed while skinning it. I just had to hope the whole thing wouldn't rot at once.
I was hunting with peak efficiency now. I still hadn't taken a single point of damage. One bite from those rock-crushing jaws would be devastating, and since I had no way to heal—and no idea if she'd even respawn—I couldn't afford mistakes. There was a real chance that if Tria died, I'd have to restart with a completely new character.
By the time I checked again, she had hit Level 15. The progress was smooth. I felt like I could probably handle two at once now, but I stuck to one at a time to maintain a safety margin. Her Unarmed Combat Proficiency was also rising steadily.
I figured it was time to see if Auto Mode could handle the loop. If it worked, I’d let her farm while I stepped away.
In the meantime, I needed some dinner. All this turtle hunting had worked up an appetite for meat. I think I’ll go heat up a retort hamburger!
Tria brought down another Young Turtle. The creatures she had been certain she could never defeat only yesterday were now nothing more than prey. By following the steps the Spirit-sama had taught her, she could dispatch them with ease without ever being touched.
The Spirit-sama really is incredible, Tria thought, offering a silent prayer of gratitude as her body moved.
She could feel her own strength surging. A Young Turtle that once required ten punches to kill now fell in nine. To begin with, her limbs had been far too weak to even dream of shattering a shell before she was offered as a sacrifice.
She glanced down at her hands and feet. She was barefoot, yet she felt no pain even when stepping on sharp pebbles. Her legs, restored by the Spirit-sama, were just as powerful as the hands that could crush bone and shell.
On a whim, she dodged a turtle's lunge and delivered a sharp kick to its head. The top of her foot connected with the creature’s temple just as it lunged forward. Crr-ack! A heavy, wet crunch rang out, and the turtle went limp instantly. Tria blinked, surprised by her own initiative.
"A Counter Kick! You can do that too!?"
The Spirit-sama, watching from within the Halo, called out in delight.
Tria felt a swell of pride, realizing her own idea had pleased him.
"Spirit-sama. May I try more things like that?"
"Munch, munch... gulp. Yeah, go for it!"
The Spirit-sama gave his permission. He sounded like he was eating something... Perhaps he was consuming a Young Turtle Soul? He was a Spirit, after all.
"Yeah, at this rate, I think I can leave the Young Turtle Hunt to you. Just make sure you don't get hit. They're slow, but they look like they hit like a truck."
"I understand, Spirit-sama!"
"Alright, I'll be busy with something else for a bit. Good luck!"
"Yes! Please leave it to me!"
And so, the Young Turtle Extermination Operation began.