Tatsuro was feeling a bit bewildered that he had gained new possibilities thanks to the book he had read, but it actually proved that the mixing of light and dark was not imaginary.
While he was satisfied with this, he was also afraid to acquire dark magic uncontrollably while he hadn’t even completed it at Lv. 1 yet, so he decided to devote his SP to the other magic he wanted to try.
”Even though it seems to be a useful magic, it’s at such a low level, so I think I’ll take as much wind magic as I can get first.”
”Wind magic, what are you going to do with it?”
”Hmm, I think it would be more interesting to see it in action first.”
”Well, you can show me then. So, I have no objection to it!”
As Ai’s smile pushed him, Tatsuro acquired as much wind magic as he could with the SP (141) he had at the moment. (120), he acquired a new skill, Wind Magic Lv. 5.
“I’ve got it now. ─────, it’s already evening!”
”Eh!? I was so focused in the tent that I didn’t notice.
If we don’t hurry, it will be time to go home.
I have to take a look at the lake while I can.”
”Yeah!”
He crawled out of the tent and took a good look at the salt lake bathed in the setting sun.
”So cool……” ” It’s glowing red …….”
The place was even redder than the setting sun, and the transparent salt bottom glowed like it was twinkling in the wind as the water surface swayed, and there was a fantastic red starry sky.
”—Is that the salt of the lake itself glowing?”
”…… Yes. If not, I don’t think it would have that brightness and color. ……”
And so, the two of them again look at the mysterious salt lake in silence.
They held hands without thinking of each other and were mesmerized by the sight for a long time until Zendo came to call them.
Then they joined the artisans, who were all ready to go home, and with bowed heads, they started on their way back, taking up positions in the front and the back as they had done when they hurried in.
”How was the lake?”
”It was ───── amazing, so nice!”
”Hahaha, I see I see.”
On top of Zendo’s wagon, Ai was talking about how impressed she was with the two faces of the lake she had seen today.
Zendo listened smilingly to her, as if he was a good old man dealing with his granddaughter.
After about an hour of this, Ai suddenly felt something enter her field of vision.
“Grandpa, stop for a moment!”
”I understand! Oi, stop!”
Zendo immediately went to the back, urging them to stop with words and gestures.
The other salt workers, all of whom work together every day, showed great coordination, and soon all the carriages came to a halt.
{“Ai, what’s wrong?”}
{“Something is peeking out from behind a tree about 30 meters ahead.”}
{“Can you handle it alone?”}
{“I don’t know, but I’m worried about leaving them alone”}
{“I’ll send one of my light bulbs your way, and you can give me instructions via telepathy.”}
{“It sounds difficult, but… I’ll give it a try!”}
Then Ai took out the big sword from her “item box” she had bought earlier in her left hand and the stone kunai in her right hand, and waited for Tatsuro’s backup to arrive. Then, a red ball of light came whizzing by.
Ai adjusted the position of the light ball as she spoke in telepathy, and instructed Tatsuro to shoot his laser at something peeking at them dimly from behind a tree.
{“Shoot there!”}
{“Got it!”}
Tatsuro imagined that he would fire the laser just as Ai had said.
Less than a second after the instruction, a beam of light arrives at the strange something, but it is only grazed a little and is ducked behind a tree.
”Ztop et.”
Then something appeared, and with a strange intonation, it sounded to Ai as if it was telling her to stop.
And if she looked closely at the face that came out, it looked like a human face.
“Is that a human?”
”No, Ai! That’s a bug-shaped demon called a Phalur!
Look closely at the back of the protruding face!”
“Behind the face … ── that is”
As Zendo said, she looked at the back of his head and saw a thick tube leading to the back of an invisible tree.
“In other words, it’s okay to defeat it, right?”
”Yes, of course! It’s a demon that pretends to be a person and eats people it lures in!”
”Disgusting bastard…{Tatsuro, slightly to the right of you, now with more firepower!} —–Hey!”
While giving the order to fire at the tree that was hidden by Tatsuro’s laser, Ai threw the kunai in her right hand towards the face that was sticking out.
As Ai aimed, Tatsuro’s laser penetrated the tree and snatched something behind it, while the kunai hit a part that looked like a human face.
”Ya-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da.”
”What a grating voice.”
In spite of the wound on what looked like a person’s face, the voice from the back of the room was as sickening as ever. And it was worse because it was so pronounced that it was almost audible.
Ai took the spear in her empty right hand and started running towards it.
{“Tatsuro, give it another shot further to the right than before.”}
{“Roger”}
A laser went through Ai’s side and was followed by a bug-shaped demon called a phalur.
”ZZZZTTTTOOOOOOPPPPPPP!”
The chase went well, and the Phalur was finally driven out of the trees and onto the cobblestones by a beam of light.
It had an organ at the end of one hand that resembled a human face, now pierced with Ai’s kunai, and the other hand had a sharp claw with a return.
The body was shaped like a rugby ball, about the size of an adult man, with a single large compound eye in the upper half, and a round mouth the same size as the upper half, drooling as it flicked its teeth, and supported by four thin arthropods underneath.
”ZTOP ET!”
”It looks creepy too ─────, ya aha!”
Ai caught the claw that was released as she reached the front of the phalur with her left greatsword and stabbed the spear with the spiral grooves in her right hand into the compound eye while half-turning it.
《Skill: Swordsmanship Lv.2》 acquired.
《Skill: Spear Technique Lv. 2》.
“Ztoppp eetttttttttt”
”Hey, stop, you’re gross!”
She lifted the spear she had stuck in the ground with her right hand and slammed it into the ground.
“Ztoppp”
It died with its lower half crushed, staining the cobblestones with its green bodily fluids.
《Skill: Spear Technique Lv.3》
”Ueee……”
While feeling nauseous from the devastation in front of her and the strange smell, she immediately pulled back the spear and shook it up and down to blow off the bodily fluids, cleaning it up as much as possible before storing it with the large sword in the 《Item Box》.
Next, Ai gave detailed instructions to Tatsuro about the position of the light ball and had him burn it out with a laser, while trying not to look at the crushed farrule in front of her.
{“Tatsuro, it’s safe now. ……”}
{“Ai, you don’t look okay.”}
{“Because he’s gross, he drooled all over me!”}
{“Oh, that’s tough. We’ll wash it together when we get home.”}
{“Yeah……. thank you ……”}
With that, she finished her reminder and went to join Zendo.
When she explained the situation to him, he gave her a subtle look of sympathy and said, “Ah.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay, anyway!”
”Right…..”
“Then, we’re good to go?”
“Yeah, no problem. ……”
”O-ou”
Not knowing what to do with Ai, who was in a rare state of downer, Zendo instructed the others to proceed with the wagon, and the rest of the journey to Obsul was trouble-free.
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