I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Paladin Training Plan （3）

Three days have passed since rescuing the newbie Paladin, ‘Petit Noah’.

She’s getting used to life here.

“Hello, Unni~!”

“Ah, Luna, hello!”

She’s very shy and hasn’t made many friends, but at least she seems to have gotten comfortable with Luna.

Since there wasn’t much to do while the city was being fortified, I decided to focus on her growth.

━ Starting today, you’ll go out hunting.

“Hunting? Uh, what kind of hunting?”

━ Infected.

“…Okay.”

For a Paladin to become stronger, they need to hunt demons, demon worshippers, and Infected to gain experience points and skill points.

Even if we don’t know about demons or worshippers, there are plenty of Infected outside.

━ Those two will keep you safe.

For safe leveling, I called Rake and Luna as bodyguards and conversation partners.

The main purpose of this outing is to search the tunnels.

I’m definitely not slacking off by bringing high-level allies.

Actually, it wouldn’t be a problem if I only brought Rake…

“Um… I…”

Noah hesitantly approached Rake.

It’s pathetic to see her trying to strike up a conversation, as if she really likes Rake.

Does Rake resemble her older sister? Or is it a matter of sexual orientation?

Whatever it is, it’s not a good choice.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. If you have nothing important to say, just shut up.”

Rake said coldly without even looking at her.

“I’m sorry…”

Tsk. It’s hard for me to say anything.

What can I do if she doesn’t want to talk?

Like this, it seems difficult for the two women to get along, so I called Luna, the social butterfly mage.

She was relatively less busy than others, so I could bring her along.

“Unni, Rake-nim speaks a different language than us. And she seems to be in a particularly bad mood today, so it might be better to talk to her later.”

“I know, but…”

Luna comforted Noah tactfully. I’m glad she’s here.

I almost became a totem stuck between two socially awkward adventurers.

Anyway, I brought Noah outside to help her gain experience points and skill points, but…

“Kyaaaaaak!”

Our Noah, she’s completely useless.

━ Focus.

“I, I have to kill that monster…? It’s drooling!”

Noah’s body trembled as she held her sword and shield in an awkward stance.

“Noah-nim, don’t be nervous. It’s a stray dog Infected. It’s no match for a Paladin.”

“Stray dog? It looks like a hellhound!”

Ha. What should I do with this young friend?

I asked her before, and she’s 18 years old. That’s right. She’s a high school girl.

Was the reputation of Japanese high school girls who can destroy a tank with three people a lie?

“Tsk. I don’t understand. How did such a fool become a Paladin?”

Rake clicked her tongue as she watched.

━ She’s been asleep for a long time, so her memories aren’t intact.

I don’t know why I’m making excuses for her.

Maybe I feel a little sorry for her because someone from the same planet is being treated like a fool.

“…Originally, Malak-nim and I were supposed to be searching alone.”

Rake let out a deep sigh as she watched Noah with disapproval.

Ah, so that’s why she doesn’t like Noah.

Rake’s favorite idol is me, Malak.

She must be angry because she lost her one-on-one fan meeting time with me.

…Actually, I don’t have much to talk about with Rake privately.

We have nothing in common.

We’re not the same gender, not from the same planet, and have different hobbies and interests.

Rake likes fighting and ‘Malak’.

I don’t know about the former, but the latter is difficult for me to answer.

If she asks me ‘What kind of demon did you kill, where, and how?’, I can just answer ‘Oh, I see’, but it becomes difficult when she asks me what I like.

Would a resident of a fantasy world understand the act of ‘watching YouTube and drinking beer’?

What about my favorite game ‘Undertale’ or movie ‘Avengers League’?

Of course, they don’t know. So they can’t relate.

I just say I like ‘the happiness and growth of my followers’ or ‘demon hunting’… but it’s not easy to continue a conversation with that.

It’s not that I dislike both, but if she asks me if it’s my hobby, it’s not really.

I spoke to Noah, who was trembling.

━ Noah. Your body remembers how to fight. Let yourself go with the flow.

This is also information that can be found if you diligently browse the community.

I’ll have to tell her to read the posts uploaded by the George Raid later.

“Flow… Right… My body, it has muscles now… I, I’ll try! Hiyaaaat~!”

Muttering to herself, Noah ran towards the stray dog Infected with a high-pitched scream.

Woof!

The stray dog, who had been watching the three women, also moved.

It wasn’t because it was brave, but because it acted instinctively.

Her clumsy movements changed the moment she faced the Infected.

“Oh, uh!”

The quickly moving sword sliced through the Infected’s neck in one swift motion.

It was the movement of a skilled warrior.

“Wow, Unni, you’re good! You were just pretending to be scared?”

“Well, actually, it’s been a while since I’ve fought. Hehe.”

Noah scratched her head at Luna’s compliment.

I want to give her a smack.

━ That’s how you fight.

Even though I won’t get points from it, Noah’s growth is important.

Paladins are humanity’s strongest force. In theory, they’re an all-rounder class that can handle damage, tanking, and healing.

They can greatly reduce the casualties of the Tribal Federation warriors.

“Oh! I got a skill point!”

Good.

━ Get the ‘Light’s Protection’ skill.

It’s a skill that increases defense by enveloping the body in light, and it affects all nearby allies.

I didn’t memorize it; I just saw it on the community forum.

What our Tribal Federation lacks. It’s a ‘superhuman tank’.

This world is a place where relatively ordinary people live, except for magic and divine power.

Even if a knight trains hard, they won’t awaken an aura blade or become a swordmaster.

The only tanks in the Tribal Federation are armored infantry and a single golem.

Even Kanto, who received the Berserker’s power, isn’t particularly durable.

Only the golem and Rake can withstand the attacks of lower-ranking demons.

But what about a Paladin with several protection skills?

They would be able to withstand it easily.

“…Now I can use the Light’s Protection skill!”

Noah nodded as she looked at the air.

━ Try using it.

“Yes!”

As Noah muttered something, a white light enveloped her body.

It’s the same phenomenon as when Hanna used the ‘Light’s Protection’ skill during sparring with the Barbarians.

The difference is that Hanna’s skill only affected herself, but Noah’s skill also enveloped Luna, who was next to her.

I guess Luna is considered an ally to Noah.

I suddenly got curious.

━ Is there a limit to the number of people who can receive the effects of the skill?

“Ah… Yes. It’s low-level right now, so only two people are possible.”

So Paladins also have skills with levels, like my blessings.

━ Rake. Go to Noah’s side.

“…Understood.”

Rake’s body was also enveloped in white light as she approached Noah.

So she’s considered an ally.

Someday, she might be able to give a defense boost buff to all the soldiers fighting on the front lines.

Of course, for that to happen, Noah would have to consider the entire Tribal Federation as allies.

Well, it’s a matter of slowly getting to know each other.

━ Noah. From now on, you’ll mainly focus on getting ally protection skills.

I plan to make her the Tribal Federation’s sturdy shield.

The answer is already decided, but I asked anyway.

━ Do you have any complaints?

It sounds like I’m threatening her when I say it like that.

“No! I like it! I wanted to focus on protection skills too! I hate getting hurt, so I was going to go all-in on defense!”

Noah suddenly seemed excited, perhaps because she had successfully caught the Infected.

━ Good. Then I’ll continue to suggest skills for you.

“Yes!”

This feels like raising a secondary character.

A sudden question arose.

If I had possessed a Paladin, what kind of skill tree would I have gone for?

Dealer? Support? Tank? Just balanced?

I think I would have gone for a tank with high survivability.

━ Let’s catch some other Infected.

The four of us went around the land between Symphony and Bluethan, killing Infected.

It was a task that didn’t require my help, so I decided to take a break.

I was browsing pointless posts on the community forum when I received a private message from Hanna.

[Not a Netkama: A ship has arrived at the port]

[Not a Netkama: It’s not an ordinary ship, it’s an old ship covered in barnacles and seaweed]

[Ship?]

Hanna is in Martba. Martba is a port city.

Why a ship all of a sudden? Could it be civilized survivors?

There’s also a possibility that it’s demons who killed the sailors and took the ship.

[Not a Netkama: It’s not just any ship. It’s a nightmare ship that looks like the Flying Dutchman.]

[What’s that?]

[Not a Netkama: Davy Jones’ ship. Haven’t you seen the movie Pirates of the Caribbean?]

[?]

[Not a Netkama: There’s a ship that looks like a ghost ship]

[Are they demons?]

[Not a Netkama: Something’s coming out of the ship.]

[Are you okay?]

[Not a Netkama: I’m hiding and watching]

This is unsettling.

[Not a Netkama: They’re not demons… They’re very strange-looking people]

[What do they look like?]

[Not a Netkama: They have shells or tentacles on their bodies]

[They’re demon worshippers]

[Not a Netkama: No]

[Not a Netkama: They’re talking to each other. They’re discussing where to go]

I feel an inexplicable sense of foreboding.