Akau Village

The sky was clear—mostly.

They were bird-like monsters.

Vivid magical ores were embedded in their bodies, and they were about a meter long. Massive claws adorned their feet, and sharp beaks jutted from their heads. The vulture-like creatures stared intently at us.

"Flight-capable monsters! I've never heard of anything like that."

"There's no time for that! They're coming this way. We can't escape in such a narrow space—move to a wider area, quickly!"

The cart suddenly surged forward.

Alek climbed onto the roof of the cart and readied his battle axe.

"GAAARRRROOOOOWWWW!"

One of the creatures caught up to the cart and lunged with massive claws.

But the cart did not stop.

That was because the bird-like monster had been cleaved in two. Alex swung his battle axe with ease.

Amazing, being able to wield such a heavy weapon like that

"Keep your eyes forward. There's more coming."

"Got it!"

He loosened his grip, which had tightened too much, and readjusted it firmly.

Continuing to drive the cart, they emerged into a wide-open area.

"Good, here we can fight."

Five or six bird-like fiends, but thanks to Alex's efforts, two have already been defeated.

Upon closer inspection, three remain.

"Seeing their companions fall, they've decided not to descend. They seem to possess considerable intelligence."

"If they just leave us be, that would be fine."

The birds opened their mouths wide, and the gemstones growing on their bodies began to glow. Something started dripping from their mouths.

Flames ignited in midair and surged toward us. Suddenly, a rain of fire poured down.

"There's no way this is fair! You won't even get hit by a single one of those!"

"You'll see for yourself. You'd better dodge with everything you've got!"

We kept backing away from the carriage, running for our lives.

Damn it! If we keep this up, we're done for. I don't know if it'll work, but I'm going to try.

I aimed the crossbow directly upward, releasing the iron arrow. Yet the monster birds easily dodged it, slicing through the air.

"Please don't waste shots. At this distance, you won't hit anything."

"I know. My aim is from here."

I released the arrow precisely as the falling arrow passed by the bird-like monster, attaching the hemp string at just the right moment.

It was exactly as if the bird monster had slipped between two arrows.

I unleashed a lightning spell there. The bolt traveled along the hemp string, jumped from the arrow attached at dawn, and transferred to the descending arrow.

A path of lightning split across the sky.

The bird-like monsters were struck as if pierced by the lightning path. They were hit with full force by the spell.

It seems I got all of them by sheer luck.

"That's incredible... to take down three monsters at once like that..."

"Did you say something?"

Panting heavily, I reply.

"No, nothing."

I meticulously deliver the final blow to the bird monster that fell from above.

We had divided up the task of dealing with the monsters.

"Taro, did you notice? These aren't actual monsters. They're all sub-beasts."

"Huh? But their gems are bursting out of their bodies."

"Take a closer look. The gems aren't dull—this is the hallmark of sub-beasts."

A sub-beast with that kind of strength!? What's even more troubling is that it's a flying sub-beast.

I've never heard of such a thing.

Up until now, it's always been said that birds can't fly properly if they grow magical stones in their bodies.

"Alex, have you ever heard of a flying sub-beast?"

"I haven't. A seasoned adventurer might know something, but right now, there's no way to verify it."

"This creature's existence wasn't mentioned in any prior intel. It's a completely unforeseen situation."

"Even though you were directly ordered by the Guild Master?"

"The Guild Master might not have known either. Their bodily fluids are flammable. If these creatures had lived much longer, this entire forest would already be a sea of fire by now."

"So what does that mean?"

"They likely underwent bestial transformation recently."

"I see. That's what you're suggesting."

He's listening seriously, yet he doesn't seem to be thinking much at all. Guess he really is just a musclehead.

"But Taro, what should we do? Should we turn back for now?"

"No, we're already close to the target village. If we're going to turn back now, it'd be better to go all the way to the village and prepare our gear first."

"I understand. Then let's head straight for the village."

We arrived at the village by late afternoon.

It was painfully quiet—far too quiet for a place where magic stones were supposedly being excavated.

"What on earth is going on? This is a major source of water magic stones. Even in an emergency, there should be more foot traffic here."

Alek said, sounding anxious.

Indeed, our prior research had indicated it was quite bustling, but now only a few shops were open.

"Alek, let's head to the guild branch first. It should be here in this village."

Upon arriving at the guild, the receptionist immediately guided us into a room in the back.

"I am Alan, the branch manager. You must be the envoys from the capital."

The man referred to as branch manager was young, yet clearly worn down. It spoke volumes about the seriousness of the situation.

"Yes. May I hear about the current state of this village?"

What I heard from there was even worse than I had anticipated.

First, there's an unidentified illness spreading throughout the village, and it hasn't been resolved yet. Ten percent of the villagers are infected, and no treatment is available.

The villagers are terrified, whispering that they've been cursed or plagued by baseless rumors, so no one dares to go outside.

As a result, the mining of magical stones—the village's primary source of income—has come to a complete standstill.

The other issue is the sudden surge in sub-beasts. New individuals have appeared—ones we've never encountered before—and we're overwhelmed trying to deal with them."

"On the way here, I fought a sub-beast in the form of a bird I'd never seen before. Could this be related to the same influence?"

Yes, that's roughly correct. We haven't yet determined the cause of the sudden increase. I'd like the two of you to handle the sub-beasts and investigate this area to uncover the reason behind the rapid rise.

Also, this isn't an official request, but I'd appreciate it if you could also look into the mine. You may already be aware, but the extraction rate of magic stones has been declining as well. Since you two are experienced adventurers, I thought you might be familiar with dungeons and mines like this one."

"We understand the matter regarding the sub-beasts. As for the magic stones, it's not just an issue with this area, so I'm not sure we can resolve it, but we'll certainly take a look."

"Thank you."

Our research life in Akau Village has begun.