Chapter 5:
The Army of Monsters
AS SOON AS Fran Awakened, I launched a volley of spells.
How’s this for a warning shot? Kanna Kamuy!
“Ekato Keraunos!”
“Groaaaar!”
Kanna Kamuy crashed into the monsters’ front lines, and Fran’s hundred bolts struck everything around them. Meanwhile, Jet cast a venomous mist with his Deadly Poison Magic. The monsters shrieked and recoiled, and Kanna Kamuy’s explosion ripped through over a hundred of them. The survivors lay squirming, suffocating in Jet’s poison mist.
“Gyaoooo!” Monsters screamed in pain, and pandemonium descended on the plains.
Our initial attack had been a success! The horde panicked, looking anxiously at the sky, completely unaware that the thunderstorm was man-made. Best of all, they slowed down.
Let’s keep going!
“Hm!”
Jet circled around the monsters, and we rained down death from above. Fran pelted small monsters with flaming arrows, while I threw down whatever I could find lying in my Pocket Dimension. There were rocks and logs, water and sand, poisonous and combustible objects. Everything was free game, as long as it dealt damage.
Take that!
“Wow.”
A thirty-meter-wide boulder caused particular terror in the horde. It had once been a fragment of the floating-island dungeon. I thought I’d gotten rid of all those during our encounter with the Midgardsormr, but apparently, I had one left over.
The large boulder was more effective than I thought it would be. The horde wasn’t expecting a rock to rain down from the sky, and they stopped in their tracks, lamenting their plight. The front line scattered, and the whole army’s formation started to break down. Everything was going according to plan.
Let’s get up close and personal!
“Hm!”
“Grr!”
The horde still didn’t notice us as we dove down and landed in front of them. The front lines consisted mostly of weaker monsters: goblins and orcs, wolves and fanged rats, and a few lizards and undead.
Unlike the goblins we’d cleared out the other day, these ones wore rags and fought with clubs. Maybe the front line was meant to be a meat shield. If so, it wasn’t a good sign. It meant that whoever controlled them was smart enough to consider their strategy.
Haaaa!
“Haaaa!”
Fran and I let out cries and rushed into battle.
“G-gyagya?”
“Giii!”
The monsters stirred as they sensed our sudden, immense power. They didn’t go into full retreat, but we definitely caught them off guard.
“I’m going in, Teacher!”
Give it everything you’ve got! We don’t have to worry about friendly fire tonight!
“Hm!” Fran leapt into a pack of terrified monsters, slicing through the vanguard of goblins and wolves.
“Tsch! Haa!”
Fran was as efficient as she was coolheaded. She aimed right for the small monsters’ crystals, and crushed the heads of any stronger ones. We’d fought these sorts of monsters before, so we weren’t too worried about collecting materials. We let their dead bodies lie where they fell. They’d make decent obstacles for the ones behind them, if anything.
Take this! Burst Flame! Gale Hazard! Thunder Web! I unleashed an onslaught of crowd-control spells, intent on clearing wide swathes as quickly as possible. Although the spells were weak, I could charge them to increase their destructive capabilities. The resulting tsunami of spells killed the goblins in one shot, left the orcs one hit away from death, and even took the ogres down to half health.
Lots of small monsters were a bigger threat to the villagers than a single stronger enemy. A hundred goblins could cover way more ground than a single orc. We kept that in mind as we wreaked havoc on the battlefield, but the monsters kept coming. The creatures now piling on us were more aggressive, and had magic resistance to boot. As the goblins fled, these new monsters rushed Fran and Jet, who made quick work of them.
“Yaaah!”
“Awoooo!”
Fran welcomed the monsters with a series of slashes, and Jet ambushed them from behind—positioning himself in Fran’s blind spot and getting the drop on anything that tried to attack her. His poison mist was a lot stronger than I expected, too. It was powerful enough to kill goblins and other small monsters, leaving them choking and squirming on the ground. It wasn’t enough to kill stronger creatures like ogres, but it definitely slowed them down. That was perfect—and terrifying. Fran would have taken damage from the mist too, but I protected her with a wind barrier, and Jet was smart enough to use the poison mist as far away from us as possible. It was a welcome addition. After all, we needed all the firepower that we could get right now.
“Haaaa!”
Thunder Web!
“Groooar!”
Monsters attacked from all directions as the whole front line dogpiled onto Fran. It was great news for us, but I was beginning to feel worn out from casting so many spells. Fran restored my mana every time she attacked, but I was spending more than I regained. It was time to change my approach.
I need to recover. I’ll ease off the spells for now.
“Hm.”
I’d need that mana back when the elites showed up. For now, I turned my attention to supporting Fran.
“Ha!”
“Gigyaaa!”
“Gyooo!”
“Huff!”
“Grooo!”
Without a curtain of spells to hold them back, the monsters’ attacks became more intense. They attacked from all sides, hailing down spells and even rocks, but they failed to even scratch Fran.
You doing okay, Fran?
“Hm. I’m fine.”
I replenished her stamina so she could keep going, but I was worried, and I couldn’t do anything for her mental exhaustion. Still, Fran’s response reassured me. I remembered how exhausted she’d been in the floating dungeon, and this was a far cry from that. She really had grown.
Fran was panting, but still holding her own. She was careful to remain calm and not rely on adrenaline.
