Chapter 121: Rashan Village.

Chapter 121: Rashan Village.

To the inhabitants of Rashan Village in the Teullon Barony, monster attacks werent a common occurrence, but neither was it rare for a daring carnivore to sneak into the village and snatch away a chocochuckle or a gheeper. For that reason, the guards and soldiers patrolling around the village were used to fighting monsters. Although not as experienced or proficient as veteran adventurers, they were more proficient than daring and reckless newbies.

The guardsmen of Rashan Village were a fair bit stronger than those of Carine Village. It wasnt due to a difference in training or equipment, but due to the environment that the Rashan guards were living in. The Belzac Forest, a famous monster-infested area, wasnt far away. It wouldnt be ridiculous to assume that a D rank monster could potentially migrate out and attack the village, so the soldiers were trained to thwart these attacks.

While the soldiers of the Teullon Barony could fight back against a single D rank monster, they would likely suffer numerous casualties in the process of taking it down. So, it wasnt surprising for the village chief to plead to the Teullon Baronys seneschal to commission a Quest to the hunters guild when the number and strength of monsters appearing around the village increased.

Usually, this wouldnt be too much of a problem for a nobles soldiers to take care of, but the problem lay with the fact that these strong monsters were spawning near the village, rather than wandering into the Barony after being spawned or (like Rajah) born in the Belzac forest. Planting macula plants to drain the area of mana was an option, but the source of the abnormal ambient mana in the area was somewhere within the old ruins close to the village, predating the founding of the Kingdom of Leosfalt, let alone the Kingdom of Artorias.

With his lord in the capital of the kingdom and threat of D rank monsters roaming around the area, the seneschal had no choice but to accept the village chiefs wish and commission a quest to the hunters guild. Little could he have known that the threat was even greater than the village chief had claimed. The first group that came was made up of ten D rank adventurers.

They arrived one evening and camped outside the village walls. The next morning, they spoke to the village chief and headed toward the ruins, never to be heard from them again. Once it became clear that the adventurers werent coming back, the quest was upgraded to C rank, along with the reward. The village chief was informed that the quest had been accepted again, but he knew it would be too late for the next party of adventurers to arrive. It was winter, after all.

The enemy came after dawn. It was silent, without warning.

Ruarrrrrrgh!

Krrrrriierkta!

The sound of a bell ringing from a watchtower was loud enough to wake up anybody still groggy from last nights ale. Guards shouted to fortify the village gates, while peasant men gathered whatever weapons they could find to join the militia. Everybody had to hold on until the soldiers from the castle arrived.

Despite the villagers efforts to quickly arm themselves and join the guards, the monsters hopelessly outclassed them. The wooden spiked walls were high enough to block most of the monsters paths into the village, but not all of them. Loopriszars, stained with black ooze and open wounds on their bodies, easily jumped over the walls and began their assault. Although it looked like they should be dead, these D rank monsters were still nimble as always, easily fending off serfs who had only the strength of G or F rank adventurers.

The situation at the front gate wasnt much better. Humans with decaying faces and sticky black slime holding their falling bones and rotting flesh together began to attack the guards, assisted by weak, coarse-looking monsters. Despite being weaker than the loopriszars, this large group of monstrous beings broke through the gates and slowly invaded the village.

With guards having to protect the villagers from loopriszars on one end and defend the village from a frightening wave of monsters at the other end, it honestly looked like the village wouldnt survive until the soldiers arrived.

Fu-Fuck you! Simon, get your family out of here! Sh-Kuarrgh!

Damnit, Glenn, no!

It was futile. The difference between taking on a D rank monster with a group of guards or soldiers and taking on one with two or three guards was massive. Bravery alone couldnt stop these death bunnies.

Shit, shit, shit! N-No, stay back you damn monster, stay back!

The end of this village was quickly approaching.

Shadow Pierce.

W-Wha?!

Before the loopriszar attacked, a woman with a fluffy wolf tail jumped out of a shadow, her two daggers coated in a shadow-like substance. The loopriszar turned its head towards the woman but its reaction was too late against her speed. A dagger precisely struck the back of the rabbits head while the woman held her other dagger at its throat. With one swift motion, the loopriszars head flew up in the air.

