Volume 4 Chapter 8 Differences in Caliber
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
A few days had passed since then, and we had continued our journey deep into the Magic Forest, occasionally setting up camp.
In fact, during the last few days on the road, I had been developing new magic formulas by applying modern knowledge in between training with Sylvia and our camping routines.
By incorporating scientific approaches such as infrared rays and fluid dynamics into the Mana usage of this other world, I systematized several efficient types of Magic that had not existed until now.
This was in preparation for the battles with monsters that I would likely encounter from here on out.
The aspect of the forest became even more rugged.
Giant trees, which must have been several hundred years old, grew densely as if to strangle each other-s branches, completely covering the sky above. Sunlight was blocked, and even though it was daytime, the visibility was as dark as if India ink had been spilled1.
The snow at our feet had also changed from the whiteness of fresh snow to a pitch-black icy mud, a mixture of leaf mold and an overly dense Magic element.
The monsters we encountered on the way were all individuals that could no longer be called “small fry.”
Groups of “Iron Ants” whose entire bodies were covered in shells like steel, and giant “Poison Moths” that scattered poisonous mist, among other intermediate monsters that were not easily handled, attacked one after another.
However, to Sylvia, all of them were merely obstacles. Clad in a crimson aura, she continued to trample them without showing any fatigue, accurately destroying the enemy-s vital points with god-speed swordsmanship and martial arts.
”…Spirit King-sama, I must request that you halt,” Sylvia said.
Sylvia, who had been leading the way, stopped with a warning.
Her long ears twitched, and her jade-like eyes stared fixedly as if piercing through the deep darkness ahead.
From her back, the calm air from just before had vanished, and the tension of a honed warrior drifted about.
”What-s wrong? Is something there?” I asked.
While asking, I envisioned the principles of an infrared camera in my head and overwrote the visual information with Mana.
”‘Thermography’”
In the field of view, which had switched to monochrome, three giant heat sources burning pitch-black floated up clearly.
On the other side of the overgrown native plants, the image, color-coded by temperature, told me the exact location of the enemies as inescapable physical information.
”…Three of them. They-re quite big.”
”Good heavens, to ascertain the exact number before their forms are even visible…! You are truly as formidable as they say, Spirit King-sama,” Sylvia replied.
Sylvia looked back at me with an astonished expression.
I had completely captured the true nature of the enemies, which even the elf-s sharp five senses had only been able to grasp vaguely, with information called “temperature.”
”Yes. I have a bad feeling about this,” I muttered. “This peculiar rotten stench flowing on the wind. The smell of fat and blood that makes me want to vomit. They are Trolls.”
Troll.
They are standard monsters in fantasy works, but this was my first time seeing the real thing in this world.
Sylvia soundlessly placed her hand on the hilt of her longsword, lowered her waist, and took a battle stance.
”Grrrrr… Ooooooh…”
Along with a low-pitched groan, the thicket ahead was completely mowed down.
What appeared was a giant body that looked like it would make you look up.
Its height was easily 3 meters—no, it must have been 4 meters.
It had a hideous, distorted appearance, like a human who had been inflated like a balloon.
The entire body was covered in green moss and stiff hair, and the belly, which protruded like a Daruma doll2, was puffed up tight, perhaps because it had just devoured some living creature.
In its hand, it gripped a crudely made club, which was nothing more than a large tree that had been uprooted.
It was not just one.
From the darkness behind it, two shadows appeared smoothly.
A total of three Trolls were looking down at us while rolling their turbid eyeballs.
”Tch, three of them… Why here? Spirit King-sama, I must insist that you step back. These creatures are exceedingly troublesome,” Sylvia warned.
Sylvia immediately activated ‘Spirit Shroud’.
A crimson aura rose like a heat haze, enveloping her body.
However, her profile did not have the composure she had during the Ice Wolf battle earlier. There was a clear, dark color of caution.
”What is so troublesome about them? They look like mere wooden dummies that are just big,” I questioned.
Sylvia answered without taking her eyes off the enemies.
”These creatures possess an abnormal regenerative ability. Even if one were to sever their limbs, they would reconnect within seconds, and should you pierce their hearts, other organs would simply assume those functions. Shallow wounds close in the blink of an eye. To ensure their demise, one must reduce them to shreds or incinerate them entirely with potent fire Magic until naught but charcoal remains,” she explained.
”…Regeneration ability, huh. Then, I suppose it is time to experiment,” I decided.
I flicked my finger and released an invisible rupture using the rapid difference in atmospheric pressure.
”‘Vacuum Slash’”
Without even the sound of cutting the wind, the log-like right arm of the leading Troll slipped off soundlessly from around the elbow.
”Guga!?”
Due to the excessive sharpness, it seemed the Troll itself did not know what had happened for a moment.
However, from the cut cross-section, the flesh foamed with a gruesome intensity, and within a few seconds, a new arm grew out.
”It is futile, Spirit King-sama! Mere cutting will not suffice!” Sylvia cried out.
”Hmm. So physical cutting is meaningless unless you tear them apart completely. I have acquired useful data,” I noted.
I see.
For Sylvia, who specializes in cutting with sword techniques, an opponent that won-t die even if you slash it is the worst possible match.
Even with her firepower, it would take time to burn down this moisture-filled giant body. If she received a counterattack during that time, it was clear that she would be dragged into a war of attrition and her stamina would be drained.
An immortal wall of meat.
Is that the essence of the monsters called Trolls?
However, that is only the case when fighting in a conventional way.
It has nothing to do with me.
It-s just a matter of not giving them time to regenerate.
”Step back, Sylvia. No, move further back. Keep a considerable distance,” I commanded.
”But, sir! If I do not act as your shield…”
”Who do you think I am?” I asked in a low voice.
Sylvia gasped at the absolute resonance contained in those words.
”What I am about to do is not the Magic you are imagining. If you do not wish to be caught in the blast, run with all your might. Retreat at least 500 meters,” I instructed.
My serious gaze and my tone, which was not a joke.
Sensing this, Sylvia, after a moment of conflict, replied, “Understood! I wish you the best of fortune!” and dashed toward the rear as if she had been flicked.
With her leg strength enhanced by Mana, she should be able to escape to a safe zone in a few seconds.
After watching her back disappear from sight, I immediately exercised Magic.
There is no need to wait for the enemy to move.
I always act by assuming the worst-case scenario.
Because a human body would not be able to withstand being struck by such a log-like arm.
”‘Ice Sphere’”
The moment I chanted, moisture was rapidly gathered from the surrounding space, and a thick wall of ice was formed.
It instantly became a sphere, completely enveloping my body.
A sturdy shell of ice that was 50 centimeters thick.
I floated inside that ice ball, rising a few meters from the ground.
I-m not good with high places.
Therefore, I hovered at a position of about 5 meters, just barely out of reach of the Troll-s hands. If I fly any higher, my legs will shake and my thinking will become dull.
”Gugege! Human, where have you gone!” the Troll roared.
Almost at the same time I completed the defense, the leading Troll attacked.
If my reaction had been delayed, it might have been dangerous. As expected, pre-emptive strikes are best.
The club swung by the Troll slammed into the ice sphere protecting me.
Thud-boom!
A tremendous impact sound echoed, and the ice sphere shook.
But that was all.
This ice wall, whose strength was enhanced by Mana, was harder than steel. Even with the Troll-s superhuman strength, it only left a white scratch on the surface, and not a single crack was made.
”From this point on, I shall be the only one doing the attacking,” I declared.
I looked down at the Troll below from inside the ice sphere.
They were frantically hitting the club to try and break the ice sphere, but even the vibration did not reach me inside.
Well then, shall I show them the results of the experiment I-ve been thinking about for a while?
I activated space Magic.
”‘Escape’”
With the incantation, my field of vision turned black.
I am now placing myself in a space different from the real world.
Interdimensional Space.
I am not even sure what this is exactly.
Should I call it a sub-space, or the gaps between dimensions?
Anyway, it is a pitch-black place with nothing in it.
In front of me, there is only a hole like a window for peeking into the outside world.
If I am in this space, I will not receive any interference from the outside.
No matter how much the Troll swings its club or breathes, it cannot touch me, even with a finger, because I am separated by the walls of dimensions.
This is my own absolute safety zone.
”Well then, it is time to clean up,” I muttered.
From inside this mysterious space, I interfered with the matter in the outside world.
Above the heads of the Trolls, far up in the sky, I converged the soil and rocks of the outside world.
I forcibly compacted the things that were hard and heavy, making a lump the size of a soccer ball.
From here is the real performance.
”Increase the temperature. More,” I ordered.
I continued to pour Mana into the rock lump.
I don-t know the logic well, but it seems that when matter continues to be heated, it melts and becomes a liquid, when heated further it becomes a gas, and eventually it emits light.
With my Mana, I made it exceed that limit.
The rock lump glowed red, instantly became orange, and before long, began to emit a white brightness that one could not look at directly.
Sun.
A lump of intense light and heat that can only be described as that was completed.
If I were outside in my flesh, I would have burned to death from this amount of heat alone.
But heat and light do not reach this mysterious space.
I calmly controlled that small sun as if I were watching an explosion through a television screen.
”If you are capable of regeneration, pray do so,” I challenged.
The Trolls below stopped moving, noticing the second sun that had suddenly appeared in the sky.
I could tell their instincts were trembling with fear, anticipating absolute death.
But it was already too late.
I flicked my finger from inside this space and shot that white sun toward the Trolls.
”‘Meltdown Ball’”
Whoosh.
The minuscule sun, released without a sound, fell while scorching the atmosphere.
The leading Troll raised its club for defense while screaming.
Meaningless.
I don-t know what that white lump is made of, but it erases everything it touches.
The moment it touched the club, the wood vanished into smoke before it could even burn.
As if resistance did not exist, the bullet was sucked straight into the Troll-s belly and landed.
Flash!
The image of the outside world was dyed completely white.
A blinding flash.
And then.
KABOOM!
With a delay, a tremendous roar echoed.
Centered on the point of impact, a hemispherical explosion of flames expanded.
An intense hot wind spread, instantly evaporating the surrounding snow and knocking down trees.
I waited for the blast to subside and then canceled ‘Escape’ and ‘Ice Sphere’.
The sensation of the real world returned.
”Phew. There is still a bit of heat remaining,” I observed.
A muggy heat stroked my cheeks.
The place that should have been an extremely cold winter mountain had transformed into a scorching hell.
In front of me, a huge crater had been created.
It must have been 50 meters in diameter.
The ground was gouged out like a mortar.
At the center, there was no shadow or shape of the giant body of the Troll.
It had vanished without a trace.
The ground pulsed red and black, and a pool of melted, muddy magma had formed.
There were even parts where the soil had melted and hardened like glass.
What happened to the remaining two Trolls that were behind?
I cast my gaze around.
Some black lumps were rolling on the edge of the crater.
Because they were a little far from the epicenter, it seemed they avoided complete disappearance.
However, their state was miserable.
Their upper bodies had been blown away.
Neither the head nor the heart, which are necessary to regenerate, remained.
They had become scorched lumps of meat that were only the lower bodies, and smoke was rising from the cross-sections.
The sound of the meat lumps collapsing with a thud echoed.
”Hmm. It seems the so-called regeneration ability is meaningless if the base body doesn-t remain,” I concluded.
I waved my hand as if to brush away the soot falling like ash and slowly approached the epicenter.
The soil at my feet was still hot, but I covered it with ice so that my shoes wouldn-t melt.
After a while, I saw Sylvia, who I had evacuated to a distance, returning.
While being frightened by the roar and tremors, she was tentatively peeking out from behind the forest.
And then, she looked alternately at my figure, the part of the forest that had vanished from the map, and the boiling pool of magma, and her mouth was left hanging open.
The hand gripping her sword was trembling, and her footing was unsteady.
It couldn-t be helped.
By the common sense of adventurers, this was not a battle trace. It was a trace of some kind of disaster.
”How is it, Sylvia? With this, there was no time for them to regenerate, was there?” I asked.
When I called out to her, Sylvia was startled and returned to her senses, kneeling on the spot.
She knelt on the ground covered in snow and ash and bowed her head deeply.
It was the highest level of courtesy from a subordinate to a king.
”…I am utterly lost for words,” she whispered.
Sylvia-s voice was trembling, but that was not just from fear.
A sense of awe toward overwhelming power.
”I thought your figure had suddenly disappeared, and then a sun was born in the sky… to instantly turn those Trolls into dust. Is this the true power of Spirit King-sama…” she wondered aloud.
Sylvia raised her face.
Her expression was completely serious.
There was no attempt to fawn as before, and no attempt to act spoiled.
It was just that she seemed to be deeply engraving the “extraordinary existence” in front of her into her heart as a warrior and as a servant.
”My own swordsmanship is like child-s play. It even exceeds the framework of Magic,” she admitted.
”Raise your head. If you are my Slave, do not be surprised by every little thing like this. This much isn-t even a warm-up,” I replied.
”…Yes. I shall keep that in mind,” she replied.
Sylvia stood up quietly and stood behind me.
Her attitude was even more respectful than before, and tinged with the color of absolute obedience.
It seemed I had succeeded in showing off my true ability.
”Let-s go. We will leave this foul-smelling place before the sun sets,” I ordered.
I started walking.
Behind me, the magma crater that was still glowing red and emitting smoke.
It was my indelible claw mark carved into the ecosystem of the Magic Forest.
With the steam rising from the melted ground at our backs, we started walking toward the depths of the forest again.
”Yes. I shall accompany you, Spirit King-sama,” she promised.
Actually, I will keep it a secret that I was clinging to the inner wall, terrified of the height, while inside the ice sphere.
—
Summary:
The protagonist and Sylvia encounter three giant Trolls in the deep Magic Forest. After initial attempts at conventional attacks fail due to the Trolls’ extreme regeneration, the protagonist utilizes his unique space-based Magic to launch an overwhelming “Meltdown Ball” attack. The Trolls are obliterated, leaving Sylvia in a state of absolute awe and submission.
—
Trivia:
The protagonist is secretly terrified of heights despite floating in mid-air for combat.
The protagonist’s “Thermography” spell is a modern scientific application using Mana.
The Trolls’ regeneration is immune to physical trauma unless the body is entirely consumed or destroyed.
Sylvia’s respect for the protagonist has deepened from mere service to absolute reverent obedience.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Sylvia – Sylvia is a beautiful, voluptuous elf with hidden pointed ears and platinum hair. A formidable Silver-rank adventurer known as “Crimson Lotus,” she is a loyal warrior and subordinate to the Spirit King, trained in the Spirit Shroud. Wielding a longsword and bow in a hooded green coat, she is straightforward yet loyal, tutoring John, working with Nier, and traveling as a servant to Ryu.
• Man – A roughneck wearing a hat who participated in a group assault. He suffers the loss of his right arm and later his left arm during an experiment by the protagonist before being stored.
• Troll – A giant monster with regeneration capabilities that is defeated and incinerated.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply