Chapter 269: Attack on the Shrine

269 – Attack on the Shrine

I’ve been having a bad feeling for some reason. I’d been getting a strange premonition. But I never thought it would be this bad.

When I arrive at the shrine, the lesser treant is readying for battle, and Aro, who should’ve been hiding as much as possible, has made her appearance.

“VeeEEE!”

Their opponent is an eight-legged monster with a body that seems to specialise in causing discomfort in the viewer, an abyss.

The striped pattern itself has become a trauma for me now. This’ll be the third time I’m encountering one in the shrine. They really are multiplying out of control. Isn’t it even worse that I thought?

I should focus on the problem in front of me. Both Aro and the lesser treant are only D-rank monsters, and their levels aren’t very high. There’s no way they should be able to beat the C-rank abyss. The status difference is just too much. To stop the fight, I dash towards the shrine.

Four clay rabbits surround Aro, the products of her [Clay Doll] skill. They chek for where the abyss will attack from.

Aro stretches out her arm towards the abyss.

“…Se, hou… [Clay]”

A light suddenly shines at the ground by the abyss’ feet, and the earth hardens into a pointed tip, stabbing towards it. An instant later, the abyss starts moving with tremendous speed.

“VeeEEE!”

It runs around Aro. That switftness… It’s got [Speed: 200].

In terms of status, abysses excel in speed. Aro’s only got [Speed: 20] at most. It’s not completely overwhelming, but there’s no way she can match it.

“Guoooooh!”

I howl as I run, but the abyss doesn’t pay me any heed.

Aro follows the abyss with her eyes, but she’s clearly panicking. The clay rabbits protect her and break apart, leaving only their dying screams. In an instant, their life is lost as they return to plain earth.

“Gishaaaah!”

The lesser treant swings a branch…an arm downwards. There’s no way it can catch up to the abyss’ speed. It must be a frantic strike to attract its attention.

Of course, the hit doesn’t land. The result’s worse than just not hitting. The smashed remains of the lesser treant’s arm dance through the air, and the treant itself is forced back as a result of the shock.

The abyss’ mouth is clogged with fragments of wood. It must have bitten into it as a counter. Between its all-too-numerous teeth, I see fragments of wood and the crumbling remains of a clay rabbit.

“…Ve, Veh! Veheh! Veheh!”

The abyss’ movements stop. With a vomiting sound, it spits out the clay rabbit remains.

“GuoOOOH!”

Yes, I’m in range! I flap my wings and fire off two simultaneous [Wind Slashes]. The blades of wind converge on the abyss. It collapses on the spot, becoming a lump of meat.

【105 experience points have been acquired. 】

【Due to the Title Skill [Walking Egg: Lv -], an additional 105 experience points have been acquired. 】

I made it in time. If I was a minute later, Aro, the lesser treant, and the baby araenie might have all ended up in its stomach.

…No, it might not have eaten them. It tried to eat a clay rabbit, but spat it back out. Probably, it mistook them for normal rabbits and attacked. Though it was able to tell they were no good after eating.

It might be animated to look like flesh, but earth is earth. It can’t be eaten. Since the abyss tried to eat it, it might have a bit of a fleshy smell, though.

“Ra…bi…i…i”

Aro limply sits on the ground, gathering together the broken remains of the clay rabbits. A tiny a bit of water falls from her eyes. They’re unmistakably tears.

If it weren’t for the clay rabbits, the abyss would have eaten her right away, probably. They didn’t die in vain. They died to protect their mother who made them.

Though knowing that wouldn’t console her. It’s not like she made them to be meat shields. If she had, she wouldn’t have made them such cute, small animals. Most likely, she made them to distract herself from her loneliness. Since my [Fake Life] skill is like [Clay Doll], I understand her feelings.

…However, at this rate, I can’t afford to take my eyes off this place. There’s no way of knowing when more of them will come. I didn’t realise the abyss’ breeding season would be quite so dreadful.

I ought to properly start raising their levels. In order to protect them, that’s the only option.

So far, Aro’s been a [Wight: F], a [Skull Lowmage: E], and now a [Revaana Mage: D]. At the start, she was so fragile she’d fall apart at a touch, but when she became a [Skull Lowmage], she got better at moving her body and became decently capable at magic. Since becoming a [Revaana Mage], she’s gotten a flesh body as a result of gathering earth together with magic. Her next appearance should look no different than a human.

Plus, from the way this is going, her next evolution will be C-rank. Once her rank is C, she’ll be able to fight abysses on equal footing. If she cooperates with the evolved lesser treant, she should be able to take them out safely.

I don’t know when the baby araenie spiderlings will start showing the effects of [Dragon Scales]. If they ever get the [Cursed] status condition, I’ll need to return them to nature right away. Until then, I should to teach them how to hunt to an extent. Because I picked them up, that’s my duty. Since it seems they can eat abysses without problem, it would be nice if they could grow up to be abyss hunters in the future…

With that decided, should we go hunt some abysses? Well, they’ll show up anyway if we just walk… Abyss hunting is all we can do. I’d prefer to hunt some other monsters though, visually speaking…

Just now, Aro and the lesser treant were fighting that abyss. That should’ve earned them some experience points.

I’ll check each of their statuses.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Name: Aro

Species: Revaana Mage

Condition: Cursed

Lv: 6/30HP: 46/60

MP: 51/63

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Species: Lesser Treant

Condition: Cursed

Lv: 4/25

HP: 21/44

MP: 14/29

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Aro’s level has gone up from 3 to 6. She might have only made a few moves, but she got a lot of experience from fighting the higher-rank abyss. At this rate, once I start trying to raise her level in earnest, getting her to C-rank shouldn’t be too hard.

—-«The Dragon-God’s Shrine»—————————–

【『Ouroboros』：Ａ】Ｌｖ：71/125

【『Revaana Mage』：D】Ｌｖ：6/30

【『Lesser Treant』：Ｄ】Ｌｖ：4/25

【『Baby Araenie』：Ｅ】Ｌｖ：1/12

【『Baby Araenie』：Ｅ】Ｌｖ：1/12

【『Baby Araenie』：Ｅ】Ｌｖ：1/12

【『Baby Araenie』：Ｅ】Ｌｖ：1/12

【『Baby Araenie』：Ｅ】Ｌｖ：1/12

【『Baby Araenie』：Ｅ】Ｌｖ：1/12

【『Baby Araenie』：Ｅ】Ｌｖ：1/12

【『Baby Araenie』：Ｅ】Ｌｖ：1/12