CH 129

「Papa? Mama? 」

Tina suddenly cried out aloud, so I whirled around to see where she was.

「Eh? 」

The two of them disappeared while we’re dealing with the Huge Rat. Bathroom? Nah, Butler isn’t here, either.

「They went with Butler to check below. 」

「Below? 」

「Yeah, we’re going up. 」

「Why? 」

I questioned Retze’s replies, and got stepped on.

「…When Papa and Mama turn quiet, it means it’s dangerous. 」

Tina looked like she’s about to cry while holding her sleeve.

「Eh」

What is he planning to do that’s dangerous even for a Gold rank?

「Monsters will attack us if you cry and make a fuss. Bear with it so that they won’t worry. 」

Ash told Tina.

Curt, blunt, scary face. An expression that seemed like she didn’t know what to say. The reason why Retze stepped on me was probably to stop me from spouting unnecessary stuff to the kids.

Tina’s sharp, so she already saw through it.

The Huge Tri-Horn Rat.

They would investigate the surroundings when tri-horns appear.

Monsters were born out of hatred. The spirits that had been wounded after getting their power forcibly stolen from them would harbor hatred against the humans. They would turn black, then they would possess animals.

Black spirits prioritize possession over cannibalism if there is a suitable ‘receptacle’ nearby. That’s the reason why there are many horned —mostly bicorn and below — monsters generated.

Black monsters are usually the result of black spirits becoming stronger after eating each other, or if the black spirit happened to possess a creature that is already strong. Another possibility is the monster itself becoming a more powerful existence.

They don’t become stronger right off the bat after possessing the creature’s body. Not only that, the probability that they could possess a powerful creature was pretty low, considering that the spirit had turned black because it had been deprived of its original power.

Wars rampantly use magic. The spirits wounded in the process become too many that they will resort to cannibalism before they even reach the forest, and this in turn will produce many powerful black spirits, but they almost always end up as bicorns at most, probably because of the distance.

Trii-horns appear when even more spirits get consumed by the nonstop use of large-scale magic spells and the like. There were instances of overpopulation of tri-horns, but since coherence is lacking, it quickly subsides, too.

However, if a monster that had blackened further — the Black Monster — appears, the other monsters also steadily increase, probably attracted to that powerful individual’s existence. Once a certain number of monsters have been reached, they will work themselves into a frenzy, and they will attack people. They won’t stop until either they themselves or that Black Monster dies.

Tri-horns are the prelude to the emergence of that Black Monster. If there’s only one trihorn, then it’s still fine, but if they exist in droves then it’s only natural to suspect that the Black Monster appeared.

Maybe those three had gone down to investigate that. And, they probably kept it a secret from me. Come to think of it, Retze’s lantern is gone. He probably gave it to them.

The tri-horns probably don’t pose any threats to the two gold ranks and that one Butler, but the walls and the dark will probably be a hindrance to them.

Moreover, the spirit hanging around Dinosso uses fire. He won’t be able to create a huge fire without putting the other two at risk, so his movements are limited.

Well, ‘using fire’ is just my own theory, though; maybe his spirit is the type to boost the body.

They also left Dean and the others behind. Is it because they’re confident they can handle it, or because the rest of us will just drag them down? Which is it? They didn’t say anything, so it’s probably the latter, then?

I stood at the edge of the shaft that Dinosso and the others probably used to descend and peered down. The torch illuminated the nearby area, and I could see the wooden planks that acted as scaffoldings to reinforce the wall, but the rest of the place had been swallowed by the darkness. I couldn’t see beyond that.

I extended the range of 【Search】. I could sense a few tiny creatures, the Dinosso trio’s presence, and a huge existence right in front of them.

「Papa…」

「Mama…」

「Don’t worry, Papa and Mama are both strong. 」

Tina comforted the twins who were about to cry, while being on the verge of tears herself.

Yeah, I thought so, kind sisters really do exist in the world.

「Yeah, it’ll be alright. Papa, Mama and Older Brother are all strong. I’ll be back soon. 」

I said that to Tina, before jumping behind her.

「Jean! 」

「You dolt!! 」

I was already standing by the edge of the shaft, so I jumped towards the hole. I heard Ash call my name and someone yelling, but can’t hear the rest because of the wind whistling in my ears.

It’s pretty deep, but I named a tiny wind spirit midjump, and I have it push me up with the wind right before I hit the floor.

I pulled『Zanzenken 』from 【Storage 】strapped it to my waist as I dashed towards where Dinosso’s group were.

I also named the teeny fire and light spirits — probably remnants from either the lantern or from when Dinosso’s fire spirit used its power — while I sprinted

Named them something along the lines of ‘Tunnel 1’, ‘Tunnel 2’. Yeah yeah, just turn a blind eye to my naming prowess, okay.

「Use my mana! 『Light Up』! 」

The area turned bright, but I didn’t stop running.

I can still use magic without naming the spirits around me, but there’s only so much of the fire spirit and light spirit around here. I don’t want to forcibly draw their power.

Ugh, Dinosso’s team will reach the monster herd soon. Oy, did Retze explain the anatomy and kept on bringing up analogies that made the kids happy just to stall for time so that I won’t follow after them?

I’m strong!! Probably!

「What!? 」

「Light? 」

「Jean-sama!? 」

The trio were in the middle of a battle at the end of the narrow tunnel. I charged in the midst of them and defeated the Giant Rat.

「You’re banned from leaving me behind! 」

A relatively huge area had been illuminated because I’ve been naming the tiny things up to the last minute until I arrived. Well, it might also be because I’ve been inwardly hoping that the light will cover as much area as possible even if it’s faint.

「Haha! Yeah, we’re in our element if there’s light. 」

「Goodness, it’s been hard not being able to see underfoot, let alone the enemies. 」

The space was approximately 19m2 with passageways on all four sides, and according to 【Search】, they extended to several room-like spaces.

There’s a hole by my feet, probably the handiwork of an earthworm, but I didn’t sense any other holes anywhere else. This was nothing compared to chasing the black spirits around the forest while slaying monsters.

With speed in mind and my toes pointing forward, I stepped onward with force, cutting the rat down while using『Crush』to get rid of the annoying larvae with the help of the pebble spirits.

「What the heck! So you’re not only strong like normal, you’re really powerful, too!? 」

「Oh dear! 」

「Even though he’s usually riddled with flaws… 」

I slashed my opponent diagonally down it’s shoulder, then continued that stroke to cut the enemy beside in half. More monsters were rushing in from the tunnels even after slaying them.

Come to think of it, the only time I defeated a monster other than the usual one-horned rabbit and the wolf in public was when I slayed the fox in front of Retze, I guess? That had been quite a failure since I ended up getting drenched from the blood that splashed.

Thanks to 【Search】, I can pinpoint where my enemies were, whether they’re behind me or hiding and lurking. I can even tell where Dinosso’s trio are.

It’s the result of endlessly practicing until I could finally grasp whatever info I needed without double-checking the results of 【Search】.

I continued slaying the enemies while positioning myself so I won’t get in the way of the trio’s attack.

Cramped? Nah, the trees in the forest were more cramped than this. Well, I did slashed the trees along with the monsters each time I wielded the sword before — it was quite the disaster for the woods.

Besides, this kind of cramped space is precisely the size of the enemies’ mansion they jump into in historical dramas!