Chapter 665 - Chapter 593 Area Liberation and Loot
After walking for about 30 minutes in the direction the Kobolds came from, we saw the exit of the forest.
With battles against the Wither Lacy and Kobolds, it ended up taking us about two hours to get through the forest, I guess.
Calling it an exit was a stretch—it was just a slightly wider patch of grass, beyond which stood sheer cliffs...
【Western Island Area Liberated】
「"What?"」
This... I guess this means we completed some kind of quest?
The people around me seemed to receive the same notification. There were two types of reactions: those who were surprised and those who understood.
「"Natto. You seem to know what this notification means, right?"」
「"Huh? You don't know, Shou? It appears after you defeat the Area Boss first and move forward."」
「"Huh... come to think of it, that notification came up when I first defeated the Red Armor Bear too."」
But it feels slightly different. I feel like it appeared right after we defeated it back then.
『"Shou-kun. Back then, it was about 'occupation'."』
「"Oh, right."」
Was that because Lupi and I defeated it alone? Or maybe because I'm the island owner?
Well, either way, it doesn't matter. It's getting late, and I need to get back to my island.
「"Gaju, do you know what's beyond here?"」
「"Juju~"」
Gaju shakes his head.
「"You don't know, huh?"」
「"Yeah. Either way, I'm running out of time. I need to prepare dinner."」
Natto gives a wry smile at those words but goes to tell everyone.
The time is just before 4 PM. It's cutting it close, but we should just make it back to the Kijimunaa village in under an hour, then from there back to the island...
Hmm, it's going to be tight.
I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't find any Kobold settlements or nests.
『"Shou-kun. Won't you check on Lupi-chan and Rigel-kun's arts?"』
「"Oh, right. Lupi, Rigel, come here."」
「"Woof" "Bluerun"」
First, let's appraise Lupi.
【Managarm: Lupi: Affection: Free Action】
『Phantom Beast Managarm. Also known as Managarm. Black fur with gold markings, adults exceed 1m in length.
A wolf that has served the Blue Sky Goddess since ancient times. The Wolf King who commands all wolves.
Arts:
The flavor text hasn't changed, but
【Garm Lightning】
『A high-powered lightning imbued art. Grants lightning attribute to attacks, increasing attack power and causing stun effects. Can also be discharged to deal damage to targets. When fired at multiple targets at once, the power is reduced.』
Wow. That's amazing. Or rather, she's so much stronger than me.
Now for Rigel...
【Frosty Grani: Rigel: Affection: Free Action】
『Phantom Beast Grani. Particularly light-colored male horses are called Frosty Grani.
A horse ridden by the Scarlet Goddess since ancient times. Normally very gentle, but becomes uncontrollable when enraged.
Arts:
Rigel has four arts too.
The ice pillars that come from the ground are this Frost Pillar, right?
【Frost Pillar】
『An art that shoots ice pillars from the ground. Targets hit will be knocked up. Can be fired at multiple targets at once, but the power is reduced in that case.』
Yeah. And Taunt is a common taunt ability. The others are pretty much what you'd expect from their names.
Will they continue to grow from here and gain more arts?
「"Shou. Everyone's heading back."」
「"Ryo."」
They must have understood that I won't be coming tonight, as they're all heading back once.
We also have loot, and it's safer for everyone to return together.
＊＊＊
Tonight's dinner is stuffed peppers.
Both Miki and I love it, and it's easy to make while getting some vegetables in, which is great.
「"Hmm. So the Forest of Confusion has been liberated, then."」
「"I think so."」
When I mentioned that this was the first time I'd heard such an announcement, Miki explained what she knew.
Basically, these announcements appear in undeveloped areas when there's an Area Boss-like presence.
「"Huh. Come to think of it, did that Red Armor Bear I defeated also appear on the mainland?"」
「"It seems to have, but I haven't encountered it at least. By the way, the areas liberated so far are..."」
According to Miki, area liberations have apparently happened in quite a few places.
The southwestern part of the kingdom where Natto and the others are was apparently one of them.
「"What changes in those kinds of areas?"」
「"Yes. After that, an Area Boss will spawn periodically, but it will be a weakened version. Later players will find it easier to advance forward."」
「"I see. So the Forest of Confusion will be easier to get through now too."」
That's probably why the people who came with us today felt reassured.
「"However, to get through the Forest of Confusion, you'll likely need the Kijimunaa's assistance."」
「"Yeah. In the end, if the Wither Lacy, which causes the disorientation, appears again, it would be difficult without the Kijimunaa present."」
I've told Gaju and the others that the party members who joined today should help out next time too.
「"Hmm. In the future, if the Kijimunaa approve, they could join the party, couldn't they? It's not like I can ask Big Brother every time."」
That's true. Besides, it's not right for me to restrict Gaju and the others, and they have the ability to discern good and evil anyway.
「"Yeah, that's a good point. I'll talk to Gaju and have them actively participate in parties they can trust."」
「"I see, I see."」
...
...
...
I quickly explained to Bell what happened during the day.
Skipping the preamble, I told her what happened after entering the forest.
「"Oh, good! That's a relief. Now the Kijimunaa-chan can rest easy too."」
「"For now, I suppose. The Kobolds... I think they probably have a settlement around there, and I wanted to find it..."」
「"It would be better to have a party accompanied by Kijimunaa investigate."」
I was planning to do that, but I was hoping to find new ingredients like bananas or pineapples...
「"By the way, Big Brother. What loot did you get?"」
「"Huh? A Wither Lacy log and a medium-sized magic stone. I only needed the log, but since the magic stone can't be divided, they asked me to take it."」
「"I see."」
Even though they called it a log, it was about the thickness of a leg and 50cm long.
The magic stone doesn't really have a use, but well, I guess it's just an extra way to store MP.
I'll continue updating until a good stopping point! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
Volume 6 of the books will be released on 11/17. Please look forward to it. m(_ _)m
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/404916549X
Comics 1 and 2 are also available now. (*゜▽゜)ノ
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0DCVXJ897