Well... now we’re in a complicated situation. We’re surrounded by about twenty creatures, monsters, animals, or perhaps even people. I don’t know what they are. Everything around us was silent, and we couldn’t hear anything, but my perception was picking up on all of them as they approached and surrounded us. They were standing still, watching us.
’’They were pretty quick to surround us,’’ I said, looking around.
We hadn’t seen anything on our way here. It was only after we stopped that they surrounded us.
I narrowed my eyes.
’’Were they following us, or did we walk straight into their territory?’’ I asked.
Doriana, who had her wand in hand, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and concentrated on her surroundings.
’’We may have passed through here earlier and they saw us but let us go. Or they might have followed us from the area around the cave,’’ she said.
I remained silent, hearing only the leaves rustling in the wind. There was a certain tension in the air. Their silence and lack of movement bothered me, too.
’’But if they came from the cave’s vicinity, that would be strange. Either they’re stronger than that salamander, or they have some way of avoiding it.’’
Doriana shook her head.
’’They’re not stronger than the salamander!’’ she stated with absolute certainty.
I turned toward her. Her eyes were still closed. The rabbit in her arms was calm, too, unlike when it was with me.
’’Can you see their classifications?’’
She opened her eyes and turned toward me.
’’Yes, I can!’’ she replied, nodding.
She took one last look around, as though she could see more than Aster himself.
’’Don’t worry, Aster... They’re low-class monsters.’’
’’So they really are monsters... I thought they might be an intelligent race native to this area.’’
I stretched my arms, making my bones crack.
’’Can you handle them?’’ I asked.
’’Yes! There won’t be any problems.’’
She walked in front of me.
’’Here, take this, Aster. Hold him for me.’’
She handed me the rabbit.
The rabbit started throwing a tantrum when she tried to place it in my arms.
’’Don’t start throwing a tantrum, child. It’ll only be a second. Now, stay still,’’ she said in a firmer voice, scolding the rabbit.
At that very moment, it fell silent.
’’Good!’’ she said, smiling with satisfaction at her well-behaved rabbit.
I looked at the two of them, my eyes shifting between Doriana and the rabbit in my arms.
’’You’re acting like his mother,’’ I said.
’’I’m not, Aster.’’
’’Yes, you are!’’
I continued:
’’You scold him, teach him how to behave, and spoil him... That’s exactly what a mother does.’’
Doriana looked a little embarrassed. She turned her face to the side, forming a slight pout.
’’Maybe I’ve grown attached to him.’’
’’Maybe?’’ I asked.
She sighed in surrender.
’’All right, all right, I admit it.’’ She scratched her head. ’’I’ve grown attached to him... Happy now?’’
’’Much better,’’ I replied with a smile.
Then we heard the sounds of branches and leaves rustling.
’’They’re coming,’’ I said, becoming more alert.
Doriana kept her wand raised. Her expression was calm, showing that she didn’t consider this a crisis.
’’Dori... Can you make a sword out of your wood for me?’’
Without looking at me, she replied:
’’I can make one, but I can’t create a cutting edge, so it won’t be sharp.’’ Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
I held the rabbit more protectively as I answered, ’’Don’t worry. I don’t want a sword with a cutting edge.’’ I smiled.
She didn’t understand.
’’A sword without a sharp edge is useless.’’
I shook my head.
’’I want a rapier, Doriana.’’
’’Oh!’’ she let out a cute little sound.
’’So that’s what you wanted.’’
I nodded.
’’Can you make one? I want it to be sturdy. Instead of the conventional flat blade, make the blade thin, with rounded edges and a very sharp tip,’’ I requested.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she touched the tip of her wand to a nearby tree. Something began emerging from inside the trunk and taking shape.
First came the hilt, with slight grooves that made the grip more comfortable. Then came the rounded handguard, providing balance and safety when handling the weapon. Finally, the blade took shape, with rounded edges and an extremely smooth surface. It measured one meter and twenty centimeters, and its tip was extremely sharp. The wood had a shade somewhere between white and brown.
Doriana took hold of the weapon’s hilt, and an amber energy enveloped the wooden rapier.
Once she had finished, she tossed it to me.
’’Will this do?’’ she asked.
I caught the rapier, testing its weight and balance. I performed a few quick thrusts to test its precision.
’’It’s not like a real one, but it’ll do.’’
I’d asked her to make it in case one of the monsters came at me and I had nothing to defend myself with.
I wasn’t planning on joining the fight. I had my reasons.
First: my experience with fencing was purely recreational.
Second: I’d never fought monsters in my life.
