Published at 30th of November 2021 03:31:48 PM

460 -The Current Situation and Hereafter

I cautiously proceed through the forest, dragging the fenrir behind me with my jaws.The fenrir was an aggressive beast, but it seems the other monsters around here arent as aggressive.

Along the way, a tree that we walked close to seems to have been a kind of treant, as it suddenly opened a huge mouth and roared GuooOoOOOOO! before uprooting itself and running away, roaring all the while. Even I was a little startled by that.

Checking its status, I found it was a B rank treant called a [Troll Wood]. It completely avoided my [Presence Perception]. It was a brilliant camouflage.

It kind of seems that treants tend to have strong quirks. I glance back at my treant-san. Treant-sans eye holes are opened wide in surprise as it watches the Troll Wood run off into the distance It would have been nice if you were at least a little more capable of spotting other treants for us.

Then againeven now, its just B rank monsters, huh. On the giant tree island, there were a fair few B+ and monsters around. It also kind of feels like the monsters here are frightened of something I wonder if theres something especially dangerous here?

After travelling for a while along the coast, we come across a place where a river flows the forest into the sea. Just in case, I check if theres anything strange in the water. Its the water of this land. It wouldnt surprise me at all if there was a curse or poison in it that would turn us all to stone or something.

[Water of the Spirits: Value B-]

Water that has flowed from the Spring of Spirits and has been tinged with strong magical power.

The magical power contained within disrupts the flow within the body, inflicting a slight drowsiness and agitation.

Additionally, it mildly recovers the magic power of those who drink it.

Upon being removed from its natural source, this water loses its mysterious properties.

Drowsiness and agitation, in other words [Sleep] and [Berserk]? Isnt that basically alcohol, then?Though, depending on how its used, it might come in handy.

I try drinking the water from the river, but I dont feel any particular status conditions, nor any sense of discomfort. It has a faintly sweet, calming taste. Armed with the knowledge that water wont be an issue as long as we have the river, I decide to follow it upstream.

The fog becomes denser and the visibility worsens as we approach the mountain. The further we go, the more gnarled the trees look, and the more ominous-looking thinks I see. Theres even a strange tree growing almost horizontally along the ground. Combined with the poor visibility, its enough to convince me that some of them are monsters.

The river is running out of a large cave at the base of a mountain. I try poking my head inside, but the cave isnt very wide. I see a waterfall pouring out of a large hole in the ceiling at the back. It looks like the spring isnt in this cave, but is even further up the mountain.

My attention is drawn to the misshapen, tumour-like mushrooms that are clinging to the cave walls, and to the chicken-like monsters that have huge mouths where their faces should be (C- rank [Ogre Chickens], apparently), but otherwise, nothing about this place bothers me too much. Upon noticing my presence, the chickens flee at full speed into the river.

For the time being, Ill make this cavern into our base That being said, there are no paths into the cave other than the river, and if each time I go inside Id have to soak in the river but Its not as though I absolutely need to enter the cavern myself. If anything comes to attack us, itd be better to just struck back immediately.

I used my claws to cut off the fenrirs head and limbs and then divide it into ten rough pieces. I ask Volk to butcher the pieces further, and the nightmare hang the meat from the ceiling. I have no idea if its going to taste horrible or delicious, but for now we probably wont have to worry about food. We can get salt whenever we want from the sea, so Ill go and collect some later.

For now well rest a while at the cave entrance and plan what to do from now on.

But still, I really am grateful for Volk and magiatite-jii choosing to come with us. Volk sometimes gives the impression that his brain has been swapped with a monsters, but he knows more than any of us about human civilisation. Magiatite-jii is also knowledgeable in other ways, owing to his long life as a monster.

So, to start with, about my own leveling

[Irushia]

Race: Ouroboros

Status: Normal

Lv: 123/125

HP: 3138/3138

MP: 3011/3026

Just two more levels and Ill be able to evolve. It all depends on how long it takes me to get those two levels, and then how much levelling I can get in before Lilixira attacks. Once I become Legendary-class, each level will probably take a long time to raise. Since my level is reset upon evolution, in the worst case scenario the battle might happen while I have stats lower than my current ones.

If Partner was here its possible it wouldnt have been a bad idea to prioritise levelling our companions and adding to our subordinates with [Fake Life], before fighting a battle of attrition where the ouroboross MP pool and healing abilities could shine. But theres no point thinking about that now. Besides, once Ive hunted a good few B ranks, Im sure Ill be able to regain my current stats. Im not going to prioritise the battle of attrition plan.

I turn to look at Aro, and watch as she plays with the black lizard outside the cave. She giggles as she chases the black lizard, while the black lizard plays along with a slightly reluctant expression Seeing Aro in such high spirits and acting in a manner appropriately for her age, I cant help but sigh in relief.

