Published at 3rd of April 2021 03:15:28 PM

293 Curse Magic Circle

At the riverside, I face upstream. Peer at the river, I notice several belly-up dead fishes It looks certain that the rivers the problem.

I check behind me as I move upstream, confirming that Baron is following me with a large spear in hand, then pick up my speed.

I notice a bear-like monster leaning limply on a tree by the riverside. Checking its status, I confirm that it has the [Poisoned] and [Paralysed] status conditions. Baron gulps in apprehension upon seeing it too.

After we continue on some more, Baron starts paying close attention to the surroundings. Thinking there must be something out there, I use [Presence Perception], but dont notice anything in particular.

As Im wondering whats up, Baron darts in front of me.

Dragon-god-samah! Dragon-god-samah!

He frantically waves his arms, desperate to convey something to me I-I dont understand Explaining it with your mouth would be faster

Guo?

Its them! From here on, their territory is close! With the village as it is now, it might be best to avoid provoking them No, theyre not dragon-god-samas enemies, but

Them? Ah, that reminds me, the other village was upstream. But if we dont find the source of the curse

As I think that, [Presence Perception] suddenly picks up on some concentrated malice. Its coming from the bottom of the river.

The grass nearby is stained with blood. Thatll be where Hibi was stabbed. I clench my teeth tightly.

If that blood is Hibis, then there must be something set up around here. I stop and dip my head underwater. A few suspiciously glowing stones are tumbling on the river bed, contained within a shining magic circle. The magic circle is exuding a purple light, which mixes with the river and flows downstream. This must be the source of the curse.

Guoh!

I howl, and Baron stops surveilling the surroundings with his spear ready and runs over.

Th-that is the poisons It doesnt look like anything Ive seen before, so outsiders really must have

Gaah!

My partner chants, and the riverbed is soaked in a gentle light. The light flares up as it touches the magic circle, and the magic circle fades. The stones and light both disappear, fragmenting and washing away downstream.

Normal skill [Holy] has risen from level 1 to 2.

Great, good job, partner. With this, the cursell fade away over time.

Ooh! Amazing, dragon-god-sama!

Baron shouts out, delighted.

The poison will start to disappear. I can leave the explaining to the Baron. Next is Theyll probably be attacking directly soon, so we need to be alert

Im worried about how many enemies there are. If its five or sixor at the most, twenty, then thats fine, but If its any more, protecting the whole village would be difficult.

I healed the villagers, but I only healed them to the extent that their lives werent in danger. Hardly any of them are in a fit state to stand on a battlefield.

Without a miko, the people of the village cant coordinate the way theyre used to. If theyre attacked from several angles, therell be more casualties.

Let us return at once and tell everyone, dragon-god-sama!

Baron says, waving his arms.

Visit readel.me for extra chapters.

Guooo

I moan in a low voice, shaking my head.

We cant return yet. There are still things I want to do here. If possible, I want Barons help.

Dragon-god-sama?

If its just myself, then theres a serious risk that I wont be able to protect the village I need to request the anti-dragon-god village to aid the defence. There should also be a woman with [Presence Perception] there. Probably, shes the miko whos name people didnt like bringing up. In order to get their cooperation, I want to convey as precisely as possible what it is we know.

Last time I was there, I saved their children and defeated the manticore. That shouldnt have left them with a bad impression of me. I had thought that by waiting for the right timing, I could have the two villages reconcile

Its moving the schedule forwards a bit, but its also true that I was mostly just putting it off because I was anxious about whether or not theyd really be able to understand each other. With the dragon-god village in danger, I have no other choice. If I leave them alone, the damage might reach the anti-dragon-god village too, so helping them is also a factor. Plus, now that I know the true nature of the previous dragon-god, I have all that I need to persuade them. It shouldnt be a bad idea.

Whats more The fact that curses source was here is a miracle in a sense. Perhaps Dereks group didnt know that the villages were fragmented. If theyd set it up further upstream, both villages could have been covered. As the anti-dragon-god village is further upstream, they should be perfectly healthy. Since were already this close to them, theres value in asking.

I hate those guys

Whys that? Didnt you fire off [High Rest] like crazy even though we were stressed for MP since you were being pampered by the children?

The shitty old man and the braggart.

Shitty old man Braggart Ah, Nargrom and Yarg. Indeed, neither of them are very likeable.

Yarg in particular might hold a grudge. He had all the fingers of one of his hands bitten off, after all.

Dragon-god-sama, they might come towards us if were here For now, we should

Baron waves both arms up and down, trying to gesture to me I understand spoken language, though

Guoh

I moan, indicating for him to follow me with my eyes, then start heading upstream.

Dr-dragon-god-samaah! I dont think they were the ones who set up the poison!

Flustered, Baron chases after me.