Pace yourself. We’ve got a long night ahead of us.
“Hm!”
Fran fought on, determined not to let a single enemy slip past. She dodged a club as it swung by, crushing the goblin’s skull with her left elbow. At the same time, she tripped an advancing orc with wind magic, then thrust me upward and stabbed a wolf charging in from the side. She pulled me out quickly and threw me at a giant lizard, then backflipped away—bringing her heel down on an ogre’s head. She looked like she was dancing as bodies piled up around her.
“Grrr!”
“Gaooorgh!”
“Big one incoming,” Fran reported.
I guess it’s time to get serious.
“About time.”
Let’s go!
A group of giant monsters emerged from the horde: four-meter-tall lizards, giant lions with green fur, and high ogres wielding iron clubs. There were about fifty in all. I guessed that they knew there was no way the smaller monsters could stop Fran. Most were E- and D-Threats, and pretty strong as monsters went. Even just one of them could’ve destroyed an entire village. We’d have no problem killing them one at a time, but we couldn’t let our guard down. There was strength in their numbers. Meanwhile, small monsters continued harassing us from afar.
Jet, thin them down, but stay in the shadows.
“Woof!”
Don’t get surrounded now, boy.
If that happened, the monsters could overwhelm even Jet.
Kill everything immediately around us, Fran! I’ll handle the ranged attacks!
“Hm!”
Fran charged at the wall of giant monsters without hesitation. She danced into the pack, ducking under claws bigger than she was and avoiding horns thicker than utility poles.
“Haaa!”
“Grooo!”
“Too slow!”
“Graaarg!”
“There!”
“Giii!”
It was impossible to kill these things in just one hit, but they went down quickly enough with a few slashes. I must have grown stronger too; when I first woke in this world, fighting like this would have snapped me clean in half.
The monsters were getting perplexed. The creature in front of them was supposed to be weak. She was supposed to be prey. Yet she had more mana and power than they did.
I noticed the fear in their eyes. Could they have been afraid if they were truly under someone else’s control? Perhaps their master was simply more powerful than them. How else would you direct an army of monsters without taking over their minds? Still, the prospect of a creature so powerful that it terrified an entire army into serving it was quite worrying. It would be A-Threat at the very least.
As I thought about all this, I kept fighting, using Double Mind to keep myself from messing up. The monsters were getting desperate now. They stopped firing rocks, arrows, and spells, and resorted to flinging their dead compatriots’ bodies at us. Through it all, however, Fran didn’t let up. She cut down the enemies close to her and fired spells at the distant ones—thinning the horde out one monster at a time.
By now, the fight was starting to take its toll. Fran had spent half her mana and breathed raggedly. Monster blood covered her entire body—some of it red, some of it a thick and grungy black. Patches of blood caked her face and arms.
I had to cleanse her before it interfered with her vision. Can you keep going, Fran?
“Of course!” Fran shouted to pep herself up.
She glared at the monsters, her eyes still lit up with battle fury. The sheer force of her gaze momentarily stopped the horde, as Fran finally forced them to acknowledge that she was no ordinary little girl. If this army did have a master, they had to regret wasting so much cannon fodder on her.
They must be watching us somehow. Were they in the horde, or did they have a subordinate on the ground somewhere, relaying information back? Now that I thought about it, I wasn’t even sure whether monsters could process orders.
All around us, the horde parted like the sea.
Teacher?
Yeah, I noticed.
Five monsters stepped out, emitting powerful waves of mana. You could tell they were strong just by looking at them, but Identify confirmed my suspicions. The monsters were C-Threats, probably the strongest units in the entire army. A single one could level the entirety of Green Goat, and here were five all at once. If we didn’t stop these things, they could endanger the entire Beastman Nation.
War with Basharl outside the Beastman Nation’s borders, and a monster army within them… The Beast King really had picked the perfect time to go abroad! Hang on. Was that why this happened now? Was Basharl behind this?
No, now wasn’t the time for conspiracy theories. We had monsters to fight. To make matters worse, each monster was different.
The biggest was a Graphite Hydra: a giant, many-headed serpent. As the Graphite Hydra’s name implied, its black scales reflected an eerie shine. The creature was over twenty meters long, and was equipped with Fast Regeneration, as well as the ability to breathe dark, poison, and flame elements. Each of its six heads was large enough to swallow Fran whole.
Next was a Crimson Wolf, a powerful creature that controlled flames. It was probably the fire evolution of Jet’s Darkness Wolf line, and it possessed high-level melee and magical attacks, as well as stamina and agility, making it the most evenly balanced of the five.
The Steel Titanbear was next: a ten-meter-tall bear covered in hard metal fur. It boasted the highest defense of the five, though it had no special abilities. It also had a Strength stat that sickened me, making it even stronger than the Graphite Hydra.
Next was a giant bug called the Adamas Beetle, which looked like an eight-meter-long Hercules beetle. As its name implied, its shell was tough, and it also possessed high Magic Resistance. If that wasn’t bad enough, the overgrown bug also had Fast Flight. That didn’t bode well.
Finally, hovering over them all was a Demon with jet-black skin. This one was only a baron—a rank below the demon earl we’d fought in a dungeon once—but he was armed to the teeth with skills. He might even have been stronger than the demon earl, given that that guy had an idiot for a dungeon master.
We faced five city-leveling creatures, and the other monsters were on the move again—continuing their march.