Name: Aro

Race: Revaana Lich

Status: Cursed

Lv: 35/85

HP: 446/446

MP: 465/465

Aro is a B+ rank with [Final Evolution]. Theres no need to try overly hard to get her to the maximum level. But Id like to at least get her to around level 50.

I then turn to look at the nightmare who is unashamedly snacking on some fenrir meat that she had stashed away.

Race: Nightmare

Status: Normal

Lv: 29/70

HP: 234/234

MP: 227/227

She really is a C+ rank with [Final Evolution], huh To be honest, Id somewhat hoped that she would have been able to evolve one or two more times. Fortunately, her maximum level is fairly high.

As I watch her and gather my thoughts, she looks up to glare at me. I avert my eyes, then bow my head slightly.

Race: Magical Tree

Status: Cursed

Lv: 15/60

HP: 223/223

MP: 166/166

Treant-san is bending its trunk to drink from the river in a very un-treant-like fashion. Treant-san is the same C+ rank as the nightmareBut its upper level limit isnt as high as her, and it doesnt have [Final Evolution]. It would be great if treant-san could evolve to B+ and become able to take on a more active role alongside Aro.

But then, since its not really an attacker, getting it experience will be difficult. Id like to prioritise bringing its level to maximum, but Its possible that it would evolve into something disappointing if I helped too much. It is treant-san, after all.

While I do have high hopes for treant-sans potential, I also somehow feel like its hopeless. Any plan that hinges on it would probably end in failure.

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To Volk, for whom even B+ rank monsters arent a match as long as he has a weapon, I have nothing to say. I cant expect any more growth from him, but he should be fine as he is now. There doesnt seem to be any point in me telling him what and what not to.

Race: Magiatite Heart

Status: Normal

Lv: 53/70

HP: 114/114

MP: 414/414

Magiatite-jii is also a high level B- rank with [Final Evolution]. Theres no need to forcefully level him up. Since he doesnt seem dissatisfied with acting as Volks sword, I have no intention of separating the two.

Race: Venom Queen Lecherta

Status: Normal

Lv: 26/55

HP: 180/180

MP: 198/198

The black lizard is C rank. After separating from me, it looks like she progressed one stage of evolution. Shes now strong enough to compete with monsters like the little rock dragon or the red ants. However, in our current situation, theres not much she can contribute to a fight. It makes me want to praise her even more for managing to escape from the rank monstrosity that is Beelzebub.

Bringing her here was probably a little harsh. There was the risk of Beelzebub remembering her appearance, but it also didnt seem like he was the type who would go out of his way to target her. By no means do I think hes a good person, but I didnt get the impression that he would go out of his way to divert from his search for me to kill the black lizard There was a risk of Lilixira keeping an eye on the black lizard, but even taking that into consideration, bringing her here was surely the much more dangerous option.

For now, Ill prioritise my own evolution. I cant really make any firm decisions about what to do after until Ive evolved. For now the safe option would be to train Aro and the nightmare, while also making sure the black lizard evolves so that shes able to protect herself. It would be good if treant-san were to gain some levels too, but Im not going to try feeding it kills to get it to evolve, yeah.

Ah!

It looked for a moment like Aro is about to get atop and start riding the black lizard, but the black lizard just barely manages to evade at the last moment with a display of her nimbleness, and comes running over to my side. As Aro watches the black lizard dejectedly, and the treant puts a branch on her shoulder as if to console her.

Sorry, treant-san. Im postponing your training this time too, forgive me.

The treant turns its face toward me, and suddenly reaches out one of its branches.

That is fine, master-dono

T-treant-san?! Hey you, seriously, you suddenly started speaking huh. Its alright for you to use [Telepathy] more regularly, you know.

However, even though treant-san hardly ever sends out its thoughts with [Telepathy], it picked up my thoughts just fine. By any chance, could it using it to constantly comb through my thoughts? Thats somewhat scary in itself

Kishi! Kishii!

The black lizard comes up to me and stretches out her head. I gently pat her, making sure not to use too much strength.

In the old days, we fought together as fellow D ranks. But at some point, we grew apart into C and A ranks. Back then she would come flying at me and start happily licking my face, but the size difference between us has only gotten bigger.

No, if anything its amazing she was able to get as strong as she has. I was only able to get to this point because of my experience-doubling and level-up-threshold-halving skills, on top of having fought off one strong enemy after the next. Normal monsters would surely take longer to grow.

Kishii!

The black lizard stretches out to rub her head into my palm. Hey hey, its dangerous to move like that, what would happen if you hit my claws?

Aro, who was watching this from afar, quietly points a finger at me. With a serious expression, treant-san puts a branch on Aros arm to stop her. What the hell are these guys doing?