Chapter 105
"Stop for a mont."
The mont the Young Lady gave the order, I imdiately opened the window and called for Arthas. As soon as he turned his head this way, I clenched my fist and showed it to him.
It was the hand signal to halt the carriage.
"Halt!"
The coachman skillfully slowed the horses, and the cavalry unit maintained formation without the slightest disorder. Sapiela opened her eyes and said a single sentence.
"Let us rest a little."
"Understood. I will make the preparations at once."
Before the carriage had even co to a full stop, I opened the door and stepped down onto the ground. Right then, Arthas dismounted and ca toward .
"What is the matter?"
"It is the Young Lady's command that we rest for a while. Make the preparations imdiately."
"Yes."
Whether it was the subtle fragrance of the forest that moved Young Lady Sapiela's heart, I could not tell, but it was only after we entered the forest that we finally stopped the carriage and took our rest.
The garden attached to the Adeline mansion was spacious enough to resemble a forest itself.
But this forest, shaped by untouched nature, had a different quality to its air. Even the chirping of the birds flying overhead sounded sharper and more vivid.
"The Young Lady will be getting down from the carriage to rest for a while. All n are to remain on alert. First squad, prepare a field tent. Second and third squads, maintain the designated formation and secure the surrounding safe zone. The Young Lady's safety is at stake. Stay sharp, all of you. This is a live operation."
"Yes, sir!"
As expected of elite cavalryn, they followed Arthas's command faithfully. Watching them, I could not help picturing the splendid knight he would beco in the future.
Since he was still rather young, I had expected him to struggle with command, but it seed he had won their hearts through sheer skill. They all moved in perfect unison.
The second and third squads drew their weapons and began patrolling to secure the area, while the first squad unloaded supplies from the carriage and began setting up the field tent.
The tent was completed in an instant. They proved through skill that they truly were elite.
"This way, Young Lady."
Beneath the canopy stood a fine folding chair. I guided the Young Lady to her seat.
She sat where the scenery was best and passed the ti at her leisure, while Arwen rolled up her sleeves and stepped in as well.
"You must be tired. A cup of tea should help ease your fatigue a little."
I had no idea when she had prepared it, but Arwen had sohow already arranged a steaming pot of tea. Perhaps because she had used the clear stream nearby, it sohow looked as though it would taste even better.
So far, the journey to the Royal Capital was continuing smoothly without any major trouble.
I watched every last detail of it again and again, missing nothing.
Attending Secretary sounded impressive, but in truth it ant that I had to keep track of every little movent of everyone in the party. And if anything went wrong, I would be the one held responsible.
At that mont, Arthas ca running over after gathering reports from the soldiers.
"According to the scouting reports, there is nothing unusual nearby. There are no signs of monsters either. It is a safe place."
"Good work."
After finishing his report, Arthas wore a faintly displeased expression. From ti to ti, he still showed his dissatisfaction with having to speak formally to .
Whenever he did, I simply laughed it off. If he did not like it, he should get promoted. There was not much else to be done.
To be honest, he ought to be grateful I rescued him from that suffocating parade ground back at the mansion.
"How long will we rest?"
"An hour...... no. Thirty minutes should be enough."
"Then I will let one squad rest every ten minutes in rotation. After that, shall we head straight for Hamilton Village without stopping again?"
"Good."
After glancing around, I lowered my voice so only Arthas could hear and asked,
"By the way, are there monsters in this forest too?"
"There are. None of the strong sort, but quite a few aggressive monsters live here."
Arthas answered in casual speech as though he had been waiting for the chance, keeping his voice low enough that only I could hear.
By aggressive monsters, he ant the kind that showed hostility and attacked first. I found myself curious what sort lived here. I had heard goblins and the like were common enough.
Until now, I had only ever fought people. I had never once fought a monster. I had only heard stories about them.
Slis were probably here too. When I made the Face Masks before, Simon had used sli essence when casting the molds.
And because of that, a sudden thought occurred to .
Could it be that I am inside a ga?
Between the Status Window, the different races, and the monsters, this world had all the familiar settings one might easily find in the RPGs I used to enjoy.
No, it feels too real to be a ga. And it does not seem like a dream either.
"There are probably goblins around here. They usually live in forests."
Goblins.
I ran my hand over the Mana Pistol, which I had modified with a special option before departure, and asked again,
"Are they dangerous?"
"Not particularly. As long as you watch out for them moving in groups. Then again, for Lord Dilen, our Special-Grade Butler, I suppose you could slaughter them all with your eyes closed?"
His sarcasm made snort despite myself. Still, the information was helpful.
I gave his shoulder a light pat and turned away.
"I am going to look around the area for a bit, so you are not to leave the Young Lady's side for even a single second."
"Yes, understood, my lord. But where exactly are you going?"
"Just looking around?"
"Just looking around, is it? Strange. Before we left, I seem to recall soone saying we were not going to the Royal Capital for leisure. I wonder if it is re coincidence that those words co to mind now."
Those were my own words. What a uselessly good mory he had.
"There is sothing I need to do."
"And what might that be?"
"I will explain it slowly later. For now, stay focused on your own duty."
Arthas let out a sigh, lowered his head slightly, and obeyed. After checking Young Lady Sapiela's peaceful state one more ti, I left my place.
At first I thought of following the road, but then changed my mind.
Sotis the path lies where there is no path.
Rustle!
Pushing aside the undergrowth, I boldly entered one side of the forest. There was just enough open space for a few people to pass through, and from deeper in, I could hear the quiet sound of a stream.
After continuing on through the brush, I finally saw it. A few herbivores were drinking from the stream.
Deer?
A magnificent view spread before , the sort of thing one would only expect to see on the National Geographic Channel.
A deer stood drinking peacefully, and right beside it, a wolf drank from the sa stream in perfect harmony. In a word, it was peaceful. The wolf flashed its eyes at , but then lost interest and went back to drinking.
"Now this is incredible. This kind of forest really is a first for ."
For a thoroughly modern man like , whose only real experience with forests had been forests of skyscrapers, every leaf and every petal was a fresh and strange experience.
I stood by the stream for a mont, surveying my surroundings.
"But are there really no monsters here?"
I had not co all the way here rely to admire the scenery. There was sothing I needed to test.
The performance of the Mana Pistol.
Right before setting out for the Royal Capital, I had added one special option to it.
Penetration.
Before this option was installed, whenever a bullet was fired, it struck the target without piercing through it. Mana tightly wrapped around the bullet and dealt physical damage that way. But now, if I pressed this option switch, the bullet would pierce through the target just like a real gun.
I had not added it for the purpose of killing people. Once we began traveling outside the cities, we would encounter monsters often enough, and I had added it specifically for anti-monster use.
It was far better to eliminate them outright than rely knock them unconscious.
"That said, I cannot very well shoot a deer."
It might have been worth testing if the wolf had attacked, but whether cowed by my presence or simply full, it drank its fill and vanished back into the woods.
"I suppose I will have to look around a bit more."
After checking the ti once again, I moved deeper into the forest, where the shade lay even thicker.
***
Arthas had been right. Goblins were monsters one could find quite commonly in this forest.
After passing the stream and walking a short distance, I encountered a wretched little goblin dressed in filthy rags. It stood a little over a ter tall, its skin entirely green.
Its eyes were as large as fists, and its ears were long and sharply pointed, hung with tal piercings. In its hand it held a crude blade. It was a humanoid monster with two arms and two legs.
"SKREE?"
The creature flashed its blood-red eyes and released a killing intent.
So that was Demonic Energy.
The one clear trait that distinguished monsters from wild animals. No matter how vicious a wild beast might be, its eyes still looked normal. Monsters, on the other hand, were marked by the thick blood-red glow in their eyes.
Their minds were filled with nothing but the instinct to destroy. Any living thing they saw, they attacked first.
I had heard there were even intelligent monsters on occasion, but the odds of eting one on the road to the Royal Capital were probably nonexistent.
"SKREEEEEK!"
With one sharp shriek, the goblin began creeping toward . Judging by the way it licked its lips, it had already decided I was prey.
Was that cry a signal? Red glows began appearing one by one behind it.
"So you had friends. Nice to et you all."
I calmly observed their movents. The rustling grew louder, and goblins carrying crude blades and stone axes erged from every direction.
Before long, they had surrounded. Was this how they hunted their prey?
"Goblins for my first monsters. Not a bad start. It would have been troubleso if an orc had shown up instead."
Goblins were among the most common monsters on the continent, and I had heard that their breeding rate was exceptionally high. In other words, clearing out the ones here would not be damaging the environnt.
If anything, it was more like protecting it. Monsters often slaughtered wild animals indiscriminately.
Quietly, I drew the Mana Pistol.
CLICK!
After loading it, I switched on the penetration function I had installed as an option. I aid at the goblin directly in front of , the one glaring straight at .
The instant the red dot settled on its forehead, I pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The penetration option changed not only the impact thod but even the sound of firing, making it sharper and crisper.
The bullet flew out with the gunshot and pierced the goblin cleanly through the forehead in an instant. It collapsed backward without even managing a proper cry, blood pouring from it.
"SKREEEE?!"
"Grrrr......"
The rest of them began to waver at the sudden death of their companion. Low intelligence or not, goblins were creatures that lived in groups.
I did not miss the chance.
BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG!
"GWAAK!"
"SKREE!"
"SKREEEEEK!"
Thick green blood splattered everywhere along with their screams. Without wasting a single shot, I cut them all down.
"The option seems to be working well enough."
First, I needed to verify the results properly. I pulled on a pair of gloves and walked toward the fallen creatures.
As I approached, the surviving goblins began to step backward.
BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
I finished off the rest of them as well. If any survivors escaped and ca back later with more of their friends, that would only be a nuisance.
I bent down and inspected one of the goblin corpses.
"The power is better than I expected."
Turning it over, I saw that the bullet had indeed pierced straight through it. But their muscle and bone structure looked poor. It might not work nearly so well on creatures with thicker hides.
"Then again, these were weaklings to begin with. I will need a tougher test subject."
The lack of ti was the real problem. I checked whether there were any useful byproducts I could take from the monster corpses, but there was nothing obvious. That part was sothing I would need to study more.
"That should do for today. I have no desire to be nagged by Arthas."
I stripped off the gloves, reloaded the pistol, and headed back to the carriage.
I returned right on ti. The soldiers were already beginning to prepare for departure. Young Lady Sapiela was nowhere to be seen, which ant she had likely already gone back into the carriage. Arwen was also busy packing away the tea set.
"Nothing unusual?"
"The only problem, if one could call it that, is how peaceful it all is."
"I would like it to stay that way. We should be getting moving again soon. Give the signal."
"Yes, sir."
Arthas mounted his horse again, and I climbed back into the carriage.
And so we resud our journey, leaving that small incident behind us, and in ti we reached the Royal Capital safely.
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