“Rudia, don’t get too close carelessly! It’s poisonous!”
“S-sorry!”
I deliver a blow with the Azure Silver Sword – Pale Green to the G-rank monster Sky Serpent, which was about to bite Rudia, and create distance.
About 30 minutes later, after resting, we rode Jade, Fluorite, and Sirius to see the World Tree, the Treasure Tree, at the center of the Ideal Mountain Range. We were greeted by quite a number of monsters.
The most numerous were S-rank monsters, Killer Wasps, but there were also G-R rank Sky Serpents, giant flying snakes, and even M-rank monsters, Gryphons.
Once we landed, we were also “welcomed” by G-U rank monsters like the Heavy Shell Grizzly, a bear with a strange shell on its back, the G-R rank Cyclone Liger, which we just hunted, and the G-I rank Stormbolt Panther, which manipulates lightning.
As expected from its size, the Treasure Tree seemed to truly be a nest for monsters.
“Now’s your chance, Raus!”
“This is it!”
With Prim’s support, Raus skillfully pierces the Cyclone Liger with a blade that shot out from his Lapis Light Shield, finishing it off.
“Rebecca, go!”
“Yes! Hah!”
Rebecca smashes the head of the Sky Serpent, which I had frozen, into pieces with the tip of her Lapis Light Bowedge.
“Lydia, please!”
“Understood!”
The Heavy Shell Grizzly, whose movements were stopped by Mina’s earth magic, is encased in ice by Lydia’s Dragon Spirit Magic, Ether Breath, but it’s about to break free. I should probably provide support.
“Lydia, I’ll support you. Use your breath again!”
“Thank you!”
I activate Cold Prison, interfering with Lydia’s Ether Breath to enhance its power. This time, although it resisted, the Heavy Shell Grizzly was completely frozen.
“Hraaaah!!”
Without a moment’s delay, Rudia punches it with her Dragoraple Gauntlet, shattering the Heavy Shell Grizzly’s shell.
Damn it, the Heavy Shell Grizzly’s shell was supposed to be a valuable material.
“Prim, please!”
“Leave it to me!”
The moment I gave up on the Heavy Shell Grizzly’s shell, Prim took to the sky, incinerated a Gryphon’s wing with Flare Needle, and brought it crashing to the ground. Mana followed up with a Lapis Whip Edge, and the combined attacks of Luna’s light magic, Spica’s earth magic, and Sirius’s ice magic hit it directly, dealing massive damage.
“Mana, fall back!”
Then, Flamm’s Arrows, fired with increased initial velocity from her Lapis Wing Bow, pierced the Gryphon’s head, and it promptly died.
Incidentally, there’s one more Gryphon, but it’s currently engaged in a fierce dogfight in the sky with Jade and Fluorite.
I was a little worried, but since it’s two against one, Jade and the others have the advantage.
“Y-you rascaaaal!”
I turn around at the sound of Rudia’s voice and see her taking a blow from the Heavy Shell Grizzly.
I’ll reflect on not being there to help her later, but for now, I need to save Rudia.
“Hmph!”
Just as I thought that, Lydia cut off the Heavy Shell Grizzly’s right arm from behind with her Drag Sword.
That was a critical hit.
“Thank you, sis!”
Freed from the Heavy Shell Grizzly’s massive body, Rudia executed a somersault kick. Applying the momentum from her leg strength and backflip, she delivered a reinforced leg strike with Ether Burst, which tore the Heavy Shell Grizzly’s head in two as it fell.
Impressive.
“The numbers have decreased quite a bit, haven’t they?”
“Yeah. This thunder is getting annoying, too. We should probably finish off that other one soon.”
We’re hunting the higher-ranked monsters first, so all that’s left are a few Killer Wasps and a Cyclone Liger.
However, the Stormbolt Panther, which attacks with lightning magic from a distance, is still around. It’s said that this monster, like its precursor, the Thunder Leopard, doesn’t approach its prey until it’s weakened by lightning. That’s why it’s difficult to hunt, and you don’t know where it will strike from, making overnight camps in their habitats suicidal.
The Thunder Leopard is a B-rank monster, so even High Class adventurers can endure it, though they’ll still take considerable damage. And their lightning-infused claws can even shatter magic silver. Of course, that’s only when they attack from a distance; once you get close, you can handle them.
“I’ll handle it. I haven’t really moved much since coming to the Royal Capital, so I’m getting out of shape.”
Indeed, Prim, who is secretly an Ancient Foxy, has been constantly mindful of her surroundings during hunts, unlike me who can act without restraint. There’s almost no danger of being found here, in the center of the Ideal Mountain Range, so if she’s feeling out of shape, I’ll let her have her fun.
