“I-it’s a Divine Beast!”
“Oh, this is the first time I’ve seen one.”
The adventurers struggled to stand up in shock as their voices shook with fear. It was indeed the very race that was often depicted in fantasy works as beings who could rival dragons themselves.
The Divine Beast Fenrir.
“So that’s the real thing. Amazing,” I mumbled unknowingly. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that high-level; it was around the level of a full-grown dragon.
Wait, there’s something else on the display.
Next to where the beast’s level, 62, was written, there was another level, 91, written in brackets. At first, I thought it was hiding its level, but I realized it was suppressing its true strength. As I was investigating its stats, Fenrir silently disappeared to the other side of the mountains.
“…Quick! Aim for the monsters he left behind!”
“Try and hunt as many as you can before the ice melts!”
Half of the adventurers hurried over to where Fenrir first appeared, wearing startled expressions.
“It looks like they’re after the monsters that have been frozen from Fenrir. It won’t be long before they defrost, so if you wanna do the same, don’t get too greedy. Make sure you’re in and out.” One of the adventurers who’d shared meat with us before kindly explained to us what the adventurers were doing.
“We’re gonna head over to the hunting grounds. All the monsters will have run away from the Divine Beast in fear.”
Understandably, it made sense that even the monsters would be shaken to the core by such a presence.
“What’re you all gonna do? Wanna tag along?”
“No, we’re heading to the ‘Castle.’”
“Huh, fair enough. If you’re heading there, you must be confident in your ability. But even so, don’t go pickin’ fights with the Divine Beast, all right?”
“Yes, sir. Pochi won’t do anything silly, sir.”
“Is the Divine Beast strong?”
“Strong’s one way of puttin’ it. When I was a wee lad, I saw it dukin’ it out with a large treelike creature that was bigger than a mountain, but I knew that was somethin’ that us folk shouldn’t be stickin’ our noses in. It pried a mountain out of the ground!”
I wished I could have seen that fight. It was probably around ten years ago, considering the adventurers’ ages. Or maybe even earlier than that.
“Does that large treelike monster appear often?”
“Nah, that was just a one-off, as the Divine Beast finished it off. Come to think of it, after that, we didn’t see the Divine Beast for years. I wonder if it was a close one for it.”
I wondered if it was fighting with the dungeonmaster of this labyrinth to protect the city.
“Is the Divine Beast a kind of divine protector or something?”
“Yeah, guess you could say that. It’s never made an attempt to attack the city, but when it’s on the move, it doesn’t really pay attention to where its feet are steppin’, so you gotta be careful.” The adventurer told us a lot about the Divine Beast before being hurried off by his group.
“I can see it! Isn’t that it over there?”
From a high point in the jungle, we could work out a spire in the distance.
“Lots of cooows,” Tama reported, returning from her small scouting trip.
“Lots? Please give us a more accurate number.”
“Sixty-four cows. Two with shields, three with axes, one with a staff. One of the ax ones is wearing a lot of armor and looks suuuper strong.”
According to my map, Tama had come across a small unit of Tauruses being led by a Taurus leader, the one in the heavy armor. Their unit was made up of Taurus shielders, Taurus fighters, and Taurus shamans.
“So this is the group the adventurers warned us about. Arisa, what do you think?”
“Can’t we just do what we always do? Nana can hold off their attacks while Tama and Pochi can confuse the ones holding the shields. Liza can cut through them, then Lulu can shoot for the one holding the staff, then Mia and I can just offer support.”
Liza gave an okay, and the rest of the group nodded in agreement.
“…Let’s go.”
Liza shot ahead, diving into the distorted space. Nana and I then followed shortly after.
BZUUMZOOO.
The Taurus before us bellowed out.
“Olé, I declare. With them being bulls, they’ll probably charge toward me, I suggest,” Nana shouted as she used her “Provoke” skill. The Tauruses began their charge toward us.
BZUMZOOBZUMZOO!
The leader of the Tauruses bellowed as all the Tauruses stopped their charge. The Tauruses wielding shields came to the front line and fell into a line as they proceeded with their attack.
“He even has a ‘Command’ skill. What nerve. Mia, keep the leader in check with Sylph.”
“Hmm, got it. Go.”
Swoosh.
The small sylph flew up into the air like an unmanned robot from a certain robot-themed anime.
“…Haaah!” Liza let out a triumphant shout as her spear punctured the shielder’s flank.
BZUMZOO.
In an unexpected yet smart move, the shielder swung his shield around to his flank. However, Liza was a lot faster as she then pierced the shielder’s neck with her spear. The shielder was wearing heavy-duty armor, but it was no match for Liza’s Magic Spear, Douma. It cut through the armor like paper.
“Akileez Hunteeeer!”
“One-stroke kill, sir!”
Tama stayed low as she snuck up behind the Taurus and slashed at its ankles, whereas Pochi snuck up behind the fighter and hacked at his ankles. Tama had cut deep enough to make it bleed, whereas Pochi had put a lot more power into it and had cut the Taurus’s ankle off. It seemed Pochi was the stronger of the two when it came to pure combat skill. I wondered if it was because Pochi learned her techniques from a samurai general.
“Aim…and fire!” As soon as Lulu fired, her Fireburst Gun flew right over to the shaman’s head.
BZUMZOO.
The other shielder attacked Nana with a “Shield Bash” attack.
“Time to return the ‘Shield Bash’ favor, I declare.” Nana took the Taurus’s “Shield Bash” attack on the chin as she prepared her large shield, jumped up on top of it, and sent it flying toward the Taurus.
“…Deracinator!”
Arisa used her Space Magic to intercept the shield that hurtled toward the back line.
“Lulu!”
“Fire!”
Lulu’s Fireburst Gun had finished recharging. She aimed it toward the defenseless shielder’s back and shot.
“‘Helix Spear Attack’!”
BZUMZOOBBBBBZ!
Liza attacked with her special attack, defeating the Taurus’s leader. The remaining fighters also dropped one by one on the front line.
“They’re a bit more resilient than just fighting one alone, but they didn’t cause any issues.”
“Are they stronger together?”
“Really, sir? Pochi didn’t notice any difference.”
“Tama is right. The leader had an ability that strengthened those around him.” Arisa went on to explain the “Strengthening” ability the leader had to the group.
“While I don’t know how much stronger it made them, they weren’t particularly difficult to hunt,” Liza responded.
Tama had already begun collecting the remains of the Taurus when her ears pointed up.
“Mew! Enemies are coming.”
BZUUMZOOOO.
Accompanied by a bellow, a large Taurus that was around two times the size of the one they’d fought previously dropped down in front of them. It was holding two large axes in either hand—both were two types of Magic Ax.
“This guy’s powerful! He’s a level-forty-one Taurus champion! He mostly focuses on melee combat, but he has several special skills, so be careful!”
“He’s a servant of the areamaster.”
“We can handle one of them, I declare.”
Arisa informed everyone about what they were facing as they all readied for battle.
“Small sylph, restrain.”
Swoosh.
The small sylph followed Mia’s commands and began to gather in front of the champion’s face.
BZUUMZOOOO.
The Taurus champion bellowed as he frantically wiped the sylph from his face, before then sending the sylph back in a streak of light as he used a special spinning move.
“Hhm.”
Mia readied another spell. This time, it wasn’t Spirit Magic but a movement-stopping Water Magic spell.
“You’re to face me, I declare!” Nana yelled as she fired off another “Provoke” skill, locking the champion’s attention on her.
“Akileez Hunter!”
“Pochi will attack from the other side, sir!”
BZUUMZOOOO.
Pochi was pushed back by the champion’s tail as he kicked, blocking Tama’s attack.
“Not bad.”
BZUMZOOOO.
Liza’s spear clashed with the champion’s ax. There was a spark of red light as the two struggled against each other.
BZUMZOO.
Realizing the disadvantageous position he was in, the champion retracted his ax and stepped back from Liza and Nana, creating some distance between them.
“Aim…and fire!”
BZUMZOO.
The champion intercepted the bullet shot from Lulu’s Fireburst Gun with his ax. Although he had intercepted the shot, it still found its way to its target, leaving a hole in his right shoulder.
“I’ll latch onto his ankle!” Arisa yelled as she used her “Helix Spear Attack” on the champion’s ankle, making him lose his balance.
“Sneak, sneak.”
A large black whip appeared from the champion’s shadow, pulling him down.
“…Entangling Aqua.”
Mia used Debuffing Magic to take advantage of the position the champion was in and entangle him further.
“Blast Armor, I declare!”
Nana’s spell blasted through the champion’s armor.
“Vanquish Slicer, sir!”
Using a quick-draw sword technique, Pochi’s strike cleaved the champion in two.
“Now for the finishing strike—‘Helix Spear Attack.’”
BZUMZOOBBBBZ.
Liza’s special attack collided with the champion’s mouth, and the aftereffects of Liza’s “Helix Spear Attack” ricocheted through the champion’s head, exploding it into several parts.
“He was a bit more resilient, but it didn’t cause any issues.”
“You’re right. If we bump into any more Taurus units, let’s focus on our formation.” Arisa and Liza began talking about the battle, while the others from the group began looting the corpse and taking the two axes.
The axes were made out of horns and bone and seemed to be enchanted. They could be used like normal Magic Axes, and they had a good amount of attack power, so we decided to take them with us. It would be an issue if the other Taurus picked it up and used it.
After that, we continued progressing through the labyrinth, often coming up against other groups of Tauruses with leaders. However, we eventually reached the “Castle” and were able to view it in all its glory.
“…It’s pretty big.”
“Is it a ciiiiity?”
“You mean like a Taurus city?”
“Yesh.”
I listened to the group’s conversation with a smile on my face as I checked out the new area on my map. I used the magic skill “Search Entire Map,” which revealed the entirety of the Castle.
“It seems the area the outer wall is covering is around the size of a city.”
There were wide fields within the walls, and outside the inner wall, there was a residential area in a belt-like shape that covered around one hundred yards. It resembled a maze. The normal Tauruses inhabited the belt-shaped residential area, and the small units of Tauruses that were led by leaders were patrolling the residential areas.
Outside the residential areas, there were large fields that were patrolled by Champion Tauruses and various other types of Tauruses. Several Taurus riders rode on ancient land beasts that resembled raptors. There were Taurus pig hunters, too, that were luring in groups of creatures known as “Big Hogs.”
“Are there any adventurers?”
“…There are. There are some making camp in a fortress-like building and doing some hunting.”
There were various-size fortress-type buildings in the field, and there seemed to be around ten to twenty adventurers holed up in them. Including the hunters who were hunting nearby, there were around thirty to fifty in total. In each of the camps, there were more than six high-level golden lion–rank adventurers. There were a lot of silver tiger–rank adventurers, as well as magic and bow users, too. It seemed the melee fighters were mainly supporting the golden lion–rank adventurers. A good sign that this place had a higher difficulty level.
“Whoa, so in that case, shouldn’t we look for a base like that?”
“In that case, I know a good one—”
“Wait a moment, Master.”
I was about to tell them about a camp nearby that was currently owned by thirty-four champions, but Liza asked me to wait.
“Leave it to us this time,” Liza said.
“Ah, sorry, Liza. That’s right, I almost just got caught up and let Master do everything for us again.
The group did say they wanted to experience a lot of different things to gain more experience.
“All right. I’ll leave setting up camp to you.”
As I spoke, Liza apologized again before Arisa outlined their plan. In summary, Mia would use her spirits to search the area, Arisa would use her Space Magic, and Tama would help with her scouting abilities. Once they found a suitable location, they would then set up camp there.
“All right, let’s get going!”
Everyone set off on Arisa’s cue. There were broken gates all around the wall, but as they were far away, we instead snuck in through a gap in the wall.
“It’s so biiiig.”
“Compared to the outside, it feels like a farm here, sir.”
“There aren’t many trees, but there’s a lot of ferns and vines. Some are even waist-height.”
The young beastfolk girls climbed a nearby bush and looked around at their surroundings.
“I can see a structure in the direction of three o’clock. I guess that’s a fortress,” Liza spoke, spotting the fortress with the telescope she had.
“It looks like someone’s fighting.”
“Champiooon?”
“They look like they’re struggling, sir.”
