NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68
Chapter 68 – A Magic Monster Field Study
Luka had written a study about where the monsters were all running from.
There were detailed facts about the species, their inhabitation, and distribution maps.
Yureena read it with me and said,
「She knew this much in detail about the dragons you fought. I had no idea!」
「Me neither.」
「Me too! Just like you guys.」
For some reason Cruz’ eyes were shimmering. She looked really happy about all of this.
An adventurer knew the way and difficulty of subduing many types of monsters.
However, since Luka was an academic, she knew what their tail shapes looked like and the color of the beasts and all that additional information.
It was also the specialty of an academic to know where those beasts had moved here from.
I was really happy she had chosen that path.
After breakfast, I told everyone I was going to check the place again.
Cruz stood out proudly and said,
「I’m going too!」
「Cruz, you can’t go with him.」
「Wha?」
「You and I have to kill off a demon, this time.」
Demons were strong.
They looked like humans, but weren’t. They were also different from magical creatures.
There were academics that said they were humans that changed into something magical, and others that said they were closer to something sacred than just magical.
「Yureena’s going to have a hard time fighting that demon without you, Cruz!」
「If you don’t come with me Cruz, even if I fight one with a squad of knights, some will end up dead.」
Yureena kindly admonished Cruz.
Even with a top rank healer like Yureena, some would die.
That’s how strong demons were.
If I were to go against a demon, I wouldn’t lose in a one to one battle. But it would be tough if there were several.
I might even end up losing.
「Okay. I guess I’ll go with you, Yureena.」
「Thank you.」
Cruz decided on going with Yureena on the demon-clearing expedition.
She had a strong sense of responsibility.
「Al, take care of yourself, okay?」
「Sure. Thanks. You two come back safe too.」
「We know…just leave it to us.」
Cruz and Yureena worked well together. They killed off a lot of powerful enemies as a pair.
I could leave them to the work with no worries.
When Cruz went back to the capital, I got on Femm and rode.
Vi-Vi got on Moofy as well.
「Are you going to be okay, Vi-Vi. With the distance we’re going, we have to camp.」
「I have no problem doing that.」
Vi-Vi replied cheerfully.
It was a far distance away, so Femm sped through the woods.
Several times faster than a horse, and Moofy stuck with us the whole way.
Both Femm and Moofy were serious about this.
「From Luka’s research it seems that the monsters were fleeing from the western mountain range, right?」
「Seems so.」
「You think that’s the place where Cruz and the others crushed that necromancer’s laboratory?」
「Yeah, but I think that’s even farther away.」
The western mountain range was very, very wide.
The place the monsters seemed to be running from was two to three days from that necromancer’s lab. And it was one to two days distance from Mulg by horse.
「We’re in the middle of the mountains now.」
「Yeah. And there are some very strong monsters in the middle of these western mountains.」
「Hm, well, Al. The mountains can be a dangerous place.」
That was the habitat where the monsters came from. That place must have experienced some kind of extreme change.
Luka had determined that.
And those were mountains with very jagged peaks.
「Can you two handle mountains?」
『I can, easily.』
『Easy.』
「Don’t push yourself too hard.」
「Ruff.」「Moo.」
Femm and Moofy replied strongly. They were a dependable pair.
Because Femm and Moofy had ran so quickly, we arrived at the base of the mountains by evening.
「Well, time to start climbing.」
「No, Vi-Vi, we camp. Tomorrow we climb.」
「Because it’s dangerous here at night?」
「Yup. Pretty much.」
There was no doubt that it was dangerous at night.
However, there was something that had chased away all the monsters in this location.
It was best to be cautious of that.
And, the two animals were tired.
Femm and Moofy had run here quite quickly. They had to be exhausted.
It would be rough to make them run up a mountain like this.
「Femm, do you feel anything near?」
『Nothing. There are insects, but no animals or magical beasts.』
「That makes it even scarier.」
『Yes.』
Femm shook its body.
Maybe out of excitement for what lie ahead.
「Moofy, do you feel something?」
『No.』
Moofy said flatly.
We quickly set up camp.
Summer was over. And because it was the mountains, it was quite cool. It was cold to be cold in the night.
So I took a tent out of my magic bag and set it up.
「So you got a tent there, Al?」
「Of course I do.」
「I thought adventurers don’t use tents.」
It is true that you make yourself open to ambush inside a tent.
But, inside a tent you don’t get blown around by wind. The amount you recover is completely different.
「Well, adventurers do use them in winter.」
「I see!」
「Moo moo!」
Vi-Vi nodded in assent.
Moofy stuck the front of her body into the tent. I could only see her rump.
I know she wanted in, but the size of them were a big problem.
「It’s going to be hard to stick both of you in the tent.」
「Ruff….」「Mooo….」
They both looked sad and I felt bad for them.
I quickly made dinner which we ate and Vi-Vi rested in the tent.
Moofy had her front half in the tent again.
Femm laid beside the tent.
I stretched out between Moofy’s back half and Femm.
「Ruff?」
「I need to be on guard tonight.」
And saying that, I rubbed both Moofy and Femm.
「Good job you two.」
「Ruff」「Moo」
Both of them wagged their tails.
The night air was cool enough to almost be chilly. However, surrounded by the two animals, I was warm.
It was a nice place to sleep.
Late that night.
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I awoke to the echoes of a loud cry.