“Understood. I’ll leave it to you.”
“Alright!”
Prim pinpointed the Stormbolt Panther’s location from the direction of the lightning magic attack and closed the distance instantly using Accelerating Magic. She also used Barrier Magic and fired Flare Needles, so even with the Stormbolt Panther’s speed, it couldn’t dodge everything. It was already caught by Prim. As expected, the Stormbolt Panther was sent flying after being hit by a Flare Penetrator.
Sent flying?
Ah, she didn’t pierce it, she swept it away with the handle of her Scarlet Wing. She’s quite skilled.
“Yamato, it’s done.”
“Yeah, I saw. Prim’s finished too, so we can finally catch our breath.”
Thought acceleration with Accelerating Magic is truly convenient. It allowed me to support everyone while glancing at Prim. I really need to reflect on putting Rudia in danger earlier.
Incidentally, everyone’s levels increased again from this battle.
Yamato Hydrangea Mikami
Age 17
Lv. 72
Human Race – Ancient Human
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: M
Order’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Float Outside
Order’s Rank: O
Primrose Hydrangea Mikami
Age 17
Lv. 68
Beast Race – Ancient Foxy
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: P
Manalease A. Mikami
Age 18
Lv. 47
Human Race – High Elf
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Float
Hunter’s Rank: S
Mina F. Mikami
Age 17
Lv. 37
Human Race – Human
Union: Wing Crest
Order’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Float Outside
Order’s Rank: B
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: B
Flam Mikami
Age 18
Lv. 34
Yokai Race – Undine
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: B
Lydia Highwind
Age 16
Lv. 44
Dragon Race – Hydragonewt (Ice Dragon)
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Valentia Dragon Kingdom – Dragunia
Hunter’s Rank: S-B
Rudia Highwind
Age 16
Lv. 44
Dragon Race – Hydragonewt (Fire Dragon)
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Valentia Dragon Kingdom – Dragunia
Hunter’s Rank: S-B
Raus
Age 13
Lv. 39
Beast Race – Ulfy
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: B
Rebecca
Age 13
Lv. 36
Yokai Race – Undine
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: B
Now that Lydia and Rudia have evolved into Hydragonewts, and with Mana the High Elf joining us, we can go to Mylight anytime. Raus is also close to S-rank, so if he works hard, he might be able to evolve before returning to Feel.
“No, that’s a huge problem!”
“That’s right. We’re already getting letters from nobles, and if we evolve into High Class, who knows what will happen.”
Mana and Raus complain, but this is the first I’m hearing about these letters.
“It wasn’t like ‘Please come to our territory’ or ‘Please date my daughter with the intention of marriage.’ It was more like ‘Please just know our names.'”
“Exactly. I happened to witness it, so I know, but I wasn’t hiding it. Besides, I thought Yamato knew.”
Mana knew too. When I heard about it, it happened a few times when she was bored at Amagi Castle, so I guess it can’t be helped. I did make a point to clarify things at a standing buffet, but nobles are resourceful, and as long as they weren’t trying to recruit Raus or force their daughters on us, this shouldn’t be a problem.
“No, that’s precisely the problem.”
“What is?”
I’m not angry at Raus, and I understand that much can’t be helped, but what’s the problem?
“It’s immediately obvious at the Hunter’s Guild that Raus is a B-rank hunter. So those nobles who pushed letters on him already know that.”
“Add to that, they probably know Raus’s level too. Although, it’s likely his level before he came to the Royal Capital.”
Lydia and Rudia add their input. No, of course the Hunter’s Guild will tell you your hunter rank and level.
“You see, if they can tell you your level, it means they’ll soon know that Raus is level 39, right? Evolving into High Class before becoming an adult is an incredibly unusual feat. While it might be difficult for nobles to interfere with Yamato, who is already engaged to Lydia and Rudia, Raus and Rebecca will face a storm of recruitment offers!”
Mana explains it thoroughly. Since I’m married to or engaged to a princess and nobles, it’s difficult for nobles to insert new wives into my life. However, in Raus’s case, while Rebecca is his fiancée, she’s a village girl, so there’s plenty of room for them to exploit. Especially in Helios Orb, where polygamy is the norm, it’s a given that Raus will eventually have a second or third wife. This means that nobles will want to get close to him now, leading to an explosive increase in their numbers. In that case, the Wing Crest would have to respond, and we might not be able to just go hunting from tomorrow. That’s probably the gist of it.
“No way, that’s seriously bad and troublesome.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying…”
“That being said, if they push someone who has good compatibility with Raus and Rebecca, and whose personality is also good, it’ll be hard for us to refuse.”
I see. If it were me, Prim and Mana wouldn’t stand by idly, but when it comes to Raus’s situation, even within the same Union, it’s difficult to interfere. Marriage is a personal choice. Of course, if it were Solemn or Retisencia who became his wife, that would be a different story.
“I feel like it’ll just unfold as it will. So, what do we do now that we’re here under the Treasure Tree?”
“Not only in terms of numbers, but I also didn’t expect there to be an M-rank monster like a Gryphon.”
I agree. Gryphons are M-rank monsters, and the Hippogriffs, Hipogrif Philus and Hipogrif Philia, with whom Prim and I have Summon Contracts, are considered subspecies of Gryphons. Hippogriffs are G-rank monsters, but since Jade and Fluorite have evolved into rare species, they can be considered P-R rank monsters. They’re with us on the hunt, and they’ve experienced the Alliance event, so even though they’re still young, they possess strength commensurate with their rank.
Gryphons are one rank higher than the two, so normally, even a rare species would be difficult for them to defeat together.
However, Jade and Fluorite are considered factors in the evolution of my and Prim’s magic power. Jade wields ice and wind magic, while Fluorite uses fire magic, so they are said to be worthy of an even higher rank. As if to prove it, they were overwhelming the Gryphon in a dogfight, and in the end, Fluorite, imbued with flames, charged, and Jade’s ice spear pierced the weakened Gryphon, showing that their teamwork is fine.
Incidentally, that Gryphon is considered to have been defeated by me. The achievements of familiars are reflected in their contractors, which is the amazing part of the hunter magic “Questing.”
“A Gryphon. It really resembled Fluorite and Jade, so for a moment I wondered what to do.”
“I understand the feeling. However, it was the strongest monster that attacked us, so we had no choice but to defeat it.”
Gryphons possess the characteristics of eagles and lions, and it’s said in legends that Hippogriffs are born from Gryphons mating with mares, so it’s natural for them to resemble each other.
“More importantly, it’s the first time I’ve seen Jade and Fluorite fight, but those two are incredible. I’ve never heard of familiars defeating M-rank monsters, have you?”
“Yeah, wasn’t it said that familiars can only be up to G-rank?” Or rather, for monsters above that, you can’t even make a contract.
For some reason, monsters that can be contracted as familiars or summoned beasts are only up to G-rank. Hippogriffs are G-rank monsters, so they were at the very limit of what could be contracted. It seems that after evolution, it’s not a problem.
“Certina has a contract with a monster called Friezas Tiger, but it was originally an Icicle Tiger, which is a G-rank. As far as I know, that’s the strongest among familiars and summoned beasts.”
That would be Torencia’s P-rank hunter, Hylamia. In terms of rank, she’s on par with Jade and Fluorite. I guess that’s to be expected.
“But wasn’t the final evolution of the Icicle Tiger a Slume Lord?”
“They’re both tiger-type, so that’s what’s said. However, the Slume Lord attacked Torencia 180 years ago. Kazushi and Elie L, who knew the circumstances at the time, also passed away about 30 years ago, so no one has seen it in person since then.”
That’s true. The Slume Lord was gravely wounded by five Ancient Class individuals at the time and had almost all its magic power depleted. It’s said to have either died or is still sleeping to recover. It’s incredible that it’s been sleeping for nearly 200 years, but it was also a fierce battle. I remember hearing a theory that the reason Demise Species don’t appear frequently is that they are accumulating power while sleeping.
Ah, Elie L was the first queen of Torencia, an Ancient Vampire. Since she married Kazushi, her full name is Elie Minato Torencia.
Right, what were we going to do?
“Let’s head back for today. Mina, Flamm, Raus, and Rebecca seem to be feeling unwell too.”
“Their magic power must be considerably depleted, so that’s for the best.”
Prim and I are Ancient Class, and Mana is a High Elf, so we still have plenty of magic power. Lydia and Rudia have evolved into Hydragonewts, which has increased their magic power and given them some leeway. However, Mina, Flamm, Raus, and Rebecca are Normal Class, and despite our support, they fought monsters clearly superior to them and are utterly exhausted. We should return to the Royal Capital quickly and let them rest.
“In that case, the four of them should ride Sirius.”
“Sorry to trouble you, but please.”
Sirius is large, so even with Mana on board, there’s plenty of room for five people. After we get past the Ideal Mountain Range, we can dismount and use the Beast Carriage.
We also need to ask the Hunter’s Guild to buy our loot, but we should let them rest as soon as possible.
