Chapter 15: Orchestrated Tragedy
Eight days after leaving, the group finally arrived at the [Forest of No Entry]. But this was only the entrance to the forest. From here, they would continue through the forest in search of magical beasts.
After spending the night at the entrance to the forest, the group was getting ready to move deeper into the forest.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"……Yes"
The leader's reply to the adventurer's question was terse. Even though it had been decided in advance, the adventurer was still uneasy when the time came. The leader did not have the authority or the courage to change his mind. This was a decision made by the upper echelons of the church.
"Then, let's proceed with this group division. You will alone protect Group C. Be careful."
“Leave it to me. I will not be delayed by a single magical beast."
The adventurer in charge of Group C is full of confidence.
"I hope so."
Such self-confidence, on the contrary, creates anxiety in the role of the leader.
"...Isn't it rude to say that? I'm higher in rank, you know?"
"Even so, I'm the overall leader on this mission."
"That's right, but."
“We will be divided into three groups, but please be careful of the distance between us. Do not be too far away from each other. The same goes for Group B."
The leader began to give instructions not only to Group C but also to the entire group.
"Yeah, I know."
"Group A will move forward in the center. Group B will go left and Group C will go right."
"How far do you want us to go?"
"Far enough to get back to this spot while there's still daylight.."
"Is that okay?"
If they follow the leader's advice, they won't be able to go much further. If they don't go any further, the number of magical beasts that will appear is negligible. So, just checking to make sure everything is okay.
"That's good enough."
"Can I ask you something?"
The Class C escort adventurer enters the conversation again.
"What?"
"Is that enough to encounter a magical beast?"
The person in charge of Class C questioned the instructions of the leader. Moreover, the content is not the strength of the monster, but whether it can be encountered.
"...Don't you know about the [Forest of No Entry]?"
"No, I know of it, but I haven't been here many times."
"I think once you come here, you will understand. If you just want to encounter them, all you have to do is step into the forest. The reason we go deep into the forest is because we need a dozen or so people to train."
"I agree"
"Don't go too deep into the forest by mistake. The goal is three days on foot. The strength of the magical beasts will change after that time. Don't go that far by mistake."
"Yes. That's true."
While asking the question, the adventurer in charge of Class C responds as if he knows everything. The leader's frustration only grew.
"...Let me review it again. The main magical beasts that appear on the outer edge are war wolves and horned boars. But on rare occasions, a Murder Bear will appear. And there have been reports of saber tigers."
"No problem"
"Let's just take it easy. Can you please don't underestimate the magical beast just because you're a B-rank adventurer?"
"However, you can't be a B-rank adventurer if you can't defeat a beast of that caliber."
"Are you forgetting? You are not fighting alone. You fight while protecting many students."
It is not enough just to defeat the beast. He has to fight while protecting the students. This restricts his movements considerably. The leader wondered if the adventurer understood this.
"Protecting, isn't this a training exercise?"
The answer was not what the leader wanted.
"That's right. It's just training. It's not something you want students to risk their lives for."
Suppressing his frustration, the leader continued to speak. Because he thought he couldn't protect the students at this rate.
"Is that what you think?"
"That's the normal way to think."
"You are very cautious for an adventurer."
"I have to be cautious. Considering how many adventurers have lost their lives in this forest."
"...I understand. It's a request. I'll do it properly."
"Of course."
Whether or not the last word of sarcasm reached him, the adventurer in charge of Class C turned his back and walked toward the students.
At a considerable distance from them, the leader of the Class B escort opened his mouth.
"He's kind of careless. Is that really a B-rank adventurer?"
"Maybe he did it on purpose."
"On purpose?"
"To make an excuse to say, [I was careless and made a mistake, sorry]."
"Oi?"
The adventurers are informed of the general situation. Otherwise, they would not be able to protect them.
"Don't let your guard down. Actually, Group C may be a decoy and the target is Group B."
“......We've got ourselves a bad deal.”
"Even if that's the case, we can't back down now, can we?"
"Well. But... that guy, right?"
"...Did you know?"
It's easy to tell who he's referring to.
"I've worked with him a few times."
"I see. But I've heard he usually hides his face."
"Hiding his nose and mouth doesn't mean anything. His street name is not based on the color of his hair."
"Is it so?"
The leader did not know the true origin of his street name. The silver hair is so striking that no one would think there was any other reason.
"It's the eyes. His eyes remind me of a wolf. And when he's in battle, his eyes sometimes appear to glow gold. It is beautiful, but more than that, he is awesome."
The adventurer who knows this is one of the people who gave him the street name Silver Wolf.
"……I see."
