[Author’s Note] Thanks for the support and comments! 104th chapter
35. Magical Beasts and Humans 103 – Magical Beasts and Humans #1
— Let’s ride that cart over there!
I dashed towards the cart. I tossed the hesitating Leaf into the cargo area and made a beeline for the driver’s seat.
“Aaaah! What the heck is this thing?!”
The Hunter sitting in the driver’s seat saw me and reached for the dagger strapped to his belt.
I swung my front paw faster than he could draw his weapon, landing a good smack on his face. The Hunter tumbled off the cart and hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.
“Gaaah! My face! I think my nose is broken!”
“We’ve lost the cart!”
“Crazed beast stole our cart!? Get it back, now!”
The Hunters caught wind of me and Leaf with the sound of their screaming.
In a panic, I grabbed the leather straps attached to the mouths of the two horses.
‘Is this how you steer?’
I had zero experience controlling a cart, considering I’d just learned to drive a regular car, but standing still and waiting to be caught by the humans or that monkey-like Suka was not an option.
— Run, you fools!
I yelled at the horses while mercilessly swatting at their backsides with my tail. With a crack of the whip, the horses squealed and started moving.
‘Since it’s a two-horse cart, it should be faster than me. I can even carry Leaf, who complained about his feet hurting!’
I turned around on the slowly accelerating cart.
Humans were frantically running after us, and beyond them, I spotted a mythical creature dashing towards us with gleaming golden eyes.
Suka was kicking the ground and charging at a blistering speed. If I stayed still, it wouldn’t be long before I’d be caught.
— D-Does that red-headed one look like it’s chasing us?!
Leaf shouted in panic as he turned around. I frowned at the cart’s speed, which seemed to increase slower than I expected.
‘Is it because of the heavy cargo?’
The cart was piled high with stuff the Hunters had piled up—fox and wolf carcasses and various heavy goods that were clearly dragging down the cart’s agility.
— Drop the cargo, Leaf! We need to lighten the cart!
— Got it!
Leaf nodded at my command and began to grunt and shove things out of the cart’s cargo area.
“Ugh!”
The humans chasing behind us were tripped up by the items Leaf threw out. Seemingly gaining momentum, Leaf tosses everything out of the cart with gusto.
“Oh no! Our loot!”
“Pick it up…! We can’t afford to escape empty-handed!”
The horses neighed, and I felt the cart speed up after we dropped some weight.
But with reduced weight came instability; every bump the cart hit made it wobble precariously, as if it would topple over any second.
— You’re going too fast…!
Leaf was yelling behind me. I couldn’t spare a thought for him; I was too busy holding onto the reins.
— Just grab anything you can hold on to! We keep running like this!
I pulled hard on the reins and kicked the horses to go faster.
Pulling left turned the cart left; pulling right turned it right, so driving it was easier than I thought.
‘Who knew my basic driver’s license would come in handy? Just keep going straight down this wide road!’
I raced down the main road without a map. A navigation system would have been nice, but I had to rely on my instincts.
【Achievement ‘Sentinel’s Run’ Completed.】
【Rewarded with Skill ‘Riding.’】
Words appeared before my eyes and quickly vanished. Thanks to the new Riding skill, controlling direction and speed felt much smoother.
‘Alright, the energy of the entire universe is guiding me towards dawn!’
In the direction I was heading, I could see a radiant light rising over what looked like a hill or a small mountain on the horizon.
In just one night, I had experienced so much that the bright light felt like a glimmer of hope.
I opened my mouth wide to feel the wind against my face. With a huge grin, the breeze made my mouth feel dry as a desert.
But I couldn’t stop smiling.
Escaping was one of the most basic defense mechanisms of humans. I actually felt pleasure in running away from my enormous problem.
‘I should have done this sooner. I should have escaped that hellish forest ages ago.’
I couldn’t tell how long I’d been running towards the rising light.
Through the thick blue clouds, the bright light grew closer, revealing a wide copse of trees gradually ending.
I hadn’t been told, nor could verify with any map, but instinctively, I knew this was the edge of The Ancient Nest.
【What, trying to flee with the skinny horseman? You magical beasts all seem to want to get out of here.】
In that instant, something flew from the sky and lodged itself in the cart’s wheel.
Screeeech!
The horses screamed, tumbling onto the ground. My body shot up into the air like a cannonball.
Shattered pieces of the cart flew around, and I saw Leaf, with a branch lodged in his shoulder, screaming, as if everything was in slow motion.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘I’ve been ignoring it until now, but this really is a lousy world.’
I used my tail to spin in midair, landing gracefully on the ground.
I glanced around at the chaos, at the pieces of the cart flying about, and at the horses and Leaf, who were suffering on the ground.
【Nothing from this forest can escape—no blade of grass or pebble. The same goes for you!】
With a leap like a gymnast, Suka, with his fiery red hair, blocked the exit of the forest.
His shadow, cast by the morning sun, loomed over me.
— Gaaaah…
Yingyi, who had been clinging to my neck like a scarf, squeaked nervously and began to burrow behind me, clearly frightened of Suka.
【Hah, I had no choice in the lineup today, but a magical beast shows up? Lucky me! I’ll eat you up before the others show up.】
With Suka’s shadow cloaking him, I could see his crescent-shaped white teeth gleaming. The breath he exhaled looked like icy mist.
My fur stood on end.
An epic mythical creature that would give even Ilgast and Eve a run for their money was now blocking my path and eyeing my life.
— Ah, it hurts…
On the ground was Leaf, with a sharp branch sticking into his shoulder, hugging his wounds and tearing up. It didn’t seem like he was mortally wounded, but he was definitely badly hurt.
‘He doesn’t level up, so his recovery is slow.’
Seeing the raccoon Leaf, who I had suffered along with for the past few tens of days, badly injured made me incredibly upset.
Though I didn’t voice it, that raccoon was like a clueless little sister I met in this world.
I could handle hitting and teasing him, but I absolutely couldn’t stand anyone else hurting him.
I clenched my teeth. Brandishing my claws and bristling my fur, I noticed Suka’s eyes widen slightly in surprise.
【You aren’t planning on running? You want to take me on? Well, I’m all for it. Beasts are best enjoyed when you beat them!】
Suka cracked his joints, relaxing his shoulders and neck with a series of clicks.
I pounced towards him. Soaring into the air, I swung my claws, but Suka nimbly backflipped like an acrobat.
【Whoa, you’re quicker than I thought!】
As he flipped, his tail swung towards me. I twisted my body in the air, barely dodging the tail strike.
My fur brushed against Suka’s long tail like being cut by a razor, scattering everywhere.
I landed, feeling bl**d trickle from my cheek.
‘This one’s definitely strong.’
In terms of speed, strength, and reach with that long tail, he was on a whole other level.
【Have you evolved three times? Four? I still smell like milk on you. How did you get this far?】
One good thing was that he vastly underestimated me. Being small and a recently born infant was a disadvantage, but it also worked to my advantage.
Had Suka been serious about fighting me, it would have been a real struggle.
Like boxers wouldn’t put their all into fighting a child, Suka seemed to regard me as just a baby—nothing to worry about.
‘His overconfidence is my greatest asset.’
I racked my brain, determined to survive.
Even though this world truly sucked, I needed to cling to life.
I inhaled deeply, then held my breath. Every hair on my body settled, and the air around me grew heavy like I had submerged underwater.
【You’re hiding your appearance!? Did you eat the rare snow flower or something!? You got pretty big off that rare herb! So are you under the forest’s owner?】
Sensing my concealment, Suka exclaimed joyfully. Suddenly, golden flames ignited in his crimson eyes.
【But that won’t mean much to me. How unfortunate for you today, it happened to be my turn!】
Suka’s gaze followed me, hidden by my concealment. He clearly had a keen sense to detect stealth or presence.
‘So it’s not going to work, huh.’
I released the breath I was holding and readied myself. Suka crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow as if daring me.
【Do you have no other tricks?】
— Just you wait, I’ll show you soon…!
I kicked up some dirt with my front paw. Suka, seemingly too casual about it, stood there, letting the dust and gravel shower over him.
【Pretty clever. But you won’t k*ll me with mud.】
I charged forward, determined to land a hit on his overly relaxed face.
Tensing the muscles in my hind legs, I sprung forward like a coiled spring.
My body shot out like an arrow. My extended claw was aimed at his face, ready to rake across it.
— Now, Leaf!
【That kind of attack is too predictable…Ugh!】
Suka’s head jerked back.
An arrow that sliced through the air from somewhere struck him right in the left eye, faster than my claw could reach.
Seizing the moment Suka staggered, I sprang forward and raked my claws down his forehead to chin, leaving a nasty-looking wound.
Suka screamed while clutching his face, with the arrow lodged in his eye.
【Gaaah! Those lowly pests…! My, my eye…! My eye!】
— Well, maybe if you didn’t underestimate me, you would know fear.
I swung my tail with a might against the frantically clutching Suka. His body twisted awkwardly as he was hit.
【Gah!】
Suka couldn’t withstand claws sharper than a blade and a tail strong enough to break trees, even if he were a mythical creature.
Of course, my attack landed thanks to the arrow.
The pitiful raccoon’s shot, which had been overlooked, created a miraculous wound on Suka’s left eye, making everything seem to suddenly turn in our favor.
‘See, I knew you could do it! I’m glad we made wooden arrows!’
Leaf, still trembling with a branch stuck in his shoulder, was loading another arrow, despite his shaking hands.
— This time, it’s for the right eye…!
Using the spiky arrow I had, I could strike at Suka’s weakness, potentially inflicting another critical hit on him.
【Y-You think you can use such a trick…!】
Suka aggressively snapped the arrow embedded in his eye. Clearly furious, his tail whipped with all his might.
But his tail swished around aimlessly, missing me entirely.
It probably failed to aim due to his injured eye, quickly shooting towards Leaf instead.
In a panic, I stretched out my front paw. Time felt like it slowed down to a crawl.
My outstretched paw, despite moving slowly, couldn’t reach Leaf, who was too far away.
Leaf gazed at me with his amber eyes, as if he was trying to say something, slowly parting his lips.
— H-Hey, buddy…
Whoosh, swoosh!
bl**d sprayed everywhere, like a sprinkler gone wild.
The scream was deafening.
【GAAAH! AAAAAH!】
The one screaming was Suka, whose tail had been severed, writhing on the ground like a living snake.
“Is it already attempting to challenge a mythical creature? And has it managed to injure one at that?”
A large sword that had flown from somewhere was embedded deep in the ground.
“Thud, thud!” The sound of heavy iron greaves echoed from behind the screaming Suka.
Soon enough, a figure emerged, walking towards us with the sun at his back. He pulled the sword from the ground and slung it over his shoulder.
