39. Pyneton (3)
39. Pyneton (3)
Following the advice of Masek, the guide they'd hired from the Information Guild <Lantern>, they purchased sandwiches and bread and stuffed them into a subspace pouch.
And so their journey began.
Jeobeok jeobeok
"Camping for just one day should be sufficient. It's not that far."
Masek took the lead of Yuma's party with practiced movements.
It was clearly different from his somewhat bumbling first impression.
Even before they reached the area near Gelpiel Forest, the overall terrain had been rainforest, so outwardly it was not much different from any other woods.
Masek, much like Hestia, seemed to have a personality that disliked silence. As he walked through the forest, he continued to talk on and on.
"The most distinguishing feature that separates Gelpiel Forest from the adjacent Manyu Forest is that the color of the trees growing at the front of the forest is closer to red. I do not know why, but the trees at the front of Gelpiel bear a markedly more intense red color compared to trees that are naturally reddish-brown."
Hestia's eyes widened.
"Whoa, that's really unique."
"Right?"
"Yeah!"
Masek, who had worked as a guide for twenty years since his mid-teens, had faced all manner of scoundrels and eccentrics, so it did not bother him one bit that Hestia, a girl young enough to be his junior, spoke to him in banmal.
Besides the banmal, she did not commit any particularly rude actions.
'...The Cat Tribe does seem a bit peculiar, though.'
He had only seen them two or three times at most, but every single member of the Cat Tribe who carried a sword at their waist possessed terrifying skill. Perhaps that was why Masek automatically found himself showing them deference.
"But, Masek."
Hestia of the Cat Tribe suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
"Y-Yes?"
Startled by Hestia suddenly saying his name, Masek spun around to look back.
Hestia's scarlet cat ears were both perked straight up.
"Do you know how to fight at all?"
Masek's brown hair shook vigorously from side to side.
"No... I made a fairly continuous effort to build up competitiveness as a guide, but I never improved at all. But why do you ask...?"
Hestia grinned.
"Then I think you should fall back. Three Lizardmen are approaching. They're still quite far away, but they're stealthy and swift."
Hestia's ears remained pricked up.
"Eeeek!"
Masek, who had been performing his guiding duties at the front, scrambled backward in a hurry at Hestia's words.
Hestia stuck close to Yuma's side.
"Definitely three of them! Their builds seem a bit larger than normal Lizardmen. Though you probably already noticed them faster than I did!"
No, how would I notice them.
They were not even visible yet.
Yuma silently drew [Axion].
"Prepare yourselves."
He then looked at Cloné, who was beside him, and spoke.
"Yes."
Cloné gave a large nod.
Seuseuseuk-
The sound of presences cutting through the dark forest finally reached Yuma's ears.
A monster with a massive build and a lizard's head, the <Lizardman>, appeared.
Keureureu...
Three pairs, a total of six golden eyes, glinted from within the darkness.
It was the gaze of a reptile, and ironically, it could also be called the unmistakable gaze of a hunter.
Yuma checked the levels floating above their heads.
[Lv.69] [Lv.72] [Lv.71]
All three possessed levels roughly equivalent to a mid-level Sword Expert.
Yuma eyed Hestia.
She was in the same mid-level Sword Expert state as when they first met, but her level, now 74, had risen by seven steps.
He then eyed Cloné.
Cloné's level was 48.
It was an astonishing figure. She had been level 38 when he first saw her. In the span of about a month, she had achieved a full ten levels.
She had gone from the 3rd Circle to the 4th Circle.
'A mage was a class where level held relatively little meaning, after all.'
At least, that was how it was in <Loof Blood>.
Unlike the swordsman or warrior classes, whose power was determined by the total amount of strength and aura, a mage's level varied wildly depending on how well they controlled their magic casting even at a lower circle, and how many different elemental magics they could efficiently handle.
'At this rate, she'll be up to the 6th Circle in no time.'
Since she was someone who possessed the innate trait <Magic Genius> of all things.
As proof of that, a young girl who had been a mere 3rd Circle mage only a month ago had now reached the 4th Circle and was on the very cusp of the 5th Circle.
In <Loof Blood>, the wall for the mage class began at the 6th Circle. This was because while the starting point for the 6th Circle was correctly at level 60, the starting point for the 7th Circle was a whopping level 100.
The limit of humanity.
In <Loof Blood>, the level customarily referred to as the human limit was the 8th Circle.
And based on his previous conversation with Eldrie, the 7th Circle mage and Imperial Red Magic Tower Lord he had met before, mages hailed as geniuses from childhood generally could not overcome the 7th Circle.
Given the added information that there had only been three people in all of history to reach the 8th Circle, the state of magic in this world closely resembled that of <Loof Blood>.
'So a Grand Master level must be what they call 8th Circle.'
