Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 74
There’s something bothering me about this mission.
It’s the fact that the target “foothills of the mountain range” are located close to the border with Golda.
Thinking about it, it’s not like the Scorched Earth Gorge is the only passage between the two countries.
That gorge continues into a treacherous mountain range dividing the nations, and it’s said there are some accessible mountain paths or checkpoint-like areas along the way.
It’s possible that my former classmates who infiltrated Golda may have used such a route.
“Everyone, move forward with my unit in the center—fan out to the left and right. The rear-guard will be handled by the party with the magician.”
“““Understood!!”””
Voices responding to my command echoed through the forest.
This is necessary both for intimidation and to assert our presence.
“This incident probably stems from the numerous recent sightings of mysterious monsters in the mountains near Lindblum. I believe it’s a large-scale migration of monsters caused by a disrupted ecosystem. I also suspect the displaced animals play a role.”
“I see. So, Captain, you don’t think this mission is just a simple sweep to prevent monster overflow?”
The one responding was the female archer in my unit—Nemuri.
Despite her sleepy-sounding name, her eyes are sharp and she replies in a crisp, clear voice.
“Likely there was territorial conflict between the native monsters and the newcomers. That would’ve led to competition over food and, eventually, fighting to the death…”
“…And the monsters would gain power by absorbing one another, right? Like monster mutation or strengthening in dungeons.”
This time the reply came from a young man leaping between tree branches, keeping a lookout.
He looked to be a teenager, possibly second in youth only to Melt.
His name was Baskar—very nimble, almost acrobat-like, much like Melt herself.
“That’s likely. I’ve heard that large animals with a lot of meat have fled into this area too. They’ve probably been well-fed and grown bigger.”
“Huh!? There are big animals? Can I hunt one?”
“…If it’s on the way back.”
“Yay!”
Melt was guarding the rear, observing our surroundings and keeping an eye on the other parties.
If I may say so, the formation is solid. But the problem lies with the other parties.
Due to shortages, some don’t have proper support from the rear.
As I once heard while acting as Sheele, support classes are currently lacking in numbers.
That’s why we placed magicians in the rear—they could at least use magic to keep monsters at bay, even if it means burning down the forest.
Here, magicians aren’t counted as support units—they’re “area destruction weapons.”
“We’re nearing the mountain base. If you notice anything strange, shout immediately.”
“Roger! I’ll move up into the trees.”
“Ah! Then I’ll go too!”
Everyone but me climbed into the trees.
That’s actually intentional—so they don’t get caught up in my attacks.
“Everyone, listen up! We’re close to where the monsters have been appearing! If you spot anything, shout immediately! These things won’t run—they’ll attack! Be ready! We’re veterans, not rookies—let’s show them that!”
“““Ooooh!”””
Fighting over food, and killing to grow stronger—
It wouldn’t be strange at all if these monsters now considered humans as part of their prey.
“You’re only allowed to assist another party if it’s the neighboring unit! No helping parties farther out! Don’t stray too far from your position!”
“““Understood!”””
Everyone was following instructions well.
At first, they were wary, even skeptical of me, but they’re seasoned adventurers of Jade Rank.
They’re sharp when it comes to recognizing strength—both the guild’s judgment and what they can feel firsthand.
“…Nemuri, did you see it?”
“…Yes, Captain.”
At that moment, I could see something moving through the gaps in the forest trees.
“Nemuri, how many?”
“…I can’t get an accurate count from here.”
“Maybe two? Looks like male owl-bears in mating colors. The males guard the area until the female lays eggs—they’ll stay put and attack anything nearby.”
“Wow, Melt-san, you know your stuff!”
“Indeed… good insight. But something seems off, doesn’t it? The coloration—it’s way too widespread for standard mating colors.”
Baskar raised a counterpoint to Melt’s theory.
Indeed… I saw it too—a huge bear-like figure with greenish-brown fur… no, too big.
And its “arms” looked more like wings—bright, vivid crimson wings, not greenish-brown.
“You’re right… not just the wingtips—the entire wing is red…”
“I hate to say it, but… this could be one of those powerful dungeon-born monsters… a ‘mutant boss-type.’”
“Baskar, explain in detail.”
“Yes. Like I mentioned earlier, in dungeons, monsters grow by fighting each other. The strongest end up migrating into deeper, magic-rich rooms, growing stronger still, and wait there for adventurers. These become floor bosses—challenges for those delving deeper.”
I see. So… this is basically a wild floor boss.
Which means it’s a monster born from the mass death of its own kind.
“Ah—makes sense! I did hunt all the strong ones after all!”
…Wait. What did she just say?
Melt-san, having lived in a dungeon… don’t tell me you were the floor boss!?
“If this occurred naturally, it’s dangerous. Dungeon monsters don’t reproduce… but if they’re acting as a pair, like Melt said…”
“Then we’re looking at the birth of a powerful mutated species.”
Yeah. We have to kill it immediately.
“I’m going to give a loud shout so all parties can hear. I’ll act as the decoy. The rest of you, keep an eye on adjacent parties. I’ll be fine on my own.”
“…Understood.”
“Got it!”
“That thing’s boss-tier, you know…?”
“I’ll manage. I could probably take down a dungeon’s final boss too.”
Cracking a joke, I took a deep breath to yell.
“ALL UNITS HEAR THIS!!! Target is a variant OWLBEAR! It’s TWICE my size!! We’ve confirmed it’s an extremely powerful individual!! Teams of four to eight—merge with adjacent units and attack!! Multiple individuals likely present!!”
If they’re a pair, that means at least two. If there are more pairs…
I doubt all other monsters were killed except those two.
Especially given how widespread the sightings and damage reports were.
We even split into two forces just to cover the area. That means this is definitely—
“VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
At that moment, a blood-curdling roar ripped through the air, drowning out my warning.
A savage scream, so powerful it could make lesser creatures cower in fear.
“So… it noticed us.”
The momentum was incredible. As it swung its arms, a membrane like wings spread between its torso and arms, like a flying squirrel.
It wasn’t gliding, but instead charging forward with overwhelming force, wildly flailing its arms and plowing through trees as it approached.
“…I feel like I’ve seen this before.”
The monster rushing toward us—I had seen one like it once.
It was during my journey through the Great Forest of Dreams, as Silent.
Back then, my classmates had been fighting a similar type of monster.
That must have been a standard Owlbear.
“This is a test of strength, huh?! Bring it on!”
Through my posture, my actions, my fighting style—I rally the others.
Even if temporary, I’m the commander now.
The Owlbear variant raised both its arms to deliver a hammering blow like a sledgehammer.
I lowered my stance, aiming to intercept that brutal attack—
“HRAAAAH—ORA!!!”
I drove my right fist upward in a powerful uppercut.
Meeting its descending hammer blow—like an Arm Hammer—with my own rising strike.
The shock ran through my fist, bending my elbow, jolting my shoulder, numbing my spine, and making the ground beneath me cave in.
The air pressure from the monster’s strike buffeted my face.
Our attacks—my uppercut and its double-arm slam—clashed with near-equal force.
“Not bad, big guy!”
I pushed back. My muscles throbbed.
My elbow screamed from the force I’d put into the punch.
Even so, I raised my fist high, flinging the monster’s body and attack backward.
“Now! Loose your arrows!”
“Yes, sir!”
From above, arrows shot down toward the off-balance monster’s face.
It would’ve been best to hit the eyes, but the monster’s long facial fur seemed to have blocked them.
Still, the follow-up attack stunned the monster further, exposing even more openings.
I dashed forward and slammed my greatsword—slung on my back—into the staggered beast.
“End it here.”
I braced my right leg, pouring all my strength into my thigh to anchor myself.
Then, pushing off with my left leg, I twisted my hips and delivered a powerful horizontal slash with my greatsword.
I felt the solid impact as the blade struck flesh and bone, cutting through both with force.
“Voooah—”
“Shut up.”
Before it could let out a death cry, I smashed its face with my fist, crushing what looked like a beak—or a mouth.
…I couldn’t risk letting out a death roar. It could signal others of its kind.
“Stay alert. If it had a mate, she’s nearby. What’s the situation around us?”
“Y-Yes! Two units over, to the left—we heard sounds of combat!”
“Got it. Melt, go with Nemuri and link up with the left-side party. If they merge further left, they’ll be thin—help them. Nemuri, do what you did before: focus on distracting the enemy.”
“Understood!”
“On it!”
“Baskar, you’re with me. We’ll search this area for the mate. If another party’s already fighting it, we’ll assist as needed.”
“Roger that!”
That monster just now—while smaller than the modified creature I fought at the caldera lake in the eastern mountains—it was clearly stronger.
Its flesh, its muscles… the force it exerted strained Silent’s body.
Sure, if all I had to do was kill it, it wouldn’t be too hard—but it was without a doubt a powerful specimen.
“Amazing… That was incredible, Captain. Even in the dungeon, I’ve never seen a ‘Crimson Bear’ grown that much. And you took it down like it was nothing…”
“Not quite. I did hurt my right arm a little. Thing had monstrous strength.”
“You call that ‘a little’?! You’re nuts. Why didn’t you just use your sword from the start?”
“Because I’m basically our banner. If I act brave, reckless, crush the enemy with ease, and do the impossible—that raises morale. The other parties saw that, right? They were nervous about how serious and dangerous this mission was. I needed to fire them up.”
The exhilaration of the battlefield.
Sometimes you need to go a little blood-crazed.
Silent’s memories and experience whispered that to me.
That’s the way of a mercenary—a warrior who’s crossed many battlefields.
And thanks to that, I felt just a bit braver.
“Any sign of the mate? The female?”
“Not yet. But original Owlbears usually break branches to make their nests. If we can find an area where the trees are broken, tracking them should be easy.”
“I see. You’re pretty sharp—bet you’re highly valued in a party. You’re with the Explorer’s Guild?”
“Ah, yes. But the only ones who’ve said that to me are you and my current clan leader.”
“Tch. What a waste. If I were forming a clan, I’d assign someone like you to every party. Of course, I’d also weigh their personal combat skill.”
“Haha… Oh—Captain, there’s a section of the forest that’s been disturbed.”
While chatting lightly with Baskar, we came upon an unnaturally open area where the trees of the forest had been snapped and broken.
If this wasn’t caused by battle in the vicinity…
“There’s a nest here. But I don’t see the female.”
“I see. There was mention that one of the parties was currently engaged in battle. Could that be with the female?”
“It’s possible. However…”
Baskar approached the nest and began inspecting it.
“…It may be worse than we imagined. Inside the nest, there’s this.”
Baskar pulled from the nest a large, cracked eggshell—and along with it, equipment that likely belonged to a human.
What that meant was—
“…So the chick already hatched… and was fed a human adventurer or mercenary as food?”
“Yes. Judging by how dry the eggshell is, some time has passed since it hatched.”
“…If both the male and female are mutated floor boss–level creatures, what does that mean for their offspring?”
Wouldn’t it become a true war-bred monster, a creature purely evolved for battle?
“The fact that the chick was fed human warriors is what’s really concerning. The hatchling is already a powerful subspecies with high growth potential. If it’s been raised on experienced human prey… it might gain not just strength, but intelligence as well.”
“Could end up even more dangerous than the parents.”
It’s already here.
There is a creature—stronger than the one I just fought—roaming this forest.
That truth weighs heavily.
I might not lose, but someone else might.
Such a threat is now wandering through the deep woods.
“Baskar, scout freely around the area. If you find anything, shout as loud as you can. Or if you’ve got any tools that could act as a signal, use one.”
“Ah, in that case, I do have a powder bomb. It makes a loud bang and releases a fine dust—it works like a smoke signal.”
“Perfect. If anything happens, toss that in the air.”
“Understood. What about you, Captain?”
“I’m going to search for any parties nearby that might be under attack and go assist them. Most likely, it’ll be in the left wing—where Melt and Nemuri went. Check out that area. If you encounter a mutated variant—especially a strong one—use the signal.”
“Got it! Good luck out there!”
After seeing Baskar off, I sprinted at full speed toward the right flank, where I heard the sounds of battle from another party already in engagement.