RUSTLE— RUSTLE—
Blades of grass brushed against my toes.
Behind me, Garen’s breathing sounded in a steady rhythm.
“Merchant Company Head!”
“Yes?”
“Is this… really the right path?”
“Of course. I came this way earlier today too.”
I had reacted the same way as Garen at first.
When I followed the association head here that afternoon, I had wondered whether this could truly be called a path.
“By the way, you said this was practical training. Who are we fighting?”
“I heard there are some rat bastards in Oxhorn Pass’s granary. We’re fighting them.”
“Rat bastards?”
“Yes, but these rat bastards are crazed for fire. Heh heh.”
“Ha ha ha! They sound amusing.”
We exchanged pointless jokes as we pushed through the grass.
RUSTLE— RUSTLE—
A short while later, the furnace halfway up the mountain emerged from the darkness.
The furnace was far quieter at night than it had been during the day.
Then a sound broke the silence.
“SKRIIK.”
“SKREEE.”
It sounded like something lightly scraping glass, so grating that goosebumps rose across my skin.
“Mr. Garen.”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever heard of imps?”
“Ha ha, I’ve heard a little about them.”
“They’re demons that crave fire. As for how you fight them—”
WHOOOOOM—
Before I could finish speaking, a streak of red light flashed across my vision.
“Merchant Company Head! Dodge!”
“……!”
BANG!
Garen leaped in front of me and raised his greatsword.
The fireball struck the blade and burst apart.
“Are you all right?!”
“Yes. Thank you.”
A greatsword like that was better than most shields.
Several shadows moved within the red light in the distance.
They were normally only waist-high, but—
‘Looks like they’ve gorged themselves on the furnace’s heat.’
—they had swollen to the size of humans.
Amid air thick with mingled heat and smoke, around fifty imps glared at us.
“SKRIIK…?”
When the fireball failed, the one at the front tilted its head.
“We just need to beat every last one of them, correct?”
“That’s right. You don’t have any magic resistance yet, so watch out for the fireballs.”
“Ha ha, I’ll learn by throwing myself into it!”
THUD, THUD.
With those words, my ‘first disciple’ charged forward.
“If this is a colony… there should be an Imp King.”
I muttered softly as I scanned the surroundings.
A tremendous shout was already ringing out.
“HRAAAGH—!”
“SKREEEK?”
HUP! WHOOOOSH— CRASH!
“SKREEEE!”
When Garen’s Overhead Strike landed, around five of them burst apart at once.
Their remains scattered through the air.
HUP! WHOOOOSH— CRASH!
“……?”
The Overhead Strike was clearly meant for fighting a single opponent.
At least, that was what I had learned.
Even if imps were not particularly threatening….
Was this really the correct tactic?
HUP! WHOOOOSH— CRASH!
When the first group burst apart, another wave poured out from behind the flames.
“HRAAH— CHA!”
Garen leaped in again without even pausing to catch his breath.
WHOOOOSH— CRASH!
CRASH!
CRASH!
Once, twice, three times.
Dark-red blood burst forth every time the sword passed through them.
For so long that I lost track of time, Garen’s sword flashed without rest amid the flames.
The ground behind him was piled high with imp corpses. The stench of burned flesh stabbed at my nose.
“Ha ha… there are more than I expected!”
He laughed, but his left shoulder sagged heavily.
‘Garen’s stamina is nearing its limit.’
But the creatures gave him no chance to breathe.
“SKRIIK!”
“SKREEEE.”
More shadows surged toward us from the distance.
And from the opposite direction as well.
“Merchant Company Head! They are all around us!”
Black shapes writhed between the flames.
…At this rate, we would be surrounded.
‘There are at least a hundred.’
“This won’t do. Mr. Garen! Come this way!”
“Huff, huff… yes!”
The shapes fully emerged from the heat.
“SKRIIK.”
“SKREEEE!”
One oversized head after another drew closer, each sprouting sparse patches of hair. The sight turned my stomach.
“Merchant Company Head! What do we do now?”
“Hmm….”
Garen’s face already gleamed with sweat.
He had been using swordsmanship intended for single opponents over and over, so it was only natural that he was exhausted.
“There are too many of them. Fighting like this is inefficient.”
“Then what should we do?!”
“We need to take down their leader. It’s probably… behind that horde.”
“Shall I charge in and kill it?”
“No, wait a moment.”
Something was strange.
“…….”
It was well known that imps formed colonies. However—
‘Even accounting for that, there are far too many.’
It was almost as though someone had deliberately increased their numbers.