Even so, Yuma did not doubt for a second that Cloné would one day be able to reach the 8th Circle.
After all, even the Red Magic Tower Lord Eldrie, revered by countless nobles, did not possess the trait of Magic Genius.
"Take the front."
"Got it!"
Gripping the longsword [Full Moon's Kiseteria] that Yuma had given her, Hestia advanced without the slightest hesitation.
There was no need to add any more words; she would handle it on her own.
Yuma stood before the highest-level Lizardman, the one at level 72.
It was a muscular Lizardman that looked easily three meters tall.
The Lizardman's racial trait was to exploit its physical superiority and the long reach of its arms to annihilate opponents with its spear.
Kwaaahk!
Its foot, reminiscent of a dinosaur's foot, smashed down to crush the earth.
The spear blade brutally shoved the air aside.
A spinning spear.
The Lizardman's characteristic black aura coiled around the spear's blade.
Yuma swung [Axion].
Jjeo-eo-eo-eo-eong!
A golden, circular impact radiated out.
<Absolute Counter>
A black slash sliced away the entire upper part of the Lizardman's collarbone and beyond.
Kuuuung!
The body of the Lizardman, now devoid of its head, toppled helplessly backward.
Having snuffed out one of their lives in an instant, Yuma looked to his side.
Cloné was facing off against the [Lv.69] Lizardman.
An ice-attribute magic formed from the casting in her left hand.
Frost flowed down the length of her staff and bound both of the Lizardman's feet.
Cloné's right hand moved like a lightning strike.
An ultramarine magic circle was completing itself above her palm.
Kiiiing─!
<Chain Lightning> bound the Lizardman's entire body.
The basic purpose of the Chain Lightning spell was to electrocute and restrain the target's movements, but what Cloné prioritized this time was completely blocking the Lizardman's vision with the bolts of lightning.
With the staff in her left hand, she traced another magic circle once more.
Massive chunks of Frozen Crystal emerged from the dark-blue magic circle.
She swung her staff vertically.
Three Frozen Crystals hurtled down according to Cloné's command and will.
Ppeo-beobeok!
One pierced through the Lizardman's left eye. It was a Frozen Crystal that reached all the way to its brain.
Keureureu-euk!
As the Lizardman stumbled backward in disbelief, a crystal was rammed into the left side of its chest.
And then a lightning bolt, aimed as the final fatal blow, struck down squarely on the dead center of the Lizardman's head.
The Lizardman's body crumbled.
She had overturned a gap of nearly 20 levels with a sequence of dense, high-concentration magic castings.
Yuma walked up to Cloné.
Tiny beads of cold sweat had formed on her forehead.
She must have overexerted herself. But he had not the slightest thought of scolding her for it. Because Yuma knew better than anyone that Cloné had defeated an opponent far beyond her own limits.
Yuma pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Cloné's forehead.
"You did well. Good job."
Seureuk─
Cloné's golden eyes grew wide as saucers at Yuma's words and actions.
Cloné soon broke into a bashful smile.
"Thank you."
It was because she felt as if all the fatigue that had accumulated at once blew away in a single instant.
'...Praise.'
She had to earn it again.
Cloné thought that to herself as she watched Yuma stride elegantly onward.
"Hiyahp!"
Chwaaak!
The Lizardman Hestia had cut along a diagonal line was slammed into the ground.
After scanning the now-resolved situation, Yuma opened his mouth.
"We're moving out again, Masek."
The brown-haired guide Masek kept nodding his head, his face deathly pale.
"Yep!"
***
The 1st Imperial Princess Brigitte's direct knight appeared before her.
The blond knight Michael approached Brigitte, who was seated at her chair attending to her official duties.
She had heard the news yesterday that Yuma had defeated Kamet, the King of the barbarian nation Pyneton, on the southern front and brought the war to an end.
Along with a tale of valor about how he did not just stop at defeating the Conqueror King, but swept the enemies away with slashes so fierce that they completely lost their will to fight.
And what came out of Michael's mouth this time was a follow-up report on that matter.
"Information has come in that Lord Yuma has passed through Pyneton's border guard."
"Oh?"
Brigitte was now seized by a conviction that before long, the <Blue-haired Sword Saint> who had appeared in the saintess's oracle would stand before her very eyes.
Because there was not a single task Yuma had ever failed to accomplish.
Her rock-solid faith showed not the slightest sign of wavering.
"I will have to make preparations."
Half of the high-ranking nobles were already on her side.
By the time Yuma returned with the <Blue-haired Sword Saint>, she had to ensure that a majority of both the Noble Council and the Council of Elders were aligned with her.
'Yuma, you will accomplish your part.'
There was no way Yuma would fail to do his, so she absolutely had to do hers.