Chapter 36

I thought I would be stopped when I came back from the forest and showed my guild card, but I was let through without any trouble.

Katrine doesn't have a guild card, but there must be some other way to verify her identity.

I went back to the inn and took another room.

"Since I've taken another room, it's a good idea to practice making magical tools there. Depending on the results, we can decide what to do next."

If she's useful, I'll welcome her, but if she's not, I'll have to sell her or something.

I don't intend to bring along someone who will be a burden just because I have some leeway.

"Um, is it okay to give a slave their own room?"

Hm? Is it usual not to give slaves their own rooms?

Indeed, even though it's an inn, there might be places where slaves sleep in a common room.

However, I have a decent amount of money, and there's no particular need to cut costs.

"No problem. I have some business to take care of, so I'll be out for a bit."

Right. Business.

We came back from the place where we saw the Giant Spider Crab, but we didn't encounter any returning monsters on the way.

Given how we retreated when we saw the Metal Lizard, I suspect there might still be a boss around.

The Giant Spider Crab was indeed quite strong, but compared to the Metal Lizard, it's several levels weaker.

Just to be safe, I'll report this to the guild. Even if I can take down the boss alone, it's not good if the fleeing monsters cause damage to the town.

When I entered the guild, the atmosphere was a bit hectic. There was only one person at the reception. I approached the receptionist.

"Excuse me, I have a report about a monster."

"If it's about the Rush Sheep or Red Wolves attacking, we've already heard about it. Is there anything else?"

It seems they had already received the information. Given that there were no issues at the gate, it must have been a recent attack, or there were no monsters capable of dealing significant damage to the walls like Gargon.

Still, those Rush Sheep. They attacked despite me letting them go.

In any case, it's an unusual situation. Spiders.

"Yes, about two hours ago, I discovered a Giant Spider Crab and immediately defeated it."

"Two hours ago, a Giant Spider Crab, you say. Where in the forest was it?"

"From here, go out the gate on the Tsu-bai side, turn left, and it's about an hour and a half's walk for a woman."

"Understood, I'll report it. What are you planning to do next, Kaede? Even though you're E-rank, it would be very helpful if you could participate in the defense."

Defense. But even if I deal with the small fry, the boss won't be stopped.

On the other hand, if I take down the boss, the small fry are likely to retreat. It might be safer to take care of the boss quickly.

I'll kill any monsters that get in the way, but I'll avoid hindering the big game hunt.

"I'm going to look for and take down the big one. In the previous town, when I took down the big one, the attacks stopped."

"I see. You seem to attract trouble, but please do your best and don't die."

"Of course."

I left the guild and ran to the gate. When I encountered the Metal Lizard, I was just running around randomly.

This time, it might not be so easy. I need a more efficient way to detect them.

So, in this situation, I'll start practicing the flight magic I failed at earlier.

While magical detection is convenient, visual reconnaissance is still the basic method. Magic power may not reach far, but light does.

This time, I'll focus on just floating. The sensation I had when I used it before was like pushing a part of my body straight.

If I lift my feet, will I float straight up? I'll give it a try.

My feet were swept out from under me, and I hit the ground with my head after a half-rotation.

It seems this isn't the right way. I probably need to align my center of gravity with the direction of the force.

This time, I jumped forward, made my body parallel to the ground, and applied force to the front. It worked, and I floated.

This makes reconnaissance easier, though landing is a bit difficult... but even if I crash, I can manage. It hurts, so I'd rather not, but...

I rose about 10 meters. The surroundings were clearly visible. I could generate forward thrust by using the sides of my feet.

I raised my altitude to see if I could spot anything. The forest to the right front seemed a bit unusual.

It was quite far away, so I couldn't see it clearly, but the color was different, more brownish, and it seemed to be moving.

The rest of the forest was green. Clearly, something was different there.

When I flew over, I identified the cause. It was a large group of Giant Spider Crabs. They were swarming despite their size. I didn't see any other unusual areas, so there probably weren't any other major disturbances.