“Wait, it’s fine.”
I stopped Tama and Pochi, who were about to spring into action. It was difficult to see from where we were, but there were several golden lion–ranked adventurers bearing shields protecting them from a vicious attack from the Champion Taurus.
“Let’s get a little closer and observe.”
“Hmm, agreed.”
Prompted by Arisa and Mia, we moved a little closer to where the adventurers were fighting when we found several other adventurers hidden among the shrubbery, preparing something.
“A traaap?”
“Is it a trap, sir?”
Tama and Pochi spotted a net hidden in the grass as it shot up and captured the Champion Taurus.
“Mew?”
“They’ve begun their escape, I declare.”
Just as Nana had mentioned it, the adventurers all began to sprint toward the fortress without even looking behind them. The champion gave up on trying to rip the net and instead chased after them with the net on him.
“Ooops?”
“Mr. Champion fell into a trap, sir.”
The pitfall only went up to the champion’s knee, but it restricted his movement and caused him to fall. The adventurers had managed to successfully escape to the fortress. As soon as they had escaped inside, several walls came down to cover the fortress. It seemed they had a Magic Furnace and barriers set up to protect their camp within the fortress.
BZUUMZOOOO.
The champion bellowed as he swung down for an attack. However, he was blocked by the barriers and was unable to cling to the fortress. Even so, the champion was tenacious, and he continued to slam the fortress barriers with his ax.
“Master, the wall will break—”
“It’s fine. They have barriers inside, too,” I responded.
As long as the Magic Core within the Magic Furnace didn’t burn out, the barriers around the fortress would stay firm, and there would be no issue for the adventurers within the fortress.
BZUMZOO.
“The champion doesn’t know when to give up.”
“Are the adventurers not going to launch a counterattack?”
“They probably think it’s too risky taking on a monster class like that,” I responded to Lulu’s question. Liza, upon hearing my answer, began to channel magic into her spear.
“Master, if they don’t fight, then it shouldn’t be an issue if we take over for them, right?”
“I see no issue with it.”
Using the Space Magic spell Clairaudience, I confirmed that the adventurers within the fortress were hoping that the champion would just hurry up and leave them. They were also irritated at having to use up the Magic Furnace, too.
“Lulu, snipe the champion and have him come over here, please.”
“Understood!”
Lulu’s Fireburst Gun smashed into the back of the champion’s head, causing a small explosion. The champion was sturdy enough that the explosion didn’t break through his armor, but it was successful in redirecting the champion’s ire from the fortress and toward our group.
“…Nana.”
“Yes, Liza. You might be a champion of Taurus, but you’re also the champion of sukiyaki ingredients. You’ll be delicious, I declare,” Nana spoke, provoking the monster.
“Sukiyaki is deliciooous!”
“Pochi loves sukiyaki, sir!”
Both Tama and Pochi drooled, with sparkles in their eyes, in response to Nana’s taunt.
BZUUMZOOOO.
The champion bellowed bravely as he raced over to attack. However, he was unable to match the tumultuous level of the group, who had been buffed by their appetite. It took them less time to take him down compared to last time. The champion had two axes, but they were different from the axes we picked up before—these weren’t magic.
“Someone is coming.”
“It looks like a representative from the adventurers in the fortress.”
The adventurers had gathered together to watch the girls fighting the beast from atop the fortress.
“I’m a golden tiger–rank adventurer named Tiga. I’m the leader of the Divine Beast Devourers,” said the very macho lionfolk man as he shook my hand. I heard Arisa mumble something behind me.
“He’s a lion, but he’s called ‘Tiger’?” Arisa cocked her head in confusion, but I thought that the word just sounded similar to the German pronunciation of tiger.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Satou from the silver tiger–rank Pendragon group.”
“…Silver tiger?”
“Yes, we registered not too long ago. Up until recently, we were exploring the Celivera Labyrinth in the Shiga Kingdom.”
“Huh, you started in the world’s oldest labyrinth, eh? Now I understand why you all dealt with that champion like he was putty in your hands,” the lion man spoke, seemingly impressed.
“So, this your first time in the Castle?”
“Yes. We actually didn’t even know this area was known as the ‘Castle,’ in fact.”
