Kays Translations

Chapter 169: It’s the second day of development

The task remains the same.

Rest, leaving behind Viola and Primula, headed to the center of the plains with the same party as the day before.

They simply followed the same route they had taken once before. They arrived much faster than they had on the first day.

“This is…!”

However, Rest and his companions quickly came to a halt.

Before them lay the same scene as yesterday.

The same scene… in other words, the vegetation had grown abnormally, turning the plains into something resembling a forest.

“The grass we burned yesterday… it’s back to how it was… in just one night?”

Yes, the grass Rest had burned with magic had grown back to human height.

Even for fast-growing weeds, this was clearly abnormal.

“This is what they call a ‘monster wasteland,’ huh… outrageous.”

Rest sighed.

Behind him, Lubase and Isis stared at the overgrown vegetation with grim expressions, while Yuri gleefully tore at the grass.

“What do you intend to do, Count Clover?”

Argyle, the knight, asked with a sigh.

“At this rate, we won’t be able to fulfill Prince Andrew’s orders. With all this overgrowth, it’ll hinder both the investigation and the extermination of the monsters.”

Argyle was right.

Their orders were to investigate the center of the plains and eliminate monsters. But with this much vegetation, visibility was poor, and neither the terrain nor the monsters could be seen clearly.

“We’ll have to report this to the prince… but it looks like we’ll need to take an extra step.”

“Can we even handle this? It seems like more trouble than we thought.”

Lubase drew his sword and cut down the mass of weeds.

From the cut stems, golden particles of magic power spilled out.

“Look at this. The part I cut is already starting to regenerate. It’ll be back to normal in a few hours.”

Lubase frowned as he stared down at the weeds he had cut. The severed grass, although at a pace too slow to notice, had already begun to heal.

Even if they burned it again, as they had yesterday, any roots left in the ground would likely allow it to regrow.

“We can’t do anything until we set up a barrier and drain the magic from the dragon vein.”

The cause of the abnormal growth was the vast amount of magic power erupting from the dragon vein. The only way to suppress it was to set up a special barrier to drain the magic.

On the other hand, once the barrier was in place, the land would likely flourish into a city free from plagues and disasters.

“Well, long-term, that’s true… but there’s a short-term solution too.”

Rest raised his hand toward the dense weeds and cast a spell.

“Firestorm.”

A raging flame swept over the weeds, burning them all to ash and leaving a bare patch of land.

This was the same as the previous day. The trick would come next.

“Hardening.”

He then cast another spell aimed at the ground.

The soil hardened like pottery.

“Oh, it’s solid now!”

“So you hardened the ground to keep the grass from growing back?”

Yuri stomped the ground repeatedly in amazement, while Isis looked impressed.

There were likely still weed roots left in the ground, but by hardening it this much, they wouldn’t be able to sprout.

“That said… we can’t underestimate the vitality of plants. Let’s add a final touch.”

Rest cast another spell.

This time, it was a spell called “Stone Wall,” which created literal walls of stone.

He toppled the stone walls over the ground, paving the area.

Weeds are resilient enough to sometimes break through asphalt, but after this much effort, they shouldn’t be able to grow back.

“This should keep the weeds from coming back… but are you sure about your magic power?”

It was Rail, the priest, who had been at the back of the group, speaking up timidly. Rail hadn’t had many chances to shine in this party, often blending into the background.

“Count Clover, you showed us yesterday how vast your magic reserves are… but if you keep using magic like this, won’t you eventually run out?”

“Ah… well, it should be fine. I’ll just keep at it.”

Rest gave a vague response.

He had infinite magic reserves, so it wasn’t an issue at all.

“Don’t worry about my magic reserves. But since I’ll need to focus on this task, I’d appreciate it if the rest of you kept an eye out for monsters. I won’t have the capacity to handle both.”

“Well, if that’s what Count Clover says.”

Rail withdrew.

Rest was the leader of the party and a count. Though Rail voiced his opinion, he didn’t intend to defy him.

“No monsters will get past Rest. You can count on that.”

“The vegetation might grow back, but the dead monsters won’t revive. It should be easier than yesterday.”

Yuri confidently puffed out her chest, while Isis kept watch for monsters emerging from the thick vegetation.

“Hmph…”

Lubase shrugged, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Argyle and Rail stood a little apart from the younger members, keeping watch on the surroundings.

“Alright, let’s get to it.”

After confirming everyone was in position, Rest burned the weeds again.

It took longer due to the extra steps involved, but as Isis had pointed out, there were fewer monsters than yesterday.

Though the process was slow, they steadily made progress in their effort to clear the monster wasteland.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter