Chapter 517: Natives (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 517: Natives (5)
Since the labyrinth was shrouded in darkness, I couldn't tell how many were raining down on us from above, but...
Rank nine, rank eight, rank seven...
The low-rank monsters falling from the sky died as soon as they hit the ground, scattering into bursts of light. It was utterly bizarre to witness.
Crunch, crunch. Thud!
I could see blood spatter and flesh exploding in all directions and hear the shrieks of beasts tearing through the air constantly, and yet...
Sparkle!
Had I ever seen such a bright, brilliant light before?
"Yandel! Look alive!"
I had spaced out for a second, enraptured by the scene, but I snapped out of it and honed back in on our surroundings.
Boom!
Currently, we were under a tree inside a barrier Versyl created over a few hours. However, I didn't feel safe at all.
Crunch!
Every time a monster fell headfirst into the barrier above us, the barrier shook and blood dribbled down the translucent wall.
Rank six, rank five...
Unlike the low-rank monsters, the higher-ranking ones could survive the fall, and some of them even managed to stay on their feet despite their half-destroyed bodies, though the results did vary from monster to monster. Even for ones of the same rank, monsters who were lighter, sturdier, or better at healing themselves tended to walk off the fall, while the others ended up becoming a paste.
Like so.
Kraaaaaah!
As if to earn their title of monster, as soon as they noticed us beyond the barrier, they began charging at us. However, the real problem lay elsewhere.
"Uh... Bjorn? Is that a new type of monster? And that one too...?"
Mixed in with the rest of the swarm were monsters we had never seen before. However, calling them a new type... That was definitely a stretch. Each one of them had striking characteristics that were too unique for them to collectively be referred to as one singular species.
"The weird piles of meat that were all around the island... I think those were them."
I agreed with Versyl's hypothesis. These unique monsters didn't disappear into light when they died, instead leaving corpses behind.
The problem was that they didn't all die.
"Uh... i-it's coming closer...!"
A terrifying creature over thirty feet in height—tall enough that we couldn't even see over its shoulders—turned toward us.
"What..."
"Is that...?"
Although the conversation wasn't long, it seemed everyone was in agreement.
Boom, boom, boom.
It looked like something straight out of the end times. Even the monster kid, Marupichichi, trembled as I held him in my arms.
"W-We need to stop staring at it and go down to the village! Even stronger monsters are going to start showing up if we stay here any longer!"
Honestly, though they didn't say anything because of me, everyone else seemed to have the same idea as the kid. We were beginning to spot a few rank-four monsters interspersed with the others.
Boom!
And on top of that, the giant bastard in the distance began trundling toward us. I hadn't fought one of them yet, but I could tell just by looking at it.
If that one reached us, Versyl's barrier wouldn't hold up.
"...We'll move to the village."
That was enough of watching the rain.
***
After slipping through the large gap under the tree, our surroundings suddenly opened up and the village came into view. Everyone behind me—and even me, to be honest—was rendered speechless.
"Whoa..."
Fresh grass that was soft to the touch. A bright, white light above us that gave off a glow that rivaled the sun's. Stone buildings that spoke of civilization.
"This... is a village of monsters...?"
"O-Our holy land is better than this!" Ainar blurted.
She might have been saying that, but well... This honestly looked better than our holy land. Although it was in constant development, 99 percent of our citizens were still just living in mud huts.
I didn't expect all this.
From what Marupichichi told me, I knew that this wasn't any old underground city, but I didn't expect this, hence my shock. I felt like Alice must have felt right after she stumbled into Wonderland.
"You're here." Apparently having expected us to come down, the village chief was waiting at the entrance to welcome us in. "Now do you believe me? I saved your life."
The way he said that was still pissing me off a bit, but I could give credit where credit was due. "Somewhat."
This guy had in fact saved us. There was a possibility we could've gotten information about this so-called "rainy season" out of Marupichichi, but...
We don't even know if this "rainy season" is something that happens across the entire floor or if it's just an event unique to this island.
If it was the former, then he truly had saved us. Had we not been able to enter this village, we would have been fighting for our lives right now.
"Let's continue our talk inside. I'll show you around the village as well."
With that, the chief headed in the direction of the village, and we slowly trailed after him. It would be ridiculous to back out now, after all.
"Really... I never expected there'd come a day when I'd willingly step foot in a monster's den of my own volition..."
"Don't worry! No matter what happens, I'll protect you! They didn't even look that strong last time!"
