“I feel bad for the others.” I tell Brendu at my side as we walk alongside a group of guards toward the area we need to investigate.
“Me too, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Your grandmother is right, it’s too dangerous for all of us to go, especially when they’re still sapphire rank. We can take care of ourselves if things get ugly.” Brendu replies as she wraps her hand around mine.
Arisa was the first to volunteer to come with me when my grandmother suggested investigating the area in search of a dungeon or anything unusual. Sol, Marga, and Brendu also showed interest in accompanying me.
My grandmother quickly rejected the proposals of the three girls who were still sapphire rank. If things became complicated, it would be difficult to protect them.
“I could protect them if something unexpected appeared.” I reply, already knowing the counterargument.
“We know you’re strong, Maki, but we’re heading toward something unknown. If a diamond rank or a grade 5 monster appears, you’ll already have enough trouble protecting yourself, and knowing you, you’d give everything you have to protect us if things got complicated. That would only make the situation worse.” Brendu’s gaze remains calm and composed.
“I’m quite strong myself, and even as a sapphire rank I could defend myself against grade 4 monsters. Now that I’ve advanced, I can even hold off several of them at the same time. Let’s not forget that my abilities allow me to escape, and I have a few lifesaving measures.” There’s firm determination in her eyes.
She’s right. If things became dangerous, I would give everything I had to buy time for them to escape, or I’d force them to retreat if necessary. I’m also worried about the guards, but they aren’t my priority. The girls’ safety comes first.
I look Brendu in the eyes. She’s one of the few ruby ranks who wouldn’t slow me down or become a burden. The princess is far tougher than her beautiful appearance suggests.
“Let’s hope nothing strange happens. I’m already tired of weird situations.” Lately, no matter where I go, something unusual happens. Ever since I advanced in rank, it feels like the world wants to hit harder.
“Relax, nothing strange will happen, and you have me. You can trust me with your back.” Brendu rests her head on my shoulder.
“We shouldn’t be showing this much affection while on duty... I can feel the guards getting nervous just from looking at us.” The Imra of the sapphire ranks becomes slightly unstable whenever they glance in our direction. They try to control it, but I can still sense the disturbance.
“Is that the reason? I think you’re embarrassed to be seen walking around with the greatest beauty in the Kingdom of Juka.” She winks at me before letting go of my hand and focusing her senses on our surroundings.
I’m surprised to see who is leading the expedition. It’s none other than Rando. I’m glad he managed to reach ruby rank and become stronger. I haven’t seen him in a long time. He still has that serious expression, but he’s become even more reliable than before.
The fact that Rando is here shows just how important this mission is. He’s one of the family’s trusted men, having served for many years, and he already holds an important position within the guard. If he continues like this, he could become a candidate to earn the title of Knight.
His new bow rests on his back. Calling that bent tree branch covered in modifications and enchantments a bow feels strange. As he explained to me before, he uses his mana to create a perfect string, while the enchantments amplify the speed, accuracy, and power of his mana arrows.
Rando narrows his eyes slightly and moves with perfect precision to grab his bow in an instant. Less than a second later, an incredibly powerful arrow shoots toward our left.
The arrow pierces the head of a grade 3 monster and explodes a moment later. His senses are extremely sharp as well. The range of his detection ability is even larger than mine. The monster entered my Personal World at the exact moment the arrow was released.
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His ability functions like a radar. Whenever someone enters its range, he immediately senses their presence through mana and Imra. There are several ways to avoid detection, such as suppressing yourself as much as possible or possessing exceptional camouflage abilities. His range is larger, but my ability is far more versatile.
One of the sapphire-rank guards with exceptional speed immediately rushes toward the location where the arrow was fired. He retrieves the monster’s core and returns to our position. A few minutes later, several other guards rejoin us. They’re responsible for scouting ahead.
“Lord Maki, Sir Rando, we’ve found multiple signs of monster groups farther ahead. We haven’t been able to confirm whether there’s a dungeon. We didn’t want to risk being detected.” One of them gives his report.
