7 - Seventh Episode "Exploration Begins"

A dense, overgrown, deep forest.

The sunlight is blocked by large trees, making it dim even during the daytime.

Occasionally, a ray of light shines through a gap in the leaves and falls down.

It is no longer a forest, but more like a dense jungle.

Unlike the Earth's Amazon, there is hardly any humidity.

(...... Sea of Trees?)

Helian, fed up with the unchanging landscape, continues on his way in silence.

At the beginning of their departure, they tried to send a covert soldier belonging to the 6th Legion - a demon race specializing in stealth called the Invisible Demon - ahead of them as a scout, but the distance between them was too great and the soldiers were too far away from each other. When we left the space between us, we almost lost sight of each other's position.

No doubt, it was due to the disorienting effect of this mysterious forest.

Therefore, we decided to deploy the cloaked soldiers in a very close proximity in a latent state with the cloaking technique activated.

The existence concealment--a technique that completely conceals not only the five senses (sight, hearing, etc.) but also the presence of others--is of a fairly high level of difficulty, and they may not have the strength to engage in battle while the technique is deployed, but this is not a problem at this time.

It would be better to operate them as liaison and information-gathering personnel in case of emergencies.

(By the way, the scenery really hasn't changed.)

I have already been walking for nearly 30 minutes since I went through the big gate into the forest.

However, no matter where we looked, our vision was tinted with a deep green, and we felt as if we were losing our sense of direction.

The group is now moving toward the northeast, where they have observed something that looks like an artifact. However, if Helian had been alone, he would have gone in the wrong direction by now.

The fact that the scenery remains the same means that there are no significant landmarks. It is surprisingly difficult to just walk straight ahead in the absence of any landmarks.

Nevertheless, the group was able to walk straight toward the northeast because of the excellent companions.

"It looks like it's completely untouched by human hands.

"Yes. Yes, but it's strange. I can hardly hear the forest.

Eltina, with waist-length blonde hair, answered Levee's murmur.

Her beautiful golden locks glistened in the scarce sunlight.

Eltina, the leader of the Third Legion, is an Ancient Elf. Her terrain suitability for the forest is extremely high.

She is also an expert in the art of healing, as she is the head of the Third Legion, which is in charge of healing and support in times of war. His wide range of supportive magic skills will be of great help to you in your exploration missions.

On the other hand, Rieve, the Moon Wolf Managarum, also has a good aptitude for forest terrain. He also boasts the highest overall level among the [Archimyra].

"There are very few signs of life. Even birds and insects are almost non-existent. ......

"Yeah, it's crazy. Even with my nose I can't detect the presence of any major organisms."

Rieve and Eltina are right, the group has not seen anyone so far.

Not a person, not even a beast, has been seen so far.

What kind of remote area had they been transported to?

Helian is already eager to go home, but there is no way he can return now. If the king, who had gone to the trouble of gathering honor guards to see him off, were to return after just a short walk in the woods, his dignity and all that would die.

Besides, it is not meaningless that the king himself is risking his life to accompany the investigation.

The player has the ability to improve the status of his subordinates within a proximity of about 50 meters by one level.

Do not be fooled to think that it is only one step. The difference in performance often makes a decisive difference in the strength of a force. In a situation where you do not know what kind of danger is lurking, it is better to deal with the situation by increasing your capability as much as possible.

However, if there is an enemy that can only be defeated by further raising the status of a corps leader who is already powerful, Helian, who is only a human being in terms of physical ability, may die in the aftermath of the battle alone. I will.

It was Helian's honest and sincere feeling that he could not do without thinking positively.

"...... hmm?"

"Herian-sama."

"This is ......."

The three of them shouted at almost the same time.

As they continued walking, there was a distinct change in the air at one point.

Even Hellian could tell.

It had been quite dark earlier, but now the amount of light shining into the forest had clearly increased.

The visibility has improved by only a few meters. It was dramatic.

"Your Majesty, the forest's illusory effect has weakened considerably.

