Vol 1 Chapter 7 (1/2)
LEVEL 1: A Whisper, an Aria, a Prayer, an Awakening
Chapter 7: Slow Start
South of Altana lay a series of tall, precipitous e The Tenryuu Mountains divided the Grial continent into two parts The southern part was considered theAltana, was known as the frontier
Or at least “frontier” hat the humans called it The main continent, Altana, and the frontier territories, north of the Tenryuu Mountains, were in the possession of the hudoo, the frontier hadn’t been a frontier at all In the past, there existed several hual
However, everything had changed with the arrival of the fearso He did not just possess ht, but was a skilled politician as well The Deathless King brought forth a new race of undead and, as their leader, did more than merely conquer He convinced the leaders of other races to acknowledge his authority, fors with thedoms The humans were easily defeated and forced to flee south of the Tenryuu Mountains
Afterwards, the Deathless King was nos to beco E about one hundred years ago, huely unable to set foot north of the Tenryuu Mountains, but with the loss of his unifying leadershi+p the Undying Ee of the opportunity, the Aravakia Kingdohold in the north and so it has remained to this day
And of course, all of this information had been obtained by Manato
The lands across the Tenryuu Mountains south of Altana were es dotting the landscape To the north were open fields and forests
“And around here,” Yurass as she explained, “there’s deer and foxes and other anitime now, bears appear once in a while Then there’s Chi, thin tails, tiny ears, hands, and feet that hop around They’re pretty good little guys Then there’s the savage pit rats, big as cats with super hard fur”
“Really?” Ranta formed a visor with his hands and looked around “‘Cause I don’t see squat”
“Err…” Yume frowned “But when Yu, he’d use his bow and arrow to bag game for us”
“Maybe they’re all just hiding,” Manato said, as he pointed to a forested area to everyone’s right “In the wooded areas”
Haruhiro nodded “You ht If I were a wild animal, I wouldn’t feel really safe out in the open where there’s no trees or brush to hide in”
Ranta snorted derisively “See? They all know to fear me”
“So if we can’t find any game, it’s your fault”
“Shut it, Haruhiro! It’s THANKS to racious indebtedness to me!”
“You shut it Even if there were any ga like that will scare them off”
“AND IT’S ALL THANKS TO MY GodLY SELF”
“It’s no use, the kid’s clueless…”
“Um” It was the first tihout the entire exchange, had spoken “Are we going to be… killing animals?”
Everyone suddenly stopped in their tracks
Come to think of it, a reserve force soldier’s job was to defend against hostile races and fightabout hunting ani the meat or pelts
“Yu thanks to the animals whose lives are taken” Yume frowned “But Yume likes animals and doesn’t want to kill them They’re so cute and it’s just sad to kill them…”
Ranta scoffed disdainfully “Save that sorta touchy-feely kindness for sos eventually die and are es I kill in order for me to live”
“In that case, then” Yu its tip directly at Ranta “It would be okay if Yume killed Ranta so that Yume can live”
Ranta sprung back “I-i-idiot! Don’t say stupid things like that, flat-chested girl! Are you serious?! Quit it already! What would you gain by killing me?!”
“Yuood afterwards You also called Yume flat-chested”
“Y-you said it yourself first! ‘Yume’s chest is flat’”
“Even if Yume did, it doesn’t mean she wants it to be said by sos”
“S-sorry! I’round “See, I’ive antic! HUMONGOUS!”
“Ranta” More than looking down to hi down on him “You’re not really sorry at all, are you?”
“Hoould you know?! How can you tell?! How am I not sorry? Where’s your proof!”
Yuhed, then lowered her bow and put the arrow back in the quiver “…Not worth wasting an arrow”
Ranta exhaled in relief and stood up, wiping the sweat off his brows “Anyway, you would havejust in case, you know… Hey! Yume, quit that! Don’t draw that kukri! It was a joke! It’ll be painful to get cut by that! You’ll kill me! I’ll seriously die!”
“No different than killing a wild anih I can’t be sure, I heard that we don’t have to venture too far frohouls, and the like Creatures that even trainees can probably handle”
“Goblins and ghouls” Haruhiro tilted his head to one side He had the feeling he had heard of those before Maybe it was just his iination, but he visualized them as sort of humanoid creatures
“So that , considering the way she usually spoke “We’re going to search for these mud robins and cools”
“Mud goblins and ghouls,” Haruhiro corrected ain
shi+horu’s face turned a bright red and she shrunk back
“Whatever, that’s fine with reed frivolously
“It’s better than killing animals,” Yume said happily
Mogzo nodded with a grunt
“Then let’s head towards the forest,” Manato said
With Manato, the Priest, leading the way, Haruhiro and the others headed toward the nearby woods
The forest was an actual forest, unta Unfae underfoot round ranged froht squishy It was difficult to find footing, whichvery difficult
The rustling of leaves when the wind blew and the singing of birds echoed all around
“Mud puddings andholes”
Haruhiro fulfilled his role, ever the straight houls,” he corrected “Youor stream? Or maybe a swampy area?”
“Let’s try finding so like that then,” Manato said
Manato had naturally taken the initiative, but considering that this was a forest, it should have been more Yume’s area of expertise She should have been the one in the lead But whatever It was fine this way too
The proble creatures they’d encountered so far were insects The sound of birds surrounded thele one could be seen
Ranta gulped in an overly exaggerated fashi+on “This is like… The Forest of Death”
“And it’s no doubt all Ranta’s fault,” Yume puffed out her cheeks and stared at Ranta It see her flat-chested “It’s because Ranta’s being so painful to their ears, all the animals have fled~yan”
“I’ quiet! I haven’t said a word this entire time!” Ranta protested
“Just the fact that you’re here, your very existence is a pain in the neck”
“Thanks for the compliment! And just the fact that you’re there makes you flat!”
Yume scowled, furious
“Er—sorry That wasthe truth I—” Ranta suddenly jumped up into the air “What the! What the hell—!”
Haruhiro blinked several ti his feet up and down like he was dancing There was so at it It was big as a cat and covered with needle-like fur
“A pit rat,” Yu around the area “They’re supposed to attack in packs There’s probably more around him”
shi+horu let out a yelp and tried to turn and run, only to slazo
“Quick!” Manato brought up his short staff “There’s more!”
“What?!” Ranta danced backwards “Help uys! Your first priority is to save me! Help! Someone help me!”
“Fight, Dread Knight!” Haruhiro drew his dagger
The pit rats were swar speeds Haruhiro had no idea howtechniques he had learned fros that reseuess what to do in a case like this, so he took aier
He didn’t even co any of them As expected “They’re too fast!”
Mogzo gripped his bastard sith both hands, lifted it overhead with a grunt, and with a yell slashed doards… Right at Ranta Ranta spung aith a yelp and Mogzo’s blade hit the ground where Ranta had been standing just a split second earlier Dirt flehere the bastard sword had hit hard enough to split open the earth