Volume 11 Chapter 10 The Terrifying Iska Row
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Iska’s Perspective
We won the first round of the main event and secured our spot in the Ten Elite Garuda.
Now, we were celebrating with Rosalinda and the others at our favorite tavern.
”Wow, Iska, you’re amazing! Even though it was a mid-level Hunting Group, you took down a strong opponent all by yourself. Plus, this Beast King Tournament has the South District Margrave here, so you’ll definitely get noticed. That king loves women!”
Heta was drinking unfamiliar alcohol and getting really drunk.
This first round was definitely against a stronger team, but thanks to my boosted abilities from [Devour] and Heta’s support, we managed to win.
If it were just me, I wouldn’t have even made it past the qualifying group.
Fighting while constantly watching my back felt really cramped and hard, so I never realized how grateful I would be to have someone I could trust to cover my back.
”I’m so glad Rosalinda invited me to this Beast King Tournament. Otherwise, I would have probably ended up passed out somewhere. And thank you, Heta, for protecting my back with this creepy ability of mine.”
Heta covered her mouth when she heard me.
”Don’t call yourself creepy! No one in ‘Rootless Weed’ thinks you’re creepy, Iska! Don’t put yourself down!”
”Well, Heta is right. Iska, you’re too hard on yourself. You’re my daughter, so hold your head high!”
Rosalinda was also encouraging me, patting my shoulder.
If I hadn’t met the members of ‘Rootless Weed,’ I would still be wandering around with random parties, always being avoided because of [Devour].
…I can stay at ‘Rootless Weed’, right?
I can make this place my home, right?
I was asking myself, and I almost had the answer.
”Um, can I stay here? Can I stay with everyone?”
I would never usually say something like that, but I was relieved and worried at the same time.
My hidden feelings were coming out.
Suddenly, tears fell from my eyes.
I don’t remember ever crying in my life.
I didn’t know what crying felt like, and I was surprised to see the tears on my hands.
I was so nervous.
”Of course! This is Iska’s home. And it’s our home too! This ‘Rootless Weed’ is where people who don’t fit in belong. It’s our home, and we’re family. So, call me Bro Heta!”
Heta ruffled my hair and smiled.
”No way! Heta is just Heta!”
I was laughing, showing my tear-stained face.
”Finally, it seems the bad girl wants to settle down. As her mother, I have to work hard and earn more money.”
Rosalinda hugged me from behind.
Her warmth touched my skin, and I wanted to give in to the comfort and relief.
”Rosalinda, I’ll do my best in the match tomorrow! I’ll join the Ten Elite Garuda and make things easier for everyone! Even if the opponent is Black Bullet, I’ll beat them all!”
”That’s great. I’ll make the King’s team struggle and make a name for myself.”
And so, our celebration went on late into the night.
* * *
The next day, in the waiting room, the members were hungover and slow, like a pile of dead bodies.
”Ugh…I drank too much…”
Heta had also drunk a lot, so he was lying on the bench in the waiting room.
”How sloppy. Everyone’s drunk from so little alcohol.”
Rosalinda was exasperated, but she had already said yesterday it would be okay to forfeit today.
She was sure of her goal to enter the Ten Elite Garuda, and her opponent today, Black Bullet, had fought in a way that left a trauma on others, so Rosalinda suggested to me that she should forfeit to protect the team.
”Rosalinda, Heta and the others are not fighting. I’ll take them on by myself!”
”Iska! That’s way too dangerous! Today it’s Black Bullet we’re facing! If you go alone, you’ll be turned into a pincushion!”
Heta stood up from the bench, trying to stop me, but his legs wobbled beneath his.
”I’m fine. After all, I have this. If I devour the different monster meats that the girl of the monster cook you told me about gave me as preserved food, I can fight all on my own!”
The small, preserved pieces of meat were made using a method that stored the meat of various monsters along with their magic elements, and they were items that freed me from the hunger of Devour.
The meat I used in the first round came from an A-rank monster, the Roar Dragon, and the technique that shot out from my mouth like a laser was the power of devouring Roar.
