| Author: Tsunose Bun | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 3024 characters |
| Translator: Jiro | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1384 words |
| Editor(s): Robinxen | ||
“Big brother Ganan!” Law yelled, attempting to rush towards Ganan, who was half-dead.
“Wait!” However, Merc tightly held on to his hand. Surprised, Law turned to look at her.
“Sis?”
“Look closely. On Ganan’s left, there’s a Magic Beast.” Merc pointed with her finger, and sure enough, a Magic Beast stood where she had indicated.
The Magic Beast had the appearance of a wolf, with wings protruding from its back. It was munching on a bird right next to Ganan. The bird in question was probably one of Ganan’s prey.
“AHH! W-What is that…”
Law panicked as soon as he saw the Magic Beast and swiftly hid behind Merc’s back, embracing her. The Magic Beast in front of them was unusual for these mountains, and Merc hadn’t heard of anyone from the village seeing it here. It was understandable that Law, a kid of the elf village who had never seen a wolf, was unaware of its existence.
“That’s a Velche. It is a Yellow-Green Grade, according to the adventurers’ Danger Ranking… Why is it here?”
The Adventurers’ Guild’s Danger Ranking was divided into seven ranks. Purple, Blue, Green, Yellow-Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. With Purple being the weakest and Red the strongest.
Considering those ranks, the Velche in front of Merc and Law was somewhere in the middle. There was no way for a child to beat it. If they weren’t trained, even a fully grown adult would become its prey.
With only a bow and arrows at his disposal, it was only natural that Ganan hadn’t been able to defeat it.
This was also Merc’s first encounter with a Velche. If she had known that it would appear here, she would have never let Ganan go by himself. Climbing these mountains was a daily occurrence for residents of the village.
As a result, it was safe to presume it had appeared today.
“Law. Return to the hunter we just saw and ask for help. You should rush down to the village and contact Mr. Rezon or any other adult who knows how to use Healing.”
“What? B-But, what about you, Sis?”
“I’ll divert the Velche’s focus away from Ganan. It’s currently eating the bird, but after it’s finished, it’ll definitely switch its attention to Ganan.”
Merc then tossed the sack off her shoulder and took a defensive stance with her wooden stick.
The Velche was perfectly aware of Merc’s presence, even though it hadn’t taken its sight away from its food for even a second. As it ate, it kept making a low growl.
It was letting them know that they weren’t worth its time and that as long as they didn’t touch its prey, it would let them go.
Merc, on the other hand, had no intention of abandoning Ganan.
“B-But…”
“Just go! It must not have any pals because it is eating by itself. You should be able to go to that Mister in no time.”
“B-But, Sis…”
“I’ll be okay! Please! Even if I take it down, Ganan will die if he’s not treated! Hurry up and get a Healer here1!”
“O-Okay!”
Law made up his mind after some deliberation and dashed away. As Law ran, the Velche gave him a strange look, but eventually let him go and kept eating.
“You sure are laid back. Aren’t you, you pup! You dare touch my friend, huh? I hope you’re prepared to face the consequences.”
“Yelp?!”
The Velche abruptly stopped eating and sprang back in surprise, his gaze fixed on Merc.
It gradually backed away from the bird as it watched the young girl with the wooden stick approach it.
The situation was everything but ordinary.
Even among adventurers, the Velche was regarded as a difficult opponent.
It possessed the quick wits and ferocity of a wolf, as well as the ability to fly thanks to its wings. It was a Yellow-Green Grade on its own, but as a group, it immediately soared to Yellow Grade. If the group had a leader, it was immediately promoted to Orange Grade. It was an extremely terrifying Magic Beast.
However, that same Magic Beast was currently being overpowered.
By a young female elf.
By a young girl who approached it gently, holding only a wooden stick in her hand.
“Awooooo!”
The Velche, embarrassed by its demeanor, bared its fangs and let out a low howl. It was radiating an aura that indicated that it was powerful and that anyone who approached it would be killed instantly.
Merc, on the other hand, saw it as a hollow threat.
It would have attacked her without even threatening her if it was truly powerful. If it could indeed kill her in an instant, it would have pounced on her the moment she moved, bringing an end to the situation. The Velche had no excuse not to kill Merc, who was displaying her hostility in front of it.
When it didn’t, Merc shrugged it as nothing more than a small fry.
“I’m coming, pup!”
Merc bolted forward, closing in on the Velche. At the same time, the Velche showed its resolve as it sped to meet Merc despite a slight delay.
“GRRRR!!!”
The Velche charged, mouth agape.
Merc, who was nothing more than a young female elf, would surely lose in terms of physique and muscle mass. She’d be pushed back and killed the moment she stuck out her wooden stick.
“HYA!”
That’s why she kicked the ground and moved to the side, out of the way of the approaching fierce Velche.
The Velche, unable to slow down, turned its head and stared at Merc as it passed by her.
Merc’s right hand, holding the wooden stick, struck out at the Velche’s right eye at the same time. Merc then utilized the Velche’s charge’s momentum and head-turning to draw out her wooden stick.
“Yelp?!”
Even a wooden stick could easily pierce through a soft eyeball if its end was pointed. As a result, even the young female elf was able to smash the Velche’s eye.
“Y-YELPPP… Y-YIPPPP!!!”
The discomfort, compounded with the loss of vision in its right eye, caused the Velche to scream endlessly.
Its appearance was undoubtedly frightening, but it also demonstrated that Merc had cornered the Magic Beast in front of her.
“Phew. You look quite handsome like that.”
“GRRRR!!!”
This time, it was the Velche that charged at Merc. In contrast, Merc remained motionless. She just aimed the end of her wooden stick towards the approaching foe.
The Velche abruptly jumped when the distance between them narrowed to roughly ten meters. With its moves, it was most likely attempting to catch Merc off guard.
And it was thanks to the Velche’s wings that it was able to do so.
“GRRRR!”
Just above Merc, the wolf-like Magic Beast stretched its mouth wide, as if it was about to swallow her whole. Merc, on the other hand, merely took a step back and pointed the end of her wooden stick towards the ground. With her left hand, she pulled out the hunting knife and flung it towards the Velche’s mouth.
“YIP…!”
The hunting knife shot directly into the Velche’s mouth, slashing its throat from within.
The winged wolf crashed to the ground unsightly without even being able to howl out. Even if its wings were still intact, it would very certainly be unable to fly.
That was due to the fact that it was going to lose something far more valuable than its wings. That is, its life.
The Velche was likely still perplexed by what had happened to it. It had concentrated its left eye entirely on Merc’s wooden stick with its right eye out of the picture, preventing it from spotting the knife coming from its blind spot.
Of course, Merc had drawn the Velche’s attention to her wooden stick on purpose.
If the Velche concentrated solely on the wooden stick, it would almost certainly miss the knife.
It should have been more concerned about Merc herself than with the wooden stick.
It should have kept a closer eye on Merc’s movements. If it had done so, it might have seen Merc pull out the hunting knife as soon as it jumped into the air.
“Howl……”
The Velche perished with its mouth still open and its remaining left eye glaring at Merc2.
