Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 23: Four Guys Monster Hunt(3)
When I got back, Hoss and Rell were holding out better than I expected.
Facing a mid-tier Gold-ranked monster with just the two of them — they were doing pretty well.
For now, they were hiding behind some rocks.
“VmoooooOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!”
The Demon Great Tusk Rhino was absolutely enraged.
The area was a disaster — shattered wall fragments, cracks splitting across the ground, debris everywhere.
Looks like it had gone on a rampage.
I made sure to stay hidden as I slipped over to Hoss and Rell behind the rocks.
“Hoss, Rell — you guys okay? Still holding up?”
“You’re late, man! But yeah, we’re still alive, somehow.”
“More or less fine. What about Agaro?”
“He’s in one piece. Actually, he came up with a little plan. Until he’s ready, it’s up to us to buy time.”
When I told them, they both gave a strained smile.
“Figures it’s one of your plans, Axe.”
“Got it. But we’re out of Shock Arrows, you know.”
“We’re deep in the red on this hunt.”
“That’s covered. Agaro let me borrow this.”
I showed them the storage pouch.
“He said we can use anything in here — relics, legendaries, whatever we need.”
“Most of it’s probably booze, knowing him. Is there anything useful?”
“He mentioned there should be some explosive arrows.”
I pictured arrows in my mind as I reached into the pouch, and when I pulled my hand out, I was holding several arrows:
three with red arrowheads, three yellow, and three… black, almost like sticks.
Rell narrowed his eyes.
“Fire arrows, lightning arrows, and explosive arrows. Nice haul.”
“Anything else in there?”
“VmoooooOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!”
Rhino let out another earth-shaking roar, and the sound of crumbling stone followed.
A wall, maybe? If so, this could be bad. Realizing that, Rell grabbed all the arrows and spoke.
“I’ll go out first. Cover me, alright?”
“Yeah, got it.”
Rell stepped out from behind the rocks.
Meanwhile, Hoss quickly reached into the pouch and pulled out two round, white stones.
“Only two Shock Stones, huh?”
When thrown, these legacy stones generate shockwaves on impact.
“VmoooooOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!”
Another roar — this time followed by a flash of lightning.
“Alright, let’s go!”
Hoss and I left our cover. Just as we did, Rell’s arrow struck the Great tus k’sweapon, sending a burst of electricity across it.
“Rell!”
He was standing atop some nearby rubble.
“Perfect timing. Only the explosive arrows left now.”
“Then hit it with all you’ve got!”
“Sure thing. I’ll aim like my eighth sister would.”
Rell drew his bow and loosed one of the black-tipped arrows.
It hit the Great tusk dead-on and exploded. Even the Rhino staggered from that one.
But it only staggered — barely. The tip of its horned blade was a little scorched, nothing more.
“That thing’s absurdly tough.”
“Yeah, but blades still seem to work.”
“You think we can cut it down? Wait… what’s it doing?”
The Great tusk Rhino had suddenly gone quiet. Too quiet.
“VmoooooOOOOOHHHHH———”
Ad
With a sharp, unnatural cry, something began to emerge from the ground.
Smaller versions of the Rhino, about the size of horses. I counted roughly ten of them.
“Summoning!?”
“Here they come!”
The little Rhinos charged at us, their horns long and thin compared to the original.
I clashed swords with the closest one.
Its horn ignited with relic energy — so it was a relic user, huh?
But that was all. I quickly cut the first one down.
“Take this!”
Hoss hurled a Shock Stone, knocking several of them off balance. He finished them off with his halberd.
From a distance, Rell’s regular arrows nailed another one right through the head.
I slashed open another’s belly, slicing through the wind magic it had wrapped around itself.
They looked intimidating, but honestly, they weren’t that dangerous.
They only had elemental relics, and they were limited to embedding them into their horns.
Given that, they were likely classified as lower-tier Silver-ranked monsters.
Even weak monsters can hit Silver rank if they can wield relics.
“VmoooooOOOOHHHH!!”
Once we’d taken out about half of them, the big one — the Great tusk Rhino — started moving again.
Compared to the small ones, this guy was on a whole different level.
Ad
Explosions, shockwaves — nothing seemed to faze it. Blades could barely scratch it.
It was likely protected by some kind of relic-based Enhancement or Hardening effect.
The little ones were a huge nuisance, and the big one was downright nightmarish.
The only thing we could do was keep dodging the big one while thinning out the little ones.
Hoss hurled the last Shock Stone, stopping the remaining two small Rhinos in their tracks.
Just as I was about to finish them off—
“VmoooooOOOOOOHHHHH!!”
The Great tusk Rhino began leaping into the air, again and again, each landing sending shockwaves through the ground.
We couldn’t move with the ground trembling like that.
