Volume 3 Chapter 123: Field of Poisonous Insects (1/2)
The next day.
We left the camp early morning. Around the time when the sun was at its peak, we arrived at our destination, the Field of Poisonous Insects.
“Is everyone here? …Good! For the next 3 days, this place will be our base. First, go prepare your camp just like you did yesterday! After that, I’ll explain the rest of the program here. Dismissed! Go prepare!” [Roche]
The participants dispersed in small groups.
This is the ‘Field of Poisonous Insects’… A huge grassland with gentle hills. If you walk a little, you’ll see that there are trees that have already began to change color. It’s a gentle place where the wind smells like grass. There are no strong monsters here either. Recently, the sun has also gotten weaker, making this place perfect for a picnic.
But one still has to pay attention to the ‘poisonous insects’ here. True to its name ‘Field of Poisonous Insects’, there are many poisonous insects here that can bite humans.
1. Avoid showing skin.
2. Bring some insect repellent and use it before entering.
3. If spending the night, prepare countermeasures to deal with the insects.
These are the three points one should pay attention to when visiting this place. Failing to meet these three points will result in…
“I’m kinda itchy…” [Student Adventurer 1]
“Did you get bitten by an insect?” [Student Adventurer 2]
“Probably…” [Student Adventurer 1]
“That’s some rotten luck you’ve got there.” [Student Adventurer 2]
Looks like some students have already been bitten.
According to the information I purchased, there shouldn’t be any insects here that can threaten a human’s life. But without any protection against the insects, they’ll be itchy and in pain the next morning. But depending on one’s physical constitution, these bites could prove to be fateful, so caution is advised.
…Alright. This should do.
“For the meantime, I’m done securing my sleeping space.” [Ryouma]
Just like yesterday, I built my sleeping space with earth magic. But to make it harder for crawly poisonous insects from entering, I made sure to raise the floor and attached an insect screen to the windows.
“Next is… Ah, Roche-san!” [Ryouma]
“You need something?” [Roche]
“I’m going to burn some insect repellent. The smoke might be a little thick, so I just thought I’d inform you beforehand. I saw you making rounds, so I figured I might as well.” [Ryouma]
“I see. No problem. You do you. Still, you sure know how to camp. I had the same impression yesterday too, but this… This is basically a cabin already.” [Roche]
“Ha ha ha…” [Ryouma]
Indeed. Almost everyone else is using a normal tent. I’m the only one who’s made his ‘tent’ out of something durable like walls of rock. Moreover, because of the raised floor, it’s also a head taller than the others, making it stand out.
“Hmm? Are you wounded?” [Roche]
Wounded? Ahh, he must be talking about the bandages I took out from my luggage.
“These are insect repellents. I soaked them in medicine and let them dry to make them easy to carry. I’ve also prepared other types like liquid-types that you apply on your body or aromatic-types wherein you knead herbs together, but for something as big as a structure, this type is best. It’s reasonably priced and effective, and because there’ll be a lot of smoke, it’s easy to use.” [Ryouma]
While explaining, I tore off a bandage that’s about a meter long, and then set its end aflame with magic. It’s made out of cotton, so normally it would burn really quickly, but because it’s been soaked in medicinal liquid, it doesn’t burn as easily. Just like an incense stick, smoke wafted up from the part that was on fire. The smoke was white and thick enough that it could cover one’s vision.
After confirming that the fire was burning well, I threw it from the entrance and closed the door. If I let it burn for 10 minutes, my tent should be insect-proofed. While waiting for those 10 minutes to pass, I took the three-pronged iron spit I’d prepared beforehand – by the way, the handle is made out of wood – and stabbed the remaining bandages with it. I’m going to be burning all of these, so I placed the rest of the bandages under the raised floor, and lit it up with a fire ball, causing the smoke to cover my whole ‘tent’. I especially made sure to place the bandages under the windows and the entrance.
“Good.” [Ryouma]
“You said you had a number of insect repellents with you, right?” [Roche]
“Yes. I have more of those, and I also have medicines to cure itchiness and other ailments.” [Ryouma]
I made the medicines not just to prepare for this trip but also to study, so there’s quite a bit inside my Item Box.
“I see…” [Roche]
“What’s on your mind?” [Ryouma]
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking it might be easier this time.” [Roche]
“Sorry, I don’t follow.” [Ryouma]
“When we teach people here, there’s bound to be a handful of people who get the short end of the stick when it comes to bugs. People who underestimated the bugs. People who didn’t prepare enough protection for the bugs. People who cheaped out on medicine, and ended up not having enough along the way. We’ll be spending three days here this time around, so I figured it might turn into quite the commotion tomorrow or the day after.
Because of that I made sure to bring some spare medicine, but someone also needs to distribute it. Having someone who knows a lot about medicine is a huge help. We also use this inevitable incident as an opportunity to tell people about the importance of insect repellents and common medicine, but there are some guys who become really enthusiastic about asking detailed question, so again, someone good at medicine is really a huge help.” [Roche]