Book 03, Mountain Range of Magical Beasts Read online

  “This Bloodthirsty Warpig has a tough, thick skin. It’s defensive abilities are exceedingly strong. Most likely, the earthen spear techniques wouldn’t be able to penetrate its skin.”

  Linley had a sudden insight, and began to formulate a plan. Immediately, his lips began to move silently as he soundlessly began to mouth the words to a spell. Slowly, the wind elemental essences around Linley began to swirl about him, forming into a bluish, translucent javelin in front of him. The translucent javelin’s tip had gusts of wind flowing about it.

  Wind-style magic of the fifth rank – Windhowl!

  “Swish!”

  A piercing sound could be heard as the Windhowl javelin shot downwards with terrifying speed. At the same time, Linley jumped down from the tree’s crown, leaping down with as much speed as the javelin.

  Upon hearing the noise, the Bloodthirsty Warpig stopped drinking water and stared up, but the Windhowl javelin was simply too fast. In the blink of an eye, it traversed the distance and was only a few meters away from the Warpig. The javelin’s speed really was frighteningly fast, and its tip was covered with gusts of wind.

  “Grrrr!” The Bloodthirsty Warpig let out an angry howl, and it used the horn above its snout to strike viciously at the Windhowl javelin.

  “Crash!”

  The javelin formed from the Windhowl spell crashed directly onto the horn of the Bloodthirsty Warpig. The Windhowl javelin immediately dissipated, but at the same time, after taking a hit from a spell of the fifth rank, the Warpig couldn’t help but half-kneel from the force of the blow, with a bloody scar appearing on its forehead as well.

  “Woosh!”

  Before the Warpig had a chance to react, right behind the Windhowl javelin was Linley, who with all his might, struck down at the center of the head of the Warpig with his newly acquired black dagger. The dagger penetrated directly into the skull of the Warpig, and as it did, Linley immediately dodged.

  “Roar!”

  Having been stabbed in a vital spot, the Bloodthirsty Warpig roared furiously. Flames began to arise on its body, and it also began charging forward with no regard for anything. But after rushing a few dozen meters, it collapsed. Its four legs quivered a few times before coming to a stop, and all of the fire on its body began to die as well.

  “Amongst the magical beasts of the fifth rank, much like the Vampiric Iron Bull, the Bloodthirsty Warpig is considered a beast of rather low intelligence.” Linley walked to the corpse of the Warpig, pulled out his dagger, and removed the magicite core from within the Warpig’s corpse.

  Thinking back to his recent life in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, Linley couldn’t help but admit to himself that although he was still a magus of the fifth rank and a fighter of the fourth rank, his actual combat ability had increased tremendously compared to when he had first entered the mountains.

  After multiple life-and-death struggles, his body was covered with scars which symbolized painful lessons learned over this month.

  Especially…

  On his chest, there was an extremely horrifying wound. That time, he really was at death’s door. In the end, it was the little Shadowmouse who once again saved the day.

  This wound wasn’t given to him by a magical beast. It was given to him by an extremely adorable young lady.

  “Back then, I really trusted her. I really believed that her friends had all been killed, and that the only one left was her, injured and alone.” Thinking back to the events of two weeks prior, Linley once again felt a stab of terror. That girl had seemed so kind, so pure.

  When Linley discovered her, three other men and another girl had all died. Only she was left, filled with terror.

  Linley couldn’t help but go comfort her, help her, take care of her. That girl had seemingly suffered a huge mental blow. Every night, she insisted that Linley hold her, as only in Linley’s arms did she feel safe enough to go to sleep. Every night, upon seeing the peaceful look on her face as she went to sleep, Linley felt joy in his heart. Three days passed in such a fashion. On the fourth night, she once again was sleeping quietly in Linley’s bosom.

  But suddenly, this adorable girl pulled out a dagger and stabbed directly at Linley’s chest, with Linley caught totally offguard.

  And then, the enraged Bebe had suddenly, bizarrely, doubled in size. His enormous jaws bit off the girl’s head with a single bite, immediately killing her. And then, Bebe returned to his normal size.

  But Linley couldn’t staunch the flow of blood from the deep wound in his chest. In the end, the little Shadowmouse, Bebe, was forced to use some special darkness-type magic techniques to close the wound.

