What burst out before them was a massive, serpent-like monster covered head to tail in mud.
Its black body was as thick as a utility pole, and it stretched vertically toward the sky like a towering pillar.
It looked somewhat smaller compared to the magic beast Sabnock... but it was still more than large enough to swallow a person whole.
"Whoa... Rest, it's huge! That's amazing!"
"Yeah, it's definitely big... Well, the bigger they are, the bigger the target, I suppose..."
Yuri pointed at the worm and shouted.
Rest didn't let those words rattle him—he calmly refined the mana inside his body.
"Everyone, fall back... Leave this to me!"
Rest aimed his palm at the worm's body and cast his magic.
"[Wind Ball]][Amplify]][Compress]][Accelerate]!"
Quartet casting the spell.
It compressed the atmosphere into a bullet-like projectile and launched it at tremendous speed.
"GYAO!"
A thunderous crash like heavy machinery colliding rang out, and the worm's body buckled into a hook shape.
A massive hole had been punched clean through its thick, long body.
It wasn't severed in two from top to bottom, but copious amounts of blue-purple bodily fluid gushed from the gaping wound.
"Oooh... what a spell!"
"Well, of course—it's Rest."
"Mm... naturally."
Ostley let out a cry of astonishment, while Yuri and Urla nodded knowingly.
Setting Yuri aside... what could Urla, who should have been seeing Rest fight for the first time, possibly understand about any of this?
"GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The worm let out a furious shriek and reared its sickle-shaped head toward Rest.
It tried to swallow Rest whole with its enormous maw, but—Rest immediately unleashed a follow-up attack.
"[Fire Cannon]"
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
A mid-tier magic strike was driven straight through the worm's open mouth and into its body, scorching its innards from the inside out.
It thrashed in apparent agony, but showed no signs of falling. True to its colossal appearance, it was one tough creature.
"[Fire Cannon]"
Another follow-up strike.
Flames engulfed the worm's body, growing ever more intense.
The worm tried to burrow into the swamp to extinguish the fire, but Rest wouldn't let it. He unleashed yet another spell.
"[Fire Cannon]!"
"Uuuuuuuuurugh!"
One final blow for good measure.
The worm let out a silent scream, writhing weakly within the flames before finally going still.
"I got it."
Rest scanned the surroundings for any signs, but there were no other presences that seemed like monsters.
In the end, it was brute force through and through.
He had simply relied on his infinite mana and attacked relentlessly.
(That was about as far from a smart strategy as it gets... Oh well, who cares.)
There was no need to look cool.
As long as you won, that was all that mattered.
"How about that? Rest is amazing, right?"
For some reason, Yuri puffed out her large chest triumphantly as if to say "see?" at Rest, who had defeated the worm.
"Did you say worm? You completely dominated a dragon-type magic beast!"
"That's impressive... but, it's still not enough."
Urla shook her head vigorously.
Urla's cheeks were flushed from watching Rest's fight, but she wasn't nearly as worked up as Yuri.
"It's not over yet."
"Hm...?"
"A baby."
"W-What did you say?!"
Yuri let out a cry of surprise at Urla's brief explanation.
What on earth were they making such a fuss about? Rest could only tilt her head in confusion.
"This worm is a child. There is a separate parent."
As if unable to stand by and watch, the female attendant interjected.
What was delivered in that flat voice was... the fact that Rest's job was far from over.
"A baby... You're not telling me that thing was a larva at that size!?"
"A baby. A baby. It's really fat."
"Yes, just as my lady says. The parent worm is more than twice that size. It certainly won't be easy to defeat."
"...!"
At the words just delivered, Rest was rendered speechless.
The problem wasn't solved. It seemed the job had only just begun.
The battle with the worm across the vast wetlands was still merely a prologue.