PAGE 1

“Daniela will use wind magic to launch herself and you two into the air, and then I’ll use Legs of the God Wolf to carry you all over the forest. What do you think?”

“Hmm…you want me to carry Lemon and Rindo?”

“I will be able to pull you all if there’s no weight pulling me down. But I can’t carry all three of you at once.”

“Well, it would save a lot of time. And I’ve experienced the power of Asagi’s skill firsthand.”

 

Manager said with a chuckle. Well, I had been very serious at the time… But I could be even more serious… I think. It was actually scary that I still didn’t know the limits of this skill. But I didn’t have the best imagination, so I often didn’t get anywhere unless there was a barrier to overcome. 

 

“Very well, we will do that tomorrow. So, what about after we get past the forest?”

“I think I might just keep going until we reach the town.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think so. What about you, Daniela?”

“I should be fine. My equipment has enhanced my wind magic capabilities. It is a good thing I won that tournament.”

 

That jade wind dragon cape was crazy… Daniela was already a master at wind magic. And yet now she could use it more efficiently and likely do even more damage. Yes, I would lose to her if we fought. Well, I couldn’t even beat her during the tournament.

 

In any case, we decided on what we’d do the following day. And thanks to that, Daniela and I were allowed to have a good night’s rest, in preparation. Manager and Lemon took turns on the watch. We also had the barrier tools, so it seemed like a good, peaceful sleep was all but promised to us.

 

…There was a time when I believed that.

 

“Asagi! Wake up!”

 

I jumped up as Manager’s frantic voice reached me. I grabbed the demon armor sword and flew out of the tent.

The sky had brightened a little, the dawn was close. I looked down again and then activated Presence Detection. Naturally, my eyes shifted towards the forest.

 

“Sorry. I can’t use Presence Detection as well as you and Daniela. I didn’t notice until it got this close.”

“No, it’s fine. Hell, you should have seen me not too long ago.”

 

Being on the brink of death several times had helped raise my skill level. But Manager seemed to have traveled with much fewer thrills. It was better not to take such risks.

 

What Manager had detected was a high-level monster. It was currently in the forest. While it wasn’t moving in a straight line, it was definitely getting closer to us. The fact that its path seemed to sway from side to side had probably made it harder to detect.

By now, Daniela had also come out of the tent and had her bow ready. Lemon was holding her spear. She was a veteran guard and spear-wielder. It was her chance to show what she was capable of.

I unsheathed my sword. Manager also unsheathed her twin shortswords. During the tournament, she had been using blades made of shadow magic, but these were made of actual metal.

 

“These things? They were from a dungeon.”

“Nice. They were a pair then?”

“Yes. They came out of the same box.”

 

I see. Dungeon treasures were in boxes. The appraisal glasses I had found were also in a box. Though, the Automata was just discarded. That place had been an ancient elven building. I have no idea if it counted as a dungeon or was something else.

In any case; monsters. Judging by what Presence Detection was telling me, it would come out of the forest soon. 

It happened in just a few minutes.

 

“Woah…I’ve never seen a real one before…”

 

I couldn’t help but mutter. I had never seen one, but it looked so familiar.

The thick head and two horns. The bushy hair that grew on its back and the muscular body. The massive arms carrying a double-bladed axe. The bare legs that appeared under the loincloth were also thick.

 

“Minotaur…”

 

The monster breathed heavily as it took in its surroundings.

Next Chapter

---

https://www.patreon.com/tigertransations