Chapter 135 – Evil Spirits Rampage!
After that, they seemed to encounter Chimeras and Liches every ten minutes. And so in order to protect their two guides, Menew decided to keep Torum and Faris with him.
He would continue to deplete magic energy, but Menew had plenty to spare.
As guides, Marco and Zaha were brilliant, and they carried themselves swiftly through rough terrain. There was no path where they could not keep up, and they could climb quite high without using a rope.
On the other hand, they two were stunned at the fact that Mofusen could follow them in sandals. However, they did not say anything. At this point, they recognized the party as one of abnormal people.
While it did not seem like it, since they were fighting along the way, they were apparently making good progress. As the Tromerai was at the top of the mountain, they would reach it by noon at this pace.
Chimeras and Liches were no match for Menew, but he was starting to feel annoyed. He wanted to burn them all together, but since they were very territorial, it would take more time to lure them all in.
“Menew, is it? How did you come to be able to summon those monsters?”
“Uh… I just subjugated them normally. Apparently, I have a knack for summoning.”
Menew answered Marco plainly as they rested. If he said that he fought a named monster and won, well, people would likely run away. And he wanted to avoid that.
That was why Menew let the summoned beasts fight, instead of doing it himself.
He did not want them to see his skill. Even someone like Sety had been a little disgusted by it.
“Nothing is coming now. Even though we are taking a break like this…”
While it was a good thing, it was strange, just as Zaha said. Of course, Totto was spreading a monster repellent, so there shouldn’t be anything too close by.
“Really? Is this mountain really that dangerous?”
“It wasn’t until recently. Before, you would only encounter a Chimera if you were unlucky…”
“That’s right. We were basically just working as guides as a form of insurance.”
Normally, you only had to be Rank-C to go to Tromerai. And if there were Chimeras, it made sense to have an A-Rank guide.
However, it wasn’t just Chimeras now. It was a whole monster party. Though, one wondered who was actually causing a rampage on the mountain, the Chimeras or Menew and the others…
After they finished resting, Totto scattered potions to lure monsters instead. It was his belief that things should return to their natural state.
He had plenty of monster repellant stocked up. And so he could have been using it the whole time. But that was an unnatural kind of safety. If you did that, it would come back to you in some other way. That was what his mother had said when teaching him the recipe.
Marco and Zaha continued to lead them, and by the time the sun set behind the rocky mountain, they finally arrived at the Tromerai entrance.
Indeed, they probably would have gotten lost on the way if they didn’t have guides.
This was a dormant volcano, with no green plants. If you got lost, then you would likely die from starvation or be eaten by monsters.
“Thank you. Both of you. What will you do now?”
“There is a campsite nearby, inside of a cave. We will wait for you there for ten days. But if you take any longer…then you will just have to descend the mountain by yourselves.”
“Though, I’m not sure if we can use that camp like we always do. Still, we can protect ourselves. Don’t worry.”
Said Zaha and Marco. Totto then looked inside Mr. Wal’s mouth and took out some monster repellant and handed it to them. He gave them enough to last for ten days. And they were of unquestionably high quality. In fact, they could probably sell them for more money than what the guild would pay them for this job.
“Please use these. After all, you don’t know what has happened to the campsite.”
“…How did you…get these?”
“I made them. One bottle should last a full day, so don’t worry. But if you are, try using it before sleeping.”
What must it feel like, acquiring such a thing from a child who you assumed would get in your way? While it was not necessary to show off your power, it was also wrong to not share things when it was necessary.
And like that, the party separated with Marco and Zaga and entered Tromerai.
—
Marco and Zaho went to the campsite, and sat down to mutter to each other. Of course, they used the monster repellent.
“…There is no doubt that Nadar mountain is dangerous now. No doubt about it. But…”
“Don’t say it. …Don’t think about which you think is more frightening.”
A Summoner who continued to summon ridiculously powerful beasts. And the others didn’t even look surprised. And the child Alchemist had given them powerful potions.
Right now, this mountain was a terrible place, where evil was rampant.
In the distance, they could hear the cries of monsters. However, they did not appear to be coming closer.
And so Marco and Zaha decided to not think about the identities of the people they guided that day…
In any case, they just had to do their job. And right now, that was to wait for ten days.
They used the firewood that was stocked up in the campsite and made a fire. It seemed that they would be able to sleep peacefully tonight.