We'd made it through the Kurutta Plateau, passed through the Sanzanna Caves, and were now in the Oobora Wetlands.
Eerie, drooping trees grew thick all around, swallowing the light, and the ground underfoot was a muddy mess — the worst.
"You guys, watch out. Something's there!"
Seriously. I drew my sword at Agaro's warning and stayed on guard.
Just then, the murky water beside Hoss rippled slightly. Something was there.
"Hoss, right next to you!"
"What the—?! Whoaaa!"
Something burst out of the swamp with its mouth wide open, lunging at Hoss.
I caught it on my halberd and cut. It went flying back into the swamp.
"You okay?"
"That was close. I'm alive."
"Is this thing a swamp croc?"
It was about half the size of a normal crocodile. They lurk in swamps, so they're called swamp crocs.
And swamp crocs aren't monsters — they're actually just animals.
Honestly, I can't tell the difference between monsters and animals when the monster doesn't use a Relic.
If it had a bunch of eyeballs or something, I'd just assume it's a monster.
"Good thing it wasn't a swamp shark."
Are swamp sharks monsters? Rel asked.
"Hoss. Can you eat swamp crocs?"
"The spitting's going to take a while."
"You lot. Get a move on. I'm not spending the night in a place like this."
I certainly didn't want to spend the night in a place like this either.
I held up the lantern and pressed on.
"A swamp, huh. The eighth sister once said the fifth sister was stuck in a swamp, but there were parts I couldn't make sense of. I still can't."
"What's that supposed to mean. Probably nothing good."
"I've heard that phrase before. People say getting absorbed in your hobby is like getting stuck in a swamp."
"I see. But I don't know what the fifth sister's hobbies are."
"That's rare, Rel not knowing something."
"I only know she grows roses or lilies or something."
"What's that supposed to mean. Flowers?"
"Like a flower bed or a garden?"
An endearingly girlish hobby.
"…I've heard that too, actually."
Agaro spoke up.
"You know about it?"
"Megadia was… I heard her say something about men meaning roses and women meaning lilies, but I have no idea what any of it meant. You lot. Any of you get it?"
"Not a clue."
"No idea."
"So it's not flowers, then?"
We tilted our heads. A mystery. This is exactly why I don't get women.
After that, we cleared out a few swamp crocs, then ran into a pack of swamp goblins and trolls and fought them.
Wiped them all out and finally took a break. By the time the sun was starting to set, we had at last made it through the wetlands.
Beyond the wetlands was forest. And a fog-filled valley.
Tonight we'd camp in this forest. The setup was almost identical to yesterday.
The wetlands were different—quiet, with a thin mist drifting through them.
Because the valley was nearby.
"Dinner's ready. Mushroom and herb soup, roasted meat, and bread-beans."
"Ooh, looks good."
The roasted meat was wrapped in big leaves.
The mushroom soup was loaded with all sorts of mushrooms.
"I made a ton, so eat up. Also, Agaro said he wanted something to go with his booze, so I gave it a shot."
"Oh? What've we got?"
"Crushed up beans and nuts, mixed them with seasoning, and stir-fried it."
"Huh. Crunchy and tasty."
Agaro immediately grabbed a handful and started eating.
I should eat too.
"I mixed some into the roasted meat too."
This roasted meat is really good paired with bread-beans.
"Hoss. This roasted meat. What kind of meat is it?"
"It's Mud Edge, I reckon."
"Wait... that rabbit from the Kurutta Plateau...?"
"The taste is different from rabbit, though. It's like pork."
Rel cuts into the grilled meat on her own expensive-looking plate with her own knife and fork.
When I see stuff like this, I'm reminded she's well-bred — nobility, in other words.
Well, I'm choosing to ignore how Mud Edge looks. The meat is delicious. And meat is innocent.
"Munch munch — monsters are like that a lot, huh?"
It's actually pretty common for things to taste nothing like they look.
I was genuinely shocked when I defeated a deer monster called a Water Elk and it tasted like tomato.
Rel murmurs softly.
"Tastes different from how it looks, huh? My sixth older sister is a mercenary. Right now she works as a guard for the Tassan Marquis family."
"The Tassan Marquis family? That major noble house?"
"That's something else."
"Huh. But a mercenary? That's rare."
Agaro murmurs. He's right — in this day and age, everyone's a delver.
The mercenary profession still technically exists, but it's become practically vestigial.
"Yeah, she never became a delver."
"Why not?"
"It's because she's terrified of dungeons. She also can't stand undead of any kind. So she's the only one — the thirteenth sister's"
private room
hasn't gone there."
"She's scared of dungeons because she can't stand the undead?"
Undead are monsters that only exist in dungeons.
