“…If you don’t have anything else to do, could you continue the story you were telling earlier? You said that the ancient Dwarves declared a challenge to the gods, right?”
The path leading to the mountain that the village head had informed us about was incredibly smooth. The reason for this was simple: no monsters attacked us.
What made travel arduous wasn’t just the people or the food but mainly the monstrous beasts.
“Yes. They even swore on their divinity. If they won the bet, they wanted the gods to recognize them as a divine race. That’s how arrogant they were. Well, looking at how they live now, you can guess the result without me saying it, right?”
Monsters, beasts, abominations—whatever you call them. They were relentless creatures that would attack humans regardless of time or place.
Because of them, the Adventurers’ Guild and mercenary trades flourished. But, honestly speaking, it would be better if such things didn’t exist.
Because a world where such things are necessary is not a safe one.
“…Then, what exactly did the Dwarves lose? A race so powerful that they dared to challenge the gods—what could have caused such a fall?”
“They lost most of their hearing and couldn’t handle the sounds they once prided themselves on. They also lost the ability to use magic, rendering their accumulated knowledge of dark magic meaningless. All the brilliant wisdom they had gathered was taken away. Their short stature, short lifespan, and unappealing appearance were just added insults. It was like having all their limbs chopped off.”
Let’s stop evaluating the world and get back to the main topic. Alterra was leading the way, glaring at something in the distance or growling to scare off monsters and wild animals.
Even the monsters seemed scared to die and hastily fled when she threatened them.
Ordinarily, Yuna and Akashi wouldn’t have had any time for idle chatter, carefully guarding against dangers from all sides. But because the journey was so smooth, I felt myself relaxing too.
To the point where we could indulge in the luxury of admiring nature. Although I’ve been traveling here for years, this was the first time I truly felt like I was embarking on an adventure.
However, Alterra, who had been walking confidently, suddenly stopped. So, I asked her if there was something wrong.
“Alterra? Is there something dangerous or strange ahead?”
“…Yeah. It’s one of the creatures that followed me. I… killed its mate.”
I looked hard into the distance but couldn’t see anything. Only after focusing all my senses did I barely catch a faint ripple.
And then, as soon as I blinked, I lost focus again. Grateful for Alterra’s superior detection abilities, I asked her the most important question.
“Alterra. Just checking, but is it… male?”
She silently nodded. Hmm. That’s a huge problem.
“…Alright, everyone. Get ready to fight. There’s an extremely angry male Dalocos coming our way.”
“What? Where? I can’t see anything. Though, it’s normal since these things are usually invisible by default. Wait. Angry? We didn’t touch the female, so why… Hey. Could it be…”
Dalocos generally don’t pay much attention to humans. However, there are two exceptions: when someone meddles with their family or their food.
Especially if someone harms their family, they will seek revenge with all their might. That’s why adventurers usually avoid provoking Dalocos.
Females are formidable, but males are larger and stronger. Ideally, if you must hunt them, it’s best to take out the entire family at once.
“Yeah. Alterra mentioned killing the female before. Akashi, you can attack, but don’t use strong magic. Yuna, prepare yourself.”
A male Dalocos is typically a Silver Rank 2 level threat at minimum, which is the requirement for handling such requests. Most of the requests are Gold Rank due to the danger exceeding the reward.
Even with Alterra around, it wasn’t pleasant news to have to face one.
It might seem odd that Gold Rank adventures are part of everyday life, but most adventurers stay within their rank. With some talent or effort, some may reach Silver Rank.
Reaching Gold Rank 4 is possible if you invest enough money and time, but those who do are usually noble offspring. For ordinary people, reaching Silver Rank is already the limit.
“Myungho. Ask Alterra where it is.”
Yuna had already strung her Iron Bow and pulled out an arrow. Judging by how she’d dumped all the arrows from her quiver onto the ground, she intended to use them all in the fight against the Dalocos.
“…Use them all?”
“We’re heading to the village anyway, right? Tell me the location.”
True. There’s no need to save them since we’ll restock when we arrive.
“Alterra. Tell me the exact position of the Dalocos. Yuna says she’ll shoot it.”
So, you’re called a Dalocos, huh. After muttering this to herself, Alterra pointed somewhere with her finger.
“About forty steps away. No sign of movement yet. Unless I charge at it first.”
I relayed this information to Yuna. Estimating the position of the Dalocos, Yuna began to draw her massive bow.
As she pulled the string made of twisted steel wires, the iron bow groaned under the strain, bending.
With both steel arms pulling the string and her flesh-and-blood arm holding the bow, she aimed steadily at the spot where the Dalocos was hidden, without the slightest tremor.
A thunderous sound broke the silence as she released the string.
In the blink of an eye, the steel arrow cut through the air, trailing sparks. Suddenly, green flesh and bodily fluids erupted mid-air.
-GUHHHHHHHAAAAA!!!!!!!
Despite the force of the shot, which would have pierced and shattered a wall, the Dalocos only suffered a ruptured outer shell.
But the result was clear.
The Dalocos was no longer invisible. One arrow had shattered its composure, ending its concealment.
Its revealed form wasn’t pleasant to look at.
Its side was completely torn open, revealing the giant spider-like creature covered in a thick carapace.
Without hesitation, Yuna drew her bow again as soon as the Dalocos became visible.
“Your opponent is… me!”
Yuna stood her ground as the Dalocos charged toward her, only to be intercepted by Alterra from the front. Though pushed back slightly, Alterra held her ground, using both hands to protect her jaw while engaging the monster in a direct power struggle.
While the beast clawed at her back with its long, sharp legs, tearing her cloak and leaving wounds, Alterra retaliated with a headbutt.
When the unprotected eyes were pierced by her horn, the creature thrashed wildly. But Alterra slammed its head down into the ground with sheer strength.
“…Well. I don’t have much to do. Oh fire, come forth.”
Akashi summoned orbs of fire into the air and slammed them continuously into the wounded side of the beast.
“You should do something too. Oh mana, surround him.”
He cast a protective barrier around me and nudged me to act.
…What can I possibly do against something so large and fast? Unless it’s a golem…
Still, I couldn’t just stand idly by. Trusting the protection, I waited for the perfect opportunity to approach.
When the monster convulsed in pain, spewing bodily fluids, another of Yuna’s arrows tore into its belly.
Yet despite the injuries, the creature continued to move energetically.
If only it didn’t have those blade-like legs, maybe I could try something.
“…Yuna! Shoot the legs and sever them!”
Killing it with arrows alone would likely require hitting the head, which was impossible given the physical obstruction of Alterra between it and Yuna. Hearing my suggestion, she fired all her remaining arrows directly at the creature’s legs.
Each shot was aimed with deadly precision, severing the legs one by one without needing to fully draw the bow.
One, two. Three. Four.
The legs that had been scratching her back were severed, and the other sharp ones were almost all gone, leaving the creature nearly legless.
Even so, it still struggled, writhing its house-sized body and trying to shake off Alterra, who was pounding its head.
Right now.
“Altera! Hold it firmly!”
Drawing my holy sword, I charged toward the creature. Even though she had it pinned down, getting crushed by that armored body would be disastrous even with the protection.
Fortunately, that didn’t happen. When the creature paused briefly, I inscribed words onto its torso.
Die.
This would never work on a regular Dalocos, but with it already exhausted and injured, and perhaps not recognizing it as an attack, it allowed me to do this.
And that was the end. The Dalocos, which had been spurting fluids, went silent as it collapsed.
“…What? What did you just do…?”
Alterra stared at the dead body of the Dalocos in confusion.
“My holy sword… can be used like this. I wrote ‘die.’ Lucky break, huh.”
If the Dalocos had moved, I would have been crushed under that armored body.
“By writing ‘die’… does it just die?”
Alterra took a step back from me as she asked this. I understand her surprise. But with her… yeah. I’d probably be pulverized before I even got close.
“Yes. But don’t worry. It takes me a while to write, and I have no intention of using it on you or anyone else. Anyway, is your back okay?”
Looking at her earlier, I noticed her back was covered in shallow cuts. So I asked if she was alright, but she answered by showing me her back.
Her back was flawless. Ah. After confirming that, I immediately looked away.
“So, what now? Are we just going to leave it here?”
No matter how many times I see it, I can’t get used to women’s bodies. Trying to avert my gaze, I looked at the corpse she was tapping.
“It’s too heavy to carry everything, so we should take only the parts that can be preserved for a long time. Alterra, can you flip it over?”
Cutting through the carapace would take forever, so slicing it open from the softer underside would be faster. Alterra complied with my request and effortlessly flipped the spider over with her earth-moving powers.
…Hmm. Now that I think about it, why didn’t she use her magic during the fight?
“Altera. Why didn’t you use magic while fighting the spider?”
After pondering for a moment, she shook her head and refused to answer.
“…I can’t tell you now. When I trust you enough, if that day comes, I’ll let you know.”
Meaning, I haven’t earned her trust yet.
She skillfully mounted the corpse’s abdomen and drew her rock-made greatsword from the ground to begin dissecting it.
…To earn her trust, I suppose I should start with small gestures like this.
“I’ll help. But since I don’t know much, could you show me where and how to cut?”
Saying that, I joined her in the dissection.