Aim for the headHopefully Hestias tip works. I never was a fan of horror movies. The woman flicked the blood off her daggers and turned towards the villagers. A chill ran down their spines as they looked at the red mist coming from the womans eyes. My name is Saori, a hunter. My companions and I are here to help, so please get to safety as we clean this problem up.

Saori didnt let the villagers respond. She glanced at the dead bodies of the guards for a moment and frowned, before diving back into a shadow. No loopriszar escaped her claws.

Meanwhile, floating ice spears began killing off any monster who came too close, defending the villagers. A girl in a maids outfit moved through the village like a swift breeze, creating ice shields and spears to heed her orders to drive back the scourge of the village.

Loud music could be heard booming in front of the gate, attracting the attention of numerous decaying humans like the taunt ability.

Let me sing you a requiem, Mr. Zombie

Holy spells and fiery explosions quickly sent the moaning zombies back into their graves. The girl singing the song was smiling and dancing joyfully in startling contrast to both the flurry of powerful spells she was slinging and the dire moods of the guards who'd watched their companions die one by one in the monster attack. Whether out of gratitude or shock, they didnt complain.

A large circle of holy light appeared around the gate, enveloping every single guard. It healed those with minor injuries while bringing back anybody at deaths door. It was a miracle, the white grace! Some might question why the girl was singing and dancing on the battlefield but everybody understood why she was here. Her white and red robe fluttered through the air and an amulet of the Goddess of Light hung from her neck.

The Goddess! We are saved!

With the timely arrival of a trio of heroines, the village survived the attack.

**********************

Proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Mental Stability Lv. 7][Benevolent Aura Lv. 3] gained

Thank you, thank you for saving us! We cannot express our gratitude enough, Lady Priestess. We cannot repay this debt, oh, not even constant prayer to the Goddess will be enough! May the Goddess bless your kind souls!

Praise the Goddess! Praise the adventurers!

Merriment after nearly dying, huh? Well, I guess I would celebrate too before looking at the aftermath.

We werent able to save everybody. A couple of guards and a few villagers were killed before we arrived, but I guess the casualties wouldve been worse if we hadnt. Saori made sure to stress to me that this was the best we could have done for them, and I had to accept it. Im not a hero and I shouldnt blame myself for something outside of my control.

Thoughit still stings to see those I couldnt help.

Saori and Tasianna are receiving their fair share of thanks, too. They were more active within the village and protected the villagers personally, after all. Hehe, Tasianna seems so uncomfortable.

Please, dont worry about repaying us. We only did what was right, I told the village chief, to calm him down before he began genuflecting. He was an elderly man; I didnt want him to strain his knees. We came from the hunters guild and accepted your Quest to investigate the ruins. If its possible, could I ask you a few questions?

Oooh, thank you, thank you so very much for accepting the Quest. I am so glad that the guild has sent very capable young ladies to help us. Of course, Ill answer everything you need to complete the Quest. Our villages survival depends on it.

Gathering information on the situation was important right now, and I wouldnt be able to find a better source than the village chief. As Silva was resting in the forest, I also had to ask questions Silva would probably want to know, as the probability this attack coincided with her faemancer duties was significant. We were currently in a party, so I knew she was safe as neither her Health nor Mana was lowered in any way. Now that I think about it, I probably shouldve turned her experience share to 0% so my party couldve hoarded all the experience. Unfortunately, the experience share range was huge, meaning none of us managed to gain a level from this.

First question, the zomb-monsters in front of the gate, have you seen them before? I mean, they obviously look like humans, and some of them were even beastmen. The village chief found it hard to answer my question, so he called over the captain of the guard. The guard captain seemed pretty friendly when he introduced himself to me, showing obvious gratitude for my partys timely arrival. He suggested to the chief and me that we go to the gate and inspect them together. I had Saori and Tasianna follow me to make the inspection go faster.

Maybe I shouldnt have scorched them with fire and holy spells

Rest in peaceWell make sure to finish the Quest in your place.

There was the option of taking his body with my [Storage Magic], but what good would that do?

Hey, let me just take this guys body and stuff it into my magical pocket dimension? Nothing suspicious here. Hey, Melia, I brought the dead guys body. Hes dead, unfortunately. Yo, thats morbid and creepy as hell! There is no reason for me to do it.

