Chapter 15: The First Battle
We struggled to keep up, but it was clear that Rio was the one suffering the most. As a rear guard, her stamina and agility were lower than mine. Yet, she was using her abundant magic power excessively to enhance her body, desperately clinging to our master.
“Can you please go a little easier on us…?”
I muttered breathlessly, but of course, my voice didn’t reach our master. In fact, our master had a tendency to push us to our limits, so it felt pointless to even say it.
“Stop.”
After running non-stop for about two minutes, our master spread his left arm to signal us to halt. Even for a short time, pushing ourselves through the dense forest had drained our energy.
“…Is it up ahead?”
“Haah, haah…”
I took a deep breath and checked with our master. Rio was too busy trying to catch her breath.
“Yeah, we’ll start with something weaker. It’ll be a good opportunity to test your teamwork.”
Focusing my awareness in the direction our master pointed, I could indeed sense something lurking nearby. I hadn’t realized I had acquired the Presence Detection skill until our master mentioned it, but it seemed to be functioning well.
“Alright… I’ll go.”
Confirming that the wind was at our backs, I cautiously approached the enemy.
“Oh, there’s something over there.”
Although it was still out of sight, Rio seemed to have noticed it too. We exchanged determined glances. Peering from behind the trees, I spotted a large monster grazing on the grass.
“That looks like…”
It resembled the rabbit that had attacked us on our first day in the Forest of Enchantment. However, it had sharp horns protruding from its forehead, and it appeared to have two of them. Was it also taller than us…?
“No way, you wouldn’t normally choose a higher-tier monster for revenge, right…?”
Using my appraisal skill, I examined the creature, and the name “Giant Twin-Horn Rabbit” appeared. I could only identify its name for now, but the presence of the term “Giant” indicated it was indeed a higher-tier monster. And “Twin” to boot.
“But our objective remains unchanged.”
Rio seemed even more motivated than I was.
“That rabbit that hurt Shuu deserves to be exterminated.”
There was a hint of hatred in her voice, wasn’t there?
“Easy now, stay calm…”
“I am calm!”
She replied in a low voice, keeping her gaze fixed on the rabbit.
“Oh, right… Let’s stay composed.”
“I’ll go first.”
Rio, as the rear guard, unleashed a spell to restrain the monster. Raising her staff, she concentrated her magic power at its tip… Wait, isn’t that gathering a bit too much? Is she really calm?
“Wind Cutter!”
Ten blades of wind, released in a quiet voice, surged toward the rabbit. The creature seemed to sense the danger and lifted its head, but it couldn’t evade the oncoming blades and was shredded to pieces.
“…”
I had been ready to jump in at any moment, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Still, that was gruesome. I had helped our master dismantle the monsters he hunted, but witnessing a kill up close was a different experience altogether.
But still, I needed to collect the magic stone. Confirming that there were no other presences nearby, I approached the scattered remains. Grabbing my short dagger from my waist, I began to extract the magic stone.
“Was that a bit too easy…? I thought we’d need revenge, but I might have overtrained.”
I heard our master’s words of reflection from behind, though he didn’t seem to regret it at all. I still hadn’t gotten my own revenge, though.
“Haah…”
Rio, who had been looking a bit pale, let out a deep sigh.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah… I’m fine. I avenged Shuu.”
“Oh, right.”
Not that I had been killed by the rabbit or anything. I was perfectly fine. Maybe it was better not to let Rio see the rabbit.
“There’s another one over there, so this time, you take it down, kid.”
“Eh, uh, okay.”
I focused in the direction he indicated, but I couldn’t sense anything at all. Our master’s detection range was just too vast.
“Rabbit…”
“Rio. This time, I’ll handle it.”
I soothed her as her eyes changed with determination, and I took the lead. After advancing about five hundred meters, I finally detected a presence within my range.
“I found it.”
It felt similar to the one Rio had just taken down. It was likely the same type. I decided to maintain my momentum and go for it.
Without slowing down, I actually increased my speed just before contact and closed the distance rapidly. Channeling my magic power into my right hand, I aimed an uppercut at the rabbit’s jaw, filled with the resentment of being stabbed in the palm. The rabbit’s head exploded on impact.
“Ugh…”
I couldn’t help but let out a strange sound at the horrific sight. Perhaps I had put too much force into it due to my pent-up resentment. It was a bit tricky to gauge… With our master, there was no need for restraint.
“Impressive, Shuu.”
“Indeed. Well done. It looks like we can actually eat this meat.”
In the end, it seemed the results weren’t too bad. We had managed to secure our own food, so that was a win. But since it had been too easy, I needed to be careful not to get cocky…
“Is this what our first battle looks like? Now, let’s move on to the next step.”
And thus, our first combat experience came to a close.