kscans

Chapter 99 - A Page from a Major Incident

"Mia-san."

My gaze fixed on the fog closing in behind the cat-eared youth and his comrades as they fled, crying for help. I turned to my employer and asked a silent question.

"Yes, let’s help them."

Her decision was instant. I gave a small nod, impressed by her reliability as an adventurer.

"Then I’ll charge in. Mia-san, please protect them and provide support."

"Understood."

"Byakuren. Protect her."

The moment the golem clad in knight’s armor nodded, I released the wind I had been coiling around my legs.

My body shot forward like a loosed arrow. Weaving through the trees that rushed toward me with sharp, precise steps, I slid between the fog and the youths without losing speed.

Kicking up a cloud of dust, I readied my sword.

In that instant, a multitude of weapons flew out from the fog.

These were phantoms with mass. Nothing more than snowballs of compressed mana.

But their tips had been ‘crafted’ with enough care to kill a person. Just as a delicate sculpture made of snow can be used as a weapon if its tip is frozen, these weapons had the bare minimum of what could be called a pseudo-Arcane Gear.

Therefore, I needed to shatter every single one aimed at me and those behind me.

"Hyaaa...!"

With a strained battle cry, I swung my sword with all my might.

The mana welling up from my body traveled through my shoulder, elbow, and hand to the blade, where it was converted into wind.

A small tornado formed in the pristine forest. With a sharp whoosh, the incoming weapons were blown away along with the white fog.

But the wind didn’t reach the very back.

The dense fog remained, as if it had a will of its own, forming a wall that concealed its master within.

The boss monster here seemed to be quite the coward. I can certainly understand the desire to stay in a safe zone.

The sound of frantic footsteps behind me weakened, likely noticing the wind I had stirred up, and someone called out to me.

"Y-You’re...?!"

"H-Has help arrived?!"

two men cried out in surprise. The person being carried seemed to be unconscious.

Without turning back, I swung my sword to cut away the tendrils of fog that bypassed me to reach for them.

"An elven woman with golems is coming this way. Stay behind her."

"G-Got it!"

It was indeed a familiar voice. I couldn’t quite recall who it was, but I think it was someone I’d had a memorable encounter with.

And yet, I still couldn’t quite place it.

"Whoa."

While I was lost in such idle thoughts, the enemy made a move.

"Be careful! It’s not just one enemy!"

The warning came a little too late.

I inwardly muttered that as I narrowed my eyes at the monsters that leaped out from within the fog.

"GAAAAH!"

Over fifty Bugbears. I see. Now I understood why they didn’t use their tanuki-shaped golems as decoys to escape.

Bugbears have enough intelligence to use weapons. Against this number and a boss monster, leaving a shield behind would almost certainly result in a rain of great hatchets and fog weapons. In that case, using them as a wall is a better option.

Their reasoning was probably correct. But what should I do?

I could wipe them out with the Ring of the Flame Horse, but I didn’t have the courage to use it in a forest. Even if I tried to extinguish the fire with alchemy, it would likely spread before I could even take out the transmutation circle.

But if I take them on one by one, the people behind me will be attacked. I have no choice. I should fall back and defend them—

"It’s fine. Please advance."

A clear voice spurred me on from behind. Before I could even think, my feet had stepped forward, and I was holding my sword at the ready on my shoulder.

I belatedly realized that Mia-san had caught up.

The moment I started to run, the temperature around us dropped sharply.

The sound of something hard shattering and the screams of monsters echoed through the woods. From the few scattered ice shards, I guessed what had happened.

—A wide-area magic attack with friend-or-foe identification.

She, too, was a C-Rank (highest rank) adventurer.

My forward step dug into the ground, and by the second step, I was at top speed. I leaped into the fog that was transforming into a spear-like formation.

There was no need for defense or interception. If I didn’t have to worry about what was behind me, I could just forcefully carve a path with wind.

The wall of fog split wide open, as if welcoming me in. My eyes met with the grotesque figure that lay beyond.

It was a green ore, like the true form of a Bugbear. A towering monster made from it, its golden eyes shining.

Spriggan.

A fairy from England, said to be the guardian of other fairies.

The giant, standing at least four meters tall, creaked as it swung its fist down. Its movements were surprisingly agile for its size. The massive arm closed in with the speed of a runaway truck.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I slammed my sword into the fist that was as large as a human torso.

Visually, it was a reckless interception. But my blade, cloaked in wind like a hammer, shattered the stone fist with a deafening roar.

The giant staggered from the impact, and I advanced further. I used the momentum to leap and slam my whole body into its solar plexus, twisting the tip of my sword in.

A cracking sound echoed as the stone broke. On top of the giant as it fell backward, I used both hands to forcefully swing my blade diagonally upwards.

I slammed my left fist into the gap I had forcefully created. My gauntlet-clad fist widened the crack and crushed the being that lay within.

My Spirit Eye perceived a small being like an old man made of earth.

Its skin wasn’t just earth-toned; it was literally the color of dirt, covered in countless wrinkles, with a beard like tree roots.

In a way, this was the true form of the Spriggan, looking more like a gnome than the gnomes I’d seen before.

The body of this giant rock that now lay on the ground, shaking the earth, was just a sort of costume it had created.

I leaped down from the giant’s body as it dissipated into fog, leaving behind a small amount of salt and a silver ring at its center.

That wasn’t my priority. I turned my gaze back.

Well, I already knew the result without looking.

"Good work, Yagawa-kun."

"Yes. You too, Mia-san. Good work."

We exchanged pleasantries with business-like smiles.

Ah. This exchange is far more terrifying than the battle we just had.

Further behind her and her golems stood the youth, looking like a cat thrown into outer space. I gave him a perfunctory bow.

...Hmm. I really feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.

Shivering, the youth pointed at us and yelled.

"W-Why are the Invisible Ninjas here?!"

—It’s the guy who was being chased by the Kobold Lord!!

I remembered. Or rather, I wish I hadn’t.

We had met face-to-face—well, she was invisible then, so it was just me through my helmet, but still...

It was the cat-eared people from that time I was forced to announce that ridiculous name.

I’d forgotten his name. Did I even hear it in the first place?

In contrast to my deadpan expression, Mia-san burst out laughing.

Hey, don’t laugh. Your cousin was the one who came up with that name, you know? You should take some responsibility.

"Ah?! M-My apologies. I shouldn’t have pointed at my saviors."

"No... Don’t worry about it."

I shook my head expressionlessly at the youth, who had quickly lowered his finger.

You don’t have to feel indebted, so please, just forget everything.

"It’s been a while. We saw you were being chased by monsters, so we decided to intervene."

"We’re really grateful. To think we’d be saved by you twice..."

The youth cowered, his tail tucked between his legs, while forcing a polite smile.

Seeing this, Mia-san whispered to me.

"Yagawa-kun. Do you know Yamashita-san?"

"We met briefly in a dungeon before... I only just learned his name now. Are you acquainted with him, Mia-san?"

"No. But he’s famous. He’s a founding member and the guild master of a large clan called the Walkers... no, an organization that calls itself a ‘guild’."

"Ah..."

Come to think of it, I had heard of an adventurer group with that name online.

To think he was their leader. It’s a small world.

"Um..."

I glanced at Mia-san, and she thought for a moment before nodding.

"I’ll speak with him. Yagawa-kun, please collect the drop items and keep an eye on our surroundings."

"Understood."

I nodded and turned away.

Thank goodness. I don’t really know him, so I had no idea what to say.

Mia-san noticed my pleading look and came to the rescue. What a good person.

Relieved, I went about my tasks and waited for their conversation to end.

*

While I was picking up drops and keeping watch, Mia-san got the full story.

It seems Yamashita-san was nearly killed. Not by monsters, but by humans.

...Isn’t this a major incident?

I inwardly retorted to myself, a cold sweat running down my back.

Apparently, the Walkers are currently working to improve the image of adventurers with the goal of "coexistence between Awakened and non-Awakened people," and have been actively thinning out unpopular dungeons.

That’s why they were here, outside their usual area of activity.

But a group of mysterious men, who were either waiting for him to leave his territory or had followed him, suddenly attacked.

Using either a skill or a magic tool, they created a sound-dampening barrier to hide their footsteps and the sounds of monsters from Yamashita-san’s ears.

Once they were within visual range, they threw a stun grenade. While Yamashita-san’s group was incapacitated by the sound and light, they allegedly threw bags of "dungeon salt" at them... He said he didn’t see it happen, so this was just a guess based on the situation.

The mysterious group then vanished, leaving behind Yamashita-san’s group, who were unable to move properly due to the stun grenade, and the monsters who were now in a localized stampede.

They immediately threw away the salt and fled, but the monsters had already set their sights on them. They had been stumbling towards the exit as best they could.

Incidentally, the person slumped over on his back was a mage who had run out of mana. I was relieved to see he had no major external injuries.

But still... no matter how I organized it in my head, this was a major incident.

I had always thought someone would pull a stunt like this eventually, but I never imagined I’d witness it firsthand.

Life is full of surprises...

I’ve had my fair share of what could be called extraordinary experiences, but this was a first. I felt an unknown fear and, however inappropriate, a slight sense of excitement as I continued to keep watch, sword in hand.

But first things first.

"Mia-san. This is an emergency, so I’m contacting Aira-san."

"...Yes."

Mia-san nodded, looking as if she had made a difficult decision.

The culprits were probably long gone, but I wanted to be extra cautious. I wanted to report this to the police as soon as possible.

Besides, anyone capable of pulling off such a feat in a D-Rank dungeon clearly has skills equivalent to a C-Rank.

They were probably too scared to kill someone directly and tried to let the monsters do it... but if they found out their assassination attempt failed, they might screw up their courage and attack directly.

And so, I forced mana into the earring in my ear.

Instantly, an unpleasant sound like glass grinding together echoed right next to me.

"Ugh...!"

As I furrowed my brow, another loud noise assaulted my ears.

"Kyouta-kuuuuun?! What in the world do you think my delicate eardrums are maaaaade oooof?!"

If I weren’t an Awakened Person, my eardrums would have burst.

She sounded furious, but once I explained the situation, Aira-san immediately softened. "You did the right thing contacting me. Both of you come back safely...!"

...Though I’m not sure what to think about her cheerfully adding, "You can use that Yamashita whatever-his-name-is and his group as a decoy if you have to, just prioritize yourselves!"

In any case, she reported it to the police and the SDF for us, so we headed for the exit while remaining on high alert.

There were no further attacks from the culprits, and though a few Bugbears came at us, we dispatched them without incident.

We explained the situation to the SDF personnel at the gate and safely returned to the store.

...Though we had to spend about thirty minutes being questioned afterwards.

Given the circumstances, I suppose it couldn’t be helped. But we were just innocent bystanders who got caught up in it, so we didn’t know anything and had no involvement.

Physically, I wasn’t tired at all, but after talking with the police, I was mentally exhausted. I felt like I could lie down right then and there.

It had turned out to be a very trying day, in a completely unexpected way.