Chapter 321

After collecting the corpses of the twelve creatures, hoping they might be useful, Tatsuro and the others immediately began their withdrawal.

“Is there anyone else around?”

“Peewee!”

They had Cardina check once more for any hidden individuals, and with no issues found, they decided today’s work was done and headed back in the direction they came from.

“We finished quite early, but we’re heading back to rest now and checking the source tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan. Just to be safe, let’s check our bodies for any abnormalities when we get back and again tomorrow morning. Thanks to this thing Leah made, we should be fine, though.”

Saying this, Tatsuro raised his arm, showing the bracelet that automatically absorbed Dragon Force to form a Protective Film.

“Still, it’s safer to thoroughly check for any irregularities.”

“Indeed.”

As they talked, they returned to the area where the Barrier was set up. Despite it still being before evening, a female Guild Staff member, who was also the site’s manager, hurriedly approached Tatsuro and the others upon their return.

“What’s wrong? Was there a problem inside?”

“…Huh? Other than what we already knew, there were no particular issues.”

“Uh, then did you give up on subjugating the Shubelg Fungus today?”

“Give up? No, they weren’t as strong as we thought, so we finished early. We’ve collected the corpses too. Want to take a look? Once the Black Fungus attaches to something, it doesn’t spread further, right?”

“Yes. If possible…”

Since it wasn’t a loss, Tatsuro stepped out of the Barrier and laid out the twelve dismembered corpses—heads and all—sent to him by the others.

The undeniable remains of the Shubelg Fungus convinced the Guild Staff that they had truly been eradicated, causing a stir at the scene.

“It hasn’t even been a few hours… How did you manage this?”

“Well, it was supposed to take a bit longer, but when we took down the first three, they kindly called their friends. Thanks to that, we didn’t have to wander the forest, saving a ton of time.”

“You fought all twelve at once…?”

“No, we each took on one to three at a time, so it wasn’t exactly all twelve at once.”

Tatsuro stored the spread-out corpses again, bid farewell to the still-stunned people, and left.

Watching their retreating figures, the newest Guild Staff member spoke up.

“Is the Shubelg Fungus actually a weak Magical Beast?”

“No way! It flies faster than any Insectoid Species, tearing you apart with its Claws or stabbing you with its Poison Stinger before you even notice. Even if multiple people face it, its long Tail with a spear at the end wreaks havoc in all directions. Even if you can keep up with its speed, you need a blow strong enough to break its tough Exoskeleton to have any effect. Could you defeat such a Magical Beast?”

“But even if it’s tough, they were torn to pieces, right?”

“That’s what’s so strange!”

The female Guild Staff sighed at the unconvinced newbie. The first Shubelg Fungus they saw was reduced to mangled corpses, yet the subjugators’ equipment didn’t have a single scratch or stain. Her words lacked persuasiveness, so she only warned not to engage if spotted and gave up further explanation.

Unaware of this exchange, Tatsuro and the others quickly returned to where they had placed their Mobile Home. After taking out nearby Magical Beasts with long-range attacks and cleaning up with Wind Magic, they set up the house and checked their bodies.

Finding no issues, they spent the rest of the day freely, and the morning check showed no problems either.

With the Shubelg Fungus subjugation complete, they crossed the now-clear forest, intending to investigate the Source—except that wasn’t what happened.

While heading toward Banramonte’s Wind Mountain, they used Detection Magic across the entire Banramonte Forest to find the shortest route with minimal Magical Beast encounters, only to discover an anomaly.

“What?! Imomu Papa is back!?”

“Yeah… There are only four this time, a third of yesterday’s number, but they’re definitely Shubelg Fungus.”

“Peewee!”

The footage from Cardina’s Spirit Division: Far Sight Near Slash clearly confirmed their presence.

“Could it be that the Tamer Leah mentioned yesterday is actually still alive in this forest?”

“There shouldn’t have been any human presence. There’s none now either, right?”

“Peewee!”

Cardina nodded repeatedly, affirming the absence.

“Shall we go check the forest? Seeing it directly might reveal something.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“Alright. There’s one nearby. Let’s head there.”

Sneaking through the forest, they reached the location of a Shubelg Fungus.

“As expected, it’s someone’s tamed Magical Beast.”

“Predictable, but then how? That’s the question.”

“There are probably Guild or national personnel watching near the Barrier, so sneaking in or letting a Magical Beast slip through should be difficult.”

Furthermore, the Barrier is designed to detect anything touching it. They’re also constantly Probing the surroundings with Dispel Magic. Missing a five-meter giant is unthinkable.

“So, you’d think it was always inside, but there’s no sign of that either, right?”

“It’s all so confusing. Could there be a Magical Beast with some kind of skill like that?”

“…Either way, something happened between the time we left and returned. So, how about we wipe out the current Shubelg Fungus again and monitor from outside the forest?”

“You mean recreate the same situation to see if it happens again? If something occurs, there’ll be some kind of action… It’s worth trying to understand the situation.”

“Hmm, it might waste a day, but it feels unsettling otherwise. We need to hunt all the Imomu Papa anyway, so that’s probably best.”

With no objections from the others, Tatsuro and the team set out to subjugate the Shubelg Fungus once more.

During the subjugation, they noticed differences beyond just the number.

-------------------

Level: 4

Skills: [Rapid Growth], [Scratch Lv. 1], [Poison Stinger Lv. 1]

[High-Speed Flight Lv. 1]

-------------------

“This one too, huh.”

The first difference: when they captured one, as they did yesterday, and tried to make it call others by injuring it, neither the first nor the second shrieked loudly like the initial three did yesterday, and no others came.