"Ms. Fenelin! Please lower your voice! Everyone can hear you. Maybe the monsters can't, but that man over there can understand everything we say...!"
"Haha! But the chief is one of the ancient heroes! It shouldn't matter!"
"B-But still..." Versyl trailed off, her eyes flicking forward. The chief, however, didn't react as he continued to lead us to the village. It wasn't as if he couldn't hear Ainar at this distance, so it was probably just that he didn't care all that much.
"...Erwen," I said. "You don't have to stick so close to me."
"But there could be danger. I need to protect you if there is."
"...Do what you want."
Erwen kept her guard up, glued to my side, while Amelia seemed more interested in the village than us. My first instinct was that she was trying to make the best of an unavoidable situation by letting herself enjoy the architecture, but I was wrong.
Boom!
And on top of that, the giant bastard in the distance began trundling toward us. I hadn't fought one of them yet, but I could tell just by looking at it.
If that one reached us, Versyl's barrier wouldn't hold up.
"...We'll move to the village."
That was enough of watching the rain.
***
After slipping through the large gap under the tree, our surroundings suddenly opened up and the village came into view. Everyone behind me—and even me, to be honest—was rendered speechless.
"Whoa..."
Fresh grass that was soft to the touch. A bright, white light above us that gave off a glow that rivaled the sun's. Stone buildings that spoke of civilization.
"This... is a village of monsters...?"
"O-Our holy land is better than this!" Ainar blurted.
She might have been saying that, but well... This honestly looked better than our holy land. Although it was in constant development, 99 percent of our citizens were still just living in mud huts.
I didn't expect all this.
From what Marupichichi told me, I knew that this wasn't any old underground city, but I didn't expect this, hence my shock. I felt like Alice must have felt right after she stumbled into Wonderland.
"You're here." Apparently having expected us to come down, the village chief was waiting at the entrance to welcome us in. "Now do you believe me? I saved your life."
The way he said that was still pissing me off a bit, but I could give credit where credit was due. "Somewhat."
This guy had in fact saved us. There was a possibility we could've gotten information about this so-called "rainy season" out of Marupichichi, but...
We don't even know if this "rainy season" is something that happens across the entire floor or if it's just an event unique to this island.
If it was the former, then he truly had saved us. Had we not been able to enter this village, we would have been fighting for our lives right now.
"Let's continue our talk inside. I'll show you around the village as well."
With that, the chief headed in the direction of the village, and we slowly trailed after him. It would be ridiculous to back out now, after all.
"Really... I never expected there'd come a day when I'd willingly step foot in a monster's den of my own volition..."
"Don't worry! No matter what happens, I'll protect you! They didn't even look that strong last time!"
"Ms. Fenelin! Please lower your voice! Everyone can hear you. Maybe the monsters can't, but that man over there can understand everything we say...!"
"Haha! But the chief is one of the ancient heroes! It shouldn't matter!"
"B-But still..." Versyl trailed off, her eyes flicking forward. The chief, however, didn't react as he continued to lead us to the village. It wasn't as if he couldn't hear Ainar at this distance, so it was probably just that he didn't care all that much.
"...Erwen," I said. "You don't have to stick so close to me."
"But there could be danger. I need to protect you if there is."
"...Do what you want."
Erwen kept her guard up, glued to my side, while Amelia seemed more interested in the village than us. My first instinct was that she was trying to make the best of an unavoidable situation by letting herself enjoy the architecture, but I was wrong.
"It's definitely different from human cities in a lot of ways," she murmured.
"Like how?"
"Don't talk to me. I'm focusing on trying to memorize the paths."
"...Memorize the paths?"
"Knowing the roads will make a big difference if and when we try to escape. If a situation like that arises, follow close behind me."
Ah... so she wasn't enjoying herself at all.
I stopped worrying about how my companions were reacting and focused on my own duties. I didn't know if this was intentional, but the old man spoke only to me.
"That is the forge. Since metalwork isn't a field I know much about, it took a while and a lot of effort to develop it to our current level."
"Impressive. But where do you get the ore from?"
"We either melt down things that drift in from the sea or collect materials after the rainy season ends. Monsters aren't the only things that fall from the sky during the rainy season."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"You probably didn't see anything while you were still up there. Items don't start falling until at least the third day."
"I see."
After that, I listened as the chief told me more about the village and asked some questions of my own to get additional information. Then, at some point, we reached our destination.
"This is my home."
"It's spacious enough... but smaller than I expected."
"What's the point of amassing wealth and fame down here?"
From that one sentence, I started to get a sense of what kind of character the village chief was. In a sense, he was similar to Baekho Lee. He spoke in a way that seemed to suggest he no longer cared, but there was an underlying obsession there that made me think he would be willing to do anything if it meant getting out of this place.
"...Where are the adventurers who got captured? Are they still in your prisons?"
"Not at all. Come in. They're waiting for you."
Once inside the chief's house, we were reunited with the seven remaining adventurers from the Silver Lion Clan. I heard that a lot of them died fighting against the warriors, but the sight of their small group confirmed it.
"...B-Baron Yandel!"
The captain of the Silver Lion Clan had gotten pretty thin since we last saw each other.
He looked at me with naked relief in his eyes, but as soon as he saw his clanmates behind me, he immediately rounded on them. "Marina! You dared to run away while leaving us behind!"
"No, it wasn't anything like that—"
"Chen! You too! I never imagined you'd abandon your older brother here! Are you even human?"
"I-I didn't run away, I went to find help!"
"Kryan! You ungrateful brat! You don't even know...!"
I could understand the captain's sentiments, and it was even sort of fun to watch him go off like this.
Still, how much time is this going to take up?
Before I could step forward to break up their reunion, the chief beat me to it. "All right, let's stop there."
"Ah, yes... Oh, please excuse me, Sir Bruingrid." The captain immediately backed off at the chief's command, like an employee who had been caught doing something wrong by his boss.
"It's definitely different from human cities in a lot of ways," she murmured.
"Like how?"
"Don't talk to me. I'm focusing on trying to memorize the paths."
"...Memorize the paths?"
"Knowing the roads will make a big difference if and when we try to escape. If a situation like that arises, follow close behind me."
Ah... so she wasn't enjoying herself at all.
I stopped worrying about how my companions were reacting and focused on my own duties. I didn't know if this was intentional, but the old man spoke only to me.
"That is the forge. Since metalwork isn't a field I know much about, it took a while and a lot of effort to develop it to our current level."
"Impressive. But where do you get the ore from?"
"We either melt down things that drift in from the sea or collect materials after the rainy season ends. Monsters aren't the only things that fall from the sky during the rainy season."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"You probably didn't see anything while you were still up there. Items don't start falling until at least the third day."
"I see."
After that, I listened as the chief told me more about the village and asked some questions of my own to get additional information. Then, at some point, we reached our destination.
"This is my home."
"It's spacious enough... but smaller than I expected."
"What's the point of amassing wealth and fame down here?"
From that one sentence, I started to get a sense of what kind of character the village chief was. In a sense, he was similar to Baekho Lee. He spoke in a way that seemed to suggest he no longer cared, but there was an underlying obsession there that made me think he would be willing to do anything if it meant getting out of this place.
"...Where are the adventurers who got captured? Are they still in your prisons?"
"Not at all. Come in. They're waiting for you."
Once inside the chief's house, we were reunited with the seven remaining adventurers from the Silver Lion Clan. I heard that a lot of them died fighting against the warriors, but the sight of their small group confirmed it.
"...B-Baron Yandel!"
The captain of the Silver Lion Clan had gotten pretty thin since we last saw each other.
He looked at me with naked relief in his eyes, but as soon as he saw his clanmates behind me, he immediately rounded on them. "Marina! You dared to run away while leaving us behind!"
"No, it wasn't anything like that—"
"Chen! You too! I never imagined you'd abandon your older brother here! Are you even human?"
"I-I didn't run away, I went to find help!"
"Kryan! You ungrateful brat! You don't even know...!"
I could understand the captain's sentiments, and it was even sort of fun to watch him go off like this.
Still, how much time is this going to take up?
Before I could step forward to break up their reunion, the chief beat me to it. "All right, let's stop there."
"Ah, yes... Oh, please excuse me, Sir Bruingrid." The captain immediately backed off at the chief's command, like an employee who had been caught doing something wrong by his boss.
Still, there was one thing in that exchange that caught my attention. "...Sir?"
"Yes... were you perhaps not told yet? This man here is one of the Great Sage's companions, the Dragon Knight—"
"Stop. You don't have to explain. I already know."
"I-Is that so?"
"What I'm wondering is something else. Even though your subordinates... died, you look like you're in pretty good spirits." I was speaking in an uncharacteristically roundabout way, but to be blunt, I wanted to know why he was being so polite to the chief of the monsters who killed his subordinates.
Thankfully, the captain was quick on the uptake. "Sir Bruingrid told me his side of the story, and that was... It was an accident. In fact, it'd be more accurate to say that Sir Bruingrid actually saved us. He even punished the monsters who killed my subordinates."
Punished them...
This wasn't even funny anymore. Especially the part where he could just laugh off his subordinates dying because the people who had killed them had gotten a slap on the wrist.
...Well, that's none of my business.
It didn't matter if that smile of his was genuine or if there was a knife hiding behind it. My only job was to take care of my own people.
"If your reunion is over, may I begin?"
With that, my attention shifted from the captain to the village chief. Because he gathered us all together like this, I figured he probably had something he wanted to talk to us about.
What is he scheming?
Once everyone quieted down and turned to him, the chief began to speak. "I have something I wish to request of all of you."
"...A request?"
"I want to clarify this in advance, but I'm not forcing you to take it. No, rather, I'm confident that this request will be beneficial for both parties."
Well, I'd decide that for myself after hearing him out. "Speak."
"I will give you all of the resources I can offer to help you explore this area, so please tell me everything you learned throughout your expedition."
Coming from a village chief, it really felt like I had just received a real, bona fide quest.
Hm... sharing the information we get on this expedition.
If everything the chief had told me was true, then this was a perfectly reasonable request to accept.
Again, that was if everything he told us was true.
"Why are you asking us to explore the area for you? Why don't you explore yourselves?"
"That's—"
"And don't say it's because the trees on this island don't float on water. Didn't you say so yourself? Plenty of building materials flow in on the tide or rain down from the sky."
In fact, while sailing here, I'd spotted countless pieces of furniture made of wood, from dressers to desks, drifting through the sea. What did the chief have to say about that?
"It'll be easier for me to show you than try to explain it," the chief said in his usual calm tone. "Hand me any piece of wood you acquired on your way here. Anything is fine."
I motioned for Versyl to take something out. And as soon as the chief touched the chest made of wood...
Swoosh.
Still, there was one thing in that exchange that caught my attention. "...Sir?"
"Yes... were you perhaps not told yet? This man here is one of the Great Sage's companions, the Dragon Knight—"
"Stop. You don't have to explain. I already know."
"I-Is that so?"
"What I'm wondering is something else. Even though your subordinates... died, you look like you're in pretty good spirits." I was speaking in an uncharacteristically roundabout way, but to be blunt, I wanted to know why he was being so polite to the chief of the monsters who killed his subordinates.
Thankfully, the captain was quick on the uptake. "Sir Bruingrid told me his side of the story, and that was... It was an accident. In fact, it'd be more accurate to say that Sir Bruingrid actually saved us. He even punished the monsters who killed my subordinates."
Punished them...
This wasn't even funny anymore. Especially the part where he could just laugh off his subordinates dying because the people who had killed them had gotten a slap on the wrist.
...Well, that's none of my business.
It didn't matter if that smile of his was genuine or if there was a knife hiding behind it. My only job was to take care of my own people.
"If your reunion is over, may I begin?"
With that, my attention shifted from the captain to the village chief. Because he gathered us all together like this, I figured he probably had something he wanted to talk to us about.
What is he scheming?
Once everyone quieted down and turned to him, the chief began to speak. "I have something I wish to request of all of you."
"...A request?"
"I want to clarify this in advance, but I'm not forcing you to take it. No, rather, I'm confident that this request will be beneficial for both parties."
Well, I'd decide that for myself after hearing him out. "Speak."
"I will give you all of the resources I can offer to help you explore this area, so please tell me everything you learned throughout your expedition."
Coming from a village chief, it really felt like I had just received a real, bona fide quest.
Hm... sharing the information we get on this expedition.
If everything the chief had told me was true, then this was a perfectly reasonable request to accept.
Again, that was if everything he told us was true.
"Why are you asking us to explore the area for you? Why don't you explore yourselves?"
"That's—"
"And don't say it's because the trees on this island don't float on water. Didn't you say so yourself? Plenty of building materials flow in on the tide or rain down from the sky."
In fact, while sailing here, I'd spotted countless pieces of furniture made of wood, from dressers to desks, drifting through the sea. What did the chief have to say about that?
"It'll be easier for me to show you than try to explain it," the chief said in his usual calm tone. "Hand me any piece of wood you acquired on your way here. Anything is fine."
I motioned for Versyl to take something out. And as soon as the chief touched the chest made of wood...
Swoosh.
The chest crumbled and turned into a pile of dust.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing. I simply touched it with my hand."
"Then why did the chest..."
"It's something innate to this race. Anything we touch that's made of wood ends up like this. Even if we wear heavy gloves, it all ends up crumbling in our hands."
What kind of nonsense...
The words nearly jumped from my throat, but I didn't say them aloud as something suddenly hit me.
Come to think of it... have I seen anything made of wood in this entire village?
...No, I hadn't.
All the buildings were stone, and their bows and arrows were made of bones and tendons. Since they didn't eat, they probably didn't need to build fires either. And wasn't the grass on the ground categorically different from trees?
Even at the forge, they were all producing flames by using skills or abilities... they weren't using firewood at all.
My only piece of evidence to the contrary was that the entrance to this village was tucked between the roots of a tree...
"Oh, and just in case you were wondering, this doesn't apply to trees that are still alive and have roots connected to the ground."
Wow. I really couldn't tell if he was lying or not so I asked a follow-up question instead. "Then why didn't you tell me that back then?"
"It'd be foolish to tell someone I just met a piece of information that could be used against us. To be honest, there's still no guarantee that you won't become our enemy sometime in the future."
"Uh..." Hm, he had a point. "Got it."
"You were quicker to accept my logic than I expected."
"I'm an adventurer."
At that, the village chief nodded in apparent understanding. "Right, you're an adventurer as well."
And adventurers didn't waste their time or energy on useless things.
***
To skip ahead a bit, we ended up accepting the chief's quest. I mean, there was no reason to refuse, right?
He said he'd support us, so let's get everything we can get out of him.
If things went sideways, we could just abandon the quest and that would be it. And if we ended up unable to flee, then we'd just need to keep our promise and share the information we had.
Plus, we'll need to spend at least a week in this village whether we like it or not anyway.
If what the village chief said was true, this "rainy season" would last for exactly seven days. The chief gave us an empty house to live in for the duration and even gave us the authority to freely roam the village...
"Phew..."
That was the reason I was alone right now. Amelia and Versyl were currently spearheading an investigation into the entire village.
Oh, and for the record, I hadn't taken sides in this "monsters versus people" debate.
Ancient Rafdonian, Rafdonian, Korean, English. As someone proficient in four different languages, I had a different mission.
Flip.
Namely, reading books.
It's a little harder than usual since I haven't read in a while...
My constant questions had apparently started to grate on the chief because he eventually cracked and gave me access to his study. The author of all the books inside was, of course, the chief himself.
Was writing books his only hobby?
Consistent with his story about not being able to use wood, the books were all made of layers of monster leather...
Smack.
Come on, focus, focus.
I slapped my cheeks to wake myself up and straightened up from where I was slumped over the wooden desk. Then I looked down at the leather book once more and began reading.
The Complete Book of Monsters
I didn't know if this was a coincidence or not, but the book had a title similar to a series from the surface that I had a rich history with. The chief had told me to handle this book with extreme care, and it was informative enough to warrant that worry. I'd be hard-pressed to find a better strategy guide than this one.
From the moment the chief first woke up on this island, he personally fought and studied all of the monsters he encountered and wrote down his observations in great detail in this book.
Well, compared to the books in the library I visited not too long ago, the quality and accuracy of the information were probably lacking.
But there are monsters here that I never saw in the books there.
The tears I was currently shedding from yawning were drops of blood I wouldn't have to shed in the future. I kept telling myself that as I plowed forward in my quest to commit this book to memory. After all, exhaustion was only a state of mind, and the contents of this book were pretty interesting, so it was actually a pretty engaging read—
"Huh?"
Wasn't this that guy? The thirty-foot-tall giant that I saw when the rainy season first began?
"The name... Hipramajent?"
Tsk, tsk, what a weird naming system. It sounded all right enough in the ancient tongue, but when you translated it, it just meant Big Giant...
After the rainy season ended, the patrol was sent out to collect magic stones discovered at the coast. Among the thirty elite warriors who were a part of that patrol, half of them died. Estimated rank is two.
A rank two...
I had gotten a sense from its sheer size, but that thing wasn't any old monster.
It was good that we came down to the village before it could reach us, I thought as I continued to read through the rest of the passage.
Then I froze. "...Huh?"
According to the testimony of one elite warrior who returned alive, its body grew one measure larger as soon as the battle began. Considering the difference between its initial and enlarged size...
Hipramajent seems to have the Orc Hero's active skill, Giantization.
...I'd acquired a new target.
