Jack of All Trades, Party of None

“I’m the first one here~!”

Lucre shouted as she dashed toward the shoreline.

“Ah! Big sister Lucre, that’s not fair! I’m coming too!”

Carol started running after Lucre.

When Lucre reached the water’s edge first, she walked further in until the water reached just below her knees, then looked back.

She splashed seawater at Carol, who had entered a bit later.

“Whoa, that’s salty~!” Carol exclaimed, retaliating with a splash.

I hadn’t heard anything about a connection between Carol and Lucre, so today was probably the first time they were interacting properly.

Despite that, their water fight was relentless.

Well, it made sense that they hit it off quickly; their wavelengths seemed to match from the start.

The others were also heading toward the water’s edge, so as I began walking to follow them—

“All right, Orun, first up is a contest.”

Will announced with a mischievous grin.

“A contest? What kind?”

“An open-water swim. There are no other tourists around, so it won’t be a bother.”

I had no experience playing in the ocean—actually, I’d never done any water play, including rivers or lakes.

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t swim.

Not just me, but most explorers should know how to swim.

Some dungeons contain rivers or lakes inside, and if we need materials from there, we have to dive in ourselves.

If by any chance we fall into the water by accident, not being able to swim could mean death, so swimming is essentially a required skill for explorers.

Furthermore, it’s preferable for explorers to be able to swim even wearing their gear.

Even the silver rabbits of the night sky include swimming practice in their training for newcomers.

“That sounds interesting. I’m in for that contest.”

Though I had no experience swimming long distances, I figured I’d be fine.

After all, this was just for fun.

“All right, it’s settled. Anyone else want to join?”

Will called out to the others.

In the end, the three of us—myself, Will, and the ace of the a rank party, Mr. Rex—would compete in the swim.

“So, what are the rules?”

Mr. Rex asked Will to confirm the rules.

“Well…”

Will pondered briefly, then suddenly pointed his right hand toward the sea.

A magic circle appeared in the sky above the sea, and from it fell a thin rod made of rock.

The rocky rod stuck vertically into the water, protruding above the surface.

“How about this: whoever touches the rod first wins?”

The distance to the rod was about a hundred meters.

“No problem.”

“Sounds good to me too.”

“All right, let’s get started then.”

Log took charge of giving the start command as the three of us lined up side by side on the sandy beach.

“Oh, right. Orun, no magic allowed.”

“I know. I wouldn’t stoop to something like that.”

“All right, here we go.”

Just as we were ready, Log raised his right arm and called out.

“Master! Go for it!” “Mr. Orun, do your best...!”

“Will, if you lose, there’s a penalty! Ah, only if you lose though!” “Why only me!?”

“Rex! This is your chance to beat an s-rank explorer! Focus up!”

Everyone playing by the shore gathered to watch.

When we were ready, Log raised his right arm again.

“All right, ready... go!”

At Log’s shout, we all sprinted across the sand, aiming for the rod sticking out in the open sea.

We moved carefully so our feet wouldn’t get stuck in the sand.

Our feet began to touch the seawater, gradually moving from knees to thighs.

At the right moment, we switched to swimming.

It was my first time swimming in seawater, but compared to freshwater like rivers or lakes, I felt a bit more resistance.

Still, it was definitely easier than swimming while wearing clothes, and I could swim to the goal without any problem.

I kicked my legs and used my hands to push the water backward as I swam.

When I took a breath, I checked the positions of Will and Mr. Rex swimming side by side, and it seemed there wasn’t much of a gap between us.

We kept swimming at full speed, and the rod—the goal—came into reach.