Chapter 31 (1/2)

Volume 1

V2 Chapter 8

「Troublesome Things」Part 2

The following day, we left the inn in Cellist early morning and entered the forest via the south gate .

We originally took the highway along the forest before taking the southwest detour that leads to Mt . Parnassus . Normally you’d need a compass to safely navigate the forest; however, that was only if you weren’t accompanied one of the forest people as Ariane did not waver as she advanced .

A thin layer of magic obstructing fog covered the Canada forest, making 【Dimensional Step]unusable .

Even without the fog, there would be no opportunity to show the value of transfer magic as the vegetation thickened the farther we penetrated into the forest’s depths .

Like I thought, the forest on this side of Riburuto river is vastly different from the great Canada forest . After all, the great Canada forest is an ancient forest that spreads out from the large old trees in the center .

I passed the time searching the forest for a potential location to use【Dimensional Step]

Around noon, we found a suitable place to rest and enjoyed the preserved food we bought in Cellist yesterday .

The meal consisted of jerky, smoked potatoes, dried apples and walnuts . All of it went for around three silver coins, but the dried apples alone had cost one silver coin . However, since the leather pouches in my luggage bag contained more than one thousand gold coins each, it wasn’t that big of a deal . . Instead I’m more troubled by the fact that we’ve only had to cover the inn charges and food so far .

Ever since we bought the apples, Ponta had been shaking her tail back and forth and was staring quite intensely at them .

When I started dangling the fruit in front of Ponta, Ariana properly scolded me saying “This is pathetic”

While Ponta was ecstatically eating her dire apple, I petted her and ate my own meal .

I tried to used 【Flame]to warm up my smoked potato, but it seems the heat was too high because the potato was reduced to a lump of coal in my hand . Ariane must have skillfully used her spirit magic to warm up her potato because she was triumphantly eating hers next to me .

The thought of practicing to control my magic output crossed my mind as I gnawed on my burnt potato .

Once lunch came to an end, we resumed our trek through the forest under Ariane’s guidance .

Only Ponta was not in her usual spot since she was currently taking a nap while being held between Ariane’s ample bosom . In many ways, it was an enviable situation .

When I started to wonder how long we had already trekked through the forest, it dawned on me that the birds’ chirping and the howls of other animals had ceased, leaving only the rustle of the leaves to break the silence .

When they noticed the situation, Ariane lowered her baggage while Ponta coiled herself around her neck . Even though she was still half asleep, Ponta still managed to ensure that she would not fall off .

However, now is not the time to leisurely comment on such things .

Dropping my luggage bag, I move the Saint Thunder sword to my waist and draw it while simultaneously grabbing the Shield of Titus with my other hand . The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps began to mix in with the sound of the rustling leaves .

They were approaching at a rapid speed from every direction .

In order to cover our blind spots Ariane and I stood back-to-back with each other

For an instant, the undergrowth shook before a pack of large white wolves leaped out .

The wolves were two meters long from head to tail and they were baring their fangs in our direction .

When one of the wolves leaped at me I use my sword to cut it in two, but I didn’t feel any resistance at all . Instead, the body of the wolf I cut down completely dissipated, and a new white wolf appeared in its place .

“What!?”

While I was caught off guard, the white wolf managed to get past the range of my sword, thrusting its head forward for a bite . As I took a step back to regain my balances the wolf suddenly started to howl .

“Garruuu!!”

While I tried to regain my balance, I felt a large shock from the hand that I held my shield in as two white wolves threw themselves at it .

I bash the wolves with the shield, but just like before they dissipated, so the only thing  achieved was a wide swing . While I was preoccupied, a wolf used the opportunity to bite at my sword hand, frantically trying to rip my arm off .

However, my arm was protected by Saint Armor of Belen so I felt no pain at all, and the wolf quickly tired of this futile endeavor .

I throw out the arm with the wolf on it, sending the wolf flying into the air before slashing the falling wolf with my sword .

However, it seems I put a little too much power into it because my light slash removed one of the wolf’s fore-paws with a large spray of blood .

The surrounding illusions and wolves simultaneously took a step back, so I took this chance to begin my counterattack by casting【Flame]from the tip of my sword .

A stream of flames similar to a flamethrower appeared, rapidly increasing in temperature and the surrounding area was charred black .

I had already used【Dimensional step]to transfer next to the beast and plunge my sword into its heart . Because the real wolves responded faster than the illusions, it was easy to distinguish the real ones from the rest of them . Seems like an unexpected weakness had been revealed .

When I looked back, I saw Ariane was surrounded by a group of illusions and wolves, but she seemed to be able to handle herself just fine . She used her spirit magic to create an elevated foothold and surrounded herself with a ring of flames, which guaranteed that they would be injured with every charge .

One of the wolves had a gouged-out eye and a missing leg, which rendered it unable to move . The other wolves had also suffered injuries because I could see red streaks in their fur

As you’d expect from someone trained as a soldier, she was able to fight well even for extended periods of time . On the other hand, I simply took advantage of my high physical prowess; however, it’s rather tricky to apply my prowess in this battle .

Though the problem could have been settled with ranged attacks, ever since I’ve come to this world I hardly tried using my magic skills . If I used them recklessly then there’s no telling how much damage I could cause .

However, this was a perfect opportunity──

Believing it to be a clever idea, I looked beyond the group of wolves before me .

There was a rather large wolf behind them that had yet to join the battle . Each time I attack it would retreat, seeming content with observing the situation from the back .

While calmly observing the battle, the boss wolf uttered a cry .

Some of the boss’s subordinates moved into a visibly different formation .

The game is afoot .

“Come!”

Setting my glaze besides the boss wolf, I cast the 【Flame]spell and followed it up with【Dimensional step] .

In an instant my form disappeared, causing the boss wolf and his group to tense up .

The moment I was beside the boss wolf, I took a swing with my sword .

However, the boss’s instincts were rather sharp as it was able to instantly dodge my attack . But I was not going to let it escape, so I used 【Dimensional step]to travel in the direction the boss dodged .

Since the boss was in the middle of dodging it was carried by the law of inertia rather than its own legs . I raise my sword and bring it down on the wolf in question .

When the boss saw that I had transferred, it tried to twist its body in mid-air, but it was to late as the sword had already pierced its neck, and blood began to flow from its throat .

The spray of blood splattered across the ground . I glanced at the bloody soil before transferring back to Ariane’s back .