Helian ponders for a moment after receiving Ertina's report.

"...... is this corner out of range of the illusory effect?　Or is this the boundary line and the forest is normal from here on?"

The latter would be appreciated.

I don't want to walk around with my nerves on edge any more without sufficient visibility.

The former is fine.

At least we can catch our breath here.

Walking for 30 minutes was hard for me as an indoor person. And the march in the unpaved jukai (sea of trees) was nerve-wracking for me. The feeling of fatigue is tremendous.

In ...... game [Tactics Chronicle], there was no such thing as player fatigue, and the player could have continued walking forever, but I dare not think about that.

"--, Mr. Helian..."

Rieve turned her face in the wrong direction, as if she had noticed something.

Her nose was twitching. As a wolf-like beastman, she had the ability to detect and track invisible enemies through her sense of smell. It seems that she sensed the presence of something through her sense of smell.

Immediately, Helian calls up the Tactical Window and opens a . The translucent map projected into the air showed the topography of the surrounding area in meters.

Then, in the right direction of the , at a position far to the east of ......, a single light spot was lit.

(The color of the light spot was white. ...... is it a neutral state unit?)

Something that Levee sensed appeared on the as a white light spot, because he "knew" of its existence.

If she had not detected it, this light spot would not appear on the .

When Levee, who is within 50 meters from the player, detected it, it was automatically by the player, and only then was it reflected and visualized on the .

The information that could be visualized was limited, and at first glance, this ability may seem simple and lacking in usefulness, but the positional information alone was sufficient as a power to plan strategies.

The white spot of light moves at high speed.

Moreover, it is moving straight toward me.

I frown. It seems that we are not the only ones who have detected it.

"...... coming?"

"Yes."

Lieve equips a gauntlet on his fist.

Despite its thin appearance, it is a decisive battle-class weapon named "Red Moon Fangs" that displays tremendous single attack power.

The armor is for unobtrusive reconnaissance - even if used in battle, it would still be first-rate armor - but he carries a decisive battle-grade weapon.

Eltina also holds up a golden staff called "Keluneion.

Although its attack power is lower than that of other weapons of the same rank, it has excellent support capabilities, and in particular, it boasts unrivaled performance in amplifying the effects of healing systems.

Rieve specializes in single combat, and Ertina is the best in healing.

I would like to believe that these two can stand up to most opponents, but this is their first contact after being transferred. Tension is rising, whether we like it or not.

"Grrrrrrrrrrr ......!"

It broke through the bushes and appeared. In a word, it was a huge wolf.

More than five meters tall with gray body hair. The large white fangs that protrude from the edges of its mouth are sharp, and its red eyes are shining with a ferocious light. If you were to scale up the wild dogs of the forest that appeared in the classic movies of long ago, they would probably look something like this.

It was a monster that could have swallowed a human being in one gulp.

(This is the first contact?!??).

In games, we have seen many demons of this size. There are even dragons of several tens of meters under their control. There are even giants.

But this one we are looking at now is different in pressure.

The wind carries the scent of a beast's body.

The regular but raspy sound of breathing.

Red eyes with clearly aggressive intent.

The behavior of its paws as it looks for an opportunity to pounce.

The movement of the tail to measure the timing.

These gestures, which had never been seen in the game, strike a sense of danger into the marrow of Helian's brain, accompanied by an overwhelming sense of reality.

The white spots of light turned red.

This is because they have all recognized the wild dog as an adversary.

The red mark indicates the enemy.

The enemy.

An enemy that wants to eat us alive.

The fact makes Helian's knees tremble.

"Ri--"

As if clinging to him, he was about to call out the name of his most trusted subordinate.

A tremendous pressure flew from Herian's side toward the wild dog modoki.

For a moment, the wild boar jumped up on the spot, and then "Kyin, Kyooooooo!" He screamed and turned away. Without looking back, he runs away with his tail between his legs.

He looked like a complete loser. ......

"It's a small fish. I just sent out a killing shot at it, but it seems to have realized that it is an opponent it can't resist."