Anyway, we also learned that the villagers and the soldiers already knew about the high mana concentration in the ground due to the macula plants. They attempted to get rid of it when they noticed monsters spawning around the village, but everytime they would drain the ground dry of mana, it would return a few days later. Eventually, the villagers simply kept the area around the village safe while leaving the woods a breeding ground for monsters. They werent getting paid, as the lord took all the macula plants, so they ended up relying on the hunters guild.

Most of the villagers and soldiers were tired so it was up to us to temporary cleanse the area. As Saori would say, Its money so our party took out bags of macula plant seeds and planted them in the ground to harvest their fully grown versions, all while we were still stuck talking with the chief and captains.

Hey, Saori was right. We need money. Give us some slack.

Ahem, the ruins are a bit north from here. They are quite close to Belzac Forest, but a canyon divides us from it. Most of the sightings of D rank monsters came from the vicinity of the ruins, but they werent too feral, so we thought reinforcing the villages garrison was enough, Captain Zik answered. Although it isnt certain, we believe our problems began when monsters began appearing around the ruins. Thats when we received reports that the macula plants planted by the villagers began to grow at a fast rate.

You still plant the seeds, even in winter? Saori asked.

Instead of the captain, the chief responded, Yes, as we are practically at the frontier, the villagers know the importance of controlling the mana in the ground. Although we cannot farm, we still make sure that the mana leaking from the Belzac Forest doesnt cause sudden monster spawning. Lord Baron Teullon promised us we could earn winter rations if we delivered the macula water to him.

And where is Lord Baron Teullon now? I was the one to ask. Ellaine already taught me that commoners address nobles with lord and then their noble ranks. There was no need to complicate my relationship with the village chief and the captains, right now. For now, Im just a normal adventurer.

He, like most nobles, has traveled to the capital and is staying there at his winter residence with his family. Although he wasnt present when we first commissioned the Quest, so the Lord Baron probably only knows whatever our seneschal has told him through letters, the Captain answered.

He probably went to the capital for the God Thanking Festival, so the sightings must have been happening for at least a month. Yesterday was the 25th, so I was ten months old now, so its possible the sightings may have been happening for two months. Melia didnt exactly specify when the Quest was commissioned.

We thanked the chief and captain for their time and told them we would be heading for the ruins. It wasnt lunchtime yet, so we still had a lot of time to investigate. After moving away from the vicinity of the village, Silva appeared before us.

Lady Hestia, I saw you picking up one of those black slimes, yes? Please, hand it over to me! Elves belong in the woods. Like an expert, Silva continuously observed us from afar while staying hidden from the soldiers detection.

I handed her the slime, which was still inside the air shield, and she bit her lips. This This is an onnikai. No, the fae is surrounding itself in this black goo to protect itself. I can hear it mumbling, Go away, monster, monster. Give me mana. Her usually rosy face turned pale as she stared at it. It was a look of horror.

Tasianna, you did not know? Saori asked.

I may be a faefolk, Miss Saori, but that doesnt give me the ability to speak with another fae. Can a wolfkin speak with other wolves? I can detect them, though, like the spirits on Lady Hestias tail or back. However, Ive never seen an onnikai before, so Im sorry for not saying anything, Tasianna apologized. She realized that spirits have been following us, but she didnt expect to meet Silva, so she hadnt mentioned it. They were harmless to us.

I-I cant speak with them. They dont want to speak with me, Silva said, trembling. The onnikais I met before were similar to black or red mists floating around and causing problems. Ive never seen one creating this oozeor that was this hateful. It wants our mana for some reason.

So, are you telling me these onnikais were possessing the bodies of those dead loopriszars and people? I asked.

Y-Yes. They acted similar to undead, possessing the corpse like a necromancers mana. While a naturally born or necromancer controlled undead is held together by mana or other ritualistic methods, these onnikais controlled the bodies of the dead with this black ooze or using their own mana. I am not sure about the last part, Silva answered with a grim expression. If I could investigate the bodies, I could give a more satisfying answer, but I saw the oozes remove themselves from the bodies. I believe they were scared of you, Lady Hestia. I think this little one here is scared of your white flames holy element.

Shes astute. She noticed my white flames immediately.

Hmm, this means our main problems with the Quest are the onnikais, Saori stated. Miss Silva, can we rely on your help? I believe the help of an expert is now paramount.

Of course, Miss Saori. This is my duty and I will aid you as much as possible. Please, let me give this poor fae its well-earned rest

She released Igniculus from his cage and asked me to dispel the air shield. Once it was gone, the light elemental rotated around the black slime, preventing it from moving. Meanwhile, Silva shook her wooden staff and chanted something in Elvish, or Andurenian as its called here, like its a ritual. Mana began to channel in her staff and once she was done, she lightly tapped the black slime.

The energy spread through the slime, removing it until a small black mist-like creature was revealed. It convulsed for a moment before it turned to white and disappeared.

Thank you. Please, free the others, it said. By my faith in the Wind Mother, I swear to you that I will free everybody. Sister Tasianna, it also has a message for you, Silva looked at Tasianna and repeated the words of the fae. Dont let anger consume you, it said.

A single tear fell from Tasiannas eyes. She trembled for a second and recovered herself with a deep breath. Lady Hestia. Miss Saori. Please, I beg you. Please, help me free them.

Naturally.

Of course, you dont even need to ask!

With everybody committed to the course, we traveled to the ruins, cutting down any monster foolish enough to approach us. We didnt earn any levels from them, despite how numerous they were, but they were plentiful in meat. Aside from the reward money, this Quest has been a jackpot for our meat rations.

We eventually arrived at the ruins. To Saoris disappointment, the ruins were pretty simple with only a few broken buildings that were now covered in moss and other plants. At the far end of the ruins stood an entrance to a staircase leading underground. A chill ran down my spine as we approached it.

Okay, one last check on our resources. Lady Hestia, please bring out our potions. In an effort to prepare ourselves properly, Saori bought some potions for us to use. From what I heard, the health potions werent too pricey but the mana potions were quite expensive.

For 100 Davi, we could buy one minor health potion, while 1500 Davi would get us a minor mana potion. Naturally, as we were three mages, our party needed Mana potions more. I was also a healer, so health potions werent our priority. However, Saori still bought a cautious amount due to my weakness. I couldnt properly use all my powers while underground.

The biggest advantage of being a sunfang dragon was my ability to regenerate my Health, Mana, and Stamina at an insane rate while the sun was shining on me. My sun core could transform solar energy into energy and nutrients, meaning I was practically an immovable tank and resourceless mage. It was certainly overpowered.

However, it was also a double-edged sword. Sunfang dragons became hungry quickly and the resources I had to use for my draconic abilities like [Draconic Barrier] and my scale-dust was crippling. There was also the skill [Gluttonous]. If I could keep my Stamina at 100% all the time, the skill was an amazing buff that drastically increased my stats, but if it suddenly fell to 0% or if I received the [Starvation (Minor)] status affliction, a terrible debuff would affect me.

I was still strong even considering these problems, but I wasnt overpowered anymore. I am a conditional powerhouse. I also had to be careful to not use too many explosions, otherwise, I might cause a cave-in.

For this reason, I hated caves. Thankfully, I still have my holy spells. With the addition of multiplier skills like [Venerated Saintess] and [Idol], my amulet of Aurena that possesses [Holy Amp], my holy spells were actually on-par with my fire attacks now. My [Solar Core] unique skill also strengthened my holy spells but only if the sun was shining on me or my sun core was at 100% solar energy.

I was also confident in my terra, storm, and lightning spells, so I should be able to contribute a lot. For that reason, Saori brought mana potions.

I bought five minor mana potions and two moderate health potions, just in case. The mana potions wont regenerate a lot, but it would be sufficient in an emergency. Tasianna, you take three. Lady Hestia and I will take one mana and health potion each, Saori concluded.

As a fairy, Tasiannas mana was her Health Bar. Her need for mana potions was more important. I wanted to question why Saori bought moderate health potions, which cost 2500 Davi each, but I stayed silent. Id spent enough time with her and I know how finicky she was with money. Regardless, her cautiousness for our safety overpowered it. She was simply concerned for us, even if it meant spending a large amount of money.

To be more specific, we had 20,067 Davi before the potions. Now, we had 7567. I hate to admit this but, on Earth, I had my Papas credit card to pay for most of my expenses, so I never had an issue with money. Now, looking at our low funds was making me nervous.

I have two minor health potions and four minor mana potions, in addition to a minor agility elixir, Silva answered.

We nodded to each other and composed ourselves. Silva let Igniculus out of his cage once again and began guiding us as we descended into the abyss of this ruin. The tiny light elemental was our only light source. Whatever lies beneath all these problems, I sure hope it wont be too problematic.