To Do a Good Job, One Must First Sharpen One's Tools

To Do a Good Job, One Must First Sharpen One's Tools

"It's a Brain Eater! Kill it!"

The moment she saw the strange creature, the Tiefling darted toward a pile of junk nearby.

She was trying to grab a weapon as quickly as possible and kill the creature she called a Brain Eater.

But as he looked at the peculiar creature with a brain for a body, Carl felt no disgust at all. Instead, he felt an unusual sense of familiarity.

"I think that as long as it doesn't bother us, we can totally..."

Just as he was about to plead for the Brain Eater, Carl suddenly noticed that after lunging at the junk pile, the Tiefling had remained frozen in a bent-over position, as though picking something up.

Psionic fluctuations were drifting around the Brain Eater's body.

The sight before him felt strangely familiar once again.

Suddenly, an intense stabbing pain erupted in his head.

Memories surfaced from the depths of Carl's mind—memories of controlling a game character in his previous life and killing Brain Eaters.

Brain Eaters are monsters created by Mind Flayers using the brains of intelligent creatures. They can use psionics to confuse others, or even Psionic Teleport directly into someone's head, devour their brain, and take control of their body.

Along with those images came fragments of information about Brain Eaters.

At that moment, reason and logic took effect, and Carl's inexplicable fondness for the Brain Eater vanished completely.

That damned thing interfered with my judgment using psionics just now?

Seeing that the Tiefling had already been affected, Carl grabbed a Spear from beside him and hurled it straight at the Brain Eater.

Though the Brain Eater possessed decent psionic abilities, it lacked the ability to interfere with physical matter, and Psionic Teleport came with significant limitations.

Struck by Carl's Spear, it was sent flying at once.

Only then did Carl notice that its brain-like body was covered by a transparent shell.

"Lightning Bolt."

Carl casually found a Wrench in a nearby heap of trash, gripped it in one hand, chanted an incantation, and cast a cantrip at the Brain Eater that had been knocked to the ground.

Whip-like lightning burst from his fingertips and struck the Brain Eater less than ten feet away without missing.

The psionic fluctuations around the Brain Eater instantly dissipated, while the vacant-eyed Tiefling regained her ability to move.

Snatching up a Hand Axe from the ground, she leaped and brought it down on the distant Brain Eater.

"Splat—"

The transparent shell failed to block the fatal blow. Its body instantly shattered into a puddle of flesh, unable to rise again.

Only after confirming that it was dead did the Tiefling turn to Carl and ask, "Was I controlled by its psionics just now?"

"Yeah. You were stuck in that picking-up posture, like you'd been hit by Hold Person."

"Good thing you reacted fast. The next thing it would've done was replace my brain and take over my body. Luckily, you were quick enough."

Unaware that Carl had nearly been bewitched as well, the Tiefling wiped the sweat from her forehead, her voice hoarse.

"Take whatever weapons and equipment you think you'll need. None of it's great, but it's better than being empty-handed. Oh, right, I'm Hopp, a level-two Barbarian."

Tossing the Hand Axe to the ground, Hopp picked up a piece of Leather Armor and introduced herself while putting it on.

"Karl Ares, level-one Artificer."

After introducing himself as well, Carl watched the young Tiefling girl change clothes right in front of him and found himself unsure where to look.

The Leather Armor she chose was a midriff-baring vest. Judging from its appearance, it offered about as much coverage as the bandeau she was currently wearing.

But she had not chosen it for looks or to save materials. She wanted the Barbarian class ability, Unarmored Defense, to remain effective.

Unarmored Defense did not mean wearing absolutely nothing. As long as the armor did not cover much of the body and did not affect agility, a Barbarian could still retain the bonuses granted by Unarmored Defense while wearing some protective gear.

As he watched her barely fasten the Leather Armor, Carl marveled at how exceptionally developed she was while picking up a suit of armor and putting it on himself.

Although Artificers were also known as mechanical sorcerers or magic engineers, they were spellcasters capable of wearing armor, much like Clerics.

There was even a branch in the Artificer's advanced paths known as the Armorer.

Back then, Carl had chosen to become an Artificer rather than a Wizard not only because his intelligence was somewhat lacking, but also because he wanted to pilot a mech.

Thanks to the Magic Academy's three months of militarized training, Carl put on the armor with considerable ease.

After fastening a Hand Crossbow at his waist, Carl picked up some unidentified fluff, feathers, rotten food, shattered mirror fragments, and a dented bell from the ground, then wrapped them in a small cloth pouch.

Holding the Wrench he used as a spellcasting focus, he nodded at Hopp to signal that they could leave.

An Artificer's spellcasting focus was a tool they were proficient with, and the type of tool varied depending on the individual.

For someone like Carl, he could cast spells using tinker's tools and smith's tools.

Seeing the Hand Crossbow at Carl's waist, Hopp, who had only prepared four Hand Axes for herself, could not help frowning as she asked:

"There aren't any bolts for a Hand Crossbow here. Why are you carrying that thing?"

"After you killed that Brain Eater just now, I also received some spiritual feedback. I should be close to reaching level two. Once I do, I'll be able to turn the Hand Crossbow into a magic item."

Just like in games, people in this world gained spirituality, or experience, after battle. Once they accumulated enough spirituality, they could attempt to level up.

The way spirituality was gained did not place much emphasis on the outcome, but rather provided feedback based on the course of the battle.

So it did not matter who landed the killing blow. What mattered was how much one had contributed during the fight.

Hopp shrugged and took the lead while Carl guarded their rear.

This Mind Flayer lair had clearly taken a great deal of effort to construct. Along the way, Carl and Hopp encountered three more Brain Eaters.

Fortunately, Hopp threw her Hand Axes with both accuracy and force. The moment a Brain Eater sensed them with its psionics, she had already smashed it into mush.

Before long, the two arrived at the exit Hopp had mentioned.

However, the place had suffered a fierce attack. The door Hopp remembered had already been destroyed by artillery fire.

The rocks above had collapsed, blocking the original entrance.

Faint sounds of fighting could still be heard outside.

"Looks like those people still haven't decided the winner. There's a gap over there. I'll go take a look."

Perhaps feeling embarrassed that she had led them into a dead end, Hopp took the initiative to scout ahead.

Using a gap no bigger than a palm, Hopp held her breath and peered outside.

But after only a moment, Hopp sprang away from the gap like a startled rabbit, grabbed Carl, and ran toward the passage on the other side.