54. Hunting the Mririk Electric Eel (2)
“Wayne! That thing’s huge and terrifying!”
Brock and the other dwarves watching beside him wore expressions of shock unbefitting their stout race.
“Disgusting! It paralyzes other monsters’ bodies and eats them!”
“How does it paralyze so many at once?”
“It’s electricity... Simply put, it’s like getting zapped by lightning.”
“Holy hell! A monster that spits lightning?!”
“Wayne! Is that the beast we have to hunt?”
“That’s right!”
“Damn! Valhalla!”
The young dwarf warriors shook their heads, repeatedly shouting Valhalla.
“Lord Wayne, shall I take a shot with my arrows?”
Sabina stepped forward.
“Hmm. It dives back underwater even when feeding, so timing a shot from above is tricky. And since it’s an A-rank monster, arrows won’t penetrate deeply anyway.”
“I see.”
Sabina bit her lip in disappointment. She wanted to help Wayne somehow, but she hadn’t contributed anything so far and was eager to do something.
Understanding her feelings, Wayne soothed her.
“Just wait a bit. If I find a way, there’ll be a chance for you to shine.”
“Yes. When the time comes, I’ll show you what I can do.”
And killing that massive thing with arrows alone would probably take at least a hundred shots. They didn’t have enough arrows, and the beast certainly wouldn’t wait around that long...
“Everyone, fall back. It knows we’re here!”
Wayne retreated to the riverbank for now. Even the bank wasn’t entirely safe. The Mririk had a snake-like body, perfect for snatching prey from the shore and dragging it into the water in an instant. And it could unleash electric attacks even out of the water.
Gigants and Steel Golems had gathered in front of the massive World Tree trunk.
“Rest here.”
“Got it.”
Unlike Gigants, the advantage of Steel Golems was that they weren’t piloted, so they could fight immediately with just a supply of Odd if enemies or monsters appeared—making them ideal for guard duty.
The dwarves decided to rotate one guard at a time, while Wayne pondered how to hunt the monster.
Darkness fell over the Great Forest as expected. The night sky was so clear it seemed stars were pouring down.
One could rarely see the sky in the Great Forest, but here near the river, the stars and moon sinking over the water created a poetic scene.
And in the past, this place hadn’t been part of the Great Forest either—just an ordinary woodland.
‘I wonder if the Acad Kingdom still exists?’
King Karian of Carian had harbored feelings for one woman his entire life. Because of her, he never married even in middle age.
She was the queen of the elves. Ruling hundreds of thousands of elves, she couldn’t live with a human like him, and Karian couldn’t abandon his kingdom, the largest among human realms.
They met during the war against the giants, fell for each other, but had to live apart.
Wayne planned to visit the Acad Kingdom someday. But reaching it required crossing areas infested with S-rank monsters, so he needed to gather enough Odd to fight while piloting Martias, made from dragon parts.
“Lord Wayne, are you thinking of a way to catch the monster?”
Sabina approached and sat beside him. Bathed in moonlight, the half-elf looked especially beautiful tonight.
Even in the monster-ridden Great Forest, this spot with her felt like time had stopped—strangely peaceful.
“Actually, I had one idea before coming here, but I’m debating whether to use it.”
“May I ask what it is?”
“Have you ever been fishing?”
“Not for fish, no.”
“You know the method, though. My plan’s just like fishing. Tie a Steel Golem with rope made from monster tendons, place it by the water, wait for the Mririk to strike. Then everyone pulls together to drag it out. After that...”
“We rush in and attack.”
“Exactly!”
Sabina nodded.
“Sounds solid to me.”
“I thought so too. But watching it hunt those smilodons today, I realized it’s pretty smart. It let the first prey pass, waited until they relaxed and crossed in a herd, then ambushed and took five at once. With that patience and knowledge of how to catch more prey, it probably won’t go for an inedible Steel Golem bait—or even strike at all.”
“Ah! You’re right.”
“There’s another issue. Even if it bites and comes ashore, its electric attack makes close assault risky. The dwarves need to be near the golem for max output, but they’d get fried. Too far, and it lacks the pull to stop it fleeing back to the water...”
“And you can’t attack either, Lord Wayne.”
“Right. I’d go down first without a Gigant.”
Its higher-than-expected intelligence meant he needed a different approach or plan reinforcement.
A botched attempt could make it relocate its hunting ground, and with no time to waste, he had to succeed on the first try.
Plus, how long the golem core—the heart of the Steel Golem—could withstand electric attacks was questionable. Too strong a current might shatter the magic stone, killing the golem.
Wayne looked at Sabina. No point brooding alone; with her here, he’d ask what he’d been curious about.
“Sabina.”
“Yes?”
“Your Odd Eye is green. Because you’re part elf?”
At his question, Sabina’s face turned serious, and she bit her lip.
“You knew and asked anyway?”
“Just curious. Alicia too, so I wondered.”
“Yes. Those who inherit elven blood can manifest green Odd Eyes. But it only passes to quarter-bloods; after that, they’re like regular humans.”
Her tone sounded a bit irritable, so Wayne tilted his head.
“Did I say something rude?”
“No.”
Sabina fell silent. Something unpleasant had come to mind, or his question had hurt her—he was sure of it, but didn’t know why.
Gathering Odd in his eyes, Wayne asked,
“Huh? A green Odd Eye?”
Sabina looked stunned. He’d only used red Odd on the way here, so this was her first time seeing his green one.
“As you see, I can do it too. So elven blood flows in me as well, right?”
“Your mother must have been an elf or half-elf.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Alicia said you’re the son of a noble from a major territory. The last elven noble house is gone, so no elves on your father’s side—only possible from the mother.”
Even after he showed his green Odd Eye, her response was as cold as Siberian winds.
But Wayne didn’t catch the implication.
Perplexed, he got a slightly apologetic look from her.
“Sorry. It’s not your fault, but elf talk always gets me sensitive.”
“Why? Can’t you tell me?”
It seemed there was a story behind it.
Sabina hesitated, then spoke.
“Have you heard that elven green Odd is more suited to Gigants?”
“No, first time.”
“Not many know. Elves are few, and antithetical to the Great Forest, so most migrated to the Sky Mountains or the continent’s east long ago. But some Sky Mountain elf houses came down to the Barantia Empire and settled, causing issues.”
It was doctrine that elves couldn’t handle Odd or pilot Gigants. Yet some long-resident Barantian elves began wielding Odd under Great Forest influence.
These elves manifested green Odd Eyes, piloted Gigants, and synced far better than humans.
The previous emperor, learning this, granted titles to Odd-using elves to win them over.
But human envy knew no bounds. They craved elven green Odd too. Impossible unless born elf.
But not entirely—elves could pass it to children.
Children of elven men and human women oddly didn’t inherit green Odd. Only from elven women.
Thus, the imperial family and great nobles proposed marriages to elven houses’ daughters.
But elves were scarce, suitors many. Tragedy began.
“People kidnap elven women in this Barantia Empire just to breed green-Odd kids?!”
Wayne’s voice rose in disbelief.
“Elven nobles who resisted are gone from the empire. Quarter-elves don’t pass green Odd, so Alicia’s safe, but as a former half-elf, Sabina might still be targeted.”
“That’s why the baroness worries about you.”
Now Wayne understood why Alicia kept Sabina indoors.
His face paled.
‘What? Then Marquis Frank knows I have elven blood too!’
He’d shown his green Odd Eye to the 7th Division, Gigant cadets—even Adam Stein.
‘Why no comment?’
His mind raced. Then he recalled Cassnet’s words when Bran’s soldiers first surrounded them.
— Young Lord Wayne is not only the son of the Stein family but also of Lady Adranne.
Wayne looked at Sabina.
“Ever heard the name Adranne?”
“Of course. Eldest daughter of the last elven noble house, Elgain.”
A shock hit, flashing a realization.
‘That’s why no one suspected me?’
The real Wayne also inherited blood from elven noble Adranne, so he could manifest green Odd Eyes someday.
And since he could too, the great noble house ruling a vast territory accepted him unquestioned as their son.
But then, who was his real mother? Where did Cassnet fetch him to serve as body slave? Why him, with elven blood? Wayne’s questions were just beginning.
His head spun, wrinkling his brow unconsciously.
“Lord Wayne, you look exhausted.”
“Ah! Hearing about elves... it doesn’t feel like someone else’s problem. Let’s rest tonight and focus on the monster tomorrow.”
Overworking the mind narrowed thoughts. Sleep and rest often brought better ideas, so he forced himself to bed.
“Garuruk!”
“Gekkuruk!”
The frog monsters’ cries echoed along the riverbank. Yond, just relieved from guard duty and about to lie down, shook his head and rose.
“Gross! Crazy frogs!”
“Yond, I didn’t sleep a wink either!”
Reliever Barak’s eyes were bloodshot too. Thought-plagued Wayne hadn’t slept and sat up.
Only Ajul snored peacefully.
“One of those would turn Valhalla into hell!”
“And why don’t those Mrirics eat the damn frogs? So noisy!”
“’Cause they’re poison frogs...!”
Wayne’s eyes flashed at his own words.