If you don't enter a dungeon, you'll never encounter them.
"That's part of it, but she also hates how narrow and dark they are."
"That kid eats... or her big sis."
"So being a mercenary is pretty funny, huh."
"She likes fighting. That's why she's strong."
"Well, yeah — she was working as a guard for Marquis Tassan's household, so of course she's strong."
"Most of Rel's sisters are aggressive types, what's up with that?"
"No, no, the fourteenth sister isn't like that. She's got a mild personality, but she's really good at hand-to-hand combat."
"Being good at hand-to-hand combat doesn't change the fact that she's aggressive."
"Oh, and I've been meaning to ask — is it really okay for you to be telling us stuff about your sisters like this?"
"No problem. It's not like you'll ever meet them."
Rel said that with full confidence. Well, I certainly had no intention of meeting them. Hoss felt the same.
As we chatted like that and finished eating, Rel was about to take up her watch when —
"All right. Let's talk about tomorrow. I'm sure you've figured it out, but tomorrow we're heading into the Mist-Deep Valley to take down the Great Demon Blade Rhino."
"...Mind if I ask one thing?"
"What is it, Axe?"
"Before we go after it, I was meaning to ask — why are you taking on the Great Demon Blade Rhino for our sake?"
"Have any of you ever fought a monster or enemy that had an OOPArt?"
We exchanged glances.
"Nope, can't say so."
"Haven't."
"I haven't."
Come to think of it, we had fought monsters and enemies that used Relics.
But we had no combat experience against ones carrying OOPArts — so that was why.
"Is this so we can gain experience against opponents with OOPArts?"
"Yeah, something like that. Opponents with OOPArts that can adapt to Relics. Once you keep raising your rank, the dungeon layers get deeper, right? Monsters with OOPArts become pretty common up there. Especially humanoid ones."
"...And that's why this is a mid-tier Gold mission?"
"Well, it just happened to be a good request. If you're going to learn, you learn more from facing someone stronger, right?"
"Hmm. There's a point there. My seventh sister fought a solo against a lower Gold-ranker and nearly died."
"There is absolutely no point there."
Going solo against a Gold-ranker is way too reckless.
"Well, we've come this far. Might as well soak up everything we can."
"Right. The Great Demon Blade Rhino. What kind of Relic does it have?"
"Yeah, that — you won't know until you fight it."
"So it doesn't have a fixed Relic?"
Normally, a monster's Relic is determined by its species.
Thunder Horses have lightning-attribute Relics. Fire Bears have fire-attribute ones.
"What kind of Relic the Great Demon Blade Rhino has, we'll find out once we clash with it. Gold-class monsters are pretty much all like that."
"Pretty much all like that..."
"That's how it goes."
"Hmm."
Even we couldn't help but feel confused and uneasy.
Agaro took a sip of his drink and gave a wry smile.
"Hey, hey. You guys aren't the ones fighting on the front line, remember. You're strictly support. Back-up. Make sure you cover me properly."
"Got it."
"Right."
"Not like there's another choice."
No good, no good. I'd better get my act together for tomorrow.
And that was that. After that, we took turns keeping watch until morning came.
The thin mist that constantly drifted through the forest had been flowing in from the Valley of Deep Fog.
Beyond this forest lay the Valley of Deep Fog.
Legend had it that the valley was ruled by Mist Landha, a treasure-class monster of the fog.
"All right, let's go. Don't let your guard down."
With Agaro at the lead, we headed into the valley, weapons drawn, keeping our eyes peeled.
The valley floor was strange — nothing but murky blue walls and rocks. The ground we stepped on was the same murky blue, hard underfoot.
"Seems like it's getting thicker, doesn't it?"
"The fog is getting deeper bit by bit."
"Well, it's a valley with deep fog, after all."
"...Halt."
We stopped.
Agaro signaled with his hand, and when I looked in that direction... it was there.
A rhino. A rhino with bizarre horns was standing there.
Its size was something you'd have to look up at — it had to be about as tall as a two-story building.
Its body was a dull blue. And its horns were extraordinary.
Its horns were thick, white, glowing blades that jutted straight up, taking up nearly half of its head.
They looked like nothing so much as massive swords embedded in its skull.
The Great Demonic Blade Rhino.
Its forehead horn was said to have adapted through an OOPArt.
"So that's the one?"
"Mid-tier Gold-rank... probably?"
"............"
It hadn't noticed us yet. There was still distance between us.
Even so, I could feel its pressure. I could tell it was radiating an overwhelming aura.
So this is a monster. It was just like Agaro during our training.
"Thunder Fang. I'll take point. You guys do your thing as usual."
Saying that with a grin, Agaro drew Flametongue as he walked toward the Great Demonic Blade Rhino.
