TL Note: Cannonball Rhinos -> Cannonball Rhinos. Extra chapter maybe Monday or Tuesday. Gotta pa.s.s another paper Monday morning, so yeah Monday or Tuesday it is.

Edit: Sorry, I missed something in one of the lines. Ryouma retrieves all the corpses, not just the two parents'.

Volume 3 END

Did I overestimate myself? But before that, what should I do about this situation? If I cant pierce into the body, then not even my b.l.o.o.d.y slime will work. Moreover, aiming at their eyes and mouth requires that I stand right in front of them. If I were to do that, Id be exposing myself to their charge Oops. [Ryouma]

As I was thinking to myself how to defeat the bigger one, the smaller one attacked me. Honestly, after understanding the situation, Ive lost all will to fight the smaller one

As I was thinking that, this time the bigger one came to attack me. When I dodged it, the smaller one Wait, why are you guys focusing on me? You should at least Oh, right, maybe I could do something if its the smaller one.

Haaaaa [Ryouma]

Sheathing my katana, I faced my back toward the lake, and I filled my body with ki. Then I stood before the smaller cannonball rhinos.

The cannonball rhinos began to mercilessly charge at me. With a half turn, I dodged the horn of the cannonball rhinos. Then I grabbed its neck, neared my b.u.t.t to the ground, and I entered the area beneath it. There, I touched the body of the cannonball rhinos with my feet, and with my ki charged, I kicked it up to the sky!

Leave me alone for a bit! [Ryouma]

Kyuon!? [Little Rhinos]

It was heavy, but I was able to kick the cannonball away. It kept flying as it drew an arc and eventually landed into the lake. Amongst cannonball rhinoses, they have a tendency to accept defeat when theyre thrown away by the horn, or pushed down. So I hope the smaller one will stop attacking me with this.

Still its fortunate that I used my legs. From the weight I felt when I threw it, I dont think I could have thrown it that far even if I had raised it up with my arms. This lake looks shallow, so I dont think itll drown That aside, theres still the problem of the bigger one.

Immediately, I picked myself up. But for some reason, the big cannonball rhinos that was so eager to attack me before was not moving But just as I was thinking that, the cannonball rhinos suddenly bellowed out a war cry as it charged toward me.

I decided to dodge it and move way from where I threw the smaller one. With my course of action decided, I fired off some magic at the cannonball rhinos to get its attention. Then I unsheathed my katana, wielded it with my right hand, while my left wielded the sheath itself.

Following that, I ordered the big iron slime katana and big metal slime sheath to transform. The form of the katana and the sheath began to melt, turning into liquid as they wrapped themselves over my hand toward my shoulders. When they finished transforming, the smooth, curved metal had completely changed into a scale-like silver and dark grey mittens.

Weapons that can cut have little effect against the hide of these rhinoses, so Ill fight with strikes instead. Theres also the chained iron ball that I used to defeat the elder treant, but that ones heavy, so if I were to use that, my movement would get dull. Besides, therere plenty of trees around, it wont be easy to use. Compared to that, this gauntlet might be a little heavier compared to the blade-form of the slimes, but its easy to use.

My right might be short! [Ryouma]

O!? [Rhinos]

[Ryouma]

I dodged the incoming cannonball rhinos, and then landed a strike at its left flank with my fist. My attack seems to have had much more effect compared to the katana as the rhinos let out a little of its voice. It wasnt that loud though, so the effect wasnt all that much.

Part of is its because its durable, but its also because my attack slipped when I attacked it while it was charging. I dont think it did it on purpose, but it still feels like my attack got parried. I guess I should attack it when it stops moving

I lured the cannonball rhinos into the denser area. If its inside an area with more trees, it should be harder for it to attack. At least thats what I thought, but then the canon-ball rhinos ignored the trees, and it began charging recklessly.

As sounds resounded and tremors shook the earth, the trees were either bent or mowed down. The instances of the cannonball rhinos stopping also increased. Aiming for those moments, I curled my hand into a fist, and I smashed it against the cannonball rhinos.

Our battle continued like that for a while, but the cannonball rhinos still refused to show any signs of falling over.

Hmm On top of the weight of the slimes, theres also the reinforcement from ki. If it was a human I was fighting, his cranium would have caved in at the power ages ago This is making me lose confidence. This wanton destruction of nature is also making me anxious. [Ryouma]

But still I wonder if this thing cant feel any pain. Ive hit so many times, and its even crashed itself against so many times. Ive even hit it with fire, electric, and ice type magic, but Ive only either slightly burned or froze its fur.

I tried making a hole once while I let it crash against the wall erected by Earth Wall, but the hole was too small and too shallow, and the cannonball rhinos just went through the earth wall. All I managed to do was buy some time.

Dark magic works, but then the cannonball rhinos goes even wilder, and it becomes harder to predict how it will attack. Seriously, what am I supposed to do about this? I can stop its movements and buy some time, but my attacks wont work on it, so I cant defeat it.