This is bad. The only silver lining I gleaned from all this was the chance that these monsters had come out of a dungeon. Demons were unique to dungeons, and couldn’t usually spawn unless summoned.
What do we do? Fran asked.
We can’t fight these five and stop the horde from advancing.
It was too dangerous to fight two battles at once. We needed to focus on the elites.
We’ll beat them fast, then, said Fran.
It’s the only way. Just stay calm!
“Hm!”
***
“What is bothering you, Salutia?”
“Elder…will the princess be all right?”
“Salutia!”
“Ow! What was that for?!”
“‘Will the princess be all right?’ Of course she will!”
“B-but…”
“Do I have to remind you how strong she is? Or how she’s evolved?”
“But we don’t know if she’s strong enough to beat the horde. What if…”
“You fool!”
“Ow! Will you stop hitting me with your stick?!”
“Listen, child! The princess is fighting for our sake!”
“Uh-huh…”
“She will be all right, but we must have faith in her! And we must wait!”
“R-really…?”
“Indeed! Do not blaspheme the princess by worrying about her!”
“Y-yeah. You’re right. Our princess isn’t about to be killed by some monsters.”
“Ha ha ha! That’s the spirit! Now wipe the gloom off your face and smile! That is the greatest sign of faith that you can offer our champion, the Black Lightning Princess!”
“Ha ha…”
“Wa ha ha ha!”
“Ha ha ha ha!”
“There you go. That’s more like it! Come, good people! Let us practice our laughter together! Wa ha ha ha!”
Forgive me, Princess… I pray for your safe return.
***
We stared down the five elites, and Fran watched silently for an opening. The longer this took, the more likely it was that the rest of the horde would disperse. After that, they would be really difficult to eliminate. They were probably heading for the refugees even now. Still, we couldn’t win this fight if we rushed.
Jet, can you handle the Crimson Wolf on your own?
“Woof!”
Jet possessed the title of Great Wolf Clan, which gave him the ability to intimidate other wolf types. That would definitely come in handy.
We can’t have that demon buffing his teammates. You’ll have to fight him, Fran. Don’t hold back. Just pop Flashing Thunderclap if things get hairy, okay?
Hm! Fran drew the Enchanted Phantom Augite Blade from her Pocket Dimension.
I had to focus on the other three. The monsters hadn’t yet noticed that I was anything more than a normal magic sword—they’d never expect me to start flying around by myself.
The monsters surrounded Fran, cautious of her new weapon. That bought us some time. I focused my mana.
Here we go!
“Hm!”
Raaaaah! Kanna Kamuy!
The monsters noticed the spike in magical energy and rushed forward, but it was too late.
You’re up first, snakehead!
The skies opened, releasing a pillar of lightning that engulfed the gigantic Graphite Hydra. By the time the dust settled, the multi-headed serpent was no more. The lightning didn’t leave a single scale or bone intact. All that remained was a huge crater.
Let’s see you try to regenerate when you’re dead!
Kanna Kamuy created powerful shock waves that knocked the remaining large monsters back. The creatures looked dumbstruck, staring at the space where the hydra had been. I understood their shock, but didn’t they know every second counted on the battlefield? I was beginning to think that these monsters were new at their jobs. Not that I was complaining.
And another one!
I hurtled myself with Telekinetic Catapult at the Steel Titanbear, the second most dangerous giant. Transforming into a spear, I pierced all the way to its crystal.
“Gaoooooo!”
The bear was instantly vaporized, still awestruck by its comrade’s death. It would normally have dodged the lethal blow, but it had no way of foreseeing the fact I could move on my own. The demon was the only one that noticed, and it was too occupied with Fran to be of any real help to the rest.
Still, things didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned. The Titanbear’s defenses were too strong for me to pass right through it. In fact, I barely made it as far as the crystal. If the bear’s hide had been any thicker, I wouldn’t have been able to kill it. Also, now that the other monsters knew I could move, the same trick wouldn’t work on them. I vanished the Titanbear’s carcass into storage, trying to scare them, but they only roared louder.
Time to return to Fran’s side. At least I’d managed to take down two of them. It was now three versus three.
We just need to beat these guys.
“You got it.”
“Woof!” Jet barked, attacking the Crimson Wolf. “Grrrr!”
“Groaaar!”
Jet was smaller and faster than his fiery cousin, and he drew the direwolf away from us while dodging its bites. As a fellow wolf, Jet knew exactly how to get its attention.
That leaves us with the bug and the demon.
“Hm!” Fran brandished me and faced the two monsters. The demon was our first priority because of his ability to use magic. “They’re holding back.”
They’re watching us.
The demon threw down several suppression spells, and his superior sensory capabilities made it difficult to return the favor. If we had Jet’s help, we could’ve taken this guy down in one hit.
“Raaaargh!”
“Groaaar!”
But our direwolf was in a stalemate. Jet had more mana, but the Crimson Wolf had stamina, and their stats were evenly matched. Jet kept to the shadows, chipping away at the Crimson Wolf with his superior Agility and Shadow Magic, while the Crimson Wolf looked for a one-hit comeback. Jet seemed like he had the advantage for now, but he was still in the thick of it. One solid strike from the Crimson Wolf would turn the tide. For now, we were on our own.
“Giiii!”
The Adamas Beetle lowered its horns and charged toward Fran.