A saber that swelled and curved like a tongue.
An OOPArt adapted to Agaro's Doom Relic. It was the Doom Sword itself.
In that instant, it glared at us with a sharp glare.
The Great Demonic Blade Rhino's single black eye stared straight at us.
That was when I realized I'd been making a huge mistake.
The Great Demonic Blade Rhino hadn't just noticed us now. It had sensed us from the very beginning.
It had been issuing a warning.
"Vrooooooo."
A low growl.
The Great Demonic Blade Rhino turned back toward Agaro and raised its horn — the Great Demonic Blade — as if to show it off.
What was that? The blade looked blurry.
"Well then, time to kill."
Agaro's Flametongue slowly turned red, redder and redder.
"Vrooooooo!!"
The Great Demonic Blade Rhino roared, its massive body trembling as it reared up its front half.
It raised the Great Demonic Blade overhead and swung it down at a slight angle.
The ground shook for an instant on impact, and an arcing slash flew through the air. Agaro barely dodged, rolling out of the way.
The hard, murky blue ground split apart.
"I see. So that's what kind of Relic it is."
Agaro stood up and gripped the now blazing-red Flametongue with both hands.
The Great Demonic Blade Rhino gave its head a casual shake this time. The blade wobbled, sending out a flurry of small slashes.
"Shut up!"
When Agaro swung Flametongue, the flames spread out like a wall. There was a sound of something bouncing off.
The impact of a slash hitting the wall of fire.
*VWOMOOOOOOOOM!*
"Thunder Fang! I'm counting on you for cover!"
Agaro shouted and leaped, swinging Flametongue straight at the Great Demonic Blade Rhino head-on.
Black flames danced. Annihilation flames. The horned Great Demonic Blade and Flametongue collided.
"GRAAAOOOHHH!!"
*VWOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
Flametongue's annihilation flames cracked the Great Demonic Blade.
He was pushing through. They could win. No—the Great Demonic Blade blazed with intense light.
"Whoa—?!"
Agaro shut his eyes, and seizing the opening, the Great Demonic Blade Rhino reared its Great Demonic Blade back in a massive windup.
The blade caught him square on, and Agaro was sent flying.
He slammed into the wall high up and crumpled, vanishing from sight.
"Agaro!?"
*VWOOOOOOOOOOM!!*
The Great Demonic Blade Rhino reared its upper body high and raised the Great Demonic Blade even higher. Bad news.
The instant it swung down, an arrow struck the flat of the Great Demonic Blade's blade, sending a shock through it.
*VWOMOOOOOOM!*
The Great Demonic Blade Rhino swayed. Startled, I turned to see Rel loosing a second arrow.
It struck the Great Demonic Blade Rhino's head, and a shockwave erupted.
An impact arrow.
It was an arrow tipped with an impact stone — a Legacy that generates shockwaves. Powerful, but expensive and hard to use.
Even with two shockwaves, the Great Demonic Blade Rhino kept its upper body raised. Tough.
So this is what gold-rank mid-tier means.
"Haaaaaah!"
Hoss had somehow circled behind it and swung his halberd at the Great Demonic Blade Rhino's legs.
The blade opened a wound on the creature's leg.
*VOMOOOOOOMMMM!!!*
The Great Demonic Blade Rhino staggered.
"Axe. Get Agaro."
"R-Right!"
Rel loosed another impact arrow. It struck the Great Demonic Blade and staggered it further.
Hoss opened another wound on its leg with the halberd. The Great Demonic Blade Rhino swayed heavily.
While the two of them kept it busy, I searched for Agaro.
"Hey! Hey!"
"Agaro!?"
"Axe, over here!"
Looking toward the voice, I found Agaro buried under rubble.
The wall cracked and crumbled from the impact. Agaro must have been caught in it.
Fortunately, I was able to push the rubble aside.
But still — cracks in the wall? I traced them upward, and they ran all the way to the top. I could faintly see the upper section.
Could this be... maybe...
Once I'd cleared enough debris, Agaro crawled out and slumped against the wall.
"Hah, hahh — that was close. Thanks. So what about the Demon Blade Rhino?"
"Hoss and Rel are handling him."
Though how long they could hold out was another matter.
Agaro seemed to feel the same. After confirming nothing was broken, he got to his feet.
"Right. Let's move."
"Wait — Agaro. I have an idea."
"Oh? What is it. Let's hear it."
I explained what I'd come up with. When I finished, Agaro laughed.
"What do you think?"
"It's interesting and it might work, but what about Axe? You sure? Even if it's just stalling for time, you'd be dealing with that thing, just the two of you."
"We'll be fine."
We, Thunder Fang, would see this through.