kscans

Chapter 211 - Invasive Alien Species

We moved slowly through the mountain, the sunlight filtering down through the trees.

Stamina wasn't an issue, but the terrain was still difficult to navigate. Plus, everyone's individual pace was quite different, so I had to be careful.

I'd explored all sorts of forest-type dungeons before, but this might have been my first time in a proper mountain.

"Mia-san, are you watching your step?"

"Yes. Even though they're sandals, they're part of my Arcane Gear, so they're actually easier to walk in than sneakers."

When I turned and asked, the elven girl offered a gentle smile.

It didn't seem like she was putting on a brave face. She really looked fine, which was a relief.

"You two, need some water?"

"No, I'm still good."

"I am fine as well."

"Okay. Let me know if you get thirsty!"

"Will do."

"Yes."

Erina-san, on the other hand, was moving through the mountain more smoothly than anyone. Despite wearing tabi socks and sandals, she was as stable as if she had spiked shoes on.

As always, the woman was multi-talented. She was even good at mountain climbing…

"...Hm?"

Just as I was thinking that, Erina-san's brow furrowed slightly and she let out a small sound.

At her reaction, I immediately lowered my center of gravity and readjusted my grip on my sword. When Erina-san makes that face, it usually means…

"A flying enemy is coming. Two o'clock… no, it's moving, circling around to my six. One of them. It's approaching after circling around."

"Roger."

I replied in a low voice and switched places with her as quietly as possible. At that moment, my own ears picked up the sound of something approaching.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzn…!

For a second, I thought it was a helicopter. It was a flight noise so loud it seemed impossible for an insect to produce, a drone that vibrated in my bones.

It came from beyond the thick, leafy branches.

A pair of black compound eyes and a mouth like a set of pliers. A body colored in black and yellow, with a stinger as thick as a child's arm growing from the tip of its abdomen. The wings on its back moved at high speed, difficult to track even with my Spirit Eye.

Giant Bee.

As the name suggested, it was a gigantic bee. Even without its wings and legs, its body was a meter long, large enough to easily carry off a human in flight.

Grinding its mandibles with a click-clack, the hunter from the sky aimed its stinger—a weapon that could easily fell an African elephant—right at us.

But I was faster. Thanks to Erina-san's scouting and my own mana sense from Spirit Eye, I had already locked on to my target.

A knife flew straight and true, piercing the bee's chest and blowing its body to pieces.

The scattered fragments turned to salt as they pattered onto the ground. The knife itself had flown off somewhere, so I made it vanish with a partial deconstruction before it could start to fall.

I couldn't hear that propeller-like buzzing from anywhere else. After checking the surroundings for other enemies, I heard Erina-san's voice—"No other enemy sounds!"—and breathed a sigh of relief.

I picked up a coin that had fallen a few meters away and showed it to the mirror Erina-san was holding.

"Target eliminated. The flying monster seems to have been a Giant Bee."

'So it seems. The witness was lucky. Even if it was from a distance, to be able to return home in one piece without being targeted is quite fortunate.'

He had a point. For a non-Awakened Person—or even an Awakened Person without combat skills—encountering a monster like that in the mountains would mean preparing for death.

I remembered a video I'd seen on TV or in class about how 'bees turn their prey into meatballs,' and my blood ran a little cold.

I shook the image from my head and returned to scanning our surroundings. While I was doing that, the other two quickly collected the salt.

"Alright, cleanup's done! Shall we get a move on?"

"Yes."

I reformed my knife, and we resumed our search.

As we started walking, a question popped into my head.

"Um, was the witness an Awakened Person or a non-Awakened? And did they see it using binoculars or something?"

'Hm? According to the information from Mr. Yamadera, they were non-Awakened and weren't using any particular tools.'

"...Where did they see it from, then?"

'...I see.'

"Huh? What's wrong, you two?"

Erina-san answered Mia-san, who was tilting her head in confusion.

"We're just saying the monster they saw probably wasn't a Giant Bee either!"

"Ah, I see."

'Well, there's always the possibility that this was a request designed to lure us into a trap!'

"What?!"

"...I'd like to think it wouldn't go that far."

"I doubt it! Grandma vetted this request for us!"

I averted my eyes from Erina-san, who was puffing out her chest, and nodded in understanding. If the professor said so, it was probably trustworthy.

Which means…

"Then there's another type of monster after all... given the size, could it be a boss monster?"

'That seems likely. I'll do a quick search on boss monsters found in dungeons with Giant Mantises and Bees. Keep exploring while you wait.'

"Got it. We're counting on you."

I rested the flat of my sword on my shoulder and started walking again.

After about an hour and a half of trekking over the same uneven, difficult ground, I truly understood what people meant by a 'pathless path.'

Dungeons, for all their faults, are designed with the expectation that people will be moving through them. Occasionally you run into places you can't walk through properly because of mud or swamps, but those can often be overcome with magic or tools.

But this mountain was different. My Awakened body could handle it, but if I were still a non-Awakened, I would have collapsed midway.

Climbing up slopes that felt almost vertical, and then going back down them.

Sometimes there were branches sticking out of the ground at angles that made you wonder if they were traps, and other times there were snakes slithering right nearby.

Add monster ambushes and raids to the mix, and it was just unbearable.

Watching yet another Giant Mantis—I'd lost count of how many—I swallowed the sigh that was about to escape.

Instead, I signaled my companions to halt and drew a knife.

"Giant Mantis. Straight ahead, about twenty meters. Just one."

"Oh, you're right."

"They're always so hard to see…"

Perhaps thinking its camouflage was perfect, the creature waited for us without moving a muscle. There was no cover between us.

"No other enemies. No sounds, either."

"Got it. I'll take it out. If it dodges, Mia-san, you're up."

"Understood."

"Wait. From this position, if you throw something, Kyo-chan, you might cause unnecessary damage. You're not a fan of environmental destruction, are you?"

"Right. I'll prepare for close combat then."

At Erina-san's words, I put away my knife and drew my sword instead.

In that instant, her hand blurred, and two throwing stars flew through the air. Before the Giant Mantis could even react, they struck its head and chest. They pierced its exoskeleton and embedded themselves in the tree behind it.

Watching the giant mantis's body twitch and bounce on the ground with holes blown through it was not something I particularly wanted to see.

"V for victory!"

"Nice shot."

I tried to cleanse my palate with the sight of Erina-san striking a smug pose. Yep, still got a great face.

Once we confirmed the body had turned to salt, we cautiously approached and collected the drop items and the salt.

"The enemy encounter rate has really picked up, hasn't it?"

"You bet, senpai! With that one, we're at exactly one hundred and twenty kills!"

"Oh, you were counting?"

"Yep!"

She's so diligent in some ways, this self-proclaimed ninja. I had already decided to just count the dropped coins when we got back to figure out the total number of enemies.

"But if we're encountering this many…"

"It means the gate is close."

'Looks like you can see the finish line. Still, don't let your guard down. Always be ready for a fight.'

"Yes, ma'am."

'On another note, shall we not go for some ice cream on the way back? Not the convenience store kind, but that soft-serve stuff they sell at rest stops.'

"Remember what you just said?"

"Sounds great!"

"Hey!"

'My treat.'

"I'll take you up on that."

"Yes!"

"You three…"

I'm sorry, Mia-san. After trudging through the mountains for so long, the offer of someone else paying for ice cream is impossible to resist.

But it did manage to reset my focus, which was starting to waver. ...I think.

I took a deep breath, steeled myself, and stepped onto the soft ground.

As we pressed on, we began to see an unnatural number of broken trees. Erina-san crouched down and stared at the ground.

"Giant Mantis tracks? There are a lot of them."

"Those invasive species are really tearing up the place."

"But these trees don't look like they were cut by a mantis's scythe."

Mia-san lightly touched the cross-section of a broken tree.

"Their scythes are serrated on the inside like a saw, but this looks like it was snapped by brute force… or perhaps it just broke."

"So it's the work of the boss monster?"

"Most likely."

"Then the gate must be even closer."

I raised my sword and moved forward slowly. Suddenly, Erina-san shot to her feet.

"A sound is getting closer. Probably just one, but it's big. Eleven o'clock."

"Got it."

Right after she spoke, I heard a loud noise myself.

BUOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

It was even louder than the Giant Bee's buzzing.

If that was the sound of wings, then the boss monster was that one.

The information Aira-san had given us on the way here matched the situation. As we had planned, I took a few steps forward, then leaped into the air, releasing a blast of wind to gain altitude quickly.

Luckily, the monster had cleared out the trees in this area. I emerged above the canopy without any obstruction and got a clear view of the massive shadow heading my way.

Its overall silhouette resembled a dragonfly.

Compound eyes dyed blood-red, a powerful and enormous mouth. A body measuring about four meters from head to tail, with two pairs of wings of a matching size beating at high speed.

But its front legs and the tip of its tail were clearly different from a dragonfly's.

The two front legs, developed to an abnormal degree compared to the others, were nearly identical to a mantis's scythes. And from the tip of its tail, where its reproductive organs should have been, grew a menacing, human-sized stinger.

Evil Dragonfly.

A dragonfly-type monster with the characteristics of a mantis and a bee. The name was so on-the-nose it made me question the Namer's sense, but it was certainly an appearance and ferocity worthy of being called an 'Evil Dragonfly.'

'Jijijijijiji…!'

From the mouth emitting that bizarre cry, I could see a tube-like tongue. Apparently, the monster was licking its chops.

As I flew straight toward it, I started hearing multiple other sounds. A swarm of about twenty Giant Bees, apparently brought along by the boss.

The Evil Dragonfly stopped its advance and began to hover, then bent its body to point its tail at me.

Immediately after, it swung its entire abdomen as if taking a swing in baseball, and with a sound like the air itself rupturing, it fired its stinger.

No, it was too large to be called a stinger. That, and the swarm of Giant Bees attacking from both sides.

I figured that on the ground, the Giant Mantises were probably launching an all-out attack on the girls at this very moment. I couldn't expect any backup.

"Hnngh…!"

Dodging would be easy. But I felt bad for Yamadera-san if I let that poison needle drop somewhere carelessly and ruin the mountain.

The poison needle was as thick as a log and about a meter long. I caught it under my left arm, pinning it.

Sparks flew as it scraped between my breastplate and gauntlet. The impact was so strong it sent me flying backward.

But thanks to that, I escaped the pincer attack from the sides. I incinerated the needle I was holding, poison sac and all, and let it go.

I gripped my sword with both hands, channeling mana through my arms, my fingers, and from the hilt into the blade.

I wanted to avoid a forest fire. So, I would have to unleash enough firepower to burn them to ashes before they hit the ground.

The wind and flame enveloping the blade swelled into a sphere for a moment. Then, I swung my sword in a wide arc at the Giant Bees rushing toward me.

The sky was dyed red.

A crimson flame spread out in a fan shape, instantly swallowing the giant bees. The sky returned to blue almost at the same time as about twenty black lumps fell toward the ground.

Those charred remains turned into pure white salt, so there was no risk of a forest fire.

As I took that in with my Spirit Eye's wide field of vision, my attention shifted to the one being that had dodged the first strike.

'JIJIJIJIJI!!'

Was it anger, a battle cry, or just a threat? That sound came from above.

The giant, demonic dragonfly opened its mouth, which moved both horizontally and vertically, and dove toward me. As expected, it seemed to have a higher intelligence than other insect types, as it used the sun to its back for the attack.

But unfortunately for it, I'd heard about that tactic.

I shot upward as well, flying just past its open mouth. As we passed, I plunged my sword into its boxy thorax and, using our relative speed, tore through its exoskeleton.

The wind left on my blade pulverized its insides, and the sword exited from the tip of its now-stingerless tail.

It wasn't a clean bisection, but the Evil Dragonfly fell toward the ground, its body split open from the head down. As I looked down at it, a water dragon rose from the ground and swallowed its massive body.

Apparently, they had finished their fight as well. The monster's body, now coated in white, dissolved into water.

Within it, I spotted something glinting. As I got closer, I saw it was a piece of amber.

It was shaped like a dragonfly. Not a dragonfly trapped inside, but the amber itself was shaped as if it had been carved into the form of a dragonfly.

"Drop item confirmed. I wonder how much this is worth?"

'Who knows? I'm not an expert, but I imagine it would sell for a high price. If I recall, it's in high demand for fire- and lightning-based magical tools. It doesn't appear on the market often, so it's quite rare.'

"Huh, for fire-based magic tools…"

I'm currently asking Shizuku-san if she can somehow make the Bracelet of the Flame Horse capable of handling a higher output.

It's a shame to hear it could fetch a high price, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The spoils are usually split evenly among the members, so I'll negotiate with the others and secure it, even if I have to pay out of my own pocket.

'You know, Kyo-chan-kun…'

"Yes?"

'That whole 'run from boss monsters, don't fight them' thing the Dungeon Agency tells you… has it completely slipped your mind?'

"...Let's get back to searching for the gate."

'Right, right.'

In our usual dungeon explorations, I follow the rules properly… well, outside of a few specific cases, I basically follow the rules, so it's fine.

I pushed the thought of the boss monster I'd gone out of my way to hunt down a while ago from my mind and decided to use my aerial vantage point to search for the gate.

I had thought the trees would be too much of an obstacle to see anything from above, but if an Evil Dragonfly had appeared, that changed things.

That creature destroys anything that gets in its way when it takes off or lands, so the trees around the gate should have been cleared out. Sure enough, I spotted a white door about thirty meters from where we'd been standing.

And beyond that, I found something I really didn't want to see.

"Ugh…"

It must have made the other monsters carry the trees it had snapped. Piled high within a huge frame made from those logs was a massive heap of corpses.

Deer, boar, birds. Fortunately, at a glance, there were no humans. It seemed to be their larder.

Monsters in dungeons don't need to eat or drink. But once they're outside, they need to eat and excrete just like normal creatures. Their method of reproduction is still different from any normal organism, but they still have a major impact on the ecosystem.

"...Monsters really are an invasive alien species, aren't they?"

'Hmm. Invasive, you say?'

"Aira-san?"

I tilted my head at Aira-san's somewhat meaningful reply.

'Oh, it's nothing. I was just reminded of that white dragon.'

"...You mean its ability to take over the dungeon itself?"

'Yes. If something like that were to get outside... what would happen?'

"…………"

Her words made me descend in silence.

Honestly, I didn't even want to think about it. But if that dragon got out, to our side…

It felt like, and not in a metaphorical sense, the very heavens and earth would be overturned.

The thought sent a chill down my spine.

...Let's not. The Self-Defense Force will handle that monster. They'll use missiles or cannons and burn it to a crisp.

I told myself that, but my gaze was drawn to the dragonfly-shaped amber.

...I have to get stronger. To survive.

When I landed, Erina-san was there to greet me, pinching her nose.

"It stinks…"

"I'm sorry for being alive."

"Please calm down."

Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. Crap, I might not recover from this one.

Mia-san firmly gripped my shoulder.

"When we reached the clearing with the broken trees, Erina-san said she smelled a 'rotten stench.' She wasn't talking about you, Kyouta-kun."

"Oh, thank goodness. Really…"

"The smell coming from you is a lecherous one."

"Say what now?"

"Anyway, Kyo-chan. This smell… could it be…"

"Yeah. The monsters' larder is over that way. You're better off not looking inside."

"I see…"

"For what it's worth, at a glance, I didn't see any human remains. And… the gate is near it."

"I see…"

For once, Erina-san looked genuinely distant. I couldn't blame her. Her five senses are sharp even without her skill. We were upwind now, so it was better, but if the wind shifted, the stench would probably be unbearable.

After that, deciding we couldn't let her go alone, the three of us, with a teary-eyed Erina-san in tow, set up several GPS-tagged stakes around the gate. With our job done, we teleported to meet up with Aira-san.

We immediately drove to the temple where Yamadera-san was and finished our report.

The conversation was extremely businesslike, but I'd like to think the fresh bump on his head had nothing to do with it.

Also, as we were leaving, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear him mutter, 'It's not over... I haven't given up yet...!'

Yeah… it's just my imagination, but it's okay to silently wish him luck, right?

I mean, I could just go to one of those places myself, but going on my own feels like admitting defeat, and it's not exactly good for public morals.

And above all—the photo editing technology these days is just…

I'm a fan of Gundam, but I don't want to lose my virginity to a Dom or a Psyco Gundam. Even a closeted virgin like me should have the right to choose…!

Therefore, I need a recommendation from a reliable senior…! When I remember all the horror stories I've heard on the sea of the internet, there's no way I can just look one up myself! It's scary!

So, don't give up, you worldly monk! Don't lose, you worldly monk! Keep on running, you mad scientist worldly monk!!

Relying on others? It's a child's prerogative to rely on adults…!

"Kyo-chan."

"Yes, ma'am!!"

As I was lost in these thoughts in the car driving away from the temple, Erina-san spoke to me from the seat beside me.

"Wh-what can I do for you, ma'am…!"

"Why are you being so formal…?"

"Right. It's nothing. I'm fine."

"What's with you, Kyo-chan-kun? That obvious panic. Are you holding it in?"

"Shut it, you absolute disappointment."

"What was that?"

The disappointing university student twisted around in the passenger seat to look at me.

But right now, her timing was perfect. Thank you, seriously.

"So, what's up, Erina-san?"

"Mm-mm. I was just wondering when would be a good time for us all to hang out again."

"Don't you worry about that, Erina-kun. It's not like our Kyo-chan-kun has any plans to hang out with anyone besides us or Ooyama-kun and the others."

"I'm seriously going to smack you, disappointing university student."

"Oh my? Am I wrong, Kyo-chan-kuun?"

"If you think it's okay to say anything as long as it's the truth, then I'm about to start sharing a few things about you."

"Hmph… I'll buy you two ice creams if you'll spare me…!"

"Deal."

After that, the four of us went for ice cream before heading home. Eating sweets on someone else's dime after a hard day's work is the best.

For the record, the next day Professor Arisugawa warned me to 'be careful not to fall for the temptations of bad adults,' but that's a story for another time.