“Kishaaa!”
The demon was right behind it, watching us and acting as the beetle’s eyes. It was the perfect setup for them—the demon pelted us with spells as the beetle charged blindly into battle. Both were fast and could fly, and if we went after one, the other would harass us. They truly made for a dangerous combination.
The Adamas Beetle was a lot stronger than we thought, despite being a lower Threat level than the demon. It made sharp turns with mana propulsion, hovering and then charging at the opportune moment. It was hard enough to avoid. With its added magic and skills, we could only dodge by giving it our full attention. The Adamas Beetle was an awful menace, with mobility to match its speed.
“Shaaa!”
This thing!
The bug wasn’t our only problem. While we were occupied with the Adamas Beetle, the demon produced a poison sword and slashed at us. He was slow enough for Fran to dodge. Or at least, I thought he was.
“Giiiiiii!”
“Agh!”
While she evaded the demon’s attack, the Adamas Beetle charged into her. Fran tried to wrench away when she sensed the insect’s presence, but it was too late. Even worse, changing trajectory wasn’t the only thing the Adamas Beetle could do with its mana—it could also strengthen its horn until it broke Fran’s barrier.
Fran!
Fran was tossed into the air, her right arm and leg bent out of shape, while blood gushed from her head. That wasn’t the worst of her injuries—the Adamas Beetle had gouged her, leaving a gaping hole on the right side of her body. Bodily fluids sprayed out in a mist, and her pink guts spilled out. I frantically cast Greater Heal, supporting her body with Telekinesis, but her wounds were too grave.
Instant Regeneration, Fran!
“Urk…”
Fran, can you hear me? You need to use Instant Regeneration—now!
She nodded through the pain. She barely made it, but when she did, her wounds began to heal immediately. That took a lot of her mana, though. The skill didn’t synergize well with her. Humans were complex creatures, and the mana cost of regenerating their bodies was steep.
“Hurk…urgh…” Fran huffed and puffed, setting up another barrier.
You all right?
“Hm…” She grunted. What happened?
That bug. It came out of nowhere.
It hadn’t seemed as though the beetle came out of one of Fran’s blind spots. I checked again, but it definitely didn’t have any teleportation attacks. It had Stealth, but not enough to slip by unnoticed.
It’s a tricky little bug. No wonder it’s an elite monster.
“We’ll beat it yet,” said Fran.
Yeah. Her determination hadn’t faltered. That unwavering will was her greatest weapon.
We watched the Adamas Beetle to work out the mystery of its strange attack. At least, we tried to.
“Arooo!”
“Go away.”
The demon attacked at the worst possible time. It wasn’t powerful enough to kill us, but it exploited our lapse in attention, forcing us to go on the defensive.
“Giiiii!”
“Urk.”
Once again, the Adamas Beetle charged at Fran, but this time, I was ready with my barriers and Telekinesis. Even so, the resulting shockwave was strong enough to blow Fran away.
I’ll heal you. Just focus on getting away!
“Hm!”
I restored Fran’s broken left arm. Where had the beetle’s attack even come from?! It was completely silent with zero projection. The only reason I’d seen it at all was because I knew it was coming.
Fran, I’m turning off Haste for now.
Sure.
We had buffed ourselves with Timespace Magic to reap the benefits of greater agility, but Haste had its downside. It dulled your other senses, even Sense Skills, and it was difficult to discern noises through the time lag. In situations where you needed to make full use of your Sense Skills, Haste could be a hindrance.
Sorry about this. You’ll have to fight the old-fashioned way.
“Hm. No problem. Flashing Thunderclap!”
I had wanted to save Flashing Thunderclap, as it didn’t last long, but fighting two agile monsters in normal time would’ve been difficult without it.
“Kieeeeeeeee!”
The demon attacked, and Fran once again blocked his blade with me. Yet, for some reason, the demon’s poison sword cut through her barrier.
“Guh…?”
This demon’s strong, too! He seemed to have amplified his poison blade with mana.
The Adamas Beetle charged Fran for the third time, but by now, she had already seen its trick twice. When she sensed the beetle’s horn coming straight for her heart, she twisted away—sacrificing her right shoulder and gritting her teeth as the beetle tore her arm out of its socket.
“Aaaargh!”
Still, Fran found some way to drive her left arm straight through the beetle’s eye. “Gaah!”
“Gigiiiiiiiii!”
She plunged her arm in, all the way up to the elbow, and unleashed a blast of lightning right into the beetle’s brain. “Lightning Blast!”
“Greeeech!”
Dammit, it’s still not dead!
The Adamas Beetle howled and squirmed, but it was moving. Its tough inner carapace had prevented the lightning from frying it from the inside out.
“Graaaaargh!”
The beetle flailed in pain, ripping off Fran’s left arm with the jagged remains of its carapace.
“Agh!”
Fran! Greater Heal! Antidote! Greater Heal!
“Huff…huff…”
I pummeled Fran with healing spells, holding her body in place with Telekinesis. Instant Regeneration replaced her arm, but it took a huge toll on her mana.
The attacks from these two creatures were so strange. The demon was a mage type with Sword Mastery 6. It couldn’t have landed a hit on Fran that easily, even with gaps in her defense.
I Identified the demon again, and finally realized exactly what was going on. Illusion Magic! That explains it!
The demon only had Illusion Magic 4, but that was probably stronger than you’d expect—strong enough to cast not only visual illusions, but other illusions as well. This was our first time fighting an enemy like that. We had to rethink our approach.
I used all my Sensory Skills to observe the demon’s attack. Finally, I found that strange sensation’s source: the demon had localized his illusion to his sword arm. The illusion completely cloaked his real arm’s actions, right down to the sounds that it made. My Telekinesis blocked the demon’s poison sword just as it was about to land another hit.
Teacher?
Keep going! Let me worry about defense.
“Hm!”
Fran started laying down punishment on the demon. It fought back, but every time it tried to use Illusion Magic, I was there to crush it flat.
Not this time, buddy. I already know your tricks!
I might not have sensed the enemy horde instinctively, like Fran and Jet did back in Schwarz Katze, but seeing through sensory illusions was child’s play for me—perhaps because I had no sensory organs to begin with. I had no real idea how I saw or heard anything, because I certainly didn’t have eyes or ears. What’s more, I couldn’t feel very much, and taste and smell were completely off the table. Can’t fool my senses if I don’t have any.
“Giiii!”
I’ve seen that one before, too!
“Gigi?”
I had also figured out the Adamas Beetle’s trick charge. The demon created an illusion of the beetle, cloaking the real one and rendering it invisible. A mean trick, but easy to deal with once you knew what to look for: the small disturbance the real beetle caused in the wind. Of course, the whole thing was much easier now that the beetle was half-blind.
Thanks, Fran! I fired off another spell, sticking to defense to avoid the beetle’s Magic Resistance.
Turn Shield! That bent space to redirect an enemy’s trajectory. The beetle’s inertia was hard to overcome, but I shifted its charge with a bit of mana grease and telekinesis.
“Guaaa!”
“Giii?”
The beetle ended up barreling straight for the demon. I didn’t need the attack to do much damage. All I needed was an opening. The demon jumped out of the beetle’s way, and… Go, Fran!
“Haaaa!”
She split the demon clean through its midsection so quickly that I wasn’t sure the creature realized it was defeated. On the return slash, she cut through its crystal. There really was no beating her in this sword fight.
“Giii!”
“Too slow!”
The Adamas Beetle was getting desperate. It charged us even faster than before, forcing itself to use what mana it had left to provide power and acceleration. It couldn’t control itself, but that became part of its strategy. It would skewer the demon’s remains if it meant it could kill Fran in the process. Pretty damned smart for a bug, but also easy to read, now that the beetle wasn’t concealed behind the demon’s illusion.
With nowhere left to run, I welcomed the beetle’s charge with a well-placed Telekinetic Catapult, killing it instantly.
All right! Only the Crimson Wolf left!
“Hm!”
We rushed to Jet’s aid immediately, but it didn’t look like he needed our help.
“Grooooo!”
“Gaooo…”
Jet had kept his distance and chipped away at the Crimson Wolf with Deadly Poison. Jet was smaller and weaker, but the Crimson Wolf’s eyes were purple with poison, and patches of its fur fell out as Jet’s toxic magic rotted it from the inside. The wolf could barely even breathe any more.
However, it hadn’t been an easy victory. The right half of Jet’s face was badly burned, and his right eye was scorched back to an empty socket. He looked the worst of the two, but the Crimson Wolf hunched over, coughing up blood. It didn’t have long left.
“Hrrrr!”
Jet saw the opening and bound the wolf’s paws. The Crimson Wolf struggled to escape, but Jet went in for the throat.
“Grrr!”
“Eeegh…!”
The Crimson Wolf squealed as its windpipe collapsed. With no way to escape, it soon expired. Jet had won. He stood over the Crimson Wolf’s body and let out a howl of victory.
“Awoooo!”
However, a moment later, he collapsed.
“Jet!”
Greater Heal!
We rushed to Jet’s side, but my magic couldn’t bring back his eye. He could regenerate it over time, but we didn’t have that luxury right now. I took out a powerful potion and splashed it into the socket. Moments later, his eye began to regenerate.
You all right, Jet?
“Arf.”
Fran and I showered him with petting.
You did it, boy!
“Very good.”
“Woof!”
We couldn’t rest for long, though. While I was at it, I gave Fran a potion to heal any lingering damage. It wouldn’t cure her ever-present mental exhaustion, but it would have to do for now.
Come on! We still have an army to stop!
“Hm!”
Just let me absorb some crystals real quick. You don’t mind, do you, Jet?
The Crimson Wolf was Jet’s quarry, after all. It was polite to ask.
“Woof!”
After securing Jet’s permission, I cut through the Crimson Wolf’s heart. With this C-Rank crystal, I should…
You have reached a new Evolution level.
Nailed it! I was fully recovered, and I had EP to spend! That should make our next encounter easier.
Name: Teacher
User: Fran (Exclusive)
Race: Intelligent Weapon
Attack: 726; MP: 5500/5500; Durability: 5300/5300
Mana Conductivity: A+
Evolution: Rank 14; Crystal 9133/10500; Skill Capacity 138; EP 70
I must have gotten a little too excited, because I startled Fran.
“What happened, Teacher?”
I ranked up! I’ve got seventy EP, and my MP’s fully recovered.
“Nice.”
You guys got three levels of EXP, too.
