Extra chapter of Ares 😎
Since the maze was shrouded in darkness, I couldn't tell how much it was raining down on us from above, but...
Rank nine, rank eight, rank seven...
Low-rank monsters that fell from the sky died as soon as they touched the ground, scattering in bursts of light. It was totally strange to witness.
Crunch, crunch. Hit!
He could see splashes of blood and flesh exploding in all directions and hear the screeches of beasts constantly tearing the air, and yet...
Chispas!
Have you ever seen such a bright light?
«¡Yandel! Mira vivo!»
I had lost consciousness for a second, enthralled by the scene, but I revived and refocused on what was around us.
¡Boom!
We were under a tree, inside a barrier that Versyl had created for a few hours. However, I didn't feel safe at all.
¡Crujido!
Every time a monster fell headlong into the barrier above us, it trembled and blood dripped down the translucent wall.
Rango six, rango five…
Unlike low-rank monsters, higher-rank monsters could survive the fall, with some even managing to stand despite having a half-destroyed body, although results varied from monster to monster. Even for those of the same rank, monsters that were lighter, tougher, or healed themselves better tended to escape the fall, while the others ended up turned into a paste.
The birth.
¡Kraaaaaah!
As if they wanted to earn the title of monsters, as soon as they saw us beyond the barrier, they began to charge at us. However, the real problem lay elsewhere.
«Uh... Bjorn? Is he a new type of monster? And that one too...?»
Mixed in with the rest of the swarm were monsters we had never seen before. However, calling them a new guy... That was definitely an exaggeration. Each of them had striking characteristics that were too unique to be collectively referred to as a singular species.
«The strange piles of meat that were all over the island... I think it was them».
I agreed with Versyl's hypothesis. These unique monsters did not disappear into the light when they died, but rather left corpses.
The problem was that not everyone died.
«Uh... it's getting closer...!»
A terrifying creature more than ten meters tall - so tall that we couldn't even see above its shoulders - turned towards us.
"¿Qué...?"
«That is...?»
Although the conversation was not long, it seemed that everyone agreed.
Tree, tree, tree.
It seemed like something straight out of the end of times. Even the monster boy, Marupichichi, trembled as I held him in my arms.
«We have to stop looking at him and go down to the village! Even stronger monsters are going to start appearing if we stay here longer».
Honestly, even though they didn't say anything because of me, everyone else seemed to have the same idea as the boy. We were starting to see some rank four monsters interspersed with the others.
¡Bum!
And on top of that, the giant bastard from a distance began to approach us. I hadn't fought any of them yet, but I could tell just by looking at it.
If that reached us, the Versyl barrier would not resist.
«...We will go to the village.»
Enough of looking at the rain.
***
After sliding through the large gap under the tree, our surroundings suddenly opened up and the village came into view. Everyone behind me - and even me, to be honest - was speechless.
«Guau...»
Fresh grass and soft to the touch. A bright white light above us that emitted a glow that rivaled that of the sun. Stone buildings that spoke of civilization.
«Is this... a town of monsters...?»
«Our sacred land is better than this!» ainar blurted out.
I may have said that, but hey... Honestly, this seemed better than our holy land. Although it was constantly developing, 99% of our citizens continued to live in mud huts.
I didn't expect all this.
From what Marupichichi told me, I knew it wasn't just any underground city, but I didn't expect this, hence my shock. I felt like Alice must have felt after stumbling upon Wonderland.
«You are already here». Apparently having waited for us to come down, the village chief was waiting at the entrance to welcome us. «Now you believe me? I saved your life».
The way he said it still pissed me off a little, but I could give credit to whoever deserved it. «Something».
This guy had saved us. There was a possibility that we had obtained information about this supposed «rainy season» of Marupichichi, but...
We don't even know if this «rainy season» is something that happens all over the ground or if it is just an event exclusive to this island.
If it was the former, then he had really saved us. If we hadn't been able to enter this village, we would be fighting for our lives right now.
«Let's continue our talk inside. I'll show you the village too».
The chief headed towards the village and we followed him slowly. After all, it would be ridiculous to back down now.
«Really... I never thought there would come a day when I would willingly step into a monster's lair of my own free will...».
«Don't worry! No matter what happens, I will protect you! They didn't even seem that strong last time!»
«Miss Fenelin! Please lower your voice! Everyone can hear it. Maybe the monsters can't, but that man over there can understand everything we say...!»
«Hahaha! But the boss is one of the ancient heroes! It shouldn't matter!»
«But still... Versyl interrupted himself, his eyes averted forward. The chief, however, did not react and continued leading us to the village. It wasn't like he couldn't hear Ainar from that distance, so he probably didn't care too much.
«...Erwen», I said. «You don't have to be so close to me».
«But there could be danger. I need to protect you if there is».
«...Do what you want».
Erwen stood guard, glued to my side, while Amelia seemed more interested in the village than us. My first instinct was that I was trying to make the best of an inevitable situation by letting myself be carried away by architecture, but I was wrong.
«It's very different from human cities in many ways», he murmured.
«How?
«Do not talk to me. I'm focused on trying to memorize the paths».
«...Memorize the paths?»
«Knowing the paths will make a big difference if we try to escape. If such a situation arises, follow me closely».
Ah... so he wasn't having fun at all.
I stopped worrying about how my classmates reacted and focused on my own duties. I didn't know if it was intentional, but the old man was only talking to me.
«That's the forge. As metallurgy is not a field I know much about, it has taken time and effort to develop it to our current level.»
«Impressive. But where do you get the mineral from?»
«We melt things that drift from the sea or collect materials when the rainy season ends. Monsters aren't the only things that fall from the sky during the rainy season».
«Really? I didn't know».
«You probably didn't see anything while you were up there. Objects do not begin to fall until at least the third day».
«Ya veo.»
After that, I listened to the chief tell me more about the town and asked some questions on my own to get additional information. Then, at some point, we arrive at our destination.
«This is my house».
«It's quite spacious... but smaller than I expected».
«What's the point of accumulating wealth and fame down here?»
From that sentence, I began to get an idea of what kind of character the village chief was. In a sense, he was similar to Baekho Lee. He spoke in a way that seemed to suggest that he no longer cared, but there was an underlying obsession that made me think he would be willing to do anything if it meant leaving this place.
«...Where are the adventurers they captured? Are they still in their prisons?»
«Not at all. Come in. They are waiting for you».
Once inside the boss's house, we met up with the seven remaining adventurers of the Silver Lion Clan. I heard that many of them died fighting the warriors, but the sight of their small group confirmed it.
«...Baron Yandel!»
The captain of the Silver Lion Clan had lost quite a bit of weight since the last time we saw each other.
He looked at me with naked relief in his eyes, but as soon as he saw his clanmates behind me, he immediately pounced on them. «Marina! You have dared to flee, leaving us behind!».
«No, it was nothing like that-»
«Chen! You too! I never imagined you would abandon your older brother here! Are you human?»
«I didn't run away, I went to get help!»
«Kryan! Ungrateful brat! You don't even know...!»
He could understand the captain's feelings, and it was even fun to watch him get like that.
But how long will this take us?
Before I could get ahead of myself to interrupt their meeting, the boss beat me to it. «Alright, let's stop there».
«Ah yes... Excuse me, Sir Bruingrid». The captain immediately backed away from the boss's order, like an employee who had been caught doing something wrong by his boss.
However, there was something about that exchange that caught my attention. «...Sir?»
«Yes... Maybe they haven't told you yet? This man here is one of the companions of the Great Sage, the Dragon Knight...»
«Stop. You don't have to explain to me. I know».
«Is that so?»
«What I'm wondering is something else. Even though your subordinates... died, it seems that you are in a very good mood». He was speaking in an unusual way, but to be frank, he wanted to know why he was being so polite to the boss of the monsters who killed his subordinates.
Luckily, the captain realized it right away. «Sir Bruingrid told me his side of the story, and it was... It was an accident. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that Sir Bruingrid saved us. He even punished the monsters that killed my subordinates».
Punished them...
This wasn't even funny anymore. Especially the part where he could laugh at the deaths of his subordinates because the people who had killed them had been slapped on the wrist.
...Well, that's none of my business.
It didn't matter if that smile of hers was genuine or if there was a knife hidden behind her. My only job was to take care of mine.
«If your meeting is over, can I start?»
With that, my attention shifted from the captain to the village chief. Having brought us all together like this, I figured he probably had something he wanted to talk to us about.
What is he up to?
Once everyone fell silent and turned to him, the boss began to speak. «I have something I want to ask of you all».
«...A request?»
«I want to clarify this beforehand, but I am not forcing you to accept it. No, rather, I trust that this request will be beneficial to both parties.»
Well, I would decide that after listening to him. «Speak.»
«I will give you all the resources I can offer to help you explore this area, so please tell me everything you have learned throughout your expedition».
Coming from a village chief, I really felt like I had just received a real, good faith search.
Hm... share the information obtained on this expedition.
If everything the boss had told me was true, then it was a perfectly reasonable request to accept.
Again, that was if everything he told us was true.
«Why are you asking us to explore the area for you? Why don't you explore yourselves?»
«That is...»
«And don't say it's because the trees on this island don't float in water. Didn't you say it yourself? Many building materials arrive with the tide or rain from the sky».
