Chapter 444 – Encounter
*
*
*
After walking through the rugged mountains for about two hours, we were able to see a circular clearing that seemed to have been artificially created by someone.
The vacant lot with long, tall trees standing on the border like a round folding screen gave off a quite strange atmosphere.
“Are we here?”
“Yes! It looks like a fascinating place, right? The spirit plant Araune absorbs nutrients from the surroundings and creates an environment in which trees cannot grow.”
Louise’s face was bright.
“Can you see Araune over there?”
… I don’t know.
Still, I understand that Louise is excited.
There were no trees in the vacant lot, but grass, whether weeds or young grasses, was growing in abundance. It was difficult for me to distinguish between the leaves of the herbaceous plants.
“Can’t you see over there? The leaves are different, right? Can’t you see those bright leaves of Araune?”
When I said that, it seemed like I could see a leaf that looked a little different.
“Don’t come any closer! Everyone, please wait here! If you step on the precious spirit plant, it will be a big problem!”
After saying that, Louise suddenly crawls over.
“…?”
“You shouldn’t dig it up haphazardly… You have to be careful not to damage the leaves or the roots.”
In response to my puzzled gaze, Louise explained with a serious look on her face, and then began to carefully crawl across the floor in her prone position.
It was a great creeping advance.
I don’t think I was that good even when I was in the military.
Louise, who had been crawling forward for a while, stopped.
It looks like we have arrived at our destination.
In that state, she carefully began to dig gently with her fingertips. It almost looks like she’s removing a mine.
“…”
It didn’t seem like it would end quickly.
We decided to carefully leave Louise alone to dig up Araune and stand guard around the area.
I glanced around, but there was not even a trace of the monster in sight.
Boring time passes by without anything happening.
About an hour has passed.
“I tried it!! Finally!! I have this item in my hand!”
Louise was screaming and clutching what looked like her thick roots. Her glasses were twisted, and her face was covered in dirt, but she had a bright smile that didn’t seem to bother her at all.
Araune appeared to be a plant with heavy roots.
It looks like wild ginseng.
Should I say it feels more chubby than wild ginseng?
And on top of the roots, there were fresh-looking green leaves.
It took longer than expected.
I think it took an hour just to dig up one root.
“Can I come back now?”
“Vark! What are you talking about? There are so many Araune, so let’s dig up just one root! Do you think it’s that easy to get someone else’s gold?!”
“…”
I said I should go home, but I got scolded by Louise.
Her eyes were shining with greed.
She seemed to have nothing to see in her eyes now.
Louise, who yelled at me, immediately grabbed the next target and started moving in a low crawl.
Looking at Louise’s greedy appearance, Hilda was shaking her head.
“How did you stop me before?”
Looking at Louise’s eyes turned to her greed, she had a reasonable suspicion that she may have been quite reckless when she came here before.
“I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and forcibly dragged her away.”
Hilda answered my question with a bitter smile.
Now that I’m spending time on boring alert again…
-Thump… Thump…
A faint, yet heavy sound of footsteps was heard from somewhere.
Hilda and Rafferd must have heard the footsteps, and her face stiffened.
This is the ogre’s territory.
There is only one monster in there whose footsteps are this heavy.
I was able to guess naturally even without looking.
“Louise! I think the ogre is coming? We have to go quickly!”
Hilda shouted at Louise.
“Joe, just a little bit! Not two minutes, just one minute!”
Louise, devoured by her greed, seemed unwilling to lift her face from the ground.
-Thump… Thump…
The sound of footsteps got closer and closer.
“Bah, Bark!”
Hilda calls me urgently.
If I give the order, Hilda and Lafferd will immediately pull Louise out with her nose on the ground.
“Let me dig up to that point.”
I wanted to see the ogre.
I also thought it was a good opportunity to gain a lot of experience. Of course, I planned to punish Louise, the greedy person who brought the danger upon herself, separately later.
“It’s done!”
Louise cheered as she lifted Araune up.
At the same time as the cheers, a muscular bald giant about 5 or 6 meters tall appeared, breaking through the trees.
It’s my first time seeing a monster.
Nevertheless, I could tell at a glance that it was an ogre.
The face of the ogre that discovered us becomes stained with anger. No, exactly, his eyes were focused on the Araune that Louise was holding.
It seems that the ogre knows that what Louise is holding is a valuable item.
“Louise, come quickly!”
Hilda urges Louise.
“Hehe… I could only dig up two roots!”
Louise approaches us with regret.
In the meantime, she glances back and can’t take her eyes off the remaining Ara Une, showing that she still can’t let go of her greed.
“Wow!!”
The angry ogre roared.
The air vibrated.
At that moment, Hilda, Raepard, and Karen’s eyes opened, and they had blank expressions.
“Oh, it’s an ogre’s peer! The ogre’s peer is mixed with powerful mental waves!”
It doesn’t seem to have any effect on Louise.
“Come to your senses!”
At my shout, the group, who had been mesmerized by the ogre’s roar, are startled and come to their senses.
-Thump thump.
The ogre approached us with long strides.
“Uh, what should I do…”
Hilda, who has just escaped from the ogre’s control, still seems unable to make sound decisions.
“What should I do… I have to run away. While I deal with you, run away to the base cave. Karen, you too.”
“…”
Karen paused a little, but then nodded her head.
“That’s right! Let’s leave the ogre to Bark and run away quickly!”
Louise urges the group.
‘That…’ .’
That’s true, but it’s somewhat disgusting that Louise does it.
The group began to retreat, and I moved toward the ogre that was running in the opposite direction of them.
Out of the two weapons, the two-handed sword and long spear, that were on his back, he pulled out a spear.
The ogre saw me and swung his fist.
A fist as big as his size approaches.
I ducked close to the ogre, avoiding his fist.
-Your Majesty!
A huge fist passes overhead.
I felt a destructive power as big as a big fist.
As I dodged the ogre’s fist, its huge feet approached.
‘It’s fast.’
Despite his huge size, his movements were quite fast. It was not a being that an ordinary human could deal with.
It seemed like I could understand why Hilda and Rappard were so afraid.
It was a speed and power that mercenaries could not handle.
They wouldn’t have been able to avoid the blow.
I dodged his kick by rolling to the side and quickly stabbed the spear into his calf.
The tip of the spear, which was about to dig in for a moment, stops.
The spear could not pierce his skin.
It looks like a trickle of blood is coming out… It’s literally a scratch.
To the ogre, wouldn’t it feel like being slightly pricked by a needle?
“Crung?!”
The ogre who allowed me to take the blow tilts its head. The guy’s face has an expression that says, ‘Look at this guy?’
It’s definitely a difficult monster to deal with if you can’t use magical power.
Louise and her group had already disappeared and were no longer visible.
‘Should I use it?’
I felt like I could deal with him without difficulty if I used blood magic.
When I decided to break the seal on the blood magic… For some reason, Hestia’s beautiful face appeared in my mind and my spine stood on end.
‘What? This feeling…’
Hestia’s suspicions about me were lifted once in Crea. However, when I killed Crea’s knights, her suspicions were restored.
We dismissed it as something we didn’t know anything about, but would that have been enough to clear Hestia’s suspicions about me?
Of course it wouldn’t have been resolved.
‘Was Hestia following me?’
That is unknown.
The avatar here does not have the ability to understand that.
What if Hestia is secretly watching this situation?
What if she uses blood magic in such a situation?
Not only me, but Karen is also in danger.
It is dangerous even if Hestia investigates me late. And if she finds any traces of blood magic here, it can’t be ignored.
It might just be unlucky news.
However, the unknown discomfort I felt at that moment prevented me from breaking the seal on the blood magic.
‘Blood magic… Is the last resort. The situation isn’t that desperate right now.’
Although the ogre was making a powerful attack, it wasn’t that difficult to avoid with my abilities.
One way was to deal with it moderately and then run away.
‘Can we catch the ogre like this?’
It looked difficult.
The skin, which had monster-like defense, did not seem easy to injure unless magical power was used.
The ogre seemed to be angry at me for dodging his attacks, and was trying to catch me somehow, snorting harshly.
I think the experience will be quite good… But it’s a bit of a shame to leave this behind.
What are your weaknesses?
If you think about it from a human perspective…
‘If it’s a soft area like the eyes, mouth, nostrils, or earlobes, wouldn’t it be possible to inflict damage even without magic power?’
It seemed worth a try.
He dodged the ogre’s fist and nimbly dug into the ogre’s body.
Then he stepped on the guy’s knee and jumped up.
My body instantly floated up to the ogre’s head. I can see its big, wide eyes.
The spear was thrust towards that place.
