《Bonkotsu Shinpei no Monster Raifu》


 CH 1

    [Translator Note] Hello there!


    I¡¯m Uncle 13 and I¡¯m new to the business, If there¡¯s some criticism or suggestion I¡¯d be happy to hear from you.


    ____________________________________________________________________


    I am a monster.


    I probably don¡¯t have a name.


    But don¡¯t think that I am just a nameless monster.


    For some reason, I have memories of the time when I was a human.


    There is no ¡°I was born again and became a monster,¡± but rather ¡°I was experimented on and changed to a monster,¡± which is a common scenario in horror movies.


    Incidentally, I don¡¯t have a ¡°monster name¡±, but I do have a human name, ¡°Eunos¡±, but no family name ¨C which is natural since I¡¯m not a nobleman.


    Honestly I don¡¯t care about my name, because I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever use it.


    Now, why did I define myself as a ¡°nameless monster?¡± The reason is that ¡­¡­ does not resemble any creature in my knowledge.


    In other words, the opening line is just a joke.


    It¡¯s no wonder that I¡¯m the first to be mentioned in the measures taken to increase troop strength due to the worsening of the war situation, when this is what I¡¯ve been able to squeeze out of my ordinary bones, which couldn¡¯t avoid being drafted for the very good reason that I don¡¯t have much education and ¡°nothing to write home about.


    In addition, the mad scientist who used me as a test subject is long dead, and I doubt if the empire that gave the order for the experiment even exists anymore.


    I woke up in a decommissioned research facility from 200 years ago, crying and screaming, becoming lethargic, unable to accept reality and acting strangely, finally regaining my composure and searching my surroundings to understand the situation, and this is the result.


    I¡¯m still suspicious of surprises, because I never thought that something I¡¯ve only seen in movies and comics could exist in real life.


    However, the unrealistic reality of me becoming a monster makes me thinly understand that this must be the real thing.


    Also, the only reason I was able to find out the current time was because there was a device still working in the facility.


    It was now 1872, the year of the Northern Emperor¡¯s reign ¨C I was born in 1648, became a soldier at the age of 18, and became an experimental subject in the same year. If it wasn¡¯t for the machine malfunctioning, or if this wasn¡¯t scripted by someone else, I would have been over 200 years old, a very old man, who had successfully completed his duties as an Imperial soldier and was living on a pension.


    However, there is a very good chance that the Empire no longer exist, and my life is not just bleak, but my ¡°life¡± has ended long ago, and I am left with a life of a monster.


    I don¡¯t know how much regret I have for my life.


    In the first place, if there is still an empire, it should have woken up long ago.


    In other words, my brave homeland was either trapped to the point where it could not grasp the fact that these experiments were being conducted, or it was destroyed ¨C based on past circumstances, it would be safer to say that the empire was destroyed.


    In any case, all the neighboring countries have become enemies, and the situation is one of a major war.


    There was no way that the empire could have remained in such a state of desperation that it would have dared to conduct such a third-rate movie-style human experiment.


    Otherwise, there would have been no explanation for how I was able to sleep peacefully until the cryo-sleep device reached its maintenance limit.


    What the hell did I do?


    I¡¯ve been drafted into the military for a bit, and I¡¯ve been told, ¡°You¡¯ve got a nice body. The military is currently conducting experiments to strengthen the bodies of soldiers. It¡¯s a simple experiment, just take a pill, no risk, it¡¯s great.¡¡It¡¯s a first-come, first-served basis, so even if you ask later, there might not be any spots left. I mean, there are less than ten people left, to be honest. Why don¡¯t you give it a try? I was just caught in the middle of what seemed to be a typical solicitation.


    I should have thought of that when I was being made to fill out the consent form.


    I should have thought about it when I was being asked to fill out the consent form, so that I wouldn¡¯t have to laugh about how I woke up 200 years later as a monster.


    That made the current situation even funnier.


    ¡°Gah, gah, gah ¡­¡­¡±


    I said aloud and started to cry.


    I can¡¯t speak any human language. ¡­¡­ I cried a while ago because of it.


    I¡¯m not sure what to make of it.


    I¡¯m a big monster, somewhere between a reptile and a mammal ¡­¡­, but more like a reptile, with my whole body covered in a hard outer shell and a tail.


    I¡¯m not sure what to make of this.


    I was also shocked to see that I had no body hair at all. ¡­¡­ I should mention that this is just a lack of body hair, not baldness.


    In the event that you have any questions regarding where and the best way to get in touch with us, please do not hesitate to contact us.


    I¡¯m not sure I want to cut it off.


    It looks like it¡¯s going to hurt ¡­¡­, and it definitely will.


    In addition, quadrupedal walking with both hands is more stable than bipedal walking ¡ª no, I thought it was just a ¡°maybe ¡­¡­¡± because I think the hands are a little longer, but when you try to run lightly, the center of gravity is not as good. I felt more stable when I used my good hand.


    I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll agree that it¡¯s a great idea.


    But as time goes by, I realize that I have to accept this reality, and if I keep running away from reality, nothing will happen.


    That¡¯s why I asked myself, ¡°What¡¯s going on with my abilities? I was surprised to see that the wall was dented and my fist was unharmed.


    In addition, I seemed to have a high tolerance for pain, and even when I punched the door, which seemed to be made of metal, hard, I felt no pain.


    As a test, I punched it with almost all my strength, and the door bent and blew away, bouncing noisily down the pitch-black passage.


    Of course, my fist was unharmed and there was no pain.


    When I kicked the wall with more force, the outer wall cracked with a roar.


    The way I broke the metal door and shattered the concrete wall made me think, ¡°Damn, I¡¯m strong, aren¡¯t I? I felt a little amused, but this was the inside of a facility, and it would be a bad idea to get out of control.


    (But even with all this rampage, there¡¯s no sign of anyone coming. ¡­¡­ Or maybe they don¡¯t even respond to alarms?)


    The quietness of the place, as if no one is here, makes me uneasy.


    I look at my hands and wonder if this is really the world after 200 years


    I¡¯m more like a ¡°synthetic beast¡± than a ¡°genetic enhancement,¡± but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll pass without question in terms of ability.


    If there is a problem, it is that the test subjects have not retained their original human form.


    We can¡¯t help but wonder how the people who promoted this project were planning to operate the genetically enhanced soldiers.


    This is the first time I¡¯ve seen such a thing.


    I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to find a lot more information on this subject in the coming weeks.


    £¨I¡¯m sure this I¡¯m the type of thing that will be hunted down as a target to defeat.)


    Anyway, my thoughts of meeting someone were blown away.


    If this were a game where you had to defeat a giant monster, you could be a mid-boss, even if you¡¯re not a fan of the game.


    In addition, there are no family members, friends or loved ones ¡­¡­, so there is no way that any of your acquaintances are still alive.


    If they were alive, how could I meet them with my face down?


    (Aside from my dad, my sister ¡­¡­ is fine. (Aside from my dad, my sister  is fine.) So the only person I have to worry about is my sister, but if she¡¯s there, she¡¯s fine.


    In the event you have any questions regarding where and how to use the internet, you can call us at the web site.


    In the event that you have any questions regarding where and the best way to get in touch with us, please do not hesitate to contact us.


    I quickly came to the conclusion that there was no need for me to worry about her, and I felt a little better.


    Dad?


    He¡¯s probably chasing a woman¡¯s ass and getting hit by a stray bullet.


    Anyway, nothing can start until I get out of here alive.


    As a matter of urgency, I don¡¯t know how long the equipment and power in this room will last, so the sooner I act, the better.


    That¡¯s why I crush the laboratory door and left. ¡­¡­ I searched the exits for about an hour, but I couldn¡¯t find anything that looked like it.


    The electricity supply has been cut off everywhere except in the room where I woke up, and I¡¯m gingerly walking down a narrow, pitch-black corridor.


    Because of the low ceiling, I was forced to bend forward and naturally walk with both hands and feet.


    In addition, every time I walk, my fingernails hit the floor and make a clacking sound, which reverberates and creates an atmosphere that is honestly scary.


    In addition to the darkness, it looks like a horror game. ¡­¡­ Or rather, a monster in an abandoned facility is just like a horror game.


    £¨I¡¯m not sure what to make of it.)


    However, my eyesight is so good that I can see quite normally at the dark, but my instinctive fear of the dark is due to the fact that I am originally human.


    That¡¯s what I thought, but my fear gradually disappear by the time I realized it.


    Well, since they were playing around with my body to make me a soldier, it would have been a big problem if I had said, ¡°I¡¯m too scared to move.


    I¡¯m not going to think too much about it, thinking that they¡¯re probably playing with me in some way.


    (But this facility is huge.)


    The corridors seem narrow to my body, but on the contrary, many of the rooms are quite spacious.


    I go through the rooms one by one, but I still can¡¯t find a passage that seems to be an exit, and I feel as if I¡¯m lost.


    To be honest, it¡¯s probably not an illusion; I¡¯m lost.


    It would have been nice if I had at least been able to look around when I was a human , but it seems that the facility I remember is different from the one I am in now, and there is nothing I recognize.


    I looked around the rooms and corridors, but I couldn¡¯t find anything that looked like an exit. All I could find were small things like research equipment, some samples of experiments, a bunch of tattered paper documents, and some electronic parts that I couldn¡¯t understand.


    Even if you can see reasonably well, searching without a light source is too reckless and inefficient.


    Also, it¡¯s really hard to read text, and I need a light of any kind.


    I often wondered if I should continue wandering around without a light, but I was still better at moving my body than thinking.


    I decided to take something with me that might be useful and enjoy the feeling of exploration for a while longer.


    As soon as I started exploring, I encountered a problem.


    The tools I got were too small: ¡­¡­ No, because I¡¯m bigger, things are too small and very hard to handle.


    For example, I got a lighter, but I couldn¡¯t use it because it was too small, and when I tried to ignite it in a fit of pique, it broke easily.


    I also found a flashlight, but I had to hold it with my thumb and index finger, which made me frustrated because I couldn¡¯t turn it on.


    The batteries were dead in all of them, and none of them were usable.


    In the meantime, the batteries were dead in all of them, and none of them were usable. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I said, dropping my stiff shoulders, which could have been called an outer shell, and I walked around the lab again at a leisurely pace.


    And I found it.


    Or should I say I found it?


    It was the same room I had seen when I woke up ¨C the room where the other subject was.


    The structure of the room was very similar: a cryo-sleep capsule in the center of a circular room, surrounded by various devices and monitors, and more than a dozen pipes extending from the outer wall toward the center.


    I approached the center of the room with trepidation, being careful not to step on any of the pipes.


    Immediately I noticed that the cryo-sleeper was not working.


    The cryo-sleeper was not working, and a monster that looked just like me was lying dead in the capsule as if asleep.


    I just stood there in a daze.


    I imagined that this could have happened to me.


    (Was I lucky?).


    (Was I lucky?) However, I asked myself if I could really call this ¡°lucky.


    I was born as a human being, and now I have to live as a monster, I can¡¯t decide whether it is lucky or unlucky that I survived.


    I just had more things to think about, and my carefree mood faded, and I continued my search in a gloomy mood.


    And then I found them again.


    As a result, we found a total of eight cryo-sleep devices, all of which were not operational for some reason.


    The capsule was damaged and the subject dried out.


    Wreckage that was either a failure or rotting away with apparently strange cellular mutations.


    Some of them were even out of the device.


    But they were dead.


    The cause of death was unknown, but it was apparent that they had been unable to leave this room and had died here.


    I was in a capsule far away from them.


    What this means, I can¡¯t say for sure at this point.


    It is only speculation.


    But still¡­


    (Was I lucky?)


    It is probably inevitable that I keep thinking that.


    I didn¡¯t feel like investigating the place any further and left without taking anything with me.


    I didn¡¯t feel like doing anything else that day.


    However, I don¡¯t know exactly how long ¡°today¡± is, and it¡¯s just a mood.


    There are devices that can tell the time and date, but 200 years have passed.


    There is no way to know the correct time for the date to change, not to mention whether it is accurate or not.


    Even though I didn¡¯t feel like doing it, I had to do it. After a few moments of depression, I decided it was time to explore again, and walked slowly down the narrow passageway, hoping to find at least some bright material for my growing body.


    (That¡¯s right. (Yes, no matter what we do, we have to get out of here before we can start.)


    Yes, no matter what you do, the first step is to exit.


    Even if we still had business here, we would just have to come back.


    This is a military facility, no matter how crooked it may seem.


    Even if I¡¯m in this state, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something useful left.


    With such hope in my heart, I opened the new door and found myself in a room that was more than half filled with rocks and sand.


    After a few moments of observation, I thought to myself.


    This place isn¡¯t really deep underground, is it?

 CH 2

    How can a bad premonition come true so often?


    After finding the collapsed room, I finally found a large gate and an information board for the entire facility after further searching.


    The words ¡°60 meters underground¡± were among the facility information that I took pains to read.


    Even I, a not-so-smart person, could figure out what this meant.


    Anyway, now that I knew that there was an elevator at the end of this big, thick, and sturdy gate, my fear that there was no escape route was gone for the time being.


    As long as they didn¡¯t bury it to destroy the evidence, we should be okay.


    As for the problem at hand, the gate is not working properly.


    Pushing, pulling, lifting ¨C it all failed.


    This meant that the elevator leading to the exit was right in front of us, but the power supply to operate the gate was down, so we had to do something about that first.


    A sigh of ¡°gofoo¡± escapes me as I realize that this is becoming more and more like a horror game.


    I thought to myself, ¡°Can¡¯t I just breathe out? But all that came out was coughing because I had pushed myself too hard. ¡­¡­ What the hell am I doing?


    Aside from the meaningless mistakes, I finally got a clue on how to escape from this facility.


    I¡¯ve got a lot of motivation now that I know what I want to do ¨C let¡¯s find the control rooms for the gate.


    Even though I don¡¯t have any information at all, I should be able to operate the gate once it¡¯s turned on.


    ¨CI want to punch myself in the face for being so optimistic.


    The gate is right there, so I figured it must be nearby.


    But it wasn¡¯t.


    Before that, I¡¯d underestimated the fact that I¡¯d have to check out a human-sized facility with this figure.


    Also, I really need some light.


    In addition, no matter where I looked, I couldn¡¯t find anything related to the gate, even though there were rooms that looked like it.


    If you think about it, you should know that this is a military facility.


    It was quite possible that the gate could only be operated from the outside for security reasons.


    But there was a bigger problem before that.


    (¡­¡­ I can¡¯t get power to any of my equipment?)


    It¡¯s more likely that the power supply from the power generation facility has been cut off,¡­¡­.


    In this inorganic and pitch-black space in front of the gate, one person ¡­¡­ or even one animal stands alone.


    I¡¯m not sure what to do.


    Then I thought of that room where I woke up.


    For some reason, that room was the only one that had electricity.


    I don¡¯t dare mention what it means, but I can¡¯t help but imagine that I was the only one who survived.


    Anyway, I changed my mind and thought, ¡°If I can somehow bring that power to ¡­¡­,¡± and then this idea was rejected.


    I¡¯m not a technician or an operative ¨C I¡¯m just a freshly drafted recruit with no real skills or knowledge.


    I don¡¯t have that kind of knowledge or skill.


    He had no idea what to do, so it was no wonder that the plan was abandoned.


    In addition, I don¡¯t think I can use the various tools with my big, lumpy hands.


    In the first place, even if the power supply works out, it¡¯s doubtful that it will be able to operate the gate.


    I¡¯m sure they have an emergency plan or two, but I¡¯m at a loss, whether or not the Empire, which seems to be in its final stages, really had the time to do so.


    In other words, there was only one way I could do it ¨C force.


    I stood in front of the gate, took a stance, and swung at it.


    It¡¯s a good idea to know what you¡¯re looking for and how to get there.


    It¡¯s a good idea to know what you¡¯re going to do and how you¡¯re going to do it.


    (The next time I go all out ¡­¡­, it¡¯s going to hurt, but I can¡¯t help it.)


    I looked up at the unlit ceiling for a few moments and decided I was ready.


    I pulled my right leg and made a fist, then dropped my hips and pulled my arm back into a stance that I¡¯ve seen in videos.


    Then ¨C a loud ¡°thwack¡± sounded, as if a large chunk of rock had been smashed against a block of steel.


    As a result, I held my right arm and stumbled around in pain, while the crucial gate was still there, unharmed.


    It was a disastrous defeat ¡­¡­, no, a complete defeat.


    I have to conclude that the door was made especially strong and that my fists would not be able to destroy it.


    But if your fists don¡¯t work, your legs will.


    It is said that the power of a kick is three times as powerful as that of a fist, and I was already forced to play my trump card as I changed my class to a ¡°muscle-focused¡± monster.


    For the time being, I just let my hands wander around until the pain subsided and took a deep breath to catch my breath.


    When I was ready, I tried for the third time.


    ¡°Hoortaaaa!¡± I thought I was shouting in my head, but all that came out was a dirty, strange voice saying, ¡°GOBBOAAH! I thought I was shouting, but the voice that came out was a dirty, strange voice.


    The sound was deeper and louder than the previous blow, and it vibrated.


    There was no response.


    In fact, my leg was more seriously injured, crying out in pain and flailing around.


    I had expected it to crack, if not destroy it.


    But I hadn¡¯t expected it to be enough to make a small dent.


    It was a small dent, barely noticeable by touch.


    It was not intact.


    Yes, it¡¯s just that there is no real damage.


    It¡¯s a good idea to know what you¡¯re going to be doing and how you¡¯re going to do it.


    At that moment, I see in my mind¡¯s eye all the subjects who never made it out of that room and are now rotting away.


    When the reality of death washed over me, I screamed out.


    (No, no, no. ¡­¡­ No!¡¡Not like this!¡¡I don¡¯t want to die!¡¡I don¡¯t want to die!¡¡I don¡¯t want to die!)


    The inarticulate roar echoed with nowhere to go, and I lost my cool, punching and kicking the gate as often as I could.


    The pain in my arms and legs only increased with my desperate attacks, but I didn¡¯t stop.


    Even though I¡¯m out of breath, the gate in front of me continues to look the same.


    I can¡¯t get out,¡± the reality I didn¡¯t want to admit slapped me on the shoulder.


    At that moment, the fear faded away.


    I stood there stunned, as if the possession had worn out, and looked at the gate with a stupid face for a while.


    What the hell is this? I couldn¡¯t put it into words, but as I was about to say it, I realized something.


    (Emotion ¡­¡­, or fear suppression!)


    (Emotional , or fear suppression!) Well, since it¡¯s for combat, it¡¯s better not to have ¡°fear¡±.


    The speculation that the fear I had just felt in the dark passageway had been suppressed was now becoming a reality.


    There seemed to be a difference in the effect, but this time the change was as dramatic as if a switch had been flipped.


    It¡¯s just a speculation, but I wonder if there is a dual function of suppressing emotions apart from the effect of being triggered by meeting the conditions.


    Anyway, it was fortuitous that I was able to regain my composure.


    Even on an head-on match, rather I should have realized that they would have been designed within specification, in case something wrong happens


    When I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t imagine how much damage a monster with these specs could do if it got out of control.


    Then, it should have been able to be contained.


    Normally, you should be able to come up with something like this right away,¡­¡­, but maybe there are some disadvantages such as reduced intelligence.


    But if that¡¯s the case, we can¡¯t get through this gate by just hitting it head on, and I can see a future where we¡¯ll just starve to death here.


    (If we hit the gate head-on, we¡¯ll break it before we break it. So what do we do?¡¡The normal way is no good. The only way in and out is through that gate. ¡­¡­ Even if there was, there would be some sort of vent, and there¡¯s no way I could get into that.)


    Then find a vent and expand it. I¡¯m not going to be able to get in.¡± (Destroying the gate is not practical.


    (Destroying the gate is impractical, but we can¡¯t get out without going through the gate. ¡­¡­ No, we don¡¯t need to ¡°go through the gate¡±. All you need to do is go through the gate.)


    I stare at the gate.


    It¡¯s thick and sturdy, and even with my best efforts it doesn¡¯t seem to budge.


    There¡¯s an elevator to the ground ahead.


    Then¨C


    A thunderous sound echos through the basement.


    Hard chunks of rock rolls on the ground, eachtime


    What came to me was this: If the gate is impossible, we can go around it.


    In other words, I decided to dig a hole to get to the end of the gate.


    Fortunately, with my physical abilities, I could easily destroy the outer wall.


    At first, I thought, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be possible to get there by destroying the area right next to the gate? But the gate was longer than I thought, so I ended up hitting the bedrock as well.


    Although the excavation of the bedrock was a bit tricky, it is more realistic than destroying the gate.


    When it became too difficult to destroy it with fists and kicks, I went back and borrowed a suitable metal part.


    I drove them in like a wedge, and one after another, I drove them into the bedrock, cutting and chipping away.


    I kept repeating, ¡°Are we almost halfway there? My hands and feet were nearing their limits.


    To be more specific, I started to feel numb.


    I crawled out of the hole I¡¯d dug with my hands flailing, brushed the dust off my body, and took a deep breath of air.


    How much time had passed?


    I don¡¯t know how much time has passed since I¡¯ve been digging so hard, and to find out the time I¡¯d have to go back to the place where I woke up.


    Of course I wasn¡¯t going to do that, and I couldn¡¯t remember the way back.


    After resting my body for a bit, I resumed rock-cutting ¨C but then the dirt came out.


    (Oh, ¡­¡­, maybe this would have been easier if we had dug on the other side¡­)


    Depending on where we dug, we might have been able to get there easily, but now that we¡¯ve come this far, it¡¯s too late.


    Anyway, we dug the rest of the way quickly and destroyed the outer wall next to the gate.


    I screwed my huge body into the hole and forced my way out, only to find myself in a pitch-black space.


    I did a quick search of the surrounding area, but it seemed that the electricity had stopped here as well, and all the devices were not responding.


    There were some bottles of alcohol in what seemed to be a storage room, but I was hesitant to drink them.


    The discovery of the canned food made me think about the fact that I wasn¡¯t feeling very hungry, and at the same time, a problem surfaced.


    (What am I going to do about food?)


    Too much time has passed, the preserved food might already be expired


    (Would this body¡­) No, I would rather not.


    (Well, I¡¯ll think about food when I get out.)


    As I walked down the wide, pitch-black corridor, I saw an elevator in front of me that was slightly larger than the normal size that I could manage to fit into.


    (60 meters? ¡­¡­)


    As there was no electricity, I had to climb up here on my own.


    As I pried open the door, I felt a warm breeze caressing my body.


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel certain that I¡¯m not buried and that I was connected to the outside.


    The cage was on top ¨C which meant that I would have to climb up the wire in front of me and either punch through the bottom or lift myself up to open the door.


    Climbing up the outer wall like a rock climber would be fine, but I would have to be flexible.


    That¡¯s what I was thinking, but then I saw a ladder.


    It was too small for my body, but I managed to get my toes caught on it, so it was much better than nothing.


    Using this ladder, the wires of the elevator, and the protrusions on the exterior walls, I climbed up smoothly.


    Thanks to my large size, I don¡¯t have to worry about where to put my hands and feet, and I can reach the wall without having to stretch my hands and feet as far as they will go, so I can easily climb up.


    I wondered if I could clear the last obstacle so easily, but when the ceiling ¨C the bottom of the cage ¨C came into view, I was forced to make a choice.


    £¨What should I do with this thing?)


    The only two options I can think of are ¡°smash it¡± or ¡°lift it¡±.


    There was also the option of dropping it down, but with figure, I wouldn¡¯t be able to climb up to the top of the cage.


    I lift it on my back, and it moved easily.


    It wasn¡¯t a burden and I thought I could just keep going, but apparently the exit was on the other side. I went down at once and change places


    I positioned myself in the center so that I could easily open the door and slowly climbed up again, lifting the elevator cage in the same way.


    With enough opening for my arm to get trough, I put strength into my outstretched hand to pry the door open.


    (Okay, I can do this!)


    There¡¯s a definite response.


    I slipped my fingers into the gap of the door after it moved slightly.


    A finger went in.


    The door opens, I can open it.


    A ray of light leaked out of the opening.


    All that is left is to lift the cage up, and just as i thought of that, the ladder where i had been holding on collapsed!


    Had it aged for the last 200 years?


    Or am i just too heavy?


    I¡¯m sure it¡¯s both, but lifting this cage must have factored in as well.


    The weight of the cage extends against my hand in gap of the door as i dangle one leg mid-air.


    [Ow!]


    I exclaim softly.


    I reflexively pull my hand away from the wire and lift my body upward.


    As soon as the cage rise and the pressure on my hands dissipated, i change my position decisively, with shake and bounce by resorting to brute force.


    I pushed my hands to the gap further, forcibly opening the doors and putting my arms trough, with no regards of the weight behind me.


    My hand that crawled out of the door of the elevator, bit down into the floor and grabbed it.


    My other hand was on the door, grabbed it as hard as i could, pulled my body up and twist my arm as i gradually push the door away


    Both of my arms the reach the edge of the door firmly.


    Now that reached this point, it¡¯s just a matter of time.


    I open the door with my arms out stretch, and saw what¡¯s at the end of the door.


    Perhaps this room, the entrance and exit, had been locked tightly.


    But 200 years?


    Or was it the scars of war?


    The ceiling had slightly collapsed, allowing light to shine through, and the room was almost half filled with eroded plants.


    (Oh, if we get out of here, I¡¯ll finally be outside of this facility)


    I never expected to be moved by such thing, although I didn¡¯t cry, I felt my eyes burning.


    I struggled with the door and the cage for a while, and finally twisted my body into the gap between the doors and crawled out by shaking my body like a caterpillar, when the cage of the elevator fell.


    There was a roaring sound.


    In a movie, it would have been like flames spewing out of the ceiling, but I kept looking at where I was falling, but there was no such thing, and I collapsed with my arms and legs spread out.


    I was physically tired, but mentally I was at my limit.


    (I need information, I need to organize it, but I don¡¯t have enough of it, that¡¯s why¡­)


    I look at the crack in the ceiling where a little light is leaking.


    I¡¯m on the ground.


    I¡¯m almost out, to the outside world.

 CH 3

    [Author]


    I recently found time to spare and started watching anime, and i am immediately influenced by it.


    I think I¡¯ll add goblins to this series someday, just so that I don¡¯t get scolded by the management.


    ____________________________________________________________________________


    It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve been on the ground after 200 years.. I¡¯m exaggerating, It¡¯s only been maybe 2 days.


    Judging from the position of the sun, it¡¯s probably just noon.


    The weather is clear and perfect for departure, but I¡¯m still not sure that I will go on the trip.


    I¡¯d like to bathe in the sun, but unfortunately my vicinity or as far as i can see, is filled with shade.


    Why?


    I¡¯d like to answer that question and say a few word as well.


    [Where the hell am I?] I thought.


    I stepped outside of the facility to see green, green and greens all around me, but it¡¯s not a forest¡­ it¡¯s an untouched nature.


    Is it because of the 200 years that had passed?


    Is it possible that the Empire acquired new territory?


    Shaking my head, I took a look closer towards my surroundings.


    I don¡¯t think so.


    As of now, all the plants i saw is familiar to me¡­ So I guess I¡¯m still inside of what used to be an Imperial territory.


    In the first place, I was transported when I was unconscious.


    Whether my body is already in this state or not, I don¡¯t think They can prepare a large scale device such as the cryo-sleep device.


    Therefore, it is almost certain that this is still the former Imperial territory.


    I don¡¯t see the point of setting a large scale surprise so I guess the ¡°sleeping for 200 year in a cryo-sleeper¡± theory is already confirmed.


    (That means that there¡¯s some reason for this verdant situation¡­ I wonder, how the war ended. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible to leave this land is much as state, even more so if its a national territory. If it¡¯s the West it could be.. No. There¡¯s too little to go on. Should I investigate the vicinity of the facility?)


    I stood there lamenting and groaning, but there¡¯s no idea coming to me.


    That said if I¡¯m going to to move, we must have information first.


    Especially in our situation. No matter what I do I need to know where am I in order to understand the terrain and to make decision on what to do.


    We also need to get water and food. Currently, I¡¯m not feeling hungry or thirsty, but it might be hard to feel because of my physical enhancement, and fall in a predicament.


    After all, I had been asleep for 200 years, albeit frozen.


    Aside from that. I haven¡¯t have food or drink yet, so I need to get some as soon as possible.


    With so much nature around me, I should be able to find something to eat, even though I¡¯m huge.


    I¡¯m not even sure if berries will be enough to fill me or if there¡¯s anything that is edible. So it might be better to hunt some wild animal.


    If we go hunting, the next question would be, ¡°Would I eat it raw?¡± and leads to question of ¡°How to start a fire?¡±


    (Okay, Let¡¯s go back to the facility and find something we can use.)


    And so, I went back to the facility¡­


    In front of me was the gate filled with sand and soil. Even though the gate is fine the surrounding area deteriorated to serious level, and the fact that i dug a hole at the side of the gate, pushed it over the edge. After that. the 60 meter fall might have been the final blow.


    the gate that i had struggled so hard to get trough is now buried in sands, leaving only a trace, and the research facility that it was once is now completely gone.


    No matter how i look at it I wouldn¡¯t be able to go back there.


    If i tried to forcibly dig, I would end up being buried too. So I shrugged my shoulder and gave up


    [Gohaaa¡­]


    I sighed heavily and looked around if i could find anything of use. After an hour of searching, I came up with this array of items.


    A backpack: I can¡¯t wear it but i can fit small stuff in it. It¡¯ was in a sealed locker so it¡¯s still fine to use. The color is green.


    Empty bottles of alcohol. I can use it to hold water or other things. the lid is still intact and there are 3 relatively clean ones.


    Matches: None of the lighters around are usable but there were 3 boxes of new matches in their original packaging. I want to believe that this are still usable.


    Well, that¡¯s all I got after an hour of searching.


    Please don¡¯t think that I¡¯m incompetent, it¡¯s just that most of the item around are rusty or badly damaged and is not durable enough to be of use.


    (After all, it had been 200 years, very few things could be usable)


    I can say that I did well in finding this many items.


    Honestly, I wanted to have a usable blade, but I¡¯m not in a position to be picky.


    I slipped the backpack through my hand¡­ I wanted to, but I grabbed it instead, then I looked around as I leave the hole. It¡¯s useless to look at the ruins that is beautifully eroded by vegetation-unlike the underground. But even so, there might be some clue to the situation I¡¯m in. and my intuition tells me that I shouldn¡¯t ignore it.


    The area above the facility is too small for my large body, and to be honest, it¡¯s not worth exploring, but my gamer brain can¡¯t help but feel bad when I miss something.


    The first thing I did was to go around and outer edges of the facility and check if I could find something.


    If there are any sign of damage to the exterior like bullet holes or explosive, this might help me speculate a little further. However I could not find any traces of any damage and only confirmed that the facility naturally rotted.


    (I guess I¡¯ll just have to find some documents or something inside¡­)


    Though I don¡¯t think that There would be anything in paper form that would be conveniently be lying around that is readable and in a good state of preservation.


    It would be miracle if there¡¯s any paper intact in this state verdant erosion¡­


    I moved away a bit so that I can see the entire facility. Then found something after I climbed a crumbling concrete walls and looked around.


    At the entrance- a broken gateway covered in greenery ¨C there¡¯s something stuck to it.


    A sort of metal plate, and I knew that there is something written into it.


    Soon as I approached it, I tore the ivies and leaves around as if I¡¯m picking it off, and look at the remains of what should have been once a sign.


    Most of the words were faded, but there was enough bits to read and when combined with the ¡°NO TRESPASSING¡± symbol. it¡¯s easy to assume what¡¯s written there.


    In short, it reads


    ¡°Contaminated area, NO TRESPASSING¡±


    That¡¯s it. If i had to elaborate, It would say ¡°Closed as this is a heavily contaminated area, No entry allowed¡± supplementing the missing and almost unreadable part. So, Immediately stopped my search, and left the ruins as fast as I could.


    Man, it was a disaster at the laboratory.


    I was surprised at how fast I could run, but I think I could run even faster after I got used to this body.


    I¡¯m normal enough to think of that.


    ¡°Pollution¡± It looks like there seems to have been a chemical contamination. It¡¯s something that can only happen in the Empire.


    (Oh Empire, what have you done?)


    The northern kingdom of Canaan has science as well, but not to the level comparable to the Empire¡¯s. It¡¯s not even a good candidate to consider as a culprit.


    In the east lies, magical nation Seizelia and it¡¯s impossible for magic to cause such pollution ¨C especially in the science-oriented Empire of Fleuretus, unless it in the scale that is enough to change terrains.


    Same is true with for the west. It¡¯s highly unlikely that the elven nation known for worshiping nature would cause such disaster.


    Lastly the Fepublic of Revelen and Federation of Haile from the south. It¡¯s doubtful that the small country of Revlen have the ability to do such thing and Haile, a country which is greedy for territory and was force to wage war against Seizelia could do such thing to the Imperial territory


    {T/N So I guess Haile have their hands full against Seizelia}


    This leaves us with one answer.


    (It looks like the Empire self-destruct, that¡¯s for sure)


    Don¡¯t I trust my country?


    Well, when you¡¯re at war with Canaan and you start making all those crazy weapon and having them explode all the time, it¡¯s not hard to get such idea.


    But I still can¡¯t help but wonder where did this pollution came from?


    I don¡¯t suppose that this whole dense forest is created by the ¡°Pollution¡± that made it uninhabitable?


    If that¡¯s the case, this whole forest is a no go.


    In other words, if the empire which boasted the larges territory in the continent is in such a state, this would be the biggest Green Movement.


    Also if the pollution still lingers, surely there is something wrong with these plants. However I have yet to see something amiss and when I look around, all I see are plants and insect I¡¯m familiar with. there¡¯s no deformities and there¡¯s also a good chance that the pollution is a thing of the past.


    It¡¯s also possible, even tough it¡¯s just a wishful thinking, that my current body is resistant to chemical pollution.


    Because of this situation, it¡¯s best to hurry up and grasp the terrain and confirm my current location just as originally planned.


    Searching the facility would not be necessary since we have the general idea of the current situtation.


    So, I took advantage of my physical prowess and jumped vertically, with a loud bang, crushing the branches above me and soar to the cloudless blue sky.


    To my surprise, I¡¯m already flying.


    (Am i going to be fine landing from this height?)


    I¡¯m sure I¡¯m strong enough to survive the impact, but this is still scary.


    The view in front me is just a flat view of the forest stretching as far as i can see from all direction.


    I was worried worried about my landing but when I hit the ground with a thud, I didn¡¯t even fill any pain or numbness. The only thing that happened was the shock and the noise of the scampering birds.


    [I¡¯m really impress with my body] I said.


    This time i turned 180 degrees and look at the opposite direction and jump again. And there it is ¨C a small but steep cliff.


    It seems high enough to at least give me a vantage view of the surrounding area.It¡¯s not far away, so we could probably reach it in a few minute. Unfortunately, the trees are becoming too much of a hindrance thanks to my unnecessarily wide shoulder, making me crush into those trees at full speed.


    The density of greens in this area is bit high, so it¡¯s best to continue running on a moderate pace. Though, I don¡¯t know if you can consider this ¡°running¡± if I¡¯m using four of my limbs, but you get the idea.


    I took the chance to optimize my running technique as I head to the cliff.


    I knew what I was doing but it just felt so strange. The center of gravity and my physical ability is so high that It was nerve wracking to control it, the I¡¯m unable to grasp my surrounding. Resulting in me hitting my arms and legs on random small objects ending in their destruction.


    I can¡¯t help but be alarmed thinking that. ¡°I guess I need to get used to the nature myself, rather than waiting for nature to get use to me¡±. I don¡¯t plan to be defeated by wild beasts but there¡¯s no guarantee when it comes to the monsters call ¡°hexenbiest¡± or even against a group of human that might attack.


    Especially if i become targeted by humanity. If you are identified as a ¡°dangerous creature¡±, It¡¯s expected that they hunt you, even if they make some sacrifices. And, I don¡¯t want that to happen. It¡¯s too late if something happens after all.


    That¡¯s why i came in a conclusion, while I¡¯m traversing trough, that I should take time to get used to my new body.


    While lamenting on those things, i finally see the cliff I was aiming for. Getting closer, we can appreciate the height of this cliff.


    (Hmm¡­ well this is way better than me jumping)


    Honestly it¡¯s disappointing, but if I try looking harder I might get something out of it. At any rate, I still had to climb this cliff before I cant start, so I start looking for a foothold. I took me a minute to find one, unexpectedly.


    It was a huge staircase with three steps with about two or three meter high and looks like some playground athletic platform that I could easily be climb by jumping. It has also have enough space to serve as a scaffolding and with my current physical ability, I have no reason to fear it.


    If you look at this spot, that looks like a cliff, you¡¯ll notice that for some reason, only this area around the cliff seems to rose up, which was strange.


    I was a little curious as to how it was formed, but now was not the time to investigate , so I climbed up a step at a time.


    Now, I was hoping to find some familiar structures.

 CH 4

    Once again, there was nothing but green, green, green¡­¡­ green as far as the eye could see, and I silently held my head in my hands.


    It¡¯s not only the unevenness of the terrain and the man-made structures, but also the fact that I can¡¯t even see where I am. I felt dizzy at the sight, not to mention the unevenness of the terrain and the lack of man-made structures that could even serve as a landmark.


    If you look around, you can find places that are higher than this place, and if they are as high as this place, they are scattered to a certain extent.


    However, the highest one that I could see was a protrusion that seemed to have no foothold and could only be described as a ¡°towering turd¡±.


    It¡¯s a dirty thing to say, but such a stick-like rock face is growing out of the forest.


    (I don¡¯t know of any area where such structure exists.)


    It¡¯s possible that this was the result of the war because I don¡¯t remember this kind of structure. For now, I¡¯ll put this in my ¡°I don¡¯t know this thing¡± folder inside my head.


    Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have any experience in rock climbing, nor do I have any knowledge or skills. I¡¯m a big gu. I think I have enough strength to support my large weight but there¡¯s a good chance that I lose my grip. So for now, my plan would be to move steadily rather than force my way through.


    So, I survey around the verdant land to look for a river but unfortunately there¡¯s no river around. By the way, I can still see the facility. It¡¯s so green that you can barely make out of the concrete walls and if you don¡¯t look carefully from this distance, you won¡¯t be able to see any structure there.


    As I continued looking from a far, I discovered something. If I carefully stared at the same spot for a while. My field of view narrows and allows me to see things from the distance better just like when you¡¯re changing the magnification of a telescope.


    By repeating this process, I successfully get the hang of it, soon I will be able too use this skill freely. After a few experiments, I found out that I could also use this skill to see nearby object in greater details. In short, it¡¯s a zoom function. I have no idea on how I got such ability, but since it¡¯s not troubling. I¡¯ll accept this gratefully.My body is getting far away from that of being a human¡­ well it¡¯s too late now since my appearance is all too far removed to that of a human. Now I¡¯ll use this ability  ¨C or rather, discovered ¨C to a find a place to drink, even if there¡¯s no river around.


    I give up trying to figure out my current location. The sun is still directly above me so I decided to move on prioritizing on looking for a water source. As I look down on this seemingly endless forest, I saw a color that doesn¡¯t look natural to me.


    Using my newfound ability, I zoomed on it and found an object that looks clearly man-made; a red line on a whitish fabric that was visible even if it was covered in green. I can¡¯t tell what is it from here, but I think it¡¯s worth checking out. Fortunately, it¡¯s in the opposite direction from the facility so I think it¡¯s possible that it¡¯s not related to the facility. So, I don¡¯t have to worry about contamination and I might get something good there.


    I quickly made my way down the cliff and took a path to the structure I just found. It took a bit of time to go there but we made it just as soon as the sun sets without any problem. The closer I get the more I realize what is it. It¡¯s a huge sturdy piece of fabric, and through the broken glass you can see what resembled that of a cockpit


    (An airship?)


    Apparently, mankind had not given up on traversing the sky. There¡¯s no fool who can¡¯t understand the meaning of ¡°Controlling the sky¡±. The value of it¡¯s use in the military and logistic is immeasurable. I can¡¯t even imagine how much wealth it will create, and it¡¯ll definitely cause a revolution. But, it has never been done. It seems that there are still some people in this world who are willing to try, even though majority has given up on the idea.


    (I wonder, when did this thing been made? If it crashed and didn¡¯t burn, Does that mean this used magical technology as it¡¯s primary power? If so, then this could be either from the east or north¡­)


    If I can determine when it crashed, I can get a lot of information and above all, if the cargo of preserved food is still there, there¡¯s a possibility I can still find something edible. This wreckage holds a lot of possibilities.


    I was a little surprised at my luck, but since it looks like this in the first place, If I don¡¯t do anything now, I¡¯m like likely to retire forever. So, I immediately began my search¡­ disappointingly, it wasn¡¯t worth it.


    In addition to the cockpit, there was a small room with no seats and a tiny little cargo hold. It was impossible to get inside and search, so I tore down the walls and doors, but all I could do is slide my body in. I have no choice but to search from the outside and I only saw more and more skeletons.


    I found the bones of probably four people in total, including some that were still intact. I don¡¯t really want to imagine what happened to them, because some of them were gnawed off. I thought I can determine the country of origin but as expected in 200 years, the designs have been completely changed, so I can¡¯t determine anything.


    Anyway, I was able to get 2 things from this wreckage.


    One is the emergency rations in this can. I don¡¯t have as much faith in Imperial canned goods, but I didn¡¯t think I could get that many safe ones.


    Second is information ¨C I¡¯d be very grateful for this. This confirmed that 200 years really did passed and base on what we know from the facility we can infer that this airship crashed 5 years ago. This is because of the logbook obtained from a sailor¡¯s bag which is still in the readable state which is written in the language of Canaan.


    The Kingdom of Canaan is a monarchy located north of the Empire, which combines science and magic and the first one to declare war on the Empire. By the time I was old enough to go to school, the Empire is already at war and there were teachers who said ¡°It¡¯s a shame to learn a hostile country¡¯s language¡±. When I was told of this, I replied softly¡± Wouldn¡¯t that make it difficult to train intelligence officers?¡±. Before I knew it, I was force to change to be an ¡°aspiring spy¡± and I was forces to work hard. In the first place, a job that requires patience isn¡¯t for me. It¡¯s not a kind of job for someone like me who would want to give up just because it¡¯s so hard to turn a page.


    But I never that choosing Canaanite as my first foreign language would come in handy in this situation¡­ you never know what might happen. If I had known I should have taken my study seriously.


    [I can¡¯t help if I can¡¯t read that well after my 200 years sleep] said the former Imperial soldier who just woke up 2 days ago.


    For now, what I could find out from the logbook is that it¡¯s flown as a test and as expected it crashed after being attacked by a flying creature. It¡¯s common occurrence even before I was put to sleep and it¡¯s not funny to see it firsthand.


    By the way the rest of the information in the journal we¡¯re useless. It was a bunch of slanders against their boss. Such as ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, I didn¡¯t want to be a crew member of a flying coffin, a lab rat, or an explorer. I wanted to be a tester of the most advanced magical machine. What part of this is a ¡°state-of-the-art magic machine¡±?¡¡It¡¯s a piece of junk that was around a hundred years ago, no matter how you look at it. I¡¯m not sure how much nourishment you¡¯re getting for your hairless head.¡¡It doesn¡¯t matter how much nourishment you send to your hairless head, it¡¯s useless, send it to your brain. Also, your mouth stinks, brush your teeth.¡±


    I¡¯m not going to go into the rest of it, as it¡¯s all a bunch of verbal abuse, but the second day was similar.


    ¡°Oi, Oi, Oi, Oi, Is it fine to fly with this speed all the time? I thought we¡¯re going to gradually increase the speed. I thought we we¡¯re supposed to  keep going faster and faster which would make me a target for the flying needles. And that red pattern, is it for scoring? Oh you think I¡¯m joking? I¡¯m not a suicidal maniac, so turn around and drop me right off!¡±


    For the record, the ¡°fly needle¡± is another name for the fish, and its official name is the ¡°catarrunya,¡± a slender, feathered fish that looks about 50 centimeters long. It¡¯s more famously known as the ¡°flying stake fish,¡± and its hard, sharp fangs, which can smash through steel plates with ease, flies at 120 kilometers per hour toward flying objects.


    To be honest, I¡¯m not sure even I can withstand this dangerous monster now.


    ¡°Damn it!,  He saw my journal yesterday and was beaten.


    Apparently, the ship went down after 3 days and with low loyalty of the crews the result is was ¡°you guessed it¡± At firs glance it may seems useless but I could guess the reason why there¡¯s so many preserved food left because they we¡¯re left untouched.


    The problem left is the quality of what¡¯s inside, but with Canaanite technology. I¡¯d like to think that it will last for 5 years¡­ I hope. Unlike the imperial cans, these cans have lids on them, I¡¯m scared that there¡¯s no magical enchantment but I wouldn¡¯t know till I try it.


    I picked up a can which is about the size of a human fist and inspect I carefully. I remembered you need a special tool to open these cans but it¡¯s not necessary for the current me. With the use of brute force there¡¯s no way these cans can withstand my current arm strength, rendering it easily crushed, and out came a crispy loaf of bread.


    In short. It¡¯s a standard dry bread. I checked to see if there¡¯s mold  and after I was certain that there wasn¡¯t, I pulled it out using my finger nails and ate it,


    [Still better than nothing.]


    Those words came to mind


    (Still couldn¡¯t they just put some dried fruits in for nutrition?)


    I had a few of them but with this body, my food may last for one day but for two days, that seems doubtful. And, with this amount It¡¯ll just be a matter of time. It would be a dire situation if more than half was damaged. And with the tickling sensation from the water loss made me crave for water even more,


    I knew I had to find a water source. I packed as much preserved food as I could jam in my backpack and the rest in a relatively good condition box which I held in one hand. After a quick hike, I decided that it¡¯s look okay and left the wreckage. It wasn¡¯t without reward but I wished that there should be something more I tought to myself.


    I was afraid of the vibration from running would cause the box to disintegrate, but fortunately I was able to carry it without breaking. I have more luggage now, but it¡¯s no problem for me now.


    (An air ship¡­ which is not very fast and had done three days of travel, I guess I¡¯m near the Canaan border. I¡¯ll head east to¡­)


    I don¡¯t know the current state of Canaanite territory or how it looks like but by heading east I should be able to find the city of GLACIER or the rail road leading to it. I don¡¯t know if the city still exist but if I can find the site of the city, I can at least imagine how the war ended.


    I already know the direction due to the position of the sun.


    (First, I¡¯ll go east and then be flexible from there)


    Thus, with a crate in one hand and a backpack on the other, I head east going through with a lot of trial and error to acclimatize myself.


    It seems having both of my hand occupied seems to be unexpectedly bad for my body¡¯s balance, but it didn¡¯t matter as I consider this a training since I¡¯m a soldier after all. Even though I¡¯m a new recruit, I¡¯ve participated in military training so I¡¯m not going to complain over something like this I thought, while using my unexhaustive body capability.


    However, the period of my training was very short, so I don¡¯t really know what I¡¯m supposed to be doing. Do you think that the Empires lack of new soldier allows you to call yourself a recruit or was it because of the armaments so strong that it shortens training time? If you¡¯re a modern historian arguing over such matters, I¡¯d like to put an end on it.


    There¡¯s no way that I can do this it as I can only go ¡°Gao! Gao!¡± but I still find it amusing to imagine things like this. Then again, the idea of turning into a monster and being put to sleep for 200 years is extreme enough. I have to find a way to have fun or else I wouldn¡¯t be able to do so in this situation.


    The sun starts to set when I smell something.


    Yes, I smelled it. Or to put it bluntly It reeks.


    Believing in my sense of smell. I wandered toward the source of the smell and then something unexpected came into view


    E? Why is there a river here?


    The question came out with a familiar ¡°Gao! Gao!¡± voice.

 CH 5

    I made an unexpected discovery, I found a river.


    I found a watering hole.


    That¡¯s good.


    Except, there are natives ahead.


    They were goblins, child-like creature that barks and swarm and did lots of harm.


    (So these guys are the source of the smell)


    I knew they reek, but I didn¡¯t know it¡¯s this bad. It might be because of my heightened senses, but the smell makes my nose turn.


    When I saw the goblins in the flesh for the first time, I was struck by their filthiness, and how much they are different from fantasy. It is rather common in porn videos where women are attacked by men dressed as goblin, but in this situation, it¡¯s no longer realistic.


    Some people may like it but there should be a limit.


    In addition, with the development of weapons and armor around each country, their threat level was gradually decreased and, in the Empire, their limited in cases where crops are destroyed and it was limited on the countryside. Also, there is no way a woman would wander around the dangerous place where she would run into a monster. It is more realistic to encounter a dangerous situation while walking alone in the depth of the night. However, if they are led by a higher species like an ogre or an intelligent magical beast, that¡¯s a different story.


    Even back then, in some country, a carriage that is being transported was attacked by goblins led by a n ogre and the female passenger was terribly hurt.


    They¡¯re a little too smart to be ignored.


    I gently removed my luggage and with a light-hearted attitude, greet them with [Hello, Please die]. In a matter of minutes, fifteen goblins were reduce to mere lump of flesh. In the first place they about half of a forward-leaning me. With their height of only 120cm the physical disparity and violence is enough to settle the matter.


    I was so large that I had to hold back on beating them as they make those ¡°Popping sounds¡± when hit them with my fist. I have high resistance against gore so I don¡¯t really mind it. I even tried to used my tail against one of goblin and it was thrown up to a height of the tree, It fell on it¡¯s head and broke it¡¯s neck, resulting to an instant death. I¡¯m still getting used on having a tail, but I¡¯m excited to see what I can do with this.


    Now that I got the water source under control without any trouble, I took a dip but it¡¯s not very deep, about a knee deep even on the deepest part. The water is very clear that I can see the fishes at the bottom. I¡¯m pretty surprised to find such clean river inside the Empire and the smell of it is not strange, It seems that this river isn¡¯t ¡°Heavily polluted¡±.


    I¡¯m not particularly thirsty, so I just washed by body and my bloody knuckles and take a few sip.


    (There¡¯s nothing wrong with the smell or taste and the water looks so clean)


    All I can hope for is that I didn¡¯t get hungry, for I don¡¯t know what will happen to my body if I did get hungry. If I can drink this, water would be less of my worries, leaving me worrying for food. I looked at the dead bodies of the goblins that are around the river and pondered what to with them. I suddenly wondered ¡°Are goblin meat edible¡± But goblin stinks so there¡¯s really no need to eat them even more so now that my sense are better. I wouldn¡¯t eat it even in an emergency and I can¡¯t think of any use for it to the point that I ask myself what would I do with it.


    I threw one of the corpses into the river and observed for a while, I found out that the fishes are biting on it, so I guess I won¡¯t have problems on disposing it. But I don¡¯t want to cause a water pollution.


    (I can use this a fishing bait)


    Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have a hook, Line or even a rod. It looks like their good for as scattering bait.


    I can¡¯t leave the disposal of these corpses to the river, so I threw half of them into the distance. I¡¯m pretty sure that wild beast and insect would take care of it.


    Then I tore a piece of goblin into small pieces and threw it into the river then set mi eyes unto the fishes that gathered. With my hand formed like I was about to pierce something. I aimed and thrust it against the fishes, but with no success. After some trial and error, I found that it¡¯s best to keep my palm open and scoop them out of the river. I felt little sad that I was becoming more like a wild animal, but still humans are animal. Therefore, it¡¯s not something to be ashamed of. If I don¡¯t do this, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do it.


    It¡¯s not just the environment, even my body is changing. I want to praise myself for not losing it.


    I moved my luggage to a place where there¡¯s no scent from the goblins and make my camp for the day. I want to use a roofed structure as my base but as it is, my best hope would be a cave. I don¡¯t even want to go near to what looks like a goblin dwelling that is made of wood and leaves because of the foul smell and there¡¯s no way that my large body can enter it.


    [I wish there¡¯s a safe place to take shelter somewhere, ] I thought, but there¡¯s no way that there would be any structure that would be in a decent condition after 200 years, so I wonder If I should consider making one myself. Although, even if I can get the building materials, where am I going to get the tools?


    (I never played a survival game from scratch, didn¡¯t I?)


    It reminds me of a certain game that was popular in the Empire back then when I was still a human. There¡¯s always people playing the game in any given time, and it was common to wait 10 hours to make reservation. As a student back then, there¡¯s no way that I¡¯ll be able to play it and I didn¡¯t even get information out of it.


    Even though it was only a game, I regretted a little bit that I should have played it because I could have learned the basic of survival.


    (It¡¯s no used crying over spilled milk, I guess. Tomorrow onward I¡¯ll be exploring the river. Whether this is an east river or a west one would decide our course of action)


    If we go up the river, we would eventually reach Canaan Kingdom, But I don¡¯t have a good idea for on the issue of human contact. I know it¡¯s best to prepare on how to deal with them. I¡¯m also aware that there would have been lot¡¯s of changes from 200 years ago. For example, there would be a possibility that they developed weapons that can cut through this body. It¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that I¡¯m not an amateur, but I know absolutely nothing when it comes to magic technology. In this case it¡¯s best to avoid the magical country from east and west and just aim for Canaan. Canaan would also be the best place to measure the current level of technology.


    The reason for this is that with the Empire is now out of the window, There¡¯s a high chance that Canaan took over the Empire¡¯s technology.


