Episode 186: Do Slimes Count as a Snack?
The investigation into the fairy circle created by the caterpillar monster concluded that the fairy circle was presumed to be a magic essence hotspot.
Defining a hotspot as a location with a higher concentration of magic essence compared to its surroundings, and where that state persists for a relatively long period, the investigated fairy circle perfectly fit the description.
Given the confirmation of even slimes being born there, it would be safe to declare it a hotspot without any reservations.
However, it remained unclear whether this was the case for all fairy circles, or if this particular one was an exception.
Further investigation would be necessary.
“Still, a hotspot, huh…? All we know is that the magic essence concentration is high, slimes are born, medicinal herbs grow, and monsters tend to gather.”
“Yes, Ma’am. Whether the fairy circle became a hotspot, or it became a fairy circle because it was a hotspot, is difficult to determine at this time.”
Was the caterpillar monster using some kind of ability to create a hotspot?
Or was the butterfly monster finding hotspots and laying its eggs there?
To investigate this, it would be necessary to find hotspots other than fairy circles and observe whether butterfly monsters came to them.
“Hmph. It’s an interesting topic, but I’m not sure if it’s an essential investigation… We can try it when we can mass-produce magic essence meters, though.”
“Yes, Ma’am. First, let’s rejoice that we’ve discovered an easily investigable hotspot. We will send in ground forces and enclose it as a research area.”
The decision was made to enclose an area of about 500m around the fairy circle with a fence and conduct a hotspot investigation, and instructions were given to the local strategic AI, ＜Cosmos＞.
Upon receiving the instructions, ＜Cosmos＞ immediately began preparing to transport ground forces by packing multi-legged tanks into transport aircraft.
“The enclosure should be completed within a few days. After that, we will confirm that there are no dangerous wild animals or threatening creatures, and then construct research facilities.”
“I’ve heard that hotspots can disappear in a short period of time, but are there any signs? We can’t just leave a magic essence meter there all the time, can we?”
“Yes, Ma’am. For the time being, we will have a magic essence meter drone patrol about once a day. The straight-line distance from the forward base is about 12km, so it is entirely possible. We plan to fly over a certain area, so there is a possibility of discovering magic essence anomalies such as hotspots along the route.”
It would take humans at least two days, possibly three, to travel this distance on foot. There were no paved roads, only undulating forest terrain. Naturally, there were no landmarks, so whether they could reach the site was unknown, a gamble.
And the fact that ＜The Tree＞’s air force could reach it from the sky, ignoring all that, was just unfair.
“So far, there have been no encounters with any threatening creatures in the skies above the Demon Forest. The wyverns are also more than 500km away from the territories where other individuals have been confirmed. For the time being, ＜The Tree＞ will maintain air supremacy.”
To be precise, at least the butterfly monsters had been confirmed.
However, even so, they were only about half the size of the air superiority fighters operated by ＜The Tree＞, and as far as she could tell, their flight speed was also very slow.
Alternatively, there was a possibility that giant birds, like the Roc, a representative of fantasy, lived somewhere, but Asahi predicted that they would not be in this area, which until recently was right next to the wyvern’s territory.
If the wyvern was at the top of the ecosystem, then giant flying monsters would have lost out in the struggle for survival and been eliminated.
Because it was a reasonable claim, ＜The Tree＞ forces were using aerial machinery almost without restriction over and near North End City.
Of course, they understood the nature of reacting to radio waves, so they refrained from using radar at high altitudes.
As she continued to receive such status reports…
“Ma’am. A giant creature is approaching the fairy circle under investigation.”
“Huh?”
Such a report was brought by ＜Ringo＞.
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“Estimated weight, 1,840kg. Body length, 5m. A creature resembling a boar.”
“Wow. It can really knock down trees while running, huh?”
In the video taken by the four-legged, two-armed walker (Jumper) running through the trees, the giant creature in question was running with a thud, not caring about the trees blocking its path.
Its destination was the fairy circle under investigation.
“It may be able to detect magic essence concentration. It is heading straight for the fairy circle.”
It was detecting magic essence.
If it could do that, then it must have some kind of organ, either inside or outside its body, that could detect magic essence.
In that case, it might be usable as a new magic essence meter.
“Wait, is that a monster… a threatening creature?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It is presumed to be a threatening creature called a Forest Boar. It seems that it is indeed said to be rarely sighted in hotspots.”
The Forest Boar was a high-risk monster, shared among adventurers.
Its skin was hard, and ordinary weapons could not scratch it.
Its body was covered in muscles, repelling minor blows.
No matter how much you ran, it would chase you by scent.
It had the leg strength to knock down trees, and you couldn’t escape by running.
It was an omnivore, eating everything from tree bark to humans.
“Big, fast, and strong, huh? Certainly, it’s a threat to those without power.”
“It seems that even those with some skill would be minced. It is said that it cannot be defeated unless you inflict a deep wound at once with a weapon specialized for piercing or slashing.”
“Ehh. Hmm… Could an adventurer (fantasy) do it… I wonder…?”
If it was an inhuman like the ones she had seen in the royal capital of Afrasia, such a feat as slashing it down head-on might be possible.
And she knew that there were such inhumans mixed in with the adventurers who secluded themselves in the Demon Forest every day.
“Even if you defeat it, it’s too big to dismantle, and it’s a waste of life, so it seems to be an unpopular threatening creature. When it appears on the outer edge of the forest, it can attract people, so it seems to become a festival.”
They hunt it on the outer edge and dismantle it with a large group. They seem to eat it on the spot.
“If the location is good, it seems that they sometimes transport it to the city.”
Well, such a festival only seemed to happen once every few years.
“The Forest Boar has reached the fairy circle.”
The giant boar, shaking the ground as it ran, knocked down trees and entered the fairy circle.
“…It’s targeting the slimes.”
Then, it put its nose close to the ground and began to move around, sniffing.
According to the information, threatening creatures, that is, monsters, were known to eat or crush slimes.
This was the first time she had actually recorded the situation.
“Oh, it’s eating them.”
The Forest Boar chewed up the slimes wriggling on the ground, along with the surrounding plants.
Slimes seemed to be food for threatening creatures.
“I thought I could study the slimes, but is it difficult with this?”
“If we defeat it, the research materials will increase.”
In another 10 minutes, a platoon of suppression multi-legged tanks would be airlifted in.
Six giant combat machines that were comparable in size and weight.
If it was a Forest Boar that didn’t have any special attack methods, it could be defeated without any problems. If anything, it should be possible to kill it with a single shot.
“Hmm, well, should we do it…? Can the escort fighter fire?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It is equipped with a 20mm multi-barrel machine gun. It is an armor-piercing round, so it will probably work. There is no record of it exhibiting a defensive function like that defensive membrane.”
“I hope it doesn’t become a flag…”
And so, 10 minutes later.
The Forest Boar was successfully defeated by the armor-piercing rounds fired by the escort fighter that had arrived in the sky.