Chapter 16

Three summoned monsters were about to appear in front of the master.

The most eye-catching was the largest shadow.

It was as big as the stone golem that guards the master's house.

However, this one was not a golem but had a body clad in muscle armor.

Red Ogre Lv.???

Summoned Monster - Attack Stance

It looks like a reliable guy.

The Rock Bird threw the monster it had grabbed with its legs onto the ground.

It seemed the monster would be slammed onto its back by the momentum.

However, the monster adjusted its posture just above the ground and landed softly.

A gust of wind seemed to have swept around for a moment.

What did this monster do?

Something small rushed from the shadow of the Red Ogre towards the monster.

It was fast, and what courage it had.

The Red Ogre and the monster were both large, making the distance seem odd and the thing appear small.

But it was undoubtedly larger and more muscular than me.

Yasha Lv.???

Summoned Monster - Attack Stance

The name sounds Japanese.

And it's scary, too, this Yasha.

And there was a summoned monster crouching behind the Yasha.

Nine-Tailed Fox Lv.???

Summoned Monster - Support

Its body was covered in gold and white fur, with only the tips of its paws black, and its eyes were so vivid they were hard to look away from.

Yet it seemed to waver like a mirage, and its presence was faint.

It was a strange sensation.

No, it actually seemed to be disappearing.

I lost sight of it.

Meanwhile, the Rock Bird descended behind the master.

The master seemed to have already finished casting a healing spell, as the Rock Bird's HP bar had significantly recovered.

But it didn't fully recover.

The master immediately began chanting the next spell.

Suddenly, the air around the monster began to vibrate.

The air seemed to be converging around the monster.

It was drawing in the wind.

The monster was sucking in the surrounding air with its large mouth.

It was also swallowing fallen trees and small pebbles without hesitation.

Then the flow of wind stopped.

In the next moment, the monster breathed out from its mouth.

No, it was a strange sight, as if it was generating a tornado from inside its mouth.

The tornado headed towards the master's Rock Bird.

It was not a welcome attack for the Rock Bird, which had large wings for flying.

The attack hit directly.

Or so it seemed.

But the Rock Bird remained standing there, and the master was also at its feet.

What happened?

The Red Ogre grabbed the monster's nose and the thick, short fangs that protruded from its mouth, trying to drag it around.

The Yasha was running around at its feet.

It held a wide-bladed scythe.

It looked quite large, but the perspective made it seem small.

Each swing produced a trail of blood.

At the same time, the monster's agonized cries could be heard.

The damage the Carnivorous Taper received must have been considerable.

It let out a fearsome roar, and wounds began to appear all over the Red Ogre's body.

Small tornados were cutting into the Red Ogre's body.

The Red Ogre also let out a beastly roar.

It looked as if it was covered in blood, but the wounds were closing up quickly.

The muscles on its back were bulging even more.

Counterattack.

It swung the monster's nose around and threw it.

The monster tried to open its mouth to unleash its anger again but failed.

The Red Ogre had stepped on its mouth.

Each time the Yasha slashed at the monster's belly, its HP bar visibly decreased.

Then the attack intensified.

The Rock Bird, which had been in the air, suddenly descended and covered the monster's torso.

It pecked at the monster's head.

As if to return the damage it had received.

The master was riding on its back.

The Nine-Tailed Fox was also standing beside the master on the Rock Bird.

The outcome of the battle was clearly decided.

The monster put up a fierce fight, I think.

But its end was anticlimactic.

Being surrounded and attacked from all sides, it had no chance.

Strong, huh.

You're too strong, Master, I admire you!

But it looks like it's going to be a long road ahead.

The battlefield where the monster had breathed its last was in a terrible state.

The surrounding forest was devastated, with fallen trees everywhere.

I'm surprised we were unharmed.

The master did not strip the items from the monster's corpse but seemed to be examining something.

He looked clearly unhappy.

Was there a problem?

But the master seemed to have made a decision and plunged a stripping knife.

The monster's massive body had turned to smoke and disappeared.

No, something small was left in the master's hand.

"Are you okay?"

"Aye, no problem."

The Nine-Tailed Fox was clinging to the master's feet.

Its tail looked like it had several.

No.

Something was wrong.

Looking at the tail, it sometimes appeared as one or two, or not at all.