    How much weapon they amass would naturally affect my course of action. As long as you know their strength, I would know well how well I could fight. In other word I need to know the information regarding their technology to create counter-measure and increase my survivability.


    As for magic, My apologies on that.


    I¡¯m afraid that I might be put to sleep and then put on a freak show or be auctioned off. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t want to have any contact from people of the East and West.


    (I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad idea to avoid anything to do with humans)


    As a former human, I don¡¯t want to make such choice. But, if I did get a contact this would be a big problem.


    (I can¡¯t speak properly, that¡¯s a big problem)


    When I smiled, I realized that the only language I can speak is the ¡°Fleuretus Imperial Language¡±. Which is the Empires language that probably had died out already. Additionally, even if I could speak, wouldn¡¯t it be difficult for me in this form?


    The more I ponder, the more I get stuck in a trap, is that it? The more I think the more I feel like I¡¯m in trouble.


    (I¡¯m starting to think that It¡¯s useless to think about it)


    Should I just face reality and live my life as a monster?


    In that case, what would it be like?


    As soon as I try to imagined it, I gave up and said that ¡°I can¡¯t live like that!¡±


    As a former citizen of the Empire, I can¡¯t imagine to live my life secluded away from civilization.


    I¡¯m sure that I¡¯ll go insane if this goes on forever.


    I can still enjoy this body if it¡¯s for a month¡­ but longer than that, my mind would surely break.


    It goes without saying that I have to come to terms with this reality and find ¡°something¡± before the time limit.


    (Is it something to keep living on with this body?..)


    Nothing comes to mind. I can¡¯t think of anything, though honestly, I still think this body is very impressive.


    (Ah, come to think of it, I haven¡¯t mastered this body yet¡­)


    With times in my hands, I decided to stop thinking and focus on practicing with this body.


    The sun is about to set. Incidentally, a group of goblins arrive as it was about to get dark. So I made sure to wipe them out. They¡¯re probably comrades of those goblins that went out to hunt. They¡¯re still holding on to rabbit so I made sure to still it from them.


    [It¡¯s a shame the you guys don¡¯t belong anywhere except in the porn magazines and videos.]


    When I muttered those words the only voice that came out of my mouth are [gargh- ga-gar] ¨C When will anxiety about my future human encounter disappear?


    Its only been two days since I woke up, and I¡¯m already restless to get used to this body. I regained my composure and look up to the darkening sky. I guess that¡¯s it for the day.


    I take out a match from my backpack, strike it and lit the goblin dwelling on fire. As I expected it was dry and burned easily. I stabbed the rabbit meat with a stick that I had picked up, cooked the rabbit on it and began to eat the burned part. The meat is the only thing I can taste, and to be honest, It wasn¡¯t tasty. I tried top cook the fish in the same way and it was definitely better than the rabbit, but I still want to have salt on it.


    I wasn¡¯t feeling  particularly hungry, but by the time I finished eating as much tasteless meal that I could, the once raggedy goblin dwelling had already been burnt to ashes. There are still some houses left to use as fuel, so it might be a good idea to move around here for a while.


    I grabbed my luggage and sat down at some suitable tree and rest my back on it, and then close my eyes.


    I didn¡¯t feel sleepy, but I still  need to rest my body.


    ____________________________________________________________________


    Author¡¯s note


    About the gaming scene in the Empire.


    There are no Game console for home that existed, but instead game center consoles are what existed. There are many of these kind of consoles in which it was connected using underground cables. Competitive games and coop games, as well as internet games are available on those facilities.

 CH 6

    Good morning! From the goblin-smelling riverside!


    It¡¯s a great that I have a good sense of smell. Thanks to that I couldn¡¯t get a wink at all. Fortunately, I don¡¯t feel too sleepy which is something to rejoice about.


    I guess it¡¯s only natural that I don¡¯t mind skipping sleep for a couple of days after having slept for around 200 years, but I¡¯m not sure if this is normal or not, so I need to be careful from now on.


    Well, it¡¯s another beautiful day, and I decided to go upstream because of the smell and immediately, encountered a monster. Even if the riverbank is an easy terrain without obstruction the encounter rate is a bit high, considering I found one in 15 minutes. A big reddish crocodile clearly larger than me, is right in front of me. This is something that I would avoid under water, unfortunately for it we¡¯re on dry land. There¡¯s a river right there, but it¡¯s a little narrow for a huge creature like this to live in so I don¡¯t think that this where it lives. If I continue moving upstream, would I find a river large enough for this gian to live in?


    The crocodile Opened its mouth and showed its sharp teeth, as if trying to intimidate me without breaking it¡¯s gaze.


    (Should I ignore it¡­ or should I fight it?)


    It¡¯s crazy to take on such a huge crocodile, whose length is about 6 meters long including the tail, without any weapon.


    I¡¯m not sure what to do.


    After pondering for a while, I decided to fight it. However, I¡¯ll make this clear, If it¡¯s impossible to beat this guy, I¡¯ll immediately withdraw.


    I know how strong this body is, but I¡¯m not sure how far can I go with this body. So, I¡¯ll use this to test it out


    (Are ¡­ are, What¡¯s this? I felt like I¡¯ve seen this somewhere but I can¡¯t seem to remember.)


    [Well, Whatever!]


    Slamming my fist that is protected by a hard, shell-like skin together, made a sound that¡¯s akin that to colliding rocks.


    [Guaaaaaaaaa!]


    The giant crocodile roar as it sensed that my atmosphere changed. It¡¯s first move was to rush to me. It¡¯s not very fast though, swinging its body side to side as it comes with all it¡¯s might.


    It¡¯s fast, but not as fast as I expected. It opened it mouth while it turn to face me as if he¡¯s about to bite me. I jump at him and send a right hook as a counter. I hit it with the counter right hook on it¡¯s lower jaw.


    I feel good with that blow.


    However, I didn¡¯t expect for the crocodile to lose it¡¯s lower jaw. It seems that my blow was too powerful and instead of smashing it. I smashed through and took the meat and bones along with it. The scattered pieces of flesh fell into the river and the fishes started to swarm. On the other hand, the crocodile with its lower jaw blown off, started to quickly as possible, scamper away with its tail wrapped around it.


    Wondering if it¡¯s alright to leave it alone and let it bleed all over the place, I decided to finish it and narrowed the distance. The crocodile Immediately snapped it¡¯s tail like a whip and hit me on my side¡­ I staggered a little but I wasn¡¯t hurt.


    Seems like there¡¯s just too much difference in terms of power.


    With the crocodile completely terrified, I had to make a choice. Do I let it leave or kill it ¨C the answer was already decided since the start. Even if I let it go It¡¯s not going to survive and die soon. Then at least I should make it quick and make it as painless as possible.


    I chase after the crocodile that escaped and leaped to shortened the distance at a stretch, slamming its heads at the same time as I was about to land. It convulses for a while and then stopped moving.


    (Is it really this easy to hunt?)


    Once again, I¡¯m impress with my physical abilities, but there¡¯s one problem. How should to prepare this meat?


    [How should I cook this crocodile meat?]


    The only option was to roast it over fire, that¡¯s probably the only way possible. It¡¯ll take a lot of courage to it this one raw. And, it¡¯s not the same as drinking water.


    So I dragged the crocodile by it¡¯s tail and drag it back to base, took a match from my luggage and set fire to the once abode of the now deceased goblins. Since the crocodile was so big, it was very difficult to roast. I took my first bite on the open-pit roasted crocodile meat skewer. The meat just tastes roasted. I guess it can¡¯t be helped that it tastes nothing, just to be clear, it tastes unpleasant.


    It¡¯s fine until I realized that I was eating meat that wasn¡¯t bled properly, sadly the crocodile is already in pieces.


    (I¡¯ve screwed up¡­)


    I thought to myself and went to the river to wash myself and remove the blood on my body.


    (This taste so bad, what should I do with this?..)


    I ponder while my hands are on my chin, staring on the crackling, burning shabby house. I¡¯m not sure what to do with it.


    (Should I just throw this out?)


    After some hesitation, I decided to discard the crocodile meat.


    I wondered if do I even need to have three meals a day in the first place. I feel like ¡°I could just eat random thing when I¡¯m hungry¡± but it¡¯s kind of risky especially that I don¡¯t know much about my body.


    (I¡¯ll try it when I can afford it. That¡¯s all I need to know.)


    I¡¯ve figured out where the water is, and I¡¯ve got good idea about what can I do with food. If I am to talk about the future, I would like to prioritizing on obtaining ignition supply, but I can¡¯t do anything about it. For now, I can only hope to be lucky and find some in the city ruins.


    So, the second day was spent up exploring. This place would be my temporary base until I can find a place with better condition, So I leave my luggage and set off. It¡¯s best that we go north as planned. I observe my surrounding while I walk to look for something that will serve as a land mark. The erosion of nature seems to be faster than I initially thought, and all traces of the former Empire are all gone, even the buildings were gone. I can¡¯t barely see any traces of asphalt pavement, most of it are already pulverized so finely that it¡¯s difficult to distinguish it from ordinary stones.


    It might have been ravaged by war, but its too strange that all that was left too little. There should have been buildings far taller that the trees that are twice my height, but it¡¯s strange that I can¡¯t find any of them now. I wonder, what kind of war had been fought, this makes me more curious and interested in the final days of the Empire.


    I already believed that the Empire had already fallen. I¡¯m just not sure what would I have done if the empire still exists. After a bit of a walk, I concluded that it would be easier and convenient if the Empire didn¡¯t exist in this era but it¡¯s kind of lonely as well.


    I wonder, if my family left some descendants.


    It¡¯s fine to continue up north to where we can see the river, but there¡¯s one problem. There are two major rivers that flows from the Kingdom of Canaan down to Fleuretus Empire in the south.


    One is the Hena River in the west and one is the Resonant River that lies along the eastern border. The problem is that the Resonant River is near the border of the Kingdom of Seizelia.


    And, Seizelia is a ¡°Magical Nation¡±. Magical nation tends to hate science. And to be honest, I don¡¯t think that I can get along with that place.


    When I was still a human, that nation relied heavily on magic that so much land of theirs we¡¯re left undeveloped, leaving more than laf of their territory to rot away. As a result, large amount of monster spread, and mercenary who refused to use modern weapon, flourished and the country became a haven for monster hunters called ¡°Exterminators¡± that are everywhere.


    (It¡¯s not like I could get along with then now, is it?)


    I¡¯m a bonafide monster.


    It would be strange if nothing happens to me if I stroll around like this there.


    I don¡¯t want to be hunted, but my opponents would be humans, I want to avoid killing because I used to be human, but I can already foresee where if I don¡¯t kill a human, they¡¯ll organize a party and it might end badly.


    Even though I was a recruit, I was a still a soldier so I know how to do things at some extent, so even if I don¡¯t provoke them. They would still think of you as a threat. If I¡¯m going to get involve, please not let it be Seizelia, I don¡¯t want to be a ¡°hunter target¡±.


    On the other hands, I would rather go to the Western country ¨C The Elf Nation. It¡¯s a country where nature is worship and there are idiots that believed that ¡°monsters are part of nature¡± and get¡¯s taken into a goblin¡¯s nest when they tried to practice it.


    There¡¯s a possibility that they would accept me.


    Incidentally, the idiot who got taken into the goblin¡¯s nest said [That¡¯s the way our culture is!]. He was so hardcore that he wouldn¡¯t change his mind.


    This is why erotic books of [Elf x Goblin] are endless. That¡¯s why the answer to the question [Why was there too many stuffs about elf x Interspecies intercourse?] is because of these idiots doing idiotic things, I said laughing remembering a certain senator protesting against the Empire while holding a porn magazine in hand.


    The I remembered.


    No. I remembered it!


    (My collection¡­ It¡¯s definitely been found by my family!)


    I feel like covering my face and roll around, but doing that with my current body would bring minor destruction to the forest. Lying around, hiding my face, writhing in shame, my calm thought just suddenly came back.


    (Ah ¨C , this feeling)


    It was the same strange cool-down feeling I had when I suppressed my fears in the underground facility. It seems that this time, it suppressed my feeling of shame, allowing me to regain my composure quickly. It¡¯s no brainer that if I have a sense of shame, this would hinder me to fight in my fullest ability.


    [No way in hell! Idiot] I retorted.


    It¡¯s right to assume that the function works as a break against various situation. For example ¡±ANGER¡± ¨C What would happen if I woke up in an existing Empire and found myself in this state?


    The answer is obvious.


    How much damage would a monster with an ability like mine would deal if it went to an emotional rampage? I think it¡¯s safe to say that this function is designed to prevent that from happening.


    I called it ¡°Emotional Suppression Function¡± and wrote it down my mental notes of abilities.


    By the way, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like the way I look now, nor do I have any aversion to it. I¡¯ve always been a big fan of horror games, and my appearance is neither grotesque, and the performance is topnotch. Is it because I¡¯ve been playing too many games that I¡¯m currently not that dissatisfied with my appearance? Or is it because I haven¡¯t found a human yet? Or Is it because I was conditioned that way?


    Somewhere in everyone¡¯s heart we all want a reality that is same with the movies.


    This is a quote from a genius film director¡­ I don¡¯t disagree on it; in fact I agree with it but if it we¡¯re to happen I would like to choose the movie. I don¡¯t want it to be horror nor it to be a monster movie. I want it to be a hero movie. I¡¯ve fantasized about things I can do with this body, but it¡¯s on all the premise that I can build a friendly relationship with the humans.


    I¡¯d like to see if there¡¯s someone who wants to get along with such a monster by looking at themselves objectively.


    Anyway, there¡¯s no negative effects in using this body, and for now, all I can do is train so that I can make full use of this body¡¯s capability. Just running is a training, so for now let¡¯s get moving and collect some information.


    I continued up to the river, jumping around and I were able to reach the mainstream. But here I encountered another monster. A huge reddish-brown crocodile, which was clearly larger that the last one, probably because we reached the larger part of the river.


    [You again?]


    But the crocodile seems to have thought that I was a prey rush towards me. There¡¯s no way that this would be a battle. So I kicked it aside and ignored it, continuing further upstream.


    It¡¯s already past midday, which would have been lunchtime when I was still human, but still I don¡¯t feel hungry. As I continued on, I saw what looked like a man-made object in my line of sight.


    I paused briefly and walks toward it, but I still couldn¡¯t believe my eyes for a moment when I saw it through the trees.


    (Is that a tank? Is this place a former military base?)


    If that structure in front of me is a remnant of what used to be a military base, I would be in a bit of trouble. After all, the base is located on the west side of the river which would mean it should be on the east side from the Empire¡¯s perspective. Geographically speaking, the most likely target of the base would be the kingdom of Seizelia, and the river would be the Resonant River. Additionally, just east of Resonant River would be the border which were skirmishes against Seizelia frequently occurred.


    Humans¡­I¡¯m starting to feel like I¡¯ve been flagged for an encountered with a hunter.


    ___________________________________________________________________________


    T/N I won¡¯t have an update next week due to COVID and I would be put in a quarantine facility for 10+ days . Sorry for the inconvenience¡­

 CH 7

    As I come closer, my hunch turns into conviction, And the closer I get the stronger my conviction becomes.


    (Even with this thick grass, the shape is still recognizable)


    Should I wonder, ¡°what¡¯s left at the base?¡± or rather ¡°Is there anything left of the base?¡±.


    It¡¯s not far from the border so it¡¯s logical to assume that nothing might have remain, but since our neighbor hates science. And, thing that are impossible to carry such as tanks, would surely be there. There might also be things that are of unknown value that were abandoned as well. Given that this is a military facility, it¡¯s a natural choice to search for something that will be of use.


    Besides, we finally found a man-made structure, albeit partially roofed. And, with the fact that  we have information about our current position even If roughly. This place might even be useful as a relay point. Even if this is still a wreck this is still a military base. There¡¯s a roof and there might be a basement as well!


    Just as I was thinking that I can settle in this place, I heard something


    [Guaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]


    When I thought that I heard something, suddenly something roar! I thought it might be those green things (goblins) settled down there, but apparently, it¡¯s different.  Just as I was wonder what it is, the smell I once smelled already from the riverbank came in. I couldn¡¯t help but click my tongue and muttered [They¡¯re here too?]


    (This pattern. It seems like it¡¯s being led by a stronger creature)


    There shouldn¡¯t be any powerful monster here since this near the border. Anyway, this might be a good opponent to train this body and get used to it. Cautiously, I went to the direction of the roar. It¡¯s easy to identify the owner of the roar. It¡¯s a big green fellow with 2 horns ¨C an ogre.


    I¡¯ve never seen such a huge humanoid monster before, this would really be a good practice. Through the broken window and collapsed roof, I can see that it was about three meter tall. Moreover it is equipped with a club as thick as it¡¯s arm. It¡¯s perfect for a test.


    (I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m comfortable with this body yet. So, let¡¯s test it to the fullest!)


    Honestly, I¡¯m thinking [What¡¯s the point of having an ogre armed with a club] but it¡¯s really a good opponent to be my stepping stone. If it had  a metal weapon, I would have hesitated but with it using only a wooden club, I don¡¯t think it would be dangerous. This would just be in a level of mere experiment. Shouting [I¡¯m off!] but turning into [gao, gao!] I jumped over the wall and landed right in front of the ogre.


    I landed with a thud, sending guns flying and realized something. How many humas are here?  Some of them are bleeding so much that I¡¯m not even sure if they¡¯re still alive or already dead. Even so, it¡¯s not a good idea to take my eyes of them, so I ask that you wait there for a while longer, though you might already be dying.


    (I didn¡¯t notice those human battling here, because of those stinking goblins)


    I am an idiot, I get so excited and then made an entrance in front of them. This is a little embarrassing. I guess the flag isn¡¯t broken yet, the people here that would be here should be hunters.


    I¡¯m not sure about the one there bleeding, but the other two were still alive, I could see the goblin gathering around them in the middle of the battle, and my gamer brain is telling me that it¡¯s bad to kill the goblins. (kill steal)


    It¡¯s bad that I was little confused as to whether I should help them or something  and I couldn¡¯t think of them too much.


    Suddenly, I received an impact from my head ¨C I knew immediately that it was from the ogre¡¯s club  but I hadn¡¯t expected to take that  unguarded. Fortunately, It¡¯ hurts a little but I¡¯m not injured.


    [What¡¯s with this body] I asked myself.


    Perhaps the ogre isn¡¯t serious, but it failed to kill me with even if it went full power. In other words the ogre has no chance in winning. The goblin around me laughed as I took the ogre¡¯s attack head on. They don¡¯t seem to grasped the situation. Come to think of it, this ogre is also smirking. Seems like, he doesn¡¯t understand the situation as well. I doubt he will survive in the wild. The big creature got slammed in the concrete pillar 10 meters away from me and hung it¡¯s head down. The distance isn¡¯t enough for it to escape. So I leaped forward towards the blown ogre. As I was about to stand in front of him I noticed that he already lost consciousness and falls forwards as if being torn off the wall.


    As a result, I magnificently land in front of the ogre¡¯s head.


    I felt a very squishy and disgusting sensation from the soles of my feet.


    [Guaaaaaaaaah!]


    I tought my screem would be more like [Kyaa~]  but it was more huge and more filthy than I expected.


    It¡¯s disgusting. I lift my foot up and a sticky string formed so I immediately wiped the stuff off my feet, but a sudden numbness assailed my whole body as if I received an electric shock. The pain is Incomparable from the pain is incomparable to anything I¡¯ve ever experience before, but I¡¯m able to endure it with more to spare.


    I turned around to look for the cause of the pain, and there stands a goblin pointing it¡¯s wand at me.


    (Did this guy used magic on me?)


    I don¡¯t know what spell was used but I can assume that it came from that wand. I know that the goblins can use tools, but where did they get that?


    It¡¯s not important right now though,


    (You mere goblin!)


    I leaped towards the goblin with the wand, and the other goblins fled  like spiders when I turned the goblin with wand into a meat paste.


    I tried to wipe off the bloods on my hand and take the wand¡­ but it got broken


    [Ah! I shouldn¡¯t have killed it]


    The blood rushed to my head and I failed to control myself. I know that I to kill it quickly but the fact that I failed to control my power means that I haven¡¯t mastered this body yet.


    [There would be another opportunity to test myself]


    Let¡¯s change focus, I looked at the hunters who have had they¡¯re prey accidentally stolen, but the human that I thought was alive was not moving a twitch at all. Actually, the whole body was crushed gruesomely.


    They were surrounded and cornered and they could have been beaten up and turned into such gruesome figure.


    [There¡¯s should be one more of them]


    I thought there are two of them.


    I failed to notice them, or rather I failed to see them because the goblins gathered around them like a shroud. It was also difficult to notice because my line of sight is high and they we¡¯re pressed against the floor.


    That¡¯s probably the woman who got pushed down and stripped off and is in the verge of getting done in. She¡¯s in a state of disarray, that there is only few clothes left clinging to her body, in other words, she¡¯s almost completely naked.


    It¡¯s natural to subconsciously look at them as if to burn that image to your eyes so you can grasp them from both front and behind.


    (Those boobs are huge!)


    In addition, if you look closely there¡¯s a beautiful woman and a beautiful girl.  The beautiful woman only has her skirt left and her upper body is completely naked. Her disheveled semi long auburn hair draped over her shoulder looks erotic, and her large breast, which could be size 6 or even size 7 naturally drew my eyes.


    While the girl have her clothes torn off and her underwear ripped off, everything should be in full view, but because of how her long blond hair gets in the way and hides her important parts to an artistic level, that it looks like it came out of a hentai manga. This scene should be saved and take a picture of. Her breast size is fairly normal ¨C maybe size 2 or size 3.


    The beautiful woman with large boob and is conscious stares at me, points the tip of her broke bloodied staff to me, and slowly creeped backwards probing for the unconscious blond girl.


    She can¡¯t even stund up, and she is looking  for the girl behind her so that she doesn¡¯t take her eyes off me. Every time she moves backward a little, her big boobs that she didn¡¯t bother to hide jiggles. As I watched those bountiful breast sway, she finally reached the hand of the girl. She pulled her closer, little by little and grasped the girl¡¯s head over her breast. There goes my boobs appreciation time.


    [Gah, ha]


    A disappointed sigh escaped my lips but It doesn¡¯t matter to me, I¡¯ve already saw those massive knockers undulate while she tries to pull the girl over to her.


    In any case, I don¡¯t want to do anything to them, so I decided to loot some of the fallen hunter¡¯s belonging, since even if you look at it in any other way there¡¯s no denying that I saved them so I would like to take these items as a thank you.


    I turn my back to them and head over the backpack of the deceased hunter and I also took the sword of the man whose head got crushed. The handle is quite small as expected but it¡¯s still a valuable blade.


    The big breasted beauty says something from behind me


    [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!]


    It¡¯s probably the Seizelian language, unfortunately thought I can¡¯t understand it. I didn¡¯t look back, I just glanced at them and left with my spoils at my hands. I can still hear their voice from behind but since I can¡¯t understand them, I ignored them. It pains me to leave those two ladies behind but I have more pressing matter to attend to so it can¡¯t be helped.


    Yep, I am in a complete bliss when I noticed something. My partner didn¡¯t respond at all. Even though those bountiful breasts shook magnificently, my eternal partner did not respond as if it never existed.


    Uh, Miss boobs, you¡¯re still saying something, isn¡¯t it too long?


    I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s saying something like [Thank you for saving me!] I can understand those naked girls for trying to stop me from leaving them.


    (Sorry ladies¡­ I¡¯m not qualified to answer your calls right now)


    I¡¯ve lost something important as a man¡­ nope as a male. I don¡¯t know what to do in my current situation. Besides, we¡¯re near the border of Seizelia¨C if you¡¯re a hunter and now that the ogre is gone, you two can safely go home. I ignored her voice and left the base without exploring the remains of the base. I wondered if I should have escorted them back, but I¡¯s still sick from crushing the ogre¡¯s head. I want to wash the blood and meat off quickly and I also want to know what¡¯s inside the bag pack as soon as possible. I don¡¯t feel that it¡¯s appropriate to look on it in front of the former owner, so I can proudly claim that I still have a common sense.


    Some people might say [If you have a common sense, then don¡¯t take other people¡¯s stuff!] but I¡¯m a monster, so that don¡¯t apply to me.


    Author¡¯s note:


    Extra: Imperial Style bra sizes


    Size 1 bra is equivalent to cup B, the average in the empire is size 3 with the equivalent of cup D. In this work the woman with size 6 or 7 has cup G or cup H.


    (The next work would be from a different point of view, the goblin would be shown properly)


    T/N


    This is a deduction based the authors logic


    Conversion


    Size        Cup


    0              A


    1              B


    2              C


    3              D


    4              E


    5              F


    6              G


    ____________________________________________________________________________


    So after 7 days in confinement and 3 test I was finally freed from quarantine looks like having vaccine really does help


    To celebrate I would be releasing the new light novel translation I¡¯m working on

 CH 8

    A certain adventurer¡¯s point of view


    I pulled a bad draw.


    I let out a sigh loud enough for the man besides me to notice, and hid my expression behind my dark blue witch¡¯s hat. My party originally specializes on subjugation quest and not on search missions. I can¡¯t help but complain, especially since we don¡¯t know what we are looking for.


    We bet our lives without worries, because of how simple and hassle-free subjugating targets are.


    However, the fact that such request was given to us means that the search inside the ¡°Great Forest of Fleuretus¡± proves to be difficult.


    It may have been a good move that the guild gathered a lot of adventurers for this mission, but it looks like the result isn¡¯t as good as they wanted it to be, and the amount of adventurer returning from the mission is obviously small, so that¡¯s why they started sending the best one out there to explore the forest.


    [I¡¯m not really in the mood to search¡­]


    [Don¡¯t be like that. If we did great on this job we might get a good reputation from the guild and get good jobs next time, Let¡¯s take this one loss for now]


    The red haired man next to me, Rizer tries to calm me down, I know I¡¯m bit resentful by the fact that I was given more work aside from monster extermination giving me added troubles.


    [Dammit!]


    I said, and folded my arms under my chest to express my dissatisfaction, lifting my breast up that draws his gaze to my cleavage


    (If you became a better man, I¡¯ll let you touch them)


    It¡¯s not impossible to develop some feelings when you¡¯ve been working together for a long time, unfortunately it¡¯s not to my liking. As I pass through the familiar doors of the guild, I felt a few gazes on me. Since I was often approached by worthless men, It became a norm to me to work with Rizel. He¡¯s a good person to walk with, so as we walk out of the guild we are approached by a pair of a man and a woman who are waiting for us.


    [Brother! Is it true that you took the forest exploration?]


    A girl in white robe rushes over and tries to press into Rizel, but then the staff on her hand divert her path plunging directly to my chest. My dark blue dress and her white robe over lapped and I stroke her beautiful blond hair as if combing it. She accepts it without any resistance and turns a big smile towards me.


    [Yes it¡¯s true, Rena. Your brother wants us to explore the great forest]


    I complained while stroking Rena¡¯s hair, her brother Rizel, hurriedly spat out an excuse.


    [Give me a break Diera! I couldn¡¯t just not take it considering our future plans]


    [It¡¯s not like we¡¯re going deep into the forest, if it¡¯s just a bit further than the old empire, the most we¡¯ll find there would be tigers and that¡¯s no problem. In the first place, we weren¡¯t told what to look so we can just pretend that we found whatever it is.]


    The dark-haired man next to Rena interjected with [That¡¯s not even a problem!].


    It may be a sound reason, but this is a matter of quality.


    As a well-known party, the guild would not be satisfied with a shoddy job.


    [*sigh* if only those elves did something about this matter already, we wouldn¡¯t be hassled. What is those ear-folks doing?]


    The reason is that the Elven republic declared possession of the large chunk of the forest 5 years ago covering almost the entire old empire territory.


    [Well.. They¡¯re first to warn everyone of the ¡°hazardous pollution¡± and declared restriction on the area, then they¡¯re also the first one to violate it ]


    [I¡¯m betting that this was their plan all along and that the ¡°hazardous Pollution¡± was just a part of the elves¡¯ conspiracy]


    [Gista doesn¡¯t really like elves, does he?]


    [Yeah, He¡¯s still hold grudge on being rejected horribly]


    [No, I¡¯m not!]


    Gista denied loudly, after Rena voiced her suspicion.


    Rizel Joined us and we went and walk toward the busy street, I had thought that this scene would continue forever. I had hoped so.


    The situation couldn¡¯t be worse, the destination we decided was Don Fisher which was a ruin of an old imperial base.


    There¡¯s large amount of goblin and an ogre¡­ I instinctively knew that we might fail this time.


    This old Imperial base isn¡¯t gorgeous, and even if we are cautious, we still got completely surrounded.


    I feel like I understand those people who hated science.


    I drove the approaching goblin with my staff away using numerous light attacks, this is preferable than throwing strong attack, I have to wait until the vanguards chip number greatly.


    The vanguard should be able to do it, but their opponent is ogre, and because of the goblin¡¯s obstruction Rizel couldn¡¯t push through. Also, it seems like this ogre is experiences, when it saw that he is disadvantaged, he would turn it around to maintain the status quo.


    (Goblins are expendable, right?)


    I strike the goblin that jumped at me with staff while uttering those word in my head.


    The ogre is completely unconcerned about the loss of the goblins, waiting for us to get tired while dealing with Rizel.


    The situation is only getting worse, these goblins knew how to handle mages. That¡¯s why there¡¯s always a goblin with a shield disproportionate to its size


    (What kind of idiot would have his anti-magic knight shield get stolen?!)


    Thanks to you, this mage that can turn the battle around is getting blocked. My magic power in hand is not enough to reduce the number of goblins and the damage I did is not enough to defeat them. Although I was able to provide support when I saw an opening, I couldn¡¯t exert to much effort as I could get separated from Rena who is protecting my back.


    I use my magic to block stones and arrows, restrain goblins who¡¯s going to obstruct Rizel who¡¯s dealing with the ogre and protect myself and Rena¡¯s back while dealing with the front.


    Gista change to assisting us by shooting goblins, we reduced their number but they¡¯re still too many.


    (Damn! Looks like we would collapse first before Gista could reduce the goblins)


    (We¡¯re in a tight spot!)


    Our energy and concentration are being steadily drained away


    The moment of our defeat came in an unexpected way. A goblin with a staff as tall as it is appeared behind the pilar and pointed it staff against Rizel. By the time I realized it, a flash of lightning and thunder was produce by the magic ¡°Lightning Spear¡±. I was too late.


    I have no time to warn him. The ogre did not miss it when Rizel got stunned after he got hit by the lightning, and he was hit on the head by the huge club held by the ogre.


    When the ogre lift the club, there was the crushed head and body of Rizel.


    [Rizel!]


    The shouting Gista tried too step in front of the ogre to take Rizel¡¯s place. Immediately a goblin jumped on and cling to Gista¡¯s leg. As soon as he shove it off, another one jumped on him causing him to lose his footing and drop his knee and one of his hand to the ground. The goblin then swarmed Gista and beat him to a pulp.


    [GUaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar]


    With the ogre roar serving as the signal, the goblin attacked us all at once. The magic I fired without chanting was of little use. If I can¡¯t hit the right target it would barely scare off the goblins.


    [Don¡¯t Lick me!]


    I hit the goblin in the nose with a small explosion, taking its vision and at the same time hit it on its face with my staff, and then I hit another goblin with a cleave on the side of the head blowing it up. I lowered my stance and kicks the face of one of the goblins who tried to lunged at me, and again cleaved the staff to the side sending the goblins to fly away. Immediately after, I felt a blow from behind me


    (They threw the shield at me!)


    I staggered a bit because it was thrown using goblin¡¯s power but, in the situation, I¡¯m in, small things like this are enough to be fatal. Seeing an opportunity, the goblins pounces at me. Using my staff, I forced myself back up and avoided the goblins hand that is swinging at me.


    This the first time in my life that I had ever resented this large breast of mine. I thought that I had avoided the goblin¡¯s hand, but they still caught my clothes. The goblin rushed toward me whose lush bulges popped out from my slipped-out robe. I was able to knock off the first goblin that lunge towards me but it was able to grab the hem of my clothes and when it pulled me off my stance it grabbed me on my hand.


    I tried shaking it off me but three other goblins pushed me down and at the same time stomped at my wrist that holds my staff. When they noticed that I still didn¡¯t let go of my staff, they smashed a stone on my staff breaking it.


    As if it says ¡°It¡¯s in my way!¡± my robe was torn apart using a rusty knife, and despite my resistance, my clothes that covers me disappeared. I kicked and resisted the goblins who¡¯s holding my hands while grabbing my underwear, but failed to get them to release my underwear and it fell back ripping the last of my clothes. As soon as my foot reached out, the goblin that had been holding the shield grabbed my ankle and stepped on it¡¯s fallen comrade and get between my legs and hold my thighs.


    I struggled to get my arms free, but my breast we¡¯re shaking, which only made these goblins happier. The shield bearer¡¯s face loomed over me with his tongue crawling over my cheek. I gave it a headbutt on its face that looks like saying ¡°I¡¯m going to violate you~!¡±


    When I snicker at the shield bearer who holds his nose with one hand, the goblins around me laugh mockingly.  When I raised my voice in anger, they went silent at once. I knew this guy is the leader of the pack, but there¡¯s nothing I can do now. The shield-bearer glared at me and tried to grab my breast, but it was too big and its hand buried into and its nails dug deep. It punched me on the cheeks as if annoyed but I still didn¡¯t stop smiling.


    I looked at her and she looked back at me. Her long, beautiful hair is yanked out of her face, her vestments are torn off, and she is stripped down to her underwear. The goblins kicked her mace away from her reach.


    ¨CAnnihilation.


    The word comes to mind


    (I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t protect you)


    I thought of her like a true sister,


    I wanted to save her, even if it means risking my life.


    I nodded when I met Rena¡¯s gaze


    (I¡¯d rather die than be a goblin¡¯s toy¡­)


    The only way is to commit suicide.


    In this kind of situation, hesitation would only lead to worst situation.


    Rena nodded, because she knew that too


    Just as I was about to bit my tongue off, it appeared.


    It was a new kind of monster that looks like a mixed between a man and a lizard with its tail¡¯s length same as a goblin¡¯s height.


    When it landed in front of the ogre, it laughed as if to taunt it.

 CH 9

    [Fish-san, I¡¯m going to catch a lot! Ferment you, and eat you over natto!]


    Puhiko is sounds so enthusiastic as she drops her fishing line into the water.


    Fish sauce? No only natto huh, seems like Puhiko generally loves fermented foods.


    (Well actually, natto is a very important item)


    Although her love for natto was a complete setup, it originated from the event where Puhiko who was hungry when they first met was fed with natto and some left over rice. In short, she liked natto because it was the first present she received from the protagonist. But it doesn¡¯t matter now. I don¡¯t like natto, so I¡¯m so sorry.


    [I think I¡¯ll have fried rice]


    [Okay! Natto fried rice it is!]


    [I hear it¡¯s delicious and is used as a secret ingredient in curry]


    [Heh, like the curry from a soba shop?]


    [well, I don¡¯t know]


    [Natto tororo soba]


    [It¡¯s a good way to beat summer heat!]


    We proceed in our conversation, being mindful not to be bias on just one of them. This makes me feel like shouting at them to talk to a wall like a certain rainstorm master.


    It¡¯s really a pain in the ass to pay attention on details on gal games.


    Normally It would take a few minutes to finish an event just by reading, but in real life it takes several hours so it is tiring to be careful to not raise any flags.


    I would like to cut off all contacts with the heroines, but of course that would be impossible.


    Even if I don¡¯t romantically approach the heroines, I should at least have a ¡°friendly¡± relationship with them, otherwise it would be impossible to meddle with them if troubles come crashing in.


    Imagine if a stranger, suddenly approaches you while saying ¡°I¡¯ll give you money¡± or ¡°I¡¯ll help you¡± you would be wary right?


    Then again, I knew for certain that I will eventually outsource the work since it would be difficult for one person to maintain a strong connection to all of the heroines.


    But for this two, I can¡¯t treat them in a crude way. Puhiko is the main heroine of <Kumosora> so it¡¯s only natural. In fact, the story in Mika-chan¡¯s route wasn¡¯t that impressive but she plays an important role to set the stage for the game so she can¡¯t be left out in the corner of the stage.


    In the case of Mika-chan¡¯s route, she would become the Student Council president on her adolescence (High school? Not indicated in the paragraph) and has a wide circle of friend, which will allow the protagonist to meet other heroines and even create a flag due via Mika-chan¡¯s events like ¡°Help the Student Council with their work¡± or something like that.


    Meaning, I can¡¯t afford to get in Mika¡¯s bad side now or else the opportunity to get in contact with the other heroine will disappear for good and will end up affecting our future.


    All relationship in a gal game ¨C especially those that are set in the countryside are narrow and squishy. What a pain in the ass!


    And while we¡¯re at it. There¡¯s something that we definitely need to collect for the future


    [Fu- Fuhihi-! Yuu-kun Something amazing came! Help me!]


    The rod that Puhiko is holding was jerking crazily.


    This made Puhiko flustered and asked me for help


    [What?! Okay! Mika-nee, please bring me the net!]


    I shouted and grabbed Puhiko¡¯s rod from behind her


    [yes!]


    Mika-chan runs to get the net to catch the fish


    And after quite a few struggles, it peeked out of the surface of the water.

 CH 10

    [Alright! Let¡¯s catch them all at one go!]


    [Puhihi, gambare!]


    Matching my timing with Puhiko, we raised the rod on one swoop.


    [Pieeeeeeeeeeeeeee]


    The catch which appeared along with a strange sound that is similar to a shinobue (Japanese Bamboo flute) was a black rabbit. It¡¯s appearance can be compared to the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, Only that it¡¯s like a Japanese version of that rabbit. It wore a Happi coat that is like those worn at festivals, a pocket watch with kanji numerals written instead of the Arabic numerals and it also walks in two legs


    [wah, wah, wah]


    [e, e, e]


    A fantasy creature suddenly appeared, both Puhiko and Mika-chan got startled that they let go of the net and rod.


    In the game, this would be the right time for the black rabbit to appear, originally in the story the protagonist and the two heroines would be surprise and watched in amazement when this mysterious creature suddenly appeared and fled away.


    (I ain¡¯t letting you go! Useful item, GET!)


    I undid my crocodile-leather belt and tie up the black rabbit in an instant


    [Pyeeeeeee! Pye, pye, pye, pye, pye]


    The boisterous black rabbit became quite as soon as it saw the belt and obediently accepted the leash


    (Good, It looks like crocodile-leather item would work on it)


    This rabbit isn¡¯t just an ordinary rabbit, if you tried to catch it with a string or a rope or anything that isn¡¯t made with crocodile-leather, it would easily make its escape. After all, this is a time-space rabbit that possess the ability to jump through time space. Also, it has the ability to nullify all physical attack.


    So, why those items made with crocodile-leather works against it? It¡¯s because this black rabbit is actually the rabbit of Inaba. A creature buried deep in the darkness of myths. It has a sad past, that it once worked as the same way as the White Rabbit of Inaba but unfortunately it was tricked by the White Rabbit. It has since then sought and denied of its redemption.


    It¡¯s important to remember that such character like this mysterious creature, which are pretty common for gal games, also serves as the mascot of the game that appears throughout the series.  It also works as an utility character for the protagonist which allows the hero to warp into the past, future or over long distances for a price.


    It¡¯s commonly considered as a cheat rabbit with time traveling ability, and securing this rabbit this early would be beneficial to me in various way.


    [I bow down to <Nigamogi no Soraumiwatari no Omikoto> I seek thee by virtue of an ancient pact]


    I whispered at the ear of the black rabbit and make sure that the two nearby won¡¯t hear it.


    [Piyo, piyo, piyo]


    The rabbit nodded its head.


    Yes. By using its true name, I bind a contract with it. I¡¯ll make sure to work you a lot.


    By the way, finding out this guy¡¯s true name is a requirement for the good end in the loli-baba route which also required an excellent favorability.


    [Yuu-kun, what are you doing with the rabbit?]


    [You see, I¡¯m going to keep it as a pet]


    [I like him, Usagi-san is so nice, Yuu-kun can I pet him?]


    [Ok, but be careful not get bitten.]


    [Ye-s, ah, Usagi-san do you want some nattomaki?]


    The time-space rabbit flicked the nattomaki that was brought close to its nose with its long ears like a whip.


    Of course, it won¡¯t eat it. This cheat rabbit is a carnivore even though it is a rabbit.


    In Puhiko¡¯s route, there¡¯s a scene where She cut her own neck and give her blood to the black rabbit to let the protagonist escape from the enemy¡¯s clutches and send him through time and space. Which is gross.


    After getting this useful rabbit, I went back home and had some horse mackerel for dinner.

 CH 11

    Yes, the monster standing in front of basement entrance is me!


    You see it¡¯s great that I found an entrance to the basement but unfortunately, it¡¯s too small for me to get through.


    (I guess I have to break it down)


    And, without hesitation I made an immediate decision. It seems that there¡¯s no way of stopping this muscle-brain way of thinking that¡¯s slowly infecting me. Then again there¡¯s really no other way aside from breaking the entrance down.


    After enlarging the entrance by breaking it to the size enough for me to fit, I slowly descend through the steps.


    I don¡¯t see anything at the end of the steps, but I still am going to be careful since I¡¯m worried that I might destroy something if I land there forcefully.


    Finally, the treasure is in front of me! I looked around the dimly lit basement that was smaller than I expected with vigor. There I found three cabinets, a table and a chair. The only way for me to see what¡¯s inside of the cabinet that is locked tightly is to open it. I gently opened it¡¯s door which is already rusted.


    (¡­bottles?)


    The cabinet is filled bottles tightly packed inside. The labels on each bottle was beautifully preserved and still legible.


    (Hey, this is a ¡°Randir 1555¡± and a ¡°Hossier 1619¡±)


    Looks like this alcohol are of very old age, I guess this cabinet is meant for high-end liquors since a lot of it were aged.


    I let out a sight and open another cabinet and again it¡¯s filled with liquors and so is the last cabinet as well with an exception that the last cabinet also have a wine catalogue with it.


    (Quite an alcoholic, aren¡¯t you?)


    I can¡¯t believe they built a basement just to use the whole base to indulge in their hobbies, such disgusting abuse of authority.


    I tried to investigate the people who built this basement but I can¡¯t find any hint in the basement. I guess I could find some clue above ground.


    I found out that the man behind the basement is a colonel from the [Sezarian Front General HQ]. I couldn¡¯t read his name from the documents that I¡¯ve found, but I did find out that this base¡¯s purpose is to send tanks across the river.


    (I heard that they are building a bridge to cross the river somewhere, but the operation was not going as planned because it collapsed over or something)


    (If the river were narrower they wouldn¡¯t have to build a bridge)


    I think to myself, but I realized that the terrain might have changed so much in the past so there might be a reason why it could not be done.


    Not feeling the desire to drink some alcohol I decided not to bring any and continue my search above ground.


    In another basement I found, I keep finding skeletal remains. I want to ask How many people have the goblins eat. Goblins eats human flesh, the eat he men and rape the women.


    I wish I can find a gun that I can use but sadly there was none. My shoulder slumped in disappointment and then suddenly it hit me.


    (If there are many adventurers that have been killed here, there should be a plethora of weapons and equipment lying around here, right?)


    I thought to myself.


    After a careful search, I found what appears to be a human weapon, armor and magical tools that seems to be hidden.


    Here¡¯s a basic breakdown of the things I found.


    Weapons:


    Sword x7


    Spear x2


    Axe x2


    Armor:


    Shield x5


    Metal Armor x2


    Leather x8


    Tools:


    Torch x10


    Mysterious item x3


    Of all of these, the only thing I want are the tools.


    It¡¯s hard to discard this metalware, but they will just add bulk to my luggage. Aside from the armors and weapon these mysterious tools whose use is still unknown which is the same with one I just acquired.


    I have no Idea what it¡¯s used for but considering that adventurers keep carrying this item I should be able to narrow down its use.


    I concluded the search even though it was not as good as expected, but it¡¯s better than nothing. It¡¯s strange that the only thing we got are adventurer¡¯s item even though we¡¯re exploring a military base. But since we got information about my current geographical position, I decided to return from her for now.


    I found a sturdy box put my loots and decided to return. By the time I decided to go home It was already sunset so I decided to explore lightly while going back.


    I reached home when the sun already sets. It was good that nothing happened on our way home, but I feel like there¡¯s was nothing really going on around here. I guess changing the route is not enough. There¡¯s no change in the luggage and that I left except for some lizard resting on it.


    I took a bite on a piece of bread with expiration I don¡¯t know of, and complain about the saltiness of the dried meat while washing it down with water. I ate only small amount of food as I don¡¯t know the right amount was.


    I decided to check the items that I¡¯ve found


    (A stick made of wood that is about twenty-five centimeter in length and has thin tip inlaid with that looks like to be an ore that I have never seen before. It also has nothing that looks like a switch¡­)


    I tried shaking it but nothing happened.


    If this respond to certain keywords, I won¡¯t be able to use it. If that¡¯s the case then this is useless. I though as I was tapping the stones with the stick while saying [Gah, Gah, Gah]


    (If this is a magical item, it would become trash since it would require magical power or something. I wonder what other cases should I think of?)


    While I was thinking over it I noticed that the tip of the stick start glowing red. When I gently tried to touched it, it felt hot, and when I pressed it against some dead leaves, it caught fire leading me to believe that this tool is designed to act as a fire starter.


    No wonder adventurers often carry these tools.


    I found out while testing these tools that you need to tap the tip of the wand three times and it would turn on and the temperature would gradually rise.


    I¡¯m happy that the problem of igniting flames in the near future is solved already. Fire is the bastion of a civilization. The beginning of a civilized monster life! Unfortunately, my voice only produces this [Gao Gao] sound and so the only thing I can do with eat is cook some meat on it.


    A civilized life is still far away- so let¡¯s just go to bed. For some reason, I¡¯m not sleepy and I can¡¯t sleep so I would be staying up.


    Should I just proceed to travel up north, which was planned for tomorrow just to get an idea of the situation at night here in the forest.


    After pondering for a bit, I decided to go north now. I packed all my stuff into a big box and started moving it with two hands. I can carry it but it proves to be in the way more than I thought. So, discarded the box, reorganized my stuff and put then on the two back packs I had. Then I wrapped the magic sword with a cloth and tied it on the backpack with a string. I secure the bag under my arm to make sure it would be secure when I run, now I wish that there would be someone who can make me a back pack that would fit me, but I wonder where would such thing can be made?


    It¡¯s no use asking on things that you don¡¯t have.


    (Looks like everything is set, I can run with this, A bottle of water and the bread I took out earlier so there shouldn¡¯t be any problem)


    I took out the breads because it¡¯s [packaging] is cumbersome so I remove it and stuff the breads on the back. It¡¯s scheduled to disappear to my stomach tomorrow anyway so there¡¯s no problem.


    Then I¡¯m off, I bid my farewell to my once temporary base and begin my night time migration. Putting aside the time we use inside the facility, this is the first time that I have done some night activities, but it was so uneventful.


    I have a good night vision and sense of hearing and smell so we keep little caution and I¡¯m able to move around nicely. I did saw few nocturnal animals and insects which you cannot see during day time making the experience refreshing.


    At first, I¡¯m a bit afraid to enter deep into the forest but I soon came over it. I was able to move north in a lightspeed pace while listening to the sound of nature though there are times that I had to change direction a few times because of the moon hiding behind the clouds. I continued going north while observing my surrounding and before I knew it it¡¯s already dawn.


    (Even after running that long, I¡¯m only out of breath by a little)


    I took a deep breath and look at the sky. The surrounding tree might be in the way but I knew that the sky is clear and the sun would soon rise.


    I drop my luggage and prepare for an early breakfast. I ate moderate amount of dried bread and meat and empty a drinking bottle. I drank a lot of water from the river and it seems that it had no effect to my body, so I guess, it¡¯s okay to drink it. As I rest and wait for sunrise the forest gradually grew brighter and brighter.


    Then I notice a large thing in front of my view.


    (Huge! What tree is that?)


    I found a tree that seems to be 20 meter in height, or maybe even bigger than that. I only estimated it based on what I can see. I decided to climb it to see my surrounding and walk toward the tree.


    Climbing tree isn¡¯t one of my forte, but with this spec and ability, I knew I can handle it, no problem.  It is thick enough for me not to worry of it breaking once I tried climbing it and as I got closer, I can confirm that it really is huge.


    It¡¯s thickness has the same measurement of both of my arms out stretched. So, I checked if there¡¯s anything weird or strange on the tree and climbed it after confirming that there wouldn¡¯t be any problem. It easily supported my weight.


    When I reached the height where I can see past above the other tree, I finally saw what I want to find. The place that is once a concrete forest and now is nothing but a ruin covered in green. Yes, that¡¯s definitely the ruin of the old imperial city.


    I finally found the what I need to get my exact location.

 CH 12

    The ruins of the city ¨C which looks like a landscape of an abandoned city eroded by nature and over grown with trees and plants, that is more familiarly seen from behind the monitor. Only few building retained it shapes on the ruined city, no matter the size of it, they share one thing in common, Their covered by plants.


    (Let¡¯s start finding things about this city first)


    With no trace of the outer wall, makes it clear that I¡¯m inside the inner part of the city.


    Imperial City situated near the borders of the empire are mostly designed to have multiple layers of high outer wall that is heavily equipped with anti-air weaponry like anti-air guns. This strategy allowed the empire to protect its citizen against invasions of flying monsters.


    Because of this Anti-air strategy, the empire gained the largest territory and enjoys the massive support of its citizen because of their capabilities to do what no other was able to do. They are able to eliminate the threat for the air.


    Though dragons are still considered the greatest threat of that time and could not be eliminated. There¡¯s still no doubt that the Empire¡¯s national power was strengthen by this achievement. This led to the increase in immigration from the neighboring country and leading to diplomatic problems. The other country started clamoring and starts blaming the Empire with baseless accusation such as [Your country is killing all those flying monster so now they¡¯re flocking in to us! What are you going to do about it!].


    Looking back, this may have been the impetus of the war.


    Canaan has always been in the throat of the Empire, with their geographical location enclosed by the sea on the north and the impregnable elven forest on their west. The only choice they have is to go south against the empire if they want to go gain more power.


    After investigating , I confirmed that there¡¯s no outer wall left on the city and that I¡¯m inside the inner city. Now I need to know the name of the city I¡¯m currently in. Looking closely I can tell that even if the building is not on their original form, it failed to hide the fact that this is once a highly urbanized city.


    I do have a few candidates of which city is this.


    I search the main road for road sign or something while slowly walking on the scuffed and cracked roads. I maintained a slow pace in order to make sure that I don¡¯t miss a thing.


    I found my first sign, but unfortunately, even though it is intact, the words written are unreadable, and leaving no hint behind. My second find reveled where I am. Eikwel a city that is one of my guessed. This city works a support to other city that is in the frontline in the northern east part of the Imperial territory. Now If I head north-northwest I should reach Roukdir the city closest to Canaan and at the east is the fortress Old Fort Carnache.


    Now that I know where I am currently. I don¡¯t have to worry about my future plans, since this will allow me to head to the Imperial Capital whenever I wish without getting lost.


    Incidentally, I¡¯,m a wealthy resident of the Imperial City and if I had the ability back then I could have went for the advance course. Well it¡¯s only a possibility. Anyway, Since I now fulfilled my first objective, It¡¯s time to explore!


    Because of my large size, the building I can enter is limited, but because their already worn down, there¡¯s no problem if a break it a little bit more.


    I began searching on abandoned building knowing that they would be here. They really do appear everywhere, which is a problem. I guess it would be possible that they would appear in every crook and cranny of the old Empire. I honestly don¡¯t want to think all about how many of them are there around.


    With their incredible fertility, I could imagine the Imperial Scholars going ¡°What heck are these guys?!¡±


    So let¡¯s treat this a ¡°olfactory training¡± that also works as an extermination job. Though we have to be careful to sniff out other living creature aside from the goblin smell. This is why I started this training, try to differentiate the small is quite difficult.


    Normally humans, can only pick few information from the smell unless you¡¯re someone whose job uses such specialized skill and can be indifferent to various smell. So even if my current sense of smell is improved largely If I can¡¯t do it I wouldn¡¯t be able to realized it¡¯s full potential.


    (Yeah, this is impossible. It¡¯ll take me quite a long time to get use to this)


    I gave up training my sense of smell and decided to just focus on exterminating those goblins. I went down the road in brisk pace, destroying building and hunting goblins. As I do that I also look around to check for something interesting but unfortunately found nothing. I often saw wild animal running away, but because of the over-powering goblin¡¯s stench, I failed to notice them. After killing 30 of them, I suddenly remembered something


    (If I¡¯m going to flee north, what city was in that direction anyway?)


    I dug up my memory about this city Eikwel, but nothing come ups. I¡¯ll leave that thought for later since cleaning the city from this goblins infestation comes first if I want to explore this city deeper.


    For sometimes now, While walking boldly across the street I noticed that the goblins who would see me starts running up north. I wonder what¡¯s in there. Are they trying to lead me somewhere or are they confident that they can beat me? Since I thought it would be not much of a problem, I decided to follow them. Along the way, I look around, but I haven¡¯t seen a store nor a single house that is in pristine condition. There are signs though of the building getting stripped of their material and collapsed.


    Finally I reached the end of the street were a certain building lies, similar to a place I used to go.