In fact, as I sailed here, I had seen countless wooden furniture, from dressers to desks, drifting across the sea. What did the boss have to say about it?
«I'll find it easier to teach him than to try to explain it to him», the boss said in his usual calm tone. «Hand me any piece of wood you acquired on the way here. Anything is fine».
I gestured for Versyl to take something out. And as soon as the boss touched the wooden chest...
Swoosh.
The chest crumbled and turned into a pile of dust.
«What have you done?»
«Nothing. I just touched it with my hand».
«So why the chest ...»
«It is something innate to this breed. Everything we touch that is made of wood ends like this. Even if we wear thick gloves, everything ends up falling apart in our hands.»
What nonsense...
The words almost jumped out of my throat, but I didn't say them out loud because something suddenly hit me.
Come to think of it... Have you seen anything made of wood in this entire town?
...No, I hadn't seen it.
All the buildings were made of stone, and their bows and arrows were made of bones and tendons. Since they didn't eat, they probably didn't need to make a fire either. And wasn't soil grass categorically different from trees?
Even in the forge, everyone produced flames using skills or abilities... They did not use firewood at all.
My only proof to the contrary was that the entrance to this village was tucked between the roots of a tree...
«Oh, and in case you were wondering, this doesn't apply to trees that are still alive and have roots connected to the ground».
Wow. I didn't know if he was lying or not, so I asked him a complementary question. «So why didn't you tell me then?».
«It would be foolish to tell someone that I just learned information that could be used against us. To be honest, there are still no guarantees that you will not become our enemy at some point in the future.»
«Uh...» Um, I was right. «Understood.»
«You accepted my logic faster than I expected».
«I am an adventurer.»
At that, the village chief nodded his head in apparent understanding. «True, you are also an adventurer.»
And the adventurers did not waste their time or energy on useless things.
***
Going a little ahead, we end up accepting the boss's search. I mean, there was no reason to refuse, right?
He said he would support us, so let's get everything we can out of him.
If things went wrong, we could abandon the search and that's it. And if in the end we couldn't run away, then we would just have to keep our promise and share the information we had.
Plus, we'll have to spend at least a week in this village, whether we like it or not.
If what the village chief said was true, this «rainy season» would last exactly seven days. The chief gave us an empty house to live in during that time and even authorized us to roam freely around the village...
«Uf…»
That was the reason why he was alone now. Amelia and Versyl were leading an investigation into the entire village.
Oh, and for the record, I hadn't taken sides in this «monsters vs. people» debate.
Old Rafdonian, Rafdonian, Korean, English. As someone who is fluent in four different languages, I had a different mission.
Flipar.
Namely, read books.
It's a little harder than usual since I haven't read in a while...
Apparently my constant questions had started to bother the boss, because in the end he relented and gave me access to his study. The author of all the books inside was, of course, the boss himself.
Was writing books your only hobby?
In keeping with his story that he couldn't use wood, the books were made of layers of monster leather...
Slapped.
Come on, focus, focus.
I patted my cheeks to wake up and stood up from where I was, slumped on the wooden desk. Then I looked at the leather book again and started reading.
The complete book of monsters
I didn't know if it was a coincidence or not, but the book had a title similar to a surface series that I had a rich history with. The boss had told me to treat this book with great care, and it was informative enough to justify that concern. I would have a hard time finding a better strategy guide than this one.
From the moment the chief arrived on this island, he personally fought and studied all the monsters he encountered and wrote his observations in great detail in this book.
Well, compared to the library books I visited not long ago, the quality and accuracy of the information was probably poor.
But there are monsters here that I never saw in the books there.
The tears he was shedding when yawning were drops of blood that he would not have to shed in the future. I repeated it to myself as I moved forward in my quest to memorize this book. After all, exhaustion was just a state of mind, and the content of this book was quite interesting, so it was actually quite an engaging read.
«¿Eh?»
Wasn't that guy? The nine-meter giant I saw when the rainy season started?
«From number ... ¿Hipramajent?»
Tsk, tsk, what a strange naming system. It sounded pretty good in the old language, but when you translated it, it just meant Great Giant...
When the rainy season ended, the patrol was sent to collect the magic stones discovered on the coast. Among the thirty elite warriors who were part of that patrol, half of them died. The estimated range is two.
A rango dos...
I had gotten an idea from its large size, but that thing wasn't just any monster.
Thank goodness we went down to the village before he could catch up with us, I thought as I continued reading the rest of the passage.
Then I froze. «...Eh?»
According to the testimony of an elite warrior who returned alive, his body grew a measure as soon as the battle began. Considering the difference between its initial and increased size...
Hipramajent appears to have the Orc Hero's active ability, giantization.
...he had acquired a new objective.