Chapter 245
The Itch
Translator : PolterGlast
After successfully subjugating the Rock Tortoise, we
finished the harvesting and decided to head back to the inn. Even though it was
the lower floors, we had gone through a dungeon capture and then a Rock
Tortoise hunt on top of that. As expected, even Ginia and Aoi
seemed tired and retired to their rooms immediately.
I'll leave the various reports for tomorrow... for now, I'm
going to head out for one more job. The reason for specifically moving at night
is partly because there's a wanted monster nearby that only appears then... but
the biggest factor was that seeing Gree's struggle and Ginia and Aoi's
battle made me start to itch. Lately, I've mostly been acting as support, and
I'm in the mood to fight to my heart's content for the first time in a while.
While checking the wanted poster and doing some light
stretches, I headed at full speed toward the location of the monster sightings.
My target this time is a monster named 「Curse Mystery」, a mysterious existence only spotted at night and only by a
handful of people. Since everyone who saw it witnessed people being attacked,
it is ranked at 4-Stars (☆4) despite being shrouded in mystery.
It's a monster whose very existence is questionable, but the
sightings are near the Dungeon City, and the wanted poster noted that
the number of missing persons has been increasing in recent years. The
connection is unknown, but if it truly exists, there's no doubt it's extremely
dangerous. Organizing the information, I arrived at the place with the most
sightings.
It was a wide, well-paved road with good visibility. Right
now, there was neither light nor a sign of any person, but it's a place that
likely has many users during the day. I wonder if the Curse Mystery will
really appear here. For now, far from a strong presence, there isn't even a
sign of a living creature.
I hid and waited for about two hours for some movement. Just
as I was waging a fierce battle against a powerful wave of drowsiness due to
sheer boredom—it appeared abruptly. A strong presence that emerged without a
sound, as if it had simply sprung out of nowhere.
A humanoid monster wearing a large cloak... no, those aren't
a cloak, they're wings. It was slowly scouting the surroundings while flapping
large, bat-like wings. Fortunately, it hasn't noticed my presence since I've
been hiding and watching.
Now, what to do from here? If there are missing persons, I'd
like to follow it and find its stronghold. The possibility of survivors is
infinitesimally low, but even just finding personal effects would make a big
difference. However, it might vanish just as suddenly as it appeared. Finishing
it off is the top priority, so is launching a surprise attack the correct
answer?
After agonizing over what to do while hiding, I decided to
tail it. That being said, I won't just let it roam free; the plan is to fight
it here, inflict a fatal wound, and then track the Curse Mystery after
it flees. Once decided, I stopped hiding and revealed myself boldly.
The Curse Mystery seemed startled for a moment by my
sudden appearance, but it immediately approached as if to say it had found its
prey. Whether it was floating or not, it closed in as if sliding, without its
body swaying at all. It's a monster with many striking peculiarities, and judging
by the strength of its presence, there's no doubt it's a considerably
formidable enemy.
First, partly to feel it out, I decided to try attacking
with a flying slash. It didn't react to the flying slash at all, continuing to
approach straight ahead. And then it took the slash directly, but it showed no
sign of taking damage and kept closing in with the same momentum.
To my eyes, the moment the slash hit, the Curse Mystery's
very existence seemed to waver for an instant. I had a vague hunch because of
how it appeared and its airy presence, but it's likely similar to the goblin
that was with the Crimsonroid. The main body is elsewhere, and this
thing itself is a double or something of the sort. Given the feel of its
presence and its movements, unlike the goblin from back then, it's highly
likely the main body has almost the same form as this one, though.
Anyway, now that I know it's a clone, further combat is
meaningless. I focused on finding the main body while ignoring the attacking
clone... but I couldn't find a presence nearby. Is it erasing its presence, or
is it so far away that I can't detect it? If it's a true clone and not just
being controlled, it's troublesome that there's a real possibility it's far
away.
While clicking my tongue inwardly, I decided to erase the
clone. I've only been attacked a few times, but by seeing the attacks directly,
I've already formulated a plan to defeat it. This clone is basically ethereal
like a ghost, but a physical form appears only at the moment it attacks. Therefore,
I'll aim for that split-second opening when it launches an attack and hammer in
a blow of my own.
It's a situation where the counter I've been drilling into Sonia
and Zola is effective, and since I've been talking so big, I can't allow
myself even a single failure. Well, since I'm the only one here, it wouldn't
really be a problem if I failed, but this is a matter of my own feelings. I put
unnecessary pressure on myself, but I won't miss against an opponent with this
level of attack speed.
I deliberately created an opening, and against the Curse
Mystery that fell for it and attacked, I hammered in my fist with perfect
timing. A low, gravelly voice escaped the Curse Mystery, which hadn't
expected to be hit, and at the same time, I followed up by chanting the magic 「Purifying Fire」.
The Curse Mystery, which began to burn slowly from its abdomen, let out a death-throe scream and burned away into the pitch-black night sky while still hovering. With this, the subjugation of the clone is complete. And—the direction the clone desperately tried to flee while burning was North. Since it was likely unconscious, there's a high possibility it was trying to flee toward where the main body is. I suppose I'll head further North to search and go subjugate the main body of the Curse Mystery.
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