One of its flying slashes zipped past us, slicing one of the small Rhinos clean in half by pure accident.
Poor bastard.
But just as I was thinking that — tragedy struck.
Rell was hit.
“RELL!!”
“RELl!?”
Hoss and I rushed over, pulling him behind cover.
Ad
“Hang in there!”
“Where’d you get hit!?”
“…Haaah… hahh… not sure…”
One of those flying slashes must’ve grazed him. Blood was seeping from his side, soaking his clothes.
It was deep — his face was turning pale.
“Wh-what do we do, Axe!? At this rate Rell’s gonna die!”
I pulled out an Extra potion from my pouch — the best healing potion there is — and poured it over his wound.
But nothing happened. It didn’t even stop the bleeding.
“Even this isn’t enough?!”
“…Hahh… hahh… if I die, tell my sisters to live free… live how they want…”
“They’re already living as freely as humanly possible! Too damn free, honestly!”
“…Heh… yeah… you’re right…”
“Hey! Rell! Don’t you dare close your eyes!”
“RELL!! Axe, isn’t there anything else? Anything at all!?”
“…Anything… besides the Extra… wait… there is something.”
Suddenly, the memory came rushing back, bright and clear.
I pulled a small vial from my pouch.
This was something I got from Wof, before we left on the hunt.
He told me to use it, without hesitation, if the worst ever happened.
“Wof… I’m going to use it.”
Without hesitation, I let a single drop from the small vial fall onto Rel’s wound.
The thick, glimmering liquid touched his injury.
And then — as if it had all been a lie — the wound vanished.
It didn’t just heal; it was erased completely, like magic.
“W-What the hell…”
“…What just happened…”
“Rell!!”
“Rell!?”
Rell slowly opened his eyes. Hoss immediately hugged him tight.
Blinking in confusion, Rel murmured:
“…What the hell…”
“Don’t scare us like that, you damn sister-obsessed elf!”
“I’m not a siscon.”
“How’s your body? You alright?”
“Yeah… strangely, I feel completely fine. More than that, I feel stronger. Hey, wait — I should’ve been dead. What happened?”
“You weren’t dead. You were on the verge, but we pulled you back.”
“That’s…”
ROOOAAAAAARRRR!!
The Great tusk Rhino let out a furious roar.
In that moment, I glanced at the vial, tucked it back into my pouch, and stood up.
“What is it, Axe?”
“What’s wrong, Axe?”
“…You know, that bastard’s really pissing me off.”
I muttered the words quietly.
The moment I heard that roar, a deep rage welled up inside me. About everything.
“Yeah… no kidding.”
“Totally.”
Hoss and Rell stood up too, both of them seething.
We were all furious.
We stepped out from behind the rocks, side by side.
And then, we charged — straight toward that monster: the Great tusk Rhino.
The monster quickly spotted us. There was still one of the smaller beasts in the way, but I sliced it down as I ran past.
ROOOAAAAAAARRR!!
The Great tusk Rhino roared at us.
“RAAAAHHHHHH!”
“OHHHHHHHH!”
“AAAAAGHHHHHH!”
We shouted back, voices full of rage, not backing down an inch. No — even louder than the beast.
Still shouting, I sprinted forward, raised my sword, and leaped.
Ad
Hoss charged in with his halberd at the ready. Rel stopped, drew his bow, and aimed.
RUMBLE
The Tusk on the monster’s forehead flickered with a sinister glow — and I was right in front of it.
“Eat this, you bastard!!”
Hoss’s full-force charge landed, his halberd striking the Rhino and causing its massive body to stagger ever so slightly.
“You’ve done enough! For Tasan’s name, I’ll finish this!”
Rell let an arrow fly. It struck the Great tusk, making it shift slightly once again.
Bit by bit, we were shifting its stance. That was enough.
I could see it now — the crack in the Great tusk. The same crack Agaro had created earlier in the fight.
“Now, Axe!”
“Go for it, Axe!”
That tiny crack was the chance they’d carved open for me.
And I wasn’t going to waste it.
“RAAAAAAGH!!”
I swung my sword down as hard as I could, striking the crack dead-on. I pushed with everything I had, channeling all my strength into the blow.
“Don’t underestimate the Lightning fang!!”
A sharp, shattering sound rang out.
ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!!
The Great Tusk Rhino let out its loudest, most desperate scream yet.
I didn’t even need to look — I knew. The Tusk, the symbol of its power, had shattered.
I’d done it. I’d finally done it.
And then — about time — I looked up at the wall.
Agaro stood there.
“Well damn — you guys actually pulled it off! Smashing that blade… I’m impressed.”
Agaro’s sword, Flame Tongue, was now burning with pitch-black flames, like wings of darkness.
“You know, I’m proud of you. So let me show you something — the real reason they call this sword ‘The Annihilation Blade.’”