"Is he on the mission?"
"I haven't heard that either. But I've been told that if he made a move, whatever it is, don't get in his way."
"......That's the same as asking. Alright then, I'll be on my way."
"Yeah, be careful."
"Okay."
The party, which was divided into three groups by class, finally proceeded to the depths of the forest.
◇◇◇
Just a few steps from the forest entrance, a magical beast appeared from the shadows of the trees. As the name "war wolf" implies, it was a wolf itself. However, its size was different from the wolves known to the hero candidates.
"I see. The information I heard is true."
Worrying about not encountering a magical beast was completely useless.
"Yes?"
“Oh, I'm talking about this one here. Now, here comes a magical beast."
The magical beast appeared out of nowhere, but as a B-rank adventurer, this man was not afraid of it at all.
"Instructor, are you going to fight it?"
"Instructor?"
"I haven't heard your name, so I was wondering what to call you."
"Oh, that's right. Please call me Lyle."
“Understood, Lyle-san.”
"War wolves aren't that scary monsters. They look scary because they're big."
"Is that so?"
"I won't tell you to fight all of a sudden. First, see how I fight."
"Yes"
Lyle drew his sword and advanced toward the magical beast, showing no sign of fear. The beast also moved into a fighting stance at once. It sank down and changed its posture to one that would allow it to pounce at any time.
At that point, Lyle also readied his sword.
A short pause. It was the beast that made the move. It leaped up into the air, opened its big mouth, and attacked Lyle.
Lyle's sword swung away at it. A spray of blood from the magical beast splashed down. By then, Lyle's body had avoided the beast. The beast jumped up and fell to the ground, spitting blood from its mouth.
Lyle's sword swung at its neck from directly above. The head of the beast was separated from the body and rolled on the ground.
"Well, it looks something like this."
"...Amazing. Amazing! Lyle-san!"
"Amazing! How did you dodge to the side!?"
"You move fast. Is that a high-rank adventurer?"
The hero candidates were all praising Lyle, who had defeated the magical beast with no danger at all and with plenty to spare.
"Now, let me explain. The war wolf's weapons are its claws and fangs. And as you just saw, they often attack by leaping. Use that to your advantage."
"Use it?"
"We make them leap. Once they leap in the air, there is no way they would avoid the sword."
"Indeed"
“All you need to do is to find the moment when your opponent leaps, and to detect its trajectory after it leaps into the air. All you have to do is swing your sword and can strike your opponent with a single blow."
What Lyle is explaining is a kind of war wolf strategy. Any adventurer who has been on a mission to defeat a war wolf knows this.
It is useful in fighting war wolves, but one doubts if this is training. Though there is only one person here who doubts it.
"But isn't that the hard part?"
"Not really. It showed the movement of sinking its body before it leap. That's the preliminaries. That's why war wolves are not scary. It's easy to see how they move."
"……I see."
"The problem is fear, because it's your first time. If you shake it off and do your normal moves, you can take them down with no problem."
"I understand"
"Then I'll leave it to you guys. Don't worry, I'll be right behind you."
"Yes……"
After the explanation of how to fight the war wolves, the group went deeper into the forest in search of the next magical beast. No need to look for it. A little further into the forest, the beast appeared again.
"Already? Isn't that a lot?"
Lyle let out a voice of surprise at the high frequency of appearances.
"……Is that so?"
"A little bit. It's convenient for training. Now it's your turn. The vanguard, step forward."
In response, the student who had been talking to Lyle the whole time and two other stepped forward.
"Three people?"
"Yes, that's right."
"The rest are rear guards?"
"There are two people who can be called rear guards."
"...And the rest?"
Without knowing this, he's doing an escort mission. Anyone who knew even a little about adventurers would doubt whether this was really a B-rank adventurer.
“Production-type or something. They don't have a combat occupation.”
“…I see. That way we can do more training. Then let's take turns with the three of you. Who's first?"
"Me."
"Alright. Then draw your sword. Once you draw your sword, the magical beast will already sense your hostility. Be on your guard.
"Yes"
"Look closely at the movement of the magical beast. If its body sinks, it's not strange that it will jump at you at any time."
"……Yes"
"Go forward. It's okay, I'll be right behind you."
"Yes"
With a rather frightened look, he walks towards the magical beast. Even if his steps are slow, the distance between him and the magical beast will definitely close. The monster's body sank deeply.
"...It's coming. Concentrate."
"…………"
The student's hand gripping the sword tightens. The magical beast, which had sunk even deeper, leaped high into the air in reaction.
"It's right above!"
"Eh!?"
