Chapter 20

Ossan, gets fired up *DISCLAIMER: I DON'T REALLY KNOW j.a.pANESE, THESE ARE MACHINE TRANSLATIONS THAT I TRY TO PUT INTO PROPER ENGLISH. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. *Changed Alev to Alyx. And, Santor to Santhor. Sounded cooler. *Lastly, In the previous chapters, I translated the name of the Kingdom as “Solistair” because I a.s.sumed that it was different from “Solisthea”(the Duke's name), but it seems it's the same, which makes me a bit confused. I might be the only one, but It's obviously weird for a Ducal house to have the same name as the royal family when technically they aren't part of it, right? I don't think I'm wrong in this, am I? Chivalric Order headquarters.

There, two knights were meeting. One was the Knight Commander of the Order, Marc Vitron, and the other being Alyx Gilbert.

"I summoned you to hear more about your report, but this is absurd. Level 154 in such a short amount of time? Just how many times did you almost die…"

"It is as you read, Sir. We kept fighting monster after monster every day, and managed to survive."

"Goblins and Orcs, as well as Ogres, Trolls, Chimeras and Man-Eaters…? You've done well returning home."

"We would've been the ones to be eaten if we didn't defeat them… in many ways…"

Alyx averts his eyes, looking at the distance, for some reason as he says that last part.

Though Marc didn't notice as he is still looking at the report while pondering his words.

"On the second day the supplies were stolen and from that moment on, it was a struggle for survival… and it seems you could overcome all those hardships."

"It's thanks to my subordinates' efforts. I couldn't have make it all that alone."

In Far-flung forest it's not an easy task to procure food, considering most monsters' meat is inedible; Trolls' and Chimeras' being particularly poisonous.

In response to Alyx, who answered plainly, Marc couldn't hide his surprise at the sight of him, due to the change in his appearance, which has become noticeable in these last few days.

(Just what kind of experience did you go through… Doesn't he look like a completely different person now?)

Alyx seemed to have a different aura around him. 

While he was thinking about his newfound, overwhelming aura, like that of a wild beast, Marc's body shivered in both amazement and joy. It was Marc himself who trained and raised him to be a person worthy of calling himself a knight, he felt like how a parent would do when reminiscing about their children's growth.

After returning from being lost in thought, he looked back to the report and let out a 'Bufu!' sound as he choked in surprise due to what was written… A description of the Crazy Ape's ecology.

"Alyx… I-Is this some sort of joke?"

"No, Sir. It's the pure truth. That thing… that monster was a serious threat to us."

"I see… if what's written here is truth then it's truly horrifying in a different sense, but…"

"You may not want to believe it. But it's not something we can look away from forever."

The Crazy Ape is a kind of primate-type monster composed of only of females. They compete amongst themselves and the weakest ones turn into males. The problem was that, these genderbent monkeys will then start targeting and attacking males from other species, specially human males.

When they fall to the bottom of the social hierarchy and get transformed into males, they often attack human males to display their own superiority, allowing them to return to their original genders.

By performing the deed with other males against their wills, they prove their strength, and thus, climb up the social ladder within their group.

(*T.N: I think in the previous chapters I translated it as "metamorphic habit" or something like that but it seems it was an euphemism for a.n.a.l rape.)

As they live in troops, a social hierarchy is one of the most important things for their survival, and human males are used as a tool to, both, climb to its top, and for breeding.

The Crazy Apes don't have that behavior purely because they're perverted, it's closely related to their own survival.

The issue was that, for the human males, that behavior was a serious threat in a different sense, though, the Crazy Apes don't think of such things in the first place, given that it's an habit cultivated from their struggle to survive after all.

"C… Crazy, that's absurd…"

"That's not the case, Sir. If it's a behavior derived to instinctively leave offspring behind, it makes sense. Although, accepting it is a different matter…"

"Certainly, it can't be helped that they seek males from other races but, I wonder if there are people who had been victims to them already…"

"Probably there are. Desperate mercenaries and bandits… I don't even want to think about it."

Villagers and travelers that had suddenly disappeared, there would be no end to it if one started making a list. In addition, it's also hard to tell because they move around in the forest from place to place without settling down somewhere in particular, and possess quite the strength compared to humans.

There's no doubt that a regular mercenary would only fall victim to them in a pitiful manner.

"I'll send a warning to the Mercenary Guild. Hopefully, no more casualties will arise after this."

"That's reasonable. Even if they fall prey to them, it would be due to their own carelessness."

"The white ape fur is a high-cla.s.s prized commodity, but now we have to take into account that they behave just like Goblins and Orcs…"

There are only a limited number of monsters that use humans, and other species, as breeding tools. These monsters often leave the forest and attack human settlements. 

Even if they don't spread the information, it's likely that mercenaries would fall victims to them, and if knowing that and they still challenge them and get defeated, it will be regarded as their own lack of caution and strength. After all, it's a monster whose level is over 200, there's no choice but to fight it at one's own risk of getting the tables turned on oneself.

"… In any case, you must be tired after having such a tough time. You can go home and see your wife now."

"It's alright, Sir. That was part of my duty as a knight."

"I see. Part of the proceeds from selling the monster materials will be given to you in the near future, I'm sorry about today."

"I want to rest for a while, that forest was h.e.l.l…"

"I see…"

After Alyx left his office, Marc hunched over on the desk holding his head. 

"Am I really going to have to explain this…? What a headache."

Thinking about all the work he would have to do, his heart felt heavy. The Crazy Ape's ecology was strange to that degree.

On a later date, Marc timidly disclosed the information about the monster's ecology to the Mercenary Guild, but they just laughed it off, resulting in many mercenaries never returning. The price of that 【White Ape Fur]was that attractive.

No matter how absurd the information looked, there were still some people who commendable took it to heart, although, trusting it was a different matter.

The mercenaries who didn't believe in the information would soon regret it. However, in this world, it's too late by the time you start regretting it.

It may sound harsh, but that's the world mercenaries live in. Where they are always at risk of getting themselves killed with every job, specially if they neglect information gathering.

Afterward, the Mercenary Guild would bow down towards him and ask for a search party to be organized, to look for the missing mercenaries, but Marc ignored them.

After all, they, who didn't believe the information given by the Knights, are to blame for their own misfortune…

Three days later, they arrived at Santhor.

As usual, Celestina and Zweit were in the middle of their combat training against Golems. However, the Golems Zeros had created for this occasion were Stone Golems.

The two of them had just managed to defeat one, though, while struggling. But for people that had treaded around the boundary between life and death, and had returned in one piece, they seemed to be in excellent condition.

Their levels and overall skill had gone up and they are incomparable to what they were a week ago, and their movements give the impression of being more refined and precise.

"Hoh, my capabilities have gone up considerably, it's almost as if I were a different person from before."

"It was as I thought, after all. You'll get stronger once you gain experience in actual combat, you can feel what's important with your own flesh."

"What's the level of the Stone Golems anyways? The Mud Golems' movements seem to be slower compared to them."

"I tried to keep them at an average of level 100. Their movements don't vary too much in a prolonged battle, but on the other hand, you have to memorize them to be able to beat them."

"Are?… kukuku. They're going to be really reliable in the future and my faction's influence will grow."

Apparently, Creston wants them to join his faction. Taking into account the future of the country, the conflict between the magicians and the knights must be resolved.

Nonetheless, with two people who can decipher magic characters, even a small faction like his would rise in influence. Furthermore, given that they're blood relatives of the royal family, they can't be carelessly antagonized.

"That's quite the scheme, if I do say so myself, however, there's no fail-safe way to deal with those fools, am I correct?"

"It'll get the underworld to make a move. There's an organization at the direct control of the royal family. I'm sure they will be willing to help reform the country."

(*T.N: I'm not quite sure about this part, it could be taken either as: there's an organization with the name 'dark side' that the royal family will mobilize, or that the underworld is going to move and the royal family controls part of it. We'll see how it's played out in the following chapters.)

"Is there some sort of guild working behind the scenes? You also can't trust the ridiculous rumors from the people working at the Royal Palace, can you?"

"Hm? The groundwork has already been laid. The textbook you wrote will help with driving them against the wall."

"So it's about the textbook produced by the other factions, isn't it? It would've been much easier to understand if they didn't tinker with it unnecessarily. I don't understand why were you using such a makeshift excuse of a magic textbook."

"They pretend to do research, but pocket in most of their research funds. They didn't think we were in dire need of competent magicians, and so, the textbooks gradually got worse instead of improving."

"That is an awful vicious cycle, are you sure this country is going to be alright…?"

Regardless of their ability to handle the domestic affairs of the country, they are nothing but ill-suited to act as the shield of the country in case of war. If another nation decides to invade, they will be the first to get killed on the battlefield. There's no person who wouldn't worry about the state of such a country.

"Well, we have to do something now so nothing bad happens. Though, I wonder how did we get to this point…"

"I'd like to know too. Just how things got to become the present situation we have to deal with."

Naturally, a magician who l.u.s.ted for power managed to bribe other powerful n.o.bles. If one person makes a mistake, they would have two options: either to denounce their wrongdoings, or to commit other wrongdoings along with them.

(There's going to be a war soon, isn't it? I'm sorry, but I don't want to get involved. It sounds extremely troublesome.)

When there are people who try to rectify the state of the country, there will be those that will surely try to avoid that to happen. They will take whatever abhorrent measures necessary to protect their own necks.

"But well, we're already making our move. The revised spells are already being put into scrolls and have started selling in this city."

"Would selling those cheap and useful magic scrolls break the power-balance between the rest of the factions?"

"Hmm, about that, some of the magicians who have been kicked out of their factions, have already started to gather here."

The main source of income for magicians is the sell of magic scrolls, and potions made through alchemy. Factions take a 60% cut of that revenue, making it the foundation of their organizations.

The current feudal lord, DelSasis, has been selling the magic scrolls optimized by Zeros as a side business. It's the worse situation for the other factions, which might end up shaking them to the very core.

After all, the house of the Duke of Solisthea is one of the country's richest merchant families, and also a blood relative of the royal family.

They were a particularly troublesome family to turn as enemies.

"It's all thanks to you, that magic-erasing spell proved to be quite useful."

"Once you learn the magic, having magic scrolls is just a hindrance. If you sell them, even after taking into account the cost of the magic paper, you will surely end up profiting at the end of the day."

"Though, some of the proceeds will go to you, isn't that right?"

"Life gets easier if you possess some money."

"The territory is already under development, but are you already starting to build the foundations of your house? Your magic, 【Gaia Control]is truly excellent."

Having found out about the magic Zeros used in the orphanage, Creston asked if he would be willing to sell it.

Although, he didn't have the intention of carelessly spreading dangerous magics, by limiting the way to use it, he succeeded in averting away the eyes of people interested in using it for more nefarious purposes. And now, it has become popular amongst the farmers.

Digging a hole, hardening the surrounding soil solidifying it into rock, digging up ditches, or in other words, everything under the umbrella of civil engineering, in hopes that no one would try using it as an attack magic.

In addition, even if the spell itself spreads, the magic formula itself will disappear from the scroll once it's used, so there's no risk of it leaking to a third party.

It may be eventually bought by a magician, but there's no need for an earth magician to learn this spell in the first place.

Due to that, the magic【Gaia Control]was beginning to be widely circulated among the general public.

Because most of the people who go out of their way to learn this spell have low mana capacity, they're not much of a threat, at least right now, for the magicians and knights who are accustomed to living in peaceful times. In addition, because it appears to only be used for farming, it's considered, in their eyes, to be a beginner's spell.

"Rather than that, let's focus on their training, if you will. Your opinion, Creston-san, who has actual combat experience, should be beneficial to the two of them. After all, if they only get my feedback, the knowledge they obtain might be biased."

"Umu. I might be a senile old man, but I can still be useful, although I'm glad to say that there's not much to point out. At any rate, I'm overjoyed to be blessed with such talented grandchildren."

In his mind Zeros thought 'It's not your grandson you're talking about, right? It's obviously your cute granddaughter!'.

He had a lot more things he wanted to say, but he decided to turn his eyes once again to the two people that were in the midst of their training.

"Still… it always attacks in that same way, but its defense is still tough to break through."

"It's troublesome, isn't it? It's a relief that they don't move too fast, but…"

"Instead, it does that…"

Stone Golems defend and protect the surrounding Golems while the Mud Golems attack. A cla.s.sic strategy, yet it was difficult to overcome. Stone Golems, which have a better defense compared to its mud counterparts, can't be destroyed in a single blow, and above all, it can attack at long range.

One of the Stone Golems separates countless small stones from its body and makes them float around in the air. 

"Here it comes!"

"Tch! 【Mana Shield]"

The floating stones become bullets that are soon fired towards Zweit. He hurriedly deploys a magic barrier to protect himself against the Golem's attack.

"Stone Shot. We would've been in trouble if that hit us."

"Ahh… it's easy to predict because the stones float for a while before being launched, though, the attack range is quite wide."

"Even if it hits a Mud Golem, nothing would happen since it's just rocks. .h.i.tting mud."

"There's no choice but to destroy the core after all… so annoying."

There are two types of Mud Golems, and the combination of the regular Mud Golem's direct attacks, the more sly and underhanded nimbler Mud Golem's attacks, in addition to the Stone Golems which are completely defense-focus, their formation is like an iron wall.

A Golem can't be defeated unless their core is destroyed, but it's an extremely troublesome task. Moreover, if the core only gets halfway destroyed, it can generate itself again.

Celestina's and Zweit's levels have increased considerably after returning from Far-flung forest, but at the same time, the training's difficulty has risen as well.

"Adding the fast-moving Golems into the mix, it makes it almost impossible."

"That's right. But that just means that we can try over and over until we manage to get it right."

"Indeed. Let's get to it then!"

"Ohhh, let's go!!!"

""【Silver G.o.d's Wall]!!""

They deployed 【Silver G.o.d's Wall]. As long as the user continues to supply mana to it, the barrier's shape can expand and be changed freely.

In order to eliminate the surrounding Golems, Celestina's barrier took the shape of countless thorns that spring forward with great momentum.

Zweit transforms his into a large sword, with which, he mows down the enemies around him.

Against Stone Golems, a drawn-out battle is only exhausting, so they decided to make a bold move and destroy the Golem commanding the surrounding enemies.

"Shield Bash!"

"Blade Slash!"

(*T.N: they were written in katakana, but they still sound kinda lame. dunno if you guys have any name suggestions.)

They have activated their martial arts skills and used them on top of the silver shield to boldly destroy their opponents. 

Celestina's relentless a.s.sault caused the Mud Golems to stop dead on their tracks, failing to reach Zweit. In addition, by combining their attacks with their martial arts skills, the power will be doubled.

The combat training would end once they manage to defeat the commander-type Golem, which was an enormous Stone Golem, bigger than the rest. It's a difficult task to beat them in a single strike, but if they succeed in destroying the core, they would win.

They tried to find a way out with a short and reckless a.s.sault. The idea itself was good but…

――― Goooooooooooooooh!

―――― Zudon!

The leader, the Stone Golem commander, raises both of its arms and proceeds to slam them against the ground with all the strength it could muster.

As soon as its arms make contact with the ground, the pressure wave generated by the impact shakes the earth, disturbing Zweit's and Celestina's posture.

"Wha!?【Earthquake]!?"

"It's not the moment to ask about that!!"

Natural-born Golem-type monsters don't often attack with magic. After all, if they consume too much mana, they will return to being inanimate matter.

But, that doesn't mean they can't use magic. When it feels threatened enough, it will attack just like this particular Stone Golem did, shaking the ground and smashing the enemies after their stances have been broken.

Incidentally, the Golem commander had Mud Golems as its underlings, and when it slammed its arms against the ground, shaking the earth, its subordinates immediately collapsed due to the force of the impact, crawling around like slimes and encircling the two youths.

As a result, their bold attack strategy was successfully countered, and they ended up covered in mud from head to toe.

"Un, it was definitely too early to make a move like that. You don't always have your opponents openly showing you their hand, after all, wouldn't you agree?"

"But, it's a great way to train. I'm looking forward to train like this more often."

"Although, it's frustrating… ahhh, I wanna try again."

"But, that Earthquake back there… you really can't underestimate Golems."

*** You are reading on https://www.novelhall.com/ ***

"Well, these Golems can't compare to the ones in Far-flung, after all. Because of the large amount of sand and sediments, the one I fought, blew away a large part of the surroundings in the forest with its Earthquake, ahhh… how nostalgic."

*** You are reading on https://www.novelhall.com/ ***