That was still pretty good, considering that it took an ordinary man up to forty years to hit Level 40. On top of that, Fran earned a new title: Destroyer of Monsters.
Destroyer of Monsters: bequeathed after killing a hundred to a thousand monsters in one’s life.
Effect: increases stats in proportion to the number of monsters fought.
That title normally took an entire lifetime to achieve, but Fran had basically been fighting one constant battle since she met me. What’s more, the fight we were in right now involved a wide variety of monsters. That must have contributed to earning the title.
As for my EP… No, I’ll think about it on our way back. We have a monster army to stop.
“Hm.”
I stored the Crimson Wolf’s carcass, and Fran hopped on Jet’s back.
After them, Jet.
“Woof!”
***
“A hundred White Rhinos stand ready to charge, Lord Ligdartha!”
“Very well. Deploy them immediately.”
“Sir!”
My name is Ligdartha, chief of the White Rhino Tribe and provisional general of the Beastman Nation. Incorporating tribal representatives into the military chain of command is common custom here.
“The enemy’s movements still bother me,” I said.
“How so, sir?” asked Fardelt, my second-in-command.
It was a difficult question to answer, because I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. There was just something off about the way these Basharlians fought.
First of all, Basharlians were notoriously terrible at warfare, but they responded much more quickly than I expected. Perhaps they’d learned from their mistakes, or employed a skilled tactician? But then, they did not press the advantage of their superior numbers, or try to advance in any way. It was as if they wanted a stalemate right on our border. I couldn’t understand why, since these plains were their only way in from Basharl. They should have turned this whole area into a beachhead to advance on our cities, but instead, they just…sat here.
Even after we met them in battle, their plan didn’t make any sense. Their soldiers were as incompetent as ever: men with a deep hatred of beastmen, charging in with no hope of victory. If they had employed a brilliant tactician, then he hadn’t imbued them with any new strategy or hope for victory. At least, none that I saw in their eyes.
If anything, it was as if they weren’t even trying to win. They had to be plotting something, but what? Did they expect support from their allied kingdoms? Had they already sown seeds of discord within the Beastman Nation somehow? Or was this just the desperate flailing of patriotic soldiers?
“Are you not overthinking things, sir?” Fardelt asked.
“I hope I am. Either way, if we crush them now, all their plotting will be for naught. Make ready to attack.”
“Yes, sir!”
“I doubt they expect us to dispatch a sortie so quickly.”
“We’ll show those Basharlian cowards the power of the White Rhinos!”
“That we will. First, their right flank! I want their captain’s head on a platter!”
***
The monsters had obtained a huge lead while we fought the elites. As Jet rushed to catch up, I consulted Fran on my next EP investment.
Is there anything you want?
“Mana Control.”
Sure. That sounds like a great idea.
Fran had gotten good results from upgrading Spirit Manipulation to Spirit Control, so it followed that this would have a similar effect on her magic. That would certainly prove useful in the battle to come.
“What about you, Teacher?”
I’m leveling up Mana Drain.
That was currently at Level 9; it would be vital for replenishing our magic whilst battling the remaining horde. And I had somehow acquired another skill in our previous encounter: Life Drain. I’d cracked crystals left, right, and center destroying our enemies, so it must have come from one of them. At first glance, the skill appeared to be the Life version of Mana Drain. Those two skills together should ease the burden of using life-depleting moves like Flashing Thunderclap.
I’ll max them both out. There’s no time to deliberate.
“All right.”
All that mattered was acquiring skills that would be useful in our coming battle. I spent 5 EP to upgrade Mana Manipulation to Mana Control, and the effects were immediate.
“Wow!” said Fran. Her eyes widened in surprise.
You can say that again.
Even she noticed the skill’s power. It took her mana-sensing abilities to the next level. It was like seeing the world with a new pair of eyes—like hearing without earplugs. The difference was probably even more pronounced than it had been with Spirit Control.
Now, let me max out Mana Drain.
Mana Drain is at Level 10. Acquired skill: Mana Steal.
Oh, a new skill! I’d have to figure out how to use it later. For now, I needed to level up Life Drain.
Life Drain is at Level 10. Acquired skill: Life Steal.
And another one! Life Steal must increase the absorption rate.
So far, I had spent five points on Mana Control, two points on Mana Drain, and eighteen points on Life Drain, for a total of 25 EP. I still had 45 EP left.
What else…?
“How about magic to stop the advancing horde?” Fran suggested.
Hrm.
It would be nice to have spells that stopped the monsters in their tracks…but which element would be best?
“Flame Magic?” Fran asked.
Let me think.
Flame was pretty powerful, and our second-highest element after Thunder, but we would have to be careful about starting a forest fire—it might spread to areas where there were refugees.
“What about Storm Magic?” Fran said. “That covers a lot of ground.”
Storms could rain destruction over vast areas, but I wasn’t sure that was what we needed either. If all we had to do was thin and scatter the horde, then Flame or Storm would’ve been perfect. However, we needed to protect the villagers. If they made it safely to Green Goat, victory would be ours, even if we didn’t kill a single monster.
So, we had to be careful with our attacks, and we certainly couldn’t afford to scatter the monsters. We had already killed the elites, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if the remaining forces turned and ran at the first sign of trouble. That could be a problem, especially if some fled in the same direction as the refugees. Tracking them all down might be impossible.
“Hrm.” Fran folded her arms in thought.
