Chapter 7 – We Hunted A Stronger Enemy!

“Da-damn it! What have I…”

“No, it might not be the sound, but the smell of blood that it detected…”

Armor Boars were not carnivores, but they were very aggressive, and they would try and kill any animal that entered their sight.

So perhaps it had smelled the scent of battle.

Also, this one was rather large.

It was taller than me, and as wide as two horses. As for its horns, they must be 1 beter long.

The scales that covered the Armor Boar’s entire body were hard like iron, and it would be difficult for a bolt to get through. And so its weakness would be places that weren’t protected, like its eyes and mouth.

Mette turned to me frantically.

“I-I’m sorry! I will distract it, and you can run away!”

“It’s fine, Mette. The Demon King’s army tames beasts like this…and I fought one when I was a child.”

I said, and then I headed towards the Armor Boar.

“Th-that’s reckless!”

Mette insisted, but I knew I could defeat something like this.

I had defeated one as a child. If I couldn’t do it now, that meant I had become weaker.

“…Absorb.”

I placed my hands on the ground and absorbed some rocks.

And then, as the Armor Boar charged at me at a maddening speed, I unleashed the rocks, which had been hardened into one mass that was about the size of a dog.

The Armor Boar lowered its head so that its horns were directed at me, and its speed increased.

Then there was a loud crash, and the sounds of crumbling rock echoed around us.

The Armor Boar had crushed it with its horns.

However, the Armor Boar then suddenly began to cough.

Within the boulder, I had planted a rock that had been turned into powder.

And so the dust now assaulted the boar’s eyes and mouth.

This was a tactic I had invented while fighting on the frontlines, as a way of making use of my Production Magic.

“Now… Craft… Steel Blade.”

I crafted a blade of iron, and with it in hand, I dashed forward.

And just as the dust subsided, I plunged the sword into the Armor Boar’s mouth.

When I looked, the tip of the blade had pierced through and had come out the other side of the boar’s head.

And when I pulled the blade out, the Armor Boar collapsed on the ground with an earth-shaking thud.

Mette’s voice shook behind me.

“H-how? …You killed an…Armor Boar?”

“It was easier than the ones in the Demon King army. Those ones are trained, and will stop mid-charge.”

“I-is that so… In-in any case, I really am sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Mette looked very apologetic as she lowered her head.

“No, don’t worry about it. More importantly, you now understand the power of a crossbow, yes?”

“Ah, aye. It’s a wonderful weapon…”

“Considering the amount of iron I have left, I should be able to make thirty of them. I’ll start as soon as we return.”

“We-we would be very grateful! With this, the others will be able to hunt with ease as well! Thank you!”

“Leave it to me. In any case, we should take these Hell Alligators and Armor Boar back with us.”

“Aye. We will be able to eat a lot of meat today! I can carry one of them, but… I’ll call the others from the village.”

“No, I can carry them. Absorb.”

And just like that, the Armor Boar and four Hell Alligators were absorbed into the Magic Workshop.

Mette’s eyes blinked repeatedly.

“Huh? They disappeared?”

“You saw the branches and string disappear earlier, didn’t you? This is also magic.”

“Th-that’s amazing…”

Indeed, I had also thought that I wouldn’t be able to absorb all of the monsters.

If this was a long time ago, then it would have been difficult to even absorb one of them.

I suppose this meant I had improved when it came to using my magic energy. I had grown quite a lot.

“…All right, let’s go. I’m sure the others are all hungry.”

“Ye-yes!”

And Mette and I returned to Fendel village.

“What do you think? It’s a Hell Alligator!?”

Once we were back in Fendel village, I lined up the Armor Boar and Hell Alligators on the ground so that Mette could show them to the villagers.

This was a rare hunting success, and the villagers were overjoyed.

“Hey, this is amazing! Did you kill all of them, Mette!?”

“Aye! Thanks to this…cross…bow that Joshua made!”

Mette proudly showed them the crossbow.

“A cro-crossbow…what an amazing bow.”

“So a bow like this can kill them…”

The villagers all looked at the crossbow with glimmering eyes, as if worshiping the statue of a god.

“Well, in any case, we can all eat meat today! We need to hurry up and dress the meat before it starts attracting flies.”

So saying, Mette took out a sharp piece of obsidian.

“Wait, Mette. While it will be easy to cut the meat with a knife, it will take a long time when there is this much. So I’ll separate the meat and skin first.”

“I would be grateful…but can you really do it?”

“Aye. I always processed monster bodies as materials…”

And so I sent the Armor Boar and Hell Alligators back to the Magic Workshop, and separated them into meat, skin, and bones. On top of that, I also removed the iron-like scales.

Then I summoned it back so it appeared on top of a large tree stump. Mette raised her voice in surprise.

“I-it’s already meat!?”

“It’s ready to be cooked. Or frozen for preservation.”

“E-even that… Magic is so…so very useful.”

“Well, it takes some practice.”

“Huh. It must have been a great deal of practice.”

Mette sounded very impressed.

I had used Production Magic nonstop for ten years, but I didn’t know how that compared to others.

I did hope that it was above average, at least.

Mette picked up the meat, and as the blood dripped from it, she said,

“All right! We’re going to have meat today! Everyone, let’s eat!!”

“Ayyee!!”

The Kijins all looked happy as they roasted the meat around a bonfire.