The monster cook Heta introduced me to wanders through the depths of the Southern Region, hunting various rare monsters to turn them into preserved food, and they only opens their shop when they returns to Abyss Vena.
They’re a peculiar person who only serves their cooking to customers they like, no matter how much money they offer their, so they’re like a legendary cooking master known only to a few.
I heard Heta met them when he helped them after they failed a hunt and got lost in the forest.
He earned their respect by finishing their strange cooking and the often-shunned monster dishes.
Since then, every time they return to Abyss Vena, Heta have kept visiting their shop.
The name of that cook is Renge.
When I went to Heta, I was charmed by the monster cooking she served.
Until now, I only ate monsters to satisfy my hunger, but learning they could be so delicious made me respect Renge.
”Ms. Renge is giving you monster meat? You must be really liked! Well, I won’t say anything more. Go fight however you want, Iska! But don’t push yourself too hard. If it hurts, just give up right away.”
Heta stood up, steadying his wobbly legs, and patted my head.
It felt a bit like being treated like a child, but I didn’t mind.
”Iska, I believe you can beat that Black Bullet if you really try. Do your best! If you defeat those girls, you might have a chance to win. The king won’t ignore us then.”
”Yeah, yeah. I’ll make sure to show off.”
”Iska team, are you ready?”
A male staff called from the door of the waiting room.
”We’re ready. Iska team is going solo today.”
”S-solo!? You’re up against the fearsome Black Bullet!!”
I ignored the shocked staff and started walking toward the match venue.
* * *
When I entered the match venue, Talia’s team was already lined up.
The Black Bullet, dressed in black outfits with dull metal armor, had instilled fear in the audience with their many one-sided matches since the preliminaries.
I was going to face those elite troops all by myself.
Today, Heta and the others wouldn’t be there to back me up, but if I win here, our winning streak will continue.
I absolutely cannot lose this fight.
The audience buzzed when they saw me appear alone.
It might seem like a suicide mission to challenge the Black Bullet alone, but I had my reasons to believe I could win.
”Oh, you’re challenging my team all by yourself? How bold of you. Well, let’s see if you can pay the price with your body.”
Talia, the leader of the team, looked at me with a little bit of… annoyance.
”The audience will love it if the strongest female Hunting Group is messed up by just one person. This is a festival, after all. Gotta have fun!”
I teased the Black Bullet members, and popped a piece of monster meat into my mouth.
Every time I chewed, the magic element seeped out and spread through my body, filling me with energy.
The effect of the Cockatrice was already gone, and now I only had the power of the Roar Dragon.
But, I have to be careful with this [Devour].
If I take in too many monsters in a short time, it triggers [Devour Frenzy], where I can’t tell friend from foe, and I might attack my allies.
But today, there’s no one on my side, so even if [Devour Frenzy] activates, no one will get hurt.
I swallowed the monster meat, and power surged into my legs.
The powerful legs of the C-Rank monster, Spring Gazelle, were absorbed into my legs.
Next, I put the meat of the B-Rank monster, Big Claw Bear, into my mouth.
As the magic element spread, the muscles in my arms bulged, and new claws grew and hardened.
I had already taken in 3 kinds of monsters, and I was driven by a destructive impulse that surged from the bottom of my body.
”Alright, the second half of the second round will now begin. Today, the Iska team will only have Iska and Row participating, but since they haven’t forfeited, we will begin the match against the Talia team.”
At the announcer’s declaration, a gong rang out.
I chewed another piece of meat from a C-Rank Crystal Narshorn Rhino.
As I absorbed the magic element, my body hardened and became shiny.
”Fwahaha! I’m the strongest! Too bad, but you’re gonna lose!”
Letting the rising destructive impulse take over, I used the Spring Gazelle’s leg strength to quickly close the distance with Talia and her team.
Talia and the others were surprised by my unexpected speed and started shooting.
Rat-tat-tat-tat.
Rat-tat-tat-tat.
The bullets hit her skin, but her hardened skin deflected them, making them useless.
”No way! The bullets don’t work! Who is that girl? Sierra! Load the explosive round into the special grenade launcher! Hurry! I have a bad feeling about this. Damn it, I should have brought the ‘Rabid Fang Hammer!”
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply