The Forest at the Beginning 2
The monster completely stops moving.
Taro descends from the cargo bed smoothly, as if being watched over.
They're out of magical energy in this battle.
Panting heavily, I observe the monster.
The monster was frothing at the mouth and motionless, its body seemingly taking on a discolored hue.
Suddenly, I don't know what happened. I thought I saw someone come out from the woods, and then they attacked me.
Lilka explains the attack in great detail.
Monsters don't appear so easily. Usually, they're found deep within dungeons.
Crack, crack...
Occasionally, they emerge spontaneously, like the Arasooto, but such cases are rare.
Crackle, crackle, crackle...
It's not common to encounter something like this so many times...
Crack, crack...
What in the world is this? Since just now, this sound...
Turning my gaze toward the source of the sound, I saw it—a monster. No, the body of the monster I had just defeated was entirely white now.
Its back was splitting open, and a new monster was about to emerge from within.
"Bad news—time to bring out the magic tri-wheel."
As soon as Coil heard my words, he sped up the magic tri-wheel. The monster instantly shed its outer layer, spewing out a gooey, charred substance from its mouth—like molting.
It seemed our damage had been completely healed.
Just as expected, these were creatures beyond logic.
The monster wasn't drying out—it was spraying moisture around, stumbling occasionally, yet still chasing us at an incredible speed.
We had no magic left. We couldn't use magic stones properly anymore.
Our weapons consisted of only a few arrows and enough short swords for everyone. It was as if we couldn't fight at all.
We had no choice but to run.
"Coil, just a little more. We'll reach a larger road soon. Once we do, we'll be near a trading city. There should be plenty of people we can fight with there. Let's push on until we get there."
"Easy to say, but we still have a long way to go, and we can't go any faster!"
"Drop some of the supplies. Lirka, help me out."
"But if we throw these away... we'll have no food left!"
"No choice—back must yield to belly! Let's get rid of the least essential items first."
We keep tossing things off the cargo bed, one after another. Soon, our pace begins to accelerate.
Everything that could be discarded has been thrown away.
We can't go any faster now.
The distance remains the same—the spider monster keeps coming.
It's fine—we'll make it if we keep running like this.
The spider monster's mouth swells.
A thick, white slime drips from its jaws.
"Another one just like the last!"
What do we do!? No, that's not the question—
Without hesitation, I pull out the light crystal.
But no lightning comes, as usual.
Think, think—there's no magical essence within me. Then I have no choice but to gather magical essence. It's said that everything in this world contains magical essence.
Before my eyes appears the crystal I'm holding.
That's right—crystals themselves contain magical essence. I activate the spell, forcing out the essence from the crystal.
...Of course, reality isn't kind. Nothing happened, no matter how I tried.
I transfer the oil to a barrel, swirl it into the air, and ignite it in sync with Liruka's breath. Instantly, the oil explodes, barely damaging the platform and splattering the slime.
My head aches. Using magic too forcefully clearly imposes a heavy toll on my body.
I can't stand anymore and collapse to my knees.
Sweat poured from my forehead like beads of jade. Blood streamed from my nose.
"Taro, you mustn't use magic anymore. It's worse than before."
I hear Rilka's voice. No good. Just staying conscious is all I can manage.
"Both of you did well. Come on out into the hall—once we're there, the town is just a short distance away."
As Coil said, the scenery suddenly cleared, and in the distance, a beautiful cityscape came into view.
The monster still keeps chasing us, but there's still hope.
Just as I thought that, a group resembling a caravan appeared right before my eyes.
Damn it. If we keep going like this, we'll end up forcing the monster onto that caravan. If that happens, the damage will be catastrophic.
What the hell am I supposed to do now!?
The caravan side seems to have realized we're being chased by the monster too.
People scramble out of the cargo area in panic. There are soldiers among them, but too few. If we continue like this, we'll be utterly destroyed.
...There's no other option left. I must stop the spider monster at all costs.
"Coil, take over the controls. Steer this magical tricycle straight into that monster."
"Into the monster? How exactly... and what about you?"
"Don't worry. I'll jump off the moment we collide."
"There's no way that'll work. Taro's already completely worn out."
Riruka pleads with concern, but there's no other option left.
"It'll be fine. I can still use a recovery gem at the very last moment. I'll jump off right as we collide, using the recovery gem simultaneously."
She glances toward the group. The soldiers' formation is finally nearing completion—but it's too close.
There's nothing left to do.
Reluctantly switching control with Coil, she moves Coil to the cargo platform.
"Listen—detach the platform. Once speed drops enough, run as fast as you can toward the group ahead!"
As she speaks, she severs the rope connecting the magic tri-wheel to the cargo platform.
Soon, the platform and magic tri-wheel separate due to the speed difference. She sharply turns the magic tri-wheel around and faces the monster once more.
She pushes the magic tri-wheel to its full speed toward the monster. Though it's her usual driving, a headache surges. The magic tri-wheel consumes magical essence, just like she does. Thanks to repeated improvements throughout their journey, efficiency has greatly improved, but the driver's magical essence is still drained.
The magic tri-wheel draws in her scattered magical essence, accelerating further.
Eventually, it reaches maximum speed.
Her target: its legs.
Since she ran while still soft after shedding her skin, some of her legs have deformed while others have hardened. If I can target the hardened legs, those deformed ones won't be able to move.
If the soldiers behind me take advantage of that opening and attack the monster, it should be dealt with without issue.
Glancing briefly behind me, I see several soldiers racing forward, crossing paths with Coil and Rilka. The red-haired, slender soldier at the center is moving remarkably fast—probably incredibly strong, too.
I feel a slight sense of relief, focusing my attention on the monster's approaching foot.
The beast, timing its attack perfectly, attempts to pierce both me and the magic tri-wheeled carriage with its firmly hardened foot.
You fool, you didn't even know how this thing works, did you? The core chamber is filled with superheated, high-pressure steam.
If I just poke a hole in it, the pressure will release violently—enough to render one of your legs useless.
At the exact moment the monster's foot intersects with the engine section of the magical tri-wheel carriage, I leap into the air.
My natural physical ability isn't much for jumping. Because of that, I fall to the ground quickly and roll. Activating the healing gem, I recover while using up the magic essence within it.
My wounds seem to have healed, but the intense headache won't subside. It hurts—my injuries weren't fully healed after all. At least I'm not dead, which is the best I can hope for...
Struggling to stand, I look toward the monster.
The monster had multiple legs severed from its body and was dead.
"Impossible."
A heavily damaged magical triwheel lay nearby. It had clearly destroyed one leg, but there was no way it could have severed several others—or killed the creature entirely. What on earth had happened?
My gaze shifted to a single soldier standing atop the lifeless torso, motionless on the ground.
A female soldier, wielding a slender double-edged sword, long red hair, that one...
A familiar name surfaces in my memory.
At the same time, a loud noise erupts from the woods, and soon another spider-like monster appears.
"Impossible..."