Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Pursuit and Search (5)
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"Hm! Looks like we're almost there. The tracks are fresh. These were definitely left not long ago."
Srulk-
Jameson, who had been sweeping away the Gaidun Mountains' soil to examine the traces, looked at the other four adventurers and spoke.
Rosa nodded in agreement with his words.
"Yeah. It feels like we've nearly caught up. It's just strange that there are no monster tracks in between...... But these footprints are definitely my comrades Piona and Amy's."
"I see. Monster tracks, huh. Maybe your comrades were biding their time and fled from the monster. Or perhaps they're in a standoff right now."
The other four adventurers tacitly agreed with Jameson's opinion.
There was no other way to explain the current tracks. While there were some mixed in from the monster's movements intermittently, Piona and Amy's footprints were far more numerous.
It was truly mysterious. It was as if a person had been carrying the monster while moving. But it didn't quite fit with them having defeated the monster either, since there were still monster movement tracks.
In any case, the current tracks were good news.
Whatever the situation, it was certain that the client Rosa's comrades were alive.
Rosa was relieved to confirm her comrades' safety, and the other adventurers were pleased that success in the commission was right around the corner.
"Anyway, we shouldn't let our guard down. From here on, it would be best to proceed more cautiously, staying alert in all directions."
Jameson said with a serious expression.
It had been two days since they discovered the tracks by the valley.
Up until now, they had prioritized speed to catch up to the trail, but that was no longer the case.
Since they didn't know when or where a monster might strike, it was better to stay vigilant on all sides and be prepared for combat at any moment.
Rosa nodded at Jameson's words, and the other two Blue Axe adventurer party members agreed as well.
Rosa turned to look beside her.
There stood the female adventurer named Yuri, still bundled up head to toe with her face covered by a mask. Rosa looked at her and asked,
"Yuri, you're okay with that too, right?"
"......"
Nod-
Rosa let out a quiet sigh of relief inwardly.
This woman wasn't some lifeless doll or anything.
Despite days of trying to strike up conversations and build rapport, she hadn't gotten any closer to this woman named Yuri.
At least it was fortunate that she reliably nodded or reacted in some way when spoken to.
The five adventurers thus assumed a vigilant formation and slowly followed the tracks.
Step, step-
The forest path in the mountains was quiet.
There was no particular sense of monsters nearby. Still, it was crucial not to relax their tension and to thoroughly scan all directions.
As they carefully took one cautious step at a time,
- Kyaak! Help! S-save me!
"Huh?"
"W-what?"
"A voice......!?"
Suddenly, a woman's voice rang out in the minds of all five adventurers.
Jameson hurriedly looked around, and the other Blue Axe party members panicked, whipping their heads this way and that.
A voice had definitely been heard. A woman's voice.
But strangely, they couldn't pinpoint the direction at all. It was as if the voice had come from nowhere specific.
- S-save me! A monster...... A m-monster!
Rosa, hearing the voice, widened her eyes and said,
"A-Amy......! It's Amy! This voice is definitely Amy's!"
Jameson quickly asked,
"Your comrade's voice! But where's it coming from?"
"I-I don't really......"
It truly was bizarre. The voice was clear, yet its source was indeterminable. It felt like the voice had rung directly in their heads.
Rustle-
That was when it happened.
A rustling sound came from a bit further into the forest. One of the Blue Axe party members, Philip, shouted,
"Over there! The sound came from that direction!"
"Mm! Let's hurry!"
The five adventurers quickly moved in formation.
"Can you hear us!? If you can, please respond!"
- Ah! O-over here! This way! Ugh, n-no, stop!
"A-Amy!!"
"Hang in there just a bit longer! We're coming!"
Jameson shouted and immediately turned to the adventurers.
"We need to move fast!"
Everyone nodded like lightning at his words.
This wasn't the time for slow, vigilant movement. A life was at stake, and it was obvious a monster was there.
The adventurers began dashing through the forest at high speed, and that turned out to be their worst mistake.
Twitch-
"Danger......!"
"Yes?"
The first to react was the adventurer Yuri.
Shwaaak-!
Her senses on high alert, she stopped in place and drew her favored gladius from her waist.
Seeing her immediately assume a defensive stance, Rosa couldn't understand why she wasn't running. But she soon realized.
"Ah......!"
Two massive tentacles surged toward them, one aiming for Yuri and the other for Rosa.
Yuri, already in defensive posture, blocked the tentacle attack with relative ease. But Rosa could not.
She hurriedly concentrated mana into her arm, using her shoulder as a shield to defend against the tentacle strike.
Craaaash-!