“…Huh. In that case, a word of advice. Don’t go near the inner wall of the Castle. Don’t go near the inner wall even when hunting the Tauruses in the inner maze. It’s not common, but sometimes there’s a crest-bearer patrolling around there. He’s a lot more dangerous than the armored guys.”
Although I didn’t understand what the lion man was referencing, I had managed to work out that the armored guys were the Taurus leaders, whereas a crest-bearer was a Taurus captain.
“So the armored guys strengthen the Tauruses workin’ under them, right? The crest-bearers have a similar skill, except it doubles the effects of the armored guys’ skills. If you bump into one of them outside, you want to focus on getting rid of their leader first.”
A monster that got stronger when it was in a group.
“I don’t often see them outside the inner wall lately, so it should be fine, but it never hurts to be careful.”
According to the information on my map, in the innermost area of the Castle, there were Taurus generals and lords, and they had a different kind of strengthening skill from the Taurus leaders and captains. If their skill further strengthened the effects of the others’ skills, then they would make for a problematic group of enemies.
“Though it goes without saying, don’t go near the inner wall gate, either. Don’t even bother going within a distance where you can see it. Their snipers and archers will shoot your head right off your shoulders.”
Lulu’s eyes lit up at the mention of snipers. I wondered if she had gotten excited at the idea of a rival.
“If arrows are an issue, can’t we just take a shield and block them that way?”
“Well, they’re not the most dangerous thing here. If you’re noticed at the gate, an elite team of crest-bearers will turn up. While you’re busy dealing with them, another unit led by a Taurus shogun will come out and overwhelm you with their numbers.”
“Sounds like a challenge.”
“Hey! The gal with the scales! Don’t be thinkin’ you can take them on. Once the shogun appears, it’ll bring the rest of them out, and they’ll start attacking the fortresses nearby. That’s why I don’t let just anyone go marching in for a challenge.”
I understood what he meant. If we ended up facing a big group of them, it would be different from fighting a champion and just staying holed up in the fortress and letting the situation get worse and worse.
The lion man went on to tell us about other enemies we needed to be careful around, as well as advised us that it was better to catch a Big Hog alive, as it would sell for a better price.
“Next time, tell me some stories about the Celivera Labyrinth over a few drinks.”
“I would love to. You’ll have to tell me some stories about your experience in the Jungle Labyrinth, too.”
“All right, until next time! May you walk in the protection of the Great Sorceress!”
I exchanged pleasantries with the lion man, and we went back to looking for a place to set up base.
“Tama is waving the flag, sir! All the archers are defeated, sir!”
Tama, who had snuck into the fortress that was controlled by the Tauruses, gave us the signal. The archers in the fortress had all been sniped one by one by Lulu. However, it was Tama who took out the last one who was hiding behind a barricade.
“Arisa, Gate Magic.”
Arisa used her Space Magic spell Portal Door and made a tunnel that linked toward the upper part of the fortress.
“Off I go.”
“Yes, Liza.”
“Roger, sir!”
The front line went through the portal created by Arisa and arrived in the fortress.
“Gate.”
They opened the gate to the fortress and were immediately met with a small group of Tauruses.
“Aim…and fire!”
“…‘Entangling Aqua.’”
Lulu aimed for the feet of the Tauruses and sniped at them, causing them to fall, and then Mia trapped them on the ground.
“Wawee-ho?”
“Tally-ho, sir!”
After taking over the fortress, Tama and Pochi both jumped down and dealt the final blows to the Tauruses that were struggling on the ground. The two were followed by Liza and Nana, who had returned from fighting at the front gate.
“Good work. Was it a little different fighting indoors?”
“Not really. Inside such a small space, the Taurus was simply a huge target.”
“Was there only one inside?”
“Yes. According to Tama’s scouting, there should have been two, so I guess the other one was outside?”
…Right answer.
I gave her an internal round of applause.
“Let’s hurry up and get inside. Mia, are you able to summon an Earth-type spirit?”
“Hmm. Genomos.”
“You can do it after we’ve gone inside, but could you make a trench around the fortress?”