Unlike the previous magical beast, the magical beast soared quite high and descended headlong from there, paws first. Seeing this, the students rushed to avoid it.
"Swing your sword!"
"Yes!"
Receiving Lyle's instructions, the sword that was swung on the spur of the moment slightly cut open the beast's belly, which had just touched the ground with its forelegs.
"Not yet!"
Even though he was a Class C student, he was still a hero candidate. He reacted quickly, reversed the sword he had swung away from the beast, and this time, he dropped low and swung it sideways.
The swinging sword cleaves the beast's front leg. The sword is swung again at the beast, which loses its front leg and loses its posture. It was the same as with Lyle. The sword was dropped on the beast's neck.
"……I did it!"
"...It's splendid. As expected of a hero candidate."
"No. I was nervous, the first swing was terrible. The blade didn't slash deep."
"Right. But after that it was great. Aiming for the front legs?"
"Yes. I can't split its torso vertically."
"……I agree"
At first, the student was slow to move due to nervousness, but as a result, he defeated the magical beast without letting Lyle move. Even though the advice was given, it was a surprise to Lyle that the student reacted to it.
As expected of a hero candidate. These words came from Lyle's heart.
"Well, then, let's wait for the next magical beast to appear."
"Aren't we going deeper?"
"If we go too far in, we might encounter unexpected beasts. I'm afraid I'll have to protect you all, just in case."
"I understand"
"Then we should rest tight until the next one appears."
The hero candidates crouched down in front of Lyle's words, closing the distance between them. Lyle also sat down in front of them.
"Lyle-san."
One of the hero candidates who were sitting stiffly raised his voice.
"What?"
“Aren’t you going to train people who can use magic?”
"Of course, I will. After the vanguard students."
"I see... Before that, how about burning the corpse of that magical beast as practice?"
"……How's that?"
Lyle questioned the male student's proposal.
"Is it no good?"
"First of all, can they completely control their magic? This is the forest. You can't use fire attribute, it will cause a forest fire."
"...That's true."
There's no way a mage who's a hero candidate doesn't have that much skill. If it's in a battle, there may still be, but it's just a matter of burning the monster's corpse.
"Besides, magical beasts are also beasts. If you start a fire, they won't come near us. Then you can't train, you know?"
"Ha."
"Why would you do that?"
"I'm sorry. Actually, the smell of blood is strong."
"Ah, it's your first time. But getting used to it is part of the training."
"……Yes"
The smell of blood. If a person can smell it, a beast, a magical beast, can sense it from much further away. And, the magical beasts do not avoid the smell of blood. On the contrary, some of them are attracted by the scent of blood.
"Hey, it looks like they're here again. This forest is a good place for training. Now, who's next?"
"Ah, I will do it."
"Alright. Then follow the same procedure as before."
A different student from before steps forward. The tension seemed to be dissipating a little after seeing the student who had just beaten one successfully. The student defeated the magical beast without any danger.
And the next student too.
The corpses of three magical beasts were lined up right next to the hero candidates.
"...Lyle-san"
"What?"
"Are we still staying here?"
"Yes. Are you still not used to the smell?"
The one who asked the question was the same male student as before.
"Yes. But why do we have to stay here?"
"...I thought it might be a pathway for the magical beasts."
"Pathway?"
"The magical beasts don't move around blindly. In fact, they have a certain range of behavior."
"So?"
"It's the path, if we wait there, the monster will appear, so it's a good place to train, isn't it?"
"……I see."
"A little more patience. A little more."
"……I understand."
The tone of the male student suddenly changes.
"Hmm?"
"It looks like a magical beast has come."
"Eh? Where?"
"It's a little ahead."
"……True"
As the male student said, they can see the shadow of the magical beast through the trees. Its shadow is still far away. It seemed like it would take a little while for it to come in front of them, but tension ran through the hero candidates all at once.
The magical beasts they saw weren't just one or two.
“Lyle-san?”
"It's a little too many."
"That's right."
"Let's go in front of them. I'll take the lead. When I get behind you guys, the three of you take them out."
"Yes……"
"Okay, let's go."
With Lyle in the lead, the four of them moved forward. The hero candidates who remained behind stared at them while frightened.
"Go forward."
"Eh? What are you talking about?"
"You better step forward."
"We can't fight them if we go in front of them, right?"
"Will the magical beast always come from the front?"
"Ah"
"There is no one who can fight in close combat. What if a magical beast approaches you guys from behind or from the side in this situation?"
"...But what are we going to do?"
"I guess we wait where we can see them. The mages would want to support us with magic."
"Surely"
"That's not to say you can't fight them at all. I've heard that farmers sometimes fight magical beasts to protect their villages."
