kscans

Chapter 91 - The Path of Calamity 6. The Hunt (Part 2)

"What the!?" GWOOOOH!

Which came first, Kudol’s cry of surprise or the Tyrantbot’s roar of confusion?

The stone wall, which had seemed to be broken through by the Tyrantbot’s powerful arm, was restored in an instant, with the arm firmly clamped in its jaws.

The Tyrantbot roared in anger and confusion, trapped by the stone wall. It was a perfect opportunity to attack, but Kudol and the others didn't understand the situation. They didn't know what that stone wall was. At first, Kudol thought it was the magician Katra’s work, but when he glanced at her, she shook her head. Not knowing the nature of the stone wall, they couldn't attack recklessly. For one thing, the wall was blocking their line of sight to the Tyrantbot. They would have to move to attack.

...Their hesitation came to an abrupt end a few seconds later.

The rampaging Tyrantbot suddenly stopped moving... or rather, it was stopped. By a stone spike piercing through the back of its head.

Among the confused party members, only Kudol had an inkling.

"...Yuri?"

As if in response to his call, a small boy appeared, from a spot that had seemed empty just a moment ago.

"Yes. I managed to finish it off. Is Fray-san alright?"

Biting Wall. That was the name Yuri had arbitrarily given to his earth magic, but in essence, it was the instantaneous construction and reconstruction of an earthen wall. The moment the enemy thinks they've pierced it, the wall repairs itself, clamping down on and capturing the enemy's arm or weapon. Depending on the situation, it could even clamp down on half their body. In fact, Yuri had dispatched a Gambit Grizzly in that very way before. The timing was a bit difficult, but as long as he maintained enough distance, the risk to himself was low, so Yuri often used this spell. The fact that he succeeded at such a critical moment this time was likely the result of his constant training.

"Ah... yeah, I'm fine. I was scared stiff when the bear's claws came at me... then a wall suddenly appeared in front of me, the bear’s claws broke through it, and finally the wall chomped down on the bear... I was sweating bullets the whole time."

The sentiments of the other members who had watched from the side were similar. If it were a movie, it would have undoubtedly been a top-ten scene. If a bard had seen it, they would surely have sung of it in a tavern to roaring applause.

"My apologies. I didn’t have time to explain."

"Yeah, I’m not complaining. Thank you."

However... the group turned their eyes to the Tyrantbot’s corpse. It was just under three meters long. Not necessarily large for a bear-type monster, but the length of its arms was exceptional. Its long reach and agile movements made it a troublesome opponent for both offense and defense. The only way to take it down would have been to stop its movements and then launch a surprise attack, just as Yuri had done. They understood that. They understood, but...

Once again, the group turned their gazes to the small boy. He was more skilled at hunting than they had imagined. They hadn't thought he was an assassination type, but... thinking about it, if one were to hunt alone on the monster-infested Salt-Sour Mountain, there probably were no other options. His magic was eye-catching, but perhaps this boy’s greatest weapon was his perception and stealth abilities...?

...If some unsavory characters were to take notice of this child’s abilities, it would be dangerous.

"Yuri, I know you just saved us, but don’t show your Stealth to others. Your earth magic is pretty out there too, but your Stealth is on another level of insane. If you show it off carelessly, you’ll attract the attention of some strange people."

"...That’s right. All of Yuri-kun’s skills are out there, but you should especially keep your Stealth hidden."

"His other abilities are more than out there enough, so I doubt anyone would notice his Stealth, but it’s certainly better to be careful."

Yuri felt a little dejected, wondering if his abilities were really that out there, but he decided to gratefully accept their advice.

"I understand. In that case, you’ll naturally pretend that all of you were the ones who defeated this Tyrantbot, right?"

"""""...Huh?"""""

"Lucky Footsteps" stood frozen in silence for a moment, but they quickly rebooted and began to object.

"No, no, no! There’s no way that’s possible!"

"How could we possibly pretend we were the ones who finished it off!"

"Eh? But if it becomes known that I did it, they’ll naturally suspect my Stealth, won’t they?"

"W, well, that’s true, but..."

"No, as a practical matter, the wound on the back of its head that was the fatal blow is not something my sword could make. They’ll find out right away."

"I can’t use earth magic... impossible."

"Even Adon-san knows about Yuri’s earth magic... It’s probably better not to strangely hide the fact that Yuri dealt the finishing blow."

"So the credit goes to Yuri, but we just fudge the specific details, is that it?"

"Yeah, that’s probably the only way to go."

"Ehh?"

Isn't this different from what you just said?

*

Incidentally, at this time, no one, including Yuri himself, noticed that he was making yet another huge misunderstanding.

He had misunderstood that only his stealth ability was exceptional.