Kays Translations

Chapter 417: Big Ape

While teaching Fabienne how to harvest mana grass, I carefully dug up a seedling. Only one could be spared, but that was enough: with plant nutrient, we could propagate it quickly.

I would, however, have to be extremely careful with the dosage.

“This concludes the collection of mana grass.”

“Different plants require different harvesting methods. This is fascinating. Julius-sama, perhaps you should compile your methods into a book. Then people in many regions could cultivate these plants themselves.”

“That is a good idea. Cultivating them in herb gardens would also protect the forest’s natural supply.”

Perhaps I should write such a book one day. To distribute it widely, however, I would first need a printing magic tool.

“Kyuu!”

“What is it, Mira? A group of monsters is coming this way!”

At Mira’s cry, I focused on my Search skill. A group that had been moving elsewhere had suddenly changed course towards us. How had it detected us? It was still some distance away, but an encounter was inevitable.

“Julius-sama.”

“Don’t worry, Fabienne. I will protect you.”

“Julius-sama.”

“All right, save the dramatic lines for later. The monsters are coming, aren’t they? What is the plan?”

Ijidol sounded mildly sulky, perhaps because he felt excluded. That was not the case; Nero, Giles and Christopher were his comrades too.

The scouts led by Lionel returned, having evidently noticed the approaching monsters as well.

“Julius-sama, monsters are approaching. We should leave this dark part of the forest immediately.”

“I understand. But why is it necessary to leave this particular forest?”

“I once heard that when a non-monster enters one of these dark, monster-infested forests, every monster inside begins hunting it. I dismissed the report as impossible, but…”

“So, you’re saying that it turns out to be real?”

Lionel nodded apologetically. It was not his fault. I would probably have dismissed such a report too.

How could every monster detect another living creature’s presence? Did the forest transmit disturbances in the surrounding mana? Even then, the information should take time to spread, and monsters were not necessarily capable of perceiving such fluctuations.

If monsters were ordinarily that sensitive to mana, humans would be in far greater danger. Hunters would face constant surprise attacks.

“This dark forest must have some hidden mechanism. We can consider it later. For now, we have what we came for, so let’s leave before more monsters converge on us.”

We hurried back towards the brighter forest while carefully tracking the monsters’ movement. The knights remained fully alert.

The monsters continued pursuing us and would eventually catch up.

“They’re still following us. We should choose a place to stand our ground.”

“An open space would be ideal, but there is none nearby. We will form a defensive line here and engage them.”

House Mulan’s knight commander’s plan was reasonable, since we knew the attack was coming. Still, the monsters’ slow approach bothered me. Were they really Forest Wolves?

We advanced a little farther and prepared to intercept them. The trees obstructed our view, but sparse undergrowth left room to move, and the monsters had nowhere to hide at ground level.

The knights readied their weapons as the monsters approached. Yet even when they should have come into sight, nothing appeared.

Something felt wrong. A bad feeling crept over me.

“Kyuu, kyuu!”

“Mira? Above us!”

Mira pointed into the canopy. We had assumed that only Forest Wolves inhabited this forest, and that assumption had been a mistake.

Big Apes lurked among the branches. Still some distance away, they were moving through the treetops and could bypass our defensive line.

Most of the knights carried swords suited to the confined forest and had few ranged options. We had some archers and mages, but they were a minority.

I was not the only one who recognised our disadvantage; the knights were visibly shaken.

“Why are there Big Apes here? They aren’t supposed to inhabit this forest!”

“Could they have migrated from another forest? Is that why the Forest Wolves fled?”

As the knights murmured, the Big Apes rapidly closed the distance. With Fabienne clinging to my arm, magic was my only immediate option.

I needed a spell that could pursue the Big Apes through the trees at high speed.

Fire magic was impossible; it could ignite the forest. The spell needed homing ability, enough manoeuvrability to avoid branches, and sufficient power to kill in one strike.

Only lightning magic met every condition. I had never seen anyone else use it, but there was no other choice. Here goes nothing!

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