How about Land Magic? I suggested.
“Land Magic?”
Yeah, so we could make walls and ditches.
I recalled what Almarno had said about the Beastman Nation’s sole Land Mage—that he could halt an army with his spells.
“Hm! Good idea.”
Now’s our best chance to learn it. I could max it out with my EP.
“Go for it,” Fran agreed.
All right. I’m leveling it up now.
“Hm.”
I spent 4 EP to max out Earth Magic. Fran immediately earned the Earth Mage title, while I got Land Mage and Sand Mage. I’d forgotten that Sand was a mixture of Earth and Wind. However, the compound element would have to wait.
Now for Land Magic.
I got up to Level 4, but still couldn’t find what we needed. There was a bunch of powerful spells, but none could stop an army in its tracks. I carried on investing, and after spending 25 EP to reach Land Magic 6, it finally appeared.
Here we go! I think this is the one.
Great Wall: Creates a large wall and ditch. Can grow to gigantic proportions, according to the mana charge.
Now we can stop the horde!
“Hm!”
The army of monsters had already reached the forest line. Eliminating them would be difficult once they scattered into the woods.
No!
“Should we attack?” Fran asked.
Strangely enough, however, the horde stopped. What was going on? It took me a moment to remember our fake fort. Instead of dispersing, the monsters advanced slowly to surround it.
I hadn’t expected the fort to be so effective. Fran and I set down some distance away to plan our next move. With the enemy stalled, it was time to build a few walls.
We’ll start with one, just to see.
“Hm.”
Charge it full of mana, and—Great Wall!
“Whoooa!”
“Woof!”
Fran and Jet gasped, and I would have too, if I wasn’t so busy focusing. The wall appeared instantly: fifteen meters tall by five meters wide, and over fifty meters long! The spell used the soil around it to create the wall, leaving a great ditch behind and effectively creating both a wall and a moat in a single cast.
I’d spent over a hundred MP to max out the Great Wall, but I could work with this. In fact, I could probably chain cast it to cover a whole kilometer or more. No wonder Almarno said a single Land Mage could stop an entire army.
However, the wall wasn’t enchanted, and it had no way of repairing itself if powerful monsters or spells damaged or destroyed it. That was a bit of a worry, as we could demolish it with a single blast if we wanted. I wasn’t sure the wall could resist attacks from anything above a D-Threat.
Fortunately, no D-Threats were left in the horde anymore, and penetrating the great wall would be difficult for these smaller monsters. Without their more powerful units, the great wall was practically impregnable. Was the tide finally turning in our favor?
They probably noticed our little test run, so we don’t have much time. I’ll set up walls along the forest line.
“How will you do that?” Fran asked.
I’ll level up Instant Cast and Double Mind. Then, I should be able to cast multiple spells at once.
I still needed to say a spell’s name for Instant Cast to work, but what about its upgrade, No Cast? That might eliminate the need to even use the spell name. Paired with an upgraded Double Mind, there was a chance I could set up a long line of walls instantly.
That’s the theory, anyway. What do you think?
“Hm. Worth a try.”
All right, then!
I spent 10 EP on Instant Cast to unlock No Cast. Now, I could use a spell just by thinking about it. That was pretty cool! I used another 15 EP to power up Double Mind and unlocked Multi Mind. That was a powerful skill, allowing me to run about ten thought processes concurrently without losing my train of thought.
Theoretically, I could even cast multiple Kanna Kamuys at the same time, although the skill placed a huge toll on the brain. That made it difficult for Fran, who already got painful migraines from just attempting to use it.
“Urgh…”
Don’t force yourself, Fran.
“Hm…”
Just watch my back as I make these walls.
“All right.”
Here goes nothing!
I still needed to focus my mana. No Cast made it easier to cast multiple spells, but it didn’t just cast any spell that crossed my mind. Instead, it made simultaneous casting a breeze.
Multicast! Great Wall!
A gigantic wall sprang up along the whole forest line, with a long, deep trench in front of it. It looked like the wall of a great city! However, I wasn’t entirely pleased with the results.
That was rougher than I expected.
Great Wall certainly ate a lot more mana than I’d planned. It seemed as though No Cast lowered spell efficiency in exchange for instantaneous speed, and the cost scaled up the more spells I loaded in. What’s more, there was no stopping it once I cast it. If I wasn’t careful with my calculations, I’d end up with an empty mana pool.
On top of that, Great Wall only went in a straight line, and didn’t allow for detailed adjustments. In future, I could manipulate the wall shape with a bit more mana, but this was sufficient for what we needed right now.
At the Great Wall’s sudden appearance, the horde stopped in its tracks. I used their few moments of shock to throw up even more walls.
I’ll be back.
“Hm.”
I flew off, erecting multiple Great Walls in my wake—and slipping unnoticed past our enemies as giant walls seemingly shot up out of nowhere to arrest their advance.
That about does it!
Rather than just building one huge, unbroken wall along the forest edge, I made a path with walls on either side. The opening must have been about five hundred meters, but the farther in you went, the more it narrowed—like a funnel.
It was a good thing it was still dark, as you couldn’t see how long the path was. Hopefully, that meant the monsters would be more inclined to rush through. I didn’t know how well it would work, but even Fran’s Nightvision couldn’t reach the funnel end, so it would probably be fine. It was like the Battle of Changban from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Now, all we had to do was destroy the flood of monsters. First, though, we had to figure out what to do with any stragglers.