"Kuhk......!"
'This is insane-.'
A gut-wrenching pain that shook her internals overwhelmed Rosa.
The impact was far stronger than anticipated; Rosa failed to absorb it all and was sent flying through the air.
Shwaak-
"Hahk, hak......"
After spinning through the air two or three times, she finally landed, but her shoulder and entire front arm bore massive bruises. It felt like her bones had cracked. Numbness spread through her upper body.
This was impossible.
In an unnamed area...... not even a dungeon, and there was a monster of this caliber?
Had Piona and Amy fought something this monstrous?
Rosa scanned her surroundings with shaking eyes.
"......"
Yuri was unharmed.
Her pretty brows were furrowed, but she had not a scratch. Rather, it looked like she had repelled the monster's attack without yielding an inch.
However.....
"Cough......!"
"L-Leader!"
"Captain J-Jamesooon!!"
What had happened to the Blue Axe adventurer party leader, Jameson, was gruesome.
A massive thorn-covered tentacle had pierced straight through his torso.
Blood poured from the hole, and his eyes were wide in disbelief.
A veteran C-Class adventurer had been rendered combat-ineffective in an instant. Fear flickered in Rosa's pupils.
'The performance is solid.'
I gazed at the thorn tentacle that had pierced Jameson's gut.
The trick using 'Telepathy' had been a success.
The fun thing about this ability was that it transmitted my will directly into their minds, allowing me to mimic any voice perfectly.
I could even replicate tones and speech patterns exactly.
By acting out 'Help me! No!' in Amy's voice, the adventurers fell into my trap without a shred of doubt.
I was now level 36 after another level up.
With 44 Agility boosted by 1.35x correction. The thorn tentacles showed no shaking.
Faster speed meant greater power. The thorn tentacle, accelerating explosively with the effective 58 Agility and 46 Strength stats from the correction, bored a massive hole through the man's torso in a single strike.
I had even underestimated my own power.
To reliably kill one, I used all three thorn tentacles, but the two extras placed as insurance against him dodging went unused.
Had I launched all three at different people, I might have killed three at once.
"L-Leader......! Leader!!"
"Leader, t-this can't be. I-it's a lie, right?"
"Cugh. How could...... A t-trap...... after all."
'Good choice targeting that guy.'
The man was being called leader. Meaning he was the centerpiece of this party.
Of course, not all four remaining seemed to follow him closely.
'Probably three from the same adventurer party, one solo adventurer. And the last one......'
Since she kept calling out Amy's name as she rushed in, she must be Piona and Amy's comrade.
Still, those two men clearly followed him devotedly.
'Are they insane? Putting on a drama with me right in front of them?'
I writhed my tentacles to express my displeasure. When they should be on maximum alert, those two men were fixated only on their pierced leader.
In shonen manga, you'd wait for this, but I had no such courtesy.
The law of the jungle.
Pure wilderness.
Shwaaaaak-!
"Huh?"
"W-Watch out-!"
Pfwooooah-!
I extended the remaining two thorn tentacles at maximum speed, piercing the other two men in one go.
"Cugh-!"
"Krghak......!"
The two men stared at me in disbelief before vomiting blood and dying.
Pathetic excuses for adventurers.
Their stats seemed decent, but their stance was nonexistent.
I checked their stats before they died, and it chilled me that they averaged 3-4 higher physical stats than Piona.
'Still, Piona has a more solid foundation.'
Piona had lower physical stats but higher Magic Power. Of course, that didn't make current Piona stronger than them.
In any case, I had killed three of the five adventurers in an instant.
Normally, they'd panic, but the remaining two did not.
'Heard about her from Amy and Piona. Rosa, right?'
Fear was in Rosa's eyes. But she was forcing herself to stay calm.
Far more composed and proper stance than the two men I killed first. She never once let her guard down against me.
And the other one.....
'Strong. On a level incomparable to any adventurer I've met so far.'
Just blocking my attack effortlessly proved her strength.
Of course, I had held back considerably against the two women.
Couldn't injure them too much.
Even so, it shouldn't have been blockable so easily.
'At least B-Class.'
I viewed the fully covered woman's stats through the 'Master of All Life' skill.
⚫ Cat Senses
Allows sharper sensing of surrounding energies. Heightens sensitivity to presences, sounds, smells, and the environment in general, even faintly detecting others' desires.
'Cat Tribe?'
Examining her status, I was surprised by her high stats but even more by something else.
What most caught my eye.
Her race.
'Beastkin? Cat Tribe?'
Catfolk?
Only then did I understand why she was bundled up so tightly, even wearing a mask.