Aras Auto-4

The next day, exploration began as soon as morning arrived.

That said, the monsters did not appear every single day. The location where the monster had appeared the previous day was empty once again.

Still, they couldn't wait indefinitely.

A small unit was formed to expand the search area and conduct a broader sweep.

First, they searched for the spot where the cow-like monster had appeared and discovered large footprints.

Following the footprints, they reached a river in the middle of the trail.

It seems the creature came through the river.

Since the river is shallow, such a large body could easily pass through.

They searched the riverbed, but naturally, no footprints remained.

"There's an Arasooto downstream. Since no monsters have appeared in the town, it's certain the creature must have come from upstream. Alright... let's spread out and search upstream."

At Roll's command, they moved upstream.

"There's a bottomless swamp around here. Watch your step—once you fall in, there's no saving you."

As they moved upstream, a large swamp indeed appeared.

The water was murky, hardly worthy of being called a beautiful pond, yet it teemed with insects and ripples, evoking a rich and diverse ecosystem. It would make a fine biotope.

As they explored around the swamp, they found scattered fragments of vegetation and the remains of animals that had been attacked, scattered throughout the area.

"He might be around. Stay alert!"

I activated my scouting magic to heighten our vigilance, but there was no response.

In the end, we found nothing but vague traces, and as night fell, we concluded our investigation.

Back at the campsite, we held a meeting.

It felt heavy. Even though we'd found something that seemed significant, it wasn't enough to be decisive.

"How can something that huge leave no trace at all?"

"The plants were knocked over, but there seemed to be far fewer than expected."

They exchanged their findings from the investigation.

Yet the more they talked, the more each other's oddities stood out. Their presence was strangely faint, unbecoming of such a massive body—almost as if they had truly vanished...

But that couldn't be possible. The creature had definitely existed.

Footprints were still left on the ground.

"Did anyone... see any footprints around the swamp?"

They look at each other, taken aback by my words.

"Could be right. But there were definitely very few tracks." "Now that you mention it, there was no feces either."

The debate quickly intensifies.

According to our current findings, the monster appears downstream, coming from somewhere around here, traveling down the river. Its usual habitat seems to be near the upstream marsh.

But at that marsh, there were far too few traces—so few, in fact, that its very existence was beginning to be doubted.

Incidentally, I also checked further upstream, but found nothing at all—again, it seems likely the creature in question lives near the marsh.

"Hey, listen up—this changed things. I found this."

A team member pulled out a certain deteriorated magic stone.

"Can't be sure, but this might be something that fell off that monster."

The magic stone is severely degraded, making it hard to determine its exact type, but it's likely a water-type stone.

A water-type stone only works underwater—or else it has to be used in an unusual way, like I do.

Also, water-type stones don't suddenly deteriorate and surface out of nowhere. This means it must have originally formed in water and then been brought out.

"Could it be that it's been lurking in a swamp all along?"

"That's pretty much what I was thinking too."

Some people nodded in agreement.

But there were counterarguments.

"Hey, come on, that thing's a cow-shaped monster. It can't possibly breathe underwater, no matter what."

That was true, certainly. But from past experiences, I had a gut feeling that monsters could do absolutely anything.

"Alright, alright, if it's a monster, then anything goes. Let's check out the swamp tomorrow."

Before I could respond, Roll spoke up first.

In the end, since it had grown late at night, we decided to call it a day and disperse.

Just as I was heading back to my tent, someone tapped me on the shoulder.

Turning around, I saw the members of the survey team who had agreed with my earlier opinion. They seemed to be mostly young people at a glance.

"Hey, how about splitting off from the main survey team tomorrow? Sticking to the current plan won't get us anywhere. I think we should take a more proactive approach and explore more places."

There was clearly a hint of boredom, anxiety, or excessive boldness showing through.

I can relate to it personally, which made the realization all the more vivid.

"I understand how you feel, but splitting up is risky. The Roll team leader said they'll expand their survey area tomorrow. There's no need to push yourself too hard, is there?"

"We've been expanding our search area like this all along, yet we haven't achieved anything at all, have we?"

"That's because we're conducting the search safely. What's the point of finding someone only to have them die in the process?"

I'm not sure how much he'll understand, but I'll lay out the facts plainly.

"Damn it! I get it already."

To my surprise, he backed down easily. I wish he'd just calm down and stay that way...

He left with an obvious air of having missed his mark.

But I soon regretted it. I should have held my ground more firmly back then...

The next morning, I received a call immediately.

Some members of the investigation team had gone missing.

Thanks to the morning mist and slight dampness, footprints were clearly visible.

The place we quickly followed them to was the infamous bottomless swamp.

The team selected by Roll captain began the pursuit, quickly finishing preparations and setting off.

But... one man, already dead, lay collapsed ahead.

A large hole was torn in his chest, and an enormous amount of blood had splattered around him.

"We're too late!"

Roll captain cursed. There was no time for delay. They hurried forward.

As they advanced, the amount of blood increased. Nearby, they found the bodies of two more victims.

Suddenly, the magic lamp on their gear blazed brightly.

No mistake! It's here!

Pushing through the bushes, they emerged into an open area near the swamp.

The man who had spoken to them yesterday was on his hands and knees, fleeing across the ground.

He appeared to have injured his leg.

The ox-like monster was slowly chasing him, prodding the fleeing man with its blood-soaked horn as if playing with a toy.

"Go!"

At Captain Roll's command, they all launched their attack simultaneously.

"Target isn't destruction—rescue. Don't push yourself. Keep distracting it."

He fired a special arrow.

Hitting a stationary opponent was easy. Several arrows pierced the monster's body.

The effect activated, sending violet lightning through the ox-like beast. Yet the monster remained still, simply staring at them.

"Doesn't seem to be working at all! You monster!"

The monster was indeed powerful. Despite taking multiple electric strikes, it remained perfectly fine.

Worse still, the ox-like beast had changed its target during the attack—now aiming straight at me...

"Bad idea..."

In an instant, I followed my instinct and leapt sideways.

"Whew..."

The ox-like monster charged at high speed, tearing up the ground where it had just stood, and splitting the tree behind it in half.

I activated a wind spell next, aiming to blow myself away. Taking a single hit from that charge would surely be fatal.

I didn’t hold back, even though it would consume a significant amount of mana.

By focusing its attack on me, I’d successfully distracted it from its original goal.

Looking around, I saw a young man with injuries being escorted off the battlefield by two or three others.

"Uoououououououououououououou!"

Hearing a bold shout, I turned back toward the ox-like monster to see Captain Roll charging forward.

Captain Roll wielded what was commonly known as a double-edged greatsword, slashing at the monster from behind.

The monster quickly turned and blocked the attack with its massive horns.

At the moment of collision, a deafening roar echoed through the air. The bovine monster's legs sank into the ground, pinned down. Incredible...

Even with a massive sword nearly as tall as the creature itself, the horns remained unbroken—indeed, they were now pushing back. The forces were evenly matched.

Both combatants exchanged blows, repelling and striking again in a back-and-forth struggle. But this stalemate couldn't continue indefinitely.

Could that monster be restrained more effectively?

As I was thinking this, a technique I'd used before in a dungeon I'd previously explored suddenly came to mind.

...There's no other way.

Just as I began to put my idea into practice and raised my face, the monster turned toward me. I activated a wind spell, generating powerful gusts to create reactive force.

I was pushed sideways by the strong force, moving swiftly to the side.

Thanks to that, I managed to dodge with perfect stability.

The monster charged straight into the swamp, carried by its momentum. That place was a bottomless bog. Got it! If that's the case...

Faint hope vanished in a small explosion. Though it wasn't clear how it was floating, bubbles rose from the surface before the explosion occurred.

The monster, maintaining its speed, charged into the swamp again.

Roll Captain deflected it with astonishing swordwork.

"Are you okay, Taro?"

Ian rushes over.

"I need a favor! Can you scatter these around that monster? Then get as far away as possible!"

He pulls out a large quantity of glowing magic stones from his pouch.

"Got it."

Ian takes the glowing magic stones from me and throws or places them around the area. I also shoot special arrows into the surroundings, setting everything in place.

Since we had prepared separately, I quickly activated the magic stones and shouted loudly.

"Captain Roll! Get back!"

As my voice rang out, Captain Roll forcefully shoved the monster away and leapt backward dramatically.

Confirming his position, I raised the light magic stone and unleashed a high-output lightning spell.

A surge of lightning burst from the magic stone in my hand, spreading through the light magic stones scattered around the area. The electric current flowed from the stones to the monster, bypassing the ground entirely.

The magic essence stored within the stones was converted into electricity and surged into the monster.

The world before my eyes turned a vivid blue-purple, filled with geometric patterns of light—quite dazzling.

For some reason, it felt more powerful than when I’d used it in the dungeon.

Without holding back, I unleashed a lightning bolt, expending all the magical energy within my body.

A thunderous roar echoed through the air, accompanied by the smell of burning air and a powerful shockwave.

Eventually, the flash subsided, leaving the area around the monster completely charred black.

"S-so amazing...""What kind of power this is..."

Words of awe drifted from the onlookers nearby, spoken softly in stunned silence.

In the center stood the bovine-like monster, its body darkened to a sooty black. Could it still stand after taking that attack!? No...

The monster slowly collapsed to its knees, falling to the ground. It was still breathing, so it wasn't completely defeated, but it had clearly taken massive damage.

Yet, we too had expended a vast amount of mana, collapsing to the ground while panting heavily from our shoulders.