“I understand. You did well to avoid detection. Any thoughts, Lord Maki?” Rando responds after a few seconds.
“I agree with you, Rando.” I turn toward the scout. “Please lead the way. We’ll decide how to proceed once we’ve seen the situation ourselves.” My voice remains firm and clear. I can’t show even the slightest sign of doubt.
The guard nods and takes the lead. We move through thick vegetation and towering trees, circle a mountain filled with countless small caves, and eventually arrive on the other side.
We can see the signs he mentioned. There are multiple fresh footprints left behind by monsters. They appear to be bipedal and have only three toes tipped with long claws. They match the descriptions of the monsters previously sighted.
Rando looks me in the eyes, and I nod. “Let’s continue. We’re on the right track. Everyone stay ready to fight at any moment. Don’t forget that this is a reconnaissance mission. If we need to fight, we’ll fight, but we must also be ready to retreat.” Rando’s voice is as firm as a general’s, and all the guards nod.
We climb the mountain. Several minutes later, everyone stops when Rando raises his hand. Immediately afterward, I create a dome of mana around us to prevent our voices from carrying. All fifteen of us are enclosed within it.
“I’ve sensed multiple monster presences. Around twenty of them, all sapphire rank. Advance carefully and be prepared for a quick surprise attack.” Rando begins organizing his team.
“It doesn’t look like there’s a dungeon. It’s probably just a nest.” Brendu uses her mana so that only I can hear her voice.
“Whatever it is, we need to eliminate it. It’ll become a massive headache if we let it continue growing.” I reply. This type of nest is normal in forests and mountains. A sufficiently strong monster begins reproducing in a secure location, and if left unchecked, it can disrupt the entire ecosystem.
“Are you going to intervene?” She asks.
“Only if necessary. We both know why we’re here. We’re only supposed to step in if things become complicated or if they can’t handle it. Honestly, I’d rather move ahead and scout with you, but the guards need experience fighting together. I won’t always be around to help the territory.” I answer while staring in the direction Rando indicated.
“I fall in love with you even more when you answer so firmly and sound like a proper man.” I feel my ears turning slightly red at Brendu’s compliment.
We advance with extreme caution. The first group of monsters is eliminated quickly by Rando and the other guards. I can tell they’ve trained tirelessly to become this efficient and fast.
We continue moving forward and encounter several more groups along the way. So far, each group is far enough apart that it doesn’t matter if the battles take a little longer. They only need to finish before reinforcements arrive or anyone notices.
Eventually, we encounter a group containing two grade 4 monsters. Rando looks at me, and I nod before taking the lead alongside Brendu. We’ll handle this round ourselves to test the strength of the grade 4 monsters.
The monsters are strange. They stand roughly two meters tall. From the waist down, their bodies are gray, while the upper half is dark brown. Their toenails are long, and the claws on their hands are even longer, resembling daggers. Those claws are their primary weapons. The grade 4 versions aren’t much different. Their faces are slightly more humanoid, and they’re somewhat taller.
I teleport into the middle of the monsters and trap all the grade 3 creatures with my combined gravity prison. The grade 4 monsters manage to partially resist my surprise attack. I focus on the stronger opponents and leave the weaker ones to Brendu.
“You didn’t leave me anything exciting. Waiting in the back has only made you more impatient.” Brendu complains when she arrives at my side. I look down at the corpses of the grade 4 monsters lying at my feet. Some are missing limbs, others are charred by lightning, and some are frozen solid.
“Sorry, waiting isn’t really my thing. I needed to relieve some stress.” I apologize. I overdid it when I killed them. I used more force than intended, and the first one died almost instantly when my sword shattered all its defenses and cleanly severed its head.
“At least you’ve made a good impression on your soldiers.” When Brendu says that, I turn toward the guards. Every one of them is wearing a huge smile. I can clearly see respect and pride in their eyes. They had been waiting to see me in action as well. Of that, I’m certain.