    (A school¡­ a gymnasium or something)


    The structure is still relatively in good condition now wonder those goblins holed up in here. Now they¡¯re huddling in front of the school, and it also looks like that the building is packed with them.


    There are sign of reenforced wall along the building making it certain that this is residence of this goblins. It seems like that stadium that their protecting is where their boss is.


    As expected they started blocking my way with their superior number.


    [So what?] You ask? The stench keeps on getting stronger and stronger! Enough that I want to throw up! And, there¡¯s a strange smell coming from my destination as well! I think that I would suffocate if I enter that.


    I forcefully created an entranced with ventilation using kicks and punches and I finally broke down the wall. There, the source of the smell, a bloated green monster, whose hulking body lies in mats and bedding welcomes me.


    (No wonder their number are too many, a queen is in here)


    It¡¯s a fact that goblin uses other species to breed on, but only the goblin queen gives ¡°birth¡± to it.


    (T/N the difference is that one dies and the other survive)


    As long as the queen is well fed and healthy, these queens can give three to four goblins a day, it was so surprising that even the Imperial Scholars are surprised. It can¡¯t even be explained by science but by magic alone. Also, some kind of phenomenon will occur if a high-class species called the leader-types such as a king or a queen appears.


    (So the reason this guys didn¡¯t bother scampering away is because of the existence of the goblin queen.)


    Yes. A goblin herd that has a leader type would not immediately run away. Normally, goblin herd scurry away when the situation they are in becomes unfavorable, but with an existence of a so-called leader they would not flee just because of the strength of the opponent or the difficulty of the situation. These goblins will resist unless you crush their head.


    When I showed myself, the queen let¡¯s out a high-pitched scream and the goblin starts pouring out of the school building that collapsed here and there.


    Even facing three hundred or four hundred goblins, I don¡¯t feel like losing to them. And, by looking at their weaponry we can assess the power of this herd. But even if they are to possess heavy weapon it would be nothing but short of stone spear and arrows


    Its just a simple extermination. I charged against the goblin outside. They arrow they fired does not pierce me, and the stone thrown at me shattered and does not even serve as an obstruction. Even Those stone spear and axes broke. In contrast, a swing from my fist kill several goblins, as well as a swing of my tail proves to be fatal. Each step I take, I kicked a goblin and blows other away as collateral.


    I¡¯m definitely in Musou state!


    It¡¯s obvious that these goblins can¡¯t do anything against me, their strength is not enough for their attack to deal damage to me. There¡¯s no way that those stone weapon they posses can deal damage to my steel like hardness of my body.


    If you put it in game terms, my defense stat are much higher than their measly strength stats making it so that attack does not deals damage on me. That reminds me even magic that has been casted against me on the old military base by a goblin doesn¡¯t even hurt let alone damage me.


    The flames from them certainly is hot, but it disappeared quickly so I need not to worry about burns and I might have possibly have heat resistance too. Therefore, the only way you can deal pain to me is by using a more powerful magic item.


    Of course, there¡¯s no way goblins here can possess such things far from any huma civilization. More over this is a former Imperial territory were magical items are impossible to find.


    This leaves out the most possible way they can use to deal damage against me ¨C poison. But even that may not be effective against me. With a body this strong I won¡¯t be surprised if it works less against me. Secondly most of the poison that can be found naturally in the empire are hard to handle that I doubt creature such as goblin would be able to handle it.


    There are still somethings that can kill me, but how could they get the poison would be the question.


    Extract them? As if those goblins can.


    Get them from an hospital or pharmacy? Maybe, I f they can administer it.


    It would be too overly cautious to consider that poison from 200 years ago will still work.


    If anything, their body odor is definitely in the class of a biological weapon.


    (I can¡¯t deny that this guys¡¯ stench is a bio-weapon)


    As I swear internally while kicking them away, the goblin queen screams again summoning another batch. Honestly just call them all, It¡¯ll make my life a lot easier!


    Finally, after 3 or 4 hours of extermination, the wave of reinforcement had been cut-off. No matter how much scream the queen does, nothing comes out. Suddenly another group of goblin appeared with noticeable better equipment and pointed their spear at me.


    What are you, the queen¡¯s SS?


    Their weapons are made in metal, but it was so crude that it looks the metals were found around town and then sharpen. Some of them used magic against me, but when I punched a chick of stone at them, they got wiped out. Looks like they got hit critically by the flying debris. Now, the 15 SS goblin that came at me, are wiped out in less than 10 seconds,  leaving a bloated queen alone.


    Now How should I kill this queen? I don¡¯t want to get near her, because her smull is just so offensive. SO here¡¯s what we can use: a rubble, in short kill her using projectiles, after all she¡¯s a huge target and it will be a good practice.


    (How many throws would you think will kill you?)


    The first throw- went a miss by a large margin, passing through the head of the lying queen.


    For the second throw, I put a firm aim and hit her on the shoulder.


    The third throw, while ignoring her wailing, I aimed at her stomach and she started coughing up. I don¡¯t think that she would make it but I don¡¯t care, I released the fourth throw and it hit on her head and I felt satisfied with the result.


    Now all that remained was to get rid of the queen¡¯s offspring. And the cleanup would be complete. I found them inside the school building, I thought that they would be there because there are a lot of rooms there, really they haven¡¯t thought out too well. I broke down the wall to get an aim at them. The goblin children who have now lost its path of escape because of the goblin carcasses that are blocking the door are now running around the classroom in circles.


    I carefully shot them down with the rubble from the wall, one by one as if I¡¯m just playing a game. As a result Thirty-three goblin children were exterminated in 2 separated rooms.


    I put my attention and listen if there¡¯s other presence nearby, but found nothing is present in the nearest vicinity.


    The city cleanup is now complete!


    Dragons of this world:


    It is considered the largest flying creature existed. It boast a length if 12 to 35 meters and can be compared to Western dragons in appearance. Their habitat could be found at the southern part of the continent. The old empire and surrounding country have been plaqued by this dragonic attack that are considered a gruesome natural disaste

 CH 13

    After finishing up the cleanup of the school I quickly moved on. The stench is unbearable urging me to wash off my body. The school may have a water tank, but I don¡¯t want to use something that those goblins use on a daily basis. I know that I can¡¯t be extravagant but please, at least this once let me find another washing spot.


    I found this former trash bin filled with accumulated rain water, unfortunately it¡¯s infested with bugs, so no way I¡¯ll use this. In the ended up using water from the sewer, fortunately it¡¯s far cleaner and has less odor than those found outside probably due to the fact that the only thing that flows into it are rain water for the last 200 years. And the collapsed road that creates gaps served as ventilation to it. This make me appreciate the power of nature.


    Then again, I prefer civilization.


    Now, with a refreshed body I decided to return to my luggage and start exploring the city. I¡¯m still bothered by the lingering scent of goblin but it would be a waste to not use the sun for exploring so I checked out the houses and the store one by one.


    At lunch I ate the dried bread and consume the half bottle of water, which isn¡¯t very fulfilling.


    I was lucky to mind a mountaineering backpack while collecting newspapers and book that I can read. The size is large enough for me to fit my arm, and even if I can¡¯t carry it on my back the straps are helpful in increasing the capacity and the bag is durable enough. A little beet of modification and this would increase convenience for me more.


    I¡¯m so excited to search for tools that could be used and at the same time found some information that we could use.


    Now the with the help of a belt I was able to carry the mountaineering backpack on my back. Put the sword on one of its straps and a well preserved shovel opposite of the sword.


    [Gah-ha!]


    I howled with sense of satisfaction.


    The Increase capacity ensure more clean jars, I also gained some clothes, sheets pots and pans that are still usable.


    What about information? You ask.


    Let¡¯s talk about that later.


    I searched a store with bloodshot eyes hoping to find something. Then I found the mall afterwards. I was overjoyed with to see this. And because the inside of the mall is huge I was able to get in without problem. Unfortunately, most of the items that are in display are useless. So, I decided to raid the warehouse ¨C the unopened inventory. Can¡¯t get through the ware house? Let¡¯s just break in!


    I decided to look at the pile of loot I acquired after opening the warehouse, while thinking to myself [I¡¯m not letting this go to waste]. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t bring everything with me¡­


    Anyway, I carefully choose those that I could bring with me, but with me wanting this and that, I ended up in me not making up my mind.


    I choose a pot for cooking and boiling water. As for knives, I guess I won¡¯t bring them since I have a magic sword.


    (Oh but santoku knives are¡­ nah they¡¯re too hard to handle especially with their size¡­ I guess I should end it here)


    I continued selecting items while sometimes regretting and sometimes not regretting it. And before I knew it, it¡¯s already evening.


    In the end I decided to bring with me a clean cloth, a blue tarpaulin, two pots and five bottles. Then there¡¯s the sledge hammer and a griddle. I want to bring the wire net with me as well but unfortunately, there¡¯s nothing okay to bring with me.


    The unopened blue sheet would be rolled up and attached to the back pack as well as the griddle plate while the sledge hammer would be carried as it is. The backpack is only half-full but it will be filled with food.


    (The we need a container for our food¡­ a there¡¯s one!)


    I found a cooler box that would be put on my left shoulder.


    (What the heck is this get up?)


    It doesn¡¯t look suspicious but no matter how you look at it I look like a child who just had finished a botched-up plastic model.


    But don¡¯t underestimate this appearance just because it¡¯s looks unattractive. There¡¯s no way that this equipment ,  which is designed with functionality in mind, would be useless¡­ Maybe except for the sledge hammer¡­


    I don¡¯t have much confidence with the sledge hammer as I think my fist would suffice but, It¡¯s a sledgehammer it just screams coolness in another whole level, so why not take it with me. I can use this to swing around against goblins and it would help me stay clean against them so it¡¯s houldn¡¯t be a waste.


    With time running out and the night approaches, I decided to stay here for the night. I went to the furniture store I found earlier and remove by backpack off. I gathererd some bed matting to make place to sleep on and used the tattered furniture as barricade on the entrance.


    I laid down on the makeshift bed and closed my eyes.


    A good morning to you from the shopping mall!


    I know I definitely fell asleep; the evidence is that it was dawn when I came to, Also, it wasn¡¯t that too long after it went dark that I went to sleep so I might have slept for quite some time.


    This led me to a hypothesis.


    (I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m correct but, I don¡¯t think this body can feel hunger, thirst or drowsiness)


    If this is true then this will be troublesome, I would need high amount of self-control and it would be a hassle. The fact that I wouldn¡¯t know when should I eat or drink and the amount I should eat or drink as well should be determined soon


    So, I decided to increase the amount of food I eat and the water I drink so I checked the current amount.


    300g of dried meat and no water.


    The need to hunt than to explore suddenly dawned to me. Even if the water is boiled, I should avoid drinking water from the sewer as well.


    (It might be better to check some information and then head to the river)


    It¡¯s that there¡¯s no more time left, so I don¡¯t have to be in a rush since the magazine and the newspaper I collected would not escape anyway.


    I leave my bulky luggage for the meantime and head over east. With gradual speed increase, I manage to test the modified bag and fortunately it went ok. With no incident happening after arriving on the river, I drank a lot of water, wash my body and filled the cooler with lots of fish that I wouldn¡¯t eat for now. Before setting out I decided start a fire grill some fishes and boiled some water. Compared to the last time I noticed that I¡¯m moving more nimbler and my tail can now move better. Even though I won¡¯t be able to grab things due to the limitation of the range of it¡¯s motion and thickness of it I¡¯m getting better at smacking things around. Eventually I hope that I can grab thing using my tails soon.


    After taking a breakfast, I returned to my base at the shopping mall after refreshing my supplies.


    I¡¯m steadily getting used to maneuvering around the forest. Now I¡¯m able to use 60% of my speed without issue. Thanks to this I was able to return mid-afternoon.


    (The speed with this huge body is just cheating¡­)


    Not to mention, that I have monstrous stamina. Running for 3 hours with almost no shortness of breath is amazing. This is the physical ability that I¡¯m proud off but now it¡¯s time for my brain to work.


    I read and decipher information from the news and magazine I¡¯ve collected. There¡¯s not so much information except that the war situation had worsen. The western front collapsed due to various operation failure. If the information are controlled, it¡¯s possible that the situation have been worser than depicted here. I guess that those elves prove to be formidable opponents. There¡¯s also some information about evacuation to the inner cities.


    Contrary to the situation on the west, the north and east was reinforced while the southern front have the upperhand.


    I wonder if this is true, I guess I¡¯ll doubt this one for now.


    Second, I can¡¯t seem to find any information about genetically enhanced soldier, which I should have expected.


    The most important thing to note is the dates. There are no publication after May 1667, I went searching just to make sure but the there¡¯s nothing I can find beyond that point.


    (it¡¯s as if this ¨C )


    Then I found a newspaper; dated May 25, 1667 of the Imperial Calendar which read: ¡°Decision to Introduce the final weapon.¡±


    I have bad feeling about this¡­ Is it because I¡¯m a genuine Imperialist myself?


    [Mother land, did you really just self-destruct?]


    I looked up the sky and thought to myself, but I still have no enough proof I continued searching until the sun went down but I couldn¡¯t find anything more than this. Perhaps there¡¯s no more available information from this city.


    (I guess I should go to other city or go directly to the Imperial Capital to get more information)


    I guess that¡¯s one more to my objective. As long as I get something to do, I¡¯m sure I can get by without going crazy.

 CH 14

    The next morning, just barely before dawn, I woke up after a four hour of sleep and I guess that this body does not need that much sleep. Since it¡¯s too early to have breakfast, I decided to prepare my stuff to go to Rukdiel, but after I finish this glass of water.


    Since I already finished those left-over fishes from yesterday, I have no choice but to hunt something along the way.


    (Since I have blade, I should practice dismantling as well.)


    [Ah living sure is hard work] I muttered as if I¡¯m talking to someone else.


    It made me think, if I could try eating raw meat, it would definitely solve any nutrition problem but unfortunately, I don¡¯t think I can stomach it.


    I can¡¯t still let go of my humanity. I tried saying something cool like that, though honestly, I who have lived a civilized life aren¡¯t ready to give it up.


    The sky is still dark, but it won¡¯t stop me. I figured that we¡¯re heading north-northwest and mase on our current speed we should reach the ruin of Rukdiel by noon.


    I also have to fix my backpack and cooler to not impede my movement too much. I should also fix my tarpaulin sheet as it keeps rolling into a stick and keeps hitting the trees.


    While travelling, I found what seems to be an old railway covered with grass so I decided to go that way. I remembered that Rukdiel possessed a train station and decided to follow the trail of the railroad and because of the scarcity of tree and vegetation in the vicinity of the rail road I was able to quickly get close enough to see the town before noon which is earlier than planned.


    There¡¯s a ruined of a fortified wall ¨C I¡¯m sure this would be Rukdiel)


    Before I enter the town, I drop my luggage in a nearby tree and use the sledge hammer as a marking. After drinking a glass of water I¡¯m ready to go and crossed over the collapsed wall while looking out for sounds and certain odor. Sure, enough I smelled that distinct odor.


    (They¡¯re here too as expected)


    I exhaled and use mimicry to blend in to my surrounding and move stealthily. This would be an experiment to test if those goblins would be able to detect me.


    Suddenly I heard a faint sound, and it¡¯s definitely a voice, a human voice to be precise. Unfortunately, it belongs to man and one of them is making a loud noise.


    I moved to the direction where I heard the voice and suddenly a goblin come running from the direction where the voice is.


    (Heavily injured, and is running away. Looks like it¡¯s in a midst of battle)


    The fact that the goblins are fleeing means that there¡¯s no existing ¡°Leader class¡± here. It¡¯s quite unclear whether this goblin settlement is just a pack or is being lead by another monster either way this would be a good way to observe how Canaanites do their battles.


    I moved swiftly towards the battlefield while making sure that I don¡¯t make a sound and just left the goblin since it¡¯s going to die anyway.


    Finally approaching as distance near the battlefield, I can now clearly hear the voices of both humans and goblins. I positioned myself at a sturdy looking structure that doesn¡¯t look like it would collapse, and see what¡¯s going on.


    (This is perfect)


    It¡¯s a perfect position. There were 50-armed people surrounded by goblins in a hall like open space. There looks like 300 goblins there with 30% of them are armed with metallic weapons.


    A pack of this size would probably have the ability to use poison, so even a 50 well-armed group wouldn¡¯t be to careless. The evidence is the fact that not a single human corpse lying on the ground and the place is littered by goblin¡¯s corpse. Against a well-organized group, goblins who are moving on their own proves to no match against outnumbered the humans.


    In the command of a large man who sports a huge sword, the troops moved accordingly and the amount of goblin corpse dramatically increase


    (I see so he¡¯s the one in command¡­ I guess it was his voice that I heard.)


    [This is already finished]


    I felt like I was just watching a game, but with the outcome already decided.


    Those guys look like mercenary¡¯s base on their equipment, I guess this 50 people were sent here to subjugate these 300 poorly equipped goblins. Just to be clear, being surrounded is obviously not good. However, the mercenary group doesn¡¯t seem to care about it.


    The goblins who are inferior in every way, including with their equipment, skill and strength have no way of dealing with the situation and found their numbers dwindling, while the mercenaries are pushing them around while chanting [The first to rush in is the first to die!]


    (t/n this guy started talking/thinking like a commentator for a game, sadly the last time I watch a sports event that I¡¯ve watched was the last championship Kobe Bryant won so I¡¯m having a hard time reflecting that)


    Oh! Looks like the goblin side decided to pick stones. And the other as well is went up to pick up some stone. But a confusion happened and some of goblin started running away!


    The stone thrown were blocked by shields and leaves no effects. While the number of human arrows that rain down leaves no victim undamaged! It appears that the goblin¡¯s frontline collapsed and some had started to escape. The humans assaulted the collapsed side by the order of their commander.


    This is terrible! The goblin team is now being slaughtered without a way for a comeback. Those who failed their escape died and become mere stains to their sword and the humans now switched to perform a clean-up operation.


    What an overwhelming victory for the human side!


    I noticed, even though the mercenaries¡¯ equipment are not the same the sport the same red cloth wrapped around their right arm. It looks like the traditional Canaanite practice that I know of is still being used. They are indicator or symbol of being a skilled mercenary.


    [Cazetta ¨C Find them!]


    I picked up a few very audible Canaanite word.


    When the man who looked like a mage was called, he closed his eyes and begin chanting.


    Just to be careful, I step back and crouched down to a position that they wouldn¡¯t see me and where I can peek through the rubble.


    In under thirty seconds the mercenaries¡¯ pursuit relentlessly and bombard a wide area with magic.


    I dare say that I was a bit careless that I was one of the targets as well, because the mage pointed his staff at me and shouted loudly


    (Is this detection magic works like a sonar or more like a thermal scan?)


    Whatever, I don¡¯t understand magic anyway.


    It appears that they would divide their force, one group would proceed to clean up the goblins while the others would face me. I¡¯m sure that they can¡¯t see me but the fact that they can point their wand at me when I moved a little means that there¡¯s some sort of marking in the works here.


    If I retreat as fast as I can, it would be impossible for them to chase after me and catch up because of their speed so retreating is an option, but I would like to wait and see for the meantime.


    Even if I fought them now and scavenge the town after I¡¯m sure that there would be no more things to be found here due to the fact that humans have already been here and they might have already taken it. Secondly I don¡¯t know what would be the outcome of the battle if I fought.


    Honestly, I don¡¯t think that they would be a threat with the way they fight. I can¡¯t find any reason to be defeated but the only thing I¡¯m not certain is the effect of magic.


    As I was groaning in contemplation the mage started chanting again. Flames are emitted from his staff in a fashion of wide area clearly aiming to scorch me alive. I stood up from the position I¡¯m hiding and at the same time dispels the flame with my fist while I¡¯m release the mimicry, revealing myself.


    The mercenaries are astonished to see me appears out of the flame. With a single word the commander has shut down his men¡¯s murmurs and then he thrust his sword then swing it up and down seemingly like taunting me.


    (Since you¡¯re inviting me for a fight, It would be a shame to say no)


    Some mercenary chooses this career just to enjoy this fight and the commander seems to be the same, a so-called battle junkie.


    He exhaled and leapt from his spot and landed in front of the mercenaries.


    (There¡¯s 38 of them. There are three women. One looks like a priest)


    The other two were dressed skimpily and is in very revealing clothes. They wore a jacked tied along their hot pants and a piece of clothes like a tube and there¡¯s a knot in front of their chest. Are they okay with that? The defense seems kind of low.


    The men? I don¡¯t really care about them. They¡¯re all equipped and I¡¯m concerned about the odor of the few of them since they smell bad.


    I walked straight to the plaza without paying attention.


    (See? This looks exactly the opposite of the one before)


    I took the trouble to position myself in the center of the square and let them surround me.


    Now Let¡¯s see how the mercenaries of this era is faring.

 CH 15

    I knew this would happen.


    About 10 minutes into the battle and the result was they aren¡¯t able to hurt me. Why? Simple. The equipment technology has not progress for the last 200 years and with my attack power that is designed to destroy tanks and defense that would withstand bullets. With a prowess that is off the charts and ability to incomparable to humans. This is glaring result.


    Crossbows and arrows bounced back and does not piercing the skin, sword chips and spear breaks when the hit my body. They realized that cheap weapons would do so they have those with durable weapon to attack me. The commander is very capable man in deed to be able to adjust his command immediately, but I think that it is a good idea to reduce your number down to 15 while the rest of them can¡¯t do a thing making it difficult for them.


    (They should have equipped themselves better. And what would you do when you don¡¯t have mages or they¡¯re catching they¡¯re breathes. You knew that magic can¡¯t be casted simultaneously so why not get more of them?)


    With these thoughts in mind, I flicked an axe man with my tails. Currently there are eight people who are out of combat and so I¡¯m proud to say that I¡¯m able to hold back properly. I don¡¯t want this to end too early because this is my combat training exercise. You might think that I have too much leeway that¡¯s because of the weapon¡¯s performance that the mercenaries have. I have no need to be cautious for others except for the commander¡¯s great sword who flies instruction and is always in front of me.


    Since he¡¯s the only one who can be called dangerous in term of ability, It looks like his team depends on him too much which is kind of concerning.


    The mercenaries started ranting about something, but unfortunately with my language skills, I can¡¯t get what they say especially if they speak too fast. If I try to pick on the conversation, the commander would see it as an opening and would attack me.


    The 1.5 meter blade comes slashing at me but I¡¯m not so kind to receive it so I deflect it with my punch and forcefully changing it¡¯s trajectory.


    (That is a magic sword, no doubt about it)


    It¡¯s probably a type that combine durability enhancement and power enhancement like ¡°Harden¡± or something like that. Unfortunately If you really want to cut me get a diamond cutter, it¡¯s probably the ideal weapon for this fight.


    I avoided the blow while fending off attacks from other mercenaries and made sure to check their weapons and skill


    (I thought they have a gun or two¡­)


    What a waste of vigilance.


    Now that my biggest concern is gone now this would truly be my training ground.


    I did accidentally killed one person earlier because I was too wary but no one died as of yet after holding back. Fighting well-coordinated group is giving me good training in handling coordinated attack situation. And my body is now getting so much better. And, testing my manga knowledge, I started refining my movements as I was searching my own style.


    Perhaps the mercenaries are starting to notice that this is not a ¡°battle¡± at all.


    As if to dispel the bad atmosphere lingering, a beautiful wild girl rush from behind with loud yell.


    [Annie!]


    That must be the blondie¡¯s name. The way the commander called her voice suggested that she broke the chain of command and attack while ignoring her orders.


    Perhaps she wants to restore the morale of her allies, she charged in, but unfortunately for her I¡¯m not that na?ve to let such easy attack in. U sing my tail I sent the fastest blow in this battle so far while repelling flying hatchet with my left hand. Surprisingly, she glide past the cleaving blow and made me almost to shout [No way!]. Then she aim her crossbow at me clearly aiming for my eyes.


    (So, if she can¡¯t get through from a far, then point blank attack might do)


    The possibility isn¡¯t zero but what a bold lady to take such risk. It may seem over exposed but it seems that her light clothing and action were her greatest weapon. This is no doubt the reason I misjudged her.


    When she stretched her arms out and pulled the trigger, she thought she got me. But that was na?ve of her. My teeth stopped the blow that would have turned the table. I bit it so hard that my teeth sinks into the arrowhead. Then I spat it out and grabbed the blondie with my outstretched hand.


    Her waist is so nice and thin that I have no trouble holding her in one hand. She tried to pull herself out but the difference of strength between us is far too large.


    When I was about to throw her out, she was able to slip off downwards and I find some slippery substance in my hand and her jacket and tube top leaving the blondie naked from the waist up.


    (Was that Size 5?!)


    I was astonished, how can she do that?


    Then the blondie pulled out a scimitar. The moment she pulled it out it was covered in thin flames ¨C in other words it¡¯s a magic weapon.


    Of course, at this distance I knew she will attack me and the others are moving in as well. The greats word  is approaching at me at the front a great axe behind me and a Warhammer at my right.


    It would be easy to avoid that by jumping into the sky but¡­


    (I¡¯ll receive it!)


    The beautiful lady risked her life to create this opportunity and it would be bad if I just crush it easily. Rather they¡¯re moral would be too low that it would end my training abruptly.


    Since I can¡¯t take the blow from the commander. I strike the side of the great sword with a hook and blew him to the right. The man with the great axe blown off by my spinning tail that swung out. Then I catch the war harmer . since it was human size I caught it easily.


    I tried to fend off the attack from all three side but there¡¯s some that I can¡¯t defend and a swift blow had seem to pass through. Certainly I was hit on my sides, but sadly reality is cruel. Not even a scratch was dealt in my stomach.


    (It is indeed a little hot and painful.)


    In this situation that a single blow was essential, she saw an opportunity her comrades made take it and find it fruitless. So she tried to deliver a second blow which ended up her tripping, losing her balance and falling on her butt, raising my eyebrows and made a dubious expression.


    I throw the remaining jacket and clothes in my left hand and return back the hammer to its rightful owner.


    Most of the mercenaries now had lost the will to fight. That failed blow from the magic sword must have been the coup de grace for them. It didn¡¯t work, that¡¯s why she recklessly went after the second blow.


    (I made a mistake; this won¡¯t be a combat training any more but hunting)


    I point at the commander wo is the strongest of them all. Seemingly, he understood what I meant and with a single command his men moved away from me


    [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!]


    Yes Annie, the beautiful blonde woman is being held by the commander naked.


    I wanted to say [Put on some clothes] but I couldn¡¯t and the only think coming out of my mouth is [Gao Gao]


    Then again, I don¡¯t think that I can say such thing while everyone is staring at me, but I wonder am I the only one staring at her?


    As I held my gaze for a moment, the blondie stared at me with tears in her eyes as if she is not convinced although it seems like she understands what I meant. She started to get dressed and now I don¡¯t have anything to look at.


    The commander who¡¯s looking up to the sky, exhaled heavily and looked at me firmly.


    [sorry to kept you waiting]


    He probably said something like that and held his sword into a stance.


    It seems like he preferred to end this in a single blow.


    This valor¡­ is that what to be call refined?


    He looks like he lack a little bit of cleanliness, but I do wonder is this what a man who¡¯s going to a battlefield looks like?


    If that¡¯s the case it¡¯s only proper to respond in kind. So, for the first time in this combat training, I took a stance. I lowered my posture, pulled my right legs back and both of my hands in the ground.


    When we both finally take our stance, we stared at each other. The distance I almost 5 meters. While everyone is anxiously waiting, I was thinking on how I should settle this fight.


    (I guess there¡¯s only one way to end this)


    I¡¯ve decided. I¡¯m finishing it this way.


    I kicked the ground and closed the distance at once, he reacted and swing his sword down. But I accelerated even faster and grabbed his hand faster than how he swings his sword. I lifted him up and he tried to pull his right arm off and tried to pull out a dagger. Unfortunately, his right arm¡¯s finger are broken and can¡¯t pull the dagger out.


    I opened my mouth as wide as I can and at that moment, he must have realized his end.


    He takes a quick look at his men as if giving them his final order to [Live.].


    Some of his men shouted.


    But I nibble his head with my wide-open mouth, then spat him out as soon as I let go of his hands. He had sobbed as if gagging and he fell to the ground confused with face filled with saliva.


    I would rather prefer the wild blondie onee-san for such a sweet bite., specifically the breast. However, there¡¯s no other way to end it but with this.


    I break through the mercenaries¡¯ encirclement using my giant body while groaning with [Gua! Gua!]


    Not a single person chased after me as I retreated. Everyone must probably be stunned. It might not sound cool but my priority is to make sure I ¡°escaped¡±. I know it might sound na?ve but they gave me combat training and I see something good (size 5 boobs) so sparing them is the least I could do.


    Also Because of my position as an Imperial soldier, bullying the weak is a no go. Running over an opponent whose only equipment is a spear and as word with a tank is not a battle, it¡¯s a slaughter.


    Secondly, if I massacre them Canaan would definitely move to investigate and would be an obstacle to me.


    As long as I keep vigilant, this clever way of managing this knowledge gained from manga will rise (?)


    Well. Let¡¯s have the commander wear some mud, well to be precise he¡¯s covered with saliva but it¡¯s a small price to pay in exchange for his life and lives of his members.


    Man, my mouth really feels filthy and I want to wash it out with water quickly!

 CH 16

    [Goblins?]


    In the city of L¡¯Ecole, which is located in the eastern side of the great Fleuretus forest Is a city were mercenaries live comfortably, where there¡¯s no shortage of job for being near the great forest with a nickname ¡°The forest of magic beast¡± and has the highest possibility of skirmishes against Seizelia, is where the <Dawn of War> is based.


    I was summoned by the lord of the city. I was surprised when the lord asks us, a mercenary of 120 members to deal with exterminating goblins. Honestly, I failed to hide my discontent with this unwanted job.


    [Yeh the job I want you to take care of is the goblin extermination on the ruin of Rukdielin the old empire]


    The one who gave me the detail is Arngeil, a former skilled mercenary who now works as the guild master of the mercenary guild. It is said that he¡¯s a bout 60 years of age but he works too energetically for his age. With that background he¡¯s someone who you don¡¯t want to be an opponent.


    However, even if it came from him, it¡¯s a little out of ordinary for him to request of us to exterminate a goblin nest. It¡¯s not a job for a big group like ours to deal with small-fries like goblins.


    [There¡¯s too many of them and the nest may have been quite near since a lot of strays had come from there., and the only group capable to handle it is yours]


    Perhaps sensing our frustration and anxiety he decided to explain the situation to us.


    [We can¡¯t move the knight no because Seizelia is starting to move and preparing to invade us. While the dragons would take time till they recover. At any rate we¡¯re really short-handed right now.]


    [I¡¯m glad we have work to do]


    [Well it¡¯ looks like you had new members in your group. Go treat this as a training]


    I put my hand on my chin and didn¡¯t give a quick reply. I¡¯m willing to take the job but of course if the conditions are reasonable. Of course, Argniel knows this and lets out a sigh.


    [Orlando, goblin¡¯s might be weak but they can¡¯t be left alone. Right now, there¡¯s 300 of then and no one besides the <Dawn of War> can take care of this]


    After giving plenty of thought I let out a sigh and reluctantly accepted it. For the sake of providing equipment to the newcomers I¡¯ll let them get a little extra pay.


    We then discussed the term and condition for a while and finally signed the contract.


    On the way out, he said [Make yourself clean when you come to a place like this] in which I replied [I¡¯m a mercenary].


    [A request!]


    As soon as I came back I said a few word and the once rowdy bunch suddenly stopped what they¡¯re doing and stood in attention.


    [Lloyd, Harvey, we¡¯re going to exterminate goblins this time, so I¡¯m going to give the new comers a chance to gain experience. Select them properly.]


    As I gave the order the two skilled men saluted with their fist with the arm-band symbol on top of their chest.


    [How many do we need sir?]


    [50 will do]


    He gave them all the detailed adjustment that they need and went to his favorite shop to do maintenance to his partner, a great sword known as the giant slayer. After that I wen to the armor shop to adjust my greaves and look for a new gauntlet and since it¡¯s just the right time, I took the liberty to have a meal then return to the base. Arriving there, there are 50 people gathered and ready for the mission.


    I took a look at everyone of them and I saw a woman who¡¯s clearly not equipped for this quest.


    [Annie, there¡¯s a lot of people this time. Go wear your armor]


    [Please, Don¡¯t tell me how to do my job]


    Annie, who is wearing only a hot-pants and a cloth wrapped around her chest to hide her breast rebutted to me while sitting on a chair leaning back and having her feet on the table.


    I chuckled at the usual exchange.


    This girl is always like this, but she¡¯s competent so I can¡¯t say anything. It¡¯s kind of a poison to the eye for the young people. And it seems that it¡¯s related to the drop of earnings, so I can¡¯t really say anything there.


    A mercenary doesn¡¯t save too money


    Anyway since all 50 of them are here now, I¡¯ll just have to announce it.


    [We will depart tomorrow morning, everyone be ready!]


    Everyone answered with [Yes] unanimously.


    Even though they¡¯re newcomers they are well trained. I wouldn¡¯t let those goblins kill anyone!


    I am confident that I can do it and in fact I don¡¯t see anyway that a death could happen. Even though they¡¯re many of them they¡¯re only goblins. Even if we are surrounded, we can break through them in a heartbeat, so I should allow a bead of disadvantage fort it to be called a training. If someone can¡¯t beat a goblin after all that training, then he has no future here.


    =====================================================================================


    I checked the movement of the newcomers and give them instructions to reduce the number of goblins while limiting our damage. I think we¡¯ve reduced the number of the goblins by at least a hundred but they are still coming in. This is why the ruin of the old empire is troublesome. There¡¯s just to many of them even thought there¡¯s no one that¡¯s leading them. This might the result of goblins overflowing from multiple nests and then converging to form a large pack.


    If what Lloyd tell me is true then there might be multiple goblin¡¯s nest not too far away.


    I said [Ugh] and put out my tongue in disgust.


    I can¡¯t help but feel reluctant when I think that there would be another goblin extermination that we might receive again.


    As the extermination of goblin¡¯s continued some of the goblin¡¯s began to flee. Then, the escapes become a run for their survival as the newcomers started charging to the area were the encirclement got broken.


    [Cazetta, this time use your magic to find those who are hiding!]


    I covered for Cazetta¡¯s defenses as she began chanting and I gave the order to begin the pursuit. After the chanting ends and the magic activated the platoon started to blockade the escape.


    Then we found a large creature hiding at a collapsed building. And since it¡¯s an extermination mission, I have no reason to let it go.


    I ordered Cazetta to use more magic to smoke the monster out of it¡¯s hiding. As the flame spreads over a wide area, the monster appears, brushing the flames away from with its arm.


    A humanoid monster that I had never seen before sporting a grey skin, burly body and a long tail, and standing on it¡¯s two feet.


    [A new species]


    No one respond to my muttering. NO one seems to have seen this monster before.


    I wonder if I should have brought Alitta and Edward with me If I knew this would happen. Well, it¡¯ won¡¯t be a problem if we could kill it anyway.


    I¡¯ll leave the pursuit of the goblins to the newcomers and they¡¯re instructors.


    Facing the monster that¡¯s looking at us from above, I thrust my great sword and shake it up and down to taunt it to come at me.


    The new monster looks kind of lost but it jumped down from its position and landed on the plaza then head straight towards me.


    My men immediately surrounded the monster but it laughs as if in anticipated it.


    [Are you making fun of us?]


    I took an initiative and slash at him, and a battle that can¡¯t be called a battle had begun.


    [What the hell is this guy?]


    Arrows don¡¯t pierce him, swords get chipped and spear breaks.


    We immediately retreated those who¡¯s weapon is not up to par and have those members who is skilled to confront it.


    It¡¯s still received no damage while on the other hand we already have one dead and many who can¡¯t continue.


    (This atmosphere is bad)


    The situation is bad. Just plain bad. The only people who can fight effectively against that armored body is me and Lloyd. He has the ability to crush magic and doesn¡¯t even flinch from it. It was so underpowered that I have the Cazetta retreat immediately. Now, the only thing that I can rely on is my Giant Slayer, Lloyd¡¯s Warhammer and Annie¡¯s magic sword. I had to draw his attention to me to get an opening for everyone else¡¯s attack.


    I throw in a flurry of attack, but almost all of it is deflected by his fist. It¡¯s obvious that he is trying to destroy my sword ¨C which mean he sees my sword as a threat. However, this sword isn¡¯t called the <Giant Slayer> for nothing. If it¡¯s something that can be broken that easily it wouldn¡¯t be able to accompany on the battlefield.


    It¡¯s necessary for me or Lloyd to land a blow somehow, but because of the weight and slowness of the Warhammer and the that he¡¯s wary of me, we failed to land some attacks. With the atmosphere that feels like there¡¯s no way out for us here. That¡¯s why se decided to take a gamble.


    Annie rushed in with a crossbow on her hands. She definitely breached the order.


    [Annie!]


    The words [Come Back!] didn¡¯t come out from me. With no way to break out of this situation, I felt hesitant to say it. However, the situation is progressing with no care for my hesitation. The tail of the monster attacked Annie but she was able to avoid by sliding through the tail as f she was sliding on the ground. Then, she aimed her crossbow at point blank range and let an arrow loose. But, the monster caught the arrow by his teeth. He reached out to Annie who was surprised When I was about to step forward to rescue her, she sent out a smile.


    She tried to get herself free but quickly give up, instead she pulled out a vial from her jacket and smash it against his fingers, then she undresses the clothes wrapping her body and slid out. When the crossbow fell to the floor it became a signal for me, Lloyd and Harvey to move in simultaneously. Anne also drew her sword and joined our assault. With one of us already in range he prioritizes me and Lloyd, but as expected he really did want to deal with me.


    Harvey got knocked out by his tail, but because he tried to block both me and Lloyd, Annie was able to deliver an attack in.  As everyone have expected and even, I expected it. Annie¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t able to deal any damage at all not even a scratch. Annie must have noticed it as well as she tried to follow up her attack.


    Somehow I was able to fix my stance for another blow, when I saw his had aiming for Annie I knew I won¡¯t make it in time. But the, he just pokes Annie on the head and throw back her clothes. And when we stood there frozen and dumbstruck on his action, he then pointed at me. I knew what he meant


    [I¡¯ll take him on, everyone stand down!]


    Thinking back, this guy is only wary of me ever since the beginning. He must have been just testing us all this time, and his only target was me.


    [If it¡¯s only me, then I can give up]


    I think to myself


    [Don¡¯t be an idiot! Do you think you can face him alone!]


    One idiot just stated the obvious


    (Of course, I know I can¡¯t beat him!)


    I knew we had a chance but this guy knocks them all down. I knew the difference in our ability and I knew this might be my end.


    I reached out my hand and ruffled Annie¡¯s head who got closed to me and then put a distance between me and her. I told her to get dress where she only responded with [Idiot]. Her voice is shaky. And I looked down to not show my face.


    (Sorry¡­)


    I apologize in my mind and tur to guy waiting, I look out to the sky and lamented on everything that happened in my life.


    It wasn¡¯t a bad life ¨C not a bad life at all. Once a brat who couldn¡¯t even swing a sword was able to get this far.


    I let out a big sigh and refresh my mind.


    [Sorry to keep you waiting]


    I laugh at the monster and he looks at me in response.


    I have regrets, but if I can keep them alive and entrust them to him, then so be it. However, I have no intention to let them die here for free. I have my pride for carrying the <Dawn> on my shoulder and even if I die, I will make sure to deal a blow.


    (I have no need for defense, don¡¯t think of surviving, think of going in for the kill)


    I hold the Giant Slayer in a stance. The only thing that you need to do for a counter attack is to match your opponent¡¯s timing, anything else is unnecessary.


    Perhaps sensing it, he took a stance for the first time. He put his arms to the ground and pulled his legs back as if trying to get to the ground as close as possible. He¡¯ll probably pounce at me with enough force to run me over. And if I get his timing, I can strike him with my ¨C no I¡¯m going to make sure I¡¯d strike him this time!


    (Don¡¯t think about your chances of winning, don¡¯t think about your chances of winning. Just concentrate in landing this final blow.)


    The standoff continues. I didn¡¯t relax both my stance and guard and made sure not tom miss any action he¡¯ll take. As the they watch anxiously, he suddenly made a move. His right leg sinks. I started to move as well, I took a step forward and swung my sword down, propelling me forward against the monster. I thought I was able to match him perfectly, but he went and increase his speed.


    Yes, he hadn¡¯t even shown a sliver of his true ability.


    He grabbed my hand faster than I could bring the Giant Slayer down. My last attempt was easily blocked by his hands. Then I realized that he lifts me off the ground. I forcefully pulled out a dagger that I have, but the dagger fell because all of my fingers were bent in the wrong directions.


    As the dagger fell, his fang looms closer as he was about to devour me


    (Ah, I guess this is it¡­)


    For the last time I look at the members of <Dawn of War> who are here and with the time I have left I gave my last order.


    [Live]


    Amid the cries of [I¡¯m sorry] I was sure that I heard someone calling my name.


    I apologize once more and quietly closed my eyes.

 CH 17

    I don¡¯t understand what happen.


    All I know is that I¡¯m alive.


    That¡¯s good right?


    But why is tha monster that tried to eat me throwing up.


    The people around me were stunned, unable to understand the sight of him struggling to spit out something.


    Some ask [What happened?],


    I who was covered in saliva from top to bottom also wants to know. All I know is that I survived.


    There¡¯s no way for us to stop the monster from fleeing and the only thing we can do is watch as it makes it¡¯s escape. Everyone who was dumbfounded was staring at one place. No one tried to call out to me¡­ No one can. I too just sat there in silence.


    What happened? Everyone ask.


    What did you do? They ask.


    I myself didn¡¯t do anything, so I can¡¯t answer those question. Frankly I know that I died in that showdown already. But for some reason I survived.


    Time pass and the cooler our head gets the more awkward the atmosphere become. The pushing and showing on who to talk first generates silence until someone I never expected raised her hand.


    With a slur, Cazetta said:


    [Commander¡­ I¡¯m sorry if this sound rude but¡­]


    [Say it.]


    [When was the last time you take a bath?]


    [I don¡¯t remember¡­ I don¡¯t remember doing it for the last 3 years]


    Everyone freezes at my response. Probably because they understood why the monster spit me out.


    No, I wanted to believe that because I don¡¯t understand anything anymore.


    [Hey¡­ Do I really stink?]


    And all the members of my group turned their head away and thus an unbearable silence followed.


    =================================================================================


    When I return to L¡¯Ecole, I took a bath silently after I arrived home. My head which was covered with saliva was focused, that the water pouring over me caused me to hardly catch my breath.


    With no rights to refuse, A convention to denounce the smell of my body were held. Words that start with [I¡¯ve always wanted to say something about the Commander¡¯s body odor¡­] as if they were first.


    I remember being told something like [It was sour] and [It hurts my eyes] so forth and so on.


    It looks like they are universally dissatisfied with my body odor and this became an opportunity to complain about it and all I can is endure it, though I am already crying inside.


    I intended to make it look like ¡°I can¡¯t say anything¡± but they returned it with ¡°It¡¯s because of your smell¡±


    Remember this during our training!


    After being refreshed, I went to the guild.


    Arngiel looked at me with surprised, but when I told him our findings and the extermination of the goblins and the possibilities of the existence of multiple nests he made a bitter face while saying, [I knew it]


    [And there¡¯s one more piece of bad information]


    Arngiel held his eyes. I¡¯m starting to feel sorry for him since he¡¯s always short on manpower and now he had the headache of handling multiple goblin¡¯s nest


    [We¡¯ve discover a new type of monster]


    I guessed he already know what we are about to say, that¡¯s why he¡¯s holding his head.


    [As you see, I was beaten in a one on one match, I¡¯m no match against it]


    Saying this I show my fingers wrapped in bandage. By the way 7 of them are broken.


    I guess I should have bought a new set of gauntlets, then again even those might not have done anything.


    Anyway, I¡¯m sure he already knows the result with our glaring injury, but that doesn¡¯t tell anything about how bad it is to cross that guy.


    [This guy impervious to arrows, sword won¡¯t work and spear will break. Magic is hardly a threat as well and I couldn¡¯t even hit him with the <Giant Slayer>]


    [What the heck is that monster?]


    [It¡¯s about the size of an ogre, humanoid with long tail and is gray all over its body, It could stop Lloyd¡¯s hammer with one hand and is definitely stronger than an ordinary ogre. It¡¯s also show intelligence that it was wary of me from the start then crush me and left, leaving us one dead and many injured]


    [How did you encountered it?]


    [We found something hiding when we use a search magic when we are exterminating goblins, then we tried to smoke it out with fire magic]


    [So you¡¯re completely defeated]


    Arngeil said then sighed.


    [A new kind of monster that we can¡¯t defeat and something that would beat us easily]


    [What should we do?]


    [For starter, I think we need a good magic sword and a high-level mage]


    Also, not even Annie¡¯s magic sword was able to damage it. I may have a duty to the guild but I¡¯m not obligated to report everything.


    [What do you think can we do?]


    Arngeil snaps and replied


    [Don¡¯t ask me!]


    [If the knights fight that monster, what do you think would happen?]


    [Total defeat with the monster unharmed. What¡¯s the use of those metal sword and armor if it wouldn¡¯t even scratch it?]


    I heard a sigh for the umpteenth time at my answer. I¡¯m sure he is thinking about it a lot but I¡¯m pretty sure he won¡¯t find any solution soon.


    [Do you really want me to report this?]


    I answered him resentfully with


    [That¡¯s your job]


    [I¡¯m going to ask you to assist us in dealing with that monster from now on. Do your best to explain it to the lord and the knights]


    [Oi,oi,oi! There¡¯s no way that we were allowed to go to the Lord¡¯s mansion, right?]


    They want me to join in the counter measure but my mercenary group aren¡¯t allowed at the Lord¡¯s mansion.


    [Ah there¡¯s no problem, the <Dawn of war> is fairly evaluated on your trustworthiness and achievement and the only reason that you and your mercenary is not allowed at the mansion is because you stink.]


    Arngeil¡¯s word left me stunned.


    Competence, performance and trust are the three extremely important factors that a mercenary group should have. And, the proof of this is the fact that you can make deals with the Lord directly.


    Until now, I thought that the reason we couldn¡¯t deal directly with the Lord is because of we weren¡¯t competent enough.


    [Listen here, The days where you could get by merit alone is past, you have to understand that you are the ¡°face¡± of your mercenary group, and not some bandit. It¡¯s just a matter of honor]


    After a short lecture from the guild master, I went back to base and what awaited me a drink after work. Without exception, it become an unspoken rule to held drinking parties after work with the mindset that <Even when there are deaths, we can laugh about it tomorrow>


    I¡¯m going to drink even if I can¡¯t hold my glass because of these broken fingers.


    [Today¡¯s drink is on the commander, go drink till you drop!]


    The group raised their tankard with Annie¡¯s word as the cue.


    [Oi! I said I¡¯d buy you a drink but I didn¡¯t say I¡¯d buy everyone a ¡ª]


    [you¡¯re buying right!]


    The menacingly looking Annie interrupts me and presses me.


    [I thought you¡¯re going to die so why are you still alive¡­ Oi tell us what happened. At least, tell us something. Right?]


    I guess she¡¯s already drunk or something because she¡¯s wobbling and shaking. I was told that she¡¯s already drinking even before I returned.


    (Seems like she wasn¡¯t there when I washed.)


    I can¡¯t even imagine the dismay she might have felt


    While being entangled for a while, I told the core member of the group about the conversation between me and guild master, while holding drinks between my hands. It led to me getting criticized for my body odor and apparently there are problems with various restaurant that was due to my body odor, and ask me to reevaluate my lifestyle.


    I thought that¡¯s not something you have to talk over drinks but their more insistent than I thought so I was left with no choice but to nod.


    Anyway, I have to tell them everything before they get drunk


    [I have something to tell you guys. Our immediate goal is to defeat the <new species>].


    At those word, everyone stopped and listened.


    It made me question if they really are drinking.


    [Id doesn¡¯t matter if we were not in full strength, a loss is a loss. Conveniently in line with the Lord¡¯s aim to expand this land, we were included to join in dealing with the new species. We may fight with other mercenary groups, or maybe even the knights. Perhaps they would know of our defeat and don¡¯t take our information seriously and it may result in them being hurt.]


    I took a deep breath once I¡¯ve spoken that much


    [I won¡¯t let it end with me getting chewed out! Next time we would be at our best and I¡¯m going to choke the life out of him!]


    Everyone became excited. One of them is drunk already, I¡¯ll tell her later. And the party goes on until late at night. Our routine is back.


    (I bet there would be a hell of a bounty for that guy¡­)


    The reason I suppressed information about that monster is to raise the threat level. I¡¯m sorry about the other group but I will have you get a cut on the action. Knowing the power of that monster would raise the bounty even more and if it deals more damage, it¡¯ll jump even more. And it would be us <Dawn of War> that would get that bounty.

 CH 18

    I kept rinsing my mouth. I have spit out the water more times than I can count and the disgusting taste is still on my mouth.


    I knew that there are countries with low level of hygienic culture where people rarely bathe or even worst, bathing is unheard of, which devastatingly unsanitary place.


    Honestly, who would have thought that even after 200 years they would still exist!


    (A I can¡¯t help but feel that there¡¯s some kind of bug in my mouth. If I know that this would happen I should someone else in my mouth)


    I was just going to pretend that I was suffering but damn that old man he really did make me suffer. The next time I see him I¡¯m going to punch the shit out of him!


    In the end I used up two bottles and somehow manage to calm down. The thought bout how much water was left after and going to the river every time was looking kind of annoying.


    I continued with my plan to visit Canan kingdom and check out the city. Knowing Canan I can estimate the technological advancement made after 200 years of me sleeping.


    So I passed by Rukdiel and continue up north. The place had been definitely cleared for human traffic and what looks a road was made. Perhaps this is what those mercenaries have used. This road itself appears to have been here for quite a long time and I can assume that Canan, a country that have tech to fly through the air have already surveyed the area for territorial expansion.


    I guess I should move as if this place is already under the Canan territory.


    (Even thought this road cut through the forest, it would be best to go off the road to avoid other people passing by)


    It would be troublesome to cause unnecessary commotion because we were spotted. So, I went off the road and continue going through the forest. I made sure to put attention to sounds and smell while I was searching for any man-made object or any sign of people.


    It turned out really tiring and I found myself not paying attention to my surrounding. Fortunately there¡¯s a lot of goblin nearby so no one would come here unless they¡¯re monster.


    After running for a while I saw an artifact from my right side. Looking closely, I found what seems like a castle wall leaving me with a question.


    (Was there ever a town in this place?)


    It would also be possible that it was built while I was asleep but how did they build it in a place so close to the border? Or should I say they built it here because borders placed in here does not exist here anymore.


    I take note of the place in my brain¡¯s map and start my observation. If I continue up north, we will find the forest¡¯s boundary so I can infer that this place is already under Canan rule.


    The city has gates placed on the north and the south side of the city. The north side have a round coming from both northeast and northwest. If we go northwest, we will reach a Canaanite town if I remembered correctly and by the northeast we will find a fort that used to guard a border.


    As I was observing the town from a different angles, few men and women came out of the south gate, and continued their way down south.


    (Those looks like scouts¡­ Are they going to survey the forest or are they going for a goblin extermination?)


    I looked around for a higher ground, unfortunately it is on the far north. Since it¡¯s already afternoon, I suppose it would be a good idea to cut through the road using mimicry to move to my next hiding place though I¡¯m worried since my stealth ability is not perfect either.


    I could go ahead to Glenda on the northwest. If I remembered correctly the sight there would have a  panoramic view of the town from a top of a mountain. It wouldn¡¯t be a bad choice to if we want to check the current state of Canan and how the life of in that country looks like.


    [I don¡¯t need to bother myself on this town]


    I said while observing the town. This town is not small to begin with but it¡¯s also not large and it would be better to check on city that are bustling and has develop for more than 200 years so I don¡¯t think I need to continue observing this place.


    I decided to take a route on the north that still has some forestry and from there a scent of blood wafted towards me from the direction I intended to take .


    Using my mimicry ability, I proceed through the forest making as less noise as possible, then I found 6 dead bodies lying on the road. All of them seems to be armed but their weapon are missing so I guess someone collected it. Also I found some tracks made by something wooden which indicate what happened here.


    (A bandit attack might have happened here and the wagon tried to fled into the woods, or was captured and guided)


    Since the escorts were dead, they might have been taken already. They¡¯re might be targeting the cargo of the wagon


    If we continue on our direction, we might run into them.


    (It¡¯s possible that there¡¯s food in the cargo or something useful and considering our current direction, we might even get some magic potion)


    I think that this wouldn¡¯t be a bad venture to intercept those bandit, the reason being I might get something useful out of it.


    And the witnesses?


    They¡¯re bandits, we can just kill them all. No one will be bothered by their death and as a soldier we can murder them mercilessly first.


    So I put down my luggage, dispel my mimicry and [let¡¯s go hunt some bandit] I told to myself.


    I followed the scent of a fight, and even with poor visibility of the forest. I was able to spot them because of my heightened olfactory and auditory senses. And as expected, there were bandits.


    (Eleven in total¡­ No there seems to be more inside the wagon)


    I can¡¯t see the inside of the wagon but it seems that there¡¯s 4 to 5 people inside it. I approached the wagon without paying attention to the number of people inside and the bandit finally noticed me.


