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"What do you think, Ogerpon?"
"Hmm…"
"Ogerpon will follow Rin's decision."
She knew she wasn't the brightest, and as a Pokémon, it wasn't shameful to obey her trainer.
"I still want to approach this carefully."
Rin hadn't really expected any tactical advice from her, but her answer still made him smile.
"Carefully?"
"Yeah."
"I'm mad too. I want to storm in and crush every last one of those disgusting bugs."
"But we don't know how many there are. We don't know how strong their top-tier monsters are either."
"Rushing in now would be reckless."
Hearing Rin say that, Ogerpon felt a little ashamed. "If only Ogerpon were stronger…"
That way, Rin wouldn't have to hold back.
Even though they were the ones being wronged, they still had to stay patient.
"You are strong."
Rin wasn't just saying that to make her feel better. At B-rank, Ogerpon could easily defeat most A-rank monsters in a one-on-one fight.
In the Great Jura Forest, she was already at the top of the food chain.
Only disaster-class A-rank threats could force her to retreat.
"How about this."
Rin made his decision. "No matter what, we need to find the source of these Insect Monsters and figure out how far their main nest is from us."
That was essential for both relocating and preparing a counterattack.
On top of that, Rin had another reason for targeting them.
Before Ogerpon could evolve into a Demon Lord, her Unique Skill Growth needed massive amounts of experience from monsters to accelerate development.
Slaying those Insect Monsters would speed up her growth.
I don't know how many there are, but judging by the damage… there must be a lot.
If we wipe them out, Ogerpon's Existence Value might break through 10,000.
That would be A-rank.
With an A-rank Ogerpon by his side, Rin's safety in the Great Jura Forest would be fully secured.
It would also give him more flexibility when traveling to other worlds.
So, Rin laid it all out for her. "In short, we find their nest and assess the situation."
"If we can win, we go all out and treat those bugs as wild monsters—turn them into your EXP, Ogerpon!"
"If we can't win, we retreat."
Where there's life, there's hope.
It wasn't cowardice. It was tactical withdrawal.
"Once you hit A-rank, Ogerpon… we'll come back and crush them."
"Mhm!"
Ogerpon showed no fear. "Ogerpon will listen to Rin!"
"Haha…"
Rin chuckled softly and patted her head. He crouched down and activated the Ranger profession's skill—Tracking.
In the next moment, waves of magicules rippled out from him in all directions.
Trees. Bushes. Rocks…
Information flowed rapidly into Rin's mind.
In that moment, it was like he had stepped into a gray-white world.
Through some kind of perceptual method, he was scanning everything around him.
"…Found it."
Three minutes later, Rin opened his eyes.
His expression was strange.
"What's wrong, Rin?"
"…A group of presences is approaching the insect nest."
Rin raised his hand and cast several spells in succession.
"Fade Away."
"Conceal Presence."
"Erase Traces."
After the three consecutive Konosuba Hunter skills landed, Rin called out to Ogerpon. "Let's go take a look."
Just like that, Rin and Ogerpon concealed their presence and followed the trail left behind by the Insect Monsters.
They moved for about thirty minutes.
At their speed, they had already covered at least 200 kilometers.
"Rin, insect smell."
Ogerpon's nose twitched twice. "There's also something unfamiliar. I don't know what kind of monster it is."
Bang!
Boom!
Squeak, squeak, squeak~
Rin's sense of smell wasn't as sharp as Ogerpon's, but he also heard the sounds of battle up ahead.
"The insects are fighting someone."
"Looks like we're not the only ones in this forest who've been attacked."
He didn't reveal himself immediately. Rin was cautious.
Ogerpon, too, used the stealth techniques she'd honed back on Oni Mountain.
The two silently leapt into the treetops, hiding within the canopy as they observed the battlefield in the distance.
There, more than thirty tall, humanoid beings were locked in combat. Muscular, horned, with red, purple, or green skin unlike humans.
"Ogre tribe?"
Rin instantly recognized them.
The humanoid monsters fighting the Insect Monsters were none other than the Ogre race, B-rank monsters that lived deep within the Great Jura Forest.
His gaze quickly settled on the red-skinned ogre wielding a sword and the one-horned, purple-skinned female ogre slashing with a longsword.
"Benimaru and Shuna?"
Their appearances didn't match the anime exactly, but they were extremely similar.
That was only natural.
At this point, neither had been named by Rimuru. They were still in their original Ogre forms.
Also, translating from 2D to 3D was bound to create some differences.
"So the ones clashing with the Insect Monsters are Ogres."
Looking at the fallen Ogre corpses scattered on the battlefield, Rin quickly assessed the situation. "Their village was probably attacked, and this group was sent to track the insects' nest. They must've ended up walking right into a fight."
"But…"
He narrowed his eyes. "Was this in the original plot?"
"Or is this some butterfly effect caused by me?"
Rin wasn't sure.
He didn't think too hard about it and instead shifted his attention back to the battle.
"There's at least 500 Insect Monsters down there."
"Over 300 are C-rank, 100 or more are C+, and there are dozens of B-ranks."
Just looking at the dozen Ogre corpses on the ground, it was clear that they'd already suffered heavy losses.
"No wonder they're getting crushed. Forty Ogres surrounded by hundreds of Insect Monsters..."
Rin was tempted to intervene and establish contact with the Ogres.
He turned to look at Ogerpon, considering whether to let her jump in.
(To be continued.)
Junkdog's Note: Stone me PS pleasssseee.
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