The Forel Forest, located east of the capital, is a forest dungeon inhabited by a large number of plant monsters.
Strictly speaking, it is a monster habitat and not a 'dungeon' like a cave, but it is treated as a dungeon in the game.
“Yaaaaaaaa, desu~no!”
“Kishaaaaaaaaah!”
Urza slams her kanabō against the tree-shaped monster that is attacking her.
The monster, a 'man-eat-tree', is smashed into two pieces with its trunk broken in half in the middle.
“She's as powerful as ever. I don't know where such power comes from in that small body.”
“Kishaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Goshujin-sama? It's headed your way!”
“I'm on it!”
I slashes at the man-eat-tree that attacked me from the other side. In the same time, I activate the skill I had learned before -- 'Magic Sword'.
“Gaaaaaaaaaahh!?”
The man-eat-tree immediately enveloped in black flames. This is the effect of the magic 'Hell Flare' contained in the sword.
For the note, 'Magic Sword' is a skill that could be acquired by raising the proficiency level of both magic sword and swordsmanship to 40 or more. It is a very powerful skill that can inflict both physical and magical damage because it can apply the acquired magic to weapon.
“Still, it consumes a lot of magic power, so I can't use it repeatedly... but it's more than twice as powerful. This is the realm of the [Rune Knight], isn't it!”
“Gui, yiiiiiiiii...”
Man-eat-tree crumbles helplessly under the damage of the fire and dark dual magic. It vanishes, leaving behind the drop items.
However, maybe hearing the screams of this monster, some beetle-shaped monsters more than one meter in height appear from the depths of the forest. And not just one or two of them. There were more than ten of them.
“If this is a game, there won't be so many monsters at once... Aeris!”
“Yes! Holy field!
Aeris activates her special barrier magic.
It creates an invisible wall that blocks the path of the swarms of insects crawling toward us.
This magic can prevent monsters from approaching for a certain period of time. Although it is only effective against weak monsters, it is perfect for the situation we are in.
“The rain of malice from the heavens. Tears of the evil god...”
After confirming that the enemy is stopped by the barrier, I start chanting magic.
In order for powerful magic to work, it takes a long time to chant. During that time, I'm completely defenseless, but it doesn't matter as long as there's a barrier.
“Urza, get back!”
“Yes, desu~no!”
I order immediately as soon as the chanting is over. And Urza, who had been smashing another man-eat-tree, retreats as ordered.
“Dark magic - Blood Rain!”
The effect of the barrier expired, and the swarm of beetles tried to move toward us, but a bright red rain started to fall from above their heads.
The blood-colored rain was actually a strong acid. It peels off the hard armor of the beetles, and their exposed bodies burn and sore. The beetles flail about in the rain, scratching furiously, but eventually they all stop moving together.
I sigh as the beetles disappear, leaving behind their drop items.
“Looks like it's over. That's comforting.”
“Zenon-sama, it's for you.”
Aeris offered me the mana potion in her hand.
I take it without hesitation and pour it down my throat. It tastes as refreshing as soda and restores my depleted magical power.
“They are not strong monsters by any means... but when there are so many of them, it is indeed a bit overwhelming.”
Since entering the Forel Forest, we had already been in combat more than a dozen times.
The monsters that appeared in the forest were not strong enemies by any means, but when huge insects appeared, I felt a shiver down my spine.
Moreover, the fatigue caused by walking through unpaved forests was not something to be underestimated.
Fortunately, I have plenty of recovery items. If the need arises, we can even rest in the tents while using items to ward off monster, meaning that the situation has not yet reached a serious stage.
“That's about half of the way. There are more enemies than expected and it has taken us longer than expected.”
“At this pace, we will be back by nightfall.”
“Yeah... is Urza okay?”
“No problem, desu~no. I can still kill them, desu~no!”
Urza replied cheerfully.
As expected, a party of three is very efficient. If it had been just me, I wouldn't have been able to proceed so well.
Especially with a healer, I feel much safer. I can fight against enemies without worrying.
“...I guess partners are important. I'm sorry to Leon for taking his friends away from him.”
“Leon...? Is something wrong with Brave-san?”
“No, nothing. Let's move on.”
“Yes?”
I waved my hand at Aeris, who tilted her head curiously, and stepped deeper into the forest.
As I feel the presence of the two people following behind me, I look around carefully before continuing on my way.
After a few more battles, we arrived at the deepest part of the forest without suffering any noticeable injuries.
“...We're almost at the boss's nest. Be on your guard.”
In order to obtain the quest's item this time, we have to defeat the boss monster deep in the forest.
This is the first time since Gigant Mithril that this group has fought a strong enemy. Although we are getting better at working together, we still have to be on our guard.
I stepped into the place with my memory of the game... and stopped when I saw an unexpected sight.
“...Huh?”
At the far end of the forest, I found a huge praying mantis lying on the ground.
The black, eerie-colored praying mantis had been mutilated all over its body, and is twitching and convulsing with green body fluid.
And beside the boss monster lying helplessly, there is a girl holding a sword in her right hand.
“Oh... you guys...?”
The girl with black ponytail hair notices our presence and turns around.
The person who defeated the boss monster by herself is one of the main heroines of [DunBrave] - Nagisa Seikai.
