Chapter 124 – Hunter of the Forest

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The next day, and the day after that, I wandered through the forest. Fighting monsters by day and hiding away at night.

“Bugo!”

An orc came swinging its stone axe, and I cut off its arm. Something was strange. Even with my slower pace, the cave had not been this far away. And yet I was still not able to get out of the forest.

“Bugaa!”

The second one charged from behind, and I unleashed a horizontal slash at its eyes. There should be a change soon, but all I saw was a small river. I considered following the river, but decided to prioritize direction instead.

“Gugaga…”

From between two orcs, an especially large one appeared. It was wielding a wooden club that was practically a tree trunk. Being hit by that would not be fun. Especially with this leg.

I had encountered the three orcs after crossing the shallow river. As for the large orc, it was likely their leader. They were stronger and tougher. And while I was used to fighting them, dealing with this particular weapon could be troublesome.

It swung the club…or log, from above while shouting. I managed to dodge it by jumping away on one leg. It was full of openings, but the log had such a long reach that I couldn’t get close to it.
Thankfully, this also meant it could not swing wide while in the forest. Orcs really did not think.

But mocking it didn’t change the fact that I couldn’t get close. The log swung from below, and I jumped back again.

As my prosthetic leg was broken, I had bound a wooden stick to the stump instead. It was strong enough for me to keep my balance while standing. But not strong enough to support my entire weight, and so I couldn’t walk. Still, it was better than nothing.

“Gugaa!”

The log swung down again, and I tried to jump away. But when landing, my foot slipped and I fell to the ground. Then I rolled to the side, dodging the log by a hair’s breadth. The ground shook under the impact. It was horrifying power.
The orc seemed to think that this was its chance, and it quickly raised the log for a followup attack. I rose up to my knees and held my sword in front of me.

At this point, I should just jump forward, even if it meant getting hit.

While burying my knee into the ground, I waited for the right time when the log was just about to come down. Then it happened. Out of nowhere, an arrow shot out and pierced the orc’s right arm.

“Guga!”

Shocked and in pain, the orc leader let go of the log. I didn’t know what was happening, but this was my chance!

“Hyah!”

I sprung forward on my knee and slashed horizontally with my sword. Mine Breaker was fully charged, and it severed the orc’s hand and slashed open its throat.

Then I plummeted to the ground, and rolled onto my back as the orc’s blood sprayed over me.

When I sat up again, I saw that the orcs had run away, except for the one that had its eyes slashed.

I got up and approached it. It heard me, and started to swing its club wildly.

“Rest in peace.”

I pierced its neck with my sword. Its hand touched the blade, and then it fell to the ground and stopped moving.

“Was I intruding?”

I pulled out my sword and turned around. An elf was standing there with a bow. He had brown hair that went to his shoulders. He had sharp features and was quite muscular.

“No, you saved me. Thank you.”

The elf looked surprised when I thanked him.

“You can understand our tongue, human.”

Why did you talk to me if you didn’t think I would understand? I wondered, but it was still a lucky encounter for me. Perhaps he could help me get out of this forest.

“I learned from an elf called Mezerir in Nanaze village. I work as an Adventurer there. My name’s Ajifu”

“Oh! I’ve heard of Adventurers before. Indeed, your skills with the sword were rather impressive. I am Nent, a forest hunter. So, Ajifu. What brings you to this forest?”

If Nent was a hunter here, then he would know a lot about this forest. This was his hunting ground, after all.

“I was investigating a certain cave, when I came out here. And I am having trouble returning to my village. Would you be so good as to show me the way?”

“Hmm? Why not just return through the cave?”

“There is an earth dragon in the cave. I barely made it out alive. I don’t even want to think about going back.”

“So it’s nesting in a cave… And did the earth dragon take your leg?”

Apparently, Nent knew about the dragon. Well, it would draw a lot of attention when it was out in the forest. So it was no surprise that a hunter would know about it.

“No, this is an old injury. But the dragon destroyed my prosthetic leg. It’s making it very hard for me to walk around.”

“I’m surprised you were able to survive for this long like that.”

The hunter said with an exasperated expression.

“Aye, there are so many monsters. And you hunt in this place.”

“Because I am a hunter of monsters. If anything, their plentiful numbers are a good thing for me.”

“Just monsters? Isn’t that Adventurer work?”

“Well, there are no Adventurers in Amernisus. And so it’s a hunter’s job to hunt monsters for materials.”

Huh. So there was no Adventurers Guild there. But monster materials and magic stones were processed into all kinds of useful things. So someone had to do that work if there were no Adventurers.

…Wait. Amernisus?

“Uh, am I in Amernisus?”

“You did say that you came out of a cave. This is the outside of the lost forest. There are fewer monsters inside, so I come out here to hunt.”

Indeed, if the earth dragon appeared inside, they would not ignore it.

“That’s good to hear. Could you tell me how to reach Nanaze village or some other human settlement? Or if you could take me there… I will pay you, of course.”

“Sorry, but I don’t know anything about the human settlements. We never go to such places.”

“Oh… I see…”

Even if Amernisus was closed off, they had hunters coming all the way out here. But he still did not know. That hope was now gone. I was still in a dangerous situation. Even if he couldn’t give me directions, I did not want to separate just yet.

“Hmm… Perhaps you have a friend who does know?”

“The defense guardians probably know. Should I take you to them?”

“You would do that?”

“I did not want to get involved with you at first, but I’d rather not have you wandering aimlessly in my hunting ground either. And so I might as well help you.”

“Uh, sorry for the trouble.”

I said, and then he suddenly looked apologetic.

“Actually, there are spells cast around the forest that affect your sense of direction. That is why you got lost.”

Damn it. I had been so sure that I was going in the right direction. But it was a trap all along.

“But I didn’t see any rivers yesterday.”

“Ajifu…was it? You thought you were going south, yes? But you were slowly going to the west.”

Ughh… He had observed that much. Apparently, he had his eyes on me for quite a while.
I had been careful to detect any presence around me, but missed him completely.

“So it is no wonder that you got lost. However, the guardians will surely have many questions for you. So you best be prepared to answer them.”

I suppose they were like the town guards. I was a strange man wandering through the forest, so I could not complain about being questioned.

“I will gladly do it if it will get me out of this forest. While it must be troublesome for you, thank you for your help.”

“Ah, I have my reasons. Think nothing of it.”

Nent waved his hand dismissively. He did not seem to mind. I thought that he was not a bad person. Though, we had just met, so I could not be sure.

We then carved up the orcs on the ground and put the materials into Nent’s bag.

“Alright, let’s go then.”

When we were done, Nent led me towards Amernisus. I had meant to go with Mezerir, but things had gone in such an unexpected direction. And I was now just going with the flow. It had now been several days, and I was still not able to send word to the village.

(They must be so angry.)

I was sure of it.

Next Chapter

Ossan Boukensha no Jimichi na Isekai Tabi