It seemed to waver like a flame.

"You must not look directly at this one. It will naturally mesmerize you."

Is that how it works?

No, the Rock Bird's direct hit might have been the work of this summoned monster.

If it used illusions to dodge the monster's attack, it makes sense.

After all, it's a fox, so it's probably deceiving us.

When I got closer, the Yasha was a towering giant, even taller than me by two or three heads.

It was equipped with leather armor and resembled something.

A Buddha statue.

It had a resemblance to the Four Heavenly Kings, who step on demons.

Except for the head.

His hair was wild and long.

His eyes, hidden by his hair, could sometimes be seen depending on the angle.

They were bloodshot.

They were filled with terror, madness, and the intent to kill.

The fear made my legs tremble.

And the Red Ogre, which was even larger than the Yasha.

It had taken a direct hit from the monster's tornado attack, but there were no visible wounds.

Its HP bar seemed to have fully recovered.

The master didn't seem to have healed it.

What kind of recovery power is this?

The Red Ogre's body was covered in hair, and its muscles were bulging.

It was truly a muscle armor.

Against such a large opponent, a normal attack wouldn't seem to work.

It was too large for joint techniques or throws.

Punches and kicks wouldn't work either.

Would I have to face something like the Red Ogre in the future?

The master's summoned monsters seemed to look at us all at once.

For a moment, Voluf and Helix tensed up.

But it was over quickly.

The master dismissed the summoned monsters, leaving the Rock Bird behind.

"I'll be back soon."

"Yes."

It seems I won't have to fight again.

I was actually nervous.

Are there a lot of monsters like the one we just fought around here?

I can't keep up with a monster war.

"The monsters around here have fled. It would be too far to call them from this area."

I see.

Even the monsters didn't want to be caught up in that battle.

It's a stroke of luck for me.

Prompted by the master, we headed back.

For some reason, the master's expression was different from usual.

I felt a little uneasy as I clung to Voluf and took warmth in the Rock Bird's feathers.

After that, it was the usual potion-making assistance.

As usual.

But an incident occurred.

The master messed up the potion-making.

Moreover, all ten potions he made at once with alchemy were of quality C-.

"Oh, this won't do."

The master said this, but it made me uneasy.

His behavior was clearly off.

After that, the potions were all of quality C.

But the master seemed to be aware of his condition.

He stopped after making about 250 potions.

"It's not going well. I'll take a break and resume later. You should work on your own requests in the meantime."

"Yes."

The master left the tower, leaving the cleanup to Metal Skin.

Was there a problem with the monster we fought earlier?

Well, there's no point in worrying about it.

I'll finish my requests first.

By the way, there's something different today from the previous days.

Until yesterday, I didn't have enough MP.

It seems I can use alchemy multiple times now.

I'll try to reproduce the best potion-making pattern I've had so far using the shortened reproduction.

The Wound Seal Herb makes two potions per use. I'll try the pattern that produced quality B-.

The result was two quality C+ potions.

It seems the shortened reproduction in alchemy always results in a quality degradation.

I tried it again, and the result was the same quality C+.

I'll try a larger batch.

Two Wound Seal Herbs make four potions.

This time, it was three quality C and one quality C+.

Hmm, I want them all to be quality C, but they're not.

I'll try three Wound Seal Herbs for six potions.

It was five quality C and one quality C-.

What's the right balance?

【Your alchemy level has increased due to your actions!】

【Your profession level has increased due to your actions!】

Oh, my alchemy level has conveniently increased.

My profession level has also increased.

It seems that the profession level doesn't increase unless the appropriate skills for the profession are developed.

My alchemy has been at level 2 for a while.

I continued to mass-produce potions using the shortened reproduction in alchemy.

Three Wound Seal Herbs made six potions.

They were all quality C.

I repeated this several times, but quality C- no longer appeared.

I tried four Wound Seal Herbs for eight potions.

It was six quality C- and two quality D+.

Hmm, it's going to be a long road.

One level up, and this is the result.

I continued to use the shortened reproduction as long as my MP allowed.

The result was that I filled all the empty bottles I had received from the adventurer's guild with potion liquid.

I might have gotten a bit carried away.

A considerable number of potions were not quality C.

But I managed to prepare