Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 329: The Black One in the Depths of the Forest
After their break, Rest and Urla walked for about another hour through the forest until they reached an open area deep inside.
“Is this… a clearing?”
In this one spot, the trees had been cut down and the grass trimmed, making it look like a man-made plaza.
Tree stumps were arranged in a circle, almost like a meeting place.
“This is clearly artificial… Urla, do you know anything about it?”
“The black one.”
“The black one…?”
“The black one is here.”
“What are you—!?”
Rest frowned at her vague answer—then a sudden chill crawled up his spine.
“This…!”
His Presence Detection magic detected… nothing.
Yet his skin prickled with an uncanny sensation, warning him of something amiss.
It was a bizarre contradiction—his senses screamed that something was lurking, but magic couldn’t detect it properly.
He could feel something hidden among the thick trees, yet in his magic perception, its presence was slippery, hazy, and unpleasant.
“Could this be… ‘Presence Killer’ magic!?”
His magic teacher, Dibble, had once told him about it—
a method to disrupt Presence Detection and slip past it entirely.
A secret technique mastered only by a rare few—such as elite covert operatives—using methods like:
casting a small barrier only around their own body,
coating clothes or skin in special anti-magic substances,
or other tricks known only to those trained in the art.
“Urla, get back…!”
Rest cast a barrier spell—
a defensive wall that would block physical attacks even if he couldn’t sense the enemy.
With maximum caution, he prepared to confront whatever was hiding nearby.
“It’s fine. No danger.”
But Urla tugged on his sleeve and shook her head.
“Urla…?”
“Not enemy.”
Not an enemy?
Urla stepped in front of him and called out toward the forest.
“Master.”
‘Affirmative.’
“Servant.”
‘Affirmative.’
“Okay.”
‘Affirmative.’
A short reply came from the forest each time, in a voice low and indistinct—neither clearly male nor female.
It felt like they were exchanging some kind of passphrase, which only deepened Rest’s confusion.
“Diamond Bear.”
‘Affirmative.’
With that final exchange, the strange presence—so sharp it made his skin crawl—vanished.
“Urla… explain. What was that just now?”
“The black one.”
“You mean… that thing from earlier?”
It had spoken, so it was clearly human, not a monster.
“So the ‘black one’ in this forest… is actually a human?”
“Here.”
“…!?”
He had no time to ask “what’s here?”—
a new, powerful presence came rushing toward them.
“GRUAAAAAAA!!”
Smashing through trees came a massive beast, about three meters tall—
a giant bear, its fur glittering like crystal.
“That’s the Diamond Bear…!”
He instantly fired a spell—
a wind blade slashed toward the giant bear, but its crystal-like fur deflected the attack completely.
“Hard…!”
“GRAAAAAAAAA!!”
“Tch…!”
“Mm.”
Rest grabbed Urla and kicked off the ground, using magic to soar into the air, escaping the bear’s charge.
“This thing’s stronger than I thought…!”
He followed up with Ice Bolt, a mid-tier offensive spell, striking the Diamond Bear’s body.
“Grah!”
“What—!? It blocked that too!?”
The bear shook off the ice with a sweep of its thick arm, showing no sign of injury.
“So… that fur has high magic resistance…?”
Just like dragon scales, some monsters’ hides or scales could drastically reduce magic’s power.
The Diamond Bear’s crystal-like coat must work the same way.
“Hff…”
A breath escaped Urla’s lips from within his arms.
“Are you okay, Urla?”
“Mm… more…”
Her face was flushed, eyes half-lidded and moist, almost as if she were intoxicated.
“More what… Never mind, we need to deal with this thing.”
“Graa! Grrraaah!!”
The Diamond Bear roared and tore at nearby trees, glaring up at Rest in the air.
“If I only wanted to kill it, that wouldn’t be too hard… but I can’t just burn down the forest.”
Powerful magic would devastate the surroundings, and destroying the forest over one bear wasn’t an option.
“In that case… sorry, but I’ll use this method.”
Rest conjured a sphere of water in his palm, pouring magic into it until it grew massive.
“Go!”
“Grugh!?”
The sphere engulfed the Diamond Bear.
It thrashed, trying to tear the water away, but it clung stubbornly to its body.
“Finisher.”
Landing on the ground, Rest cast Earth Control.
The soil rose up around the water-trapped bear, forming a dome that sealed it inside.
“Sorry… but just drown.”
Even with the hardest fur, without air it would eventually die—
a fate no living thing could escape.
The bear struggled inside the dome for a while, but soon fell still.
A check with Presence Detection confirmed the Diamond Bear was dead.
“It’s over.”
“Haa…”
In his arms, Urla let out another heated breath as he calmly declared victory.