Toward the Western Edge
The place I arrived at with Celion was a forest where trees dozens of meters tall had grown tangled together. Looking up at those trees that seemed to know no limit to the sky, I naturally thought of the forest where I had once met the elves.
The massive trees, growing like vines, formed paths through the woods. Celion and I began climbing through the forest by scaling those great trunks.
After traveling like that for quite some time, Celion pushed aside a thicket of leaves blocking the way ahead and pointed.
"We're here. That's the place."
"Whoa…"
I let out a soft gasp of admiration as I followed the direction of her finger. The pioneer team's base camp, which we had finally reached after about a month, had been built right at the junction where enormous branches tangled and met.
A cabin built up in the trees—it was an incredibly romantic sight.
Stepping carefully along the thick branches as we approached the base camp, I took in all the signs of daily life. Vines stretched out long as clotheslines, a spot set aside for chopping firewood, and more.
Just then the tightly shut door of the base camp opened, and a woman appeared. Yawning widely as she stepped out, she began gathering the laundry hanging nearby. The moment a cool breeze fluttered the white fabric and she pulled it down, her eyes met mine across the open air.
"Uh…"
"Hello?"
I offered a cheerful greeting. According to Celion, most of the people living at this base camp were her teammates. That made this woman my senior.
Startled by my polite greeting, the woman opened her mouth in surprise—then spotted Celion beside me and cried out in shock.
"T-Team Leader…?"
"Long time no see. How've you been?"
"Well, yeah, I've been fine… Are you feeling better now?"
"Yeah, no problems."
The two women went on talking between themselves for quite a while after that. Midway through, Celion seemed to remember me waiting behind her; she started and said,
"Ah, this is our new recruit. Her name's Ceris."
"I'm Ceris. Nice to meet you."
"Ah, um. I'm Noel."
The woman who introduced herself as Noel gave an awkward smile and avoided my gaze. She seemed to be the severely shy type.
"Where'd the others go?"
"They headed out hunting for a bit. They only left a little while ago, so it'll take some time."
"Running low on food, huh?"
"Well… yeah."
Celion chatted with Noel as she headed into the base camp with easy familiarity. I watched the two of them for a moment, then let Nightmare loose nearby and followed after them.
The inside of the base camp was neater than I'd expected. The mysterious leather rugs on the floor and the stuffed trophies decorating the walls looked like spoils from monsters hunted in the area.
Celion set her large pack down on the floor and spoke to Noel.
"Any empty rooms left?"
"Ah, there are a few still open."
"Really? Then could you show Ceris around?"
"Yes."
At Celion's reply, Noel turned to me and gave a small gesture. She still couldn't meet my eyes; it looked like it would take a good while before we got close.
The place Noel led me to was the room farthest in the corner. It hadn't gathered dust, so someone must have cleaned it recently.
"I-If you need anything, just say…"
"Ah, thank you, Noel."
I looked around the room and began unpacking. Not that there was much—just a few changes of clothes and underthings I'd stuffed into my bag. Most of my belongings had been lost when I was swept up in the mana storm, so my luggage was sparse.
After settling my things, I stepped back outside and found Noel gone. As I glanced around looking for her, Celion spoke up.
"Like the room?"
"Ah, yes. It's nice. But where did Noel go?"
"Noel? Need something?"
"I need a candle for the room, and a place for Nightmare to rest."
"Hmm, a candle…"
At my words she rose from her seat and rummaged through a nearby drawer, pulling out a long candle from inside.
"As for Nightmare… try asking Noel outside."
"Ah, thank you."
I accepted the candle and watched Celion for a moment. She sat at a wide table reading through a thick stack of documents. The way she paid me no further attention suggested there was nothing for me to do right now.
I returned to my room, set up the candle, and slipped out of the cabin.
Prrrrh—
The moment I stepped outside, Nightmare was there to greet me. I stroked his head while scanning the surroundings. I'd half expected it, but this base camp had no stable built.
"Noel!"
I led Nightmare over to where Noel was nearby. She was still finishing the laundry she'd been gathering earlier.
"Ah, y-yes?"
She turned and set down the laundry basket.
I stopped at a comfortable distance and spoke.
"Is there anywhere like a stable? My horse needs a place to rest."
"A-A stable…? Um… then how about over there?"