“Of course,” Mia spoke, lightly tapping herself on the chest as she began reciting a long spell. After Arisa used an instant-cast Detection spell with her Space Magic, she then looked at Tama.
“Do you have any proximity-sensing ninjutsu or anything?”
“Wooden clappeeeers?”
“Oh, right. You have wooden clappers. Can you set them up?”
“Leave it to meee?”
“Pochi will help, too, sir!”
“Here we goooo!”
Tama and Pochi leaped from the fortress.
“No need to be super precise with it! Make sure to get back before the Taurus that’s outside does!”
“Aye-aye, cap’n?”
“Roger, sir!”
Once Arisa finished warning Tama and Pochi, she then went on to give out orders to the others.
“Lulu, could you go check out the water sources? I made sure there were no monsters, but there might still be some small bugs and animals hanging around, so be careful.”
“Sure, okay.”
“Liza, Nana, could you take care of the Tauruses’ remains?”
“We’ve already taken care of that.”
“Ooh, good job!”
“…‘Create Genomos.’”
Mia created a spirit made from the stones in the fortress—though the spirit was a young girl wearing a dress made from stone.
“Arisa.”
“Oh, it’s my first time seeing her. All right, could I ask you to make a moat around the fortress?”
“Hmm. Do it.”
The genomos responded with a rumble as the ground trembled under its weight as it headed outside the fortress. I was a little curious, so I followed Mia and the genomos outside and watched it get to work.
“You’re a pro with Earth Magic, huh?”
“Yes.”
The genomos carved its way through the hard ground that was filled with grass roots, then used the leftover soil to make a small wall.
“Did you order it to do that, too, Mia?”
“Hmm. Telepathically,” Mia responded with a smug expression and a thumbs-up. It was cute. I headed down to the bottom of the fortress right around the time Pochi and Tama returned from setting up the wooden clappers.
“I’m hooome.”
“We’re back, sir.”
“Welcome back. Liza, drop the gate.”
Liza operated the hoist and lowered the wooden gate. It was covered with a metal lattice.
“I got rid of all the dust inside with some Space Magic, so make sure to put all of the furniture outside. You can just throw it all on the second floor from one of the rooms, out the window. Just make sure there’s no one below the window when you do it.” Arisa said something wholly unexpected. Apparently, she’d learned how to renovate old houses on a video streaming site.
“Anything flammable I can dispose of with Fire Magic. Cinders, or anything that can’t be set on fire, can be put in the hole the genomos dug for us and buried.”
Usually, I would just put it into Storage, but it seemed they wanted to do this, too, all by themselves.
“As I thought, it’s a lot quicker when you’re at a higher level. On the video, it took them, like, a year, even though there wasn’t a lot to do.”
Once the genomos had finished making a moat around the fortress, most of the junk from inside the fortress had been put into the courtyard. During that time, the champion that had made its way outside had returned. We were notified about it earlier, thanks to the wooden clappers. A combination of Lulu’s sniping and Arisa’s high-level Fire Magic meant that it was defeated before it even got near us.
I could still remember the image of the young beastfolk girls looking defeated before the charred remains of the champion, sadly whispering “Meaat…” to themselves. I decided that when the other champion returned, I’d make sure we didn’t use Fire Magic.
“Do we not need beds and a bucket to bathe with?”
“We’ll get those when we next go to Arcatia. For now, we’ll just use the bedding we have in the Fairy Pack. We don’t have a shower, but we do have Mia’s Water Magic.”
“Hmm, ‘Bubble Wash.’” Mia offered one of her magic spells that hadn’t seen much use lately.
“What about food and condiments?” I asked.
“That’s all fine. Lulu has plenty in her Fairy Pack, and we can gather plenty of meat ourselves. We can stay here for a week or two and level up.”
Arisa and the others were determined to go it alone.
“Okay. I won’t get involved, but make sure to be careful.”
“Leave it to us!” Arisa said as she tapped herself on the chest, wearing a confident expression. I made her promise that if she needed any help, she’d let me know immediately, and I set off for the fortress city of Arcatia on my own.
I felt like a father whose children had flown the nest. I felt a little lonely, but I knew I had to tough it out and look forward to seeing how they would improve.
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