    The bandits who were amusingly flustered took up their weapon, but the three of them run away while another one keeps shouting. Typical of the bandits so I let them off for their graceful escape. The eight on the other hand took up arms and disappoints me. They¡¯re equipped with what appears to be weapons made of iron, there¡¯s no way those can hurt me. Someone shouted to the wagon and out came a well dressed burly man carrying a large crossbow ¨C a so called arbalest.


    It¡¯s power and range are significantly better than those of an ordinary crossbow.


    So what should I don now? Nothing. I move forward without worry. I hit the man who tried slashing at me turning him into a stain in the woods leaving only a weird sound, with the back of my fist. Then I hit another man who is equipped with a hatchet with my fist making his head rotates to 270 degrees, effectively crumpling him out. The I kill those who tried to run away by throwing stones at them, then I trampled a spearman who also threw his weapon away. I felt like his spine were broken and he started coughing up blood. So I guess he died too. Then I closed the distance to another bandit I blast him with my tail slamming him on a nearby tree then finished another bandit after I turned around.


    Now only 3 people are left. The burly man with the arbalest isn¡¯t ready yet. A man with scarred face stepped forward while saying something. So, I unleashed my fist to his body destroying everything of him including his weapon. Then I catch the flying arrow with my hands and release it back creating a stain on the trees and leaving the man who¡¯s giving the commands left.


    The man tried to give instruction but it¡¯s too fast that I can¡¯t understand it. But, whatever he is saying won¡¯t be much since he won¡¯t be able to say anything after I grabbed his head and twist it 360 degrees.


    (Now let¡¯s check their baggage, shall we?)


    Amidst the blood pool I went to the back of the carriage and saw what¡¯s inside. I did not expect to see five women looking at me with their frightened eyes.


    I looked at them for a moment. Women dressed scantily thin dress with skin definitely visible through their clothes ranging from teens to late twenties.


    The woman dressed in red wo seems to be the oldest stood in front of the other four with outstretched arm, seemingly trying to protect them.


    (Five, three, four, one and another three)


    With their body line defined my measurement would be accurate as it can be.


    Honestly, I thought there would be something good here, but unfortunately there¡¯s only loads of prostitutes here. What the heck.

 CH 19

    Ah! Looking at beautiful people really is pleasant. There¡¯s lot of different type, from big to small which make it really nice. Sadly, everyone¡¯s eye is filled with dread, even the woman who¡¯s brave enough to step forward had her expression tightened and her legs are trembling.


    (Hmm she looks like she has a bruise on her cheek. It looks like she got hit)


    She must have been trying to protect the four younger girls. I guess she was either the caring onee-san or the leader of the girls.


    Anyway, this is a problem. I honestly thought that they are bandits, but to think that they are slave traders. I guess the man who looks out of place is the slave trader or something


    It looks like Canan has no progress that much with such people roaming their lands.


    Speaking of slaves, I wonder where would they intend to bring this girl to?


    If they¡¯re intending to send these girls to Seizelia, then there might be a sizable organization involve.


    [I wonder what happened here] and look at the two girls with disarrayed clothes. It looks like the fat guy assaulted them for a ¡°taste test¡±, but unfortunately, I arrived exactly at that moment.


    And like the onee-san I can see a lot of things simply because of their lack of underwear unlike in the empire which it was generally used.


    Though most of them doesn¡¯t really wear underwear, aren¡¯t slit too much of an overkill? For a prostitute that don¡¯t wear any underwear isn¡¯t it too aggressive?


    The woman who tried to protect the other tried to speak to me. Unfortunately, the only thing I could understand is [We]. I regret not taking that class seriously.


    (No, no, no. I really regret that I didn¡¯t took my language class seriously)


    I don¡¯t intend to do any harm on them, but it¡¯s also cruel not to do anything for them.


    I decided earlier that I would take anything that can be useful to me, but with their belonging that is scattered, I don¡¯t see the need to take any of it. I mean I¡¯m not a devil to take the belonging of these girls who are in need. Especially if their beautiful.


    (I don¡¯t know what kind of rumor would float about me and these clothes and underwear¡­ for the sake of ¡­ nah nope¡­)


    It would be better to just pursue those who had escape and raid their bases. What the, why didn¡¯t I think of that earlier.


    (If this organization has the ability to smuggle people to neighboring countries, they must have a lot of hideouts and there would be a good chance that those who fled will return there. I believe that those bases would have more item that I can get there, right?)


    I¡¯m sad to say goodbye to these beauties, but this is where I have to say goodbye.


    The distance isn¡¯t far from the town and there¡¯s no dangerous creatures around so as long as they pick up some of the weapon around, they would be fine and since the we didn¡¯t touch the wagon and most of the food and water are still intact. They should be able to return back to town before dark


    (Oh, I might as well take some water)


    The ladies voluntarily avoided me so I rummaged through the crate for a bottle and took some of it. I pulled the cap off using my thumb and drunk the water inside.


    I guess they got startled when I let out a [Gah, Gah, Gah] sound and they froze on the corner. There¡¯s also some sake even thought the alcohol content is very low. And since by Imperial edict, only those who is 20 years of age is allowed to drink I guess I who is 200 years old can have a drink on this.


    Man, it tastes like shit. I don¡¯t have the right to complain since that¡¯s just something free.


    Noticing the state of the ladies and help the save some of their sanity, I decided to stop scouring for the water and proceed to hunt those bandits


    If the smell is as strong as the bandit¡¯s odor it shouldn¡¯t be possible for me to track them down using my sense of smell. I almost forgot something and when I returned to my luggage pass the carriage, I heard a small scream. I¡¯m sorry but I needed this because I don¡¯t know how far are their bases. I carried my luggage and now chase them on. And when I pass by the carriage again, I heard another scream.


    (Do I really look that scary?)


    I¡¯ve play lots of horror games in my childhood and this appearance would only rank at about decent in terms of monster like appearance. I don¡¯t really look gross in my perspective and I would be on the better-looking side.


    I slightly shrug and sped-up to catch up to those bandit, and 10 minutes after I found the bandit¡¯s smell.


    I tried to use my mimicry but I guess it won¡¯t affect my luggage. Ah, F*ck this, this is a drag! I have no choice but to keep my distance and avoid gettince noticed.


    Finally, after an hour after tracking the smell, I found what seems to be an entrance to a cave. The smell of those bandits continued onward to the interior of the base.


    (Using a cave as a base? I wonder if it was reinforced from the inside)


    I wouldn¡¯t know unless I went inside. I set down my luggage, broke some tree branches and cover them. I used the sledge hammer as a marker, I wonder when will I use this hammer?


    Activating mimicry, I went inside the cave, which was not guarded and is unfortunately, very narrow. It¡¯s not impossible for me to get in but a little movement and I would be bumping on things. As we proceed through the pitch-black cave, I found out that it was larger than I expected. The once narrow passage way gradually turned into a wider and higher passage that can allow me to stand up properly and the ceilings are reinforced by wooden structures.


    After one turn, the wall that was made of stone and soil becomes concrete and installation of lights that seems to work using magical principles confirms that this is definitely a man-made structure.


    (It looks quite old, but this could be a hide out of those bandit or human-trafficker for many years by now.)


    This just gives me hope on what we have here.


    Just as I was thinking, I heard a faint yell. This place is quite a huge place so the sound might have come from quite a distance away.


    I check the current state of Mimicry and proceed carefully. As expected, I find a prison and beyond the grate is a white corpse chained up. The state of the corpse suggests that it¡¯s not that old and there seems to be other corpses as well. This just smell awful¡­


    This is just plain disgusting, but what would you expect from a criminal organization? At least I have no more reason to keep them alive


    [Gyaaaaaaaaa!]


    With this one resolve on my mind, I was about to check on to the next body when I heard a scream. Since it belongs to a man. So, I ignored it. Rather it belongs to one of the bandits who escape earlier so it¡¯s not something to worry about.


    (I think I¡¯ve seen this on TV where these syndicates or mafia deals with <Kejime case>, they cut off a finger if I remembered correctly)


    I¡¯m not certain of that old knowledge since that¡¯s from my childhood, but at least I know that what I heard is not a scream of someone who¡¯s finger is to be cut-offed. Rather it belongs to someone who is about to die.


    Looks like the boss here is very strict with his subordinates. I can hear them clearly but I can¡¯t make out of the thing their saying. I guess the boss is currently scolding them for letting those prostitutes I save, escape. However, the voice of the boss isn¡¯t someone who speak fluent Canaanite language. Meaning he¡¯s possibly a foreigner dispatched from another country. Apparently, this organization is a multinational syndicate.


    I guess we can get a lot of loot here hehehe.


    I proceed down the corridor then take a left turn at a T-junction, where I heard the voice and found a room at the far end.


    The door was closed by I can hear them talking and shouting from behind. It seems that another person is put to death.


    Here¡¯s another problem. The door is small. It¡¯s big enough for an ordinary person to enter, bit for my size it¡¯s barely possible for me to get in


    (It¡¯s not impossible to get in but¡­ Whatever, I¡¯ll just break it)


    I¡¯m sure that the surrounding wall will break down so I should might as well make this as flashy as possible. I¡¯m going to interrupt you guys dynamically!


    I released my mimicry, put both my hands on the floor and pull back my right leg.


    I aim for the door


    I kinked the floor and at full force slam the door bursting in and destroying the surrounding wall.


    There¡¯s the corpse of the three bandits¡­ and a giant spider?


    The spider has a human body in exchange to its head. It looked like a spider and a human body combined together. The face is more of the skin than a proper face. And when it looked at me it throws down the dead bandit sticking out of its foot.


    [Huh? Who the hell are you?]


    I could understand it clearly, it¡¯s definitely the words I¡¯m most familiar with. This creature is definitely talking using the Fleuretean Language

 CH 20

    I know it sounds clich¨¦, but that¡¯s the only thing that I can say.


    I¡¯m confused because you know, such monster who looks like an amalgamation of a human and a spider that I haven¡¯t even seen in a movie clearly isn¡¯t something that can be born naturally, is speaking the Fleuretean Language. There¡¯s only one thing that came to my mind about the identity of this guy.


    (I assume he¡¯s a genetically enhance soldier just like me ¨C or something equivalent)


    I don¡¯t know if this is right that the first fellow countryman I¡¯ve met after waking up from a 200 years sleep is this guy, but I need to share and confirm the current situation and information.


    [Gaah, gao gao gahng]


    As usual the only thing that comes out is [gao gao]


    By the way I was trying to say;


    [I¡¯m an Imperial too!]


    Unfortunately, this guy had changed his class to monster and his job to a human trafficker. I understand that getting a proper job while looking like a monster is near impossible but I wished he should have thought a little more about his choice of job as a former Imperial soldier.


    [Argh dammit, they really gave me these useless doofuses!]


    I failed to convey my intentions with words and he started berating his dead subordinates while being wary towards me. My thoughts are to try to convey my intentions and then a good idea suddenly come to me.


    (If I can¡¯t use my voice, I can try to write)


    Ehen I was about to try writing on the floor, my arm stops moving with a snap


    [Don¡¯t you dare move your big bastard.]


    Carefully, I found out that my hand was entangled with invisible threads, there¡¯s also threads on my body as well.


    (Spider threads?! I didn¡¯t feel anything touching me. no more like¡­)


    I knew he is a spider, but what surprise me is that he¡¯s able to send those thread without a preliminary action. I could guess that he was able to plant those in the room beforehand, and he has the ability to manipulate those at will.


    It also looks like he had awakened earlier before me considering that he is a higher up in a criminal organization and then fact that he can throw those attack without showing any preliminary movements shows the level of mastery he had gained on his body.


    [Haaa¡­ Amateurs are useless! Can they even kidnap one person?]


    He bites his fingers and didn¡¯t try to hide his irritation. To a trained soldier, a bandit might as well be an amateur, but this guy seems to be the kind that only sees his subordinate as nothing but a mere pawn.


    (Looking from his words and action he seems like a corrupt military personnel and a scoundrel. I had hoped that I could at least have a cooperative relationship with him as a fellow Imperial citizen but now it looks like it would be impossible)


    If I left this guy alone, I bet he would go on a rampage and becomes a threat to the surrounding area that serves as my cover, and the damage to nearby villages and cities would be immeasurable.


    He is after all a genetically enhanced soldier of the Empire, and his abilities definitely exceed the Canaan Kingdom¡¯s ability to handle him. The what about taking care of him?


    Firstly, I don¡¯t know if I can win, same is true on the other side we both don¡¯t know each other abilities though I can infer a few considering that he looks like an overgrown spider. If it¡¯s just thread like this that are currently wrapped around me then I can handle it easily, but if we¡¯re talking about thick bundles then I might get into a pinch. It just means that the risk is too great if we get into a fight with him.


    Just as I decided to tear his threads off and write something in the Imperial language the spider human hybrid opens his mouth


    [Ah, I should have come if I knew this would have happened, I was finally able to fish out a hooker to only end up getting intercepted by this big guy and followed me to my base]


    The spider then kicked me in the face. It didn¡¯t even itch nor hurt, so I guess it wasn¡¯t even at full force, but his next word caught me.


    [I thought I was able to finally be able to f*ck the next chick, but you got in my way!]


    The spider kicked me again


    [And here I am, even when they are naked my partner didn¡¯t even try to get up!, where on earth is my partner!]


    His kicking speed increases and he tried to stab me with his legs but his poor legs failed to even pierce me. He clicked his tongue when he failed and pulled out a dagger from the bandit corpse using his abilities to manipulate his thread.


    [I let those idiot gang r*pe those girls and but it doesn¡¯t even react at all! How the hell could I enjoy a woman? Where the hell could I find a woman that can satisfy me?!]


    He then swung down the dagger that he got but naturally it didn¡¯t do anything.


    [You¡¯re uselessly tough!]


    He kicks me in the face again and I still feel no pain


    [Ah right, let¡¯s catch some kids and have them dance naked and -]


    Before he can finish his words, I threw a punch at him but he was able to avoid buy jumping back.


    [You want to fight huh, monster!]


    I¡¯ve already confirmed that this guy won¡¯t be able to hurt me, after taking those hits. I can definitely win against him.


    This piece of thrash shouldn¡¯t have been an Imperial soldier, and above all ¨C


    (I don¡¯t know how many women you will hurt if I leave you alive, I won¡¯t let you take away the possibility of getting some sexy time away from me!)


    I don¡¯t need such grand cause. This guy is just a mere distraction to me. If I can keep my mindset that way, there¡¯s no doubt that I can wield my power.


    [Looks like these threads is not going to sop a big monster like you huh]


    He seems convinced that he has grasped my limit but in reality, he has not.


    I have the definite advantage in terms of attack and defense and the only uncertainty is if he¡¯s capable of using venoms. As long as he has been enhanced by military, we can assume that he can.


    (Where would you administer those venoms, I don¡¯t see any fangs so where would be the other candidate?)


    The only type of spider venom I knew was mostly administered using their fans and this one doesn¡¯t have one.


    Since the place where the fang should be was replaced by a human torso so the only thing left is if he spit it. Or maybe, he has a disposition to use stingers.


    I regrated that I had made a mistake in timing and gathering information against him. It isn¡¯t that bad to take more time than rather than get hit by a poison that can work against me. That would be the end of my story.


    I cautiously shook off the spider thread and close in to him but he scurried away thanks to this uselessly large room and mockingly smirk at me.


    Is this guy really an imperial soldier?


    I picked up a bandit¡¯s corpse and throw it against him but it was stopped by the threads scattered around. He looked at me like taunting me and saying [I¡¯m setting up traps and waiting for you]


    I ignore the spider and throw another corpse but now, with more seriousness.


    [I¡¯m going to kill you!]


    Looks like he got irritated from my behavior but is clearly different from the goofy thing that he¡¯s saying.


    He kept his posture low even when he¡¯s attached to the ceiling, and I opened my arms in response.


    I have no intention of letting him go. No matter what he does, as long as I can grab him. I can win.


    Neither of us moved and the staring contest continued.


    Suddenly he launched an attack, I was quite surprised but it didn¡¯t matter because I planned to abandon my initiative and focus on countering him even throwing in the possibilities of getting damage to the curb.


    I matched his foot movement and intend to deliver a perfect counter. But I couldn¡¯t grab him. What I had is a spider skin.


    (This guy molted in the last second!)


    I thought I had missed it because of the unexpected ability but the guy is already at the broken door I instantly tried to follow him but an intense pain suddenly stopped me from my track.


    [Gaaaah!]


    My right hand is sizzling and making smokes, it was caused by the molten skin¡¯s mucous.


    I tried to bit down the pain and tried to rush to the spider hybrid but I was blocked by the threads spread by that guy.


    [Rest in peace, monster!]


    With that said, he opened his mouth and spewed a yellow liquid, there¡¯s no way and when I was hit the part of my body that was hit turned to purple. Then the spider creeped away once he saw the changes in my body.


    (The fact that he didn¡¯t bother checking if I¡¯m still alive means that this is a potent poison)


    Thanks to my turning my face quickly, I didn¡¯t have any damage on the head but the neck down was scalded. It¡¯s obvious that I leave it untreated, this would be a very bad thing. SO first I need to do something with those thread. If I made a wrong move my situation would turn worst as it is considering that it could entangle me and restrict my movement


    [Guooooooooooooh]


    With a howl, sent the walls where the threads are attached flying and I ran down the passage way ignoring everything even the debris in my body. My goal is my luggage. Fortunately, the spider is gone and all I can do now is to hope that I don¡¯t run to him now.


    I reached my luggage and rummage quickly through the stuff inside then pour two types of potions. As I was going to use another potion, the pain I was feeling suddenly subsided. I fearfully touched the discolored area, but I felt no pain and my body is back to normal.


    I also tried to apply a potion to my right hand, which has melted away, and it was a surreal sight to see my exposed bones to get wrapped by flesh and skin and regenerate.


    If I can only speak, I could have praised these magic potions,


    Honestly though, I find it regeneration scene gruesome.


    [Gaaah ah]


    (I¡¯m quite lucky huh, if I didn¡¯t have these magic potions. I would have been in a serious trouble)


    I tried thinking about the possibilities while thanking Oppai-san, unfortunately I can¡¯t remember their faces now and all I can remember is their breast. Thanks to those thoughts and boobs, I was able to regain my composure.


    I declared with no hesitation my gratitude to them and their boobs even if I have no reason to be thankful of.


    Anyway, the risk of fighting him is higher than expected, but I can¡¯t just let him go free. I¡¯m sure that casualty would rise more than we can imagine if we let him be. Truthfully, I don¡¯t want to get involved with an opponent that could kill me and it not good to fight him recklessly.


    (What should I do? We got the opponent to show a few of his card and I can say that he already showed a lot of his attacks)


    I need to gather more information, if he¡¯s a former imperial soldier, there¡¯s a chance that he has an item from the imperial facility that he might have taken when he woke up.


    If he comes back, I should focus on fighting in the distance. There¡¯s no shortage of metal as well since there¡¯s a prison there too.


    If we can properly take position to intercept him, he won¡¯t have any probable attack except for the poison attack.


    I returned to the cave after cleaning up the debris on my body. I thought shallowly that if he¡¯s an imperialist, he could have some item that I can use too. I returned to the T-junction and turned right and found corpses


    How many are there?


    There¡¯s at least 50 of them and most of them are women, their state was that of have been heavily melted.


    [Ah right, let¡¯s catch some kids and have them dance naked and -]]


    His words come to my mind. I looked at the naked body of what seems to be a father and son. The overlapping of the bodies and the darkness of discoloration due to poison made it possible for you to imagine what he made them do to them.


    (Just like a game, He made the kid kill their parents)


    I could not bear to look anymore; I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth.


    He¡¯s a threat to me too, I won¡¯t choose any means now


    I will hunt him and I will kill him.

 CH 21

    T/N Warning: VIOLENT DEPICTION AHEAD STOP IF YOU¡¯RE NOT INTO THIS KIND OF THING


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    The first thing to do is follow that spider. Fortunately, I remembered his smell.


    I put down my luggage and started running while thinking what I need to do to find him even if I have to turn into a dog. Just as I finally built my conviction, the trail of smell suddenly cut off. It seems like the spider is using the trees to move hence no scent were left on the ground.


    (I thought we weren¡¯t a good matched but I never thought it will be this bad)


    It¡¯s no use whining so, I tried to sniff around the high places and finally caught a clue of his general direction.


    I run along the path. I went on a slow pace to make sure that I won¡¯t lost his scent. Then I found some thread in trees as well.


    I suddenly heard men talking about him, giving me the option to move quicker since I knew he¡¯s already nearby. I don¡¯t know how fast he is but it seems like he¡¯s chasing some wagon. I follow the wheel tracks left on the street and focus.


    I then heard screaming as I was on the trail towards the spider. I hope I¡¯m not too late and they aren¡¯t captured yet.


    I check the lump that was once a prison bar. I accidentally gripped it too hard and rounded off. Now, this is closer to something I can use.


    I¡¯m starting to see the carriage after running continuously, and at the same time I already spot the spider hiding in the woods.


    (Found him! I knew he¡¯s going for the carriage)


    The carriage is still moving along the road unaware of the spider aiming at them. He was saying something.


    [I can now shake a woman!]


    He would probably catch them and would do them sadistically and brutally.


    I was about to get in enough distance when he noticed me. I would like to have inch a bit closer but since I¡¯m already spotted, It leaves me no choice


    [Gaoooooooooooooooooo]


    I howl then at the same time throw at the spider with all my might.


    It flew straight at him but he managed to evade quickly and crashed to a nearby tree.


    [What are you doing you dead man!]


    Heh¡­ you think I¡¯m already dead?


    Too bad I¡¯m still alive as you can see.


    He suddenly made a move with intent of chasing after the fleeing carriage, so I threw a stone at him again in which he tried to deflect by sending threads flying on it. But since I throw in with so much power, he was left with only option to evade stopping him from his track and can only look at the fleeing carriage.


    Honestly, I wanted to see his frustrated face.


    (It seems like the thread range is 10 to 15 meters)


    If he decided to chase after the carriage, he would be able to catch up with it, but with me closing in, would he really be able to do it?


    Of course not.


    The power of throw should tell him enough that it¡¯s dangerous for him to turn his back on me. This is why he went to opted to intercept me instead as I come towards him. However, I have no intention of fighting him seriously. I stopped at a distance that is out of range of his threads and undergoes the trouble of making a standoff.


    I did it to buy time for the carriage to get away.


    The spider might be thinking that I¡¯m just being cautious. He still thinks that I¡¯m just a monster who is wary and learned from our earlier squabble, but too bad punk, I¡¯m an Imperial soldier just like you.


    The staring contest go on until suddenly, the spider went on the offensive. After noticing that the carriage is quite far away, he clicked his tongue and switch his attention to me. I¡¯m not going to say that <Whoever strike first win> since I knew I am at the disadvantage since at this distance I¡¯m afraid that I may fall prey to his threads especially if I moved first.


    I want to keep him at the distance but of course he knew that and when I put one of my put back, he shows a sign of moving forward.


    (I need something that will provoke him)


    I look closely at the spider thinking that I would find something that would provoke him and there it is. I wonder why I didn¡¯t notice


    Now then how would I go and say it. ¨C Well, I believe I can do that base on my experience


    I opened my mouth and point at the human part of the spider


    [Hah! Gwah!]


    The spider hybrid failed to understand what I tried to say but I still try my best to make my voice more audible.


    [Ha, gee!]


    I pointed my fingers at the skin head and act like I¡¯m calling him [Bald! Bald!]


    What about me? I just don¡¯t have any body hair. Now he will know that I¡¯m an imperialist but since we¡¯re already trying to kill each other and there¡¯s no way to repair our relationship.


    By now, he¡¯s probably getting agitated by the fact that I kept calling him <Bald> for a while now and he try to come towards me while yelling something. Unfortunately for him, I¡¯m not going to play his game and I quickly jumped back and kept calling him bald.


    The chase begins, if they stop, I stop, he runs I run. I don¡¯t choose my means; I just maintain distance between us and just throw projectiles at him. I won¡¯t let you rest; this will interfere with your eating, drinking and sleeping. This would be a fight for survival, and this would be no hold bars. Let¡¯s see who would be the first one to fuss.


    A day passed and the spider finally gave up after 8 hours on trying to shake me off and trying to intercept me with spider thread at some areas, however I have no intention of getting close to him and just continue of throwing things at him.


    I noticed while fighting him, our difference in physical abilities made it clear that I can¡¯t use any forceful means. That¡¯s why the spider thread he stretches out hardly stuck on my body because I was intercepting it with suitable branches secondly a few strands won¡¯t be able to stop me. He¡¯ll need to weave a net if he wants to stop me. He had gone in to offensive and when he does I runaway and keep my distance


    Head-to-head confrontation? No way I¡¯m going to do that especially with your poison attack. He cursed at me a lot, but when I pretended that I do not understand he said [You! You know our language!] and I was surprised that he¡¯s still unable to tell that I¡¯m a genetically modified soldier just like him. I guess it¡¯s really hard since I can¡¯t really talk and me just pointing out his baldness makes no sense.


    The result of the first day concluded with the spider losing his aim and hitting the ground. On the night of the second day he¡¯s can just only click as I throw things at him in the middle of the night. But since there¡¯s no building that would protect anything, the whole place becomes a wreck. He even tried talking to me hoping that I would understand him but of course I ignored him.


    I played it well pretending I don¡¯t understand and kept threatening him with a snarl.


    Night fell and I still followed the spider and throws stones at him. There are times that I threw other stuff at him and found that his evasive ability is starting to deteriorate. However, I won¡¯t stop. I already lost count on how many times I interrupted his meal and it looks like he¡¯s losing shape. When he tried to eat a rabbit that was tangled in his threads, I threw a stone at it. It fell from his hands and I then quickly kick it again making roll on the ground. That¡¯s the only time he got near me but I quickly keep distance.


    We kept repeating this from day to the next night.


    With different atmosphere wafting between us I decided to close in on him but he does nothing. Though I say close, we still have eight meters apart from each other. I kept being ready but decreases frequency of throwing stone. I was aiming to mentally fatigue the spider by keeping him alert and guess when would I attack. This makes him only capable of screaming. It¡¯s starting to dawn on him that he could no longer win in a physical match.


    With his attack such as the poison attack and his threads, already been known he cannot attack badly in his conditions too. even if he set up traps it would be hard to do since he¡¯s being monitored by me and it has no enough power to turn the fight around. And since he¡¯s already knows that it¡¯s not effective anymore he¡¯s not attacking anymore and refraining to use poison or threads to minimize exhaustion.


    So I kinked the ground to throw sand on him but he¡¯s showing no response. I have no choice but to grab a rock and toss it to my hand which I almost failed to catch.


    When I was about to throw a rock on him, he opened his mouth


    [¡­Why?]


    But I ignore him and threw it on his legs crushing it


    [Why the hell are you doing this tome you bastard!]


    The spider doesn¡¯t seem to understand my methods so I answered him


    [Gooa!]


    I let out a stupid voice ¨C of course it was a provocation.


    The spider shook and lung at me with desperate rage so I ran away. After a short chase, I took a glance from the spider from 15 meters away. The spider is yelling something but I ignore it. Then I once again close in the distance to eight meters. He looks like he was about to cry, but so what? Then he turned his back on me so I threw a branch at him and it got stuck on his butt but he didn¡¯t seem to care.


    [I¡¯m starving¡­ I don¡¯t have anything anymore ¡­ I should have saved my energy]


    Just by his regretful soliloquy, it seems that large amount of stamina were spent from him using all those poison and threads causing him to run out of breath quickly. And the short thread that were halfway out of the spider buttocks were waving in in the air, proof that he really has no more to give. His venom he spat at me is nothing short of a spit allowing me to avoid it easily and it even failed to do anything to the grasses when it fell to the ground.


    In retaliation I sent two of his legs away and made him lose his balance then I took the opportunity to rip off another one. The spider lost three legs on the left side leaving him only to crawl. And when I plucked of all of his legs it started to use his arms to crawl.


    [Why? Why? Why!]


    I grabbed the spider by its human neck from behind and placed my legs on the place where the human part and the spider part joins and then stepped on it


    [Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]


    I separated the human part from the spider part making blood dance on the air. Then I pressed his shallowly breathing face to a tree. Then I scratched the word [Death] using my finger nails.


    Though the there¡¯s moonlight it might not be possible for him to read it but it seems that he was able to reed the word written in Imperial language


    [He-help me]


    He tried to fawningly plead to me, as if he knew who I was but I ignore his plead and put my all on crushing his neck.

 CH 22

    After killing my former compatriot, I first try to recover my bearing, so I decided to return to my luggage since I was near the cave. I was able to get there before daybreak. I was worried whether my luggage was safe since it had already been more than 2 days since I left it, but it looks like no one dares to touch it and it seems like none comes here too. I double check whether some contents would be missing but nothing was even out of place so I take out a meat and eat it. It¡¯s a bit salty, but It still end up in my stomach.


    I hadn¡¯t had any proper meal so I thought that I have to eat whatever I could get. I¡¯m going to move after dawn, I wonder if there¡¯s a water source nearby?


    So, for now let¡¯s rest here while we wait for dawn. The sun was already rising when I snapped out of it. Good timing, I was about to fall asleep. I was contemplating if it¡¯s fine to sleep with an empty stomach but I decided against it and opt to get food first to fill my stomach.


    So, I started hunting and luckily caught a deer. I dismantled it and drained it blood properly using a sharp knife called a magic sword. Then I properly disposed of its innards by digging a hole and bury them. After washing my hand with a little water, I put the venison meat on the iron plate.


    (I want a tong for grilling this)


    I forgot that I would need utensils for roasting meat and cooking. If I get the chance I want to go back to the mall and get other stuff too. I turned the meat over while thinking if I could get a lot of this magical items.


    After cooking it well and finishing it whole, I wished that I can do something about the tastelessness and wished for a salt. After drinking all the remaining water, I laid down and stretched.


    When I was about to leave after resting, I noticed a problem my iron grill is dirty. I started to notice the hardship of lacking things. It really is convenient to live near a source of water.


    Since we can¡¯t do anything with the dirty grill, I just decided to move on but before that I have to do this regrettable announcement.


    Blue sheet san¡­ we¡¯re through.


    I shouldn¡¯t have brought you along because your color stands out too much. That¡¯s why I¡¯ll leave you inside the cave.


    Now then let¡¯s resume going to the city of Glenda as planned. First we proceed along the road through the forest. Along the way we passed by a group of people that looks like merchants and it seems that if we use mimicry on our belonging, they won¡¯t even notice us.


    After passing through the forest, we are greeted with a vast grassland. Here¡¯ on there¡¯s nothing that would work as a hiding place. I decided to quickly cross it while aiming at the northern mountains.


    By noon we are fortunate enough to reach the foot of the mountain without getting spotted by anyone. I then climb the mountain while hoping to get a glimpse of a river along the way to my destination, and after an hour we arrived. I stood up on the top of the cliff where you could see the panoramic view of Glenda. And after surveying Glenda, there¡¯s one that I noticed.


    (Why was it deserted?)


    What in the world happened to the city that was once named one of the three biggest city in Canaan?


    The answer: silver and other rare ore had already dried up.


    Looking at abandoned mine it¡¯s easy to understand that the silver and rare ores have already been depleted, it¡¯s only natural since they¡¯ve been mining 300 years even though they boast that it could be mined for around 500 years. Then again, there¡¯s no country that would be honest about its reserves of strategical materials and I guess they made a mistake in estimation as well.


    I went and clean the grill on a nearby river by using a stick I picked up and used as a scrubbing brush. Then, I boiled some water and grilled the fish that I caught and by the time I had finished eating, the sun had already set. I sat down and started to doze off. I¡¯m a little reluctant to sleep on the spot but with my lack of sleep I ended up letting go of my consciousness and by the time I came into, it was already morning.


    I patted myself to clean up a bit and drink a bit of water from the bottle.


    Before eating I took another look at the city. As expected, there¡¯s not much people living in there, the soldiers that was supposed to protect it is sparse and their equipment is not noteworthy. It would have been nice if they have some ballista or anything. But because of the lack of things here it¡¯s hard to evaluate the defensive capability of this city and this period.


    (No we can¡¯t decide if it really was a waste of time, we should be able to discover new things that were made after the war)


    I guess I have to wait around noon when its usually most active to check on the city. So, to kill time, I catch and grill some fishes then return to observing the city.


    (Ugh, This won¡¯t do, this is a loss)


    The place I¡¯m in is quite far away and even with my telescopic view is having a hard time to read expression but from how the people move and act it seems like their morale is low. The resident shows sign of having no hope. Children are scarce and soldier shows no sign of motivation. Was the industry here already died?


    This is really a complete let down. There¡¯s nothing to see in this town. Does the lady we met back then were from this town?


    (If I were them, I¡¯d abandon this city too.)


    It makes more sense to go to the southern front than stay here.


    Where should I go to next? It might be a good idea to go west to the land of the elves. Since there¡¯s thing I want to make sure of. I closed and opened my fist to check the sensation on my left hand. There might be other genetically-enhanced soldier besides me, or there may not be others and I also have the option of going back and if I ever found them what should I do?


    (Finding those facility would be unrealistic given the size of the empire that became a huge forest.)


    The clues on the whereabout of those facilities are close to zero and I¡¯m not willing to look all over the empire without any information.


    (Even with this enhanced capability, it¡¯s not realistic)


    I try not to put dirt on being an Imperial soldier, but if you ask me to find something that I don¡¯t if it exist or not then my answer would be no


    It¡¯s not worth the effort at all, but if I could then I would.


    It is in all honesty, beyond my ability even and what only awaits for me would be a life of a forest survivalist. Hence, I would deeply bow my head and apologize  and sincerely admit that I didn¡¯t stood a chance.


    I decided my next destination. Onward to <Emmeriade>, the western frontline.


    The last 200 years have brought more changes than I could ever imagine and the best thing to do is go to a place that will not change and see it with my own two eyes.


    Why do I think that there won¡¯t be any changes in that part of the continent? Because, one there¡¯s no way the Kingdom of Canaan has the capability to beat the <Republic of Einhar>, the Elven nation.


    The elves are the only one that gives the empire a hard time during the Great War. They aren¡¯t behind Canaan and they¡¯re not interested in the territory of another country.


    It may look like that they won¡¯t devote protecting they¡¯re territory but that was not true. They might be worshipper of nature and cultivates little land resulting in abundance of monster inside their territory. But this isn¡¯t a problem, for the fighting prowess of the elves is incomparable to that of a human.


    They are not threatened by the monsters that springs up in their territory, but rather they protect their boarder to stop monster from escaping to neighboring countries.


    If monster were left unchecked a swarm might happen and attack town, that¡¯s why it¡¯s essential to thin them down but the elves won¡¯t allow them to leave their boarders. Because of these, it is natural that any human nation adjacent to Einhar¡¯s boarder does not get along with the elves.


    I remembered when I was a recruit, countries and people who are unrelated creates favorable feelings because of their excellent appearance


    Which is what I¡¯m talking about. I have no evil intention on seeing them, I just want to see how elves who have become a threat to the Empire changed for the last 200 years.


    Since my course is to the west and since the grassland offers no place of hiding, the worst we can do is to go through the old Imperial territory.

 CH 23

    In a small cave hidden by what looks like trees that was dragged from some distance and made to hide the entrance. It has already been 16 days since I set up a base here and was living comfortably by making what I lack.


    Emmeriade?


    Frontline city?


    Ah right, unfortunately I don¡¯t give a f*ck anymore. It seems like they already abandoned science. It is possible that the level of civilization had started to decline.


    I made a fool of myself for being so cautious of cannons and guns, but the only thing they have are ballistae and such. The same one I knew from back then. I knew for one that monsters may evolve but unless they¡¯re unique monster they won¡¯t progress. So, it¡¯s not hard to understand why the equipment was still the same from back then, the lack of threat had stopped the progress but shouldn¡¯t they have developed new weapons and technology to reduce the damage from monster attack?


    I guess it¡¯s too much to blame them since the progress might not just be here, but still, I¡¯m disappointed.


    In my estimation on the current strength of Canaan, if ever I attack them now, I can easily penetrate up to the royal capital easily. That¡¯s how low my current evaluation to their defenses.


    There was a part of me that had high hope for the Kingdom of Canaan. It was a country that was overshadowed by the Empire in terms of technology but theirs does not lag behind greatly. It was because of that, that I had high hope for their scientific advancement based on the things I found in the Imperial ruins and that make me wary.


    But with the things I found, I felt that I don¡¯t have the reason to get wary on them. If they¡¯re trying to get along with Seizelia, I would feel a sense of dread. But I don¡¯t think that by abandoning science they¡¯re territorial dispute would be resolved.


    The fact that I saw an airship wreckage suggest that their magic technology had definitely improved. There¡¯s also the possibility that they might have used antiquated technology from olden days, that or the tech still exist but no one was able to produce result.


    I also saw the battle against monsters of Emmeriade, and it made clear that the increase in amount of magician show that problem in quality. The fact that they are casting magic while standing still, which was so poor that most magicians from the olden days, even the fools would sigh disappointingly.


    It means that Canaan¡¯s current strategy revolves around mages that acts as turrets, and if I¡¯m an aggressor I would just have to ignore the vanguard and quickly decimate the mages.


    I¡¯ll tell whatever I saw from my observations and I¡¯ll tell this in advance. The fact that they had both magic and science then abandon one of it shows the immaturity of their current technology.


    When I was observing a merchant group travelling, I didn¡¯t saw a speck of science. It¡¯s not that it¡¯s completely gone, it just that it was abandoned.


    I have no use of that country anymore. So, I moved to republic and ended up here. What awaited me shocking, this nature worshipper was way better than I heard.


    I was indignant at first thinking how could the Empire to lose to them, but when I saw the way they fight, then I understood. If this was a game it would have been a level of unreasonableness that would have me panning ong the table.


    Magic is something that requires chanting and takes a long time to activate. Despite that the power of magic was no less than any weapon of the Empire, which is why every country was able to resist to a certain extent.


    However, it¡¯s a different story for these elves. They¡¯re casting magic without chanting, and at the same time still keeping powers that are more powerful than any human, and also there¡¯s no end in sight to the number of magic their using.


    And I knew it immediately, these guys are bad news. That¡¯s why I was hiding here in a cave on a cliff near the Emmeriade Republic. I tried crossing the river a few times to investigate but it¡¯s hard to go deeper because of their security net.


    Nevertheless, I was able to find several settlements and have identified other places with grouping large enough to be considered town.


    Ten days of observation of elven activities have confirmed the safety of my current base. Specifically, because the elves don¡¯t cross the river, which is certain that they are aware of their boarder. At the very least the elves are not extending their territory eastward and would less like come to my base.


    The only problem I encounter would be regarding fire, I need to time it right and find the right place as well. Nevertheless, that is my only complaint, because there¡¯s something fun happening over here.


    Ah it¡¯s almost time to go, so I got down to my position and look at the river. After a while, about 10 elven children came running to the river and a little later the adult elves came. These guys would come to this river in a fixed time every day, so I guess, they¡¯re doing some swimming lesson here in the river.


    When they arrived at the banks of the river, the adult leading them told something, then the children gleefully raised their hand and started taking their clothes off, then they enter the river in the order of who finish taking their clothes of first, but I¡¯m not interested in them.


    Here¡¯s comes the real deal. She looks like she¡¯s around20 years of age, a blond beauty wit long straight hair. Her large breast swayed through her white underwear as she undressed. I call her Ms. Number 6 and she comes here every day so I always wait for her.


    Adult and kids alike are in the river wearing a white underwear that naturally turns transparent when it gets wet, especially when it stick to the skin.


    There are times that the boys would prank the adults and lift the underwear from back way up high. Then the gorgeous bouncing boobs would then pop when caught from the underwear, satisfies even me a monster


    [Oh, you bad boy, Do it again!] I cheered in my heart.


    At this distance I could see well enough with my telescopic vision, even so I really want to get close to it. Also, because of me using my telescopic vison till I tears turn to blood my telescopic ability evolved. By pushing the limits of my ability trying to desperately take a look at her tits, I was able to succeed.


    Isn¡¯t the power of eroticism such an amazing thing?


    Now then, Ms. Number 6 posses such calm demeanor maybe because she was always caught on the children¡¯s pranks, or rather it¡¯s obvious that they¡¯re looking at her that way. And for an hour or so, as if I was watching some television, I feast my eyes on them while cheering from time to time.


    After that, I would go hunt after finishing my breakfast while lightly exploring the surrounding. In fact, there was a goblin nest which naturally I eradicated, but I¡¯m still not certain if there¡¯s other as well so I spend time sniffing around and patrolling the area to check the ecology as well.


    When the sun is about above us, we returned to our base and went to position to stand by. This time the timing was good and they just arrived


    (No.1, No.2, No.2, No.3 and No.4 huh)


    Five elves who looks like age 14 to 18 then undressed, enter the river and begins to play splashing each other with water. This spot is we¡¯re currently in is for women only. There seems to be a place for men only as well. The good thing here is that you can watch the elves who comes here at a certain time of the day. Like the adult women elves who would come here before evening came and you would sometimes see Ms. Number 6 among them too.


    I think I saw the essence of their <Nature Worshipping> when they get naked to blend with nature. That¡¯s the reason I made a base here. I identified 5 bathing spots and three peeking spots. The time of use for each spot varies lightly so there are maximum of seven peeking opportunities per day, but unfortunately, it¡¯s impossible for me visit all of them because some of them comes at a different.


    Two of the bathing spots are for men and I wasted a lot of time because I didn¡¯t notice them right away.


    While peeping here I learned the current population of the village around here. I estimate that there would be around 200 and it remains to be seen how much more there would be in towns if included.


    I will continue the observation on this base to gather information about the elves.


    Oops it¡¯s about time for the next spot. I would like to continue our observation here, but since the No.5 trio will be probably be here today, I¡¯ll have to go there this time to confirm their usage of being every other day.


    Even though I¡¯m just a new recruit, I¡¯m an Imperial soldier ¨C in order to fulfill my duties, I am determined to observe every inch of these elves, who are the biggest threat to the country.

 CH 24

    Chapter 24: A Testimony of a Prostitute


    [What¡¯s the matter? Someone else wants to talk with you]


    [My name is¡­ well it doesn¡¯t matter]


    [Ah just so you know, I already divulged all the information and the events that happened to us to the guards]


    There¡¯s no more information anywhere.


    If you don¡¯t mind, I feel generous now, so can you tell me what I want to know


    Oh you mean the monster?


    I don¡¯t know anything about it¡­ Well, I just saw it up close though.


    Can you tell me everything you¡¯ve seen?


    Well, we¡¯re in the middle of being kidnapped by <Ash Coffin> so we didn¡¯t have time to see it. That¡¯s why even if you pay me a silver I won¡¯t be able to give you a story of the same worth of a sliver coin.


    I know you¡¯ll say that but you don¡¯t have to worry about it¡­ now about the monster.


    Yes, so where do you want me to start?


    I let the silver coin do the talking


    First of all, I came from the town called <Glenda> located northwest from here. There used to be a silver mine and it was prosperous but the mine eventually dried up before I was even born and it became desolate, but since I was born there, I can¡¯t leave it behind and abandon it.


    I kept dragging myself till I reach this age


    [Would you like to work at L¡¯Ecole?]


    I was very happy when I heard it, it¡¯¡¯s like a godsend to me.


    We agreed on the conditions and a few of us went but that was a big mistake.


    They weren¡¯t stingy with the escort, but they were all wiped out


    That was wrong. There are some bandits in the escort details.


    You we¡¯re talking about <Ash Coffin> oh, I didn¡¯t know about that.


    It¡¯s a human-trafficking organization that suddenly grew in size 10 years ago. In other words, we are about to be turned in to slave.


    When I told then that we were ambushed the guard said that we might have been setup and it was true the fat merchant looking   man who offered us the job was in on it.


    I¡¯m sorry for having those girl experience such a scary story.


    So here¡¯s the story about the new monster that you want


    The guy comes out. We were in the carriage that¡¯;s why we didn¡¯t see it but it¡¯s definitely one sided. The man who tricked me was immediately called out of the carriage and went out with a big cross bow but soon after, I couldn¡¯t hear anything from him anymore.


    They are wiped out.


    I think the firs guys runaway, and those who were left died. We tried to keep quiet and huddle together.


    [Please ignore us!]


    I desperately prayed and begged to god for help but it was of no use.


    Hahaha¡­ if I want to beg to god for help I should have been more pious than usual don¡¯t I?


    Then the monster started peering into the carriage. And when I saw his hand grabbing the carriage, I went and step forward involuntarily¡­ I was surprise myself on how quickly I move back then. Then, he looked at me and then around the carriage. The others said they saw him too and maybe he looks at human woman the same way as a goblin. However, we are ignored at the end and me and the girls were overlooked.


    Why did it attack us? I want to ask myself. Well thanks to him we made it to L¡¯ecole without turning into a slave.


    Wait there¡¯s still something into the story. If I say he didn¡¯t take anything, I don¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t take any. He searched for the liquor on then wagon¡¯s cargo and drank in on the spot.


    Liquors. He was a good drinker. Well, a bottle wouldn¡¯t be so difficult base on his size. Then when he was satisfied, he went away¡­ then comes back. One of the girls screamed, but he ignored her as if he wasn¡¯t interested at us then went behind the carriage once more. When I peeked my head out of the carriage, I saw him passed by in front of me and this time it made me scream!


    But then I saw it. The monster was carrying a huge backpack. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s inside, but there¡¯s something that looks like a stick-like blue cloth.


    Oi stop shaking me!


    It may not be as much as yours, but it¡¯s still good.


    I make a living from this trade so let me take care of my things.


    Eh¡­ I don¡¯t know what it was because it only took a moment when I look and it looks like a stone to me.


    E- please ¨C stop shaking me.


    Aside from the stick-like-blue-clothe that I mentioned earlier he was also carrying an iron grill and a shovel.


    A magic sword? I don¡¯t know even if you asked me. Though I think there¡¯s something in his hand, but I didn¡¯t see what it is.


    Oh wait.


    I don¡¯t know if this will help you but, when we were left behind with the carriage, we tried to drive the carriage but since not one of us is a coachman or has an experience on that, the horse didn¡¯t want to move.


    When the horse finally started to move and were running on a leisurely pace the monster returned and barked at us, as if telling us that we¡¯re an inconvenience and telling us to hurry up.


    Why did I think that, you ask?


    He just barked at us and stopped chasing us when we started running quickly, maybe because there¡¯s something there.


    And this story?


    It¡¯s something I didn¡¯t tell to the guards.


    Haha¡­


    Well, you can try checking the place it appeared if you don¡¯t have information of the place you can try asking around.


    The location¡­oh we already knew.


    Then that¡¯s all I can say.


    Well, it has been a long time ago¡­ it happened about 30 days ago.


    Are you going already?


    Don¡¯t take it too had, even I think it¡¯s a shame for a beautiful woman like you to die. Also, if you want to quit the mercenary stuff you¡¯re welcome to my place. You can make a lot of money.


    I guarantee it.


    T/N this might be a subpar translation because I can¡¯t get the heads or tail of this chapter. Also Alcohol¡­

 CH 25

    How much time has passed since I started observing the elves? 25 days? I can¡¯t be sure.


    The sun is setting and it will soon be evening, and here I am on my base observing the elves who have come to bath as I always do. they are all talking happily and playing on the water. There are few things I learned from observing them.


    First, the assumption that all elves are slender. Though many of them are on the slender waist there are some that are chubby and they breast the size of an Imperial woman. I was given the opportunity to observe 147 women and I can attest to the fact that there more model-build woman than in any other race.


    On the topic of men, I don¡¯t know.


    Secondly, they use magic on a daily basis. For example, they use magic on a daily basis like using it to pick up their clothes or drying it or even light a fire. They¡¯re also expert in magic base on the way it is integrated in their life. I¡¯ve also learned other things as well but I still haven¡¯t confirmed of it yet. I¡¯m sure that in due time I would uncover those as well.


    I¡¯m very sure that I¡¯ll be able to learn something by watching them frolicking in the nude. By the way Ms. No. 6 is still shaking as usual.


    I hear them always talking but still, I can¡¯t understand what they¡¯re talking about. I¡¯m not sure how much of I know of the language but I can¡¯t pick up any of the word from the native Elvish language. Then again, the only elvish I know is <Kill!> or <To lowly race like you!> so I can¡¯t help it. I should have at least tried to learn words that are use on a daily basis.


    Now that my daily <Elf bathing theatre> is over, it¡¯s time to prepare for the night.


    When they are emerging out of the river, no. 6 stumbled bringing the others and they started squirming around to get back at her. Other than that there¡¯s nothing noteworthy happened.


    After seeing them off, I slowly stand up and gather the items I needed. There¡¯s still a bit of time so I wonder a bit around the forest, then I head back to the base once the nightfall came. After I retrieve the things I needed, I head down to the river. When I arrived at the river I washed myself then catch fish and secure water.


    This way of life become so natural that I refrain from doing it in the morning and afternoon so that I don¡¯t encounter them.


    Now that my business is done at the river, I put the fished I cleaned in a cooler box and carried my gear back to base to cook behind it. I cook everything at night like my breakfast for tomorrow evening and lunch because the smoke might give away my location. Even now my meals are tasteless and the only way to solve it is to attack humans. If I can take wagon loads of food, the food situation would be solved but it¡¯s unlikely that we would be able to find one with loads of seasoning and ingredients so conveniently.


    Thinking of this, I bite into my grilled fish.  While I eat I realize that I¡¯m now use eating two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Also, I noticed that I can just disregard the bone and just eat it whole. After the meal I washed up and return back and sleep.


    I laid down on feathers of bird disinfected using boiling water was spread thinly on the ground which is admittedly not a good bed. Even so, something like this is way better than nothing. While thinking I tried to sleep by closing my eyes but I can¡¯t sleep.


    It¡¯s always been like this these days. I can sleep even if I don¡¯t feel sleepy but I just don¡¯t feel fine. Like a bone  stuck in my throat, it bothers me. Should I just make up my mind of forget about it?


    (I guess I still need to go to the Imperial capital once¡­)


    Something can¡¯t be left forgotten. It¡¯s harder than you think to live with a false sense of self.


    The next morning, as I was preparing to leave the base after my breakfast, I saw Ms. No. 6 leading the children at the river again.


    Yeah, I¡¯m no good at fooling myself.


    Somehow I manage to shake of the temptation of those elves and left the base safely along with my modified backpack.


    (I had no idea there are pitfalls like this, this is why these elves are so tricky.)


    I wonder if the superior appearance of the elves are meant to attract the eyes of others? I guess that¡¯s the reason why elven women have no qualms in being naked in the river with no regards on who might see them.


    I wonder if it¡¯s possible that they were showing their naked body to me as some kind of suggestion or magic?


    (Such scheme, no wonder the Empire had suffered so much)


    Farce aside, it¡¯s hard to do anything but just watch and it¡¯s even worse is that your


    is gone and it feels like treats that you can¡¯t eat are being dangled in front of you.


    Maybe that¡¯s what drove that man spider to go crazy. I felt sympathy for him, probably because of the possibility that I might end up like him too.


    Ah, there¡¯s no use on thinking about it, so I better stop about that now.


    I continued southeast, until the sun is directly overhead when I found the ruins of a military base. I looked around and saw evidence of some of it parts being destroyed by human hands.


    (it¡¯s easy to see where the battlefield was used to be)


    There¡¯s no point in staying here.


    I would probably see some traces of the Empire if I continue southeast with a little bit of deviation. I would also like to stop at a nearby town if possible, though I¡¯m sure that it would be a goblin¡¯s nest anyway and I won¡¯t hesitate to eliminate them and honestly I¡¯m willing to do it to clean up the grave of the dead Imperial citizen.


    Along the way, I came a cross a large bear and a large boar but I gave them a good beating to show them the difference in power.


    By sunset, I found a collapsed artifact, so I headed there. It¡¯s probably the remain of the town called <Idles>. Compared top Rukdiel and Eir Quell, the damage to the town is far worse and there¡¯s no place for the goblins to settle down.


    I knew that this site had seen several battles, but when I saw this, I can see the horror of war through the scar that was left behind.


    [Gah-ha]


    I let out a single breath and sat down on a pile of concrete rubble. The thought of elves doing this makes me feel horrible of my carefree peeping,


    However, I¡¯m humiliating them through my peeping, so that¡¯s even.


    I left Idles with one Imperial joke in between, feeling sad by the fact that I didn¡¯t gain anything here.


    (If I go east from here, I would find <Gisvaya> but going southeast would make it closer to the Imperial Capital.)


    There¡¯s a weapon factory in Gisvaya giving it a chance that we might be able to get something there, but we can¡¯t rule out the possibility that it has been ransacked already since it¡¯s always been there for a long time.


    (Let¡¯s check the route first. If I took the route directly to the Imperial capital, I have to pass through <Cheval> and <Isa> and if I recall correctly, there should be a large mall in Isa. In case I took the route trough Gisvaya, I need to pass through <Banai>, <Koza> and <Aranvein> which would be a big detour but we can check on the weapon factory.)


    If only we know how far the Republic have invaded, I might not have to worry that much. After all information is important.


    Since I have no need to worry about myself who have no trouble running along the roadless road even by just using the moonlight as my guide, why not just go to the Imperial capital first then just turn around after? I concluded.


    It¡¯s a luxurious problem that monster of high physical ability is having.


    After running through the night, I finally see the steel tower that serve as the Symbol of Cheval. It hasn¡¯t been much time passed since the day break that¡¯s why it¡¯s still dim but I can see it clearly without any problem. However the steal tower whci is once called the symbol of prosperity was no rusted and already tilted.


    (The fact that the steel tower still stands after 200 years is a testament to the Imperial technologiucal power)


    I¡¯m a bit sad to see those steel tower I saw as a kid are now just relics of the past, but there¡¯s no use lamenting over it now.


    (After all I¡¯m not even human now)


    I said to myself mockingly.


    (The nostalgia when you see a place that you once visited with your loved ones really hits differently)


    I may look like this, but I think being sentimental is not a bad thing. Then I decided to stop in Cheval.


    And lo and behold, they¡¯re here as expected.


    Even though I can¡¯t see them, I can smell them. This place is intact enough that those goblins settled here.


    (At least, I should do some cleaning to the city that I once have been)


    I put down my luggage on a clearly marked sign and check the condition of my sledge hammer.


    Finally it¡¯s time to use it.


    Let the goblin extermination begin.

 CH 26

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    And with a swing of the sledge hammer, I dispatched the goblin queen on the stadium filled with corpses of her kins. Then I checked to see for survivors.


    (Nothing moves anymore¡­ is that all the goblins?)


    Since I¡¯ve killed every goblin in this stadium that can pack 30,000 people, I can say that this is the hardest work I ever done.


    Even with the number of goblins increases their quantity their quality is still as shoddy and with the use of the sledge hammer and sometimes using my tails I was able to exterminate them but still their amount is to large that I feel quite tired.


    It was a set of queen and a king but a mere goblin with huge do a thing against me and with the single blow from a sledgehammer, his shield was crushed instantaneously along with his body.


    Fortunately, the goblin here has a stench that is tolerable. Perhaps the fact that half of the roof was gone allowed better ventilation.


    Now that the cleanup is over I decided to wash up and make bed at the shopping district that I marked. It¡¯s not a big mall like the one in Aiza, but it¡¯s not small either. I¡¯m sure I can find some of the thing I¡¯m missing.


    But first I need to clean myself up, so I went to a nature parkin search for water but as expected the water is muddy and dirty as if it has been used by those goblins.


    I was thinking if I have to use the sewers but luckily, I found a pool of rainwater on an abandoned greenhouse, so I used it. It¡¯s not a big problem since it has only been four days since the last rain and now that I am refreshed, I went to pick up my luggage and head over the shopping district.


    I would secure the things I need here while it¡¯s still morning then hunt around the vicinity and spend the night here. I¡¯m getting constant sleep everyday except for last night, that¡¯s why I want to get a sleep today.


    So, I started browsing on the shopping district. While I was gathering necessary items, I looked for a place to sleep and brought in supplies that I could use.


    (¡­How many scrubbing brush are there? It looks like I bought too much clothes too.)


    It was great that there¡¯s a futon shop, but it most futons aren¡¯t usable anymore, but luckily there¡¯s some bet that are still usable and is completely reasonably good.


    I actually tried laying on it with a four-layers mattress and it was able to hold my weight with no problem at all. The bed is good for sleeping and it¡¯s quite good to sit on but this makes me closer to the ceiling. I guess I¡¯ll adjust the details later, I need to get some food first.


    I went to the forest to hunt ¨C but the goblins might haver over hunt already since I need to go too far. Goblins are really harmful.


    The sun had already set when I returned, so I dismantled the boar I had and secured the fire. I am able to finish this boar in one sitting without any problem. I found out about this when I was watching those elves, I noticed that  I don¡¯t feel hungry but I do feel full and this boar isn¡¯t enough for me to fill me up. Then I drank a bottle of water and lie down on the bed.


    (This isn¡¯t bad, I wonder if I¡¯ll reach the Imperial capital tomorrow?)


    Then I closed my eyes and fell asleep easier than I expected.


    The next morning, I woke up and stretched. I add a washcloth. A cloth and a pair of tongs to my pack which is now even more substantial and leave Cheval.


    My course is southeast toward Aiza, which is not so far and I estimate that I will arrive there by noon. The trees are not so dense which will allow me to increase my speed.


    There was nothing special on the road but the town of Isa came into sight sooner than expected. I notice the state of devastation is far worse than I expected.


    (This isn¡¯t something I expected from a mall)


    The fear is pretty much well founded.


    The city if Aiza¡¯s condition is in rougher condition than expected and the cause is definitely apparent. It was heavily burnt down. The crumbling outer walls were left in their burnt-out state and there¡¯s too few of other creature¡¯s sign. I can¡¯t even see a sign of goblins here. I also noticed the unusual lacking of vegetation.


    Every city I have seen so far has been is eroded by greens and plants but the city of Aiza is different. It¡¯s gray and not green.


    I tried exploring the city but it was in no condition to have anything that can be of use.


    (I know that it was a war, but do they really have to burn this city so thoroughly?)


    Every where I look all I see were the standing remains of burned building that shows the extraordinary the level of destruction that happened here. I explore a bit more of Aiza and it was fruitless, there¡¯s nothing left here that is worth taking.


    This make me worried about the Imperial Capital.


    (No wait, this might not be true, but can this be the result of the secret weapon that we saw before?)


    I tried analyzing about the idea that popped out of my head and the conclusion that I got is, it¡¯s possible.


    Using that secret weapon to reduce a city to smithereens is not something that I would advocate but it is a possibility. It¡¯s also possible that the war against the elves have deteriorated so badly that this happened.


    (Come to think of it, the elves can live for around 300 years)


    Someday, I hope that I can know what ever happened here. So I decided to head over the Imperial Capital.


    (I wonder what happened to the Imperial Capital after 20 years)


    When I finally think about it, it was surprising to find out that there are lots of thing that I missed and want to know more of.


    Then, when I was about to leave the gray city. What lays before me is a vast desert , an endless expanse of it that seems to goes on forever.


    Sand. It¡¯s quite difficult to walk on it, but I can run and walk fine.


    (There¡¯s not ocean in the empire, but is this what a sandy beach looks like?)


    I tried to run on it and was surprised that I can¡¯t speed up to the speed I expect. I tried walking and running but I can¡¯t really move faster than I want. Thus I just enjoy the scenery of this vast expanse nothingness of the dessert.


    Along the way I ask myself <How did this happened?>


    And I haven¡¯t reached any conclusion, and honestly, I feel like it¡¯s no use thinking about it.


    Then reality hit me. I knew in my heart that this would have happened but there¡¯s still part of me denying that it would happen.


    (Is this the reason why the Empire fell?)


    What I had in front of me is the epicenter of an explosion. I wonder how many explosives did it take to made such a huge crater. It swallowed up the Imperial Capital and burned down the nearby agricultural fields and burned down the City of Aiza.


    This might as well be the reason for the formation of that desert.


    Now I understood. The reason why the Kingdom of Canaan had abandoned science. If this is the end result of science then anyone would choose to abandon it.


    No it¡¯s more like if they decided to pursue science they would be targeted. I don¡¯t want to call out my beloved homeland, but I want to ask you one question.


    What kind of catastrophe had caused this to happen? Was the path the Empire took is a mistake?


    The only thing I can do is clench my fist infront of the scene before me. The place I want to return to is no more. The places I want to see is now gone.


    (I¡¯m starting to miss the career counseling from my student year)


    There are more thought that came out. I thought I already accepted this long ago but it seems I was struck by reality hard. I have so many things that I want to say but I can¡¯t put them into words.


    Then at the very least I howl my soul out. There¡¯s no one here that would hear me. Then I turned my back to the crater that was once my hometown and started walking away.

 CH 27

    Gathering information about the elves, the greatest threat to the empire is essential to my survival. This time I focus on a female elf, whom I assumed to be a person of high standing in the Republic because of the fact that she always kept her eyes close bad had three followers.


    Also, unlike the elves who use the river, she acts as if she¡¯s performing a ritual of purifying herself.


    [There surely is something going on]


    Since she has never opened her eyes, and she has followers I can only assume that she¡¯s someone of higher status or she has a special constitution. That¡¯s why I¡¯m focusing my observation on her and keeping a close eye to make sure I don¡¯t miss anything.


    She¡¯s probably blind, that¡¯s why I put my utmost attention to her. Even now she¡¯s still hiding it, but with the help of my telescopic vision, I watched every movement of her body.


    I will call her Ms. 8 and I shall watch her every move. My time spent on watching her wasn¡¯t wasted!


    (How dare you Republic to hide such weapon like that!)


    [Indeed, this why elves are never to be underestimated]


    I worked a farce in my head with a grin.


    I¡¯ve got time on my hands so I can¡¯t help it.


    When I found out about the reason of the downfall of the Empire it left a hole in my heart. And my hope is gone.


    I was hoping that somehow, there are survivors that inherited and keep science alive to help me become a human again.


    Unfortunately, reality was unforgiving and when the thought of me living like this for the rest of my life. I lost all will to live. I¡¯m not sure what to do and the only thing I can do is to fool myself by playing this charades.


    I have no one to talk to about my problems. In the first place, I don¡¯t have anyone who would serve as my conversation partner.


    I feel sad and lonely. I wonder how this world will treat me. Just the mere idea of it scares me. I hate to imagine it.


    I looked at her boobs that sway and jiggle every time she moves.


    This is annoying, even though I lost my partner I still have these sexual desires but thanks to this I can go watching naked elves without going crazy.


    I¡¯m thinking about such things while watching Ms. 8 leaving the river.


    (Oh wow Aside from her humongus boobs she also has those great butts. Wonderful! Hmm. Let¡¯s have wild boar for dinner)


    In the end the great three desire wins.


    I suck at thinking about difficult thing, so I started thinking if I should just really turn into a monster. I wonder if this s the same thing that happed to that man (spider)?


    Personally, I don¡¯t want to be like him and I don¡¯t intend to as well. However I can¡¯t stay like this forever. After all, it has been ten days since I return here and I¡¯m worried that I might just end up adding more peeking points like this.


    I got up and left he place as I was dismissing all those ideas, a sudden thought came to me.


    (I guess I¡¯ll have to deal with my frustration one thing at a time)


    I came up with an unusually good idea, so I went back at the base and thought about my current situation.


    Calm down and think. Food is a necessity. It¡¯s one of the most important thing to live. Then why are we dissatisfied with it?


    (That¡¯s it! If I¡¯m dissatisfied with how my food tase then I should solve it!)


    Yes I wouldn¡¯t made a drastic change to my meals, but what I need is salt. So the solution is easy!


    (It¡¯s time to go to Canaan!)


    Since the kingdom of Canaan has a sea and salt is being distributed there very well.


    I hurried back to my base packed my back and began my journey. Mith my back pack and my sledgehammer I sped through the forest. The sledgehammer was a bit warped because of the las goblin extermination and it still can be used for now.


    I hadn¡¯t thought of getting a new weapon, I think I should stop by Gisvaya, or on Aranvein, or in Goza or in Banai to look for one. However over all I don¡¯t think I¡¯m lacking in terms of commodities and convenience. In the topic of gaining information about the field of magic it¡¯s out of reach. I can only hope that I can get my hand of some of it.


    We reached Canaan, but I have no idea where I am with all this trees, but I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯re at Canaan now.


    (Now I just need to figure out where to get salt and spices¡­ and some breads too)


    The more I think about thing the more I add thing I want to get, it¡¯s all thanks to those days where I have to endure those tasteless meals. The first thing I¡¯m aiming for is a carriage. If not then a village.


    I¡¯m a monster now and it¡¯s not rare for a being like me to raid a frontier village. I would not hesitate to suspend my mission to observe those elves to procure salts so I won¡¯t choose my means.


    Realistically that¡¯s the only way. I don¡¯t have any way to negotiate with how my vocal chords work and with how I look. Also, language barriers would be another issue.


    Secondly, I¡¯m sure that I¡¯m on the watchlist of the mercenaries of Canaan Kingdom, so if they decided to take hostile actions I will fight back without hesitation.


    As I movce through the forest, I tried recalling the spots for hunting of Canaan Kingdom.


    (Now I wonder, which road should I take? Would taking north would lead me to the source of the salts? I wonder which one do the merchants use?)


    I went through the forest, crossed the highway and enter the forest again. By the time I reached the mountain up north, it¡¯s already dark. My current location is on the other side of the base we used when we stayed at Glenda. It¡¯s north-northwest area near a newly established town whose name I don¡¯t know.


    It¡¯s pretty obvious that this town is a relay for Canaan¡¯s ambition to conquer the south and they definitely going to take advantage of it.


    (Given that they weren¡¯t able to expand their territory in 200 years, there must have been a reason they couldn¡¯t do it. Same with Seizelia, they should have been able to expand west ward too, I wonder what the hell happened.)


    I can only make prediction, but I have no proper idea what¡¯s started for them to embark their expansion now. Since I can¡¯t think of any idea, lets just stop thinking about it anymore.


    Even if the sun already set, I still have to move, because I don¡¯t have anything that can be called a base. Even I found one it may not have any water source. On the other hand if I continue up north I will reach <Agrinea> which was once occupied by the Empire. It would be the best choice to go to.


    (After all, the problem with water always follows me wherever I go)


    No matter how powerful my abilities are it¡¯s something that I can¡¯t do about.


    After letting out a sigh, I took a drink of water and took a breath, and suddenly I heard a noise.


    I heard people talking in a place and time like this.


    (This is nothing short of suspicious.)


    Being in this mountain at this hour of the day is nothing short of suspicious. I decided to floow the sound using my hearing and smell since my visual ability would only be hindered by the poor visibility in the area. After moving northwest I found a place with slight light peeking through


    A heard voice leaking out of it slightly. I failed to make out of what they¡¯re talking about but I could determine that several of them are shouting excitedly.


    As I approach the source of the light, I started seeing what seems to be a lumberjack hut. I approach it with my mimicry skill and take up an advantageous position and uses my telescopic vision to peek through


    (Ah yep they lok like bandits)


    He has a very poor appearance. Filthy would better suit for it. Red haired shabby looking man with a stubbled beard is shouting with a curved sword in his hand.


    I decided to approach it ignoring the condition on the hut since I already assumed that there¡¯s no threat. When I opened the hut, I found the man I just saw, plus three more bandit and a corpse of a dead man.


    Hello? Yes, we have a case here.

 CH 28

    Ok, let¡¯s check the situation. There are four bandits with their weapon drawn and a dead body. They¡¯re shouting something.


    [Dammit how could a monster be in a place like this]


    Based on the word I was able to pick, they must be saying something along those lines. The only words I could make out were <bad day> or the <worst>.


    (Is this it? You accidentally killed the one you kidnap who is a person of high status when he resisted)


    I can¡¯t say for sure though because I don¡¯t have enough information, but there is no particular need to keep the four bandits alive.


    However, the entrance to this hut is too small for me to pass through. As I stood there in front of the open door, one bandit pointed at me and shout through something.


    Then as if they got relieve, the other three put down they¡¯re weapon.


    (Ah I see they think that I¡¯m too big to get into the hut, so they¡¯re safe or something like that.)


    According to one of my school teachers, <Do what people would unlikely expect> ¨C and now is the time to do it. I unhesitatingly destroyed the entrance to the hut and tried shouting [Excuse me for disturbing you!]


    [Nooooooooooo]


    The for bandits shouted in unison. The one who tried to fled through the window but get stuck effectively cutting of their only exit.


    And after 30 seconds, the hut is now under control with one last person killed with a futile attempt to escape. Unfortunately, my sledge hammer is now a goner so I disposed of it on an appropriate place.


    There¡¯s no particular reason on killing them, it¡¯s more like they saw me so they need to disappear kind of thing.


    I tried looking around the hut but I couldn¡¯t find anything that would be useful to me, so I just wasted my time and used up my weapon


    (I only ended up avenging some unknown man.)


    Although only a small number of bandits have been eliminated it is a positive thing for the Kingdom of Canaan. Then I consider it as a negative balance of taking away the wagon load.


    Balance is important.


    I gave up looking for a watering hole and moved south to look for a street in order to look for a possible camping spot. Since I¡¯m not bold enough to walk along the streets in the light of day, so I take a look around after it gets dark.


    I dashed as fast as I could thinking that no one is watching me anyway. Then I remembered that there was a road to east as we so I darted around as if I were meandering through a meadow. Looking back, it had been a long time since I was able to run in a place like this as I did in the woods back then.


    Since it was a good opportunity, I decided to drive around to get used to it.


    It took me an hour of running.


    Running at full speed while using only my two feel is dangerous so I slowed down moderately while I looked around and found lights on southeast.


    There were several horse-drawn carriages in the vicinity, so it must have been a group of merchants camping out.


    I stopped running and inspect the wagon as I walked around it.


    (There are two guards, or maybe three. Some others are laying down, but they might be an escort. There¡¯s still total of six carriages in all and there¡¯s fourteen people that I can see)


    Considering the people in the carriage as well, there might be around 20 people in the carriage. Before approaching, I secured a place for my luggage and move stealthy close to the ground. Of course, I was using my mimicry ability. This will help me determine the capability of the escort if they are able to detect me.


    I am getting steadily closer, but so far no one was able to noticed me and some of them are just chatting with each other.


    (Aren¡¯t you too relaxed is this a safe area?)


    For Canaan which is unlike the empire the distance is far greater and it is quite unusual to see little damage from bandits and monsters.


    Is the ruler here skilled?


    But I¡¯m here which is probably considered an unmanageable level threat, so that kind of thing to me is irrelevant. It wouldn¡¯t have any bad conscience since I would just collect my reward for that spider hybrid subjugation and I will accept supplies as rewards


    Now I¡¯m less than 50 meters away from the group but still no one noticed me yet.


    (I¡¯m getting tempted to just do a stealth mission from here on out)


    Rather, I am curious to know how far this mimicry ability will take me against humans. At the same time, I want to hide it to them.


    After some time to think and I decided to hide my mimicry skill so I move to take some distance


    (I should adjust my position, release my mimicry where the guards can¡¯t see me)


    Once in position I get down the ground remove my mimicry and sneak up to them as if I¡¯m crawling. Just then one of the guards climbs on top of the carriage and looked around. He finally noticed me shouted loudly.


    I guess since my body is gray making me suitable less to blend into the night. I heard a scream that might not come from the escort detail. I approached them leisurely and looked at the guard that was holding their weapon.


    (Two with swords and spear, one with shield, two with bows and two mages)


    The female mage who is near the campfire started chanting along with another male mage. Arrows starts flying at me but I ignore them. They don¡¯t pierce and even if they do, they don¡¯t hurt.


    The two bowmen started shouting something and I guess they¡¯re saying something along the lines the arrow is not effective.


    I approach the carriage, ignored the five men in the vanguard and directly went to the mages. I have to be wary of magic so I took cover on the carriage then leap directly to them. The landing blows the bonfire out sending sparks of flame flying around, then I quickly knockdown and crush the mage¡¯s staff.


    While doing so I pretend to be caught at the moment when I saw the female mages robe shift and I found some stuffing on her chest


    (¡­1?)


    I thought she looked like a 4 but I guess my estimate is too much.


    I didn¡¯t miss the gazes of the men who rushed to their comrade¡¯s crisis and so she does as well. It¡¯s a bit regrettable to kill them here. The girl then started yapping and is becoming annoying so I shut her up by giving her a light blow enough to knock her down. And since she didn¡¯t fly away and just fell limply to the ground, I guess she¡¯s okay.


    The male mage then changed the magic he uses but was still continuing his chant. And since it¡¯s becoming amusing, I took on the five vanguards to kill time and sure enough he had switched to a magic that wouldn¡¯t damage the surrounding, and if it¡¯s a linear attack it would be easy to avoid it


    With a well-timed back-hand blow I blew away the flaming arrows and the same time I blew away the shield guy with my tail. I then threw the spear of the woman who tried to attack me at my rear back to the male mage. He caught her but was unable to hold his ground and they were blown away and roll away together as well.


    The battle ends with the three remaining vanguards kicked enough so that they won¡¯t die. Incidentally the archers ran away as soon as they learned that they arrows have no effect.


    It looks like there¡¯s one more battle to be fought here. One of the spoils of war tried to run away but I grabbed it from the rear and lifted it making the screaming old man fell to the ground. As I looked around, I saw another one scurrying away so I caught it and littered the old man too.


    (The six carriage is secured, now let the rummaging begins)


    So, I began inspecting the loots. I carefully opened the crates so that I won¡¯t damage the contents as I look through them one by one. The content of the first wagon is mainly food stuff. I thought that it would be jackpot but the only thing I could take from it is dried meat since the rest are just wheat. If only I can cook wheat this would have been a good option. I guess I have no choice.


    Also, I would need to make tools for my size if I want to process this. There¡¯s also some sake but I passed on it.


    On to the next one. When I inspect it, I heard a scream and the parents tried are covering their children¡¯s mouth to prevent them from crying.


    I looked around ignoring them but all I see are furniture and furnishing. It looks like this family is moving.


    I¡¯m not satisfied and so I moved to the next one. In this one a young man is protecting a woman by pulling her behind him. She seems to have a big belly so she might be pregnant,


    (She¡¯s moderately beautiful ain¡¯t she, you riajuu!)


    I spit out and go for the next one, but since its load is kind of small, I ignore it and wen to the fourth one, where I found what I¡¯m looking for.


    Five jars of salt and wool and an iron ore


    I took two jars of the salt and some wool and then went to the next carriage.


    The fifth one is filled with wheat too. The old man in this carriage is mumbling something probably complaining to his escorts.


    The last one when I peeked a sharp rapier comes rushing out in to me. I caught it with my teeth and pulled the user out to the open. He released his hand on the hilt of the rapier when he rolled to the ground so I hit him enough to knocked him unconscious I started ransacking the last carriage but all I found are ornaments. Obviously, I don¡¯t need them. I am disappointed to find a lock box. I reaped it open to found only one sealed water bottle.


    (Some kind of suspicious item¡­ related to magic?)


    I don¡¯t know how to use it but I¡¯ll take it anyway.


    So, the spoils are: 1 kilo of dried meat, 2 jars of salt some wall and a bottle of a mysterious water.


    And the result of the looting zero casualty. Now let¡¯s collect our luggage and return to the mountain once more.

 CH 29

    Translation note


    I apologize for the late upload. I caught flu last Saturday and I¡¯m


    currently recuperating making it impossible for me to post the chapter on


    scheduled time.


    ==============================================================


    There are two men who are silently inside the base of the <Dawn of War> which is located at L¡¯Ecole Street. One is Orlando the leader of the group sitting in front of the desk with papers in front of him just keeping silent and the other is Edward, a tall slender man with blond hair who is the general staff of the group for a long time. Though he looks like he is in his thirties, he is only 27 years old he had looks that would make look older than his age. Even if he is concerned about this, he is keeping an intense pressure in front of the leader of the group even though it might be the reason why he looks old.


    [Erm¡­]


    Edwards fixed his glasses and broke the silence, startling Orlando making the latter to avert his gaze breaking off eye contacts


    [Commander, I believe I said this already three days ago that you need to go over these documents¡­ so could you repeat what you told me back then]


    The pressure increases. Even Orlando knows that he needs to answer but he is scared.


    [Commander¡­]


    Voices filled with mixed emotions collides, Orlando knows the he must answer but he can¡¯t open his mouth.


    [Commander! You should at least be able to read and write!]


    [But- but I can¡¯t help it okay!]


    [I know your brothel ban is over, but please understand that as a commander you have an important role to play as the face of this mercenary group!]


    [B-but I can at least write my own name¡­]


    [Anyone who wants to be a mercenary can do that much Commander!]


    Edward countered Orlando¡¯s arguments.


    [¡­Commander, should we ask Alitta and Lloyd to watch you study huh?]


    Edwards word causes Orlando to shudder and look away giving Edward a hint.


    (So, you skipped your study)


    Even without saying it out loud his eyes were already accusing him.


    [We don¡¯t have enough time so I¡¯ll just summarize the main points. Please try to memorize it and word for word so that you don¡¯t forget it]


    An hour later a dazed Orlando entered the room where the members of the <Dawn of War> is waiting. All but the leaders of the group were already there so Edward who will act as the facilitator prompted to start the meeting.


    [Let¡¯s get started]


    [The firs thin in our agenda is a boring talk centering in our financial situation. As you know we are currently improving our equipment with our next goal in mind. This leads in our group¡¯s funding to drop to less than half. Not to mention the cost of my treatments as it is a necessary expense]


    Orlando says while he shows his healed of fingers making the others on the room laugh.


    Truthfully, the treatment was not that much but the cost of the weapons decreased the fund by more than 60%. Although he doesn¡¯t remember the exact numbers, Edward knew from experience that it¡¯s not always a good idea to disclosed the financial status of a group. So, he said nothing and listen in silence.


    [I don¡¯t properly need to go in details, but now that we will be able to get dealings with the lord directly, we can address it so it won¡¯t be a problem. Now for the next report.]


    Orlando then shifted his eyes to Edward who then nodded.


    [We have confirmed that there was a goblin colony in Old Eirquel, south of the Old Rukdiel where we last fought]


    Amidst the clamor one of the members asked him what did he mean by <there was>


    [It¡¯s gone now. There was a colony with an estimated size of 2,000 goblins but was wiped out]


    Two thousand goblin is a large number for a goblin colony. When everyone found out that it was wiped out, one could only assume that something bad had happened creating uneasiness to everyone in the room.


    [According to the information provided by <Fudo> and <Rengetsu> who was in-charge of the investigation that there are signs that the colony was destroyed by a single individual]


    Everyone gasped. Even if they weren¡¯t present, they would still be able to identify who did it.


    [It¡¯s hard to believe that <Rengetsu> and <Fudo> would have done a mistake in their investigation. I¡¯m very sure that it is done by that new species. Also, as a result of discussion with the guild master¡­ were not so good. It is currently designated as <calamity> class and the only reason it¡¯s not on the top is because it doesn¡¯t have done any damage as of now]


    Edward continued regardless of the members reaction.


    [Currently we are the only one who had experienced and encountered the new species, so we would like to withheld any information we and ask everyone here to remain silent on this detail. We don¡¯t know how powerful he really is the threat that he brings is still not clear so we need to make sure that the world recognizes this threat.]


    After Orlando took over the story from Edward.


    [So, this time our new job is to eliminate the goblin at old Fort Karnash. The only difference is that there might be a queen there and the fact that the fort is still functioning to some extent so you could say that we would be attacking a goblin stronghold and this would be a rare experience. We have to thank our client.]


    The motivation of members is high that they raised a laugh. As for Orlando, he was expecting them to whine for having other goblins as another target, but this was a happy miscalculation.


    [We don¡¯t have the proper estimate of the size but we deduced that it would be around 800 monsters and max of over a thousand and if there would be some Imperial weapon left there, the difficulty of the mission would jump. This will also be a joint mission with Fudo and several mercenary groups. The knights and soldier under the direct command of the lord will also come as reinforcement but rest assured that they nothing more of a chaperone.]


    Naturally, since the presence of the knights is unwelcomed for mercenaries. That was because a lot of their peers have ended up having their troops destroyed by the meddling of the knights while in their quest for achievements.


    Once that this was not the case, the members voiced their relief.


    [so that¡¯s all about it, this would be a casual work but I want you guys to prepare properly]


    With a clap of Orlando¡¯s hand, it became the signal to disperse and everyone started leaving the room. And once everybody has left, Orlando looked at the ceiling as if leaning back.


    [We¡¯ve bought weapons but we don¡¯t have enough and its quality is questionable to go against the new species.]


    Edward then voiced his concerns and lets out a loud sigh of agreement.


    [If we push ourselves, I think we can get weapons, but our current problem are people]


    [that is same everywhere especially when it comes to talented mage. We would need a large amount of money to pull them to our side or train them from the scratch and with our current financial situation, we can¡¯t do both. No matter how hard we try we could only increase our staff by one]


    [I guess so¡­]


    Orlando plops down at his desk


    Edward also lets out a sigh as he knows there¡¯s nothing, he can do about this. Even in Seizelia where magic has been predominant for a long time, far longer than Canaan has the same shortage of mages.


    [I¡¯ll tell Annie]


    Edwards said while laughing with cold eyes when Orlando went and get up from his chair.


    [Hey! Why does her name come out there! Wait Ed! Where are you going! Hey!]


    Orlando chases after Edward as he leaves.


    The commander of the Dawn of War cries over the cost of alcohol he spent that day.


    ==============================================================


    Author¡¯s note:


    Fudo: Official name <Fudo Daiken> and doesn¡¯t get along with Dawn incidentally the group has history of losing quite a few members when their leader changed his weapon to halberd


    Rengetsu: officially called Renya Shingetsu a very devious mercenary group that specializes on surprise attack and blackmail and are good with information gathering and is led by a pair of twins.

 CH 30

    I made a mistake


    [Why did this happen?]


    After leaving Lena, I tried gathering information about the new species monster, but I can¡¯t find anything in Seizelia gave me any promising clues. Also, there¡¯s a limit with me cutting into our party¡¯s savings, so I have no choice but to join other party¡¯s temporarily as a helper.


    With the situation of the territory still unsettled and the bulk of force focused on Fleuretus Forest and they¡¯ve been sending adventurers over there for a year now but it didn¡¯t go well.


    The adventurer¡¯s guild which was required to achieve a certain level of result, has lost many of its best adventurers by recklessly putting personnel on the wrong job, just like what happened to my party. And now after some member of my party perished, we disband and I¡¯m left alone tracking the new species m monster for taking our magic sword <Zentetsu> which was the first ever weapon our party acquired.


    I still remember how we acquired it. It was a battle against a monster with a powerful weapon, that proves to be troublesome. And that battle made us into a coherent team.


    I want   to get that back but¡ª


    (Please don¡¯t tell me the sightings are in Canaan and not in Seizelia. Even if we weren¡¯t at war right now it cost a lot to cross the border)


    Currently the Kingdom of Canaan and the Rohmheit are gathering troops at the town of L¡¯Ecole which is in the southern frontline. As a southern frontier, the town of L¡¯Ecole is attracting mercenary and other job-hungry people to try and exterminate monster around the former Imperial city.


    Now I am one of them.


    I have no choice but to gather funds so that I could gather information. This time¡¯s job is to exterminate the goblins nesting in olf Fort Karnash. Accordin to the preliminary investigation, it is certain that a queen exist as the leader of the nest and the monster count as many as 1,000.


    Fort Karnash was afort that Canaan once lost to the Empire during the great war, and even after the war they still failed to get it back. And since the for was originally constructed to defend against the Empire and Seizeria, it¡¯s only natural for them to take it at all cost. The issue though is the fact that it had been occupied by the empire for so long that it¡¯s might be possible that we don¡¯t know what¡¯s inside it.


    And as someone who had a painful experience over one of these Imperial bases, it makes don¡¯t want to go inside. That¡¯s why I was fortunate that I was exempted to join in the expedition inside it because I¡¯m a mage.


    [I didn¡¯t expect a siege against goblins¡­]


    I muttered to myself as I looked at the fortress that Kingdom of Canaan once had spent so much money and time to build. The walls are hard and sturdy, and are shaped in a way that makes them suitable for defense. 200 years have passed but they still retain their shape but they are still being used by the goblins. Even the mercenaries who had lots of experience was scratching their heads unsure on how would they attack.


    It¡¯s not that difficult to make it fall it but the problem would the amount of damage. Currently they are mercenaries are looking at the fortress in front of them thinking about how to minimize the damage and efficiently exterminate the goblin but with the height of the for, even stone throwing is not foolproof. And they should also have to be wary against arrows from above. They would need a battering ram too to break in the gates.


    (Surely this would be costly. No wonder the mercenaries are pondering.)


    The gap is still quite big s arrow¡¯s aren¡¯t flying yet but we can already see the goblin station at the top of the wall. So I picked up my blue hat on and step back and lean against a nearby tree. I am not tired of walking but there are chances that the battle would start tomorrow but this night we might end up with a standoff.


    We just hope that the mercenary would have found the way to attack by then.


    After a while of no movement on both sides the surrounding suddenly becomes noisy.


    [It doesn¡¯t seems like there¡¯s any collapsed part on the wall and also it looks like they¡¯re fortifying the gate.]


    [seriously? It is bad to get the troop unnecessarily hurt against the goblin]


    I heard such voices on the mercenary camp. I sighed as I realized that a herd with a leader os troublesome after all, while I was listening for some useful information a mercenary walked up to me.


    [Hey, how much for a night?]


    [there¡¯s a queen in the fort right there, go over there and do her]


    I looked around for a mercenary that I could team up with, while appropriately brushing aside the mercenaries who approached me while looking at my chest.


    I¡¯m proud to say I¡¯m a skilled magician. Since I would be stationed at L¡¯Ecole for a while , I would like to find a group of mercenaries that I can be a good  customer for, or any group that is convenient for their purpose.


    At dusk, a man dressed as a knight gathered the heads of mercenary groups and made a lot of noise and shouting. Some of them are angry because their suggestion is ignored. I walked around a little to find a quieter place and when I found one, I made a make shift hammock with the rope from the backpack and the leather cloak I had taken off, and lay it down in it.


    If you draw a stake with a strange decoration that looks like a magic item stabbed in a tree even if it doesn¡¯t have any meaning it you won¡¯t get attack unless they¡¯re idiots. Even if we are attacked the unstable hammock is designed to break off and as long as we woke up we can do a counter attack


    Whatever happened we will start tomorrow anyway, so I closed my eyes to prepare for tomorrow.


    The attack started early morning and even though it was almost noon the fort hasn¡¯t fallen yet. It¡¯s probably because fo the fact that the first death from stone barrage has slowed down the momentum and now the archer¡¯s and mage are doing their best to clean up the outer wall. It seems like they are planning to whittled the goblins number rather than concentrating at one spot to minimize the damage.


    The mercenary group may not want to worn out their fighting potential but the knights are already shoeing their frustration by the way they fight, even though he is a real knight sent by his lord he keeps complaining about the mercenary¡¯s fighting style. After defeating several of them at once with magic for the nth time, they run out of power and begins retreating.


    The other side seems to know what is our plan so they no longer group themselves on one place making it hard to kill the archers.


    [I think I¡¯ve killed 300 of them, but we can¡¯t reduce their item because of the materials the Empire once used as shield and at the same time they are using arrows wounding us.]


    [should I support with my bow]


    [No we should just use some crossbows, that way there would be no fear of them getting reused]


    Thanks to the head of mercenary group held a meeting and planned they limited the death toll to three. The number of injured people is increasing, but they are all within range of what can be called minor injuries, so there are no hindrances to battle.


    [My magic is already running out, I need to retreat]


    [Aiyo]


    One of the mercenary leaders, answered.


    The knight who was supposed to be chaperone seemed to be annoyed by the turn over of the mages gave us a hard look. And after resting for a while on a hastily made couch, there¡¯s a change in situation. It seems like that arrow on the other side had already run out.


    Honestly this would have been easy if those knights allowed it to be burnt down but unfortunately the knights vehemently opposed it. Anyway, now the mercenaries are moving. They then line up the ladders, magically drive away the goblins on top, and one by one and finally reached the top of the wall, once it was under control they open the gate opened and they slowly entered, there was no one inside except the queen and few of her goblins. The goblins are dispatched quickly and the hulking queen was left to die on arrows after its leg was crushed by the mercenary.


    [Is it over?]


    When I muttered this, battle cry of victory had been raised. The result of this expedition has five deaths and 65 wounded. The death toll increase because of morons that fell off from the outer wall and some people failed to aim for the queen to gain credits. Really there are people who are in rush for credit and failing harshly. With the mercenaries getting ready to leave, I quickly packed up my belonging.


    I wait until the mercenaries are ready to retreat, then suddenly the mercenary who crushed the leg of the queen come up to me.


    [Hey that was quite the feat]


    The man smiles and raises his hand and I let out a sigh


    [Again¡­]


    [This is about business, don¡¯t be alarmed]


    As if to check up on the man I gave him a look and speaks


    [Just tell me what you want]


    [Actually, we¡¯re after a big fish right now you know? It was found around here recently]


    I was quite surprise to hear the story from him, but I didn¡¯t react in any way, making them think that perhaps I was surprised that a new species appeared.


    [Interesting details]


    [I appreciate for you to bite the bait so do you want to take the job. It wasn¡¯t really official yet but we are already looking for people to help and frankly we don¡¯t have enough mages.]


    [I¡¯d like to ask you a question: what do you mean by not enough mages? From the way you say it seems like the issue is not you having number issue but having firepower issue]


    The man scratches his head to my word


    I was told that there was a group of mercenaries who engaged that guy I guess it was you guys


    [Fine, If you accepted my conditions]


    [Depends on the conditions]


    It looks like the shortage of magician is chronic based on his reaction


    [there¡¯s two condition first is money. I would like to have reasonable amount of salary of course if you can¡¯t pay then I would ditch you]


    The guy made a difficult face when it comes to money, well it¡¯s natural for mercenary


    [then the right to take a certain thing from him]


    [is there anything you like from him?]


    [Yes, a personal belonging]


    [Belonging?]


    When I hear it I inwardly say [shit].


    [I have little information on new species. Looks like you¡¯re pretty informed aren¡¯t you then I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he have something like a magic item for example]


    The man then seriously considered my words. It seems that they have some idea.


    [I forgot to tell you something, before your encountered with that monster, there¡¯s reports that are filed with the Seizelia¡¯s adventure¡¯s guild]


    [I see¡­ the mercenary I contacted from Canaan was yours]


    The man shows a <gotcha> face


    [What is it that you want to do?]


    [I don¡¯t all I know is I¡¯m still a hunter]


    Negotiation stopped here and apparently they are going to discuss this internally, It seems that guy was the leader of Daw of War named Orlando. He¡¯s not bad looking and he seems to have good equipment so I have high expectation from him.


    After I returned to L¡¯Ecole what awaited me is an invitation from dawn of war but since I have no intention to join a mercenary group I declined the offer but I got hired as a temporary for a certain amount of money.


    I thought I got enough money, but the man named Edwared took on the nrgotiation and cheated me on it.


    [Oh and Diera-san we didn¡¯t just made contact to that monster we fought and we loss. I¡¯m looking forward to your cooperation]


    It¡¯s unfortunate the changing the contract is impossible so I made a new goal to punch Edward on the face while getting information and secretly gathering money.

 CH 31

    Somewhere in the mountain I was checking the items I had acquired inside the base that even I myself would deny calling it a base. In my hands is something that seems like a bottle with. It is kind of a large for a furnishing and the design itself has a fatal flow


    (It has a hole and a dimple that looks like added there for an unknown purpose.)


    After much investigation, I¡¯ve concluded that this is a <component>. The shape suggest it was meant to be carried on the shoulder of a half-naked figure.


    (I believe there should be one fountain around some city)


    I thought it was related to magic since it was carried with great care, but it looks like useless to me which is a disappointment.


    I looked at the other items, but honestly, it¡¯s just wool and salt and some salty jerkies.


    Next, I want to procure some spice but that may require me to move on other location. Canaan being located up north doesn¡¯t grow spice really well. I remembered that they were relying on the south for their supplies and unless they develop sea route, they need to get most from Seizelia and from the Elven republic. So it looks like the best location to go to is either east or west. However, that¡¯s only a guest but for the time being I¡¯ll be her to scavenge for tolls.


    I¡¯m currently interested in what kind of things are being traded in this time and age. Also, I there¡¯s a chance that a task force would be created to subjugate me, though they aren¡¯t a threat. Even if they rely on magic which rely heavily in individual talent then all I need to do is strike them out first.


    The only thing I should worry is if they are equipped with Imperial modern weapons and if they are too many. Even if one can do only 1 point of damage if they are around 1000 they¡¯ll collectively deal 1000 damage point.


    Then again to me 5,000 goblins of 5,000 humans has no difference. Even if they are 10,000 the result would be the same. Even if they bought out a siege weapon like ballista, it would be meaningless if they couldn¡¯t land a hit.


    Well, that¡¯s done for the day. Time to get some sleep so I sleep laying down using a woolen pillow under a roofless base.


    The next morning. I put the jute bag with the wool in my backpack, picked some salty dried meat for breakfast, and drank some water. I don¡¯t need the water bottle, so I¡¯ll leave it here. I put the jar of salt carefully to avoid it getting broken.


    (I¡¯m afraid I might break it. I guess I need to go the shopping mall in Eirkell)


    If I know that I need to stop by the old Empire, I should have made a base there. Well I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad idea.


    (considering our activities of monitoring the elves and pillaging for supplies. Creating a base at the empire¡¯s territory wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing)


    I knew the best place to build a base. Einherr in the west would be the best place. The south is also a candidate but we still don¡¯t have enough information on that place. Also I think it would be a good idea to have a separate gathering point and base of operation.


    Man I¡¯m feeling giddy with the idea of building a  secret base. I want to build it with lots of function.


    And as my imagination continued to grow, I ran out of patience.


    [Gah-gah!]


    Well I want to shout something intelligible but the only thing that come out is this stupid voice.


    So I proceeded running southwest. The goal was to find a suitable location for a base north of Idress. I realized that I¡¯m still weak against the word secret base maybe because I¡¯m a boy.


    The next morning I¡¯m still running. It¡¯s not much farther but the salt is preventing me from running with full speed. While I was thinking about this, I saw a remain of a base. It seems that I had gone too far west, so I quickly change my direction back to east and by the time noon came. I run out of dried meat and water.


    (I should have stopped at the elves monitoring base to restock)


    Reflecting on my mistake I decided to continue looking for a place to made a base. Then I reached the end of search to find a man-made structure. Lo and behold it¡¯s the facility I once woke up to. I knew because I remember the structure. I guess I should investigate it again.


    I sensed animal presences that rans away, too bad I have no time to hunt them. A little further I saw a large hole with clear signs that it was taken down for quite a long time. As I was looking around I found a cage room and when I was about to go there, I touched something strange and I hurriedly let it go.


    (Is this his thread?)


    It seems that this was the research facility where that guy came from.


    I sighed heavily. My minds and emotion are too much in chaos. I decided to go down and at the end of the road a gate that was remained opened was there. There was a gate just like I was in. the difference is that it was opened


    (Why was it open?)


    I have little sympathy for that man for after the trouble he caused me. But to think that bastard managed to get out through the open gate and get on the ground. And honestly I¡¯m curious why is it opened. I checked around and noticed something unbelievable


    (Hmmmm Wait what? There¡¯s power here? So the power generator is still working?)


    No matter how I look at it. It doesn¡¯t seem like it was force but was properly opened. So carefully I investigated and found that the system running the facility is still functioning and would completely halt in 300 days. It¡¯s a shame to let this facility die like this and made a base here.


    Now, if electricity is available it¡¯s best to use it properly and find a way to make our live comfortable.


    I took out a desk and a char and put the pot of salt and wool on it and now that my backpack have enough space I can now replenish my supplies and so I headed towards the rive

 CH 32

    I returned to my base that was concealed by grasses and trees, where I have spent probably my longest time since I woke up. Why did I feel so attached to this place? Why do I feel so attached at this place even though I was just here for a short time?


    I put down my luggage and hid myself so that I can monitor the elves using my telescopic vision. There I saw the elves sister already preparing to leave. It seems that I arrive a tad too late. I gave up gracefully and leave. Unfortunately, everything is in disarray as the elves that I am expecting didn¡¯t show up on their designated spot.


    The time flew by and night fell signaling the lift of ban on using the river and catch some fish.


    I went to the cooking area and boldly grill the chunk of meat of a game that I hunted earlier along with the fish.


    (I forgot about the salt!)


    What a mistake. I realized that I need a container for salt, but not just salt but also for water, food dishes and other items. I shook my unruly desire for wanting things.


    (I know that I can now use electricity even if only a little but¡­)


    I¡¯m thinking of adding some appliances, I wonder what should I get?


    In the end I failed to keep my cool and morning came with me fantasizing things. While eating the leftover meat from yesterday, I checked the position of the sun and move of my observation spot. I thought I am in time but I shave to wait for around 30 minutes for them to arrive.


    Today¡¯s plan is to enjoy <Today¡¯s Ms. 6> then leave for the shopping mall to get what I need. I expect it to busy with travelling between this base and the shopping mall so I want take care of the monitoring mission.


    As usual Ms. 6 is still being toyed by the erotic kid who are being more and more troublesome as the day goes by.


    Recently one of them is rubbing her chest and burying his on her chest while making it looks like an accident. However, the kids show a different style of coop attack.


    First, they caught a fish and show it to Ms. 6 where she tossed it as if she was passing it, then a second one grabbed her pants and pulled it down in one fell swoop then the third kid pushed her to the river and grabbed her under wear and dashed past her. Now that she¡¯s stark naked it was a complete victory for these kids and she was left with only capable of staring at them coldly.


    (No matter how you look at it Human and elves are just the same)


    I just hope that they will be diligent for the future.


    Now that we already saw what I want to see time to head to Eikwell. I returned to base to prepare the things I need


    (Now let¡¯s set a new record!)


    I was filled with enthusiasm and started running and by the time I reached Eikwell, it was night time and I felt sick for running with all my might and probably got fatigued.


    I am so tired I want to sleep!


    (I want to rest I want to sleep!)


    I headed to the shopping mall to my makeshift bunker and closed my eyes. As I rested my eyes, I suddenly heard some footstep.


    (¡­ I don¡¯t think that¡¯s my imagination.)


    It¡¯s been a long time since I last clean this place, it won¡¯t be surprising to learn that goblins are back. I let out a sigh and get up. I have no choice but to clean them up so I drink up some water first and took up some meat and check them out. There¡¯s also a possibility that they aren¡¯t goblin so I must confirm it first.


    I slowly went out and as I look around and closed, I saw something that I didn¡¯t expect. A large bear and not just any bear but a Grand Bear. Honestly, I doubt I can beat it with my current status so I ignore it, but if attack me I¡¯ll fight it and then go back to sleep.


    Well, if that bear is in here, I¡¯m sure no goblin would dare stay here which is good so I went back to my bunker and went to sleep. The next morning an stretched out and get up. I pack as little as possible and since I didn¡¯t have anything from last night, I inevitably have to skip breakfast.


    I look around the mall and gather what I need. Then I check all my loot at the back and as I was thinking that I needed some appliances I found myself at the home appliance section!


    [Geez]


    Is all that I can say.


    (I should narrow down I needed the most and avoid those that uses too much electricity.)


    I looked at the hair dryer I had in hand, I certainly doesn¡¯t need this. I want some energy-efficient appliance but I don¡¯t know what to take, then I notice a large TV set.


    (Man, I wished I could watch some movies here.)


    It¡¯s maybe possible but my concern is the data disc especially with the movie I regret not watching. When it comes to home appliances washing machine, refrigerator or microwave ovens are one of the best options, not like vacuums and cooling and heating appliances since they consume too much energy for little use.


    Then something caught my eyes. A video camera, and at the same time a conflicting feeling wen trough my head.


    (B-but peeping is a crime. Wait, the empire doesn¡¯t exist anymore right so the law doesn¡¯t have an effect¡­)


    No, it¡¯s stupid to use the wisdom of humanity, the fruit of science just for voyeurism.


    (Oh wait. I¡¯m not human anymore)


    In the end I lost to the devil¡¯s temptation and I even shook its hands. Wait for me elves, I will show you the power of science secretly and undetected!

 CH 33

    I scavenged through the warehouse for a top-of-the-line video camera. I found a big tv though. Whether it is still usable is yet to be seen, but I still believe that it is working since it was still in its packaging.


    Splendid my homeland! I should offer my sincere patriotism to my homeland and praise the science and technology it cultivated to increase survival as much as possible.


    (Though sadly we blew ourselves up)


    I can¡¯t help it so I continued searching for videos, I found the equipment I thought that is necessary for now, though I can¡¯t find the essential thin.


    I wanted something that exceed my starting salary of 240,000 nen which was a device that is described in the catalog as a <state of the art multifunctional model with telephoto magnification>


    However, no matter how hard I searched, I couldn¡¯t find it. I found the next best thing but I don¡¯t want it because of its size. The specs are all fine but the size a big problem.


    After looking for a while I decided to give up.


    (¡­ I guess I should rather go to the electronic district in Gisvaya)


    There are many things to see in Gisvaya, including a weapons factory though I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s still there since half of the ammunition of used by the empire is made here so the risk of being targeted is quite high and is possible that it¡¯s already been destroyed after the war.


    Anyway, is a long way off and my main priority now is to gather necessary items and take them back to the base.


    With a large screen TV, a player and a movie data disc my entertainment system is nearly complete the only thing I need to do is test these things so I¡¯m fine bringing only few of the movie disc back.


    I planned on using the backpack to carry small items but I won¡¯t be putting it on my back instead I¡¯ll put the cooler on my back so that I can gather some food stuff considering the amount of food I¡¯ll be eating. I¡¯ll carry the modified backpack along with the TV and other equipment that is wrapped in a futon, and return to base though honestly it looks kind of awkward.


    (Too bad, I didn¡¯t get what I wanted the most or precisely the want to experiment the most. I guess it won¡¯t be too much of a hassle since I already planned to move around other places and go back and forth to the base and other city to find some better beddings)


    Even with my hard body a futon is still bulky for my taste.


    I put it out as a cushioning material for the TV this time and the big box can also be used as a contained, and maybe next time I would take the whole thing.


    (Now let¡¯s go)


    I walked slowly to check my balance and then gradually increase the speed once I get the hang of it, because safety is first if I want to return to base with these things in one piece. Still, it took me one whole day to return with my decreased speed.


    Once I returned, I put down my luggage and went to hunt. Its good that there¡¯s an underground water vein in the vicinity but because of my large build and the fact that the facility¡¯s pathway is designed for a standard human size I can¡¯t even use it. And that¡¯s my biggest complaint in this new base. Luckily the faucets are working and is a great help.


    Viva Imperial technology!


    I left the water running for a while to see what would happen and it looks like there¡¯s nothing strange, smell is okay and the after taste is none so I decided to use it.


    Leaving the water situation aside I started to roast the deer I just caught on to the ground level of the facility due to the ventilation issues of the facility. While waiting for it to cook I brought out some of the utensil that I brought from the mall it includes some tableware and various utensil for eating. I look around for something that I can use as a cupboard but because it took a lot of time, I burnt the deer. But it¡¯s still fine because with the help of a scrubbing brush I can remove some of the burnt stuff off, hooray for the Imperial brush!


    (Man, I¡¯m starting to miss peoples)


    I felt some soliloquy recently and it¡¯s getting harder for me to realize it¡¯s negative impact to me, I let out a sigh while scratching my butt and starts wandering when did I start cracking jokes to myself.


    Anyway, I started eating the grilled meat that¡¯s only seasoned with salt and even though it¡¯s burn I feel like I¡¯ve been eating rich meal recently


    (I want more salt)


    The only country that mass-produced seasonings was the empire, and now I wonder what¡¯s the current situation around the world now that there¡¯s not so much seasoning circulating around.


    I finished the grilled meat while talking to myself.


    And after taking a break cleaned and washed the griddle and started longing for times like towel and clothes again.


    (I also want a long stick to hang the towels and clothes dry after I washed them)


    I find it amusing to see a monster washing clothes and desiring a clothesline trying to search a civilized life. Since it can¡¯t be helped, I continued scraping and cleaning up.


    After that I decided to summarize my next set of action and summarize what we have used.


    The salt is put in a tightly sealed jar and is in the medicine rack that was taken from the facility along with the tableware and the cooking utensil. It kind of looks cute with the survival knife that I use as my fork and the hatchet that I used as a kitchen knife.


    And now that the meal is over, time to install the TV. While having a hard time flipping through the instructions, I pulled the base desk out of a room and place it near the electrical outlet and place the TV on top of it, and then set up the data disc player in the space underneath the table.


    It looks like the player can play it but maybe because of the age of the discs the contents are garbled with display flickering and the audio is rattling, that I can¡¯t even understand anything of the content and is hurting my eyes.


    This means that I won¡¯t even be able to record anything to the data dis because of the deterioration. I let out a sight and threw the movie disc away. To think it¡¯s the 4th installment of the <Space knight> movie. I ¡®ve seen the first three installment of it and was anxious to see the rest of it but this let down was quite inhumane.


    Entertainment is a must in life and this just gives me more reason to go to Gisvaya.


    (Damn! I was expecting that the 3rd sequel could have been about the black night and his backstory but it ended up that the black knight was the father of the protagonist and the next installment would have showed his past!)


    I¡¯ve been wanting to find a safe data disc so that I would be able to watch it!


    As for the manga I would have to enhance my living quarters first because of the fact that they¡¯re in paper form that they would be quite fragile thought they could be preserved quite well. There¡¯s a lot of manga that I want to read and this is one of my only hope now.


    If I don¡¯t have some fun I might go and went to become a suicidal idiot.


    The time is still around noon so I did a quick clean up of the room that I¡¯m going to use. I don¡¯t know if I would take me overnight at Gisvaya so I would schedule my departure tomorrow and to kill some time I should hunt and secure meats that I would use tomorrow and also do some cleaning. I would need to get to bed early since I would be moving early in the morning.


    It¡¯s still quite dark when I started preparing for the trip. I pack some bare essential at my backpacks along with a less than a day worth of food and water since this body wouldn¡¯t have problem even if I don¡¯t eat in a couple of days which is quite convenient in this situation.


    I set off for Gisvaya. If I go in my fastest pace, I can get there by the end of the day but that will cause me to breath hard. I already have a good grasped of this body¡¯s capability. I already know what¡¯s the right speed I need to go with. I estimated that I will arrive there tomorrow morning so I departed from my home base in high spirit with the prestige of the empire on the line but then I saw something bizarre along the way.


