Chapter 47

The quest to lead refugees to the capital city involved escorting a long line of carriages.

While the number of people that can be taken at once is not very large, the speed at which the carriages can move is much faster.

Not much time has passed since the announcement, and many of those who need to evacuate are not yet prepared.

That’s why everyone was able to board the carriages.

And since there’s no reason to impair their mobility, all the escorting soldiers are mounted on horses.

As a result, the speed of this convoy is quite fast, and while Lumin, who is flying, is fine, it’s a bit of a hassle for me on foot.

“Well, I just need to take care of the approaching ones—Lumin, to the right front!”

“Okay!”

So, I climbed onto the leading carriage and, from there, searched for the presence of approaching monsters while giving Lumin instructions.

Lumin, upon receiving my instructions, gracefully jumped and flew in that direction.

Almost simultaneously, Lizardmen appeared from the forest, rustling through the underbrush—

“Yah!”

Immediately after, Lumin, who had reached the sky, swung her small hand.

The light that emanated from her hand descended like a blade upon the Lizardmen.

The power contained in her magic is a step above what it was when she was a fairy.

Lumin’s firepower, which was already excellent in magical attacks, is more than sufficient to deal with the monsters around here.

“Seems like no backup is needed.”

Lumin, who can attack from the air, is rarely targeted.

While she does receive attacks from arrows, her flight speed is faster than when she was a fairy.

It’s unlikely that arrows will hit her.

By the way, I’m not collecting items. I’ve already gathered a decent amount of Lizardman materials while walking through the forest, so I don’t really need more.

**Tamed Monster [Lumin] has leveled up.**

“Hmm, finished, huh.”

Thanks to letting Lumin handle all the opponents so far, her level has been rising.

The frequency of monster appearances is higher than when walking a normal road.

However, their health is relatively low, making it just right for Lumin’s training.

“...I was surprised when I first met you, but you keep surprising me.”

“Huh? Did something that surprising happen?”

After confirming Lumin’s return, I turned to the soldier who had called out to me.

He was originally supposed to be on guard on horseback, but now he looked relaxed and was smiling wryly.

It seems he’s idle because the enemies are being taken care of before they get close.

“Well, that’s true. I’ve seen people who have made contracts with spirits and use [Spirit Magic] before, but I’ve never seen anyone who tames a spirit.”

“Ah... I see, that’s how it is.”

Even taming a fairy was rare enough, so taming a spirit must be even rarer.

I’ll keep it to myself that Lumin evolved from a fairy to a spirit.

After all, it’s questionable whether anyone would believe that I went to the Fairyland to change her race.

Explaining it would be a hassle, and there’s no need to bring it up.

With that conclusion, I shrugged lightly, and Lumin, who had finished off the monsters, returned.

“I’m back!”

“Good job. Wait until the next time.”

“Okay!”

Honestly, I’d like to fight a bit too... but it’s a hassle to return to the carriage after leaving.

It will also be good for Lumin’s training, so it’s fine to keep it this way until the situation becomes too much for her to handle.

With that judgment, I returned to searching the surroundings.

“...But how do you sense enemies from such a distance? You don’t look like a scout.”

“Hmm? I just sense their presence.”

“No, I mean, how do you sense their presence?”

“I’m just looking for those who are hostile. It’s hard to detect by sound at this speed.”

If I were moving on foot, it might be possible, but with the carriages, it’s impossible to detect by sound.

That’s why I’m sensing the hostility and killing intent directed at us to determine their positions.

So far, all the monsters have been hostile, and it’s unlikely that a non-hostile monster would attack.

In that sense, they are easy to read.

“Huh, you have a skill like that. I’ve never heard of it... Is it a skill unique to foreigners?”

“Eh?”

“Huh?”

Confused by the soldier’s question, I raised an eyebrow, and he looked surprised.

We stared at each other for a moment, but it seems he has some kind of misunderstanding.

I don’t know if such a skill exists, and even if it does, I have no intention of using it.

The Eternal Divine Art emphasizes self-control. Living itself is part of the training, and no one in the Eternal Divine Art would do something to ruin that opportunity.

Explaining all that would be a hassle, and if he’s misunderstanding, that’s fine.

I nodded in agreement—then, I sensed a new presence.

(A strong hostility—no, is it multiple?)

It’s still a bit far, but if we continue at the carriage’s speed, we’ll encounter them soon.

In the tall grass of the prairie—there, I sensed multiple presences.

There are quite a few, probably more than 15.

It’s too much for Lumin alone. So—

“I’ll join in.”

“Hey, wait!”

As the surprised soldier tried to stop me, I jumped off the carriage.

Using the momentum of the carriage, I kicked off the ground and quickly overtook the carriage.

Lumin, who had caught up to my movement, was now flying above my head.

Our destination was the thicket where I had sensed the presence. I drew my sword—then, a killing intent swelled up from the thicket.

Along with it, about ten crude arrows were fired. They were not aimed at us but at the carriages behind us.