If the monsters’ forces split in half, we’d eliminate whatever was left in the funnel, then set up a new set of Great Walls to channel the breakaway force into a second killing zone. If the worst happened, and the horde broke off in all directions, I would block off the back of the funnel and destroy the monsters inside. After that, Fran, Jet, and I might have to split up to contain the remainder. Fortunately, the horde showed no sign of using such tactics.
Let’s see how they handle this.
“Hrm. They’re coming this way.”
The monsters panicked at the sudden appearance of the walls and ignored the fake fort to charge forward—attempting to power through whatever punishment might await. In any case, we were ready for them.
***
After a while, some monsters attacked the walls on either side. Go for it, guys. They were welcome to try, especially since breaking the walls would immediately smother them. Still, they lacked the firepower to even scratch the surface, and soon returned to advancing down the funnel. That brought the monsters toward us in a wave of sheer force.
Here they come!
“Hm!”
I was ready with a number of intricate strategies in case the monsters did anything strange, but it looked like we were going to be fine. I had placed a magic light over the bottleneck entrance and mussed Fran up a bit to make it look like she was worn out, and they had a chance of beating her.
“Let’s go, Teacher!”
I’ve got your back!
The monsters charged blindly through the darkness, and Fran and I were ready to meet the torrent. Bodies piled up around us as the beasts fell by sword and magic. Not a single monster slipped past as they attempted to climb over their comrades’ bodies. We’d already sent Jet away to hunt for any scouts.
The monsters had stopped dead when they first saw the walls, and while some of that was shock, their reaction was too uniform to be accidental. They were waiting for someone’s orders. Thus, there was a chance that the army had dedicated lookouts searching for a way to circumvent the funnel. Perhaps they were already finding the walls’ edges, even as their compatriots fixated on Fran.
Jet’s mission was to find these monsters and kill them, cutting off their flow of information. Either way, we could manage this lot without him. In fact, not having him around worked in our favor; the monsters focused all their attention on Fran.
“Haaaa!”
No entry for you!
“Gyaoooo!”
“Hmph! Too easy!”
Get ready for an explosion!
In a fight against lots of small monsters, Fran and I were basically invincible. Mana Control sharpened our perception of the horde’s mana signatures until we knew the makeup of almost the entire army. There were no C-Threats around, and very few D-Threats. Still, there was strength in numbers, and some monsters had stealth skills, so we couldn’t let our guard down. We couldn’t try to annihilate them all at once either—that might make the survivors flee and scatter. Instead, we opened the battle with the sword, using as few spells as possible.
“Urgh!”
Fran, you don’t have to get hit on purpose!
“I’m fine!”
Fran let a goblin strike her to sell the illusion that the monsters were winning. Fortunately, the attack landed on the toughest part of her armor. She was careful to ensure that the blows could be easily healed, but even so, I thought it was a bit much. Still, I didn’t try to talk her out of it. She was prepared to do anything if it meant her fellow Black Cats could escape.
As a sidenote, Mana Steal and Life Steal turned out to be very powerful. They drained the life and mana out of our enemies without us even having to make contact, creating an aura of absorption. That would probably make them dangerous to use around allies, but we didn’t have to worry about that tonight. Since I was technically part of Fran’s equipment, the drain didn’t affect her either. Even better, I had already recovered nearly all the mana I spent on the Great Walls.
By now, Fran and I had been fighting for close to an hour, and the sky was starting to pale. I kept expecting the horde to find a way around the funnel, but so far, they’d continued to pile into it. I was even close to ranking up again. We’d annihilated almost half the army when they suddenly stopped fighting.
What now?!
Fran pressed the advantage and charged, but a chill ran down my spine. I immediately Short Jumped us away.
KABOOM!
The only thing left in the spot where Fran had just been was a five-meter-wide crater. Good thing I saw that coming!
“Thanks, Teacher.”
No problem. Where the hell did that come from?
All I could tell was that the attack was from the monsters’ rear lines. It had flown at a terrifying speed, and it was powerful enough to pierce our barriers. It seemed too fast and powerful for anything a goblin archer was capable of. If I’d been a second too late, Fran could have been mortally wounded.
Where did it come from?
We looked for our mysterious bowman, and found despair.
What…? No…
We sensed their mana first. A new squadron emerged from behind the horde; most were weak E-Threats, but D-Threats were in their midst, and they totaled at least a thousand.
They marched across the plains in a wave while the sun rose behind them, shining on their silver armor. They all wore uniforms, moving in a tight formation that should have been impossible for monsters. Their silver armor was impressive enough, but only Fiends lay underneath; they were an entire army of hobgoblins, High Orcs, and Minotaurs.
It can’t be… We were so close to winning! I said, dismayed.
There’re lots of them, Fran agreed.
Is that their army’s main force? Have we only been fighting the vanguard…?
They’re all strong, too.
Can you still do it, Fran? I had to ask. Faced with this many foes, I couldn’t blame her for losing hope.
Of course, she said. We’ll beat anything that comes our way.
I should have expected it, frankly. That was my girl. She really was incredible.
You’re right, I agreed.
Hm!
We couldn’t fold now. Not if we wanted to save the Black Cats.
We’ll win this, I said.
“For sure!”
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