Chapter 23: Izale Village

Mash said that the Dragon’s Cave was located further east from Klein Castle. He knew about it because of the chief of Nakashi Village, however, he never been to the Dragon’s Cave before. The chief said, “Once those with dragon blood get near the cave they sought to find, they will feel within themselves where the Dragon Cave exact location is”.

Anyways, I arrived in the Klein Forest from the portal. As soon as everybody got out of the portal, Seiya started complaining.

「You could’ve asked Isister to put the portal in front of the Dragon’s Cave…」

「No! We can’t abuse the power of using shortcuts all the time! Therefore, I decided that our starting point would be one of our last endeavors! 」

Under normal circumstances, we would’ve reached the location by now, because normal heroes usually won’t return to the God’s realm repeatedly like Seiya does!

「It makes no sense to do roundabouts if we need to save this world urgently.」

「It can’t be helped. I told you many times that it’s forbidden by the Law of God to help humans excessively. Besides, it is fun to walk in the field once in a while. Don’t you agree, Mash? 」

Mash nodded positively when I looked at him.

「Yeah!! I want to fight monsters as soon as possible!! I want to see how strong I became by training with Celseus!! 」

「See? Even he agrees! 」

When we mutually agreed, Seiya spewed a small sigh.

「More importantly, I want to find a place to buy some tools. 」

Then, Elle gazed at Seiya with a strange look.

「Tools? Why? 」

「We are going to a cave, right? I want to be prepared, so I need to buy food and water, and some torches as well. 」

「Even so, Mister Seiya. I don’t think that we’ll find monsters inside the cave. I heard that the cave is a sacred place containing the strongest weapon. 」

「I reject it. I don’t know what’s in there. I need proper preparation. 」

「Well, okay…I’m sure there might be a town or a village on our way to the cave. Once we find it, just drop by and buy what you want. So, let’s go now. 」

As we soothed the cautious hero, we made our way to the cave.

We’ve been following Seiya through the grasslands for about twenty minutes.

I could hear Elle’s fatigued breath from behind me. I looked at her and she had trouble walking with Seiya’s luggage. On that precisely moment, I noticed that Elle tried to make a small flame with both her hands.

「Eh? What are you going, Elle? 」

「Ah, well, that’s what Lady Hestica taught me to do. She said to practice magic while walking. But it’s quite tough to do it right. 」

「You are out of breath. 」

「Yes. But, if a monster suddenly comes out, I want to help Mister Seiya and Mash! I want to be a little useful! 」

Seiya heard Elle’s cheerful voice and turned back at us.

「You don’t need to do that. You have luggage. You only need to bring my tools.」

「I…I see. Okay… 」

Elle had a smile on her face but at the same time, she looked a bit lonely.

「How dare you, Seiya!! 」

As usual, I tried to scold Seiya but he interrupted me.

「Besides, there seems to be no monsters around here. 」

Seiya muttered so blatantly.

Now that he mentioned it, I’ve been walking for quite a while now, and I didn’t see any kind of monster. This area shouldn’t be this safe. Then, why is it so peaceful?

However, it didn’t take long. In the horizon, I could see some strange movements. My eyes have better sight than regular human beings, so I could clearly see a strange “pig monster” walking in bipedal form.

「Mash! Can you see that monster over there? Isn’t that an orc? 」

「You’re right, that’s an orc! That’ll be perfect to try my skills! I’m going for it!」

On that moment, Mash drew his sword and ran in the orc’s direction. Suddenly, a huge fire bird appeared in the sky and flew towards the orc! The fire bird looked like the one Lady Hestica had on her arm in the water-mirror pond, but this bird was much larger. Instantly, the fire bird descended from the sky and hit the orc directly! In a second, the orc was wrapped in flames and was scorched on the spot!

Elle gripped my arm.

「What happened to that monster just now!? 」

「It looked like the orc had some sort of “suicide bombs”!? 」

Or could it be an attack between monsters!? It can’t be, it was only one monster walking in that area, am I right!? If that’s not the case, then…

「Everyone, watch out!! A chemist might be nearby!! 」

When I shouted, Mash and Elle took a defensive position. In that tense mood, a senseless Seiya spoke to us to calm down.

「There’s no need to be alert. I did that attack myself. 」

「*everyone yelled* What?  」

All the three of us were shocked.

「The skill is called, “Automatic Phoenix”. This ability senses an evil spirit of the approaching monster within a radius of 50 meters and automatically attacks using fire. 」

 So, that was Seiya’s magic…!? A remote fire magic attack…That’s amazing, yes, it was amazing, nevertheless…Mash spoke.

「As expected of my remarkable Master! But next time, if the enemy comes out, let me do it myself! 」

On that occasion, Elle screamed.

「Ah! Mash, there’s more enemies! Look, over there! A strange tree is walking!」

That strange looking tree had a human face craved in the wood. They are usually known as “Human Faced Tree”. Moreover, it had two separate bodies and it was coming in our direction.

