ALL NOVEL Chapter 3: Hole.
Chapter 3: Hole.
The Big Mouth Lizard's body is similar to a tank; none of the sword attacks can hurt him. Every attack from the monster caused several casualties.
"Move back, release the arrows, and take out your flintlock." The bullet from a flintlock musket does more physical damage than an arrow from a bow. The problem is that it takes time to use.
The flintlock is the firearm that started the revolution for freedom. And the creation of the Federation After hundreds of years, that weapon has spread to other kingdoms. However, that does not mean the Federation has become weak. Instead, they have created many powerful weapons that can fight against the adept and Master ranks.
While some mercenaries were busy reloading their firearms with bullets. The archers are already releasing their arrows. The arrow that has been used is a metal arrow. And when it combined with mana, it created a destructive force. The arrows flew toward the monster and managed to piece together the hard scale.
"WARRRRRRR!"
"BANG!"
"BANG!"
"BANG!"
"BANG!"
The bullets manage to damage the monster. However, compared to the monster's size, it’s like an ant biting a human. If humans and other species can use mana, it is also the same for monsters. The Big Mouth Lizard opens its mouth, and the red beam of heat rays aims at the mercenaries.
"Evade!"
The mercenaries manage to evade in time. However, the vegetation that gets hit by the beam dries up and catches fire. The newbie mercenaries are shocked and scared. And the veteran begins to get ready for the next attack.
"Snap out of it; keep firing!"
The Big Mouth Lizard, after a while, had enough. And decided to leave and find easier prey. The humans don’t have enough meat to satisfy the monster's hunger. When the monster was about to leave, an unknown smell spread through the woods and caused him to go into a frenzy.
The mercenaries turn pale upon seeing the monster start charging at them. Not far from them is a black-clad man holding an open sachet bag and throwing it in the direction of the caravan. While the mercenaries are busy fighting the monster. The black-clad man has already returned to his team.
"Where do you find that thing?"
"In one of my previous missions, I almost died because of that thing." As long as the sachet is closed, the smell will disappear. But in this chaotic situation, no one will notice a small sachet bag on the ground.
However, when the mercenaries thought of escaping, a middle-aged man comes out of the carriage and moves in front of the mercenaries.
Sir, run away quick!" The mercenaries used their shields to protect the middle-aged man.
"Keep firing and protect the employer!" The mercenaries, although scared of death, Still do their duty as mercenaries.
"No need." The middle-aged man leaped toward the monster's head and took out his sword. The Big Mouth Lizard opens his mouth wide and is ready to eat the man in one bite. But something unexpected happens, the sword is suddenly shrouded in mana and becomes larger. Right now, the size of the sword is the same as the monster.
"Die!" The middle-aged man swung his sword and decapitated the Big Mouth Lizard's head. Without the head, the monster's body and head fall to the ground.
The mercenaries that see that cheer
"Take the valuable part of the monster; that will be your bonus."
Hearing that the mercenaries cheer even louder. The skin and some parts of the monster are worth a lot of money.
Returning inside the carriage. The middle-aged man slumps toward the seat and perspires.
"How are you?"
"I used too much mana." The middle-aged man is a peak Adept rank. But he failed to take another step to Master rank. Many Adept dreams to become Master rank, however, it depends on talent and luck.
After a while, the mercenary leader handed a red monster core to the middle-aged man. At first, the mercenary leader is happy. Because the monster core is worth a lot of money. But he remembers that the one who killed the monster was not them. It’s better to become friends with someone powerful.
"We are lucky that monsters have a monster core." The blonde-haired man inspects the fist-size monster's core. Not all monsters developed monster cores.
"I will be surprised if that monster doesn’t have one." The middle-aged man is still tired. The reason he comes out is to make the people who follow them to be wary of him.
"Do you think they will attack?"
"If they don’t retreat, they will attack tonight."
"What should we do."
"We shall sacrifice your double if we have no choice."
-
Pondover Forest, a large black bear with one horn on the forehead, is fighting with two rock lizards. The horn bear is already tired after fighting for a long time. And she needs to protect her son. Behind the large horned bear is a trembling adolescent horn bear with a small horn.
The horned bear is tired and injured. Using her remaining strength, the horn bear pounces and bites one of the rock lizard's neck. In a panic, the other rock lizard rushes to the rescue.
"RAWR!"
The adolescent horn bear sprints toward the woods and doesn’t look back. Seeing her offspring escape, the large horn bear keeps mauling the rock lizard. While being attacked to death by another rock lizard.
-
Levi has been doing pushups and other exercises inside the cave every day. Every time he exercises, his body gets stronger. And following the instruction, the mana of his surroundings enters his body. The weird thing is that the mana stored in his brain for magic is also helping his body. From what he knows, both warriors and mages used mana differently. What Levi doesn’t know is that people will only choose one path depending on their talent.
"Enough for today." Levi stands up and inspects his body. Some muscle has already started to become visible. Normally, it will take three to four weeks to gain muscle. Because of the body-strengthening manual and mana, everything goes smoothly. Being young is good; there is no more pain from moving his body.
Raising his hand, Levi spoke. "Fire." A mana tendril creates a small magic circle the size of his palm, and a small floating flame appears. This is something that he learned himself. Rather than creating normal-sized magic circles, it’s better to start with the smaller version and expand it. The benefit of this technique is that he can practice more and conserve mana.
"Expand." The magic circle and flame become bigger at the same time. Levi's mana has also been drained faster. "Fireball." The flame turned into a ball and flew toward the cave wall.
"BOOM!" The fireball spread and disappeared, and only a charred rock wall was left. Because Levi is still an apprentice, the destructive power of the fireball is weak. But once he advances to adept rank, his spell will be different.
"Now let’s check the trap." A few days ago, Levi found a deep hole in the forest and decided to use it as a trap. He moves carefully through the woods and listens to any noise. When he arrives at the location, the trap is still covered with leaves and earth. Nothing has fallen into the hole.
"It looks like I will have fish again." Levi got used to living in this forest. But when winter arrives, he needs to be careful. According to the Idiot's Guide to Acheron World information, the monster tide will happen. The monsters will come out of Pondover Forest and attack the human and other races' kingdoms.
Thanks to the training of his body, Levi can now catch fish using his hand. By slapping the fish toward the land, the fish can’t escape. Every time the water splashes, a fish will come flying.
When the day becomes dark, Levi returns to the cave and begins preparing to cook. For seasoning, he manages to find some vegetation and seeds that have a similar taste to pepper, garlic, and paprika. After grinding it up using a stone, he put it on the fish. The only thing missing is salt.
Using magic, Levi conjures fire to start the fire. Magic is convenient for him. Only when he is cooking and resting that he has time to think. What is his purpose in this new world? He has done right and terrible things in his many reincarnations. Or should he die and end everything?
Suddenly he senses something and leaps far away from the cave exit, preparing to cast a spell. When the creature was near the fire pit, Levi could finally see it clearly: it was an adolescent horn bear. The monster looks cautiously at Levi but keeps looking at the food.
“Growl.”
[Free language pact translating horn bear language.]
“Hungry.”
Levi is surprised that the free language pact can translate the monster language. He comes closer to the fire pit, takes one of the fish on a stick, and gives it to the horned bear. The horn bears sniff the cooked fish and eats it.
The horn bear stuffs the fish in his mouth. After eating most of the fish, the horned bear goes to sleep.
“What should I do now?” Levi thought the horned bear will leave after giving him food.