Volume 3 Chapter 91 The Compensation Of Strength I
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(The instability of my mind stems from my lack of skill. I need to reassess my techniques and practice my forms.)
He’s just that he hasn’t sliced anyone up using “Pursuit of the Shadow” enough.
Once he has taken down a hundred, he’ll stop missing.
(If that’s all it takes, I might as well try it on monsters.)
But humanoid enemies move differently from others, and their weak points are unique.
Humanoid monsters are rare, so taking out a hundred of them sounds like a real challenge.
Kian returned to the square where the giant statue of Erynys, the Daughter of the Abyss, stood, reporting the situation to Priscilla, Rufna, and Sarah, who were treating members of the Gray Bear’s Group.
”──So, they were injecting them with tree sap?”
”Yes, through both ingestion and enemas.”
Priscilla nodded as she examined Lyritisse, checking her eyelids and limbs for any aftereffects.
Along with Natra and Serena, Rufna and Sarah finished tending to the Gray Bear’s Group and gathered around Lyritisse, who lay at the foot of the giant statue.
By the way, members of the Gray Bear’s Group were suffering from mild malnutrition and the aftereffects of mind control.
The mind control left them feeling hollow, much like coming off a drug addiction, meaning they wouldn’t return to the battlefield anytime soon.
The members were currently being given first aid and sleeping under the blankets Priscilla had prepared.
”We might need to check the burned research facility. That vine monster──isn’t it a different creature entirely from the one that was boosting the golem’s repair abilities?”
Priscilla said this as she pulled a test tube from her pocket.
The test tube was sealed, and inside, cut pieces of vine floated languidly.
It wasn’t an illusion──the way they occasionally twisted like snakes was real.
It seemed the cells were still alive.
”Looks just like a parasite.”
Sarah murmured thoughtfully as she leaned in to inspect the vine.
Rufna snapped her fingers in realization.
”Look at that adorable little family of bears snoozing over there, and then there’s this little lady. It’s possible that those thorn cells are creeping inside both of them. ‘Gray Bear’s Group’ might just be the limbs of that rogue magician Master failed to catch. It’s easy to believe they’ve been manipulated through those parasitic thorn cells.”
”From what I can see, there’s no sign of any reaction. You might just be overthinking things.”
”Oh, is that so? Then never mind. Just forget I said anything.”
Rufna, feeling a little embarrassed after saying that with such bravado, blushed and backed down.
Priscilla pushed up the brim of her witch hat with a finger.
”The sap might not only prolong the life of the host but could also induce hallucinations. We won’t know for sure until we test the components, but considering she might be somnambulant, we really should keep a close eye on her.”
”Ms. Lyritisse mentioned that there’s a teleportation magic circle in the western area of this ruin before she fainted. According to Serena, the scent of the juniper perfume Ms. Vestacia trampled on veered west as well. Right?”
”Yeah.”
”That teleportation magic circle──it’s the type that connects directly through the Spiritual Vein.”
”You know about it?”
”Yeah. The magician from Shin sets them up in my workshop all the time.”
Sarah nodded and confirmed that.
Priscilla, rising from beside Lyritisse, stroked her chin thoughtfully, intrigued.
”I’ve never seen one myself. In the West, spiritual sites are usually controlled by large organizations. Setting up direct routes with magic circles like that is totally frowned upon.”
”It seems Rean and the others went inside. I hear the magic circle’s broken now, so it’ll need to be repaired.”
”But why didn’t Ms. Lyritisse teleport along? If she got caught alone by the lich, that means she was left behind to fight by herself.”
It was probably just that she’d been left behind by Rean, but there was no way Rean and the others would intentionally abandon their longtime comrade, Lyritisse.
Especially leaving a rear-guard magician alone where a lich could appear──that’s almost murder through reckless intent.
There had to be some unavoidable reason for it.
As everyone exchanged worried looks, Lyritisse suddenly groaned and slowly opened her eyelids.
With hazy eyes, she looked at Kian and the others, then suddenly tried to spring up.
”Ah…!”
”You have to stay asleep a little longer.”
Priscilla quickly supported her.
Lyritisse pressed a hand to her disheveled bangs, struggling to keep the dizziness at bay.
Her shoulders trembled, and her teeth clicked quietly together.
She seemed freezing.
”Here, use this.”
Natra took off her spirit garment and wrapped it around Lyritisse’s upper body.
Rufna followed, throwing her jacket over it, turning the flaxen-haired witch into something like a stiff, folk doll.
”It’s a lukewarm medicinal bath. Can you drink it? Slowly now.”
”Th-thank you… so much.”
”Ms. Lyritisse, I know it’s painful, but can you tell us what happened?”
Kian knelt on one knee, locking eyes with Lyritisse as Sarah helped her drink the medicinal bath.
”Not yet. Her memories are probably all scrambled.”
”No.”
Lyritisse thanked Sarah once more, clutching the bright orange spirit garment wrapped around her shoulders, then struggled to speak through ragged breaths.
”…On the street… Sir Rean said he wanted to rest. But he never came back. So Vest──Vestacia, Ninini, and I, we entered the woods…”
Her teeth clicked again, chattering.
Being exposed for so long must’ve left her shivering in the cold.
With her pale blue eyes, she looked up at Kian, pleading silently.
”For some reason, Sir Rean kept running away from us. Vest was shouting, and Sir Rean was like, ‘Don’t come, go back!’”
”So that’s why you ended up playing tag all the way to that ruin. Makes sense──the scout was sprinting through the trees, trying to catch up with the party leader ahead.”
”There’s a teleportation circle west of the ruin. But it’s old, unstable. After Sir Rean jumped through, Ninini and Vestacia followed──and I was last. But just as the 3 of us entered it, the crystal embedded in the circle cracked──”
”And the teleport failed.”
Lyritisse nodded, then bit her lip tight.
”After that, I fought a lich controlling ghosts. One of the swordsmen from ‘Gray Bear’s Group’ knocked the staff right out of my hand… Wait, ‘Gray Bear’s Group’…?”
”They’re safe. We took care of them. They’re asleep over there.”
”Th-that’s good…”
The witch with flaxen hair breathed shallow and slow, her breathing spaced far apart.
She looked like an old woman just before passing.
She’d grown so gaunt from just speaking a little──maybe it’s best if they don’t push her to talk any more right now.
”You’re the rescue team… right? I’m sorry for the trouble. Please… find Sir Rean. Vest too. Vestacia jumped in before me into that cracked circle, so she might have been tossed somewhere.”
”Got it. We’ll do our best to repair the circle and make another jump. Then we’ll check if the others are waiting on the other side. If anyone’s missing, we’ll follow the Spiritual Vein tunnel underground.”
”Thank you… please, I’m counting on you.”
After saying that, Lyritisse suddenly went limp, falling backward like a thread snapping.
Sarah and Priscilla rushed to catch her, gently laying her down on the mat.
Kian scanned the faces around him.
”We’re camping here tonight. Rufna, set up the barrier and establish our base. Natra and Serena, I’m counting on you for perimeter watch. Sarah, and Ms. Priscilla, I apologize for the inconvenience, but I need you to tend to the patients.”
”Understood.”
”I’ll send a bat to Mr. John, who’s waiting on the town streets. I’ll ask him──and any Guild scouts hiding nearby in the villages, if possible──to come lend a hand. I’ll also request additional food and medicine.”
Ensuring no one voices any objections, he wraps things up.
”Alright, everyone scatter. Let’s get to work.”
* * *
John, who had been waiting on the town streets, seemed to spring into action as soon as Kian sent word.
Following Kian, additional Guild staff who had been in the vicinity of ‘Cockley Clay’ village also seemed to set out immediately towards us.
They’re said to be bringing a specialist healer and plenty of support supplies, so ‘Gray Bear’s Group’ and Lyritisse should be able to manage for now.
After that, John arrived in a hurry from the town streets and joined up, with Kian, Natra, Serena, and John patrolling the ruins’ perimeter together.
The ruins that Lich had retreated from seemed to have fully reclaimed its peace; not even a trace of lower-rank Bloodsucking Kinds or undead could be found.
The inside of the cave is still too dangerous due to the lingering heat, so it’s best left alone for now.
The teleportation array that Lyritisse mentioned was discovered in the western area of the ruins.
It’s a delicately crafted array made from tree branches and inlaid with crystals, and it seems to be designed so that a gate will appear on a part of the rock wall linked to the array once it’s repaired.
According to Sarah, we’ll need to replace the broken crystals, but it seems like it can be fixed without any issues.
What’s concerning, though, are the wolves prowling around the mountainside. It seems these sharp-sensed creatures have a tendency to avoid areas emitting strong magical power waves.
Rufna’s put up a barrier for us──she’s the former head Witch of the Nakash household and a barrier master, after all──which means we should be safe, at least for now.
However, a more pressing concern is the disappearance of the magical fog created by Lich, which could imply that Owl has sensed the presence of the Spiritual Vein.
His military operations are supposed to be confined to the forest beyond the rocky hills──the area where Ramsey’s wheat fields sprawl──so it’s unlikely Owl himself would charge in out of nowhere.
He should be too busy with his commanding duties to have that kind of free time, anyway.
But with 9 soldiers dead, there’s a chance a delegation could be sent over to investigate at any moment.
John and the others will handle it, but it might be better to go look for the remaining ‘Lion’s Companions’ before the troops arrive.
If they’re found, it’s guaranteed to spell trouble.
That night, they took turns guarding the ruins and tending to the wounded, and anyone with a moment to spare caught some shut-eye when they could.
Kian seized the chance to address the party as Leader, offering a few encouraging words.
He made sure to be especially polite to Priscilla, his esteemed guest.
She just smiled and brushed it off, “Don’t worry about it! More importantly, don’t forget about securing the people who were raised by Ramsey’s monster. I’m not going back without samples of Rean and the others, got it?”
It’s an extra quest, sure, but they can’t turn down her request after all she’s done to help.
Guess they’ll have to venture into the populated areas soon enough.
And so, the next day at noon…
After the healers Friedrich sent arrived at the ruins, Kian handed over command to John and decided to head back to the search for Rean and the others.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply