Chapter 64

Doyugeon returned.

“What are you doing?”

The boy was carefully placing his feet on the surface of the swamp water and splashing around.

“Can’t I float on this?”

He’s messing around.

“You’ll learn physics in high school. Think about it then.”

“I know Newton’s laws already.”

“Do people who know that really do this?”

“Since magic exists, it might be possible, right?”

“No.”

I immediately denied it.

“That kind of response just makes me more obstinate.”

“It’s realistic. Get used to it. Besides, lizards are coming, so let’s run.”

Doyugeon frowned.

“Because of the scream earlier? What were you doing?”

“Studying the correlation between the ecology of lizards and healing magic.”

Doyugeon thought for a moment before hesitantly speaking.

“I understand your intention, but I’d prefer you didn’t conduct biological experiments.”

I don’t know how to respond to saying that while hunting for level-ups. I also don’t get why he’s avoiding eye contact. After considering what to say for a while, I gave up.

“Yeah, okay.”

Doyugeon turned his shoulders and stretched his body.

“It’ll be easier to catch them if they all come at once.”

“No. They’re coming from all sides, so let’s escape first.”

“Why?”

“Because we might die if we get hit by a poisonous arrow.”

Of course you’re asking something obvious.

“Don’t we have healing magic?”

“We do, but I can’t be sure it’s a definitive cure. We might die.”

Though we did stab a lizard with a poison arrow and healed it with magic, that doesn’t prove magic can detoxify it.

What if lizards have their own detoxification abilities? These don’t necessarily have to be magical. They could have biological detox capabilities or the poison might just not be that strong for them. Like how some people have allergic reactions to food but don’t die from it. A similar concept.

It’s possible that a lizard suffering from poison could detoxify itself due to the increased bodily response from the healing magic we provided.

From a fantastical perspective, here’s another conceivable scenario: The detox overlapping with the healing magic was a coincidence, and the actual detoxification was due to a magic item the lizard possessed. I didn’t sense any magical force, but there could be subtle entities similar to souls that I failed to detect.

Even without certainty, the possibility itself is valid. Defensive measures against one’s own weapons are common. A crossbow with poisoned arrows or bolts could accidentally injure the user, so precautions must be taken. Probably. Though humanity did use nuclear weapons without countermeasures initially, these lizards are civilized beings who use crossbows. Cultural differences with humans might mean they don’t carry antidotes, but that assumption could be wrong.

In conclusion, we lack sufficient data from observation and experiments. The verdict? Let’s run. Besides, there’s a rift entrance here. Leaving the mobs behind shouldn’t cause any particular issues.

“Aha! If we just don’t get hit, we’ll be fine, right?”

He said this with a refreshing tone.

Doesn’t he think this through?

I momentarily got irritated but didn’t voice it. Did he notice? Doyugeon started providing additional explanations.

“When we were lower level, goblins lined up and shot arrows, but we never got hit. Now that our level is higher and our physical abilities are better, we shouldn’t get hit, right?”

Strangely, until now, he hasn’t been hit. Except for me—though I did get struck by an arrow once, which he doesn’t know about.

“You’re still low level.”

“Come on, I’m almost level 50. At this point, it’s not low level anymore. The max level will probably be 100, after all.”

There were plenty of old scars, and just one would be enough for poison. I briefly considered telling him that but decided against it. I instinctively thought that healing magic could detoxify, and a healthy skepticism reaches an agreement with reality at an appropriate point. We can’t experiment on humans, after all.

Plus, he likely knows that old wounds could still be dangerous so asking felt unnecessary. People who can’t read the mood aren’t well-liked.

Silently, I folded the fringes of Doyugeon’s cloak together. My childhood friend excels in causing distress, which is quite troubling. Once we grow up, I’ll make him face reality and smooth paths, but adolescence is so prolonged. While I usually wish time would flow slower, sometimes it would be better if it passed quickly.

“Are we surrounded now?”

“To be precise, they’re encircling the spot where the lizard’s scream originated. That’s a bit distant from here. Though we talk about it being an encirclement, the varying speeds at which they’re approaching suggest it’s not a deliberate encirclement but rather nearby lizards converging because of the scream.”

Doyugeon pondered for a moment.

“Once we break through the encirclement, let’s thin out the outer perimeter while hunting. Which direction is closest?”

“That way.”

Just as I pointed, an arrow flew from that direction. Doyugeon caught it in one hand. The arrow slightly trembled in his grip. Did he really catch it like that?

“For the next one, deflect it with your sword.”

Doyugeon turned around with an excited look.

“Wow! Wasn’t that cool just now?”

He’s getting excited over what he just did.

“No, it was absolutely not cool. It was dangerous.”

After I provided my feedback, he was speechless for a moment.

“I caught it instinctively.”

Since I understand, he doesn’t need to defend himself.

“Yeah.”

He hesitated as if trying to say something, then sighed and ran in the direction the arrows came from. I followed.

“The swamp is generally shallow, but there are deep spots, so be careful.”

“You can fly, so you’re fine, right?”

“Yeah. Of course. Cross the gap ahead by running.”

Honestly, even if I couldn’t fly, I’d be fine. Would I really fall for such a natural trap?

Despite his feet sinking deep into the swamp, Doyugeon approached the lizard quickly. The incoming arrow was deflected by a sword strike. Upon reaching close quarters, the lizard pulled a curved dagger from its waist and swung forcefully. Doyugeon ducked, avoided skillfully, and while maintaining his running momentum, pierced the lizard’s neck. With a single fluid strike, experience points scattered.

Doyugeon looked satisfied, his lips curling upwards but trembling slightly. It seems he’s trying not to show his satisfaction outright. Just smile already.

“Which direction is the nearest mob?”

I briefly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe my face—mud had splattered. The rift environment is truly unfavorable. Observing Doyugeon while circling around, both his pants and the lower end of his shirt were dirty. Might as well trash the clothes.

“Let’s curve to the left. That’ll be easiest.”

Moving left in a curve, we broke through the encirclement. Our fast movement and a later surge in combat noise caused the lizards to gather, and they didn’t take long to die.

Doyugeon showed off his skill of deflecting arrows coming from all sides mid-flight. As he said, he’s been doing this since he was lower level.

Regardless, it was still dangerous, so I couldn’t help but fidget. Eventually, at some point, I acted first. Pushing all the air’s magical energy together, I sent the forest spinning, causing the swamp to surge.

Indeed, elemental magic might look flashy, but brute force of magical power is stronger.

“Cheating…”

Doyugeon lowered his sword in despair.

“It’s fine since we’re on the same side.”

“On the same side, it’s a problem.”

“You want too much.”

Where can you find such a perfect, talented, rich, and mysteriously cute childhood friend? Hmm, though her personality is a little off, that’s just human charm.

“Would it be okay if you were on the other side?”

Tilting my levitating body, I pursued this question, to which he crossed his arms and mulled it over.

“The other side would make you the boss monster.”

“Glorious.”

“And bosses are always defeated.”

“That’s not glory. If you were my enemy, I’d start with despair, not planning what to do.”

Even I have pride. For example, Pride Chicken.

…That’s not a good joke to use elsewhere.

From beyond the overturned forest disrupted by magic, a roar came. In the distance, a slightly smaller lizard could be seen. This isn’t for laughs—it’s the real boss monster.

Different from the normal lizards, this one was dressed in flowing ceremonial robes and didn’t seem to carry any weapons, including the dagger typically at the side. Sensing the magical flow around him, he’s likely a wizard. I hope he doesn’t use poison magic. In that case, we wouldn’t sit still.

The lizard roared again. He seems like he’s going to do something but just roars and glares.

Ah.

“Maybe he can’t use long-range attacks.”

“Then he needs to come catch us, right?”

Doyugeon stood on a tree half-sunken and collapsed in the swamp. Approaching him in the air, I whispered.

“In my view, he might use poison magic, or do brute fist attacks like an orc shaman. How’s that? Plausible?”

“Same as always, use your imagination.”

“Hmm… Poison fog? Poison clouds would work too. If it’s a gas or a widespread liquid, even I can’t defend myself passively.”

Simple brute force could blow it all away. Like clearing clouds with rain or dispelling fog with wind.

Doyugeon muttered.

“In such a case, we’d better run as you say.”

“Right? Moreover, it fits the fantasy genre, so it’s quite possible.”

His judgment criteria might be odd, but anyway, fair enough.

“But we could create wind with sword strikes and blow it away, right?”

“Might as well practice walking on water.”

“Should I?”

Seemingly intrigued, he stopped and jumped onto the swamp. As expected, his foot sank deep into it. Doyugeon jumped again from his spot, only for his foot to sink once more. To whom goes the embarrassment?

“It’s not possible.”

As I scolded him, the roar sounded again. The sound was loud, but the position remained the same. It really seems he can’t use long-range attacks.

I moved a bit away from Doyugeon, splashing through the swamp water. Sorry, but the water is dirty.

After watching for a while, an idea struck me, so I carefully placed both feet on the water’s surface. Thinking about it, whether it’s some sword mastery or inexplicable superpowers, Doyugeon almost certainly can’t walk on water, but I might be able to.

Ultimately, as long as surface tension supports my weight, doesn’t that work? Like floating a plank on water, spreading magic energy widely could serve as my floating support.

Placing my foot lightly on the “magic plank,” I felt an appropriate resistance. It’s more stable than expected. The swamp water’s surface tension must be stronger than imagined.

Feeling confident, I gradually reduced my levitation and added more weight. It really works? It’s a bit wobbly, but that’s because Doyugeon is splashing around. Concentrating on the magic beneath my feet, I carefully lowered myself completely.

It works?

I felt a sense of accomplishment until my balance tilted. The magic plank flipped.

Kyaaack!

I hurriedly stabilized myself with magic. Whew… I didn’t sink. Feeling relieved, I got covered when the splashing swamp water surged.

Quickly rising into the air, I unconsciously shook my clothes but stopped and dried the water with magic instead. I can feel dirt on my clothes and grit in my mouth.

Not good…

“Let’s just kill the boss.”

Doyugeon chuckled, offering his assistance. Why is he laughing? After glaring at him briefly and drying off completely, I moved beside him.

“Want to stop?”

“I have a separate plan for practice.”

Doyugeon jumped onto the tree and moved toward the lizard. Separate practice? He’s not planning to go to a swimming pool or the sea, is he?

Surely he doesn’t intend to splash around in a bathtub full of water, does he?

I briefly imagined it and gave up.

Yeah.

It is kind of cute, isn’t it?

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