**Chapter 106: Sniping the Monsters**
Time rewinds slightly. After parting ways with Yuglut, the captain of the rescue team, Rest was busy exterminating the monsters on the plains with his sniping skills.
“**Stone Bullet!**”
The magic Rest unleashed soared through the air with great force, piercing through a monster several hundred meters away. The creature, located about five hundred meters from him, was struck in the head and collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Under normal circumstances, this spell wouldn’t possess such power or range. However, Rest had used **Compression** magic to harden the stone he created, shaping it into a long, slender cone. By launching it with **Accelerator** magic, he was able to achieve a significantly higher power and range than usual.
Though he lacked a telescopic sight, he compensated for it with **Life Search** magic. The more magical energy he infused into it, the wider the detection range could be. Rest’s magical capacity was infinite; if he desired, he could extend the detection range to ten kilometers or even a hundred. However, if he expanded it too much, the influx of information could overwhelm his brain circuits, potentially leading to a catastrophic overload. Thus, Rest chose to widen his search radius to about one kilometer, intentionally lowering the precision of the information to prevent his mind from frying.
(**Life Search** can detect not only the presence of humans and monsters but also insects, small animals, and even plants. If he wanted, he could discern whether the source was an acquaintance, their gender, age, and even their magical power. However, this time, he deliberately limited his targets to humans and monsters, restricting the information he gathered to their positions and sizes. This way, he could manage to endure even if he expanded his detection beyond one kilometer…)
Once he grasped the positions of the humans and monsters, all that was left was to cast his spells. He carefully targeted the monsters while avoiding the humans, reducing the number of creatures surging from the depths of the plains. Naturally, his priority was to eliminate the monsters attacking the students. He sniped down ten, twenty… over a hundred monsters.
“Alright… that should wrap up the first wave.”
Rest let out a sigh, his shoulders relaxing. His magical energy remained untouched, but the delicate nature of the task had worn on his mental fortitude, leaving his brain fatigued. He pulled out a honey candy he had brought as a snack and popped it into his mouth, replenishing his brain with sugar.
(The cause of the Stampede is unknown… but eventually, a second wave will come. What could have triggered their emergence in the first place?)
Normally, monsters that resided deep in the plains wouldn’t venture out to the outskirts. This was an unprecedented situation, indicating that something significant must have occurred.
(If I extend my detection range further… perhaps I could catch a hint of the cause…?)
Rest decided to take a chance. Currently, he could search within a radius of one kilometer centered on himself. Beyond that, even if he narrowed the information, the burden on his brain would become too great.
(But… finding a solution is what creativity is all about.)
Taking a slow breath, Rest extended his right hand forward. Then… he began to narrow the range of **Life Search** magic, which typically spread out in a circular pattern around him. Instead, he shrank it while elongating it forward. He maintained the same area of detection but stretched the range ahead of him.
(With this method, I should be able to investigate the depths of the plains without overloading my brain. Now, what will I find…!?)
As he delved into the depths of the plains with his extended magical reach, Rest was suddenly struck by an unexpected, immense presence that made his eyes widen. About five kilometers from where he stood, there was an incredibly powerful monster’s aura. Even with the reduced precision of **Life Search**, he could sense the overwhelming pressure, causing the monsters in the depths to flee toward him.
“Could that be… the Lord of the Demon Territory!?”
In the lair known as the Demon Territory, there exists a ‘Lord’ that has accumulated power over the years. Typically, this Lord remains stationary at the center of the territory, but perhaps someone had provoked that being, luring it out into the open.
(If that thing emerges, the damage could be catastrophic…!)
At the entrance of the plains, there was a tent set up by the administration. Inside were faculty members, rescue team staff, and guards for the guests, but whether they could stop this monster was uncertain.
(I won’t let such a creature near Viola and Primula…!)
Even Rest thought it reckless, but he had no choice. He could not allow those he had finally come to consider family to be put in danger. Fear coursed through him; the enemy was undoubtedly a being of overwhelming superiority that he had never faced before. Yet… the fear of losing someone precious outweighed all else.
“…I’ll fight.”
Rest steeled himself. Aware of the danger, he kicked off the ground and sprinted toward the depths of the plains, ready to confront the presence he believed to be the Lord of the Demon Territory… the **Subnock**.