    I saw an orc; it¡¯s expected because it was hanging by a tree dead with what looks like to be a sever injury and massive damage which makes me think that it was a one-sided battle. I guess it displayed the orc in such a way to declare that whoever did this is the owner of the territory. A warning that whoever enter would be turned to this, or something like that.


    (Very well! Challenge accepted!)


    Since I already expected something like this might happened, I already accounted it on my schedule. Afterall this world is nothing short of running using the law of the jungle/


    I don¡¯t know what kind of monster you are, but I would make sure to kill you if we ever meet.


    And alas with such luck I bumped in to him, a red ogre. A monster that is a higher version of an ordinary ogre sporting more strength, intelligence and agility compared to the ordinary variant, but so what?


    Now that I met him, I have no choice but to face it. I set down my luggage while being on guard against the red ogre in front of me which was showing eagerness and is threatening me with its bared teeth. So, I taunt it by moving my finger like saying [come at me!]


    Both of us are bare handed and I honestly want to call it a contest of strength but one of the red ogres¡¯ traits is that it has it¡¯s fighting style and skill. It is said that it¡¯s one of the strongest humanoid monsters that exist and it wants to challenge me, a man made from the cutting-edge technology of the Imperial Science.


    I welcomed him with open hands.


    [Guoooooooo!]


    It howled, but I feel like smiling fearlessly in front of it. Thought sadly my facial muscle proves to be incapable of smiling.


    Now the red ogre moves. I¡¯m willing to give him the first move and it¡¯s convenient for me for him to want a head-to-head battle. I wanted to fight someone that could compete me in a head-to-head like this so I hope he don¡¯t disappoint me.


    I took on the red ogre¡¯s big punch with a cross guard and it stings a lot. It¡¯s obvious with the way its legs were positioned that he sent a strong one enough for me to put him on the top of the list of the strongest I¡¯ve ever faced.


    Now it¡¯s my turn


    I got ready to sent a blow to its body when I was hit in the face. He then went to send another to the face when I lost my balance I kept getting hit until I sent kick and then grabbed his ankle and crushed it.


    (This is a death match, so don¡¯t hate me for this)


    Honestly it hurts a lot, my nose is already bleeding so I won¡¯t tolerate this guy anymore.


    The read ogre tried to attack me while ignoring his crushed ankle, but when I lifted it up the game is already won. I pulled my armed and slammed it on his chest with all my might causing the ogre to spit blood but I don¡¯t care so I gave him another blow. Then using my tail, I coiled it on his leg that was still intact and yank it then stomp my foot to his chest that still bears the mark of my fist.


    [hiiiiiiiiiiii]


    The red ogre cried. It screams as if trying to ask for forgiveness and mercy but sadly this is a death match and there¡¯s no place for mercy here.


    I then dropped my feet with all my weight through its heart.


    Generally, it¡¯s attack is strong enough to get through my defenses. It could not make up for the fatal difference in ability so it can easily be defeated with sheer power though honestly, I can still acknowledge that it was the strongest being in the land

 CH 34

    After an uneventful trip I finally reached Gisvaya safely and was relieved to see it still intact. Though this also means that goblins are also in here.


    I confirmed that a queen also exists here, but the extermination was easy albeit it took quite some times and the cleanup ends around noon.


    After throwing the sign that I picked from the sideway which was covered by blood and visceral fluids, I returned to my luggage and drank the remaining water. I cleaned up my legs and tail with a piece of paper I saw lying around from the area and proceed to look for the goal.


    Since this is the largest arms depot of the empire I want to get away from here even before something weird happens so I quickly go to the Gisvaya¡¯s Electronic Town where there¡¯s a chanced that I could get what I want- only to find it vandalized.


    The vandalism is so bad and messy that it¡¯s clear that it wasn¡¯t don¡¯t by a human but by these goblins. The way the dust show how it was moved in the last few years. It looks like these goblins are trying to make weapons out of the remaining electronic appliances, but after playing around it and failing left it scattered in wreckage and gave up on it.


    If this weren¡¯t the display items but instead are warehouse items, I would have gone nuts. Fortunately, goblins are incapable of breaking through security shutters made by the empire.


    I then proceed to break the shutter down.


    It was a large warehouse that even I can get into easily and then I started to looked out for what I want the most first, a high-end video camera which I easily found. I took two of it then I also found large numbers of data disc 50 bundles of them packed in a box.


    (I wonder how do they find these things in these boxes?¡­)


    Unlike in the store the organization of items here is a mess and it seems too hard find stuff. But I must search even if I dig out everything just to look for masterpieces!


    (Since this is a warehouse with lots of data disk, they should have all existing genre her)


    Alright! Adult data disk!


    And lots of them!


    The sheer number blows my personal collection to smithereens and it dazzled and awed me automatically. The amount had me almost retreat but I stood my ground. To think that the absurd amount of it would intimidate me and stop me from achieving my goal.


    In the end I was left with 25 adult data disk and 3 movie disc.


    Okay hear me out first! The gravure idol that I loved had fallen in the R-18 category and when I tried to cover them all I found some unsettling aura from it that I couldn¡¯t miss.


    The first priority of this trip anyway is to get a high-end video camera and these data disk are just bonusses. I just want to see the sequel and all I need is some samples to see if the data disks left is still usable regardless of what genre.


    Yes, the genre doesn¡¯t matter!


    Now that that I had finished my business here in Gisvaya, I¡¯m ready to return.  Since there¡¯s a chance that I might return here I sealed up the entrance to prevent the goblins from settling in by using some scrap of woods.


    (Farewell Gisvaya, I look forward on the day I return here again)


    There¡¯s still plenty of room on my backpack but in order to make sure not to damage the commodity I have I deliberately left some space also this would help me with mobility since running with a full back pack might cause unwanted havoc. I learned it from the experience of carrying the TV back to base.


    Finally, I¡¯m back home.


    On the way back I found the remains of the railway that connect Idress and Gisvaya which I use that allowed me to go back home in the afternoon because of its lack of tree that is on my way. I think that if I used these rail path these would allow me to get around easily but looking for them will be tough


    (If not for these grasses and plants looking for these rails tracks wouldn¡¯t be so hard)


    It would have been easy if I start from the town¡¯s rail station if the station itself is intact for unlike Idress and the Imperial capital whose station is already beyond recognition. In the subject of the capital, it¡¯s impossible to find a semblance of a rail track after what happened to it.


    Anyway, now that everything is ready, it¡¯s time to watch some movie. I put the data disc in the player and press the remote. I realized that I forgot to power the TV so I powered it on using my toes.


    The quality of the images in the screen is a little better compared to the other disk I got earlier while audio is still garbled and is crackling bad that it¡¯s hard to watch. I tried switching data disk but all of them has the same problem.


    (Don¡¯t tell me that these disks can¡¯t even last for 200 years?!)


    And when I reach such conclusion, I felt a bad feeling inside me. I hurriedly took the video camera that I had been charging on the sides and put in a data disk. Then I tried to create a test recording but it failed spectacularly.  The sadness overwhelms me and I fell to my knees and lost all hopes.


    (Wait! There¡¯s a chance that the video recorder is the one with a problem!)


    However, I don¡¯t feel like returning to Gisvaya now so I decided to hunt with a heavy heart. It resulted in me having a boar for dinner though it took me quite a long time because of how big the shock was.


    After prepping to cook; I cleaned the magic sword that played the vital role of a kitchen knife and then sent the meat to the kitchen where I processed the meat and thrown the part that is inedible into a waste hole where small beast and insect eat and process the discarded meats.


    I then ate the salt-sprinkled roasted meat.  Just the usual meal but I am eating with disappointed feelings. After that I moved to the basement and collapsed at the bed. I tried to sleep but it¡¯s still too early ¨C however I don¡¯t have the energy to get up. I stayed at the bed for a with my eye shot but eventually opened them.


    Then from the scattered data disk I read <Big Tits Festival! Summer Bikini Fest!> caught my attention.


    I slowly let go of my consciousness while questioning whether to improve my living condition or focus on upgrading my entertainment, leaving me with no answer.

 CH 35

    In the end I decided to prioritize improving my living condition first rather than entertainment. I remembered a certain politician saying [Entertainment should only procure once you can afford it]


    The first thing I must do is enhance my food situation, then improve the home base, move supplies to other bases and create a comfortable environment.


    I got up early morning and hunt my breakfast. I dismantle the meat I just caught and grilled the meat and save the rest and get ready to go.


    After my final check on the luggage, I put on my backpack and exit the base and secure the entrance just in case. Our destination this time is the street where I attack a trading party last time.


    Having the knowledge is a great advantage and knowing the product¡¯s distribution flow would help me on the long run.


    I run silently along the forest but this body has acclimated already in running in the forest even though it supposes to be hard for someone like me who has a very big body.


    A little past afternoon I took a break. I check the container to see if there¡¯s damage on it. I then proceed to drink water and check my surroundings. I tried to detect things happening using my sense of hearing and smell but I found nothing


    (¡­it looks like there¡¯s no problem here)


    After a brief yet sufficient rest I resume my travels. A little bit of time past when I noticed that the appearance of trees was changing.


    I guess I¡¯m nearing the border?


    If the tree growth continues it means that I¡¯m in the right direction. It¡¯s not easy to have a sense of direction in this vast forest due to the fact that you can¡¯t see the sun.


    (Ah I want a compass; I wonder if I can get one a stationery store? Or was it on the toy store?)


    I don¡¯t know where I can get one. I guess, I should just try to drop one when I went to the mall. While thinking about such stuff I found myself on the road connecting Glenda after I passed another forest.


    The sun already set so I decided to take a rest while checking the surrounding and I sense nothing.


    (Boring)


    I guess it¡¯s expected as this is a public road and monster and goblins are wiped out but where¡¯s all the people? Anyway, I decided to run toward my goal as fast a sport car inside a forest. Hitting a tree at 100 km/h won¡¯t be a problem for me so it¡¯s fine. But I¡¯m starting to ask why did the empire build a monster like me with such specs?


    (I wonder if I¡¯m engineered not for war but to fend off or fight dragons)


    Would they take the data from the war and use it as basis for new generation of monster making me the prototype?


    (I¡¯m getting riled up with the word


    ! Though honestly, that sounds plausible.)


    There¡¯s the spider man aside me as well.


    (I wonder, if it¡¯s possible that another spider man hybrid exists?)


    Well, it¡¯s a man romance to have a battle between two type of war machine or monster. I enjoy such fantasy for a while till it¡¯s pitch black. I kept running through the dark till I get to the monster where I took a turn towards the east. If I continue running this way, I would reach the flat plane and would try to hide in the forest further east this time. If I do this while it¡¯s still dark, I don¡¯t have to worry about getting found out.


    Once I reached the mountain had head to east, I saw the forest that I¡¯m talking about. Though I¡¯m feeling mentally tired, my body doesn¡¯t feel fatigued that still makes me confused.


    I proceed inside the forest were a wild bear roar and threatened me but a gave a warning by swatting my tail while trying to say that he¡¯s annoying the neighbors.


    Then I found a fallen tree that I can rest on and honestly, it¡¯s not comfortable. The fact that the tree¡¯s here aren¡¯t that tall is making it harder for me as well as I can¡¯t position relaxedly.


    As I moved to go a little further, I heard a sound.


    (Hmm this sound, I on the direction the bear runs to)


    And when I hurried to the place I found a small river, though it¡¯s too small to be called one, then again since it¡¯s flowing might as well call it a river. Its width is shorter than my arm and when I tried to test it, it seems that it¡¯s safe to drink.


    (This is great, now I have a way to replenish my water supply. Let¡¯s look for a good place around where I can make a good base)


    So, I decided to walk around to look for a spot but of no avail. It took me all night to explore the place too but no place and was left on just sitting on a rock. While eat meat and observing the surrounding vegetation I suddenly felt a craving for vegetable.


    I realized that my diet now only consists of meat and fish. I heard that drinking blood would help aid in the mineral and vitamins intake, but I wonder if my body¡¯s nutritional condition is okay.


    (If I want to have steady supply of vegetables, then I have to set up nets on roads that connects rural and urban areas)


    Well, I might be able to get them while I hunt for spices, I don¡¯t need to act on that plan yet.


    After finishing the meat that I have, I hunted additional meat as an exercise since the dawn is about to break.


    I caught a rabbit, so I drained its blood and dismantle it and bury away the parts on the ground that I wouldn¡¯t eat. Speaking of which, having a shovel is great I just wish I have one that is bigger, just saying.


    I just sprinkled the meat with salt and devour it. Using my pinky finger¡¯s nail as a toothpick, I noticed that my nails are growing, so I picked up the magical sword and use it as nail cutter but it failed. It didn¡¯t cut my nail but it did cut my skin. It bled slightly but the wound stopped immediately after I reflexively sucked on it.


    I had somehow guessed already that my resiliency is strange.


    Once it¡¯s morning, I decided to head south while keeping an eye on the road. I was sulking and was looking for a prey when I saw a group carriage parked at a distance.


    (A total of three¡­ with only one escort. I wonder what¡¯s going on?)


    The more I observe the convoy the more I feel like it¡¯s unnatural. No sign of movement can be found at them or rather they seem to be stuck. This will be an easy prey for me.


    Even if they found me early, they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape.


    (Now then let¡¯s go take a look at those 3 carriages first)


    I unloaded my luggage and secure it by hiding it with branches.


    I then headed to the group of carriage. When I was closed to them, one of the escorts shouted and used one of the carriages that seems to be not stuck as their getaway. The scene of their escape is quite refreshing. While I was admiring their escape, I hear something. Even if I try to identify what was it, I can¡¯t put a finger on it.


    (Whatever, let¡¯s just check the contents of the carriage.)


    I feel sorry for the horses that are still tied up but they shouldn¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t eat them so please be quiet and wait.


    After approaching the carriage and looked around it all I found is some dried meat and strange smelling chemicals


    As I was searching through the rest of the package, this time I am very sure that I¡¯m hearing something. It was different from before but this time I can clearly hear it now.


    (They¡¯re much faster than expected)


    I¡¯m quite impressed and at the same time annoyed, but since I have time, I checked out the other carriage as well and as expected it reeks with a strange chemical and tried meet too.


    I sighed stood up and decided to look at the direction of the sound.


    (The number is around 300 based on my vision but there must be at least 500 of them)


    On the lead are several heavily armed cavalries followed by a combined forced of infantry and mercenary from Canaan.


    Now this is a hassle.


    =============================================================


    Due to the advent of ¡°Ber months¡±, corporate slaves like would probably know that this part of the year would be busiest part of the fiscal years, That is why I would need to slow down releases and MTL in order to have a breather.


    This slowdown would probably last till March. the reason? I¡¯m developing a new website for this as the template from the host doesn¡¯t allow you to run customize PHP scripts unless you pay additional money for such privileges. This is the same reason why the this sites¡¯ user experience is bad is because of those additional fees that i need to incur just to add those customize PHP scripts.

 CH 36

    I¡¯m waiting for the group, that is too lousy to call as an army, to come straight at me from my front.  The heavy cavalry in the lead is moving away without checking the rear. Depending on what would happen between me and this 500 people will affect my future plans.Currently I have 3 options in my hand1.)    Go easy on them and beat them up2.)    Go easy and exterminate them3.)    RetreatAmong the three options; the third option is out of the question. It exists as an option, but if I escape, I¡¯ll be treated as a <rare monster> and I will end up being chase as a valuable target because of rarity. The short-term effect of the is that the threat level will reduce for the mean time, but on the long run, it¡¯ll be counterproductive as I would be seen as a high-intelligence threat.In other words, retreating is meaningless unless I decided not to involve myself with humans in the future.What if I chose the first option?  It¡¯s simple. Since the army has already been deployed, if they got defeated badly, they would try to hunt me at all cost in name of pride and prestige.The second option is the same but with a different circumstance. a monster that can destroy a small army alone is nothing more than a threat to the nation. There¡¯s no way that the kingdom of Canaan would let it slide and I¡¯m sure that they would retaliate just for their prestige. At worst this would involve other countries. Man dealing with a nation and army¡¯s pride is annoying.(I knew that they would come to me eventually, later down the road ¡­ I wonder why it became too early?)We can find about it later (I don¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to do it later)I¡¯ll wait and watch a t the knight who wen at panic when he noticed that no one was following behind him, absentmindedly. I honestly thought that I could still play against the mercenaries but it looks like the army is already coming. Their number is unknown but there¡¯s no doubt that destroying them would hinder my activities in Canaan. Especially if the density of traffic decreases, so subjugating them would only made them go serious so I have no real reason to go serious against them. Incidentally, it doesn¡¯t looks like the military and the knights see this as a problem¡­(But it looks like they become belligerent, aren¡¯t they?)I thought as I sit and watch the soldiers who are lining up and start to build up their formation. The mercenaries then started to move in group positioning themselves on left and right side of the formation.I am a ghast with their lack of organization but then I thought that they might just be observing their opponent¡¯s movement (me) and waiting for it.I checked the numbers again and it looks like there¡¯s 300 mercenaries and 250 army on the group.(It seems like they¡¯re not serious yet because of the ratio of mercenary and soldier, honestly, it¡¯s hard to determine.)The army started to move on my third yawn, I stood up and move brusquely. Now let¡¯s hit them head on as they wish- but suddenly they slowed down. It seems like the soldiers on the front suddenly got scared, probably because they are already near enough to see my size.If the knights decided to charge head on I would have given them the head start, but it seems that he opted out to send instructions with no signs of initial vigor from earlier.Arrows then come pouring at me as I step forward but I just naturally ignored it. I walked through the rain of arrow with a cool face and not a single one managed to pierce me and as the distance got shorter and shorter the second wave of arrows was released.  A knight then shouts the same result, and the soldiers with arbalest moved forward. Perhaps he wants to shoot me when I get nearer, the soldiers who came in front bravely wait for the order shows that their training is top-notch and the morale isn¡¯t low.As I was wondering how the mercenary would move, I heard a horseman coming from behind with a voice of a distinctively different quality can be heard all at once(Magic! Now show me how it is done!)I ignore the ones in front and turned to the approaching one. They immediately shot me at my back but even for an arbalest they wouldn¡¯t be able to barely put a scratch at my back which is the hardest part of my body. Their astonishment by the fact that they failed to pierce my back raised a ruckus but that¡¯s not important my main focus is to intercept the man with the halberd that is approaching.(They¡¯re trying to get a blow on me using a lance charge then throw magic at me- is that it?)I grabbed the man¡¯s halberd and stopped his charge with my strength and as the horse neigh and he¡¯s about to fall of, I let go of the halberd and kick the horse and moved away. Immediately after, countless magic attacks assailed me.Fire ice and stone hit me but other than lightning, it doesn¡¯t hurt that much. Heat and cold seems like not a threat to me¡­ unfortunately. It looks like the quality of wizards on this era is very low,Looks like it¡¯s my turn to attack now, or so I thought. But, the man who was able to get his halberd attack me with a surprise using the dust cloud and grazed my cheek. I thought I avoided the strike but it seems like I was a little bit late to react. There¡¯s no blood but I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a wound. I traced the wound which I can confirm with the used of my tongue and fingers and determine that it must have been a magic spear.(I thought that this would just end up with a breach but it seems like this would be interesting)When i turned to attack, he managed to avoid it. His face show surprise but no despair (as expected of a mercenary group)The others then moved forward as if they were following the man. If reinforcement joined it would take a lot of time and effort, so let¡¯s let the man escape for now quicklyI attacked such intention but it seemed that he move top create a distance to and he was able to avoid my first attack and when I thought that I caught him for the second try he was able to avoid it with an acrobatic move that does not suit his huge body.I was impressed but since the other mercenary is about to arrived I need him to be out of the scene so.[Gah!]I gave a small bark and I attack the man with an out stretched arm. Even when under fire of arrows that just bounced off my body, I still fired a follow up left after he evaded my first attack and was sent flying. Although he caught it with his halberd his half-plate armor was tattered and he completely collapsed.Shouts and scream flew and magic and arrows was fired disorderly and the scene finally looks like a proper battlefield. The first one to came over the collapsed man was the stinky guy with large sword. Well he was a little too prominent and until all of them are present he would be my sole opponent.Facing me head on he suddenly laugh[Yo]I¡¯ll give you 10 points for speaking in the language I understand, however you¡¯re already at -50 points. Their vigilance increased when I released a low growl.(Even so it looks like there¡¯s too many of them now, so should I just lump them all together from the beginning¡­mercenary business feels liken a hassle)The man with the sword avoided the series of arrows and magic attack that is coming to us while looking for a chance to send in a blow to me. He slashed those arrows and blow away magic attack with his first. Perhaps because I already experience getting attack by his blade that I was avoiding it rather than defending.The halberd guy from earlier wasn¡¯t that bad but since he failed to properly gauged the power difference and his armor got in his way ending up in him collapsing and also I need him to be out of the scene before this guy came.I took a stride to close the distance to throw in a back hand fist to make him jump back. But as I was about to take another step I felt an impact  on my left hand disorienting my balance and sent me to the ground. And with the sword about to hit me on my place I kicked the ground to blocked it by butting my  head on him sending him far away.(Was that magic? I was caught off guard by its weak power¡­ no it aimed exactly when I was vigilant)The blow just now was a little chilling. It looks like it was released just to hinder my movement, however it¡¯s won¡¯t be a fatal blow so I¡¯ll give praise for their combination.(Heh~ so was that the woman in witch outfit?)I glanced at her and designated her as someone who I should be wary of. She quickly moved away from her locations and blend in with the other mercenary, quite a bothersome fellow huh.The mercenary surrounds me and some of them who are out of my range drew their weapons. Unlike the mercenary group who¡¯s strategy is to have those who are confident with their skill this one loke like going for the kill.It¡¯s getting a bit depressing playing with them so I kicked those mercenaries trying to get a hold of me.[Release!]The mercenary pull back with the signal but the firing was unorganized however I felt a sign that something is coming at me. But unexpectedly my back fist was evaded as if sneaking inside(diving through that?!)It was quite a surprised and thought how could there such a reckless guy with lots of guts. But the magic sword he used is no match for me.So what are you gonna do now? When I laughed out eyes met and the other person is smiling too then she threw a vial which I evaded by jumping back and as I was about to land. She threw and oversized fireball![Gaaaah]With a serious blow, I changed the trajectory of the fireball and she splashed a smelly liquid and disappeared again.What a pesky wizard.I laughed, then leaped towards the knights and cleave them with my hand as soon as I land. After blowing them away I changed direction and head towards the heavy cavalry man.

 CH 37

    Chapter 38 at My attack started but suddenly there was a problem


    [Gaaaaaaa]


    [Stop! ¨C Don¡¯t come here!]


    As you can see, it¡¯s a big mess.


    I can properly understand 80% of what they are talking about since they¡¯re using simple words and I mistakenly anticipated that they¡¯re moral would be high but with the sight of them scampering to retreat even to the point of them trampling their comrade to death is disappointing.


    The knights are poorly commanded and the army is already on the rush. The battlefield formation has completely collapsed because of my rampage. Some of them are already starting to flee leaving their allies behind and if this is war, the victor would already be determined.


    With a rough translation I heard them saying;


    [I didn¡¯t sign up for this!] (Liberal translation by yours truly!)[1]


    There¡¯s nothing you can to do this large body of mine, unless you have some modern weapon.


    [Gaaaaah]


    I barked on purpose and swing my arms around and threw soldiers all around. I took care to not kill them even with my large arms. Still, the violence of mass and speed is still terrible that even with just a swing of an arm I can still blow them away even if they put up their shields.


    [Pull back! Pull Back! Rebuild the formation!]


    A knight who was in his horse probably shout out such commands


    [Mercenaries¡ª-]


    I didn¡¯t catch it but it¡¯s probably some slanders.


    [Why don¡¯t you fight too?]


    When I stepped up in the front of the knight a middle-aged man looked at me with an amused expression.


    And immediately after, I heard horsemen riding towards me


    [Sir Martis! I¡¯m here to help!]


    [Oh, Sir Cassangra! Thank you!]


    Since my translation is kind doozy, but I bet he is saying something along that line base on their gestures.


    (Were not doing some stage play here. Be serious!)


    Are the nobles of Canaan KingdOm a bunch of idiots?


    I hit the knight who did a lance charge with his lance and blow him away and at the same time slam the other away with my tail.


    The remaining knight tried to stop their fleeing allies but it wasn¡¯t successful. I felt that I blow away half of them so now I change my target to the mercenary, so I charge at them while ignoring all those elites and of course they have no way to stop me and the mercenaries were hurled out by me.


    Training people takes time and money and losing someone who has been trained will caused considerable damage, and considering the morale of the unit and their future activities the next step they should make should be obvious.


    Unlike kings and lords that thinks that they can just pluck anyone from the field, mercenaries would want to avoid losing too much people or else they won¡¯t be able to continue their business. Knowing this I charge at the strong men that formed a line.


    (Earlier they fought me while surrounding me, but I wonder how would I deal with them in such formation)


    The leader of the group was the stinky man with greatsword. The group stopped for a moment when I came up towards them. They divide themselves in two group, one who would intercept me and the other one would deliver a finishing blow.


    The first move was as expected, performed by the leader. He was quite quick with his sword; he slips and slide and swiped at me with his greatsword but he didn¡¯t hit me as I avoided it lightly and as we are about to pass each other, I hit him with my tail blowing him away.


    As soon as he lands, he was struck along with his group and plunged at the intercepting group. Immediately wall made of earth taller than me appeared in front of me, which I shoulder tackled and runover the mercenaries that have an astonish looks plastered on their faces.


    I slammed on the brakes and did 180 turn while in all fours.


    It must have been a nightmare when they thought that I have already passed but then I¡¯m in front of them again.


    I pursue and attack those who are still standing. With a swing of my arms, I blow them away and those who tried to grab have themselves hurl to kingdom come. I then noticed that no one is standing around me and those who are safe are the other mercenaries who was faraway and soldiers who have lost their will to fight looking at us from the distance.


    (Is it over? I¡¯m taking easy on them, so I¡¯m sure there aren¡¯t many who died- but for those who died, I guess they should just blame their luck)


    Just as I was to walk away, I instantly recognized that someone is chanting magic and turned. I saw an earthen spear spinning at high speed towards me.


    [Gaaaa]


    The trajectory was quickly deflected with my back fist.


    Both the speed and mass is excellent and also the fact it was spinning would be enough to kill me. I can still feel the sensation in my hand. What a great magician, she lurks to find an opportunity to strike.


    (I should be careful¡­ the moment I thought I already won would be the most dangerous time)


    The female mage, who fired it slumped into the ground on the spot. It seems like she put her all on that final attack. I moved nosily towards her because I wanted to at least see her face, since her large hat is blocking it.


    As I was approaching her, a bluish-white light flashed out from her staff and slashed at me


    (A light saber? I want that!)


    I evaded a side-swap strike by turning my body and then grab her and knock down her cane with my tail.


    I gripped her firmly so that she could not escape, while making sure that I don¡¯t hurt her.


    She has a nice style and slim waist and large breast. So, every time she struggles, her breast would pop out and sway over. I wanted to enjoy the sensation for a while but I wanted to check her face first. When I lift her up, she struggled and left her robe behind exposing her bountiful breast. Struggle more, so that those breast sway more.


    (Her breast looks familiar to me¡­ eh isn¡¯t this Oppai-san from the ogre incident?)


    I looked at her face just in case but I can¡¯t match her boob to her face. The only thing I can remember is that she¡¯s a beauty.


    [¨C! ¨C!]


    I can¡¯t still understand what she¡¯s saying. Maybe she was the really Oppai-san from before, after all she is speaking in Seizerian language.


    (I guess those potions really are expensive¡­)


    Magic potions was enough to save lives, it actually saves me once.


    (I guess I have no choice]


    And starts moving towards to my luggage.


    Every time I walk, it vibrates and every time she struggles, I squished her.


    Well, you really have such wonderful thing.


    Then I suddenly turned my eyes to some of those who are unable to escape and was cowering.


    A female mage is about to be kidnapped but no one dared to do anything, rather they only have looks of resignation on their faces like saying;


    [If it only takes one sacrifice¡­]


    I snorted at the scene and starts walking again like saying I lost interest.


    I guess she realize that it¡¯s impossible to get out of my grip, she only tapped my fingers which didn¡¯t hurt nor itch which I kind of think is cute. She gave up in resisting entirely and said something which I couldn¡¯t understand so I ignored it.


    We arrived at the luggage and put her down gently and put her down the ground. Then I took the magic sword off my luggage and held it in front of her. She looked for a while in disbelief on what she¡¯s seeing and then looked at me as if she had come to her senses.


    I nodded back and put the magic sword down the spot, put my back pack and left immediately.


    There shouldn¡¯t be any problem returning because the carriage remained and didn¡¯t runaway


    [¡ª!]


    It¡¯s as if she¡¯s calling me but I don¡¯t feel like turning around.


    (it¡¯s nice to see her boobs one last time though¡­)


    I thought but by then she should have fixed her messed up clothes so I ran away. Now I had no more contact to Oppai-san. I felt sad, but there¡¯s still the task of monitoring the elves. And also, now my activities in Canaan is officially restricted now.


    Now then, what¡¯s my next target?


    T/N


    1: it was translated by the MC not me from Seizerian to Fleurutian

 CH 38

    Orlando¡¯s perspective


    [It¡¯s bad, isn¡¯t it?]


    [Yeah, this is really bad]


    [Just to be sure just in case, but this is the right place, right?]


    I and Lloyd agreed to the word of the mage that we hired temporarily. The faces of everyone who¡¯s looking at the map was stern.


    [We first encountered the new species here¡­ and the next encounter is here somewhere around Glenda and L¡¯Ecole. Other sightings are uncertain but it seems to have appeared in the territory of the Old Empire as well. The latest sighting is in the northern road where it attacked a caravan and stole some supplies.]


    Lloyd points on the following landmarks on the map and confirmed them


    [The area is just too wide]


    [Eh-! Isn¡¯t this too wide?]


    [That¡¯s so wide¡­]


    The <Dawn of war> is currently planning to defeat the new type monster, but when they process the information they gathered, what they found is sickening size of the monster activity range.


    Lloyd drew a circle around the landmarks using the distance of the farthest area of sighting as the radius and narrowed it down, but still the area is still too large.


    [Is this possible?]


    Diera muttered


    [I¡¯d say that the realistic range would be¡­ around this much]


    Diera sighed at the circle Lloyd drew while crossing her arms.


    [this makes me wonder if the elves are checking on this guy]


    To be honest as long as we don¡¯t have enough mage it would be difficult to defeat that thing with no help from the elves.


    [are you trying to pull in those long ears? Don¡¯t think about it. Those guys are lunatics who think monster is part of natures. At best you can only hire a few stragglers.]


    I scratch my head and Lloyd warned me with:


    [Captain, don¡¯t let your dandruff fly]


    Even though my hygiene is better than before, I¡¯m still being told.


    The mage who we are cooperating with us looks disgusted.


    [Truthfully, we don¡¯t have enough strength to fight him on our own. As I said before that thing can¡¯t be scratched ordinarily by a magic sword. We need something on the ranks of my <Giant Slayer> if we want to stand a chance.]


    [in that case it¡¯s better to join up with other mercenaries or participate in the war with the kni9ghts]


    I nod to Lloyd¡¯s word. I had done a lot of discussion but no matter how many times I think about it we still don¡¯t have enough strength.


    [Orlando, are you connected to Carcelle Trading Company?]


    [I won¡¯t consider it a connection, it¡¯s more like I ingratiate myself with them a little through work. I tried to get magic swords from them but it was impossible]


    [Still, it¡¯s a good thing to have weapon for business. It may not be enough but I think heavy weapon might work against it]


    [I hope so]


    I leaned on the back rest of my chair.


    Suddenly I heard hurrying knocks and when I respond someone entered the room


    [Commander! the guild master wants to see you as soon as possible]


    [it can¡¯t be that it is related to the new type monster, is it?]


    [I hope not, we¡¯re not ready yet]


    I headed to the mercenary guild while eating some skewer I got from a nearby stall. Arngeil, the guild master was already waiting along the distinguished leaders of mercenary who already gatherer.


    Fudo Daiken the largest mercenary guild in L¡¯Ecole, the Golden Embers led by the old mage Marcus, the Steel Axe and the fire spear violator all who are well-known are present and if you add my own Dawn of War, all the major mercenary group of L¡¯Ecole is now here. There are other smaller groups but I don¡¯t know them.


    [Now that everyone is here, let¡¯s get started. To put it simply the Lord has ordered us to subjugate the new type monster, along side 250 members of the army.


    [Can I have a word? I¡¯m wondering if¡­]


    I raised my hand at Arngeil¡¯s word.


    [that¡¯s fine since you¡¯re the only one with experience fighting it]


    [I knew it]


    Arngeil then ask the rest


    [are there other who want to decline the quest.]


    The old man dressed like a mage raised his hand.


    [Excuse me, but if the main troops went all out it¡¯ll just hinder us]


    Said Marcus the one who raised his hand, and is the leader of the Golden Ember. They¡¯re participation is vital for this operation in order to deal with the new type monster.


    [that too bad¡­]


    I have expressed my honest impression but I cannot expect a 100 % participation.


    [Hou? I¡¯m glad that the Dawn is counting on us so much]


    [That¡¯s because this old man and this magician¡¯s quality is top-notch¡­ can the old man alone come?]


    Knowing that it¡¯s impossible, I still tried to persuade the Golden Ember¡¯s leader for the maximum fire power but the only answer I receive is a shake of his head


    [Hou? Was it really worrisome not to have the Golden Ember?]


    The grandmaster Grand of Fudo Daiken butt in, in a provoking manner. We don¡¯t have much interaction with them and even if we do it¡¯ll be like this.


    He¡¯s a name fraud who changed his main weapon just because he got a magic spear


    T/N Note (Fudo Daiken is written as Steadfast Greatsword, hence a name fraud because instead of using a greatsword, Grant uses a spear.)


    [I want a good magician; I can¡¯t add them if you join]


    [Yeah, right loser]


    Grant snorts and told Arngeil


    [Fudo Daiken would take the lead, you won¡¯t challenge it, will you?]


    When I gave a hand signal to Grant saying to be my guest, he leaves sneering and after confirming that he is gone I approached old man Marcus.


    [I don¡¯t care if you won¡¯t join old man but I need as many skilled mages as I can get. How many can you dispatch for us?]


    The old man just shook his head.


    [They¡¯re all out]


    I can¡¯t get the manpower I need but fortunately the heads of large mercenary groups are gathered here now. If we work together, we might have a chance.


    [Orlando let me ask you something. From the way you act, it looks like magic is more effective than ordinary weapon, but I don¡¯t understand why are you so fixated on mages?]


    Cain the leader of Steel Axe asked. He seems to have sensed something and is questioning me with conviction.


    The truth is we aren¡¯t completely helpless, we are able to take a strike at him but he was unharmed. The one who dealt a scratch is Annie, one of our magic sword bearers.


    The place is on an uproar with my revelation which is natural after I basically told them that normal weapons are useless against it


    [Oi Orlando! I didn¡¯t hear that!]


    [I haven¡¯t talked about it. It took us three men and one woman to create a chance risking their life for it but it came out unharmed.]


    I replied while calming Arngeil.


    [What kind of magic sword was it?]


    [I¡¯m sorry but I won¡¯t disclosed it, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not that different from any other sword that exist.]


    [ah so that¡¯s why you wanted some top-of-the-line magic sword]


    Arngeil rubbed his chin as he muttered.


    [So, I¡¯m going to need a few more weapons of the same caliber to get the job done]


    [Grant¡¯s with us, right?]


    [eh? You want me to fight with him? Are you kidding me?]


    I said reflexively and the turning the atmosphere sour]


    However, Marcus come to my side.


    [I¡¯m really sorry but I really can¡¯t leave our base and also, I don¡¯t want to die yet]


    [Old man you have live long enough though?]


    The old man laughs at my words. It seems like he felt my concern and decided to withdraw from this mission.


    (Shit! This old man¡¯s perception is accurate)


    I wanted to pull the Embers in but it really was impossible no matter how much I persisted.


    [According to the information it attacked a caravan only once on the highway, right? Wasn¡¯t the subjugation order come too soon? What happened?]


    Arngeil frown at Cain¡¯s word.


    [If you can¡¯t tell us the reason, I can assume that it doesn¡¯t matter right]


    Frank the leader of the Fire Spear laughed as a follow up.


    Arngeil exhaled as if giving up and divulged the details;


    [Among the attacked caravan was someone who was delivering the replica of the statue of the water goddess. The lord is planning to use it as a fountain for the city that he was planning to build in the southern part of the country and have it as a symbol of it. Even though it¡¯s a replica it has the ability to supply the city with endless supply of water, and I heard it cost a lot of money.]


    [What do you mean?]


    I asked rushing for an answer


    [It¡¯s just the lords will, a common trouble of the nobles]

 CH 39

    I look at the carriage in front of me


    [Hey what the hell is that supposed to be?


    [It¡¯s poisoned bait. You want to exterminate vermin, right?]


    I felt like an idiot for asking.


    In addition, the mercenary group that has the largest number of skilled mages decided not to join the mission and I when I estimated, our chances of winning are now more remote, it is understandable that the members would complain a lot


    [It is believed that it took the dried meat, it would be easy if he took this.]


    Edward, perhaps sensing the mood of the situation, said something that could only be considered comforting even if he doesn¡¯t know if it will be effective.


    [we will now subjugate the evil monster lurking in our streets! This is a direct order from the lord though whoever takes will be honored and rewarded though it will be by a long shot for you have to cut in to before I took its head. I look forward for your efforts]


    One of these knights is helplessly delusional.


    Anxiety is reigning over my head now.


    Oppai-san perspective


    My fears are right, as we heard the reports of arrows not piercing, the soldiers become upset. The leader of Fudo Daiken who led the charge was easily defeated. The soldiers are not paying attention to the magic getting shot at their direction and even panicked when they found themselves left in their own devices.


    (He¡¯s probably resistant to magic too¡­)


    It¡¯s obvious that half bake technique will not work. If it doesn¡¯t hit him in the first place, there would be no point of it.


    It¡¯s our job to make sure that we damage him, if weapons don¡¯t work properly, our only chance left would be the mages, but for some reason none of them are willing to use their best spells.


    No wonder Orlando was quite disheartened.


    Even the arbalest doesn¡¯t work against it, we decided to leave the soldiers who are no better than scarecrows alone and carefully positioned ourselves while carefully kneading our magic spells to weave through our allied merc group.


    If ever he turned toward us, it¡¯ll be our end. I moved to a position where I can get behind him while hiding behind the mercenaries to not to stand out.


    [Hey!]


    Orlando calls out to the new species.


    Orlando had some history with this guy but does he remember him? He made a low growl, a confirmation that his attention is directed towards Orlando


    (He¡¯s intelligent, he remembers who he fought once after all.)


    The battle begins between the monster and Orlando who was put in to the defensive. He did it to buy time until our allies arrive. The leader of Fudo Daiken was defeated quickly and so we are force to stall for time. And now that Orlando has all of his attention it¡¯s my turn.


    I sent all the magic I kneaded towards my staff and began chanting. If you have an experience of battling him once you should know that he won¡¯t be easily be beaten is I carefully set my sights on him and watch my timing.


    Orlando who seemed to be annoyed for not landing a single blow against it.  I was able to put his hand on the ground when I hit him exactly when he swung his hands on their exchange. Orlando didn¡¯t miss that and launched a follow up but was intercepted by the monster stepping forward from his position


    (Damn I wouldn¡¯t be able hit him in that position!)


    It¡¯s not a good idea to stay here now that he¡¯s aware of me, though I¡¯m sure he saw me already that¡¯s why I need to change my current position. I regret that it was not enough to send a blow to him but now that the rest of the Dawn of war is here, the tide of the battle would change. They are mercenaries that is always on the offensive. I¡¯m sure they would be too much for him to handle.


    Or, so I thought, till the knights drag us down. They began shooting useless arrows destroying the merc¡¯s chance of attack. I knew that another chance would arrive if we persist after all combat experience trumps all and the member of Dawn was able to make that chance again.


    They advanced through arrows and dodged his attack. The mercenary named Annie threw a magic potion to his hand. And I also thought that it would be impossible so lose at this range but it seems like he is smart enough to be wary of an unknown attack and evade it.


    (But I won¡¯t miss this chance)


    I completed my chant and as soon as I was in front I released my fire magic this time. The most powerful one I can use. I¡¯m sure could hit him before he lands.


    [Gaaah]


    He howled and at the same time slam his fist into my oversize fire ball changing its trajectory


    [Impossible¡­]


    The only thing I can think of us that he¡¯s fire resistant, otherwise it would be not be possible.


    I moved away quickly from the spot but I definitely knows that he is watching me. This would make it hard for me to take a shot at him again because of his wariness increased and my limit is just one more shot left.


    He suddenly jumped and landed in the middle of the army led by the knight and then he reached out to the soldier who never looked at him before.


    We should have realized it before by the fact that he had been fighting without moving from his spot for a long time but now he is going on the offensive.


    It was the beginning of the overrun


    The soldiers were helpless, had been sent flying and trampled. Him simply running as if he was on an empty field made the soldier fell and runaway.


    The monster went into a rampage and there¡¯s no way to stop him now


    [PULL BACK! REFORM THE FORMATION!]


    One of the knights tried to issue commands but who would listen in such a situation?


    I tried to move because I knew this will be the next place that monster will go to , but instead of moving back I moved towards the people who are fighting him.


    Soon after the lord¡¯s army fell, he then charged towards the mercenaries.


    No one can stop him.


    Not even the mercenary was able to keep up with him and his speed


    [This is the last one]


    Although I called out to Orlando who passed by but it seems that it wasn¡¯t the case.


    Unlike the army once the mercenary group is destroyed, then that¡¯s the end of it and you have to stop it with everything you have. That must have been what these mercenaries were thinking as the rush towards him.


    (Is he trying to take us all down at once?)


    I had a feeling that he will end this here and even if I started chanting now, I knew I won¡¯t make it on time.


    (But still!)


    I don¡¯t know how much would it take, but I have no choice but to do it!


    I could only watch as the mercenary collapse and falls on my sides. I was wishing if they could buy me sometime but I realized that no one left was standing, neither the soldiers nor any of the mercenary around tried to move and when I thought that my chant is complete, it was already too late.


    (I¡¯ll still do as much as I can)


    The magic power from the magic stone depletes and it shattered and I released a pointed boulder that was spinning. It¡¯s a secret I learned from the school which failed to realized till now.


    [GAAA!]


    His fist which he raised with a howl clashed with the boulder and changed the trajectory. My wish was in vain and it flew off to a different direction.


    I cling to my staff as I am on my knees and he¡¯s about to approach. By sacrificing the activator of my wand, I used up its remaining power to form a magic made sword and slash at him only to be easily be avoided. He caught the staff and knocked it off me using his tail


    (Oh no! if Orlando is right the he would eat me!)


    He grabs me but there¡¯s no pain. The fact that he had no intention of hurting me sends shiver down my spine, confirms that he¡¯s telling the truth. I am prepared to fight and die but I can¡¯t suppress the fear of being eaten alive. I tried struggling to get out of his grasp but his hold was firm. I tried squirming around like a caterpillar but to no avail.


    As I was about to give up, he suddenly stared at me but didn¡¯t seem to show any intention to bite me.


    [I¡¯m going to burn you inside out!]


    This is the last kind of resistance I can offer even if I knew that it won¡¯t mean nothing. But even so, I couldn¡¯t just do nothing.


    I am already prepared to be eaten alive, but it still doesn¡¯t show any intention to eat me. On the contrary it looked at me for a while and then started walking away


    [Where are you going?]


    There was no answer. I tried to look around but there was no sign of help coming. At that moment, the words of the prostitute that I had met before while gathering information came back to me. She said that the other girls had been looked the same way and maybe he is looking at me human woman same as how gobbling looks at women.


    [No way]


    That¡¯s the only thing that came out


    [Are you going to rape me?]


    The monster did not respond.


    Of course not. It¡¯s impossible for him to communicate to her. After a few moments he finally stopped at his destination at the carriage we had used as the bait.


    [If you¡¯re going to kill me, do it quickly]


    I said.


    He then abruptly dropped me and then began to played at the large backpack


    I don¡¯t know what¡¯s the reason behind his behavior but since I am now free, I looked around for something that can be used as a weapon. Just as I was about to make my last attempt of resistance, he held a sword toward me.


    A familiar sword ¨C something that I would never ever forget- is now in front of me.


    Finally, I found it.


    Just as I was about to reach it I came to my senses and when I looked up to him he nodded. He put the sword down the spot as if saying that he is now returning the sword.


    I reached out and touched our magic sword and held it lovingly. I wanted to cry and rejoice but I couldn¡¯t. everything is not over yet.


    The monster with the backpack on his back turned it back and walk away. I guessed it had no interest in me,


    So, I shouted


    [Humans are not your toys!]


    I¡¯m glad that I got the sword back but I wonder why her returned it?


    (Are you telling me to stop being an adventurer? You monster!)


    The only thing I understand is that even if we put our lives to the line, it would just be a game for him.


    We¡¯re nothing but a toy for him.

 CH 40

    Those who gathered to slay a single monster walked the streets like ghosts. Not a single person speaks. It¡¯s a blessing in disguise that there was a carriage that was used to transport poison bait for the monster, and was then used to transport those who are seriously wounded, though can you even really call it a blessing?


    The march was slow and those who walks, walks with a heavy step. It took them two mornings later to reach L¡¯Ecole.


    The next day Arngeil the guild master of the mercenary guild received a later containing accusation and shifting of blame from the knights. The lord¡¯s army put all the responsibility for the failure towards the mercenary guild claiming that the mercenary guild failed to provide information about the new monster causing enormous damage on both of the party¡¯s side and also claimed that the quick actions of the knights had reduced the number of the dead as much as possible, and because of the amount of wounded they aren¡¯t able to mount a counter attack and was defeated.


    They claimed all the credits. The lord acknowledged it and the responsibility for the failure is placed on the mercenary guild. Particularly, they strictly ordered to impose sever penalty to Dawn of War which had the experience in engaging it in battle once,


    [Screw you! We gave all the information we had!]


    Arngeil kicked his chair in fir of anger. However, the mercenary guild could not refuse the order of the lord, the position of the mercenary guild worsened due to the absence of war.


    This is the end; the mercenaries are good sacrifice for the person in authority who did not want to take responsibility.


    [Do I have to tell this again?¡­]


    Arngeil looked at the letter on his desk with disgust.


    A half destroyed merc company wouldn¡¯t be able to accomplish the mission of defeating a disaster class monster. This in effect would be a death sentence, the mercenary will be blamed and disposed of. It will then result to the common trope of getting annihilated because of misjudgment.


    Then, everything will go on paper and eventually be forgotten.


    Also, Arngeil can¡¯t do anything about the disappearance of another mercenary group and could only gnash its teeth.


    =================================================================================


    Diera, the mage walking alone in the town of L¡¯Ecole, looking around the stalls. She had lost her new want in the previous battle and had spent her precious magic stone. And now she was looking an alternative for her equipment and she can¡¯t help but browse to those cheap items. It¡¯s only natural that magic items are expensive and if she¡¯s not careful she wouldn¡¯t have enough fund to return to Seizelia. This is why aside from examining the items she also examines the stores.


    (The more I think about it the more I don¡¯t understand a thing. What the hell is he?)


    And the next thing I knew all I could think of is that monster. Monsters are the enemy of humans, and if you don¡¯t kill them, they¡¯ll kill you. That¡¯s common knowledge in Seizelia. Our kingdom had always been plagued by monster ever since the beginning of time, the encounter was so high that even if you aren¡¯t an adventurer, you¡¯re bound to encounter monsters in there.


    But even, with such common sense, knowledge and experience that new monster is unusual in every possible way.


    I wonder how much damage would that monster do if left unchecked? It¡¯s useless to think about it, so Diera shook her head and switch thoughts.


    (Come to think of it, it seems like he remembered Orlando since they fought one-on one but¡­ where did he know of me)


    A question comes to Diera mind whether monster can identify voice and faces. She doesn¡¯t remember any cases where a monster is able to identify other being base on those two criteria aside from few exceptions like if they fought for a long time. This is why she is bewildered how the monster have remembered her


    [No way! Is he that intelligent?]


    She shook her head in denial, that was the worst-case scenario and is hardly possible. If such thing exists then the definition of monster would be shaken.


    But Diera changed her mind.


    (There should be something distinctive about me that makes it easy for me to be remembered by¡­)


    Then she looks downward, but dismissed that thought by removing her gaze that was on her chest, thinking that this would be from a human perspective, but suddenly remembered something from their first encounter. At that time, she was naked and this time to she was naked on the upper half of her body after her struggling to break free from his grasp.


    (Would it be possible that he remembered me by my breast?)


    I wonder why he didn¡¯t do anything to me? When she thought about it, a joke that seems to be not far off the reality she grinned


    (It¡¯s kind of rude to remember me by my chest)


    then suddenly someone she is approached by a familiar figure.


    [The leader is looking for you, could you please return to the base?]


    Diera can¡¯t remember his name but when she heard him speak, she remembered that he had seen him several time as a messenger. And since she had some business with them, she nodded and ask him to bring him straight to the base of Dawn of War


    The young man tried to talk to her in various way to get her attention but with no success on getting her attention. When Diera arrived at the base, she was taken to the room she had been on once before where Orlando is waiting sitting in a chair. Beside him is Edward who seems to be talking to him with some documents and when she entered, he stepped back and tried not to interrupt their conversation.


    Diera suggested to cut to the chase without any greeting with Orlando replying for her to go first and she nodded.


    [I decided to return to Seizelia, that¡¯s it for the deal.]


    She started with the breaking of the contract where they are calmly listening to her as if they already expected it.


    [In Seizelia, monster have to be exterminated as soon as they are found. Ever since the founding of the kingdom it was plagued by monsters because of our large area. The village that I was born from was also been swallowed up by monsters and this is the reason why plenty of people from our kingdom becomes adventurer.]


    Orlando and Edward listen intently to Diera¡¯s story intently. For whatever reason they wanted to listen to her first till the end.


    [I understand that we shouldn¡¯t leave the new species alone but that case is already out of our hands. It¡¯s too much for the both of us too. Also, now that I have what I came for I don¡¯t have anymore reason to continue working with you. It¡¯s definitely a disaster class monster and it¡¯s the problem of the kingdom of Canaan and I as a Seizelian citizen would like to refrain from getting involved.]


    Hearing the reason for Diera¡¯s contract cancellation Orlando now tells his business,


    [I have another request. It¡¯s urgent. I want you to come with me]


    [I¡¯m going back to Seizelia]


    Her answer is immediate.


    As long as she can recover the magic sword, she have no intention of staying anymore, and there¡¯s some people who she have kept waiting and the urge to return home becomes more stronger.


    But Orlando was waiting for her answer


    [That won¡¯t do we need as many people as possible]


    [I can¡¯t answer to that]


    Diera said reluctantly


    She was hired for the purpose of defeating the new species but the have no chance of defeating it. Since there¡¯s no longer any reason to continue the contract, she no longer needs to be involved with Daw of War and normally she wouldn¡¯t accept a job that does not have good chance of success.


    As an adventurer, it is unforgivable to let a monster roam free but Diera wouldn¡¯t accept it because of her own reasons


    Edward who had been quiet up to this point, stepped forward and began to talk.


    [We are currently tasked to subjugate a monster in a form of penalty and that includes you.]


    [What do you mean]


    Edwards¡¯ word isn¡¯t clear to Diera.


    [what do we mean by that? You were with us as part of the Dawn of War in the battle against the monster so if you escaped you would be labeled as a fugitive. Since you are aiming to return to Seizelia d o you think you can get out of Canaan?]


    Diera frowned unable to catch up with what he is saying.


    Orlando supplemented the explanation.


    [the knight who was leading the army put the responsibility of the mission¡¯s failure to us. As a result we were force to subjugate a monster that we have little chance of winning. If we run away from it we would be charged with felony and even if we run away from this country we would be fugitives.]


    Diera was about to say absurd but as countries change and so is the laws.


    The two men¡¯s resigned tone made her realize that the mercenary guild was not strong enough to protect the mercenaries leaving her speechless.


    [Besides, the knights seem to have been obsessed with your body aren¡¯t they]


    Edward implies that they have no intention of letting them escape and at the same time Diera understand how would they react if she escaped, leaving her no choice but to cooperate. So she gave up and reluctantly asked what the job is about.


    [So, what¡¯s the target?¡­]


    [The Giant Viper known as Mage Slayer]


    Just after Diera said this with a smile as she threw a punch to his face.

 CH 41

    After the battle was over, I successfully returned the sword and exits dashingly, heading to the river. Honestly, I doubt that you can even call that a battle, personally I find it more of a level of a good exercise. I¡¯m just a little sad that the kitchen knife is gone, but that magic potion is enough.


    I don¡¯t think imperial cutlery would lose to that sword and since I have 5 of them, I should return the excess.


    Noe then, if I go further east passing through the small forest, I should arrive at the Restanant River. Since it¡¯s upstream, I can expect it to be clean and with lots of fish.


    I¡¯m a little to excited and dirty I decided to wash up first. I washed my dirty arms, feet and tail while catching some fish and transfer it to the container I prepared.


