70. Wyvern 1
"Emergency! A wyvern has appeared!"
An adventurer burst into the Guild.
The Guild erupted in chaos at the sound. Wyverns were large winged dragons and extremely dangerous monsters.
After a while, a summary report from the adventurer was posted on the bulletin board.
In short:
— Five wyverns were sighted. Likely flew from the Sea of the Great Tree and are heading toward Sotohaim.
— Normally solitary, or at most two together, a group of five is an abnormal occurrence.
— Sightings occurred northeast of the northern fortress, about two hours' walk away. They were observed gradually moving south. The area lies north of where the giant boar herd was recently slain.
The Adventurer Guild activated a mandatory quest, and the main high-ranked adventurers gathered at the Guild. Naturally, Shiro and the others were summoned.
Before heading to the Guild, Shiro asked Aria about wyverns.
"Standard size, wingspan is about ten meters, body length roughly six meters, ten meters including the tail, I'd say. Sharp beak, sharp claws on the wings. They swing their powerful tails quickly to knock things around," Aria said calmly.
"Reports say five of them is suspicious. Is that right?" Shiro asked.
"Yeah, usually one, at most two. I've never heard of them traveling in groups," Albert replied. Then he added:
"Besides, there's the giant boar incident. To me, it feels like they're connected somehow," Albert said, unusually offering an opinion.
"Ah, I see... so something's pushing the monsters out of the Wyrmwood Sea? Even a wyvern?" Shiro agreed, voice low.
"Wyverns are strong," Shestia said, her voice tight. "They use wind magic—Tornado, Wind Wrap, Air Arrow, Air Wall, that kind of thing."
"Average level is six hundred," Mitoka added.
"Six hundred? That's pretty high. Our levels are..." Shiro paused, realizing he hadn't checked his status in a while.
Then Mitoka spoke through telepathy.
『Shiro's current level is two fifty-five.』
(No way? Well, not one-on-one, but Aria, Shestia, Albert—all of them have leveled up, and they’ve got decent gear. Still, five opponents... maybe just barely.) Shiro mused.
『Yes. It’s barely feasible. Shiro urgently needs to master divine magic.』 Mitoka said, locking eyes with him.
"Hey, what’re you two whispering about?" Shestia cut in, watching them stare at each other.
"Huh? Oh, uh, just—wyverns seem tough. Wondering how we’re gonna handle them..." Shiro stammered.
"It’ll be fine. Shiro’ll figure something out."
Shestia looked at him with a rare mix of earnestness and trust, her smile radiant—almost divine.
"...Yeah. It's a promise. We’ll make it work!"
Shiro met her gaze, felt her smile, and suddenly found himself brimming with energy. Not just hope—*determination*. The kind that says, *We’ll get through this. I’ll make sure of it.*
"Hey, long time no see," a male adventurer said, stepping forward.
"Ah, uh... Larry?" Shiro replied.
“Ah, I was surprised when I heard you’d jumped straight to Rank A adventurer, but then again, given your skill level, it’s probably expected,” Larry chuckled, slapping Shiro’s shoulder hard.
"Hah, well," Shiro replied, vague.
"Are you and the others joining the extermination mission too?"
"Sure. Rank B, so it's mandatory," Larry replied with a smile.
"Alright, time to get started," Guild Master Greg said.
Aria’s Rank A party, Lary’s Rank B party, and about ten other Rank A and Rank B parties are gathered together.
"The upcoming extermination will be led by the 'Pitch-Black Icewind' party as the primary defense and annihilation force," Greg explained.
"And Her Wisdom Sophia will be joining us too," he continued.
A murmur spreads through the crowd. Sophia’s a celebrity—everyone knows that having her join means a major boost in strength.
Greg explains the general outline of the operation.
— Set defensive posture at the fortress and city walls on the northern grasslands of Sotohaim
— Using the large number of giant boars Shiro and the others recently slain as bait to lure them in
— The first strike and direct assault by the Wyvern are handled by Shiro and Sophia.
A fair number of monsters driven by wyverns are left for the remaining adventurers to handle at the fortress.
And Greg continued.
And this time, 'Obsidian Icewind' has decided to provide various potions for free—high-tier MP and HP recovery potions. Two each, one per person. Come pick them up later, in order.
As Greg said, the adventurers murmured even louder. An upper-tier potion costs eighty dals. To get two types—four total—completely free was quite a valuable offer.
Shiro decided to hand out the high-tier potions he’d been crafting for practice and leaving behind—just in case—so as to minimize casualties and deaths.
He also hoped this would quiet any backlash from adventurers who resented that Shiro’s group was monopolizing the Wyvern hunt. It was probably unnecessary—few adventurers at their level would want to face a Wyvern anyway—but Shiro figured it couldn’t hurt. The offer doubled as a way to clear out excess inventory.
“Operation starts tomorrow morning. Adventurers, assemble at the northern gate at 2:50 AM. ‘Obsidian Icewind’ will be prepped at the fortress. Dismissed!”
Greg shouted, and the adventurers scattered to prepare at the guild building.
◇
After returning from the guild, Shiro and the others held a strategy meeting with Sophia.
Shiro proposed, factoring in everyone’s combat capabilities.
“First strike: annihilation magic. Aria and Shestia will hit straight on with Blizzard. They should’ve powered up since last time—should do some real damage. Then, from the left flank, me and Mitoka with Lightning. From the right, Sophia with Fire Bomb. How’s that?”
“Yeah, that’ll work,” Sophia agreed.
Shiro continued.
“The goal of the annihilation magic is to bring the Wyvern down. Once it’s grounded, Albert, Sophia, and Aria will target the weak points—uh, wing roots and the neck, right?—and finish it off with swords. Use the ones I gave you. I’ll hand you my blade, Sophia.”
Shiro said that, passing the usual magic sword to Sophia.
“Huh, orichalcum? You’ve got some impressive gear,” Sophia remarked, impressed.
“Shiro made it,” Shestia said, beaming. “Everyone’s got one.”
“…Me?” Sophia smiled, looking at Shiro.
“…Ah, well, yeah, I guess—I’ve been meaning to thank you for all your help, so I’ll hand this sword over to you,” Shiro decided, transferring the blade to Sophia.
Originally, Shiro hadn’t used it much—just a metal rod, after all—so he figured it was fine to pass it on.
“Ah, thank you,” Sophia beamed.
Shiro continued.
“Ahem. So, Aria and Shestia, you’ll handle bringing down any remaining airborne units. Me and Mitoka will take care of finishing off the ones left—sound good?” Shiro.
“Right, no problem,” Aria said.
“Same here,” Shestia added.
“Works for me,” Sophia said.
“Ah, no issue,” Albert said.
Mitoka didn’t respond—just smiled and nodded.
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