"Eh, that's?"
"Because you learn swords in class. At least I think you can use swords better than farmers."
"...That's right. Alright, everyone, let's go forward."
"Yeah. Let's do it."
"Okay"
One after another, the students agreed. They followed the three who went to the front in a circle-like formation.
◇◇◇
Lyle leading the way. The magical beast was already right in front of him.
"However, it's surprising. There are so many magical beasts."
The number of approaching magical beasts that Lyle saw with his own eyes was roughly 50. It is not only war wolves. There were obviously other forms of magical beasts mixed in as well.
"If you can defeat this much, the mission will be complete."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"What!?"
Lyle suddenly heard a voice from behind him, and he hurriedly turned around. There stood a small man dressed all in black. The lower half of his face was hidden by a cloth, and his sharp amber eyes were staring at Lyle.
"...What are you surprised about?"
"You are?"
This question was proof that Lyle was new and had hardly worked in the capital. He was dressed all in black, with silver hair and amber eyes. Even without having met him, most adventurers would recognize him as Ren, the Silver Wolf.
"Me? Just a passing adventurer."
"...What do you want?"
"What do I want? I can't just run away and leave my fellow adventurer to be attacked by this many magical beasts, right?"
"I don't need your help. My rank is B. I can take down this many by myself."
"...I didn't know you had such a high rank. Then maybe I should leave."
"Yeah. I don't care, leave."
"No, it's too late. Here they come. Three of them."
"Tch."
There was no way that the monsters would wait for him just because he was having a conversation. The approaching war wolves attacked Lyle with the same momentum they had rushed.
The three of them almost simultaneously. However, Lyle was not troubled at that level. He saw the slight time difference and swung his sword at the war wolves one after the other, knocking them down.
“As expected of a B rank. That's impressive."
"Shut up. Go now."
"...Since I'm here, I'll deal with any magical beast that swerves behind you."
"What did you say!?"
"Well, it seems fine. Just in case."
"No need"
"Oh, I don't care if it's unnecessary. That way I'm safer. If possible, please finish without letting me use my sword."
"…………"
"Here they come."
The next war wolf attacks Lyle. Four appeared. Four more of them leaped through the air and attacked Lyle at almost the same time. Lyle's sword swung.
Two of the war wolves fell. However, the war wolf that slipped past Lyle advanced only slightly and then collapsed on the spot.
“B-rank adventurer, can you afford to take it easy just because I’m behind you?”
"You……"
"Why are you angry?"
"Nothing!"
From there it was a strange battle for a little while. Lyle, while swinging his sword at the attacking monsters, was looking at Ren, who suddenly appeared, for an opening. Ren, for his part, was aware of Lyle's killing intent and was careful to keep a certain distance from Lyle while slaughtering the magical beasts that Lyle deflected.
"Can't you be serious? High-ranked adventurer-sama!"
"What did you say!?"
“I guess you want to take it easy, but I don’t think you can afford to deliberately deflect them.”
"……I know!"
The number of magical beasts is only increasing. Lyle is not sure how many more are gathering. The beasts were attacking one after another, so much so that there was no time to do anything about it.
As Ren said, he was beginning to feel that he was in danger if he deliberately kept them alive and diverted them to the rear. And it is the same for Ren.
(......Well, let's get him to try a little harder.)
He gave up on damming them up completely and decided to hold the attack to the point where it would be enough to wound them if they were war wolves. He can't afford to deal with small fry. That was the situation.
(...Too big)
Lagging behind the pack of war wolves was a Murder Bear. Its huge size made even the war wolves look small. Compared to the smaller Ren, it was probably more than twice as tall.
It spread its arms wide to the left and right and swung its arms with all its might. Its long arms are attacking from outside the range of Ren's sword. Ren did not have time to deal with other magical beasts at the same time.
(This is not good. It might be impossible without sacrifice)
How many magical beasts had he deflected behind him? Ren couldn't even keep track of them. Ren is not sure that the other hero candidates behind him will be able to prevent it.
(Are they not here yet? Hurry up)
As if in response to Ren's impatience, there was a violent flash of light ahead. Arrows of light rained down on the magical beasts.
"Alright! Leave the rest to me!"
The voice that normally would have made him frown now made him feel happy.
"Mei! Now, shoot!"
"Yuya! Don't interrupt my chanting!"
"Everyone, prepare your formation! We'll go in at the same time as Mei's magic!"
"Jin! That's my role!"
"This is no time to be talking about that!"
The strongest class of hero candidates. It was the appearance of the Class A students.
thanks for the chapter
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter!
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