"That is…"
What Noel pointed to was a small building next to the cabin. It wasn't large, and a chain hung across the door, so it looked like it had been used as a storage shed.
"Is it all right if I just use it?"
"Yeah, we're not using it right now…"
"Thank you!"
I gave Noel a polite bow of the head, then headed for the little shed with Nightmare.
As I began inspecting the small storage space, Nightmare seemed to understand this would be his place; he started sniffing around with soft snorts.
It wasn't spacious, but it wasn't cramped either. There was more than enough room for Nightmare to lie down.
Prrrrh—
He must have liked it; he stretched out his long muzzle and repeatedly nudged the door open and shut.
With that, the basic problem was solved.
Left on my own, I wandered the area around the base camp. The trees, tangled like vines, stretched out in every direction and revealed new paths, while the cries of countless monsters drifted in on the wind.
Now and then a massive flying monster appeared in the sky, stirring up great gusts that shook the entire forest.
I was still wary of physical changes from the mana, but my strengthened body gave me a cool sense of liberation.
"Haah!"
I kicked off the ground and leapt hard; my body spun in midair and landed cleanly on a tree across the way. Cool wind fluttered my golden hair, mixing it with the leaves.
Even without reinforcing my body with mana, this overflowing strength let me leap from tree to tree.
I raced through the treetops with movements I never could have dreamed of before. Just as I flung myself forward and caught hold of a thick vine, a soft tuk sounded from above.
"Ah…"
The instant I realized the vine had snapped, my body was already plummeting downward at speed. I flailed my arms and legs in a desperate scramble, but nothing caught at my fingertips.
In that split second, staring at the ground rushing closer, I drew up mana almost on pure instinct.
My Mana Circles spun rapidly, and thin threads of mana were drawn out. As those threads tangled and wove themselves into a fine membrane, changes came over my body as well.
My once-smooth canines sharpened to points, and long, keen nails began to grow. At once I drove those nails into the trunk of a massive tree.
Grrrk-!
Long gouges scored the hard bark as my fall slowed. Only after my body finally came to a stop did I let out a breath of relief.
"Whew…"
That evening, the rest of the team returned from the hunt, carrying a massive monster between them. There were thirty of them in all, every one at least a Silver-rank swordsman.
My introduction took place over the meal. The whole team welcomed me warmly as the new recruit and told me to come find them if I ever ran into trouble.
Honestly, there was no way I could memorize thirty names right away. So I distinguished them by their features—a scar by the eye, differences in hairstyle, that sort of thing.
Time passed, and the early hours of morning arrived.
Lying in bed and tossing restlessly, I suddenly sat bolt upright, eyes wide open.
The two circles I had felt near my heart had perfectly harmonized with my original mana and melted away into it, vanishing as if absorbed.
"Hah…"
Just in case, I began circulating my mana.
The moment soft winds and starlight rose around me and filled the room, physical changes started to stir.
Even if I couldn't reverse the body that had already changed, I couldn't let it go any further. Frowning, I carefully watched the flow of mana.
After wasting a good deal of mana for no real purpose and watching it scatter uselessly, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew…"
Even after pouring out nearly all the mana I had, no further physical change occurred. That meant the mana of Monster Island had completely lost its original nature and been perfectly absorbed into my own.
The next morning I stepped out of the cabin in high spirits and found the team gathered in one spot.
They were clustered around a large log, each offering their opinions. Peeking between them at the log, I felt an odd sense of familiarity.
"It's a claw mark of a type we've never seen, so we cut it and brought it back."
"A new monster?"
"Doesn't seem that big. About the size of a goblin at most."
"A goblin subspecies?"
"Finding it this close means it's probably good at hiding its presence too…"
"This could be dangerous…"
Listening in on their conversation, I quietly slipped my hands behind my back and eased away from the group.
In the end, word of the newly appeared monster reached Celion's ears. After hearing the team's report, she examined the log covered in my nail marks, nodded, and ordered the base camp's alert level raised by one stage.
At her command the team sprang into busy motion.
As the leader of thirty people, Celion began handling all sorts of tasks. She worked through the backlog of documents, divided the team, and assigned roles.
The members were split between those who would continue the exploration and those who would return with the materials. Naturally, I was placed among the ones continuing the exploration.