  “Back then, I should’ve listened to Grandpa Doehring’s advice. I lacked experience.” Linley thought to himself and sighed. Originally, Doehring Cowart had warned him several times about the girl. In the end, seeing that Linley was stubbornly set on assisting the ‘helpless’ little girl, there was nothing that Doehring Cowart could do. But he still tried to insist that even if Linley was going to help her, that he absolutely must not allow her to get near him.

  But at the time, the girl was extremely ‘terrified’, and wasn’t able to fall asleep without Linley holding her. In the end, in order to comfort her, Linley held her in her arms, and they both went to sleep.

  “I really didn’t expect that her acting abilities would be so good. I treated her so well, but she could be so merciless to me.” Linley sighed again in his heart. When that girl had stabbed him in the chest, he had seen the vicious look in her eyes, and his heart had grown cold.

  What had caused this girl to be so heartless and merciless?

  Could it be that despite taking care of her for three full days, she hadn’t been moved in the slightest?

  “Fortunately, thanks to Grandpa Doehring warning me over and over again, I didn’t reveal Bebe’s true capabilities to her.” Linley couldn’t help but admit that his life had been preserved thanks to Doehring Cowart and Bebe.

  “Linley, what are you thinking about? Are you thinking about that girl again?” Doehring Cowart appeared by Linley’s side.

  Seeing the look on Linley’s face, Doehring Cowart was able to guess what he was pondering. That stab from the girl had injured Linley deeply, not just in the flesh, but also in his heart. From that day onwards, Linley no longer would easily trust others.

  From the very beginning, Doehring Cowart had sensed that there were some problems with the girl. How could someone with the courage to enter the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts be so totally discombobulated by the sight of death?

  Unfortunately, Linley was still totally convinced by the girl’s performance, and really felt that the girl was very ‘pitiable’.

  “Linley, that girl’s performing abilities was nothing. Back in my time, in the Pouant Empire, I saw so many plots from enemy countries, plots which involved decades of subterfuge and lies which were totally undetectable. Their acting abilities are beyond your comprehension.” Doehring Cowart smiled faintly as he spoke. “Remember, don’t easily lower your guard when dealing with a stranger.”

  Linley nodded slightly.

  “Squeak, squeak!” The little Shadowmouse, Bebe, began to call out from next to Linley.

  Linley looked up.

  Right now, the little Shadowmouse was leaping up and down atop the Warpig’s corpse.

  “Boss, when are we gonna go to the central areas of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts?” Bebe mentally spoke to Linley in a somewhat unhappy tone. “In this current area, the strongest creatures that we can meet are magical beasts of the sixth rank. They aren’t much of a challenge. I want to challenge magical beasts of the seventh rank, boss! I want to challenge magical beasts of the seventh rank!”

  Linley glanced at the little Shadowmouse. “That’s enough. Don’t get too cocky. You are bragging that magical beasts of the sixth rank are too easy? Do you remember that Bluewind Hawk from the other day? Was there anything you could do to him?”

  “That’s not my fault!”
Bebe rubbed his head with his tiny paws as he said unhappily, “Boss, you saw yourself. That Bluewind Hawk stayed in the skies and refused to come down. He just kept on throwing magical wind knives at us, as though they didn’t cost him any mageforce at all. I couldn’t just let him attack me without end, could I?”

  Linley laughed.

  Over the course of the past month, Linley had become very familiar with the little Shadowmouse’s abilities. In terms of speed, Bebe had reached a terrifying level indeed. But because he was physically small and only had his claws and teeth as offensive weapons, although Bebe was capable of dealing with magical beasts of the sixth rank, he most likely would find it quite hard to deal with a magical beast of the seventh rank.

  Just at this moment, Linley suddenly frowned. He cautiously turned his head and saw a blurred human outline appear in the wilderness.

  *

  Book 3, Mountain Range of Magical Beasts – Chapter 16, Cruelty (part 2)

  “Linley, it’s actually you! This is great!” A happy voice rang out, and a skinny young man began jogging towards them at high speed. This youth was the skinny warrior whom Linley had met on his way towards the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Of the other two people he had met, his classmate Delsarte and the big, burly Kava had both died.