「Okay!! Get ready Man Tree!! 」

Mash drew his sword from the sheath and ran with his full power, but the flying phoenix in the sky was much faster. Before even Mash got closer to it, the phoenix clashed right into the human faced tree. The two bodies were simultaneously burnt.

Mash stopped immediately and was astounded by that scene. Soon after, I shouted at Elle.

「Look! There’s another monster behind us! 」

Groups of giant ants with the size of human children, known as the “Killer Ants,” were coming to the place where we were standing still.

「Elle! If you use your fire arrow, you can defeat enemies from the distance! The phoenix has been detonated just now, so there are no more at this moment! You can do it! 」

「Ye…Yes! 」

Elle immediately used her fire magic and released her fire arrow.

「Go!! 」

At the time, I thought that Elle’s magical arrow would hit the killer ants; however, a new phoenix replaced the arrow’s trajectory. The phoenix absorbed the fire from the magical arrow, and burnt the killer ants with double flames.

Elle was stunned. Next to her, Seiya had his arms crossed as looked quite confident.

「It’s useless. Automatic Phoenix is level 30, so it means that it will kill the monster instantly. It’s always released from the sky to the ground. There is no chance for you guys. 」

「Then, that means I don’t have a chance to fight with monsters…!! 」

Seiya gazed at Mash, who had a bitter face.

「What’s wrong, Mash. I told you that the best plan was to “win without fighting”; don’t you remember that I taught you that? 」

「Yes!! I do remember!! 」

「Rather than fighting, you and Elle need to make sure that the luggage won’t fall apart. Do you understand? 」

「Yes, sir!! 」

Soon after, Seiya started to move forward.

I observed Seiya’s back as he walked and I thought.

…So that was the reason why I didn’t see monster for a while. The phoenix was getting rid of any possible menace. He should’ve let Mash and Elle fight the monsters for a moment…Even so, how could he have mastered such high-level remote distance magic? I wonder how much Seiya have grown with his abilities? I am curious about his current status, but he won’t tell me even if I asked him anyways…

All right!! It’s been a while since the last time I saw his status!!

I decided to use my special clayvorance ability to take a small peek…

Ryuguuin Seiya

Level – 1

HP – 111

MP – 111

Attack – 1

Defense – 1

Agility – 1

Magic – 1

Potential rate – 1

Resistance – Fire, Ice, Wind, Water, Lightening, Earth

Special skills – Fire Magic (Lv 1), Magic Sword (Lv 1)

Personality – Unbelievably Cautious

…Everything is “1”!? What an obvious camouflage!! I’ll use my Megamic Power until I break the camouflage barrier!! Just wait and see what I can do!! I’ll do it even if I hurt my eyes!! Okay, here I go!! My Megamic Power…ah…What?

I noticed that the “numbers 1” jumped “out” of Seiya’s status and were lined up in a row in front of my eyes. The “numbers 1” were the size of an index finger and it looked like they were alive.

*high-pitched sound*

What is going on…but…it’s kinda cute! Suddenly, the “numbers 1” jumped to my eyes! The tip of one of the numbers pierced my eyes savagely!

「*painful screams* My eyes hurt so much!! 」

When I screamed with so much pain, Mash, who was standing right next to me, became increasingly worried.

「Lista, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden!? That really startled me!! 」

「It’s the “numbers 1”!! The moment I thought the numbers were singing so cutesy, they flew right into my face and pierced my eyes!! 」

「What are you talking about, perhaps a fairytale!? Maybe this trip is too much for you to handle it, no!? 」

「It’s not that bad of a trip!! It got nothing to do with it!! 」

As I spoke loudly, Seiya stared coldly at me.

「…I see that you made peeping your hobby. 」

「Don’t make it sound like I’m a criminal!! 」

「It is a crime to steal other people’s information without their permission. If there’s police force in this world, then I’d like to report you to them. 」

「Why don’t you show me your status then!! 」

「I reject it. You don’t need to know. By the way, the numbers trap was just a warning. The next time you try to peep, it will destroy both your eyes and head. Don’t peep ever again. 」

Destroy not only my eyes but my head as well…!? Oh my goodness…!! It’s better for me not to try peeping his status for a while…!!

I was shivering, so I gave up from using my clairvoyance ability on Seiya.

Before long, I could see a different scenery in the horizon. A couple of wooden huts were scattered in the landscape. It seems that we reached a small village.

「Okay. Let’s try to find a tool shop in there. If they have at least one shop actually. 」

An old man approached us and stood in front of Seiya. The old man spoke with a smile.

「Hello, people on a journey. Welcome. You have arrived at Izale Village. 」

Seiya took from his pocket holy water and sprinkled it in the old man’s face.

「*looking shocked* What the hell you did to me!? 」

「Okay. Looks like he is a human. 」

「Seiya, why!? Holy water is not necessary anymore!! You killed Death Magra, right!? So it’s safe to say that the undead won’t come to attack anymore, got it!?」

「He might be an undead, who knows. That enemy was resilient. 」

On that occasion, Seiya looked back at the Mash.

「Pay attention, Mash. This is a new advice. Remember it well, “Don’t forget the undead”.」

「“Don’t forget the undead”, you say…!! Gosh!! My heart can’t handle such wise words!!」

Why do you let silly words affect your heart…I can’t understand it at all…

Just like me, the old man who was wet because of the holy water, was watching with an annoyed look.

「I’m all wet…What’s wrong with you, c’mon… 」

「Hey, you. I want to find a tool shop in that village. Tell me where it is, quickly.」

「You really seem like a fella who only cares ‘bout himself…If you want to find a tool shop just go straight for a while, and is right at the end… 」

We walked straight just as the old man instructed. Soon, we could see the wooden signboard of the tool shop.

Elle looked puzzled.

「What? Is this a tool shop too? Aren’t we supposed to find the shop right at the end? 」

「This shop must be the real deal since it has written “tool shop” in the signboard, right? 」

「I’m sure that old man told us a lie because he got soaked in holy water because of Seiya… 」

Then, we entered that tool shop. However, as soon as I put my foot inside the shop, I was struck by a strange feeling. It seemed that Seiya noticed it too as he held his sword in the sheath.

「Welcome. 」

We heard the voice from behind the counter with other tools in display. When we got closer, I could see the tiny shop owner looking at us. The moment I saw him, I knew right away. That’s…

I tried to stop Seiya who, in the meantime, was trying to take out his sword.

「Wa…Wait, Seiya! It is a dwarf! They are classified as monsters, but most of them do not attack people. They usually live in peace among humans! 」

Because I spoke loudly, a small elderly woman and a boy came running from the back of the shop. They looked at Seiya with his sword on his hand and they panicked as if their blood circulation stopped for a moment.

「Please stop! What did my husband do to you! 」

「Stop! Don’t hurt my dad! 」

The dwarf boy, who loudly complained to Seiya, was only about the height below my knees. Soon after, Seiya put his sword down. He mustn’t have felt any kind of hostility. He told the frightened dwarf.

「Hey. Do you have torches on your shop? 」

「Ye…Yes, we have. If you allow me to ask…but are you possibly going to a cave?」

「Do you know any cave? 」

「Yes. There is a cave in the eastern rock-strewn area. But as soon as you get inside the cave, it’s a dead end… 」

Mash hit his knees with excitement.

「That must be it! If Elle and I break the seal, we’ll be able to go beyond the dead end! 」

「I see. Anyways, let me have some torches first. 」

「Listen, Seiya. I’ve been thinking, but why don’t you use your fire magic instead? If you do, then you won’t need torches, right? 」

「I can’t. I don’t want to waste my MP. 」

Then, Elle raised her hand cheerfully.

「In that case, Mister Seiya! Please, let me use my fire magic! If it’s with my MP, then it will be fine, am I right? 」

Seiya rejected her proposal promptly.

「I don’t need you. I trust the capability of torches way more than your magic abilities. 」

「Seiya!! How dare you!! 」

I yelled at Seiya, but Elle showed an awkward smile.

「It’s okay, Lisutan. He’s right, my fire magic is unstable. 」

「Elle… 」

Elle was feeling a bit down and I felt sad for her.

What’s the matter with Seiya!! He could at least let Elle do that little job!!

However, Seiya was no longer willing to buy torches himself. He turned his attention to Mash as he was taking gold coins out of the sachets.

「Hey, Mash. We’re going to a cave for the first time. And that’s a problem. How many torches do you think we should buy? 」

「Fifty!! 」

「Mash!? 」

I was speechless when I heard Mash say that ridiculous amount of torches.

This child was totally “poisoned” by Seiya’s ideals!! His knowledge of tool usage is completely abnormal!!

Yet, Seiya shook his head negatively.

「You need to think differently. The cave formation might be complicated like a labyrinth. In other words, once you enter, it might take a few days to come out from there. We might get attacked by water monsters inside the cave, meaning that torches might get in contact with moisture. If that happens its light will become thinner and thinner until it becomes useless to use. In addition, after acquiring the strongest weapon, we will need torches to return back…we need, at least, five hundred torches. 」

「Please, give me five torches!! 」

I immediately requested my amount to the shop owner before he could fully grasp the nonsense from Seiya’s unrealistic words.

After we bought the torches, we left the shop with a clearly dissatisfied Seiya. The shop owner dwarf, his wife and son sent us off with a smile.

「Thank you for your purchase. May you, the adventurers, be blessed by Cross Tanathus… 」

Cross…? I’ve never heard of it before. It is some sort of spirit being worshiped around this particular area, maybe?

I didn’t particularly care. After that, we purchased some food and water from another shop and we finally went to the Dragon’s Cave.

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