Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Anyone Got a Problem?
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A smile tugged at Damian's lips.
There couldn't be a more satisfying situation.
"Keuek!"
Wood Elves swarmed in from all directions.
Their eyes burned with madness in place of reason.
Slash!
The second one.
Countless abilities seeped into his body.
Senses alien to humans, belonging to another race.
"What the hell is that guy?"
The subjugation team members stared at Damian in astonishment.
A solitary figure butchering Wood Elves.
He was a monster incarnate.
"G-Good! Keep pushing!"
One might expect panic at the rookie's sudden prowess, whom they'd dismissed earlier.
But Subjugation Leader Torg saw it as an opportunity instead.
A chance to wipe his nose without lifting a finger.
Something's off with him.
Yet Damian didn't let his guard down.
The deeper and darker it got inside.
All his senses sharpened to a razor's edge.
It was right then.
...A mage?
A Wood Elf clad in a robe of tree bark.
It limped out stealthily.
"Grrr..."
And that was just the start.
The moment it slammed its staff down with an eerie incantation.
Rumble rumble rumble...!
Something emerged from beneath the rotten soil.
A grotesque mass of mud, filth, and green slime.
Bones and skulls floated aimlessly within its body.
Not a mage—an alchemist, huh.
An alchemical creation.
Commonly called a "slime."
The monster lunged at the mercenaries.
"Uwaaak! W-What the hell is this?!"
"Get off me, you freak!"
The mercenaries swung their swords in panic, but.
Clang! Thud!
It wasn't a foe blades could handle.
Its sticky body absorbed the impacts whole.
The real monster's here.
Damian's eyes gleamed with interest in that instant.
Could he steal abilities even from a thing like that?
Time to find out.
An irresistible curiosity.
"Haaap!"
Damian kicked off the ground and charged.
Igniting every ounce of power as a sword practitioner.
Crunch!
As expected, he was leagues above the mercenaries.
His blade sank deep into the creation's body.
Squelch squelch...
But the result was the same.
The sliced parts knit back together in seconds.
No damage inflicted.
Regeneration.
Most attacks were useless.
Even mana-enhanced strikes regenerated instantly.
In that case...
Two options left.
Find its weakness somehow.
Or.
Overwhelm it beyond regeneration.
Honestly, no clue on the weakness.
It's not like he'd fought slimes before.
So, the latter it is.
He set down his buckler.
Then gripped Dawn with both hands.
I'll mince you to bits.
With firm resolve.
Slash!
He began hacking at the slime again.
No—more like grinding it down.
And why not?
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
With near-rotational speed from the recoil.
Swinging Dawn relentlessly.
"Haaaaap!"
A truly ferocious dismemberment.
Leaving no room for regeneration.
The result was exactly as Damian intended.
"Grk... Grrrk...!"
With bizarre noises.
Splat!
The slimy mass collapsed, drained of strength.
"...!"
Damian's eyes widened.
It worked?
An artificially created being.
Not even humanoid—a slime.
He'd absorbed an ability from such a monster.
Which means.
He could devour anything.
Humans, monsters, creations.
Anything alive and moving.
No limits?
The realization sent shivers racing through him.
"Haa."
Of course, the satisfaction was fleeting.
His gaze soon fixed on the slime's summoner.
The Wood Elf alchemist.
With ravenous eyes.
What ability will you give me?
Irresistible curiosity.
Damian kicked off the ground.
Target: Wood Elf alchemist.
Neck, heart—didn't matter.
Slash!
If it could be taken, that was enough.
Its head flew off pathetically.
There it was.
The ability he'd secretly hoped for.
Alchemy knowledge.
Alchemy demanded vast knowledge, rivaling magic.
Even basics required immense study and practice.
And now, that knowledge flooded his mind whole.
An unexpected harvest.
Slime regeneration, ancient alchemy.
Abilities hard to come by on the battlefield.
Coming out was the right call.
Ongoing battle.
Unilateral slaughter.
Damian turned after felling the last foe.
The subjugation team stared at him blankly.
Faces dumbstruck, as if seeing a ghost.
"..."
It was understandable.
They'd pegged him as a nobody.
"...G-Good work! Haha!"
Then Subjugation Leader Torg stepped forward.
His attitude had clearly shifted.
"Attention, everyone."
But Damian ignored him entirely.
Instead, he addressed the rest of the team.
"There's something deep in that forest."
The intense aura he'd sensed earlier.
Now so close, it demanded addressing.
"It feels incomparable to the Wood Elves we've faced so far—like something far stronger. Still planning to push on with the subjugation?"
Murmurs rippled through the team.
Torg asked,
"What exactly is back there?"
"No idea."
"How do you know something's there?"
"I can feel it."
"..."
An absurd answer.
Yet no one dismissed it lightly.
They'd witnessed his overwhelming skill.
He'd detected the Wood Elf swarm first.
And mercilessly carved through them all.
"...We'll know when we see it. If anything's there or not."
Moments later.
The team discovered a massive tree in the forest's heart.
"...You see that thing?"
"Something really is there."
And not just that.
A grand throne of rotten roots beneath it.
A Wood Elf seated upon it.
"Ah, that must be the king."
"Even got a crown on."
"Let's smash it quick and grab the gold."
The mercenaries swaggered even facing the enemy.
The crowned Wood Elf looked ridiculous to them.
But.
That one's strong.
Damian's world was different.
If named, a "Cursed Wood Elf Lord."
It was leagues beyond the elves they'd fought.
"Humans come to offer tribute, I see."
Right then.
The Wood Elf Lord intoned.
In surprisingly fluent continental tongue.
"Yet why..."
It rose from the throne.
Grasping a jagged Elven Sword.
"...do you not show proper respect?"
The chant ended there.
The Wood Elf Lord readjusted its grip.
The moment it assumed stance.
Flash!
It closed the distance in a blink.
Slash!
Its blade traced a crescent arc.
"...!"
Three subjugation members' heads flew.
Instant death.
"W-What...?"
"Three at once...?"
The survivors grasped the situation fast.
Run.
Can't win that.
How do you kill a monster like that?
No matter the 100 gold.
Could it match their lives?
"R-Run...!"
Subjugation Leader Torg bolted first.
The rest scrambled after him.
"..."
The Cursed Wood Elf Lord watched them go impassively.
Surprisingly, it let the fleeing ones be.
Its gaze fixed solely on the lone remaining Damian.
"You do not flee?"
"Why run? Looks manageable."
"Manageable? You and your baggage?"
The lord scoffed.
Sneer spilling from withered lips.
"Such insolence."
Then it lowered its sword.
Into a bizarre, twisted stance.
"Show respect with your life."
No sooner said.
Flash!
The lord vanished from sight.
Fast.
No—too mild a word.
A speed even Damian struggled to react to.
The instant silver flashed before him.
Claaaang!
Collision hurled his body back.
Pain piercing through his buckler.
Not just fast.
Equally heavy.
...As expected.
Far beyond anticipated destructive power.
Yet Damian didn't panic.
His prior doubts ignited into flame.
I want it.
The Wood Elf Lord's earlier display.
Decapitating three in a flash.
I want to take it.
Swordsmanship or technique.
He needed it to be satisfied.
That urge was pure "gluttony."
Everything from that twisted monster.
Damian readjusted his grip on Dawn.
Secured his buckler tight.
"Haaaaap!"
With a roar-like shout.
He charged the Wood Elf Lord.
To claim everything it had.
Even if it killed him.
"W-We lived...!"
"What was that monster? Killed three in a blink!"
Shadow Forest entrance.
The subjugation team collapsed, gasping ragged breaths.
"Everyone make it out?"
"Yeah, except that rookie from earlier."
"He fought pretty well, though."
"No way he took it solo."
Fear and relief mingled in the air.
Torg spat and said,
"Solo my ass—he's probably paste by now."
His gaze turned to the forest depths.
"Well, thanks to him, we're alive. Guess we owe him that much?"
Right then.
"Everyone okay?!"
Anton, the caravan leader waiting outside.
He rushed to the emerging team.
"Ah, Leader."
Torg hurried over.
"We nearly bought it. Way stronger than expected."
"Stronger ones? Besides Wood Elves, another monster?"
"Looked like their king. Sliced three with one swing."
"How could such a beast be in Shadow Forest...?"
Even Anton hadn't foreseen this.
He'd assumed only the usual twisted Wood Elves haunted the trade route.
"So, about that—think we need to bump the price."
"What do you mean? The subjugation failed, didn't it?"
"Aw, come on, we're not that shameless."
"Then...?"
"Not the success bonus—the base pay."
20 gold just for participating.
Torg latched onto that.
"Turned out insanely dangerous, right? Nearly died, and six actually did."
"...Fair point."
"So, hazard pay bump makes sense, yeah? Wouldn't have joined if we knew."
And the logic held water.
"...We'll raise the base pay."
Could haggle deeper, sure.
But Anton backed off here.
No desire to brawl with mercenaries.
Especially with only five bodyguards.
"Thanks for hearing me out. Oh, and..."
But Torg didn't know "enough."
Seeing compliance, he pushed further.
"That... success bonus."
Torg grinned slyly.
"Technically, we nearly succeeded, right? Got everything except that freak."
"Listen, Leader—that's a stretch. Success bonus requires full completion..."
"Just a little something, then? Trade route's clear thanks to us."
"..."
"A token gesture. Original success was 100 gold... so 20 each to keep it friendly?"
Subtle pressure.
Anton's face flushed.
Guys who didn't quit while ahead.
No winning here.
"...Fine. After confirming the route's safe?"
"Of course! We're all in this together, right? Haha!"
They'd crushed everything but that monster.
As long as it stayed put, no issue.
If the crowned freak emerged?
Pocket the base and bail.
No-loss venture.
As Torg savored satisfaction.
"No need for that."
A voice from the forest.
All eyes turned.
"...Huh?"
Torg's eyes bulged.
The man he'd deemed dead.
Damian Winter emerged.
Caked in red and black blood.
"How...?"
Damian said nothing.
Instead, he tossed something at their feet.
Thud!
It rolled across the ground.
A head, turned ashen gray.
Wearing a crown of rotten wood.
"The Wood Elf Lord...!"
Everyone gasped.
The Cursed Wood Elves' king.
Taken down solo?
"Success bonus."
He eyed them.
"I'll be taking the whole lot."
27 shares from the 33-man team, minus 6 dead.
All his.
"Anyone got a problem?"