In short... I had no experience.
Later, I would ask Hugo to train me, since he apparently had experience fighting monsters due to his work as a mercenary.
And there’s more. I couldn’t afford to get injured here. If I suffered minor wounds or even some deeper cuts, I believed Doriana could heal me with her Life element. But if I were seriously injured, I didn’t know whether her healing would be enough to solve the problem. I couldn’t afford to be irresponsible now.
’’Do you know how to handle a rapier, Aster?’’ she asked curiously, her eyes tracking the approaching monsters.
’’Back in my world, I practiced fencing for four years. I’m nothing exceptional, but it’s useful for something. I can say I’m not completely inexperienced,’’ I said, looking at the rapier.
She nodded, narrowing her eyes.
’’They’ve arrived.’’
I looked carefully around, but I couldn’t see anything.
’’I can’t see them!’’ I said, narrowing my eyes.
Doriana didn’t look in my direction. She simply instructed me:
’’Look up.’’
So I did.
When I raised my eyes, I saw the newcomers.
They were surrounding us from above, perched in the trees.
’’Those are...’’ My eyes focused on the creatures. ’’Monkeys,’’ I said. ’’And they’re pretty big, too.’’
Large monkeys were hanging from the trees. Their fur was dark red, and their eyes glowed golden.
Their mouths were open, revealing sharp teeth, while saliva dripped from the corners. Their angry eyes were fixed on us.
The rabbit began to panic.
’’Calm down.’’
I looked back at the monkeys.
’’Dori, what are their classifications?’’ I asked.
Doriana, who was watching them indifferently, replied:
’’There are nineteen Class E and one Class D. That big one over there.’’
There stood a monkey larger than all the others. It had a scar running across one of its eyes. And instead of golden, its eyes glowed a sinister red.
’’He’s pretty intimidating,’’ I said, looking at the monster, which stared at me as if I were a snack.
But something was strange... Why hadn’t they attacked yet? I could see in their eyes that they were desperate to attack and devour us right there.
’’Why aren’t they attacking?’’ I asked with a frown.
’’It’s because of me,’’ Doriana said, without a hint of arrogance in her voice. It was simply a fact.
I looked at her and nodded.
’’Of course... They must know you’re stronger than they are.’’
Doriana nodded.
’’Actually, it wasn’t all of them... It must have been their leader who warned them.’’ She kept her eyes fixed on the leader. ’’If it weren’t for him, they would have attacked us as soon as they saw us. It seems the Class D one has started developing some intelligence.’’
’’I see,’’ I replied.
As I watched them hanging from the tree branches, something occurred to me.
’’Perhaps living in the trees gave them the opportunity to coexist with that monster in the cave,’’ I remarked.
’’It’s possible.’’
’’Can’t you be sure?’’ I asked.
’’No!’’ she replied, shaking her head.
’’Everything here is new to us, Aster. The monsters’ habits, their characteristics... All we can do is make assumptions based on what we know.’’
’’You’re right!’’
She smiled.
’’Now, putting that aside...’’ She turned toward me. ’’Would you like me to kill them all now?’’ she asked with a cold, frightening smile.
’’Why are you making that face, Dori?... You look... angry,’’ I said, feeling a little uncertain.
Her eyes no longer held any warmth. There was only coldness in them.
’’I am angry, Aster... Very angry.’’
’’And why is that?’’ I asked, trying to understand the reason for her fury.
’’Isn’t it obvious?... They scared my cute little pet,’’ she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
’’Of course,’’ I muttered, incredulous at her reason.
’’Look at him, Aster.’’ She pointed at the rabbit in my arms, which was trembling as it buried its head between my arms and chest.
I blew my hair upward, raising an eyebrow.
’’How can I let someone get away with scaring this adorable little creature?’’ she said like a mother talking about her baby.
’And here I thought it was something important,’ I murmured.
’’It is important!’’ she retorted.
’’Important for what?’’ I asked.
’’So we can study a species from this world,’’ she replied with a pout.
’’You just want to spoil him,’’ I said.
’’That too.’’
I let out a long sigh.
’’Whatever.’’ I waved my hand, giving up on that pointless argument.
’’Just kill them all, okay?’’
She gave me a wide smile. There was even a certain charm to that devilish grin. If this had been another time, Aster might even have gotten excited.
’Do I like sadistic women?’ I wondered.
I shook my head.
’No, no, no, absolutely not... Or maybe I do?’
’’Leave it to me, my lord.’’
She turned forward again as her mana began to stir.
’’I’ll make them regret intimidating that adorable little thing!’’