The black flame wings flared out, the blade growing longer, stretching well beyond Agaro’s own height.
He leapt high into the air — and dropped.
The Great Tusk Rhino, now reduced to just another monster without its blade, was still flailing wildly.
But I’d already smashed its pride to pieces.
Agaro swung Flame Tongue.
The annihilating black flames sliced through the beast as if it were soft butter, cutting it clean in two.
That massive, invincible monster… was split apart without resistance.
So this is the power of the Annihilation Blade.
Agaro landed softly and sheathed his sword.
Turning to us, he gave a sheepish smile.
“Sorry, sorry — I actually climbed the wall pretty quick, but parts of it crumbled and I got lost. Almost wandered straight into Mistlanda.”
“Wait, that place is real?!”
Agaro picked up a fragment of the shattered Great Tusk.
“Still, you guys really pulled it off. I never thought you’d actually smash the damn thing.”
“It was all thanks to the crack you made for us.”
I handed his storage pouch back as I said it.
Agaro accepted it and pulled out a bottle of booze.
“Even so, smashing it was no small feat. Alright, once we get back, drinks are on me!”
“Hell yeah, let’s hit Cidre Tavern!”
“Cidre Tavern it is!”
“Only Cidre Tavern, right?”
“Agreed. Cidre Tavern.”
Well, it was our usual spot — the one we hit most often in Hydrangea.
“Alright, let’s head back. Oh — take a piece of the Great Tusk as a reward. It’ll make fine material.”
“Plus it’s technically a proof of kill, right?”
“True, though it’s pretty much shattered to bits.”
“…Right. Sorry about breaking it.”
I apologized without thinking.
Agaro laughed, taking a swig of his drink.
“Gahaha! Don’t worry about it. The biggest shard should be enough.”
“You think so?”
“Who knows.”
“That easy-going attitude of yours… you’re just like my third sister, the one who once said it didn’t matter whether the soup was gourmet or made from rotten meat.”
“You calling someone else easy-going is pretty rich, coming from you.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
And so, we left the Mazan Mountain Range behind.
Later.
In Hydrangea, at the Cider Inn.
“Wof, thanks for everything.”
I said that and placed the small vial on the table.
Wof lifted his face slightly from his heaping plate of buttered rice, noticing that the vial had been used up.
“So, you used it.”
“Yeah. Thanks to it, Rell was saved.”
“Rell-san… did something happen?”
“He nearly died. But the contents of that vial you gave me saved him.”
“…I’m really glad to hear that.”
“Wof, I won’t ask what that stuff was. You saved him. Hoss won’t ask either. We’ve kept it from Rell too.”
It pained me to keep it secret from Rell.
But if the liquid that saved him was what I suspected, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him.
“…I’m sorry.”
Wof looked genuinely apologetic. I gave him a smile.
“It’s fine. Come on, eat. Get another helping if you want.”
“Thank you.”
And once Wof had finished off his big plate, I placed a white shard on the table.
“Wof. I want you to take this.”
It was a fragment of the Great Tusk Blade, which had belonged to the Great Tusk Rhino.
Wof’s eyes widened.
“Is this, by any chance…?”
“Yeah, a shard of the Great Tusk Blade. Take it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Because of you, Rell was saved. And you’ve helped us out in many other ways too.”
Meeting Wof had shaped who we were now. I couldn’t thank him enough.
“Thank you. But… what should I use it for? Maybe a knife?”
“How about making some armor? You don’t have any, do you?”
“No… I’ve thought about it, but it’s a bit too heavy for me.”
“Yeah, at your age, even leather armor can be a burden.”
“Exactly. I do want armor, though.”
“In that case, how about some gauntlets?”
“…Gauntlets?”
“Agaro said this material could make light but sturdy gauntlets.”
“Gauntlets… but I don’t know any blacksmiths.”
“Ah, right. The ones I know only work with explorers.”
“I see…”
“Ask my sister.”
Agaro suddenly chimed in from the side.
When I looked over, I saw a man passed out drunk at his table. Looks like Agaro had won again and wandered over here. They say he only ever loses to Megadia the Black Swallow. The fact that Megadia beat him is impressive.
“Alifa-san, you mean?”
“If it’s my sister, she’ll know someone who can turn that into gauntlets.”
“Understood. I’ll ask her.”
“By the way, Wof — how’s that knife treating you?”
“It’s great. Really easy to use, and super helpful.”
“I see. Take good care of it.”
“I will!”
“Well then, I’m off.”
“Thanks for everything!”
Agaro staggered out of the tavern.
I couldn’t help but smile to myself.
“If only he could stay away from the drink…”
“Axe-san.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Tell me about what happened in the Mazan Mountain Range!”
Wof’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he asked.
I chuckled, and began telling him the whole story.