    I haven¡¯t got the chance to catch some fish lately because I wasn¡¯t monitoring the elves. So, I went here to take a bath.


    After the bath, I let my body to dry naturally and start a fire to grill the fishes. At that time, while I was trying the fire starter magic tool, I touched the magic tool but I didn¡¯t feel any difference in temperature. I tried touching it again and again and I didn¡¯t get burned or even reflexively retract my hands.


    (Am I resistant to heat?)


    I don¡¯t want to break the tool so I¡¯ll leave it here and touch it. Then I notice that the back of my hand which was slightly burnt are now back to their original color and when I check it also seems like the scratches at my back is also gone.


    (I knew that I had high regenerative power, but I don¡¯t need to worry about that to such extent)


    I nodded even if I don¡¯t have any idea of what¡¯s with this ability.


    While eating the grilled fish I planned my next move. I reckoned that after their smashing defeat the Kingdom of Canaan wouldn¡¯t take it silently. It¡¯s possible that Canaan would hide this without doing anything but that is impossible as it isn¡¯t as corrupt as Liberin and Haile on the south.


    After finishing the meal and put the leftover on the cooler and cleaned up my cooking implements.


    I decided to attack another caravan on another road since Canaan wouldn¡¯t be able to move that easily. After that I need to get out of Canaan for a while, I guess I can rampage for a bit.


    If I hurry, I will be in the highway with the sun still high and if our timing is good, we can attack at night. So, I carried my luggage and checked the direction and run in a straight line. The road wasn¡¯t well kept but this body just blitz through it.


    After passing through the forest, we came to see the town of Hagen which is located in the southeast of Canaan and is the closest town to Seizelia. Targeting any merchant party passing through this town would make you wanted by both Canaan and Seizelia, that why we would position ourselves around the road that would go directly to the capital.


    I don¡¯t know what kind of export Seizelia have today that¡¯s changed from back then but all I know is that it would help improve my diet. If royalty nobles or big merchants had stopped being extravagant, that would not be the case.


    I might also get something unexpected. And when I thought about getting some luxury items from the royal family, I become motivated. Although I was born affluent, I was born a commoner. I got excited on the possibility of using those royal items, so I increased my speed while looking at the city streets from a distance and kept running till it get dark. As I continued, I found a light so I changed direction and when I thought that I found a group of merchant resting, it turns out that they¡¯re bandits. There¡¯s 20 of them hurdled over the fire fighting over something.


    I tried listening but I only picked up a few words from their faint voices like merchants and escaped. So, I guessed these guys tried to robbed and failed and were now to take the bait.


    This gave me more reason to get those items from the merchants. So, I cut through the middle of them and the shabby bandits screamed.


    Judging from their story the caravan shouldn¡¯t be that far since I believe it wasn¡¯t that long ago. I can still catch up with my feet. If they stopped to make sure that they have shook off they¡¯re pursuer it¡¯s possible that I would be able to find them.


    Sure, enough after less than an hour of running I found the merchant¡¯s encampment.


    (Hmmm five wagon and 7 escorts, I guess the rest was killed by the bandits earlier)


    My condolence, but bandits doesn¡¯t give a shit about other people¡¯s consequences.


    I decided to block their path to cut their escape route.


    (Now tell me, retreat and the bandits would kill you and advance and I will annihilate all of you, now choose)


    I¡¯m having fun and it seems like I¡¯m in a good mood.


    In an instant the escort panicked and I closed in on one of the wagons quickly. I looked inside the carriage while passing through so that the horse doesn¡¯t run away.


    The inside was mostly filled with precious metal and ornaments and I presumed the gems are processed at Seizelia. I also confirmed it by the smell and all I can smell are metallic odor.


    (This cart is a lose)


    Then I slap the in coming escort with my tail and knocked him out.


    Then I went to the next carriage


    Since I could already tell the items inside, I disconnected the apparatus that connects the horses and saved it for later.


    I headed for the third carriage I grabbed one of the escorts who is shooting arrows at me, well I didn¡¯t throw him that high so he will definitely survive.


    There¡¯s food water and daily necessities and two children sleeping. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be a big shot in the future, they didn¡¯t even wake up after all this commotion.


    I headed for the fourth one but there¡¯s five escort that stand in my way along side the breathless parents on their side, but I ignored them and check the carriage.


    I noticed three people collapse that was blocking my path.


    [Youuuu]


    One of the escorts attacked me with a longsword and when it hit my unprotected back and then I felt that the sword left his hand and fall to the ground so I give him a quick flick to knocked him out.


    On the fourth carriage I found sugar. There¡¯s two of them which may not be much so I¡¯ll take one. there¡¯s nothing else that I wanted so I finished my business with the wagon.


    The main thing I want is spice so I can¡¯t just waste my bag space.


    I went to the last carriage with a trembling old man inside. When I trust my hand inside, I heard him saying [Please stop]. His snot filled appearance made me feel sorry for him so I stopped.


    I went back to the second carriage thinking there¡¯s nothing I wanted from the other carriage. I took down my back pack and filled it with spices.


    (In term of ration black pepper is the most common after that is red pepper and green pepper. Honestly, I don¡¯t like spicy peppers.)


    It¡¯s not bad that it¡¯s whole, but have me wanting some peppershaker. I filled the container to the brim with spices leaving me no choice but to carry the sugar jar on my arms. I started to run and heard them thanking good and cursing me.


    If they had been attacked by the bandit and consequently, I was able to saved them I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be thanking god in the same way. The incomprehensible fact that they are saved by a monster would be dismissed as a miracle of god.


    Ever since the beginning of time humans and monsters have been in the path of killing each other. This truth would never change. We have accumulated to much body count so it¡¯s too late to say anything about it.


    It would be a different story if they tried studying monster, unfortunately only the Empire could do such thing. I didn¡¯t remember other country doing it at least. And if the things are the same from 200 years ago then there¡¯s no country that would consider the idea of an intelligent monster.


    Incidentally I¡¯m only talking about humans not the elves. They do not recognize monster as enemies. Their race spec is too high to consider monster as enemy. Even if I want to call a dragon, the dragon won¡¯t come near them.


    (The Empire who fought them for 10 years is kind of amazing if you think about it.)


    Thinking about it, being a human is also a big deal huh. If only they also took in science and doesn¡¯t just enrich their magic skill the they could have been more affluent. Such toss crossed my mind as I run through an empty plain.


    If only they had advanced enough to create data disks, my problems would have been solved. I changed my direction and went back to the shopping mall because I want some peppermill. I want it reimbursed on the Imperial army.


    Since I intend to keep running through the night from this place, I should be there tomorrow night. Food there is scarce but we have a place to sleep so we will spend the night there and return back to base after.

 CH 42

    Three days after returning to base and after solving one of my problems, I found myself groaning over a new problem again. Though I can¡¯t accept the fact that all the data disc player I recovered was defective product.


    It¡¯s good that I got the peppermill that I wanted, even though it gives me a hard time, but with the properly grounded black pepper I am now having delightful meals. However, in the end it¡¯s still a wild animal, nothing beats a farm raised livestock. Well, it can¡¯t be helped but with these spices from Canaan, I improved my eating habit which causes a new problem.


    (Ah I want to eat vegetables)


    Yes, I¡¯m craving for vegetables. I don¡¯t want to eat those wild plants, what I want is properly cultivated vegetables. Back when I was a human, I use to eat with no care for it, only thinking of meat, meat, meat! But now that all I eat is meat, I can¡¯t stand it and wanted to have vegetables.


    I also want fruits.


    It¡¯s nice that I was able to gained some sugar, but it wasn¡¯t surprisingly useful.  I want to make some candied fruits or boil them together.


    I wonder where could I get them?


    When it comes to that kind of produces, the elves are the front-runners. It is believed that they have bias for that kind of produce but in reality, they also took in meat for a well-balanced meal. Above all I don¡¯t think I can fight those elves head on.


    So that option is rejected, naturally.


    There¡¯s also the easter part of Seizeria where most of agricultural land lies close to the royal capital. I think there are rural areas in remote areas but with how endemic the monsters there I doubt I want to go to such a place.


    That¡¯s rejected too.


    Then the natural option is the kingdom of Canaan¡­. Again.


    I just made a pretty large move there and if I do it frequently it¡¯ll hinder me more in the future.


    I¡¯ve no choice I think I should target those remote villages this time since it¡¯s easier to plunder from place you don¡¯t know would be destroy sooner or later by monsters, also Canaan¡¯s resistance would be no problem too as those places mostly are destination of those exiled and abandoned so if we are right there won¡¯t be anyone decent there.


    I also think that the royalty won¡¯t care about a remote rural town and the difficulty of obtaining information there is hard.


    So all in all it¡¯s a good idea. Aren¡¯t I, a genius?


    I pulled out a map if found that was from 200 years ago, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a little bit unreliable but the information about the terrain should still be okay.


    So after I memorize the map, I prepared to go travel.


    Where did I get one of these maps? Inside the facility in one of the rooms, and when I think about it since it still has electricity, we might find some data in regards the Super Soldier program.


    Anyway, now that I¡¯m ready to go I did a final check on my luggage and go. After closing the door properly and put my kitchen wares on the backpack I departed.


    My first destination would be a blank area near the front-line city of Emmeriade and is near the border of Canaan Kingdom.


    But before that I should make a stop-over at the elves monitoring base and stay there for a night. This is because I have been away for mission for a while so I need to check the changes that happened here, I also need to check my water replenishment points which may become a cause of concern.


    With the help on my Imperial water containers, I can now carry 10 liters of water, double of back then. Aside from that the quality is far amazing than bottles that I don¡¯t need to worry for it to crack, and the fact that I don¡¯t need to carry additional cushions to protect the bottles freed up a lot of spaces.


    I feel so relax to undergo in a mission. Thank you, Sir Instructor, for instilling such knowledge albeit short   course of a training even if I already forgotten your face too.


    When I arrived at the base by noon, I quickly prepare for the mission, and about an hour of waiting it should be about time. I was already imagining the various camera angle to tale while waiting for the elven girls to appear but for some reason no one came even when the evening came. From the peeping point of the base I was looking at the river expressionless


    (What the hell happened!?)


    I shouted in my heard. I remembered that I¡¯m still an Imperial soldier that¡¯s why I have to keep calm and collected at all time.


    I should try again tomorrow, but if it happened again¡­ I decided to hunt tonight¡¯s dinner since I can¡¯t do anything about the situation.


    After I prepped, cooked and finished my dinner and turn in for the night early since I have nothing to do.


    In the morning after eating breakfast I took on the task of monitoring the elves and no matter howlong I waited Ms. No. 6 and the children didn¡¯t appear. I looked around the peeping points but I couldn¡¯t find anyone. The night came with nothing happening wasting today,


    (One more day! I¡¯ll try again tomorrow!)


    I didn¡¯t want to lose the oasis of my mind, that¡¯s why I¡¯m losing my calm resulting to another wasted day. This resulted in another wasted day as no elves came. The next day I admitted I cried as I slowly get up from my bed. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t do anything on the elven nation, hence I have to temporary stop my elven monitoring until their problem is solve. How unfortunate of me to miss Ms. No. 6¡¯s Morning Theater. I want to rage and scream but I managed to keep it down.


    (I guess this is god¡¯s way to tell that I need to quickly procure vegetable ASAP)


    I guess I can¡¯t do anything against god¡¯s will.


    After regaining my calm I decided to depart after breakfast and disguise the base and left. Then and idea entered my mind, perhaps the elves doesn¡¯t want to go to the river because of my presence. Though I doubt that they would change their daily patterns just because a monster is nearby.


    (Is it possible that there¡¯s a problem at Emmeriade?)


    I have no way to answer my own question nor knew if my theory was right. Even if I¡¯m interested sticking my neck on it would be dangerous.


    I headed to my destination quietly but with heavy footstep and crossed the borders of the Kingdom of Canaan later than planned. After that I reached the rural area and the first village, I found is a lose.


    It looks like it was abandoned a long time ago because of the stray dogs that have already settled there  but it¡¯s a good idea to explore it.


    I found out that it was attacked by monster many years ago and had been since then left untouched. Of course the there¡¯s no vegetable and food here so I decided to go the next target but because it¡¯s already dark I decided to find a place to sleep here.


    I found a bed at a warehouse and decided to spread the straw and sleep. I just simply cover it with cloth and lay into it.


    I pray that something good happens tomorrow.

 CH 43

    The next morning, I woke up from the slightly uncomfortable straw bed and yawned.


    After getting used to Imperial beds, it¡¯s hard to be satisfied on other beds of poorer quality.


    It looks like I have no luck recently, so I am asking God here. For the record, religion exist in the empire and something like churches existed too.


    The gods don¡¯t have designation liked the god of xx or god of yy but rather god exist on everything.


    I feel like something good will definitely happen today. Now I¡¯m hungry, even though I don¡¯t get hungry but I still need to eat because I feel sick not eating anything.


    I found a chicken. Perhaps it was something that was bred here before and became wild after it was destroyed.


    [Such a great find!]


    Thank god for this luck.


    The range of dishes I can make would be wider if I took this guy home. This will profit me more in the long run rather than killing it now. Though sadly I don¡¯t have a cage to put the bird in so I¡¯ll returned here once I made one.


    Another bird fly by and it¡¯s a huge one it¡¯s something I haven¡¯t seen flying on Imperial skies.


    (Are they lurking?)


    Today¡¯s meal would be wild pigs that I caught. Unlike farm raised pigs the meat is tough but it¡¯s useless against my strong jaws.


    I¡¯ve been accustomed in dismantling it now by the way even though it became more time consuming because of me returning that magic sword back.


    I then slice them thing and put it on the iron plates and divide some in to blocks that turned into skewers. I then grilled them till I cooked them inside out. A little bit burnt on the outside but addictive to bite chunk of meat was the result,


    After taking in water and cleaned up I replenish my stock of water but think twice because of the possibility of bad water quality. It¡¯s probably because of the faint disgusting smell I picked up. It¡¯s like someone fell on it and failed to climbed back up.


    What a shame to use this water to wash my kitchen tools so I decided to rinse it drinking water after. I¡¯ll just try to replenish it in another site since it¡¯s not much of a distance.


    When I arrived at the candidate site, I checked the surrounding just in case for a village but it seems like it wasn¡¯t being developed yet. No choice but to move to the next site.


    (I forgot the next destination)


    I can¡¯t remember the place. Was it on the other side of the mountain or north from here?


    (If I remembered correctly going north, I would reach a mountain, and crossing it would lead me to the sea. If I go east by the mountains then¡­ No, I think that if there would be a village it would be around the south east)


    I regretted not making a memo but because of this large body holding a pen is near impossible. So, I went southeast where there are lots of flat plains that are good for village development, however I haven¡¯t found a single village.


    By afternoon I found another abandoned village after an hour of detour. It¡¯s eerie as the structure on it still have their original forms but mostly broken as if someone actively destroyed it.


    (I cannot tell by smell or sound)


    I used mimicry to approach the village and investigate. I found that there¡¯s no people here so I released my mimicry and entered the village. I peeked inside one of the houses and determine that it was just recently been destroyed. It doesn¡¯t look liked it was due to human conflict as the way it was destroyed was too strange.


    (By the way it was destroyed it seems like something big destroyed it)


    It¡¯s possible that it¡¯s some kind of a large monster enough to eat a human whole. It can just breakthrough the fences and destroy the walls to the house destructively to get those hiding humans.


    (This village seems like it has 200 people living in here and I don¡¯t think all of it was eaten. Though I wonder why it didn¡¯t break the fences and I don¡¯t seem to see any bloodstains)


    I have no idea. Not that I¡¯m a monster expert anyway and all my knowledge are superficial in nature and only from books so it would be hard for me to create a sound conclusion on what happened here.


    Anyway, since villagers aren¡¯t really my aim for this expedition but vegetables and as it is convenient that there¡¯s no one here, time to go towards my goals.


    I went to the field but not only that the crops haven¡¯t grown it¡¯s was overrun by weeds. As expected of an unattended field.


    I decided to take a look at their warehouse since it wasn¡¯t that long since the people here disappear but sadly mice have already devastated the place.


    I guess for the rat kind this is nothing short of a grocery store.


    I carefully closed the door and silently leave the place.


    The next site should be beyond the mountains. I can reach it if I run there overnight. I leave the village by jumping over the walls and run through the rough mountain roads. I knocked some of the obstacle in my path.


    As I was running my ears picked up something.


    (Multiple boogies, the number: 10 entities¡­ No, it twice of that, the direction is¡­ if I continued on my direction, I won¡¯t encounter them)


    I actually been picking up the sound for quite some time but ignored it due to the plants and trees blocking my way.


    The footsteps they produce definitely tells me that it belongs to humans. There¡¯s around 20 of them silently walking.


    (I wonder if they¡¯re villager from the previous village wo escaped?)


    I¡¯m just going to check so I have to make it quietly. I thought about using mimicry but as I was pondering, I reached and edge but the place I¡¯m stepping on collapse alarming the group and putting up a fighting stance. One of them looks familiar especially the one with the large sword. It¡¯s our third time meeting and honestly, I want to deny that I have anything to do with this guy.


    I wonder why are they here?

 CH 44

    I¡¯ll only watch silently and wouldn¡¯t interfere with their bickering, though I¡¯m a bit curious to see their reaction in this accidental encounter.


    (I don¡¯t think that they would try to challenge me after their defeat¡­ oh I wonder if they need the money for medical treatment or something, that¡¯s why they¡¯re here to do or find something¡­)


    Or maybe there¡¯s something beyond the directions they¡¯re going to.


    I watched their exchange for a while but I don¡¯t think that their bickering would end soon.


    Can I go now? I was so disappointed that I decided to ignore them and continue on. Immediately the voice behind me became louder. I could only make out two phrases: [Stop] and [Stop Him!] but the rest, I couldn¡¯t understand because they¡¯re talking too fast.


    As I was about to turn away something fell behind me. Judging from the sound, it was a rock ¨C thrown by someone. I don¡¯t know who the target is but I don¡¯t have any intention to be involve with them so I ignore it and go my merry way.


    Then I heard someone chanting and I turned around to look, I saw the busty female mage in a witch¡¯s hat and robe using magic to propel the man behind her. She knocked him of his feet and sent him flaying towards me where he stops midway between the me and their group. He straightened his back and looked at me


    (Oh, this mage¡­)


    I could tell from the distance that she was probably a mage I knew. If so, she might just want to come to thank me but when she confirmed that I was watching her, she took a deep breath, grabbed her robe and pulled it down revealing her amazing breasts that was proudly asserting its elegance before me.


    as I nodded and said in my head [Your boobs are magnificent as ever], Oppai-san then fixed her robe back to hide her amazing breasts.


    [Eh that¡¯s over?]


    I said in my head while she walks to come over to me. So, she used her breast to make me stop and made me take a closer look.


    (I see¡­ I see she used her breast as bait to stop me, that¡¯s wonderful)


    Of course, that¡¯s not how it is!


    She didn¡¯t do it to say thank you! I¡¯m a monster so they assume that human values don¡¯t applies to me.


    (Huh? Do you think that I remember you by your chest?)


    Yes, I do remember you by your breast.


    I¡¯m sorry Oppai-san, I said in my heart while paying attention to her movements. When she come in front of me, the mercenary who was with her are watching her silently.


    Oppai-san then thrust the stick that she has on the ground and started scribbling something. There¡¯s no way it would be words that she is scribbling. After a while I¡¯m starting to make out something from her scribbles.


    (A snake huh¡­.)


    I almost applauded because I couldn¡¯t believe what she had drawn in the ground. I wonder what¡¯s she meant with the picture of a snake?


    If you¡¯re asking me if I found this monster of yours, you¡¯ll have to draw something more detailed. When Oppai-san confirms that I¡¯m looking at the drawing, she then pointed at her, then the mercenary and then me, then thrust the stick to the drawing.


    (So, I guess, she wants me to help them defeat the snake)


    I wonder what should I do.


    (There would be no benefit to me to be frank. This is may look like party request for a subjugation, but I feel like they¡¯re only relying on me with no reward)


    After thinking for a bit, a great idea comes to my head.


    I put down my backpack and pull out a bottle from the clothe filled container. I showed it to her and open my hands to show <Five>.


    I want to try proposing for five of these magic potions.


    (It¡¯s common sense that you can¡¯t negotiate with a monster and that¡¯s normal. I just want to see how she would react on the proposal.)


    As expected, she widened her eyes and muttered something and stepped back. She then said something to the mercenary that was behind her. From their discussion I can confirm the word <two> in their reply.


    Perhaps she understands the meaning of negotiating with a monster, her hands were shaking as she draws on the ground.


    (This is breaking their common sense and values that¡¯s why it¡¯s not a surprise for her to look shaken and pale)


    The drawing shows only three bottles which probably means that that¡¯s the only amount they have. With this it¡¯s not possible for me to obtain four bottles from them huh.


    I was tempted to be a little mean like try to haggle her down but doing so would pressure her too much, so, I guess I should give a compromise here,


    I went through my backpack again and took out another type of magic potion and showed her to Oppai-san while indicating <two> with my fingers.


    By the way I used the thumb and the fore finger. This is how we count in our hands in the Empire. We started at the thumb then forefinger then followed by the rest of it.


    Three blue potion and two magic potions ¨C Oppai-san nodded when I presented this condition.


    As if to indicate that we have reached an agreement she circled the total of five bottles that was drown in the ground.


    I nodded and put back the potion in my backpack along side with their container then reached her and gently grabbed her. She seemed surprise but she accepts without resistance.


    I casually adjusted my fingers so that I can touch her boobs with my fingers. Back then I was torn of that was a six or a seven but now it¡¯s certain it¡¯s a seven.


    And then I put her on my shoulder and move leisurely towards the mercenary. The mercenary was noisy but I don¡¯t mind. I may have shaken a bit too much as she was gripping my head tightly for her not to fall.


    (Man, that feels good!)


    I am very satisfied.


    [Is it really alright?]


    The old man is probably saying something along those lines, where Oppai-san saying something with a slightly raised along with some lines [Blow them right of the water] which doesn¡¯t seem to fit the situation.


    I think about it for a minute.


    (I assume that they¡¯re not meant to be here¡­ but rather was forced to go? What¡¯s the reason? The only thing I can think of is the previous battle¡ª it sounds like they got with some nobles)


    That that phrase would make some sense. I guess they¡¯re force to subjugate this <snake> because of their previous defeat. However, since most of them were wounded it¡¯s something that they can¡¯t defeat.


    So, they¡¯re trying to crush the intention of those nobles even if they have to rely on me,


    (Well, it¡¯s not like I dislike this kind of situation)


    While I was standing the man with the big sword approached me with a stern face. I gave him a flick as if to say [Don¡¯t come near me your stinky bastard] causing everyone around me to laugh, but his expression is hard and still quite cautious.


    Also, based on their conversation, it seems that he was being teased by his teammates using the stinky story. That made me a bit envious that he has friends in his group.


    (I wonder what kind of snake would this commander and Oppai-san would have a low chance of winning against?)


    There shouldn¡¯t be none, at least according to my knowledge, so I guess it might be a new kind.


    I received the magic potion, put it in the container for it. And then followed them as the walk tilting their head.


    I was walking at a different speed than them, so I tried walking slower, I also have to keep my vigilance of my surrounding. I walk with them keeping them in mind, unfortunately nothing is particularly interesting and the lack of changes makes it more boring too.


    (It would be boring with just going along with them like this)


    I can¡¯t suppress my naughty thought and starting to look at the mercenary with a smile on my face, especially on Oppa-san¡¯s butts which is really nice.

 CH 45

    It¡¯s been hour since I accompanied these guys just going about opening paths with good foot hold. Apparently, they have no information on the whereabouts of the snake that they¡¯re looking for and it¡¯s hard to find making the search not to go favorably.


    (I honestly want to have the magic potions even if I have to kill them and take it away from them)


    However, if that happens, Oppai-san who always shows interesting reactions would die. I don¡¯t want to kill beautiful woman and children because it makes feels sorry for them. That¡¯s why I want to deal with the snake, but it¡¯s stupid to search without any clues,


    [It looks like it would take some time]


    She said as I followed them. I keep my distance from them so that they don¡¯t get wary of me too much. After all we once tried to kill each other in the battlefield twice.


    Well, I thought that we had to continue wandering around but it seems that they have proper destination and we successfully arrived to a vacant campsite that was used by people. It seems like this place is where mercenary always camps.


    They then made it into a campsite. The sun will set in about two hours that¡¯s they are now preparing to camp. I also decided to camp here at well. I enter the premise. It was quite noisy but I ignore it, I took down my backpack and looked for the person I was looking for- ah there she is! I gently lift her up with both hands.


    [I¡¯m busy here!]


    Perhaps that what she meant.


    I moved her towards my luggage and sit her on top of it.


    [You want me to keep an eye on it?]


    I didn¡¯t answer and instead move towards the forest to look for my prey.


    I hear voices behind me but I ignore them.


    You can look at my luggage with keen interest so I¡¯ll leave it to you Oppai-san.


    In the span of 30 minutes, I am able to hunt down 2 wild boars that I left barely alive,


    Now then, let¡¯s play a little prank.


    I returned to the camp with boars in my hands, there¡¯s tents and something of unknown use standing up, there¡¯s also Oppai-san who looks quite bored sitting on my luggage.


    After she saw me, she stood up and prepare herself.


    I placed the wild boar outside of the camp, retrieve my shovel, hatchet and rope from my backpack then cut of both its head.


    Then I hanged them off a tree to drain their blood and let flow to a hole I dig earlier.


    For the meantime I I¡¯ll prepare everything for a grilling.


    First, I made a stove out of stones and place an iron plate on top of it. And use some dead tree branches as firewood for it. Then I arrange some iron skewers and places salt and pepper besides them. I then started a flame by using a magic tool and light the firewood.


    I butchered the boars and the parts I don¡¯t need were put in the hole. The fats are taken out first and was put in the griddle and then removed the it after it renders then start cooking the thinly sliced meat.


    I sprinkled a good amount of salt and pepper and then returns to dismantling the other boar while waiting for it to cook.


    After the second dismantling, I turned over the meat, cleaned up the messed from the dismantling and then starts eating the meat.


    The mercenaries who had been staring at the meat skewers we¡¯re all astonished and spoke


    [Eh~¡­]


    All they have are dried meat, hard bread and thin broth making it obvious that my meal is levels better than them.


    (Their meals like dried meat and hard bread are designed for long storage)


    Hehe. The prank works and now they stopped eating and is looking at me. Oppai-san who was nearby was completely dumbstruck. I guess they can¡¯t believe a monster can do that. So put a bite-sized meat on her mouth.


    [This is ridiculous!]


    I guess she¡¯s saying something along that line.


    After she battled over the heat on her mouth, she swallowed it and she approach me once again.


    [Why! Monster! Use Iron! Grill! Meat!]


    Looks like she separated the words to make it easy for me to understand.


    [And! Salt and Pepper! Season meat!]


    I want you to understand something lady, the power of language barrier, I offered the meat with the meat with such intentions but she rejected it. Oh well if you don¡¯t want it, the meat has no sin.


    I wonder if it¡¯s too tough for her? Well, it¡¯s not a challenge to my strong jaws so maybe it¡¯s hard for them?


    In order to calm her from the collapse of common sense I offered her the meat 3 times but she only accepted only once. Halfway though she started hugging her knees and became silent, so, I decided to leave her alone.


    I want to play a prank on her by pulling off her robe to take a peek at her boobs, but all eyes are focused on us.


    I want to at least use the excuse of [We¡¯¡¯ I can¡¯t help it, you¡¯re a monster] just like how elementary school boys are excused for doing such pranks.


    Oh well, I guess I should finish up and started cleaning, I washed the griddle with the scrubbing brush and lightly rinsing it with water and then left to dry naturally. The skewers are returned to their proper places after the wash. Then the other boar was then stored in the cooler box and it¡¯s done.


    Next, I filled a pot with water and place it on the stove then get a towel and dunk it in the pot. I then wring it and use it to wipe my body, where the mercenary for the umpteenth time exclaimed [Eh?].


    [Why are you wiping your body?]


    Oppai-san looked at me and muttered.


    [This isn¡¯t right¡­]


    I felt sorry for her. She was left in a state that all she could say is [This isn¡¯t right¡­] or [This is ridiculous¡­]. So, I took out another cloth and tried wiping her where she brushed it away, I was left with no choice but to pout the impromptu towel around her neck


    [Hiii!]


    She stared at me with startled voice.


    Then I continued wiping my body, my chest, armpit and other places where I might be sweating. Then I moved away from her so that she can calm down, it would be bad for her mental health if I push her more and also, I already gained a lot.


    The night deepens and half of the mercenaries are now asleep while the others are now standing guard. They now look at me not as a <Ferocious monster> but a <Mysterious Monster>.


    I did it!


    Still, it seems that they all don¡¯t want to get close to me, so they just look at me from far away as if I¡¯m an outcast.


    (Are you sure you want to do that? I¡¯m not going to tell you that something big is coming)


    I was so happy about the result of the prank that I went a bit crazy.

 CH 46

    It¡¯s still faraway, but it something big and slowly creeping towards us. It¡¯s surprisingly quiet given the size of its body that no one is able to notice it.


    I let out a sigh and the mercenary who was watching me was startled.


    As it gets closer I started to hear the sound better and I got the rough idea of what it is.


    (Yep, that one huge snake.)


    It was very long, maybe around 20m. I now have an idea of what we¡¯re dealing with here.


    (A shadow viper. A huge snake that can eat a human being whole. it has the ability to blend in the surrounding and move quietly and usually has the length of 10 meter)


    Though I did get the species right It doesn¡¯t seem to fit the standard length for that monster. It might be a mutation. Or was it a particularly oversize variant? One thin I know is that this must be what these guys are after.


    I could just wait for it to attack someone but if it¡¯s going to be Oppai-san then I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep soundly. I¡¯ve played too much trick on her so this time I¡¯m going to protect her.


    I got up and moved swiftly towards the campsite. The mercenary was surprised by my action and tried to stop me me, but when they realized that I was going towards Oppai-san they all give way to me.


    When she saw me she gave me a look of disgust but I ignore it and held her up and sit her in my hands.


    I can¡¯t help it her ass is nice to touch.


    [What now?]


    I know you¡¯re in a bad mood but let me off the hook for now.


    I move d to the center of the camp with her and set her down. Not knowing what I want she tilted her head and tries to go back but I stopped her and points her to the direction of the snake.


    Finally, someone noticed the snake as we watch from the outside.


    [Everybody! Wake up! there¡¯s something out there!]


    It was the commander who shouted first.


    With that order, all mercenaries who had been sleeping woke up and quickly armed themselves.


    Oppai-san as well, quickly put up a stance with her staff.


    I knew the position of the snake from the faint sound however, the mercenary doesn¡¯t know where it is. Some of them relies on my line of sight but still not able to find it, but that¡¯s not surprising. It¡¯s not because it still to far away but because of it¡¯s ability to blend into it¡¯s surrounding.


    (It blends really well with its surrounding huh)


    I can see them well even in the night but not from far away that¡¯s why I doubt these guys would be able to spot it now.


    If I wasn¡¯t here, I¡¯m sure they would have been already taken by surprise. Enough to take theme out or annihilate them.


    However, for some reason its movement is quite slow. It might be because of my presence that¡¯s why it didn¡¯t attack.


    I hope he comes soon because keeping my head up is tiring.


    [What is he trying to do now?]


    One of the mercenaries said as he walked to the side of the forest while brandishing his sword playfully and trying to be funny.


    Immediately after that, the snake gobbled him up whole denying the formerly slow moving it have been doing earlier but with this they are now able to confirm the current position of the monster.


    [Above us!]


    The man was quickly then swallowed by the snake even before he had time to look at the direction of the snake.


    What a flag!


    It¡¯s speed and accuracy is perfect. The commander went forward along with his giant sword but alas! The snake is now gone.


    The speed is more than I expected. If we were in a dense forest then his speed would be faster than me.


    (Too late for you, I already got your scent. No matter where you hide I¡¯ll chase you then I would kill you)


    I leapt Infront of the commander. Honestly, I¡¯m more afraid of the friendly fire because of Oppai-san¡¯s ability to deal damage against me. And also, the fact that I just pranked her too hard to boot.


    I swear, if her attack gets me engulfed in it, I would strip her and lick her every nook and cranny of her body!


    It seems like it was ready to intercept me as it stretched it body like an arrow winded up.


    The game¡¯s already in the bag!


    But it wasn¡¯t over yet. The snake having no sense of danger tried to constrict me but for me who believes in my ability to deliver strong damage at punching range, I already won.


    It first tried to bite me but I gave it an back-hand slap blasting its upper jaw as it tries to wrap it body to me. As I was about to deliver another attack someone used light magic that temporarily blinding me losing my chance to attack.


    They only saw me being constricted to death from their perspective, this is quite bad, they might think I died from this snake


    I quickly tore of it¡¯s skin and flesh from it releasing me from the constriction. Then it tried to escape but I stomped its body


    (Too bad for you, even with your gigantic size. It¡¯s a bad idea to challenge me with force)


    Honestly though if it been larger that it was I might get in trouble but whatever. There¡¯s no use thinking about ifs.


    I then pulled it towards me


    (You¡¯re free to resist, so do your best)


    The snake rampages at it resisted knocking down trees all around while I pummel it with my fist on the right spot.


    The swallowed man was then spit out. I grabbed him and quickly tossed him towards the aghast mercenaries. Why? Because he is still breathing and if they don¡¯t move their asses he might totally go to the other side.


    Then the commander finally moved.


    I already did my part, so I went in and get my reward and walked leisurely towards Oppai-san and then I pointed towards the snake.


    Then she nodded.


    I confirmed first whether it¡¯s the right snake that I had killed because you might never know. I thought that dismantling it would take a lot of time but I noticed that everyone is on the side of the snake meaning it¡¯s only me and Oppai-san.


    I suddenly lifted her witch¡¯s hat and plunged down my finger on her cleavage to pull down her robe revealing her large breast. She didn¡¯t say a thing and just sigh and lift her breasts up pulling them closer together.


    [Remember this]


    She then lifts her robe up and took back her hat and slapped my hand as well. I guess she wants me to remember her by her boobs after all.

 CH 47

    Now that I have finished the end of my deal with the mercenaries, I leave them to on their own. I¡¯m sure there among them, there¡¯s someone thinking about revenge for their comrade I slain and also, I want to find some vegetables.


    I wandered around the dark forest till I ended up in a vast plain. I think I went too far south and when I realize I remember that east from here is the town of those mercenaries. What I want is a village so I change course till I smell something.


    (They really are everywhere¡­)


    Basically, it¡¯s those nocturnal green bastards. They¡¯re probably doing a night attack and if my deduction is right there¡¯s a chance that they¡¯re on to some village.


    Alright, lead the way you green bastards and afterwards I¡¯ll dispose of you.


    About an hour of tracking, I exterminate those 28 goblins after I confirmed the village up ahead. It¡¯s troublesome to properly dispose of them so let¡¯s leave them alone and start the infiltration.


    Using my mimicry skill, I scouted the position of the fields. Since I¡¯m invisible I tried posing for nothing.


    Anyway, I decided to harvest them.  Cabbage and root vegetable like carrots that is quite small and isn¡¯t ready for harvest yet, I packed them all inside the rucksack that I brought along with me. Think of this as my rewards for exterminating those goblins for you, okay?


    After that I went away without them noticing, same as how they didn¡¯t notice me harvesting their vegetables.


    I really want good assortment of them but I feel like the god of vegetables would be angry at me.


    Back then parents would scare their child the god of vegetables would force a picky eater to eat their most hated vegetable which was from a book titled: the good who punishes poor eaters. A book which dramatically modified to suit the needs and culture of the empire.


    Speaking of the empire, I need to restock on the clothes I use to protect the magic potions.


    My harvest for today was 18 cabbages, 21 carrots and 5 magic potions.


    The way back is uneventful and returned to base successfully and quickly fall to sleep which is the penalty of being awake for 48 hours straight.


    Morning came and prepped the wild boar I got earlier. Chop up the cabbage and carrots then fry them all together then season them with salt and pepper.


    (Ah I really want more variation to the flavor)


    I think to myself,


    I want more kinds of seasoning. However, such things aren¡¯t made outside the empire meaning that it would be impossible to obtain in the modern era.


    (As expected, I don¡¯t want to risk myself for eating those 200 years old products. If only a factory is still in operation, then maybe I can make it¡­)


    Then a revelation had come to me.


    (If I can¡¯t have it, I should make it!)


    There should be a chance that the method of making them are still around why didn¡¯t I think of that? I can find them at a library or a bookstore!


    (To think that it would take me this long to realize it, it¡¯s because all I read is manga!)


    I stuffed my mouth with food while wondering how I could apologize for failing the empire and my predecessors that left behind technology and knowledge.


    The idea of having vegetables was a success, it gave depth of flavor to my dishes and now on to the next objective.


    The elven surveillance mission should be fine to return to, I hope. They¡¯re elves they¡¯re strong enough to deal with it on their own. I mean they tormented the empire so much that¡¯s why I believe that they can return back to their normal lives in a jiffy.


    Time is of an essence. I activated my mimicry and went to the river as soon as I finished my meals and clean up. I rejoiced when I looked at the river and no one is still there. I cancel mimicry and excitedly waits for Ms. 6. Unfortunately, no matter how long I waited, she didn¡¯t come.


    (Has the time and location changed? No, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case¡­)


    If it was a change then it would be my misunderstanding.


    [You, elves! Don¡¯t think that you have escaped my surveillance!]


    I hid myself and moved along the river but no elves can be found. It might be dangerous but I might have to cross the river and against if it¡¯s useless no matter how careful you are ¨C they are those kinds of opponents.


    (Are they aware of me?)


    I¡¯m a survivor of the imperial army ¨C then I should live with shame and fight them in a safe range. I don¡¯t just want to see them naked; this is the battle of those who are left behind.


    While saying that, I arrived at the place where I first met Ms. 8 but there¡¯s no sign of elves here. I went further south to investigate where I found evidence of some sort of struggle. Slight burnt marks on damage trees as if fire magic was use here.


    Does this mean that something happened that causes them to stop coming to the river?


    (No, no, no, these are elves that we¡¯re talking about they can overpower anything so I guess there¡¯s another factor)


    I guess a little investigation is in order. I started looking for clues, anything that is strange and after a while I found few broken arrows. It seems that they¡¯re fighting someone. If so, I wonder what kind of thing was it? Most monster are objects of nature for elves and they aren¡¯t hostile to them. A perspective that only the strong possessed.


    I wonder is this thing powerful enough to overturn such premise.


    (That conclusion is still premature, first of all I investigated this area before and found no monster that can even be considered as a threat. If so what or who did they attack?)


    I don¡¯t understand why they would attack and I don¡¯t that they would attack a mere monster.


    Are they protecting something? Trying to protect a rare animal from carnivore or something?


    What if they¡¯re absence is due to mating?


    That¡¯s plausible.


    Just as I was convinced of it, I heard something from the other side of the river. I instinctively activated mimicry and hid myself and concentrate in listening to the sound.


    (Bipedal, walking speed same of that of a human, numbering around 15 or 18, no metallic sound)


    I moved away from their path and use my telescopic view to confirm them. A group of elves, armed ¨C o my guess is wrong.


    It looks like they have to get rid of something and judging from the trace of battle, it might be vermin or a pest.


    No matter how much you worship nature, there¡¯s no elves who will overlook the danger of the forest, and it can be seen from their armaments that they are serious in subjugating it.


    I hope it¡¯s not the peeping monster (me) that they come to subjugate.


    I was looking at them with such thought when I noticed someone familiar in the group.


    The blind folded woman with splendid surrounded by everyone and when I took a step back to open up more distance, she looked at me as if reacting to my move. I have a very bad feeling about this.

 CH 48

    Her reaction is the only reaction that I can use to tell what¡¯s happening. So, when the surrounding elves move to calm Ms. 8 down signaling my attempt to make her panic a little more. Anyway, since my position is already compromised, I decided to retreat a bit.


    It seems like the noise I made was concerning for her but it seems like the other who can¡¯t see me are remonstrating her.


    (It seems like they need her detection ability for something since the elves are all armed. They¡¯re probably looking for something invisible and formidable)


    I tried to think for any monster that checks out the criteria, but nothing came to mind. In the first place there¡¯s no such monster that could stand up against the elves nevertheless be considered tough as well. And if you put in the stealth ability then there¡¯s¡­ a monster¡­ here¡­


    (Yeah, I fit the bill perfectly here)


    So, does that mean they are here to take me down? But why? Don¡¯t tell me they knew I was peeping? Don¡¯t tell me they are wary of a peeping monster, that¡¯s why they stay away from the river and sent in a subjugation team?


    How can that be?


    Ms. 8 keeps pointing at me with a surprised look on her face but the armed elves all seems to be pissed at her.


    Man, shy beauty is really great, aren¡¯t they?


    I knew that I am not they¡¯re real target and all of my earlier hypothesis is nothing but fueled by leap of logics. Why do I know that I am not they¡¯re target? That¡¯s because most of the armed guards are always looking up. this meant that they¡¯re target is someone that could attack them from up high like a tree top, just like the snake from the other day.


    I first thought it might be a Shadow Viper but there¡¯s no elf who would fall behind against such opponent, that¡¯s why I was sure that it¡¯s a different monster. For that reason, I was a little concerned about a monster that would require a subjugation team from the elves so I decided to watch them from a distance.


    However, I made a blunder. Probably because I was a little overzealous that I broke Ms. 8¡¯s concentration. I tried to appeal to her with my action while convincing her with my pep talk on my head.


    Sadly, I can¡¯t stay here forever. So, I break my mimicry and cut off my telescopic vision and move further away. This way she won¡¯t be able to hear my footstep and let her concentrate at her job.


    While doing so I noticed something moving at the corner of my eyes but I could make out what it was.


    (Stealth capability same as mine-this is quite alarming)


    No wonder they¡¯re cautious. In addition, it moves so quietly. At least from my spot, I can¡¯t hear a sound. Even Ms. 8 who seem to have auditory ability higher than any of the elves, and so are her companions.


    The mysterious creature slowly creeps toward the elven party. I tried to make out the outline of the monster but it was moving too much and its stealth is perfect. I thought this monster have the same level of mimicry that I have but it seems that I was wrong. It seems like it has higher mimicry ability than me.


    (Looks like they won¡¯t be able to stop the incoming surprise attack.)


    Looking on how the elves behave; I think that there¡¯s already casualty on the elves¡¯ side.


    I tried directing Ms. 8¡¯s attention towards the monster but she failed to noticed it. I don¡¯t know the mysterious creature¡¯s range but I judge that this will definitely cause casualties. I was thinking of notifying them, but it would be more profitable for me to see how these elves would fare in the fight. So, I take a position where I could see them properly and watch what happens. If things go south, I¡¯ll rescue Ms. 8 and let her escape, though I¡¯m sure it would be useless since there¡¯s a lot of armed elves here.


    As expected, the first one to act was the mysterious creature. This made Ms. 8 aware of the monster¡¯s location and naturally sent out a warning. But it was already too late ¨C an armed elf was entangled by something and soared through the air.


    (Heh. I guess it¡¯s something close to that creature huh)


    I don¡¯t have much information about its ecology but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s something resembling that, but I can now guess the mysterious creature¡¯s characteristic and it¡¯s similar to those aquatic creatures. Though I am still not 100% sure if I am correct.


    The elves tried shooting magic and arrows to save their comrade but it they failed on hitting its invisible body. The captured elf then suddenly disappeared ¨C that is, it was eaten by the mysterious creature.


    The elves attack the spot where one of them disappeared but sadly, it didn¡¯t do enough damage and one of them got captured. Then, one of the elves pulled out a sword and slashed it. The other one tried to save the captured elf but was killed after it strangled him causing him to vomit blood. After that the elves get eaten one by one without much of a fight.


    (Huh?! What the heck are you doing?)


    I can¡¯t but become irritated and curse at them. I¡¯ll praise for trying to protect Ms. 8 but their way of fighting is so bad.


    Apparently, it¡¯s highly resistant to magic and the elves only knew how to fight with bows, sword and magic. While I was thinking of that the elves¡¯ number was cut in half. It seems that the monster is the worst enemy of the elves who uses magic mainly and it¡¯s only a matter of time before Ms. 8 gets in to trouble.


    [Seriously? An Imperial soldier coming to the rescue of an elf? How laughable]


    I complained as I move to intercept the mysterious creature.


    With Ms. 8 underwear in full view, I hit the invisible monster and dragged it down from the tree it was perching


    (As expected, it really is a monster)


    The creature showed itself, probably because its mimicry is useless on the opponent that is near it.


    It looks like a mollusk with 8 tentacles ¨C an octopus like monster. The tentacles alone reached 10 meters long and it¡¯s rampaging trying to attack me.


    For some reason Ms. 8 isn¡¯t threatened by it and tried to grabbed it but the slime on its body didn¡¯t allow it. As for me I grabbed it with my claw and bit through it. When it tried to escaped, Ms. 8 who was in the vicinity was thrown away.


    Maybe because she failed to understand the situation, she is in. she tried flailing around but she heading towards me.


    Immediately after that, my consciousness flew to a faraway place.


    It was a pure white space.


    A world of nothingness and in the center of it was me in my human form. Then suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder from behind. When I turned around there stood my father sporting his usual frivolous smile as he looks at me with a serious look.


    He nodded and with a thumbs up and a smile disappears as I tried to reach to him and all was left was the words.


    [That¡¯s great]


    [¡­dad]


    As a soldier of an empire, I can¡¯t help but think that I have might lost my mind, that I am aiding my enemies, the elves. But sadly, the empire had already ceased to exist. Dad might have appeared in front of me to free me from this yoke.


    (B-because, you know this is 8¡­ right?)


    No, perhaps it¡¯s more than that, it might even thread the territory of a 9


    [I should just be honest of myself]


    I turned away from the spot my dad disappears and took forward to save her. I am no longer lost. My consciousness returned and filled with conviction.


    (I feel like a character at some Shonen manga saying <I¡¯m the one who¡¯s going the defeat you!> and then save her)


    I approached the main body of the octopus with a wry smile and look at it objectively. There¡¯s no way I can defeat it if I mainly focus on its tentacles. I then chewed on the flesh that was once part of its leg while being conscious of Ms. 8 who was clinging to my arms. The moment I spit out the slimy part and chew the flesh and swallow it, I was surprised.


    (Wha- that taste good!)


    There some suction cups attached to my body, but it¡¯s no threat to me at all. In fact, it¡¯s unfortunate for it because I have no intention to run away from it. And the more I think about it the more it looks like an ingredient to me.


    (Change of plan, you¡¯re going to be my meal)


    I gently put down Ms. 8 and let her escape. With this I can now put my all in hunting this prey. I am now so excited about this new ingredient in front of me that I already forgotten the armed elves that gathered.


    I don¡¯t even think about what would happen if a greater threat emerged

 CH 49

    I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening. All I know is I can¡¯t stop eating this octopus-shaped monster that is in front of me. If this was a commercial for TV it would be <Can¡¯t stop, won¡¯t stop>. I wonder why this monster just tastes so good! I even swallow the part I wanted to spit earlier.


    The octopus-like monster tried to resist many times, but there¡¯s no way it could match my physical strength, as I pressed it down to the ground and showed on it brutally. I already didn¡¯t care about the elves that are around me and I just focused on devouring it.


    As its last stand, it bit me down only to be met with my fist as I tried to silence it of as I bit one of its remaining tentacles.


    The tentacles were quite closed to the base that it is almost not moving. I tore it off a leaving the last two legs.


    I rain my fist on the octopus, however, the effect was weak and after repeating such meaningless attack for a while now. I wasn¡¯t thinking.


    (Right. I have to concentrate on the fight infront of me)


    It¡¯s a fight or be eaten situation. There¡¯s no need to overthink things. The only thing that I need to do is kill my opponent.


    I wonder how much had passed since then? When I came to my senses, the elves are no where to be seen ans the only thing left is the remains of the octopus. Looking at it, I was surprised of myself.


    (I¡¯m really slimy¡­)


    Well, it¡¯s a given since I bit into a stupidly large octopus.


    For the meantime I head over the river in an unsteady step. Then I washed myself and return back to the place where the remains of the octopus are. I look at  its remain and think


    (To be eat this much¡­)


    I was able to eat such a large octopus. I wonder what¡¯s happening inside my stomach? Was it really so delicious that drove me mad? Or there¡¯s something in it¡¯s meat?


    When I think so, I immediately returned to base. I quickly look for the magical antidote. I feel no abnormality on my body at present and there¡¯s no changes on my physical condition but all I know is that I was acting strange that time.


    (Eating monsters? And it¡¯s raw to boot? It might be possible!)


    (There¡¯s definitely something happening!)


    Alarm bells rang inside my head. And when I was about to reached the base of the cliff I¡¯m suddenly attacked by strong sleepiness.


    (Sleepiness? On this body!?)


    How long has it been since I¡¯ve experience having such unsteady step? While breaking down trees I reached the bottom of the cliff and went to jump to climb up.


    With the last waking moment of my consciousness I went inside the base quickly get the potions from my luggage. With no time to check whatever potion it is I opened it forcefully and drank the contents. Right after I lost consciousness.


    Inside a dark room, a man in a white lab coat with lots of white hair is standing in front of me.


    Intuitively I knew that this was a dream.


    I knew this guy. He was researcher that last spoke to me when I was still human. The old man wearing glasses, with both of his hands behind his waist muttered something with no care of my existence.


    [Hoh. The fact that someone is having this dream means my experiment was a success. Congratulation in your good luck, you survive]


    It seems like a dream. But this is strange to have the person who appeared in your dream to conclude that he is in a dream.


    [I know there¡¯s something you want to ask but unfortunately this is just a recording implanted in your brain hence I have no way to answer you as I can presume that I should be dead by the time you see this]


    As expected of a dream he splendidly made the first move. This leaves me no choice but to just shut up and listen to this mad scientist. I just wish that either Ms. 6 or Ms. 8 appears in this dream along the way.


    [we don¡¯t have much time so let¡¯s get down to business. If you¡¯re watching this it means that you are either in the <Ultimate Life form Project> or the <Genetically Enhanced Soldier Project> or the <Chimera Project> I hope it was the Ultimate Life form Project. Anyway what does it all mean? I want you to see it with your own eyes though it might not be in a tangible form]


    Judging from the Mad Scientist¡¯s story the Octopus monster might be a product of one of these three plans. If it was from the Genetically Enhanced Soldier, that means that I ate former human. This also made me conclude that what ever made me lose my control is something designed by this mad scientist.


    [It would be great if you could understand the content so far¡­ if not the I can¡¯t do anything but just pray to god. Anyway, as promised you have gained new strength and become stronger as an individual.]


    I clenched my fist as listened to this mad man¡¯s story. I know I was in a dream and I know it is useless but honestly, I want to punch his face. He¡¯s the reason I am a monster now that¡¯s why I¡¯m waiting for him to finish hios talk.


    [Ah yes for the purpose. I¡¯ll tell you next time. The technology of today limits the amount of data I can muster in to you. I sincerely hope that we can meet again next time]


    With those last worse he disappeared as if a TV switched was clicked. I clicked my tongue when I was unable to punch him in the face. I might have missed the timing this time but I would surely have at him next time. Not that I want another next time, if I meet him next time is time where I could have possibly eaten another one of us.


    [It strange that with empires scientific capability, they failed to remember it until the next time?]


    While I ask such stupid question, the dark room gradually disappears and my consciousness fades leaving behind dark empty void. It only leave me looking at it because of the unreasonable development that just happened.


    I woke up and look at my hands, and then I perform some body checks to see if something was strange and then start moving to check for discomfort.


    (There¡¯s no problem¡­ since nothing happened to me means that it¡¯s either non-toxic or I was saved by the magic potion)


    I breath a sigh of relief. I was able to stock on it luckily but now it quickly run out, though for the mean time there¡¯s no fret with the stock I currently have. I¡¯m now sure that the blue one is for recovery and the green one is for detoxification.


    [Ga, Haa-]


    I exhaled heavily and sat down on the spot. This place might be cramp but I don¡¯t really have the energy to move. It might be because I exhausted my physical strength.


    Also, I don¡¯t think I need to eat today with the amount I ate earlier, then again how long was I knocked out? The sun appears to be about to set soon.


    (Am I out for a few hours? No, it might also be possible that I was out for the whole day. Then should I eat?)


    I guess I should replenish my water for the time being, that¡¯s why I decided to head to the river. Naturally there¡¯s no one around. Usually I¡¯d wait for the night to come when I go to the river but it seems like I¡¯m a bit restless. I drank water moderately but I have no appetite even after seeing those fishes. Still, just in case, I catch a few of them.


    When I returned to the base, I threw the fish I cut and cleaned to the cooler box and lay down


    (I feel unmotivated today, I guess I¡¯ll just go back to sleep)


    Maybe something would change tomorrow. At least I expect the fatigue to disappear. Then I woke up after I felt like I have forgotten something important.


    (That¡¯s right! Even after the octopus is gone they won¡¯t return to the river because of me. I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t return to the river until they make sure that I¡¯m gone!)


    I¡¯m a monster now. The matter was settled not because I rescued them but because it became a monster battle.


    Rolling in the ground I question myself; what have I done.


    At most the elf surveillance mission might disappear. What should I look forward in my life if that happens?