The chest crumbled and turned into a pile of dust.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing. I simply touched it with my hand."
"Then why did the chest..."
"It's something innate to this race. Anything we touch that's made of wood ends up like this. Even if we wear heavy gloves, it all ends up crumbling in our hands."
What kind of nonsense...
The words nearly jumped from my throat, but I didn't say them aloud as something suddenly hit me.
Come to think of it... have I seen anything made of wood in this entire village?
...No, I hadn't.
All the buildings were stone, and their bows and arrows were made of bones and tendons. Since they didn't eat, they probably didn't need to build fires either. And wasn't the grass on the ground categorically different from trees?
Even at the forge, they were all producing flames by using skills or abilities... they weren't using firewood at all.
My only piece of evidence to the contrary was that the entrance to this village was tucked between the roots of a tree...
"Oh, and just in case you were wondering, this doesn't apply to trees that are still alive and have roots connected to the ground."
Wow. I really couldn't tell if he was lying or not so I asked a follow-up question instead. "Then why didn't you tell me that back then?"
"It'd be foolish to tell someone I just met a piece of information that could be used against us. To be honest, there's still no guarantee that you won't become our enemy sometime in the future."
"Uh..." Hm, he had a point. "Got it."
"You were quicker to accept my logic than I expected."
"I'm an adventurer."
At that, the village chief nodded in apparent understanding. "Right, you're an adventurer as well."
And adventurers didn't waste their time or energy on useless things.
***
To skip ahead a bit, we ended up accepting the chief's quest. I mean, there was no reason to refuse, right?
He said he'd support us, so let's get everything we can get out of him.
If things went sideways, we could just abandon the quest and that would be it. And if we ended up unable to flee, then we'd just need to keep our promise and share the information we had.
Plus, we'll need to spend at least a week in this village whether we like it or not anyway.
If what the village chief said was true, this "rainy season" would last for exactly seven days. The chief gave us an empty house to live in for the duration and even gave us the authority to freely roam the village...
"Phew..."
That was the reason I was alone right now. Amelia and Versyl were currently spearheading an investigation into the entire village.
Oh, and for the record, I hadn't taken sides in this "monsters versus people" debate.
Ancient Rafdonian, Rafdonian, Korean, English. As someone proficient in four different languages, I had a different mission.
Flip.
Namely, reading books.
It's a little harder than usual since I haven't read in a while...
My constant questions had apparently started to grate on the chief because he eventually cracked and gave me access to his study. The author of all the books inside was, of course, the chief himself.
Was writing books his only hobby?
Consistent with his story about not being able to use wood, the books were all made of layers of monster leather...
Smack.
Come on, focus, focus.
I slapped my cheeks to wake myself up and straightened up from where I was slumped over the wooden desk. Then I looked down at the leather book once more and began reading.
The Complete Book of Monsters
I didn't know if this was a coincidence or not, but the book had a title similar to a series from the surface that I had a rich history with. The chief had told me to handle this book with extreme care, and it was informative enough to warrant that worry. I'd be hard-pressed to find a better strategy guide than this one.
From the moment the chief first woke up on this island, he personally fought and studied all of the monsters he encountered and wrote down his observations in great detail in this book.
Well, compared to the books in the library I visited not too long ago, the quality and accuracy of the information were probably lacking.
But there are monsters here that I never saw in the books there.
The tears I was currently shedding from yawning were drops of blood I wouldn't have to shed in the future. I kept telling myself that as I plowed forward in my quest to commit this book to memory. After all, exhaustion was only a state of mind, and the contents of this book were pretty interesting, so it was actually a pretty engaging read—
"Huh?"
Wasn't this that guy? The thirty-foot-tall giant that I saw when the rainy season first began?
"The name... Hipramajent?"
Tsk, tsk, what a weird naming system. It sounded all right enough in the ancient tongue, but when you translated it, it just meant Big Giant...
After the rainy season ended, the patrol was sent out to collect magic stones discovered at the coast. Among the thirty elite warriors who were a part of that patrol, half of them died. Estimated rank is two.
A rank two...
I had gotten a sense from its sheer size, but that thing wasn't any old monster.
It was good that we came down to the village before it could reach us, I thought as I continued to read through the rest of the passage.
Then I froze. "...Huh?"
According to the testimony of one elite warrior who returned alive, its body grew one measure larger as soon as the battle began. Considering the difference between its initial and enlarged size...
Hipramajent seems to have the Orc Hero's active skill, Giantization.
...I'd acquired a new target.