“Lumin, blow them away!”

“Okay!”

Lumin, who had stopped in the air, thrust her small hand forward.

At that moment, a fierce wind from Lumin’s hand blew away the incoming arrows.

This is the new [Wind Magic] she gained after evolving into a sprite.

While her main magic is still light, Lumin can now use wind attribute magic as well.

Sensing this through the presence, I kicked the ground and fell forward.

Footwork—Raging Shock.

The ground beneath my feet exploded from the impact, and my body accelerated explosively toward the target.

Changing my posture with a jump, I slid forward with my sword in a side grip.

Then—I dove into the thicket I had targeted.

Sword Technique—Rigid Form—Fan Involvement.

The tall grass was cut and flew in all directions. I had released a sweeping horizontal slash while moving in a wide area.

At the same time, I had decapitated about five of the monsters hiding behind the grass.

“Kee!?”

“Gah—!”

What I saw were ugly green goblins.

Their eyes, filled with malice and desire, were wide open in shock from my attack.

There was no reason to witness their shock. I stomped the ground with my sliding foot and swept away the enemies in front of me.

Sword Technique—Rigid Form—Fan Involvement—Parent Bone.

I poured the momentum of my charge into a single strike, which cleaved three monsters in two with great destructive power.

That’s eight, and the number of monsters has been halved.

■Goblin

Type: Monster

Level: 10

Status: Active

Attribute: None

Battle Position: Ground

■Goblin Archer

Type: Monster

Level: 10

Status: Active

Attribute: None

Battle Position: Ground

■Goblin Fighter

Type: Monster

Level: 12

Status: Active

Attribute: None

Battle Position: Ground

■Hobgoblin

Type: Monster

Level: 15

Status: Active

Attribute: None

Battle Position: Ground

The enemies are all goblins, a type of monster.

They are weak individually but attack in groups.

Using tools and setting traps like this makes them quite troublesome.

But—

“—I’m good at dealing with the likes of you.”

“Gah!”

The hobgoblin pointed at me and shouted.

But the surrounding goblins, overwhelmed by my movements, were hesitating.

Of course, I had no intention of letting their hesitation go to waste, and I cut down the goblin archer with a swift strike.

Then, a light arrow descended from above, piercing the panicking goblin.

“Daddy!”

“Keep it up, Lumin!”

I dove into the rain of light arrows.

Reading their trajectories, I charged at the goblin fighter.

The goblin fighter, wielding a large hammer, swung it at me with a screeching cry.

—But it was too slow.

“[Sword of Life]”

I cut through the wooden handle and then slashed the goblin fighter’s neck.

The other goblins should be enough for Lumin. All that’s left is the hobgoblin in the back.

“Gigah!”

“Hah!”

The hobgoblin, wielding an axe. Its body was closer to a human’s than the other goblins.

But—such a brute force attack is just an opportunity for me.

Sword Technique—Flexible Form—Flowing Water—Reverse Bite.

I merged with the downward strike and reversed it.

This delicate and precise technique is one of the more difficult ones in the Flowing Water style.

The sudden change in the force vector caused the hobgoblin’s axe to fly out of its hand.

“Guh...!?”

“—[Sword of Life]”

A strike from above cleaved the hobgoblin’s body diagonally.

Shaking off the blood, I confirmed that all the enemies were defeated.

There were no more hostile monsters, and I took a small sigh to catch my breath.

“Well... we’re almost there.”

**[Sword of Life] skill level has increased.**

Hearing the information, I started running to catch up with the carriage, accompanied by Lumin.

The capital city, our destination, was now visible in the distance.

—With a slight smirk at the faint smell of battle.

■Avatar Name: Quon

■Gender: Male

■Race: Human

■Level: 16

■Status (Remaining Status Points: 0)

STR: 19

VIT: 14

INT: 19

MND: 14

AGI: 12

DEX: 12

■Skills

Weapon Skill: [Sword: Lv.16]

Magic Skill: [Enhancement Magic: Lv.12]

Set Skill: [Dead Point Strike: Lv.13]

[MP Auto Recovery: Lv.7]

[Plundering Sword: Lv.9]

[Identification: Lv.12]

[Sword of Life: Lv.11]

[Sword of Demon Slaying: Lv.5]

[Tame: Lv.5]

[HP Auto Recovery: Lv.6]

Sub Skill: [Mining: Lv.1]

Title Skill: [Blessing of the Fairy]

■Current SP: 14

■Monster Name: Lumin

■Gender: Female

■Race: Sprite

■Level: 3

■Status (Remaining Status Points: 0)

STR: 11

VIT: 10

INT: 27

MND: 19

AGI: 15

DEX: 13

■Skills

Weapon Skill: None

Magic Skill: [Light Magic]

Skill: [Light Attribute Enhancement]

[Flight]

[High Magic Resistance]

[Low Physical Resistance]

[MP Auto Major Recovery]

[Wind Magic]

Title Skill: [Servant of the Spirit King]