Chapter 461: The Shadow Creeping Close

Chapter 461: 461

461 – The Shadow Creeping Close

Even though I’ve chosen this cavern as a base, it won’t be much good if there are any dens of powerful monsters nearby. To make sure it’s safe, I’ll do some patrolling of the surrounding area. I’m leaving Aro and the others inside the cavern, but I’ll stay close enough to be able to quickly return if there are any shouts of alarm.

I squint, scanning the surroundings as I walk alongside the river.

…As expected, having visibility shot to pieces is quite scary. All I can make out is the faint outlines of the surrounding terrain. Even if some nuisances were around, I wouldn’t be able to tell unless they were right in front of me.

I suppose I’m only checking in the same general direction that we originally came from. My caution is probably better focused on what could be living on the mountainside. I’ll drink some water from the river and relax for a bit, then try searching the area upstream.

…As I stretch out to the river, my eyes fall on four sinister eyes on the opposite bank. It’s a fenrir drinking from the river. Our eyes meet straight on. Like me, it seems it also had its guard down to drink, only for us to notice each other at the exact same time.

It immediately flips around. I quickly release a [Wind Slash]. The blow hits its back directly. Red blood splatters onto its dark fur. Yet, as though completely unhindered by the blow, it disappears into the mist with incredible speed.

I gaze into the dense fog, and slowly shake my head. The big silhouette I could see until just a moment ago has already vanished. …Damn it, that giant wolf got away.

“GiruoOOOOO! GinoOOOOOO!”

Shortly after the fenrir has disappeared from view, I hear the sound of its resentful howl. Tch, how noisy, if you’re going to provoke me then come back and fight me already.

I’d probably be able to catch it if I were to follow the blood trail, but since I’ve left everyone at the waterfall cavern, I can’t go too far away. Then again, even though they’re just fenrirs, I should be able to hit my maximum level after hunting four of them, as long as there isn’t a sudden jump in the experience requirement. It’s a shame. It might have been better if I had leapt in to close the distance, rather than using a ranged skill.

…Recently I’ve been having some doubts regarding [Wind Slash]. I don’t have any choice but to rely on it, since it’s my only long-distance attack, but [Wind Slash]’s offensive power is a little weak. It’s good as a feint or diversion since it doesn’t cost much MP and can be shot with minimal effort, but… it’s far less effective when compared to a direct attack.

It’s true that it’s good for hunting fodder and lower ranks, and I’ve also been helped many times by [Wind Slash]-sensei so I don’t want to badmouth it too much. But on the contrary, you could say that that is all [Wind Slash] is good for.

It’s safe to say that almost every single time I’ve tried to rely on it, it has backfired on me. It’s level 7, so it’s not as though it’s an issue of the skill level. [Wind Slash] has surpassed my trusty [Roll] in terms of usage, but recently it’s become obvious that it’s power isn’t up to par. After fighting such powerful enemies as Eldia, the chaos ooze, the ruin, and Beelzebub, against which [Wind Slash] was all but useless, that impression has only solidified.

The [Holy Sphere] skill I got at level 8 of [Hero] would probably help a lot, but… Unfortunately, since the ouroboros’s roles are split between the left and right heads, I haven’t even used [Holy Sphere] once.

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No, I fully understand that it’s asking too much to have a long-distance attack that has the firepower of a close-range one and a good speed to boot, but… Even with that in mind, if I had a skill as powerful as Eldia’s [Dragoflare], picking off B rank opponents wouldn’t have to be so difficult.

I forcefully change my train of thought and, like I had originally planned, lower my mouth to the river to drink. The reason I came up to the river wasn’t to conduct a review meeting on [Wind Slash]-sensei’s performance, or to even hunt a fenrir, but to give me a change of pace. Mm, tasty, tasty. I wished I could have let my partner drink some of this. This water doesn’t taste like normal water though. From its effects, it really might be practically alcoholic…

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Well, I didn’t find any conspicuous monsters this way. Once I inform Aro and the rest, I wonder if we should try investigating up the mountain to try and look for the source of the water. The mist will probably also be thicker higher up the mountain.

…That said, this time the aim will only be a quick survey of the vicinity of the waterfall cavern. As long as I steadily hunt B rank monsters, I’ll slowly but surely bring myself towards evolution. For Aro and the rest, individual B ranks or groups of C ranks would be ideal.

However, seeing that this might be the place where we settle things with Lilixira once and for all, I can’t leave any loose ends untied. I’ll put it off a little later, but we’ll need to take on the investigation eventually. For now, we’ll expand our area of activity and increase our knowledge of the area.

Lilixira is scary, but this land is supposedly the most dangerous in the world. If I’m too careless, it’ll become my grave. If that happens, Aro and the others will suffer too. Levelling quickly is important, but I need to be careful not to rush things.

I turn around and decide to follow the river upstream back to the waterfall cavern.

..While I do want to explore a bit further out next time, there’s the issue of who to bring and who to leave behind. Part of me thinks it’s best for everyone to stick together, but an exploration team really needs to be quick on its feet.

As a worst case scenario, it’s possible that a group of B+ rank monsters could appear. With such poor visibility and with the terrain unknown, it would be difficult for me to protect everyone while they’re spread out.

But with that possibility in mind… While I could potentially bring Aro or Volk with me, they’re also needed to protect the others. Only those two would be able to fight a B+ monster, after all. By themselves, neither of them would find it easy to repel a monster like a fenrir while also watching out for treant-san and the others. I kind of want to bring someone along, but in the interest of safety, it’s probably best if I went on a solo expedition.

The waterfall cavern comes into view as I get close. Aro waves and runs towards me as she spots me.

“Draaagon-god-sama!”

Hahah, Aro, it’s unsafe to leave the cavern you know.

Suddenly, I sense bloodlust from around me. Of course, there’s none in the direction of Aro and the others. Behind…and from both sides.

Looking around, I see faint silhouettes in the mist. It’s not just one. There’s at least three. They’re keeping their distance and masking their presence as much as possible as they encircle us. It seems that I brought some trouble back with me. As expected, it’s not as though things will always proceed smoothly in the area I presume be safe.

These three managed to surround me while in this fog, so they must have outstanding perceptive abilities… On top of that, they seem used to moving together as a group.

I stop moving and urge Aro to stop with a look. She quickly grasps the situation and comes to a halt, then signals the everyone behind her with a glance.

Immediately, Volk strolls out, brandishing magiatite-jii in sword form, while treant-san quite naturally retreats further inside the cavern. It’s a calculated decision so there’s nothing wrong with it, but that sort of thinking is why your level won’t increase, you know.

The black lizard acts as though she’s about to come to the front, but then treant-san holds her down with a branch as they pass each, causing her to struggle and flail. Good job treant-san, my bad for thinking badly of you earlier.

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