They must have been driving the poor and foolish Rush Sheep.

I'll avenge the Rush Sheep I killed. I'll wipe them all out.

I flew directly above them. There were so many. Disgusting.

When I defeated one earlier, I cut off its legs before crushing the body. Since I can fly, maybe I should just attack the body from the start.

The Metal Lizard also attacked from the air with magic. I'll try that.

My familiar rock spear, about the size I can create in 10 seconds.

I'll blow off that pretty head! The rock spear I launched with that battle cry penetrated about 10 cm into the spider and shattered. It didn't seem very effective. The spider was still lively.

I tried fireballs and water jets with the same amount of magic, but they had no effect. I might be able to do something if I spent more time, but there were so many enemies. There were at least 200. Where did they all come from? It was a sea of spiders.

What should I do? Maybe a sword. I've confirmed that a magic sword can cut through the head. Maybe a diving slash.

I increased my forward speed, lowered my altitude, and aimed for the head. Then I crashed into the ground.

I desperately increased the upward thrust and managed to regain control just above the ground.

This flight magic is difficult. Diving attacks don't seem to suit it.

Diving attacks are more suited to aircraft, which use thrust to fly, rather than this magic, which is more like a helicopter.

What kind of attack would suit a helicopter?

There isn't one. Helicopters aren't designed for that kind of combat.

They might do some acrobatics, but it's not practical for combat.

What should I do? Should I use a Hellfire missile?

Even if not a Hellfire, something like a real cannonball might work.

A rock spear can fly straight without thrust, and a fireball can explode. If it explodes after penetrating, it can cause internal damage.

I tried making a fireball inside a thick rock spear. I managed to create it.

When I hit a nearby spider, it penetrated and exploded. But the explosion was weak.

Since it exploded without penetrating deeply, it was almost the same as a surface explosion.

What should I do?

First, I need to improve penetration. This might be possible. The power of magic generally increases with the amount of magic used, and the thicker it is, the more powerful it is.

So, I should make a long, thin rock spear. It will use more magic and have a smaller cross-sectional area. This will be the main body of the projectile.

For the explosive part, I'll increase the temperature as much as possible. Since the fireball explodes after impact, this should work.

It won't be hot nearby, and the fireball magic seems to be like launching an explosive.

I completed it. It's a 2-meter-long, 5-cm-diameter rock spear with a fire magic seal at the tip. I can create it in about 2 seconds.

I'll ram it into a spider's head.

The rock projectile hit and shattered at the tip.

Only the front part shattered, but the rear part soon hit the spider's head and shattered in the same way.

The explosion occurred when the first spear shattered, but it was a surface explosion, which was meaningless.

It seems I made the length-to-width ratio too extreme.

Reluctantly, I accepted a decrease in efficiency and tried several different thicknesses. I found the thickness that wouldn't break.

A 2-meter-long, 8-cm-wide rock spear penetrated the spider and exploded quietly from the inside.

It took about 3 seconds to create, which is practical.

Additionally, the rock spear might have a fragmentation effect like a grenade.

This is the first magic I've properly developed. It's a shame it doesn't have a name. I'll call it an explosive cannonball.

While generating 10 explosive cannonballs, I practiced the flight magic and tried the diving slash again.

Actually, I don't need to dive since I'm not dropping bombs. I can just fly straight and slash.

The problem is that I need to pass close to the spider to slash effectively, but I got the hang of the fine adjustments while flying around. Although diving is difficult, this is practical. I followed the moving group of spiders, slashing and firing explosive cannonballs.

After a while, there were no more monster shadows around. The spiders didn't seem to have any means of attacking from the air.

Storing the corpses in the item box took more time.

Unlike when I stabbed the Green Wolves with rock spears, there was no overlap, and the speed was bullet-level. This is different from when I was a noble.

One hit, one kill. The defeated monsters probably won't respawn, which would be a problem. But there were no signs of resurrection around.

There were 208 spiders, but they all fit into one item box slot. It's a mysterious standard.