 CH 50

    Ms. 8¡¯s perspective


    The first word that come to my mouth was <Huh?>.


    It seems like I was chosen as the venerable shrine maiden, but it left me asking why.


    [That f*cking woman¡­]


    I accidentally blurted it out, though I really wanted to say that out.


    That flat-chested woman, Marianne is the one who recommends me to be the shrine maiden is a crazy b*tch who thinks that I stole her lover. The truth is that the guy she called her lover is just an acquaintance and we¡¯re not in a romantic relationship. More so he¡¯s the kind of guy that would look at me with his perverted gaze especially on my breast giving me the creeps.


    I wanted to look at him in contempt if not only because I was asked to entertain him with the premise of marriage in mind, even though I wanted to refuse him with a scream.


    It just made me realize that there are so many idiots in the world, especially this delusional lady that recognized me as a villain that interferes with her love life.


    That¡¯s the reason why she acted and nominate me as the shrine maiden to keep me away from him ¨C kip me from killing her.


    This is my perfect deduction even when people keep telling me that all the nutrition just went to my breast instead. It¡¯s not like it grew to this size because I like it, but for them it seems like a cruel joke.


    [This is why I don¡¯t like being an elven woman]


    I said while holding my knees. Well, it¡¯s happening to not just elven women but also with human woman as well, but I guess this is something like <the grass is greener on the other side> feeling.


    [Hah! I don¡¯t want to go]


    The reality is a shrine maiden is nothing but a sacrifice. Why do they even have to call it the other way around?


    [It¡¯s all that mother*cker¡¯s fault!]


    Just because she was born as the daughter of the chieftain Zesato, that had a uselessly high status, that¡¯s she thinks that she can do whatever she wants!


    Also, this tribe keep boasting that they fought against empire but in reality, all they did was run away, so stop pretending that no elves knew that! Also, that achievement was just stolen from a tribe that perish fighting the empire. The only reason that Zesato is at its current position is die to good use of politics and schemes.


    [Don¡¯t worry, someday you would be rewarded.]


    He said, but admit it, you¡¯re afraid and want to secure your own safety.


    A natural enemy of the elves suddenly appears, ten years ago ¨C and we called it the <Forest Nightmare>. The monster has killed 100 elves or maybe eaten by it, and many times they attempted to subjugate it only for them to become the sacrifice.


    And then a year ago Master Swordsman Shuvard finally made a move. He was able to inflict serious injuries to the nightmare it come to a cost of a serious injuries on him as well. Since then everyone thought that the nightmare had died.


    Suddenly, one day it once again showed itself in front of us. Unfortunately, Shuvard-sama, who was in his advance age didn¡¯t recover from his previous injuries because of magic potions not working on him, probably due to his age and abused body.


    In times like this the shrine maiden is needed. A sacrifice meant to be fed to the nightmare as far away as possible from the village ¨C that is the true purpose of a shrine maiden.


    It seems like this was performed several times in the past but it¡¯s hard to stop as it¡¯s a sure-fire way to pull away the nightmare from the village. They would, on the surface, make it look like I am the trump card against the nightmare.


    They sealed my eyes to enhance my senses to counter-act against it¡¯s <Stealth>. At first I was skeptical if this would work but after a few months I felt that it was effective. I want to apologize to the person who I thought is a madman for devising such training.


    Anyway, the subjugation plan was concluded without my input, even when I was deeply wishing for them to die now. Though I won¡¯t do it.


    The time of my <execution> called departure had finally arrived.


    I tried to roll up my clothes now, so please look over here.


    Can I run now? That¡¯s no good?


    I tried to trick them but I guess it¡¯s impossible. These guys think that they can defeat nightmare. Damn they really choose idiots that you can throw away. I have no choice but to leave everything in the hands of miracles.


    That¡¯s why I prayed to god for a miracle to happen.


    This should help, I hope this help, I want help. Please, somebody, help me.


    Those men who keeps staring at my breast everyday should step up now in this situation.


    [It¡¯s okay, I can do this. I¡¯m someone who can do it when I want to.]


    Now we crossed the Deadline River successfully and I¡¯m hearing my heart beating loudly that I could clearly hearing something is wrong. I look at the direction reflexively, but there¡¯s nothing there.


    I thought the nightmare had already appeared, but it seems like it was different. It seems that I caught other beast¡¯s movement. It¡¯s possible that I gained the ability to grasp the movements of animals.


    Everyone became wary of my actions but nothing happened. Fortunately, the beast isn¡¯t moving from its position but instead was doing some rhythmic noises. When I reported it one of my guards sighed.


    [Shrine maiden, please be serious]


    Eh? Why are you angry?


    After that the source of the rhythmic noises followed us but kept its distance. I wonder if it was observing me?


    Even if I was reporting seriously, I¡¯m still getting scolded. Please listen to people!


    When I pretend to be timid, the sound finally stopped. Is this the doing of that f*cking woman? Are you really going to go that far, huh?


    It¡¯s annoying but I can¡¯t  afford to be distracted now. Tomorrow won¡¯t come for me if I failed to detect that nightmare.


    After listening for a while, I felt a sense of incongruity. It¡¯s far too quiet.


    When I was about to report that I heard a sound from above us making me instinctively shout


    [NIGHTMARE!]


    However, one of the members of the subjugation group suddenly dangle up above and it¡¯s upper body suddenly disappear and the sounds of crunching and chewing came to my ears.


    Everyone around me started attacking, but I could see that it wasn¡¯t doing anything. There are few that was calm because they can use magic but they knew it was useless.


    In the end I just stood there watching those around me die, and finally it came for me.


    [Anything is fine, anyone please help me! I¡¯ll do anything if you help me!]


    My small cry was drowned by sounds of battle and roars and there¡¯s nothing I can do except to pray.


    If that¡¯s not enough then I¡¯m willing to be your wife. My appearance as an elf is decent and I am confident with my breast. I mean it¡¯s not easy to find an elf that have bigger breast than me! I may look like this but I¡¯m homely too.


    Okay sorry for lying, I admit, I can¡¯t cook!


    One after another the rest of the unit was killed and eaten and my sensitive ears can hear the munching sounds. It clearly was the worst.


    I just really want to eat and sleep all day long! I want to live my life with no hunting working or doing the house work! Just living in peace is enough!


    Fine, I got it! Help me and I would be your wife! I swear to god, so please help me!


    In vain the tentacles of the nightmare wrap around my ankles.


    [Oh no!]


    Right after I screamed ¨C  something hit the nightmare. It was scary that I was tossed around while dangling mid-air. I don¡¯t know what happened, but all I knew is something did something. Please if you have a plan, please tell it to me before hand!


    Regardless, good thing I haven¡¯t peed my pants yet!


    Just like they said it¡¯s beast to keep oneself hydrated!


    For the time being, someone from the subjugation unit, please help me, quickly! You won¡¯t be able to chase it down without me, right?


    I hope someone would catch me. I¡¯ll even forgive you if you touch me somewhere so please catch me properly okay?


    No, it¡¯s not the time to joke around!


    I spread my arms and tried to catch something and I hit something. I clung to something as thick as a log.


    [Finally, I¡¯m saved!]


    We¡¯re far from saved, but for someone who¡¯s doing her best. It¡¯s fine.


    Ah you¡¯re quite the lucky one aren¡¯t you? As an advance payment I pressed my chest firmly, but ¨C isn¡¯t this guy too big? Well, it can be his armor ¨C right? Well with this stiff body, paying him in advance would be a waste.


    Something lift me up as I cling desperately. At first, I tried to resist but he grabbed me surprisingly gently, so when I let get gently put me on the ground.


    Thank you, thank you very much. If you defeat the nightmare, I¡¯ll whisper words of love to your ears while pressing my breast firmly as I can. For the time being I ran at direction to where our subjugation unit came from. It seems that the one who saved me is keeping the nightmare at preoccupied.


    (I see, it looks like a large magic armor!)


    Even so, isn¡¯t your breathing kind of rough? Honestly, I can¡¯t give up to such wonderful characteristic ¨C rather letting go of a strong and wonderful person because it doesn¡¯t have any drawback!


    I tried to see my future husband when I took up distance while fantasizing but the blindfold is getting in my way! Enough with this Shrine maiden b*llshit, I want to see him!


    So I removed my blindfold only to find a monster different from the nightmare in front of me. He was obsessively eating the nightmare.


    I was so surprise that I fell backward.

 CH 51

    Einhel Republic ¨C an exclusive elven nation formed by gathering multiple elven <Warrior> tribes though in reality was different from what it looks like.


    There¡¯s a village carved out of the forest and the only trees that grown there are trees selected by the inhabitants.


    [We live together with the forest but we don¡¯t say that we won¡¯t do anything to the forest]


    Is what they say.


    Nature is very harsh and the elves knows it. It¡¯s impossible to live with it if you didn¡¯t change some of it for their own convenience.


    Elves mostly calls themselves <The Managers of the Forest> which is why most humans mistaken them to be <The Guardian of Nature>


    As a republic, Einhel has no royalty. Its policy is determined by a group of representatives of various clans called the <Council of Sages>. Today, they are holding a meeting, discussing about the re-appearance of the nightmare and how to deal with it.


    It has been 10 years since the monster appeared and the elves still hasn¡¯t found a way to deal with it.


    [Hmmm¡­ currently there are 12 victims already]


    [are you sure you didn¡¯t miss a digit?]


    [Osba, what are you talking about? There are 1,031 victims already!]


    The old man named Osba tilted his head


    [Is that so?]


    There are 24 representatives that gathered inside the room. Half of them look old and it shows that they lived more than 300 years. They are here because of their <wisdom> as <those who have lived a long life> but because they lived for too long, the meeting always goes so badly


    [Old man Odell, there¡¯s 1,013 of us]


    [You got it all wrong]


    Old man Odell chuckled lightly


    [Old man Zevis, this isn¡¯t a laughing matter! I want to know the exact number!]


    One of the representatives whose appearance haven¡¯t faded yet rebuked the three old men but they only stick out their tongue and reply with:


    [Ah! I got scolded]


    [But isn¡¯t this a good time to increase our numbers again, wouldn¡¯t it?]


    [Yeah, that¡¯s right! Ah right¡­ you should urge your daughter to show you your grandchildren as soon as possible]


    [I don¡¯t have a daughter old man Osba]


    [I guess, your better start making one]


    With Osba¡¯s word, Odell and Zevis cheered.


    [That¡¯s right! That¡¯s right!]


    [Our population had declined. It¡¯s the job of the young ones to procreate and birth children]


    The three old men nodded in agreement. But he who was young and already has a son can only grumble in silence


    [We should encourage child bearing]


    The old man went as the meeting that would decide their future went on.


    [Now then let¡¯s get back to the story]


    The faces of the three old men crumpled as one old woman urged to return to topic.


    [Our current problem is the existence of the nightmare. Unless we do something about it, our sphere of influence will remain threatened. Does anybody here have a good idea?]


    [What the status of Shuvard-sama, Maynus-san. Is his recovery going well?]


    [Are we still going to rely on that old man late into this stage?]


    The old woman named Maynus lamented with a disgusted voice. She wants the younger generation to do their best, unfortunately they are all chicks who haven¡¯t had any experience in war and is very unreliable.


    She wants someone to show leadership and do something about this situation where old people like her are put in charge for forever. Sadly, she can¡¯t find anyone who would fit the bill.


    [The only one who can only fight against that thing is Shuvard-sama]


    [Unfortunately, we can no longer rely on him]


    The young man was at a loss for word at Maynus¡¯s response. Maynus sighs that no one was able to come up with a plan but suddenly someone raised their hand.


    [I¡¯ve prepared a shrine maiden, so we still have some time]


    [Cassial, you appointed another shrine maiden?]


    [Yes, my daughter found a gifted one.]


    Cassial¡¯s word were met with Maynus¡¯s  word and said


    [A shrine maiden has no talent]


    She welcomes those who wants to give their suggestion but she detest those who speak out of their selfishness and to take the power themselves.


    History once proved that monarchy is a dangerous matter for the elves. Many elves agree with it too and Maynus is one of them. That¡¯s why in her view, the rise of Sezetian warriors is not a good thing.


    [We still got time. We can still plan our countermeasure against the nightmare]


    The two representatives from the corner of Sezato, stared at each other then one of them said their opinion to change the atmosphere of the room. This triggers a flow of opinion ranging from terrible ideas, delusional plans, up to just plain unrealistic suggestions.


    This case just shows the difference in elves¡¯ way of perceiving time. They still consider it as <just 10 years> instead of <already been 10 years> that the night mare appeared.


    [How about making a Ballista just like the humans?]


    [How can that barbaric thing be useful!]


    [What about smashing it against a rock?]


    [I¡¯d rather find a way to put an arrow on it]


    [Let¡¯s set up a trap]


    [Do you know how many times that has failed already?]


    Maynus let out a sigh at the usual exchange. Just as she was about to give up and call the meeting off the conference room¡¯s door was violently knocked by someone.


    [You can enter the room]


    Odell said.


    The other¡¯s around him condemned the action of the man who knocked with their gazes but it seems that it just because their blood rushed to their head with those silly discussion, that they failed to remind themselves that such disrespect is tolerable especially if it¡¯s an urgent matter.


    [Excuse me!]


    The young man, who was out of breath said as he enters the hall.


    The silent pressure the emanates from the representative as if saying to quickly state his business as he handed a letter to old man Zevis.


    [It¡¯s an urgent message from Rikor village! The nightmare had been slain!]


    The word of the messenger had caused a stir in the room.


    [How the hell was it defeated?!!]


    Few people from the representative vigorously approached the messenger. Unfortunately, he has on information of what happened.


    [Fumu, so the nightmare had been devoured by another monster?]


    Zevis who was reading the letter announced the content of the letter.


    [Eaten?! Did you say it was eaten?]


    One of the representatives who grabbed the messenger asked Zevis.


    [That was what the report said]


    The representative checked the letter and confirmed that it was written as such.


    [Maybe the content is wrong?]


    [I hope they are not lying¡­]


    The members show their skepticism toward the content of the report


    [I want more in formation. Who sent this?]


    [No rather, a new threat had emerged¡­]


    The chaotic room suddenly fell into silence after a single clap. They¡¯re mouth shuts and their gaze focus to Maynus Koerner and began to speak.


    [First, we need to confirm the truth]


    [We shall first call the one who wrote this letter and ask him for the details. If there are witnesses on the incident or those who had seen the monster, we shall inquest them as well. It would be good to hear and to find out more about the monster]


    No one tried to object on her opinion and the matter was carried out in accordance to Maynus¡¯ proposal.


    In this way the elves become aware of the monsters from the <Genetically Enhanced Soldier> Project of the old Fleuretus Empire that is now residing in now what¡¯s called the Fleuretus Great Forest.


    Although they recognized it as a new threat, none assumed that it will be more than their natural enemy the Nightmare and most of the people here are optimistic.


    [There¡¯s no problem as long as magic is effective]


    And because of such ideas, they would be in a big trouble because of such a big mistake.

 CH 52

    The next morning, I woke up feeling better, but my mood is still in the dump. I feel a little lethargic, perhaps because of too much sleep, but I think of as just my imagination.


    Luckily, my appetite is now back and I have now the desire to eat the fish that I caught, though it¡¯s not enough to fill me.


    I guess, I have no choice but to go out and catch some fish.


    (Even though my appetite is back, I feel like having meat is a bit too heavy for now. That¡¯s why fish is what I want to have, though going to the river early morning is quite¡­)


    After thinking about it, I crawled out from my base and check the river to check if there was anyone there. As expected, there was no sign of the elves when I arrived at the river. There¡¯s no smell, sign nor sound of them. This is kind of making me sad, although I can fish as many as I want.


    After I caught enough fish, I returned to my base and grilled it with salt. I enjoyed the dish though it felt that it failed to satisfy my food cravings.


    After the meal I decided to go heat to the shopping mall for the umpteenth time in order to gain ¡°knowledge¡± and the means for that.


    I quickly finish my chores and pack up a small package and set off.


    The travel was surprisingly uneventful and navigating become easier with the discovery of the train tracks and the lack of tree that¡¯s getting in my way.


    I arrived at the shopping mall in Eirkeil late today, so I leave my luggage at my usual sleeping quarters and head to town to secure dinner while taking things that I would need.


    The dinner and clean up went well, and as lie to bead I thought on how well I¡¯ve already adapted. Th quality of bed is as good as the one I got for the main base due to the supplies for it being abundant around.


    I don¡¯t feel sleepy for now but working while dark is time-consuming so I¡¯ll just wake up early to go do some work.


    By the next morning, even though it is still dim. I ate some leftover meat from last night for breakfast and then checked the bookstore. Unfortunately, the bookstore was smaller than I expected making it hard for me to enter as my huge body doesn¡¯t fit in it. I guess I¡¯ll try entering if horizontally.


    Once I entered the bookstore successfully, I began to collect as many books as I can.


    One hour later, I noticed that a large number of erotic books was scattered around me and no I didn¡¯t do anything because my


    is still missing,


    But honestly, this bookstore has a high amount of erotic books had made me do this.


    Two more hours have passed when I finished sorting through the books and returned ti my quarter with seven books to be the first and then put them in my backpack.


    (Bookstore are great but a library is fine too)


    Since what I wat is <knowledge> the latter would be a perfect candidate to look on to. The library here may not be as big as the one in imperial capital but it¡¯s size would allow me to move a round to some extent. This would make it so that I can find the book I¡¯m looking for easier. This is the reason I ignored the on the mall and went to the library and the bookstore outside.


    I quickly found a bookstore in the main street but it seems that it was vandalized by other creatures and the state of the books are the worst.


    (What a mess)


    As I was about to move elsewhere, something caught my attention. And when I checked it became clear to me that my conjecture isn¡¯t mistaken.


    (¡­ footprints. They¡¯re resemble that of a human shoe. And judging by the dust, they aren¡¯t that old yet.)


    It¡¯s useless to know where they come from, the issue here is that they come here. It seems like someone is taking things here.


    Until recently, no one was here so I can just take whatever I want, but that¡¯s not the case now. Honestly, it became troublesome as only those who belong to the empire is the only one who can understand the true value of the things left here. Also, it¡¯s not hard to imagine what kind of people are coming to this place.


    (This place is relatively close to the border. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t expect this to happen but ¡­.)


    This makes these books all the more important


    As an imperialist, I believe knowledge is power. I can¡¯t leave it alone and let it be ravaged by those savages. That¡¯s why I should protect those which are useful at a glance.


    In other words, the first thing that would fit the bill are the erotic books. These people can¡¯t definitely read the imperial language that¡¯s why their attention would definitely be on the erotic books!


    It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll bring them back with me because I wanted to okay! I¡¯m just protecting them!


    And with that logic, I know have the excuse to bring it back with me. But what had already happened couldn¡¯t be helped. As such, I would strive to bring as many of them back to base¡­


    {T/N this is just a fight between a man¡¯s will and temptation}


    (Don¡¯t lose focus, it¡¯s not what you need right now)


    We can still get them from other city, my priority right now is to get the tools that I need. If I need do other things then I could do that after.


    I took a deep breath, calm down and check the inside of the bookstore just to be sure. Apparently, the person who broke in here is scavenging through the books here.


    (Do they think that they are they excavating some ancient ruins here?)


    Certainly, a bookstore filled with imperial knowledge is no less than a crystallization of knowledge and wisdom for other countries. I don¡¯t know if they can read it but 200 years is enough to call the perished imperial civilization an ancient one.  So I guess those who are going here are either archeologist or a treasure hunters.


    I want to put aside my feelings that I might have been fun because, honestly, I¡¯m quite jealous at their way of life. I mean that¡¯s my top profession that I wanted to be when I was a child.


    However, there¡¯s no way for me to say it especially to the people who aren¡¯t even in here.


    Also, I have no way to know what books had already been taken and I can¡¯t do anything about it. It¡¯s infuriating to see that the legacy of the empire be taken by unrelated people but there¡¯s no way for me to stop it. I best I can do is to take it since the early bird takes the worm.


    The only think I can do is chase them out once I find them near here. It might not be able to solve the problem completely but at least it would give me time to take as much as I can.


    If I ever decided to slaughter them there¡¯s a chance that an army will be on my ass not to mention, what would they do to this city once they enter this.


    It¡¯s not easy dealing with these barbarians. Yeah right, that¡¯s rich coming from a butt-naked monster.


    After my monologue, I resumed my search. Unfortunately, I sense nothing in the surrounding. It¡¯s more productive to focus on searching what I need.


    As I was searching while thinking about senseless things, I saw large amounts of book inside a collapsed structured. I approached it thinking that it might be the library. I went inside.


    (I can¡¯t say that the condition inside is good)


    The good thing is that the I can properly see what books are on the shelves and their genre. This would save me a lot of time searching, that¡¯s why I decided to do the search carefully and meticulously.


    I found the book about home made seasonings on the cooking shelf, they¡¯re still in a good condition and still readable. Then I secure two more books and then three more books. Though some of them are in a very bad condition already.


    The world isn¡¯t really fair. Most of the book I really wanted to read are those whose condition are bad. Especially the book <Miso Making for Beginners>. I want miso, but I guess I have to look on other books for it.


    I kept searching till the sun was about to set and I ended up returning to my quarter with 25 books in tow, all of it are about seasonings. Also, I read a bit of them slightly and did roam the mall to look for necessary equipment.


    When I finished sorting everything, I looked at the pile I was about to take home and thought that I did it again.


    I encourage myself to learn and I looked at the books where I sorted it again to things that I need and things that I probably don¡¯t need


    (I need this one, and this one¡­ this¡­ I don¡¯t seem to have all of the ingredients. Do you even need this much fruit to make this sauce?)


    I¡¯m getting dizzy with the number of materials needed. In addition, my lack of knowledge makes me want to cry.


    I realized that making condiments takes a lot of time and effort that I thought ad even if do the less time-consuming ones, the ingredients are more or less not available that¡¯s why I ended up giving up on most of them.


    (If the Imperial farm are still fine then, I¡¯d want to go¡­ but I don¡¯t think it would still be there. There¡¯s no way that those two countries won¡¯t pillage the Empire.)


    Well, I decided if I can¡¯t go anywhere else then I¡¯ll head to those places.


    Leon and Haile were countries who are waging wars against the Empire for land. When the elves entered the wad with their forces concentrated in the west, these two countries invaded with no declaration of war and ravages several town.


    Naturally, they paid the price but that didn¡¯t stop them. Those two countries are labeled by the Empire as untrustworthy barbarian nations.


    They are called as such due to them taking hostages and using them as comfort [1] once they are of no use.


    They surrendered to the Empire after just three months after the counter-attack. However, once they noticed that the situation on the empire deteriorated, they attacked again ignoring the armistice. They went on to massacre the citizens who are rebuilding the town and used the survivors as hostages. I can¡¯t really think of anything but to call them barbarians.


    I don¡¯t even have to tell you what would those two would do when the empire fell.


    I know that sooner or later, time will come for me to go south, even though I know that that place isn¡¯t safe. But for now, I¡¯m not yet being hunted by humanity so it¡¯s fine to put it on hold for now.


    By the way, sorting out is now done and my luggage is full. I¡¯m in a state where I have my backpack on my back and two bags on my arms and one hanging on my neck. It seems that I went a bit greedy, but it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t move.


    I returned to based thinking that everything is fine but in the end, it proved difficult and ended up taking a lot more time going home more than expected.


    Next time let¡¯s be careful


    ============================================================


    War timeline of Haile and Leob.


    Empire-Canaan war: both abstained to go to war


    Seizelia and Emmeriade joined the war: Both prepared for war.


    Then both enter the war without declaration.


    Both surrendered when the Empire counter attacked.


    Once the tide of war changes they once again re invaded breaking the armistice.


    Haile and Seizeria both declared war.


    War deteriorates: Emmeriade broke through the western front. Haile was saved by Seizelia and joined by Leob.

 CH 53

    After returning to base and unpacking my luggage, I went on organizing stuff. It¡¯s good that I brought back large number of books and utensil for making seasonings, bit I think I brought too much. And since they wouldn¡¯t see immediate use yet, I had to store it somewhere else for the meantime. That¡¯s why in order to make room, I¡¯m arranging a room in the basement of the facility.


    The only problem is that I¡¯m too big.


    The facility is designed for human sized use that¡¯s why it¡¯s inconvenient for the current me who have a gigantic body. As a result, I ended up using a lot of time just to organize. Well, it was satisfying after it was over. The books are all now placed in a bookshelf along with the secret data disk that I hid.


    Then I picked up one of the books and flipped through the pages. The colors have already fade but I can still make out the shape and details of the plants. It used to be hard to flip through the pages but now I can do it easily without ripping of a page.


    Suddenly, I stopped. The contents of the book aren¡¯t entering my head. I¡¯m distracted by something aside from the knowledge that is in front of me,


    (It¡¯s not just my imagination isn¡¯t it)


    The strange feel ¨C the one I had ever since I lost consciousness and woke up that day where I thought it might have been just due to the effect of the poison or mental stress. However, despite being in a condition that I could say barely perfect condition, I was able to move as usual but now I am now feeling that all my movement are now more nimble.


    (Don¡¯t tell me that poison from the octopus was more powerful than I thought and I powered up after overcoming it? I have read a lot of manga about overcoming such crisis ending up dramatically increasing one¡¯s ability but I never thought that it would happen to me)


    With such a high-spec body wouldn¡¯t I be the most powerful being in existence? But this only made me ask the limit of the Empire¡¯s technology.


    (it¡¯s frightening, I wonder I fi was able to be deployed on the battle field I wonder if the ultimate weapon wouldn¡¯t have been used.)


    It seems that there are other genetically enhanced soldier just like me exist, but it¡¯s possible that they were frozen due to some issue. Like that spider who has ill taste that would cost such rejection even if he was an imperial soldier. Imagine that guy running amok in the battlefield, I¡¯m sure the imperial government wouldn¡¯t allow such folly.


    (Finally, I¡¯m entering the elven territory)


    The idea of <since they won¡¯t come to the river, then I¡¯ll be the one coming over> won in my head.


    This would be a dangerous mission, unlike in Canaan, I would be up against elves that can fire powerful magic. My plan is to scout first and get information then once I got sufficient information, I would increase the scope of my action.


    I close the book in my hand that has the image of a girl that closely resembles Ms. 6 and put it back on the shelf.


    Reconnaissance would be done on night that¡¯s why I still have some time too just read and chill.


    (If possible¡­ No¡­ I shouldn¡¯t let myself be seen. That way the elves would let their guard down.)


    Before I hunt for dinner, I decided to take a glimpse of the river and as expected there¡¯s no elves there. So I went back to hunting quietly and caught some boar while beating monster along the way.


    After preparing the meat and throwing it in the cooler I returned back to reading.


    (Books about edible wild plant, wild vegetable and mushrooms are good. The more ingredient¡¯s I know the more repertoire I can have. Tomorrow, I guess, it might be a good idea to bring it along the forest.)


    If I can find foodstuff around the base I can have them regularly, it¡¯ll help a lot in enriching my diet in the future. Though the problem here is that I don¡¯t really like mushroom and wild vegetables but I have to let go of those dislike as securing those ingredients are my top priority. I just pray that my taste bud have changed since I changed to this form.


    Time went by and the time to go had arrive. I put the book back at the shelve respectively. The sun starts to set so  decided to have dinner although it¡¯s a bit early. My stock   of vegetable is dwindling steadily and I have to go back to get some along with some spice soon.


    After cleaning up, I quickly set out and by the time I reached the river, it¡¯s already dark and quiet.


    (I don¡¯t sense anything¡­ I don¡¯t hear anything nor smell anything)


    Unless, they¡¯re underwater, there¡¯s no way that I should miss them.


    (Using my stealth ability in this forest¡­ I wonder if they can break it. Then again there¡¯s Ms. 8)


    I sighed confidently till I remembered the girl Ms. 8 who was blindfolded and had excellent hearing.


    Once I stepped into the woods beyond the river something caught my attention. It seems that the ecosystem change from this point onwards. I start seeing plants that I had not seen growing around the temporary base and some of them are written in the book about edible wild plants that I read earlier this afternoon.


    (Whoops! I almost forgot my purpose here)


    I walked around carefully not to make any noise or break any tree but because of this huge body it was difficult to do so. The elves with their familiarity with the forest might have already knew I was here due to the broken branches that I made since my impressions of them is that of the <Forest people>


    Well it seems that everything is going well, but it¡¯s also disappointing that there¡¯s no change at all. Well it¡¯s understandable because I scouted expecting something to see.


    Even though it¡¯s risky I decided to head to the place where I predicted the village would be based on my previous surveys.


    I found it even though I was slightly off my estimate- well, honestly it was further than I expected.


    I believe it was what I was looking for based on the appearance alone. A place surrounded with wooden structure with white glowing orbs around it.


    I tried snooping in using my heightened sense but it was useless as I could only hear faint voices whose word I can¡¯t understand. Though I noticed that there are few armed elves on patrol so I believe that they aren¡¯t alarmed at the moment.


    (Well, it¡¯s not impossible that they think that their defense is enough. Anyway, it¡¯s worth the trip so I need to bail out now before they see me. After that I have to think what should I do tonight after this)


    I am able to get some good information though I wish I was able to get some geographical information as well. I want to find where are the other elven settlement are and also now where the water source is.


    I used my Mimicry and left. I find no elves patrolling so I started moving out. Once I reached the river, I released the skill. It seems like the tie of use of the mimicry extended quite a bit since I was able to return with it still active. I was expecting for it to release itself before I arrive at the river.


    After waiting for a while to recover, let¡¯s change the target location and enter the forest again. I want to uncover the elven position even by little by little, eve if by small increment it would eventually bear fruit and benefit me in the near future.

 CH 54

    I headed out for our second reconnaissance of the day. There¡¯s still time before dawn that¡¯s why I decided to do another scouting.


    I entered the forest from a different direction. I used the south entrance, specifically, the area where I found Ms. 8.


    She might think that I¡¯m attacking since normally she still asleep by this time. However, since she was in a predicament it¡¯s not bad to find her as soon as possible. That¡¯s why I went to use the south entrance.


    However due to the ravines and Rocky Mountains on the south side, I doubt there¡¯ll be any elves present there, that¡¯s why I don¡¯t see the reason to go deep there.


    (From here on out, I need to be more careful)


    Once inside the forest I use <Mimicry> to blend into the surrounding. After 2o minutes, a bluish white light spread throughout my vision.


    In front of me is a village that is heavily guarded. The atmosphere around is very tense. I knew it since the incident is near here, I knew they¡¯ll be in high alert.


    I disengage my telescopic vision skill and turned back. Since this is only the first day I don¡¯t want to be discovered. Knowing where their village is, is enough for now. My opponents are highly skilled elves, I don¡¯t want to risk anything yet is I would need to pull back.


    Once I returned to my base, I write the location of the village before I forgot it.


    The next morning, after waking up from a few hours of sleep, I made a quick hunt and then looked at the map where I wrote the location of the elves while feasting on the meat, I roasted on a long iron spit.


    I traced the route with my finger while wondering if I should go back and forth between these two villages for now.


    (Hmmm¡­ Should I avoid this part of the village? If I do, I¡¯ll have to go around the way further to the south. This will be a long detour though)


    In conclusion, I should go around the northern village, find a water source and find a spot that I can use as a surveillance base.


    I check the map once again, according to it there should be a village up north but I¡¯m not sure if it still exists there. I can¡¯t be over confident. The fact that the village I discovered wasn¡¯t on the map means that there¡¯s some changes that might have happen and changes might have also happened to the terrain as well.


    For now, let¡¯s say that the northern village still exist, but why is it that there¡¯s no information about any water source in there?


    It would have been easier if a small river or pond had been listed on the map. Did the empire failed to penetrate that far?


    Was it because they went on the defensive? The empire was attacked at multiple fronts that¡¯s why any survey on enemy ground might have been halted and this map is only result.


    After my meal I store the map away to its new place, to the room with bookshelf it will go.


    Now that I have free time, I started reading. The contents of <Edible Wild Plants> is still far from being familiarized. It would be nice if I can bring this book as I explore since If I don¡¯t remember most of the information in this book and it¡¯s a hassle to return here every time I see an unfamiliar plants.


    I know I have plenty of time, but I don¡¯t want to waste it uselessly.


    I want to acquire the necessary information or at least the minimum knowledge. Unfortunately, I found myself reading another book. Reading about wild plants and flowers doesn¡¯t really interest me.


    So now I switched in to reading some cookbook.


    It¡¯s more of browsing than reading though. I folded the edges of the recipe which ingredients I can quickly gather but if I saw a dish that looks so delicious, I can¡¯t help myself but to stare at it.


    However, I don¡¯t feel like making anything from this cook book.


    It¡¯s true that I have the necessary ingredient, but this <Salted Rice in Salted Pot> cooking is definitely going to use a lot of salt. I don¡¯t have that much salt.


    In the end I only folded five pages in this book.


    I who is a citizen of the empire is in awe with the richness of my country which was proven by a single cookbook. Even with just five ingredients, I believe that I wouldn¡¯t be able to recreate the dish even if I try.


    Time pass by as I keep reading.


    I left my base as the sun was about to set to get some dinner. I¡¯m currently craving for fish.


    (Well, it¡¯s great that no one is coming)


    As soon as ii arrived at the river, I¡¯ve checked for sign of any people around me¡­ and found nothing.


    I quickly secure some fishes. Usually, some other animal would pick the fishes that would jump out of the basket but today, there¡¯s seems to be no animals here.


    I caught 12 fishes, both large and small. With the help of my machete, I prepared the fish then store them on the cooler box and at that moment I felt something strange. I stopped and looked around but I see nothing strange.


    But there¡¯s something wrong, I can feel it.


    I can see nothing strange noir smell anything out of place. I can¡¯t even hear anything


    (I don¡¯t know¡­ but I knew there¡¯s something wrong going on)


    I raise guard, stopped cleaning the rest of the fishes and look around. There¡¯s still nothing, but the feeling of discomfort is getting worse.


    (I need to get the hell out of here)


    I put my hand on my cooler box and was about to leave when¡­


    [¨C!]


    Suddenly, an elf with a cane appeared on the other side of the river. She looked like a 40 something years old woman. I assumed that she¡¯s an old one but her sudden appearance caught me by surprise especially since she wasn¡¯t supposed to be there.


    I reflexively guard my face in anticipation of an attack but nothing happened. Cautiously, I lowered my arms and see her grinning. It seems like she wants to die.


    Only children and woman are allowed to make a prank like this.


    [¨C!]


    The old lady shout but not towards me of course. I don¡¯t know how the hell are they able to hide from me but as long as your attack won¡¯t work I can prepare against it.


    With that in mind, I tried walking forward but for some reason my legs are moving. No matter how much force I out on it, it wouldn¡¯t move. No, not just my legs, my fingers as well, I can¡¯t seem to lift it.


    (it¡¯s not an attack but rather a spell that blocks movement?!)


    Magic can really do anything!


    I¡¯ve become very impatient especially when I noticed that I couldn¡¯t even speak. I tried looking around to see what I can do but even that is becoming difficult to do.


    I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening. It was as if there¡¯s a fog in my head and I couldn¡¯t think straight.


    (Every time that old hag said something¡­.)


    When she signals to me to come over, my body moves to go to her.


    I can¡¯t think straight.


    I reached the other side and stand beside the old hag


    She screamed in delight.


    (Why am I so happy to see her? She¡¯s not some big breasted beautiful elf!)


    In my fading consciousness this is my firm last protest.


    When my consciousness return, I found myself inside the elves¡¯ village surrounded by elves as I stood there blankly.


    (Better not move, well can my body even move?)


    I tried to check and it does move. My eyes are working fine now and I can see everything around me but I still have no idea what¡¯s going on.


    (I¡¯m not sure, what kind of magic brought me here? Are they thinking to thank me for saving Ms. 8?)


    If that was the case, there¡¯s no need to use magic on me. I frantically scan my surrounding and I find the old hag


    [You¡¯re finally here. You took your time¡­]


    [We have our own convenience. We cannot just come to you just because you told us to.]


    Another elf answered who seems to comes out of nowhere, with an annoyed look on his face


    (Are?)


    [Convenience? Does it precedence over the case of the monster who preys on the forest night mare?]


    The old hag laughs disgustingly, but I understand what she was saying. It seems that with her magic I was able to understand their language now.


    I¡¯ll correct how I call you now and I will call you old lady. If you give me more privileges then I would call you one-san though as it stands you can only go up till okaa-chan.


    [Kirisha-joshi. I respect your enthusiasm and desire to do research, but a taboo is a taboo in the end]


    [Huh?! What¡¯s the taboo did I commit? Without my research, where do you think would this village end up to? This monster eats the nightmare, if it decides to attack the village how many people do you think would die?]


    It seems that this old lady is incapacitating me using her powerful forbidden magic. Honestly though who would have thought that eating that octopus monster or whatever it is would land me into infamy and be seen as a threat?


    The reason that they went and use a taboo to contain me is because they knew exactly what kind of threat I am. I wonder, do they know that I was coming?


    Could I ask about it later? I felt sorry for the lack of urgency because I know understand their language, because with just learning their language, I can learn a lot of things about them.


    It also seems to me that my freedom had returned to but I can¡¯t make a move for now since my priority is to get as many information that I can.


    [You can¡¯t tell? All the men here would be killed. The women and children will be eaten. He¡¯s the kind of monster that can eat a lot. He can fit them all inside his stomach!]


    Uh sorry but I¡¯m not a food fighter though I do admit I¡¯m a big eater. I protest in my heart even though I knew I was a big eater. It¡¯s because of my size, okay?


    Well, honestly, I was thinking of offering you my service of defending the village as payment for letting me understand the language but it seems that it would leave a bad impression to them.


    [I want you to think about your action]


    Said the man who was quite astonished


    [The fact that you revived and use the forbidden magic <Dominance> which was for whatever reason sealed is the problem!]


    (Err¡­ domination?)


    I take my respect back you old bitch.

 CH 55

    I almost reached for the old¡¯s hag neck and snap it after learning that she casted unto me a very dangerous sounding spell called <Dominance> but I was able to stop myself. After all it has another effect of being able to understand elvish language now. It¡¯s probably just a side effect but I do not know if killing her would make it disappear that¡¯s why it¡¯s too early to kill her just yet.


    The advantage of understanding them is great that this inconvenience it brings was outweighed.


    (Don¡¯t forget though, you¡¯re just a fucking old hag.)


    If only she was a beautiful woman who was a bit sloppy and a little bit disappointing lady that when she gave me an order, she would think that my pranks are misfires cause by that order and also if every day she would show me her naked body, then we could have a long-time relationship. Too bad though she is just an old hug. Why is reality so cruel?


    Currently, I¡¯m quietly listening to the bickering of the old hag and the elf who looks like a big shot. To summarize everything: she revived an old forbidden spell and use it to save the village and that her action is justified by her reasons while the big shot believe that her action disturb the order of the elven community and she is to be persecuted by the law of the village.


    [Knowledge is power and power is only valuable to the person who wield it properly. I can bring forth the true value of this forbidden arts and it is foolish to let it be forgotten when it is time for it to be used. You can discuss it at the Sage¡¯s council how many times you want but with your wisdom and intellect, your nothing short of an inferior doll]


    [You¡¯re nothing but a mad woman. I can buy in to your obsession towards magic, but have you ever wondered why our predecessor banned it and designate it as an abomination of an art? The reason is that there¡¯s something so sinister that it was hidden, don¡¯t pretend that you know it all]


    Based on the context of the argument, it seems that this old hag has a reputation of a dangerous magic obsessed idiot. I realized that the situation is bad. I can picture a future where this old hag snap and screams at me or the council wanting to get rid of me.


    A single touch ¨C an idea that suddenly came into my head.


    [why don¡¯t you stop there?]


    Suddenly, an unexpected person intervenes. She was no other than Ms. No. 6. I haven¡¯t seen her for quite a long time but she still has the same magnificence as the day I first saw her. I only saw her playing with the children back then but her current seriously isn¡¯t half bad as well.


    The old hag looked quite abhorrent while the big shot is looking quite amused.


    [Shall we hear why the daughter of the honorable Forshuna clan is sticking her nose here?]


    The old hag asked her reason to intervene.


    [the children are getting frightened because they sensed that something is wrong. Also, even if it is a monster, how can you use such art like Dominance to take away its free will?]


    [Ha! The Harmony Committee has quite and opinion. They also designate the monster that preys on the nightmare as their target as well?]


    Oh! The term Harmony Committee came out from the old hag¡¯s mouth. That committee properly called the Committee for the Harmony of Nature which is an organization that considers monster are part nature and they aim to co-exist with them. However, because of some of its member being crazy that the committee itself was abolished and is treated as a joke,


    [Rather than using against monster. The fact that such art was revived is far more blasphemous]


    The man said.


    I want him to speak more because I¡¯m starting to get curious to know the difference of 200 years old knowledge to the present common sense.


    [Then how about wait for the sages to talk about this matter?]


    The man agreed to Ms. 6¡¯s proposal, however the old hag showed her disapproval.


    [Haha, Forushna wants to work with Sezato? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able get your father to the Sage¡¯s council by using that body of yours!]


    [I will do no such things!]


    Seeing Ms. 6s immediate reply, I started to imagine such things. If my partner is still here, then it would have been a dangerous situation.


    (No, no, no, my thoughts are getting tinged with pink when the bombastic Ms. 6 is nearby. Is she letting out pheromones?)


    Anyway, the conversation continues on, but it ended on leaving it to the Sage¡¯s Council to discuss.


    [There¡¯s one thing I want to say to you Kirisha-joshi]


    [Say it Sezato boy. I¡¯m will to listen to your advice with gratitude]


    [this monster is someone capable of beating the armies and mercenaries of the Canaan Kingdom without a single scratch on him. At the very least this monster is a designated enemy of the human race. Be careful on how you treat him.]


    He then glances at me


    [This monster was named Argos by the Canaan Kingdom. I just want to let you know]


    At those word the old hag just huffs and told him to get out of her sight.


    (Argos Huh¡­ well that¡¯s not a bad name, so I don¡¯t mind)


    Although I¡¯m a party involved, I was able to grasped the present situation even by a little bit while staying on the sideline.


    To sum everything up, this old hag Kirisha is a magic obsessed idiot that has no backing while the big shot comes from a prestigious family called Sezato. I guess there¡¯s faction in elven society as well.


    (It looks like things would be troublesome ¨C but the perks of understanding the language wins out as learning Elvish while I can while I maintain this status.)


    In the meantime, I would have to wait for the hag¡¯s order before I could move. It would be fun to make it look like the spell failed and follow Ms. 6. But I would hold off on that. Even though I am ignorant about magic, I can at least predict what might happen.


    I wanted to see Ms. 6 a little more but the old hag started moving.


    [Come Argos.]


    The old hag says, so I have to follow her albeit reluctantly. As expected, my body move on its own that¡¯s why I moved accordingly. I secretly resisted but my body is visibly moving worse. Apparently, I can¡¯t completely resist the control, but in the change that the effect wore off the I won¡¯t be able to achieve my goals that¡¯s why I have to maintain the status quo for now. There¡¯s a lot of things that I still have to verify so I have to listen to her for quite a while.


    (And after I achieve all the goal I set. I will have your neck sapped you damn old lady.)


    Ultimately, I plotted to have her die in the end but I need to plan it appropriately. My body starts to move on its own and I am amaze how I can just get lost in thought with no care in the world because of it.


    For the time being, I¡¯m observing that elves that are definitely being wary of me or more likely afraid of me.


    (I always have lumped them together as elves capable of fighting but it¡¯s only natural that there those who have no ability to fight. Does it mean that the information that was given to me on my cadet days and the information I am seeing right now is vastly different?)


    However, I still need to be wary of the strength of the elven warriors.


    I also noticed that elven women wore sleeveless clothes that show their wonderful side breast. However, those clothes shine more pronounced to lady such as Ms. 6 wears it. Sadly though, she was wearing something that has sleeves on it.


    While indulging to my fantasies, we arrived at a large wooden house slightly outside of the village


    (With a house this big, even I can get in however¡­)


    Unfortunately, even though the house is big the entrance is too small for me. I don¡¯t think that I would be able to get in and depending on the layout I might end up destroying the internal of the house as well.


    [Argos, you wait her]


    And sure enough, I was to stay outdoors. With this I no longer hesitate to twist this motherfucking old hag¡¯s neck into a knot. But I will tolerate and not raise my voice for now. I¡¯m already used to staying outside anyway and it¡¯s my goal to learn a language, sleeping outdoor will prove no hindrance to me at all. If anything, the problem is how can I get a book from her. This is one of the troubles I am having now. How to break through this problem would be an opportunity to show of my skills. This would be a troublesome mission. While listening to that old hag¡¯s order, I have to perform an infiltration mission and the reward for it is to learn elvish language


    This means that my goal hasn¡¯t change. No matter how hard the mission is it won¡¯t be able to bring me down.


    As I was psyching myself up, the old hag came out of the house. I was thinking: [Yes, yes, I would accompany you ¨C for now] but then she showed up some meat.


    [Here, eat this]


    She then threw it to the ground.


    Do you want me to eat raw meat from the ground instead of putting it on a plate? My thought suddenly stops on such a high hurdle.


    (Remember this, motherfucker! I won¡¯t let you have a normal death!)


    When I glance at the old hag returning to her house, I then glance toward the meat that is on the ground.

 CH 56

    Not to brag but, I¡¯m reasonably good with the bow or should I say was? It¡¯s true that I am above some my peers in my generation but it¡¯s only on that level where other can say that I excel on it.


    Perhaps because of that, I lost my will to become a soldier and instead became a village guard. It¡¯s a stable job where I can help a woman that¡¯s being attack by a monster and from there we might get in to an intimate relationship. Unfortunately, it hasn¡¯t happened in my five years of tenure as a village guard, though I should be happy that no woman was attacked.


    My name is Spinks ¨C a 26 years old village guard and is single, that is looking for a girlfriend. My hobbies are reading and gardening. Meaning, it¡¯s boring. If it was at least be archery then it would at least be interesting and might attract a little bit of attention but unfortunately after seeing a guy with talent in it, I can¡¯t bring myself to say that is my hobby.


    As a village guard, you won¡¯t be able to avoid having an encounter against monster though it¡¯s hard to call it a battle since with just threatening them with magic, those monsters will run away in their own accord. That was my first task when I entered the guards which is quite disappointing.


    Being a village guard is easy especially for people who knows about what it¡¯s like. I thought I was lucky to get into it but I was shocked that there aren¡¯t many women in the force.


    I was mildly shocked. I was further shocked when I learned that every woman in the guards have their own partner. I tried to meet people but it ends with no success and the time keep passing by.


    And then that guy showed up. Yes ¨C the forest nightmare.


    It was terrible to hear that it is still alive, even though we hear that it¡¯s already dead. I had joined the guards specifically because the forest nightmare was supposedly dead. But hearing that it¡¯s back is too much. On top of that, the upper bras declared that dischargement will not be allowed as the village in a state of emergency.


    Oh crap, there¡¯s no way out.


    However, the elves still have its guardian angel- what?! He hasn¡¯t recovered yet!


    Wat, please tell me that it¡¯s a lie!


    If that nightmare attack, would I need to fight too?


    As I recall, magic doesn¡¯t work on it, and arrows won¡¯t penetrate it. So, what¡¯s the point of me being here? To stall for time?


    I despaired at that realization.


    When I thought that I¡¯m going to die without having a girlfriend I learned that they are sending out a priestess.


    If I remember correctly, it¡¯s someone who trained by sealing of her eyesight in order to sharpen her senses in order to locate the nightmare which is unperceivable.


    But, does it have to be a woman?


    I though so, but since it¡¯s usually men who are tasked to fight, having a woman would be more convenient.


    Though I agree with that, the only problem is that the one they¡¯ll sent is Asirou. She¡¯s someone from my clan the Gardel and she has huge breast.


    She was someone who men around me would be excited about. However, I never knew that a priestess would emerge from Gardel, a tribe infamous of producing ordinary people. Maybe with this our clan would have a little more say on matters.


    Eh there¡¯s no such intentions? Just a lascivious act? Ah Sezato? Uwa! this would definitely spell like a calamity to our clan!


    Give me a break¡­ it would be bad if our clan which is considered to be made of by airhead, be under fire by tribes like Sezato.


    As I was thinking that, I was asked to join the expedition group that would be task to subjugate the nightmare because we came from the same clan.


    Err. I¡¯m not a soldier, I¡¯m just a mere guard. Oh, they¡¯ll buy my skill with the bow, I see. But there¡¯s a lot of people like out there, isn¡¯t it? Is that why I¡¯m asked to be a member of the expedition.


    I wanted shout at him but it seems that the one chosen are people who the village doesn¡¯t care if they die. Gardel is really treated badly.


    It looks like I have no hope to survive this but I heard there¡¯s some survivor because the nightmare would go away once it was full after eating.


    Eaten?


    It prefers eating elves?


    Where¡¯s the information pertaining to that- oh it¡¯s there, sorry I doubted you.


    So, Am I going to be eaten?


    Is there any case where I can just be killed only? What? You sometimes get killed if you resist too much too?


    Hey I¡¯m only 26. Usually, elves my age should not do this kind of role right?


    Is it too much to ask to be exempted?


    In the end, everything I said was in vain and the clan threatened to kill me if I ran away to the point that they¡¯re willing to chase me to the end of the world.


    The day before the attack, the clan chieftain came to see me and told me he¡¯s going to keep an eye on me. I kept my gaze downcast as he tells me that he had no trust in me and that I would probably run away.


    I¡¯m about to cry, didn¡¯t I?


    This bastard watched me until just before we left. The old bastard was flattering the Sezato¡¯s insidious woman while saying [I can¡¯t believe a priestess would be chosen from our clan.]


    I am disappointed to Gardel even though I belong to it.  Was the clan really in a bad position that even I who is clueless can see it now?


    However, before we go, I learned that I was put in in exchange to the life of the old bastard¡¯s grandson.


    Remember this when I get back!


    Even so I don¡¯t know if I can return, it¡¯s all resting on my luck.


    Aside from others, most of the members in the expedition team is gung-ho on killing the nightmare thought personally, I think that we can win this.


    Half giving up I ended up looking at Asirou¡¯s breast. And when we entered the forest after crossing the river, the priestess apparently picked up something but it seems that it wasn¡¯t the nightmare. The commander of the team is quite angry.


    Honestly, I want to return home and just say that we didn¡¯t find it.


    I was moving forward while wishing that when one of us suddenly disappeared in front of me. The priestess was able to sense the attack of the nightmare beforehand but it was too late and one by one the rest of the team was eaten.


    As I was about to give up, something jumped on the nightmare that have already caught Asirou. It¡¯s a monster that I haven¡¯t seen before ¨C it has gray body that is almost similar to that of an ogre. It dragged the nightmare to the ground and begins to attack. Luckily, I was able to escape from the range of battle and was left to watch the fight unfold.


    It was eating the nightmare that we elves can¡¯t do anything about. Asirou who was clinging to its arm was gently peeled of and was put to the ground. Apparently, it didn¡¯t care about us and just obsessively eating the nightmare.


    I guided Asirou to safety but when her blindfold fell, she fell on her butt due to the surprise of what¡¯s happening.


    I unintentionally shouted [WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!]


    I then carried her on my back and escape to the village, the role of carrying her on my back would be my treasured memory. Also, the fact that I was able to safely escape from the nightmare definitely uses lifetime worth of my luck.


    I returned to the village with the following information that the nightmare had been devoured. Then I was imprisoned.


    It seems that it¡¯s a measure to make sure that they can interview the survivors, but I wonder if it¡¯s true?


    We are released after two days and the death of the nightmare was confirmed which caused an uproar to the village, but no one was talking about the new monster.


    It seems like the information about it is being withheld by Sezato.


    [Well, I¡¯m just happy that I survive that]


    I was wondering what was ruckus when I saw the large foot prints and I immediately knew that it is all about the new monster. When I arrived at the scene, the village was noisy, far cry from its normal atmosphere. There the witch, a famous magician has entered the village alongside the new monster.


    I unintentionally muttered [It¡¯s that guy].


    Then an awkward atmosphere between the eldest son of Sezato and the witch were brewing when the eldest daughter of Forsuna intervened.


    Ah I want to go home, though sadly I had to stay overnight because it was convenient for the upper brass.


    I did a light run around the village as a morning training. I passed by the rumored witch¡¯s house which is in the outskirt and I could see the monster.


    I casually approach it who was just standing idly. I think it¡¯s dangerous but with the control magic, unless the command was to kill everyone to get near, it¡¯s probably safe.


    When I got near him, I told him that his eventual subjugation of the nightmare had save me and my gratitude for it, in a form of a soliloquy.


    Also, since Asirou and I were in the same clan, it¡¯s kind of sad to not see those magnificent boobs again, that¡¯s why I¡¯m thankful.


    It might be useless to express my gratitude to this guy, but before I knew it, I was already blurting out my [thank you] to him


    (Hahaha, I don¡¯t think you would understand what I¡¯m saying)


    Then he nodded.


    No that¡¯s just my imagination, right?


    The magic is working fine and he wasn¡¯t moving.


    Yes, that¡¯s right it¡¯s just my imagination.


    Anyway, with my business done, let¡¯s go back to the village.


    I can¡¯t leave it alone as I¡¯m the village guard.


    T/N I¡¯m currently working on a new site for this project. i pray i can finish it this yea