GUoOO!! [Rhinos]

Tch! [Ryouma]

After how many times of hitting it with my fists, I realized something strange. This big cannonball rhinos sometimes suddenly stops. At first, I thought it just didnt feel like fighting anymore since it just got hit back whenever it attacked, but then it would persistently start chasing me again. It wouldve been nice if it started getting a concussion after cras.h.i.+ng into trees so many times, but apparently that wasnt the case

KUOoOOoO!!!!!! [Rhinos]

Ahh, its here again!

Youre persistent! And your eyes are bloodsh!! [Ryouma]

It was here that it came to me that a part of the cannonball rhinos sclera was oddly congested. Taking note of that, I began observing the rhinos. As the Rhinos bellowed out a cry, I noticed that there were some violet specks inside the mouth of the rhinos. When I saw that, I finally understood the reason behind its behavior. At the same time, I felt my face cramping.

Its the poison of the doping bee! [Ryouma]

A queer congestion within the eyes and specks of violet are both special traits of a magical beast thats been pierced by the doping bee. Moreover, when the doping bees poison has had too much of an effect, the magical beasts consciousness will sometimes become muddied, causing it to be dazed. And the beast will alternate between berserk and being dazed. The interval between the two states doesnt seem to be fixed though.

Took me way too long to remember If I cant remember my preparatory research during a critical moment, then theres no point in doing it in the first place. Ill have to reflect on this later.

But thats that. At least now I finally know why this things going wild, and why its so strong.

Its not just strong because of magic. Its strong because the originally A Rank defensive power has been further bolstered But even if I know that, the situation hasnt changed. [Ryouma]

I could feel drops of sweat forming at my brows. I cant just leisurely stop moving. I have to think of a way to defeat the cannonball rhinos while dodging it. As I was doing that, the wound I first cut on it came to my attention. It was then that I remembered something, and I decided to try it out.

First, dodge the charge of the cannonball rhinos while letting it charge into a tree to stop it from moving. Up to this point is still the same as always, but

Bind Ivy! [Ryouma]

Guon! [Rhinos]

I used wood magic, and the surrounding ivy wrapped around the trees began to wrap themselves around the cannonball rhinos.

The cannonball rhinos had its attention taken by the vines, but just my moving its body in all directions, its already began to gradually pull itself away from the ivies. Then with a strong step, and with its power poured into its limbs, it charged. At that, it fully freed itself from the grasp of the ivies.

A few seconds at most, huh? Lets try it! If it fails, then Ill just run with all my might! [Rhyouma]

Again, I lured the cannonball rhinos as I ran back the direction we came from, and headed toward the lake.

The trees were mowed down quite a bit, so the views now not as obstructed as it once was. Because of that I was able to get back to the late without stopping much, and was able to get there quickly. The small rhinos is sitting in front of its deceased parents corpses It shouldnt be a problem as long as I stay away from him.

!! [Big Rhinos]

Take this! [Ryouma]

I dodged the rhinos that charged from behind. When I did, the rhinos kept going and going until it plunged itself into the lake. Water burst up high into the air. Again, I was reminded of just how much power the rhinos had. But I dont have the time to stop moving. I stood at the border of the lake and the jungle to initiate my plan.

The cannonball rhinos that had charged into the lake, turned toward me as it raised itself. Then it began charging again.

Youre strong, but youre too dull! Bind Ivy! [Ryouma]

As I dodged the charge, I used Bind Ivy. As the rhinos charged into a tree, and stopped moving, its body was wrapped in ivy.

Right after that, I jumped onto the back of the cannonball rhinos with my ki reinforced body. Then I grabbed the ivy, and began strangling the rhinos neck.

The ivy began to be torn off again, but I wont let the rhinos do as it pleases!

Mud Pool! [Ryouma]

GUoA!? [Big Rhinos]

As I activated my magic, the water and the ground began to mix, changing into mud, and swallowing the cannonball rhinos legs. The ivies were creaking at the cannonball rhinos pressure, but because of the mud that suddenly appeared, the rhinos resistance vanished. The rhinos was no longer able to tear off the ivies.

Mud Pool is the combination of water attribute and earth attribute. Its a simple magic meant to transform the land into mud. I learned this magic after I heard about it from the adventurers in Gimuru, and practiced it by myself.

At the time, it was quite difficult to do. If I casted the magic poorly, then even my allies would lose their footing. Because of that the adventurers mentioned that its generally only used when running away. But! Something like that doesnt matter when Im on top of a magical beast!

Exchange! [Ryouma]

I held on to the neck of the struggling cannonball rhinos while I used Exchange to bring out the adamant.i.te rapier. Then cladding it in ki, I thrusted it diagonally from the rhinos neck toward its head.

But the rapier couldnt reach past the tip of the rhinos hide. But I already expected that the rapier wouldnt be able to pierce through easily. It was here that I changed my position while keeping myself from falling off the cannonball rhinos.

Ha!! [Ryouma]

With all of my strength, I pounded the heel of my palm onto the rapier.

GUoOOO!?

Because of the impact of that attack, the rapier that had pierced into the hide of the rhinos sunk deeper. The cannonball rhinos rose its voice, and its movements grew wilder.

One more time! [Ryouma]

I struck again with my palm.