So, they had to move through the forest to take them down one by one.

The second difference was straightforward: all four today were between levels 3 and 6, with fewer skills and abysmal skill levels, making them significantly weaker.

“It’s like they were just born today.”

“Yeah, like they were hastily prepared overnight. In that case, shall we reduce the number of Imomu in the forest?”

“Not all of them, just reduce them?”

“If we take them all out, nothing might happen, but reducing their numbers could make it easier to spot some action, right?”

“Exactly. Let’s reduce their numbers to create a situation where Imomu are spread out thinly.”

With that, Tatsuro sprang into action.

First, he took a small amount of SP from the last one, finished it off, and collected the corpse. Then, spreading Tsukuyomi’s wings, Ai was carried in a Princess Carry, Cardina flew with her own wings, and Amaterasu used Dragon Telekinesis on her Staff to float, following behind.

Reaching the edge of the Barrier, Tatsuro held Ai with one hand, pointed his right hand downward, and grasped Amaterasu as it slid into his grip.

“Cardina, I’m counting on you to Probe all the Imomu in this forest.”

“Peewee!”

Using immense Dragon Force, Cardina instantly spread Detection Magic across a wide area, pinpointing every Imomu’s location without fail.

Tatsuro synchronized with Cardina’s Detection Magic to grasp the results, relaying them to Amaterasu while sending magical imagery.

A red light Sphere formed at Amaterasu’s tip, swelling to about a meter in size like a balloon. When it stopped expanding, it began spinning rapidly, and like a meteor shower driven by centrifugal force, a Laser Cutter rained down across the forest.

When it stopped, about 95% of the Imomu in the forest had been precisely struck by the lasers from the sky, vanishing without leaving even a corpse.

“Alright. Let’s head back, report this to the Guild Staff, and gather information.”

“Okay.”

“Peewee!”

Tatsuro and the others turned back toward the familiar female Guild Staff member.

When they informed her of the Shubelg Fungus’s revival, she couldn’t hide her shock.

“So, between when we left yesterday and returned, is there any information about someone—or something—entering the Barrier?”

“…There shouldn’t be. If something like that happened, we’d know.”

“I see. In that case…”

With no significant information gained, they informed her they’d monitor the forest from outside and enter the Barrier if anything happened, then left.

In a secluded spot away from the Barrier, they had Jeanne use True Form, equipped her with the Palanquin, and everyone boarded before ascending.

Hovering above the forest’s center over the Barrier, Tatsuro opened the door leading outside from the front room, making it easier to direct Dispel Magic’s Magical Power toward the forest, and sat in a chair.

“Here comes the endurance battle. Ai, stick close to me for now and keep Probing.”

“Sticking close is my specialty, so leave it to me!”

Even using magic all night wouldn’t exhaust them, but Tatsuro had Ai sit between his legs, hugging her tightly from behind. This was necessary to stay in top condition, not just an excuse to cuddle—or so Tatsuro told himself, though no one was listening.

“Let’s do this. Cardina, Jeanne, if you get tired, I’ll transfer Magical Power, so let me know right away.”

“Peewee!”

“Neigh!”

Cardina would assist with Probing, and Jeanne would remain stationary in the sky, so Tatsuro told them not to overdo it.

Alongside Cardina, who sat on the Palanquin’s roof, Tatsuro began monitoring the forest from outside the Barrier.

Time passed with no signs of anything happening. While chatting with Ai on his lap, Tatsuro kept a close watch on the Imomu’s status and a lighter one on the forest’s overall movements.

It was past 25:00 at night, and with this world’s 26-hour day about to turn over, Tatsuro and Ai wondered if nothing would happen today. Staring at the monotonous scenery through the windshield, a sudden movement in the forest—not from an Imomu—caught their attention.

“Cardina!”

“Wah!”

“Peewee!”

Stroking Ai’s head gently as she flinched at his sudden shout, Tatsuro had Cardina use Spirit Division: Far Sight Near Slash to display the area with strange activity, staring intently.

There, around a Tree-shaped Magical Beast they had noticed but thought was just one of many, wolf-like Magical Beasts about a meter long suddenly appeared, surrounding it.

Once about thirty wolves had appeared around the Tree-shaped Magical Beast, they scattered into the forest as if driven by a single will.

“Did that Tree-shaped Magical Beast summon those wolves?”

“It looked like they appeared out of nowhere, but they weren’t hiding underground, right?”

“No. I was lightly checking underground too, but there was no sign of them. It’s like the wolves appeared from nothing.”

“So, that Tree-shaped Magical Beast might be the source of Imomu Papa?”

“Maybe. But then, what are those wolves doing—oh, I see.”

“What’s that mean?”

As Tatsuro and Cardina tracked the wolves, they noticed them moving as if searching for something. When they found their target, they ran back to the Tree-shaped Magical Beast with it.

“The wolf Magical Beasts are capturing the Imomu we left alive without killing them and taking them to the Tree-shaped Magical Beast.”

“Oh, you’re right!”

While keeping the first Spirit Division: Far Sight Near Slash on the Tree-shaped Magical Beast, Cardina used a second to show a wolf carrying an Imomu in its mouth.

Pointing at the footage, Ai shouted.

“That settles it, Tatsuro! That’s the culprit!”

“Yeah, but I’m curious about what the Tree-shaped Magical Beast does with the Imomu. Let’s keep watching for a bit.”

“Got it!”

“Peewee!”

Tatsuro and Ai called the others via Speaking Tube, gathered near the open entrance, and, with Cardina flying nearby, continued observing the mysterious Magical Beast.