313 – The Cave of Hostages

I place the spider on my head and charge into the forest.
Every now and again, it taps my head with its leg to tell me the direction.

I search around with [Presence Perception] as I run, but don’t find any human presences.
I guess i’m not mistaken in assuming that those cavalry have done a full retreat.
They might have realised fighting me would be reckless, so gave up on interfering with the village.

But they probably haven’t given up on that 『glittering beast』.
If I were to leave them alone, then, from what the Lithovars said, they might provoke the forest children and cause a disaster.

If I hurry, I might be able to find both their headquarters, and Lithovar children they took hostage.
I could be able to rescue the children while also putting a stop to their plan.

I’ll find the survivors and force them all out of the forest… No, for the sake of the future, it might be important to turn some of them into prisoners of war.
The way this is going, there’s a chance some other group will attack the village in order to hunt the glittering beast or myself.
I need to do something to stop that.

“!”

As I run, I suddenly notice human presences.
There’s three of them.
They’re on horses, it seems, but they don’t appear to be doing anything, just loitering in the forest.
They should have no choice but to flee to outside the forest or meet up with other units, so… What are they doing here?

I suppose there’s no use thinking about it.
After bending low to warn the spider, I run straight towards them.
Perhaps frightened by my footsteps, they move further away.

As I chase them, I feel something’s wrong.
The presences don’t run away in a direction totally opposite of me, but rather move in an arc, eventually running in a direction perpendicular to how they started.
And the way they move is as though the three of them had arranged it beforehand.

Were they sent out on patrol but got scared of being far from the headquarters so loitered nearby? If that’s the case, then I can assume the place they’re going towards is their headquarters, but… I get the feeling it is planned somehow.
In the first place, is there any reason for them to be on standby at the moment?

If they’re leading me somewhere, do they mean to lure me into a trap, or destroy the Lithovar village while I’m not there…? But from their perspective, they shouldn’t have any more reason to target the village.
They should know that all they’d achieve by attacking now is earning my anger.

If they only see the Lithovars as sources of information about this 『glittering beast』, they shouldn’t have any reason to attack any longer.
I also think think I’ve already removed most of their key figures, and Aro’s standing guard.

If they want to lure me into a trap, then I’ll play along.
Until I break through head-on, that is.

I get close to the presences.
I kick off the ground and spread my wings to lengthen my jump, then land next to the presences.
The surroundings shake with my landing.

“Guwaah!”

One of the enemy cavalrymen is thrown from his horse.

“Cheh! It really is too fast!”
“I knew it was too much! As if we could lure in that monster!”

The remaining two cavalrymen start fleeing in different directions.
The horse that the cavalryman fell off also gallops away.

“No! Nooooo!”

The man that’s left behind crawls along the ground, desperate to get away from me.
I ignore him and lower my chin to the ground.

“Guuoo”

I moan, and after a moment’s stillness, the spider taps my forehead.
I gently shake my head, and as though giving up, it gets down and runs back the way we came.

A little while ago, the spider stopped guiding.
It probably doesn’t know any more about what’s ahead.
I’ve also found some cavalry, so their headquarters shouldn’t be too far from here.

I feel bad for it, but if it’s going to become a fight, an araenie won’t be powerful enough.
It would only be a burden.
That thin man was probably commander-class.

Aro chased after him and was pushed to use up all her HP and MP, and had wounds all over her body, but… To be honest, I’m glad she got away with just that much.
If she were to receive a full hit from one of their commanders, it wouldn’t be strange for her to lose instantly; there’s that much of a status gap.

After making sure the spider has left, I continue in the direction they were trying to lead me.
[Presence Perception] reacts at once.
It’s rare for it to react so strongly.
If I remember right, when I first met Adofu, I felt a presence this strong too.
He had a [Decoy] skill to lure in his enemies.
If it’s a similar skill this time, then… They really are trying to lure me somewhere.

Running in the direction that [Presence Perception] tells me, I come across a large hill with a cave in its side.
Two bow-wielding soldiers are stationed at the entrance.
As they notice me, they shout something into the cave and prepare arrows.