I dont know if you could this a tactic or not, but Im doing exactly as Ive planned. Stop the cannonball rhinos from moving, hit a vital spot with a blade, allowing it to stand. And then finish it off like that. The first stroke could only cut a shallow wound, but it still doesnt change the fact that it was strong enough to cut into the cannonball rhinos skin. So I figured it should be possible to damage the rhinos enough so long as Im able to focus my attack on one point.

I used the durable adamant.i.te rapier for that reason. From the looks of things, it seems the rapier will be able to get through. This usage strikes me as somewhat absurd for a rapier, but so long as it works, anythings fine!

After two more strikes, the sensation transmitted to me by the pommel of the rapier changed. After another strike, the rapier sunk deep into the cannonball rhinos. But I didnt stopped there as I pushed it even deeper.

Using battle magic technique, I clad my entire body and the rapier in electric magic power. Then I fired off my magic through the tip of the rapier.

Thunder Bolt [Ryouma]

Intermediate electric magic Thunder Bolt. Just as the name implies, an attack that summons electricity to strike against the target.

It didnt have much of an effect a while ago, but just as one would expect, firing it off from inside the body like this is quite effective. Immediately after casting it, the cannonball rhinos stopped moving, and it collapsed to the ground.

At that time, the ivies wrapped around the cannonball rhino were cut, and the cannonball rhino began to fall down into the mud. Immediately, I jumped off the cannonball rhino, and left the mud. I waited for a while, and after confirming it, I knew that the beast had died.

I was cutting it pretty close there. Its good that I won~!!

Even if it was strengthened by the poison of the doping bee, it seems its still too early for me to challenge A Rank and S Rank magical beasts Not that I have any plans of challenging those. To begin with, its generally a.s.sumed that one has to form a party to challenge magical beasts above the B Rank.

As I muttered to myself while staring at the giant body of the cannonball rhinos, the smaller one approached me from behind.

Heeey you still feel like fightingMn? [Ryouma]

Just when I thought it still felt like fighting, the cannonball rhinos rose its two forelegs as it stood up on its two hind-legs. This is

If I recall correctly, this pose signifies a cannonball rhinos surrender, right? [Ryouma]

Its written down in the information I gathered beforehand. At first, I thought it might just be trying to make its body appear bigger to threaten me, but that doesnt seem to be the case. But why? Thats normally something a cannonball rhinos would show to another cannonball rhinos that managed to defeat it, so Ah! Could it be its because Id thrown it once? Or is it because I defeated the bigger one?

As I was thinking that to myself, I saw the small cannonball rhinos feet slightly trembling. It might still be a kid, but its body is still quite heavy. It should be painful for it to raise its body up with just two legs.

Lets just leave the questions for later, and contract it now. It might be a B Rank magical beast, but its still a kid, so it might not survive out here [Ryouma]

If I were to accept this little cannonball rhinos, then As I thought that, I activated the contract of the slave demon magic. When I did, the contract was a success, and the cannonball rhinos became my slave demon. I named the little one, Rai.

After that, I began to heal Rais wounds with the heal slimes. During that time, I had the grave slime retrieve the big cannonball rhinos and the two corpses that were most probably Rais parents.

Rai quietly watched the corpses be retrieved as he continued to receive treatment. I thought he would go wild, but I guess magical beasts understand the rule of the jungle well.

Not wanting to waste the ingredients in the corpse of Rais two parents, I immediately took them to the Dimension Home, and disa.s.sembled them. I retrieved their pelt, their horns, and their bones. The muscularity of the meat makes it unsuitable for humans, but its enough as feed for the slimes. As I was feeding them to the slimes for lunch, the mimic slime began to transform into a cannonball rhinos.

I tried to order the slime to stop the transformation, but seeing Rai look at the transformed mimic slime, and then cuddle up to it, I stopped. Instead, I ordered the mimic slime to stay in that form for a while.

I dont know if this is good for Rai, but Ill just leave them like this for now.

Just to be safe, I ordered Rai not to go wild. Then we left the Dimension Home, and we moved again to leave the Great Forest of Shurus. After 30 minutes, we coincidentally came across the nest of doping bees that was most likely responsible for causing the big cannonball rhinos to go berserk.

The nest was about as big as a drum as it clung to the branch of a big tree. I took out 50 sticky slimes, and had them climb up the tree, and swallow the nest.

Of course, the doping bees attacked the slimes, but if their stingers cant reach the nucleus, then their poison wont have any effect.

The doping bees that attacked the sticky slimes were glued to them one after another, and they eventually died by suffocation.

The same happened to the bees inside the nest. But just to make sure everythings safe, I blocked all of the holes of the nest for 30 minutes. Then when I saw that nothing was resisting anymore, I retrieved the nest. Naturally, I retrieved the corpses of the doping bees that were inside the sticky slimes as well.

Well then A lot of unexpected things happened, but now Ill at least be able to go back to Gimuru. I have my treatment, the store, and a bunch of other things that need to be done. And then theres also Rai. I managed to form a contract with him, but theres still definitely a lot of thinking to be done regarding the future.