It is Liewe, the top Blutbad, the "Managarm," who mutters as if nothing is wrong.

It seems that our king's aide has the fighting skills to call that creature a small fish.

...... No, if you think about it calmly, it's not that Rieve, who is the first subordinate that I've raised with care and diligence, is a small fry. --It is only natural that they are stronger than the stray monsters that roam the forest.

It is natural, but it feels strange that an ordinary human-sized leeve is far stronger than that huge beast. Or perhaps it would be more correct to say that it is difficult to imagine a woman defeating a monster.

This may be due to the inexplicable sense of reality that I have suddenly begun to feel.

As Helian wonders if he is still confused, Eltina reacts to something. Her long bamboo ears, which are characteristic of elves, move impatiently.

（Tactical Window: Reopen. Select: Map.

Re-display the with a thought operation.

As a result of from Eltina, two white spots of light were lit at a considerable distance to the northeast of ...... in the upper right corner of the .

Both light spots are moving. About 50 meters behind the light spot that was moving ahead, the light spot behind it was following it. This is .......

"Your Majesty."

There's something to the northeast. Two of them."

"Yes. They seem to be moving together, but not towards us.

"...... one of them ahead of us seems to be being driven away."

Ertina's ears perked up as she muttered.

"What?　What did you hear, Eltina?"

"...... faintly, like a scream."

"--!　We're on our way, hurry!"

I'm going to run.

He ignores the fatigue in his legs.

He hears a scream, which means it's a person.

The light spot ahead of us is a person, the one being chased. I don't know about the one who is chasing me, but there was not much distance between them. We need to hurry.

Within five steps of their start, Levee and Ertina are side by side.

The difference in athletic ability between Helian, a human, and these two demons is obvious, and it is a natural result, but the fact that they have obviously slowed down their pace and are running alongside me makes my pride as a man hurt a little.

（No, this is not the time to think about such a trivial thing!　Hurry up!)

The outline of the light spot fades, and the movement, which was supposed to be displayed smoothly before, becomes choppy. It looks like a car navigation system with poor GPS sensitivity.

This is due to the fact that Eltina's auditory sensing has been degraded by the noise she has been making while running. Maybe it is because of the distance to the bottom of the object, or maybe it is the direction of the wind, but Levee's sense of smell has not yet been detected.

The visibility is still bright, even though we have moved from the previous location. It seems that was the correct guess.

However, it was still dark enough for human eyes.

The footing is poor, and every step you take is likely to result in your feet being caught in the decaying leaves.

The terrain of the jungle is difficult to walk in.

The distance to the object is frustratingly short.

We do not know what we are being chased by, but we are sure that we can communicate with the target because it is a human being. In this uncertain situation, they are a valuable source of information. We can't let them escape, and we can't let them die by whatever is chasing them.

"Ha, ha, ha. ......!　d*mn, that ......!　Lieve!"

Within fifty meters, I was out of breath. This was to be expected, since I had not been doing much exercise on the mountain path, which was not well-positioned.

In the midst of my ragged breathing, I managed to call out Liewe's name and ordered him to go ahead of me...

"Yes, sir!　Your Excellency, excuse me!"

--He was about to give the order, but Levee, who had misunderstood what was happening, held Helian's leg with her right hand and supported his back with her right upper arm.

Her left hand was on his shoulder to keep him off balance.

It is like a variant of a princess's hug.

Moreover, the male and female figures are reversed.

"............"

There were so many things to say, ...... and Helian's pride as a man was almost mortally wounded, but in exchange for the pain, his speed of movement increased dramatically.

Several times faster than before, he could feel the wind pressure as he approached the spot where the light spot was.

In the blurred vision, the movement of the light spot on the became fluent.

I assume that this is because the light spot has entered the detection range of Liewe's sense of smell, or because it is close enough for Eltina's sense of hearing to detect it even when it is moving and making noises.

It is already close enough.

If we cross the small hill in front of us, we will be in sight.

We crossed the hill.

The view opens up.

A figure in the distance.

A beast chasing after it.

They were no more than a few yards apart.

There was not a moment to lose.

Before I could think, the words rushed out of my mouth.

"Eltina!　Stop the pursuing [monster]!"

I used on the spur of the moment.

But the command was conveyed as a sentence.

The response came in the form of magic.

A blade of wind, released without chanting, flew forward.

The magic was exercised with emphasis on speed rather than power.

The blade of wind splits the ground between them, and their pursuers are startled by it and jump backward.

The distance between the two, which was about to become zero, opens up.

Chanting followed.

Thirteen blades of wind were formed again.

They are fired in rapid succession, further opening the distance between the two.

Finally, the one who was being chased came closer to the distance where he could be recognized.

The outline of the figure can be recognized. It is a person. There is no mistaking it. He is wearing a robe over his head, so I cannot make out his face, but he is a small humanoid of average build. They are not dwarves or giants.

He or she has also noticed our presence.

He or she seems startled by the blade of the wind.

And our pursuer is a beast of some sort.

A black, dog-shaped beast. Unlike the wild dog, it is the size of a standard dog.

It looks like a Doberman. However, its eyes were bloodshot, and red vein-like lines were floating here and there on its body. It was clearly a hexenbiest.

Besides, I have never seen this monster before. I don't know how much of a threat it is.

Lieve, put me down!

A hand is released.

Helian's feet touch the ground, obeying gravity.

At the same speed at which he ran, he comes to a stop, his feet scraping the ground by nearly two meters.

I'm glad I was forced to change into sturdy greaves, I think to myself as I feel the soles of my shoes scraping the ground. If I had worn my usual shoes, I might have sprained my ankle.

Leaving his hand, Grieve leaps in front of Hellian and forms a wall.

She seems to have chosen to be her own escort. She does not leave his side. Then Eltina is the only pawn at his disposal. There are other clandestine soldiers, but they are only recorders and emergency contact personnel. They cannot be exposed. Our options are limited.

Think fast.

We don't have time to think. No time to wait and see. We don't know how strong the enemy is. I'd like to think that the dog-demon tribe that pursues us is weaker than the wolf-dog tribe we saw earlier, but in [Tactics Chronicle], strength measured by physique is not so reliable.

For the time being, I give priority to rescue, and let them fire a check spell.

"Eltina!　Check fire with the blade of the wind!　Don't let them get too close!"

"Run, wind, run as a blade - the Wind Edge."

The wind blade was released three times with perfect chanting.

This time, 30 blades of wind flew out, probably because they were able to devote their energy to chanting without moving.

Even though it is a low grade magic that emphasizes rapid fire, it is enough to check the enemy.

With this, we can see the enemy's reaction and take countermeasures...

"............ Huh?"

--I didn't even have to take it.

The dog-shaped monster, which had nowhere to run before the blade of the wind, could not avoid, resist, or withstand it, and was torn apart by the blade of the wind.

The remains of the dozens of dog-shaped demons that have turned into pieces of meat fall to the ground in a trickle.

"......You did it?"

I had been on the alert for a while, considering the possibility of undead, but the dog-shaped monster that had turned into a piece of meat did not seem to move.

It seems that this is really the end of the matter.

I was stunned at how easy it was.

"Or, advanced wind magic ......?　But without a catalyst, no such ......."

An unfamiliar voice.

A voice with just a hint of childishness in its tone.

When I looked at her, I saw a girl who was just as stunned as I was.

The reason for her stunned state was different from my own, but whatever it was, I was stunned.

"It was a woman?

Herian's voice made her shoulders jump and she turned around in a panic. With a snap, the robe pulled over her head comes off, revealing the face of the girl who was being chased by the beast.

Her pale skin. A Western-ish face. Long ears that are the most distinctive feature of her face. Ears shaped like bamboo leaves.

"...... elves, huh?"

They were of the same lineage as Eltina, who was standing by Helian's side.