Using [Presence Perception]… The other presences are a bit hard to read because of the big one inside the cave, but together with the two outside, there are eleven…no, twelve people in total.
Among them, five presences feel particularly weak.
That’s precisely the number of Lithovar children that have yet to return.
It seems likely that they’re being held inside.

The entrance is narrow, so I don’t think I’d fit both in terms of height and width.
They’ve hidden themselves in a strange place.
If they didn’t have the hostages, I’d like to tear it down from outside.

Should I shoot [Wind Slashes] towards the entrance? No, it seems the cave goes in deeper than it looks.
I don’t want to hit the walls and have it all come crumbling down.

My remaining MP is…

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
[Irushia]
Species: Ouroboros
Condition: Normal
Lv: 91/125
HP: 2402/2402
MP: 1612/2410
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Great… I’ve recovered a fair bit.
As expected of [Automatic MP Recovery: Lv6].
With this much, I can maintain [Humanisation Technique] for nearly an hour.

With [Humanisation Technique], I can easily slip into the cave… But while humanised, my status will plummet.
God’s Voice, show it to me again.

【Normal skill [Humanisation Technique].】
【A human form can be taken.】
【Half of the user’s HP is lost upon activation, and the user’s [Attack] and [Defence] values are halved for the duration.
Furthermore, the user’s MP will continuously decrease.】

Attack and defence are halved… Well, if my speed is untouched, then it’s fine I guess.
Plus, even halved, my attack value is 470.
If I remember right, one their commanders, Hannibal, had an attack value of about 300 with his weapon factored in.
Even if there’s someone a step above him in there, I should be able to deal with them without problem.

To start with, I fire off a [Wind Slash] towards the two in front of the cave.
The moment they see my wings start to move, they crouch down and run into the cave.
The blade of wind cuts through empty space and gouges a scar into the ground as it disappears.

Cheh… Were they that wary of me? Well, I suppose that’s only natural.

I could wait for my MP to fully recover, but… No, I should hurry.
It wouldn’t be strange for them to proceed with the capturing of the 『glittering beast』separately.
I also don’t know how badly hurt the children are.
They might need [High Rest] as soon as possible.
I can’t afford to take my time here.

“Peh!”

I open my mouth and spit out the Lithovar clothes I’ve been walking around with.
I borrowed them in case [Humanisation Technique] would be necessary.

『Are you using humanisation?』

My partner sends her thoughts to me.
Aah, sorry, but I’m going to ask you to withdraw.

『I’ll leave you to it, but don’t make too many careless mistakes…, …?』

She cuts off her thoughts and looks behind.
What is it? Is something there? Thinking that, I look that back too, and see a lizard, about half the size of a human, noisily running away.
Its body is patterned with irregular browns and greens.

【[Forest Lecherta】: E rank monster】
【A large lizard that crawls through the forest.】
【It hides its presence and exudes a characteristic rotten smell in order to [Play Dead].】
【However, there are many monsters that like to eat decaying meat, so it is not very effective.】
【It has a cowardly nature, and rarely chooses to fight monsters equal or stronger than itself.】
【In fights over territory, individuals compete to show their best [Play Dead].】

…It reminds me of the black lizard somehow.

『Just a monster.』

It doesn’t look very strong, nor does it have any dangerous skills, so there’s no need to be cautious of it.

AN: It’s been a while since the last status.
There aren’t a lot of opportunities to put it in the story… Yay for breaking through 1000 magic!

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
[Irushia]
Species: Ouroboros
Condition: Normal

Lv: 91/125
HP: 2402/2402
MP: 1612/2410
Attack: 941
Defence: 548
Magic: 1039
Speed: 670
Rank: A

Sacred Skills:
[Human Realm: Lv-]

Characteristic Skills:
[Dragon Scales: Lv7] [Voice of God: Lv5] [Grisha Language: Lv3] [Flight: Lv7] [Dragon Scale Powder: Lv7] [Dark Attribute: Lv-] [Evil Dragon: Lv-] [Automatic HP Recovery: Lv8] [Presence Perception: Lv5] [Automatic MP Recovery: Lv6] [Double Headed: Lv-] [Split Spirit: Lv-] [Mutual Understanding: Lv3]

Resistance Skills:
[Physical Resistance: Lv5] [Fall Resistance: Lv6] [Starvation Resistance: Lv5] [Poison Resistance Lv6] [Loneliness Resistance: Lv6] [Magic Resistance: Lv4] [Dark Attribute Resistance: Lv4] [Fire Attribute Resistance: Lv3] [Fear Resistance: Lv3] [Oxygen Deprivation Resistance: Lv4] [Paralysis Resistance: Lv6] [Illusion Resistance: Lv3] [Instant Death Resistance: Lv2] [Curse Resistance: Lv2] [Confusion Resistance: Lv2] [Strong Light Resistance: Lv1]

Normal Skills:
[Roll: Lv7] [Status Inspection: Lv7] [Scorching Breath: Lv5] [Whistle: Lv2] [Dragon Punch: Lv3] [Plague Breath: Lv6] [Poison Fang: Lv7] [Paralysing Poison Claw: Lv6] [Dragon Tail: Lv2] [Roar: Lv3] [Heaven’s Drop: Lv4] [Return to Ground: Lv2] [Humanisation Technique: Lv8] [Wind Slash: Lv7] [Neck Breaker: Lv4] [High Rest: Lv7] [Autoregeneration: Lv5] [Travelling Companion: Lv-] [Death: Lv4] [Soul AppendmentFake Life: Lv4] [Holy: Lv2]

Title Skills:
[Son of the Dragon King: Lv-] [Walking Egg: Lv-] [Klutz: Lv4] [Simple Fool: Lv1] [Infighter: Lv4] [Pest Killer: Lv8] [Liar: Lv3] [Evasion King: Lv2] [Path of Evil: Lv9] [Calamity: Lv9] [Chicken Runner: Lv3] [Chef: Lv4] [Mean King: Lv9] [Gutsy: Lv4] [Big EaterGiant Killer: Lv3] [Pottery Craftsman: Lv4] [Group Leader: Lv1] [Laplace Interference Authority: Lv2] [One Who Knows Eternity: Lv-] [Ant King: Lv-] [Brave Hero: Lv7]
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

I also plan on doing another round of answering your questions, so if you have anything to ask, please don’t hesitate to write an impression.
I plan to answer as much as I can without spoiling anything.

313 – The Cave of Hostages

I place the spider on my head and charge into the forest.
Every now and again, it taps my head with its leg to tell me the direction.

I search around with [Presence Perception] as I run, but don’t find any human presences.
I guess i’m not mistaken in assuming that those cavalry have done a full retreat.
They might have realised fighting me would be reckless, so gave up on interfering with the village.

But they probably haven’t given up on that 『glittering beast』.
If I were to leave them alone, then, from what the Lithovars said, they might provoke the forest children and cause a disaster.

If I hurry, I might be able to find both their headquarters, and Lithovar children they took hostage.
I could be able to rescue the children while also putting a stop to their plan.

I’ll find the survivors and force them all out of the forest… No, for the sake of the future, it might be important to turn some of them into prisoners of war.
The way this is going, there’s a chance some other group will attack the village in order to hunt the glittering beast or myself.
I need to do something to stop that.

“!”

As I run, I suddenly notice human presences.
There’s three of them.
They’re on horses, it seems, but they don’t appear to be doing anything, just loitering in the forest.
They should have no choice but to flee to outside the forest or meet up with other units, so… What are they doing here?

I suppose there’s no use thinking about it.
After bending low to warn the spider, I run straight towards them.
Perhaps frightened by my footsteps, they move further away.

As I chase them, I feel something’s wrong.
The presences don’t run away in a direction totally opposite of me, but rather move in an arc, eventually running in a direction perpendicular to how they started.
And the way they move is as though the three of them had arranged it beforehand.

Were they sent out on patrol but got scared of being far from the headquarters so loitered nearby? If that’s the case, then I can assume the place they’re going towards is their headquarters, but… I get the feeling it is planned somehow.
In the first place, is there any reason for them to be on standby at the moment?

If they’re leading me somewhere, do they mean to lure me into a trap, or destroy the Lithovar village while I’m not there…? But from their perspective, they shouldn’t have any more reason to target the village.
They should know that all they’d achieve by attacking now is earning my anger.

If they only see the Lithovars as sources of information about this 『glittering beast』, they shouldn’t have any reason to attack any longer.
I also think think I’ve already removed most of their key figures, and Aro’s standing guard.

If they want to lure me into a trap, then I’ll play along.
Until I break through head-on, that is.

I get close to the presences.
I kick off the ground and spread my wings to lengthen my jump, then land next to the presences.
The surroundings shake with my landing.

“Guwaah!”

One of the enemy cavalrymen is thrown from his horse.

“Cheh! It really is too fast!”
“I knew it was too much! As if we could lure in that monster!”

The remaining two cavalrymen start fleeing in different directions.
The horse that the cavalryman fell off also gallops away.

“No! Nooooo!”

The man that’s left behind crawls along the ground, desperate to get away from me.
I ignore him and lower my chin to the ground.

“Guuoo”

I moan, and after a moment’s stillness, the spider taps my forehead.
I gently shake my head, and as though giving up, it gets down and runs back the way we came.

A little while ago, the spider stopped guiding.
It probably doesn’t know any more about what’s ahead.
I’ve also found some cavalry, so their headquarters shouldn’t be too far from here.

I feel bad for it, but if it’s going to become a fight, an araenie won’t be powerful enough.
It would only be a burden.
That thin man was probably commander-class.

Aro chased after him and was pushed to use up all her HP and MP, and had wounds all over her body, but… To be honest, I’m glad she got away with just that much.
If she were to receive a full hit from one of their commanders, it wouldn’t be strange for her to lose instantly; there’s that much of a status gap.

After making sure the spider has left, I continue in the direction they were trying to lead me.
[Presence Perception] reacts at once.
It’s rare for it to react so strongly.
If I remember right, when I first met Adofu, I felt a presence this strong too.
He had a [Decoy] skill to lure in his enemies.
If it’s a similar skill this time, then… They really are trying to lure me somewhere.

Running in the direction that [Presence Perception] tells me, I come across a large hill with a cave in its side.
Two bow-wielding soldiers are stationed at the entrance.
As they notice me, they shout something into the cave and prepare arrows.

Using [Presence Perception]… The other presences are a bit hard to read because of the big one inside the cave, but together with the two outside, there are eleven…no, twelve people in total.
Among them, five presences feel particularly weak.
That’s precisely the number of Lithovar children that have yet to return.
It seems likely that they’re being held inside.

The entrance is narrow, so I don’t think I’d fit both in terms of height and width.
They’ve hidden themselves in a strange place.
If they didn’t have the hostages, I’d like to tear it down from outside.

Should I shoot [Wind Slashes] towards the entrance? No, it seems the cave goes in deeper than it looks.
I don’t want to hit the walls and have it all come crumbling down.

My remaining MP is…

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
[Irushia]
Species: Ouroboros
Condition: Normal
Lv: 91/125
HP: 2402/2402
MP: 1612/2410
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Great… I’ve recovered a fair bit.
As expected of [Automatic MP Recovery: Lv6].
With this much, I can maintain [Humanisation Technique] for nearly an hour.

With [Humanisation Technique], I can easily slip into the cave… But while humanised, my status will plummet.
God’s Voice, show it to me again.

【Normal skill [Humanisation Technique].】
【A human form can be taken.】
【Half of the user’s HP is lost upon activation, and the user’s [Attack] and [Defence] values are halved for the duration.
Furthermore, the user’s MP will continuously decrease.】

Attack and defence are halved… Well, if my speed is untouched, then it’s fine I guess.
Plus, even halved, my attack value is 470.
If I remember right, one their commanders, Hannibal, had an attack value of about 300 with his weapon factored in.
Even if there’s someone a step above him in there, I should be able to deal with them without problem.

To start with, I fire off a [Wind Slash] towards the two in front of the cave.
The moment they see my wings start to move, they crouch down and run into the cave.
The blade of wind cuts through empty space and gouges a scar into the ground as it disappears.

Cheh… Were they that wary of me? Well, I suppose that’s only natural.

I could wait for my MP to fully recover, but… No, I should hurry.
It wouldn’t be strange for them to proceed with the capturing of the 『glittering beast』separately.
I also don’t know how badly hurt the children are.
They might need [High Rest] as soon as possible.
I can’t afford to take my time here.

“Peh!”

I open my mouth and spit out the Lithovar clothes I’ve been walking around with.
I borrowed them in case [Humanisation Technique] would be necessary.

『Are you using humanisation?』

My partner sends her thoughts to me.
Aah, sorry, but I’m going to ask you to withdraw.

『I’ll leave you to it, but don’t make too many careless mistakes…, …?』

She cuts off her thoughts and looks behind.
What is it? Is something there? Thinking that, I look that back too, and see a lizard, about half the size of a human, noisily running away.
Its body is patterned with irregular browns and greens.

【[Forest Lecherta】: E rank monster】
【A large lizard that crawls through the forest.】
【It hides its presence and exudes a characteristic rotten smell in order to [Play Dead].】
【However, there are many monsters that like to eat decaying meat, so it is not very effective.】
【It has a cowardly nature, and rarely chooses to fight monsters equal or stronger than itself.】
【In fights over territory, individuals compete to show their best [Play Dead].】

…It reminds me of the black lizard somehow.

『Just a monster.』

It doesn’t look very strong, nor does it have any dangerous skills, so there’s no need to be cautious of it.

AN: It’s been a while since the last status.
There aren’t a lot of opportunities to put it in the story… Yay for breaking through 1000 magic!

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
[Irushia]
Species: Ouroboros
Condition: Normal
Lv: 91/125
HP: 2402/2402
MP: 1612/2410
Attack: 941
Defence: 548
Magic: 1039
Speed: 670
Rank: A

Sacred Skills:
[Human Realm: Lv-]

Characteristic Skills:
[Dragon Scales: Lv7] [Voice of God: Lv5] [Grisha Language: Lv3] [Flight: Lv7] [Dragon Scale Powder: Lv7] [Dark Attribute: Lv-] [Evil Dragon: Lv-] [Automatic HP Recovery: Lv8] [Presence Perception: Lv5] [Automatic MP Recovery: Lv6] [Double Headed: Lv-] [Split Spirit: Lv-] [Mutual Understanding: Lv3]

Resistance Skills:
[Physical Resistance: Lv5] [Fall Resistance: Lv6] [Starvation Resistance: Lv5] [Poison Resistance Lv6] [Loneliness Resistance: Lv6] [Magic Resistance: Lv4] [Dark Attribute Resistance: Lv4] [Fire Attribute Resistance: Lv3] [Fear Resistance: Lv3] [Oxygen Deprivation Resistance: Lv4] [Paralysis Resistance: Lv6] [Illusion Resistance: Lv3] [Instant Death Resistance: Lv2] [Curse Resistance: Lv2] [Confusion Resistance: Lv2] [Strong Light Resistance: Lv1]

Normal Skills:
[Roll: Lv7] [Status Inspection: Lv7] [Scorching Breath: Lv5] [Whistle: Lv2] [Dragon Punch: Lv3] [Plague Breath: Lv6] [Poison Fang: Lv7] [Paralysing Poison Claw: Lv6] [Dragon Tail: Lv2] [Roar: Lv3] [Heaven’s Drop: Lv4] [Return to Ground: Lv2] [Humanisation Technique: Lv8] [Wind Slash: Lv7] [Neck Breaker: Lv4] [High Rest: Lv7] [Autoregeneration: Lv5] [Travelling Companion: Lv-] [Death: Lv4] [Soul AppendmentFake Life: Lv4] [Holy: Lv2]

Title Skills:
[Son of the Dragon King: Lv-] [Walking Egg: Lv-] [Klutz: Lv4] [Simple Fool: Lv1] [Infighter: Lv4] [Pest Killer: Lv8] [Liar: Lv3] [Evasion King: Lv2] [Path of Evil: Lv9] [Calamity: Lv9] [Chicken Runner: Lv3] [Chef: Lv4] [Mean King: Lv9] [Gutsy: Lv4] [Big EaterGiant Killer: Lv3] [Pottery Craftsman: Lv4] [Group Leader: Lv1] [Laplace Interference Authority: Lv2] [One Who Knows Eternity: Lv-] [Ant King: Lv-] [Brave Hero: Lv7]
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

I also plan on doing another round of answering your questions, so if you have anything to ask, please don’t hesitate to write an impression.
I plan to answer as much as I can without spoiling anything.