CH 79

Chapter 79: The Conversation Before an Adventure

Yuu: “Henry, Ageha. If it’s okay with you two, could we go out on an Expedition today?” They were taking a short break after breakfast.

That’s when Yuu suddenly made a suggestion.

Ageha: “Hm? Well, I haven’t decided what I was going to do today, so I’m okay with that.”

Henry: “I don’t mind either, but what’s up all of a sudden? Aren’t you supposed to be resting?” Yuu starts answering me as soon as I finish asking my question.

Yuu: “Well....so nearby Wreathfield is a forest called Fallwood, and it’s a pretty large forest. Inside this forest, especially in the central area, Upper-Tier Demonic Creatures appear there.”

And gradually….very gradually, they expand their territoryーーthe Corrupted Magic Territory, and they are trying to spread it to the entire forest.

The Upper-Tier Demonic Creatures of the Altohern Mountains in Flowtier have higher intelligence in general so they rarely descend from the summit area, but the situation can differ depending on the region.

The Demonic Creatures in Fallwood do not have a high amount of intelligence that would make people weary, but they are more aggressive and enjoy fighting.

Yuu: “Of course, because of those circumstances, there are Adventurers and Knights residing within this town, and they will draw out and take down such creatures periodically…..but recently, they noticed that the Corrupted Territory seems to be expanding further than they expected. It hasn’t gotten to the point of causing a panic, but I would like to avoid leaving any risks that may harm this town later.”

And because some of her old Party Members conveniently arrived, she thought they could go ahead and take down some of these creatures.

Henry: “Wouldn’t that mean we'll be taking away the jobs of those Adventurers? I’m sure they’re here because they received a Request from the Church and their Country, right?”

Yuu: “Yes, it’s true that there are those who received an official Quest from the Grandes Church, but most are saying that the payout is not matching the risks involved, so even if they lose this job, they might thank you for it. ……….the Corrupted Territory in Fallwood is a Poison Forest Territory.

Henry: “Seriously……?”

I can’t help but whine at the news.

For those Corrupted Territories that cater towards a certain Magic Type, the area becomes an extremely dangerous environment according to that Magic Type.

And with the subtle differences in the properties of the Corrupted Magic Type, even if it is the same [Water] Type, there are arctic Corrupted Ice Territories as well as swamp-like Corrupted Mud Water Territories, and territories with the same Magic Type can differ like that from one to another.

………..and out of all of those Corrupted Magic Territories, the Poison Forest Territories that are rarely born from the [Earth] Magic Type is one of the top worst ones as far as how annoying it can be.

Most of the plants around will absorb the poison, and the air will be filled with poison too…….if an ordinary person walked into it with absolutely no preparation, they would die within minutes.

Unlike extreme heat or cold, it’s difficult to plan against. If you try to protect yourself with a Wind Spell or a Magecraft Artifact of the same kind, you cannot move very quickly or else the Spell would become ineffective. [Resist Poison Potions] will help protect you from the poison, but they are quite expensive.

Even so……

Yuu: “Henry, you have the Godly Equipment charm with [resist poison]. I have my own Magecraft to repel the poison, and for Ageha….”

Ageha: “Yeah, that’s right. As part of the Cloud Plains Style Training, I received anti-poison training. Unless it’s an especially strong or specialized poison, most poisons won’t work on me.”

Teo scrunches her face into a difficult expression at Ageha’s words.

Teo: “Um, Sister Ageha? I don’t know about the past, but in the current age, there’s no one who goes through anti-poison training. Can you not make it sound like it’s a regular training regimen for us?”

Ageha: “Really? I know it was tough at first, but after a while, that tingling sensation you get becomes pretty addictive and fun to feel.”

Oh, is that right? I took Ageha’s words at face value, and I thought Teo also had resistance to poison. ………..and what about the tingling sensations? I think she’s crossed a line there. Then again, this is Ageha we’re talking about.

And as I reaffirm my correct assessments of Ageha as a woman, Yuu hits one open palm with her fist.

Yuu: “Okay, so with all things considered, it should be a low-risk Quest for us, right?”

Even in Ligaleo where you will encounter various Corrupted Magic Territory types, the Poison Forest Territory is something no one wants to deal with if they can help it. Now that I think about it, I had an effective poison-resistance strategy, so I was sent head-first into Poison Forest Territories many times. As I reflect back on nostalgic memories, Cyril raises her hand.

Cyril: "Ummmーwould it be okay if we go too? Since we came all the way out here, I would also like to gain some new experience in a new environment.”

Henry: “Ohー well, if it wasn’t a Poison Forest Territory, I would have taken you all with us but…” At Cyril’s suggestion, I have a difficult time answering her.

Even if they have some natural poison resistance more than ordinary people due to [Physical Enhancement], their lives would be at risk within the hour of stepping inside of that Corrupted Territory. Yuu could fix them up as we go, but that’s additional stress I don’t want to place on her right now.

It’s too bad, but they should skip this round and for us to return here….

Ferris: “Mr. Henry, you can leave that part to me.”

Henry: “What?”

Ferris: “I’m actually more adept at healing poisons and illnesses more than wounds and injuries. I can use [Area Antidote]. It’s not a huge radius, but it’s enough to take care of ourselves.” Ferris says this with absolute confidence.

……...Magecraft that treats poisons and illnesses are far more difficult than treating exterior injuries, and casting an area effect that can do so is doubly double that difficulty.

Yuu: “Oh, Miss Ferris, I didn’t know that you were a person from the Ningel Church.” Ferris: “Yes, but I still have a long way to go before I reach your level, Miss Eustacia.” That’s right, the two really haven’t spoken to each other that much.

Yuu: “Hehe. You don’t have to be so humble. I only know a handful of people aside from me who can use an area-effect Antidote Magecraft Spell.”

Ferris: “No…..I have still much more to learn. I know this might be rude to ask, but…...if possible, while we are here, could you teach me a trick or two?” Yuu: “Of course. I would love to.” ………..good.

Henry: “And when you come to Ligaleo, you will be able to reduce the amount of work I have to do! HA HA HA HA!”

Yuu: “.......Henry, was that supposed to be an impression of me?” Henry: “Yup.” I was sitting right next to her, and Yuu’s fist flew towards me. I receive it with my hand.

……..this girl….she knew I would stop it, so she didn’t hold back at all.

Yuu: “Then, we’ll plan on Henry’s Party also joining us for this expedition. I have heard about everyone’s abilities through his letters. Our main target will be the Upper-Tier, Mid-Class Elder Treant, but for everyone else, you will be facing the Mid-Tier Demonic Creatures.”

Henry: “What other Demonic Creatures are there?”

Yuu: “Other than the Elder Treants, Poison Wolves, Wood Golems…….and Demonic Apes if you want to count the slightly stronger ones.”

Hm... a Demonic Ape is a Mid-Tier, Upper-Class. The rest are Mid-Tier, Lower-Class but on the stronger end of the spectrum.

Then we should be fine.

Ageha: “What?! Treants?! Never mind! You all go by yourselves. I don’t want to face anything without a neck!”

And Ageha immediately loses motivation after hearing about our main target.

……..an Elder Treant is a Demonic Creature in the shape of a tree. The knots and holes of the tree sort of look like a face, but otherwise, yeah, it doesn’t have a neck to hold its head up.

And for Ageha who lives to behead Demonic Creatures, she absolutely hates all enemies like these. Even though they’re both made of wood, the Wood Golem is humanoid, so she’ll excitedly go chop off their heads. In other words, it just has to look like it has a neck to satisfy her.

Yuu: “Ageha, you just accepted the Quest a moment ago. Liars won’t last long in our line of work, you know?”

Ageha: “Hmmmー Fine. Then I’ll go with Teo and her group and help them out. You all can take care of the Elder Treants by yourselves!”

And as if she came up with a brilliant solution, Ageha makes her proclamation.

Yuu: “......(sigh)....looks like we won’t be able to talk her out of it.” Henry: “Yuu, how many Elder Treants are we facing?”

Yuu: “There’s several territories with several dozen creatures in each one.” That’s quite a bit.

Jend: “A few dozen in multiple territories, huh…….Henry, that’s going to be pretty tough. Are you really going to be okay?”

Jend shares his concerns for my safety.

Well, truthfully, if it was any other ordinary situation, and I was with only one other Party member facing that many Elder Treants, rather than taking them on, I would first and foremost retreat. It’s not like I can’t win, but the risk is too high.

Ageha: “Jend, it’s gonna be fine. When you put these two together, it’s completely cheating.”

Henry: “It’s not cheating. It’s the result of our combined effort…...well, mostly Yuu’s effort.” I object to Ageha’s comment. What do you mean by cheating, sheesh.

But as Ageha is saying, if I’m paired with Yuu, I can face 100 Upper-Tier, Mid-Class with little to no risk. Plus, I’ve taken down a Highest-Tier when paired with Yuu.

Jend: “Cheating?”

Henry: “Yuu can use a Magecraft Enhancement Spell specifically catered to me. Wasn’t Ferris trying to learn a similar spell for you, Jend?”

Jend: “Yeah, we almost got it figured out….” The Magecraft Spell of Salvation, the [Hand of Ningel], is renown for its Healing Magecraft Spells, but it is a Magecraft Style that also includes Barrier Spells and Enhancement Spells as well.

And the Ningel’s Enhancement Magecraft is different from my general use of [Strengthen] {Hazac} or Ms. Lotte who can buff anyone who can hear her [Rainbow’s Battle March], and requires fine-tuned adjustments between every individual. The difficulty level matches the Healing Magecraft Spells, and in truth, there are very, very few who can use this.

………..but, in exchange for its difficulty and rarity, the effect is phenomenal. It’s enough for a person like me to be able to intervene between Sir Ezeal fighting a Demonic Army General.

Teo: “Sister Ageha, can you really get that strong with Enhancement Magecraft?”

Ageha: “Yeahー I don’t like to admit it, but I don’t even want to fight Henry if Yuu’s supporting him. The only way I’ll win is if I take off his head in a one in a million chance.”

But she’s the type to make that one in a million chance succeed though!

Before, after I drank all my ability enhancement potions to fight her, I thought I would win 9 out of 10 times, and I remember still getting struck in the neck after a confusing skirmish. I still can’t fully recall how I lost that fight.

But I’ll leave that for now.

Henry: “You think you can still do it?” I ask Yuu, and Yuu smiles in a very childish, cheerful way.

Yuu: “Yes, it will be fine. I’ve only been doing Healing, and I haven’t been on an Expedition in a while, but I haven’t stopped training for a single day. You can leave it to me.”

Henry: “Fine, fine. If it gets dangerous, I’ll help you out.”

Yuu: “Yes, please do. Even if you go overboard and get injured, I’ll patch you up like always.” That, I’m not worried about. As long as Yuu is okay, she’ll fix me right up.

………...and there’s that sense of peace knowing how dependable she is.

It’s not like I’m looking down on Ferris’ skills, but I don’t get the same level of assurance as I do when I’m with Yuu.

Henry: “Well then. Let’s do a brief lecture and recap of the Demonic Creatures we’ll encounter there before we go.” Since it’s the first time for them to fight these Demonic Creatures, it’s best to go ahead and let them know the basics of how the creatures fight and move along with their known weak points.

And one hour later…

We are packed and ready and leave the Apple Tree House.