  Back then, when facing the wind-style magus-archer, Linley had utilized the earth-style spell ‘Earthen Spear Array’. The skinny warrior of the fifth rank, Matt, had seized the opportunity to immediately flee. But Linley didn’t really care that he had ran away. After all, him and Matt didn’t have any special relationship.

  Honestly speaking, of the three people he had encountered, the only one Linley genuinely felt friendly towards was his own classmate, Delsarte. That big fellow, Kava, had also made a good impression on Linley. Linley didn’t have any special feelings for Matt.

  “Oh, it’s Matt. I didn’t expect that the two of us would meet again in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts after a month had passed.” Linley was still quite calm.

  Matt appeared very excited. “This is wonderful. This month, on numerous occasions, I was almost overcome by the magical beasts here. Fortunately, my luck was not too bad. Whoah – is that a Bloodthirsty Warpig? Linley, you were able to kill a Bloodthirsty Warpig? You really are formidable!”

  Linley smiled.

  “I’m getting a bit hungry. I’ve heard that the flesh of both the Bloodthirsty Warpig as well as the Vampiric Iron Bull are both extremely flavorful, and that it has a wonderfully chewy texture as well. I haven’t had lunch yet. You wouldn’t mind sharing some Warpig flesh with me, would you?” Matt joked.

  The Bloodthirsty Warpig was huge in size, with its corpse weighing at least several hundred kilograms. Even ten people wouldn’t be able to finish it all.

  “Of course not.” Linley withdrew his knife and began slicing off parts of the Warpig.

  “Linley, no need to trouble yourself. This Bloodthirsty Warpig corpse is part of your spoils of war. How can I trouble you to butcher it as well? Let me do it. My roasting abilities are quite formidable.” Matt immediately headed towards the Warpig corpse and withdrew a knife from his side.

  Playing with the knife, Matt began to expertly butcher the Warpig, although he only cut off the four legs, tongue, and tail. He then began to wash these pieces in the nearby spring.

  “Boss, he seems to be quite skilled. He doesn’t seem to be any weaker than you in this respect.” The little Shadowmouse, Bebe, leapt onto Linley’s shoulders and mentally said to Linley.

  Glancing at the little Shadowmouse, Bebe, on his shoulders, Linley couldn’t help but sigh with gratitude. When others saw this little tiny black mouse, perhaps they would just think that it was an ordinary little Shadowmouse, of little threat. But in reality…

  Linley could still recall how the terrifying sight of how the enraged Bebe so easily slaughtered that dark assassin, as well as that ‘kind’ young girl.

  “Can’t judge a person by his appearance. Same goes for magical beasts.” Linley sighed to himself.

  Matt quite quickly began to set up his roasting apparatus, and also withdrew some rough cooking salts and seasonings from his pouch. “Linley, these Warpig legs will definitely be very tasty. Its tongue, as well, is both soft and fragrant. The flavor of a Warpig tail is quite good as well.”

  As he spoke, Matt had chopped both the tail and the tongue into multiple pieces. Linley watched as Matt used flints to light a fire, not stepping in to help despite being in possession of fire-style mageforce. He watched Matt quickly and constantly roast each piece.

  After a period of time.

  “It’s about time. Have a taste.” Matt quite enthusiastically handed a large chunk of Warpig leg meat to Linley.

  But in turn, Linley flipped the Warpig meat around and offered it to Bebe. Bebe immediately accepted it happily, and began to chomp away in earnest. This Warpig leg was perhaps three or four times larger than Bebe, but in a short period of time, Bebe totally devoured all of the meat.

  This sight caused Matt to gape in astonishment.

  “He really is a magical beast. Even a little black Shadowmouse can eat so much.” Matt sighed while offering a piece of roasted Warpig tongue to Linley. “Linley, have a taste of my artisanship.”

  Linley smiled as he declined. “No need. I’m not used to eating tongues. Some of that leg meat will do just fine.” Linley took one of the other legs and began to eat without any reservations. Next to him, Matt laughed. “Then I won’t force you. If you won’t eat it, I will. Haha.”

  As though enjoying himself very much, Matt began to eat the roasted Warpig tongue and tail.

  By the time that Linley had finished eating the Warpig leg, Matt hadn’t taken a single bite of it yet.

  “You are done already? Haha, fine then. I’m half-full now anyhow. I’ll save this Warpig leg for when I am hungry.” Matt withdrew an oilcloth from his backpack and placed the Warpig leg inside it, then replaced the cloth within his backpack.

  Linley glanced at Matt.

  It seemed as though Matt wanted to travel alongside him.

  “Matt, here in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, I’m fine training by myself. Let’s part ways here.” Linley said directly.

  Matt immediately frowned. “Linley, this place is extremely dangerous. It’d be much safer if we travelled together. Honestly speaking, during this past month, I’ve been frightened during every combat encounter. I’m not even able to sleep well.”

  “Then do as you wish.”

  Linley didn’t mince words. He immediately headed deeper into the mountains, while Matt, smiling, followed him. But when his gaze fell upon the backpack Linley was carrying, a slightly sinister light shone in his eyes.

  “This backpack is different from the one Linley was carrying a month ago. And it seems much fuller as well.” Matt sneered to himself, but he still smiled in a very friendly manner. Matt was not the same as Linley. Before entering these mountains, he had trained himself in other places for many times.

  Matt sped up his pace. Smiling, he said, “Linley, you really are a wonderful fellow. Travelling with you, I feel much safer. After all, two people together are much stronger than two people separate. At night, the two of us can take turns sleeping. There’s no need for us to both be on full alert at night.”

  Linley was silent. His gaze was always focused on his surroundings, carefully keeping an eye out for the magical beasts in these mountains.

  … .

  They slowly made their way north, as Linley no longer dared to go further east. If they travelled further east, they would be entering the dangerous parts of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Currently, in this area, Linley would only encounter magical beasts of the fifth or sixth rank.

  This entire time, Matt followed by his side, seemingly quite happy.

  Two days later.

  It was late at night, and the world was dark. Linley and Matt continued going forward in a single file line.

  “Linley, do you t
hink it’s about time for us to go back yet? Honestly speaking, we’ve spent about enough time here in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.” Matt said in a soft voice as he followed Linley’s trail.

  Linley just calmly shook his head, not making a sound.

  Matt felt a hint of anger. “Every night, this Linley fellow is extremely careful. He isn’t giving me any opportunities at all.” Matt didn’t have any confidence in his ability to kill Linley. After all, being able to survive here for so long was a proof of Linley’s abilities.

  “Hrm?” Linley seemed to have noticed something special. He turned around and stared at a copse of trees not too far away. Within that copse of trees, there was a hidden, indistinct shadow lying in wait.

  Matt, next to Linley, saw him turn his head, presenting his back to Matt. A look of greed appeared in Matt’s eyes, as well as a look of excitement. In a practiced manner, Matt suddenly drew his dagger and without any hesitation at all, stabbed towards Linley’s back… .

  Linley suddenly turned and grabbed Matt by the wrist of his right hand, which was holding the dagger. At the same time, he stared coldly at Matt. His voice even colder, he asked, “What do you think you are doing?”

  “You!” Matt was shocked. He couldn’t believe that his attempted sneak attack had apparently been noticed and blocked.

  Matt immediately smiled at Linley instead. “What do I think I’m doing? O mighty genius magus, let me tell you… I am going to kill you.” Matt was totally confident in himself. With the two of them in such close proximity, how could he, a warrior of the fifth rank, be unable to kill a magus of the fifth rank?

  Matt suddenly exerted some strength with his right arm, and he began to blaze with battle-qi, forcibly shaking off Linley’s grip.

  “Die!” Matt stared at Linley as he stabbed again at Linley with his dagger.

  “Rawr!!!!”

  A terrifying sound! “What?!” Matt heard the noise, and he couldn’t help but shudder. And then, Matt saw a very small black shadow appear in front of him.

  “What… what is this?” Matt could tell that this black shadow was actually the little Shadowmouse, Bebe, which spent every day on Linley’s shoulders. The little Shadowmouse opened his mouth wide, revealing a mouth filled with a horrifying number of sharp teeth, and directly chomped down towards Matt’s face.