There was no way they could have multiplied this much simply because one Lycanthrope had disappeared.
“Let’s move closer to the furnace first.”
“What? Ah, understood!”
“Do not damage the furnace equipment under any circumstances.”
“Of course not!”
I was not reassured….
We slowly backed away, walking into a dead end of our own accord.
When a large number of enemies surrounded you from every direction, this was more efficient.
“Mr. Garen, rest for now. I’ll give you a chance to take down the leader yourself later.”
“Ha ha! Excellent.”
Now that I was about to fight, I hesitated.
Should I simply use mana? Dealing with all of them would be a tremendous nuisance….
I looked back at Garen behind me.
“Right, what was that thing mercenaries say? Something about keeping your head heavy?!”
“Keep your mouth heavy and your fists light, was it not?!”
“Right, that was it.”
“Ah!”
Garen smiled and covered his mouth with his prosthetic hand.
Good. Agreement reached.
“Whew.”
I steadied my breathing and focused my mind.
SHIIING—
The silversteel sword slid free of the scabbard at my waist.
WHOOOOSH—
When I released a thin stream of Aura, a faint blue light, barely visible to the naked eye, shimmered along the blade.
STEP.
STEP.
The imps were already swarming in front of the furnace. They tilted their heads, not even realizing that their opponent had changed.
“SKIK?”
“SKREE?”
STEP.
STEP.
The moment the distance narrowed, something shot toward me from behind them.
FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOOOOSH!
Three fireballs flew toward me.
‘Upper right, center of the head, lower left.’
Their trajectories drew themselves inside my head as though I were entering coordinates.
I raised my sword and slowly lowered my stance.
As though catching eggs tossed from a distance, I received the three fireballs one after another.
HISSSSS—!
Flames raced along the sword.
I rotated the blade and sent them back along the exact same trajectories.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
The returning fireballs struck the center of the imp horde.
They were accustomed to fire, but that did not mean they could withstand the force of its impact.
TAP.
I did not miss the opening and rushed forward.
Holding my sword horizontally, I drew a single curve.
And at that moment—
It extended as though I were drawing a fine line with the sword’s tip.
Along that path, air and flesh split apart at the same time.
SHNK, RRRRIP.
Dozens of imps were cut in half.
Their upper and lower bodies flew in opposite directions.
STEP.
STEP.
I caught my breath and stepped forward again.
“SKREEEK!”
“SKRIIK!”
“SKREEEE!”
The frenzied creatures sprang at me from every direction.
There were too many to count.
Then they charged all at once.
SWISH—
The sword drew another line through the air.
Headless bodies staggered and collapsed.
Blood sprayed like fountains from the severed necks.
STEP.
STEP.
I walked toward the center again.
Fewer of them charged this time.
Once more, I swung my sword as though drawing it across their waists.
“…….”
After I had swung the sword around three times, only silence flowed before the furnace.
No matter how low their intelligence was, demons were no different from humans when it came to sensing death.
“SKIK…….”
“SK-SKREE….”
The imps did not dare approach. They merely choked back their screeches.
STEP.
STEP.
“SKRIIIK……!”
Among the creatures with rags wrapped around their lower bodies, one stood out in something that almost looked like proper clothing.
‘An Imp Elder….’
The Imp Elder heaved and raised its staff.
“I’m not interested in your last words.”
I reversed my grip on the sword and swept it upward from below.
The Imp Elder split into left and right halves where it stood.
And then—
“SKREEEEEEK!”
THUD, THUD, THUD.
A pale shape emerged from the darkness.
Its skin was as pallid as a lump of cooled iron.
The monster stood a full head taller than me—an Imp King.
Coward.
What were you doing while all your friends died?
‘Should I give Garen his chance?’
I glanced aside for a moment.
Garen’s shoulders were heaving.
…It would be ridiculous to switch places after coming this far.
Right. I would let Garen rest.
“SKREEK, SKREEK!”
The creature muttered something, but I no longer wanted to listen.
WHOOOOSH—
I condensed Aura at the tip of my sword.
I thrust, twisted, and pulled it free in one swift motion.
CRUNCH.
Something burst, leaving only the stench of blood behind.
“SKREEK!”
“SKIK-SKIK.”
The moment their leader fell, every imp scattered in all directions.
A brief silence settled over the battlefield.
As the flames died down, an acrid odor rose into the air.
I stepped over the imps’ remains and looked around.
‘That should be enough to call this cleaned up.’
Thinking I might warm myself by the furnace, I walked over to Garen.
“Haah…….”
“Merchant Company Head! Excellent work, ha ha!”
“It was nothing. Heh heh. Shall we end the practical training here?”
“I learned a great deal!”
“That’s good. I think I’ll have a glass of wine tonight.”
“Ha ha! The wine will taste incredible tonight.”
Just then—
“……!”
The wind abruptly stopped, and a heavy cry sounded.
“SNORT.”
“……An imp?”
No. That was not the sound.
This was a much larger, much heavier beast.
“SNOOOORT.”
THUD. THUD. THUD-THUD-THUD—
The ground shook.
A boar plated haphazardly from head to toe in iron armor charged toward us.
And on its back, a dwarf wielding a hammer rushed straight at Garen.
CRAAASH!
The instant the hammer and greatsword collided, golden sparks scattered like fireworks.
CRASH! CLANG! CRASH!
The metallic clashes of hammer and greatsword rang out one after another. Neither side could easily gain the upper hand.
“SNORT, SNORT!”
The dwarf drove the boar past Garen and slipped in behind him.
He pulled something from his waist and threw it.
FWOOSH!
It sliced through the air and soared upward.
A flash burst in the sky and stabbed at my eyes. At the same time, an ear-splitting BEEEEEP— exploded around us.
‘A dwarf with quite a bag of tricks.’
With both sight and hearing cut off, I felt the vibrations transmitted through my toes.
They grew stronger and stronger.
Now.
“Mr. Garen, block it!”
CLANG!
I heard Garen reflexively swing his greatsword and catch the hammer.
By the time my blurry vision returned, the dwarf was already circling his arm atop the boar and throwing a hand axe.
WHIRRRR— CLANG! CLANG!
Garen caught it on his pauldron.
Metal rang, and sparks scattered.
In the meantime, the boar pawed at the ground and lowered its stance.
‘It’s charging again.’
Then a CRACKLE— leaked from the dwarf’s massive hammer.
Yellow light scattered through the air.
‘A rune……?’
An inscribed device that reacted to even a small amount of mana.
There were still people who used such things?
I had thought they had vanished completely.
Dragging the hammer along the ground, the dwarf charged.
Lightning spread across the ground as though crawling toward us.
“Mr. Garen! Don’t block it—dodge!”
But Garen’s body reacted before my words reached him.
As if by habit, he received the hammer with his shoulder.
‘Damn it… I’m too late.’
I forced my blurry eyes open.
HUP! WHOOOOSH— CRASH!
The impact erupted like an explosion, shattering the pauldron that had caught the hammer.
At that exact moment, the dwarf’s helmet split beneath Garen’s greatsword.
Red blood slowly ran through the broken helmet.
THUD.
Having lost control, the boar buried itself in the wall.
The fight was over, but my heart was still pounding violently.
“What in the world was that…?”
Garen kept the dwarf pinned with his arm twisted behind him, then looked back at me while panting.
“Haah… ha ha ha! Merchant Company Head! What should we do with this old dwarf?”
Up close, he was an elderly dwarf, old enough that it was difficult to believe he had just fought evenly with Garen.
As though he had given up, his face was calm and impassive.
“…….”
He had attacked us first.
There was no need to leave behind future trouble.
“I suppose… we should kill him.”
“Yes, then I will do it at once!”
As Garen raised his greatsword high, the dwarf barely managed to speak in a fading voice.
“Wait…… Oxhorn….”
“What?”
Wait. Did he just say Oxhorn…?
I held out a hand and stopped Garen.
“What did you say?”
“Urgh… could you let me… meet my younger brother just once before you kill me?”
“Who is your younger brother?”
“Boldun…….”
Why did that name sound familiar?
“Boldun…?”
“Boldun… is the association head of Oxhorn Pass.”
“…….”
Ah, shit. I should not have listened.
Now killing him would leave a bad taste in my mouth.
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
“How could I possibly overpower that man from here…? I will leave my hammer and every one of my inventions behind.”
“Whew….”
A deep sigh escaped me.
If it was true that he was the association head’s older brother….
Taking him with us was probably the right choice for now.
He did not seem likely to pose a threat either.
“All right. You know the way to Oxhorn Pass, correct? Lead the way.”
“COUGH… Very well.”
Leaving the battlefield, where the stench of blood still lingered, behind us—
We headed for Oxhorn Pass.
“Merchant Company Head! Do you think he truly is the association head’s brother?”
Who knew? I was not sure either.
More importantly… Why had he been among the imps?
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
Unlike the cooling heat of the furnace, my thoughts only grew hotter.