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TL: ALT
Chapter 85 – Day 30 of Exploration
After breakfast, we left the inn.
We had already paid for our stay, but when we tried to give the innkeeper some money to compensate for the trouble we had caused, he refused.
“It is all right. Just because someone from the demonic land stayed here, we’re already booked out for tomorrow. Please come again.”
Instead, he gave us sandwiches and fruit for lunch. We decided to use it as our regular inn.
“Lipa, what are you going to do now? Will you continue to live as a buffer between us and the Cliff Garuda, or will you come with us?”
I asked Lipa as we left the inn. There might be a new job in the capital.
“I’ve already been banished from the Cliff Garuda once, so if it’s possible, I’d like you to take me to the demonic land…”
Lipa looked up at me.
“I see. Can you pay the rent?”
“I’ll do anything, even cleaning! Can’t I pay by working?”
“Then you’ll be the cleaner in the demonic land.”
“That sounds pretty tough.”
Chel laughed.
“You have to be tough.”
“Yes!”
Lipa answered in a loud voice.
“If you’re weak, you won’t be able to survive in the demonic land. It’s better to be strong.”
“Y-yes…”
We found a shared carriage in the square and got on it, heading towards the forest where the Haze Turtle’s shell was.
“Speaking of which, have you heard? It seems that the king of the demonic land has secretly come to Cliff Garuda. If it’s true, it will be the biggest commotion since the foundation of the country.”
“You’re lying. If the king of the demonic land came, there would be a parade, right? There was no such event.”
The bird people who rode with the coachman began to talk. We listened to them in silence.
“Then why did such a lie spread?”
“You see, even if we adventurers keep quiet, there are always people who want to challenge the demonic land. There are always rumors that there is a treasure buried in the demonic land. I think the royal family is trying to stop this. Every few years, they regularly spread rumors to prevent talented adventurers from dying.”
The adventurer bird people explained with a smug look on his face.
“So that hard crocodile skin that doesn’t let magic through is just a myth?”
The coachman sighed in disappointment.
“Of course. They probably put a magic circle on the leather. But more importantly, the magic tool shop that made the leather is pretty good. Do you know where it is?”
Since he suddenly brought up the subject, I replied, “I don’t know.” It seems that our existence is a random lie in the city. I can sleep in peace.
While dealing with the monsters that appeared, we went to the western forest in the carriage. Just before noon, we got out of the carriage and ran through the forest. If we had taken a shared carriage, we would have reached our destination before nightfall. Lipa is slow, so I carried him on my back.
“I’m sorry. I’ll get faster!”
Lipa yelled on my back, but I didn’t think he could get faster all of a sudden.
We left the forest and came back to the main road, then took the shared carriage to the forest in the west.
After a while, Chel tugged at my sleeve. The spell to keep us from getting lost seemed to indicate that the location of the haze turtle’s shell was nearby.
The three of us paid the fee for the shared carriage and got out.
We left the main road, followed a stream, and entered the forest. We found the turtle shell just after noon.
“Stay back a bit.”
I told them and put my hands on the ground. Then, I lifted the ground and took out the large shell. We loaded up the books, scrolls, and other items we had with us and then set off toward the cliff.
“Do you think we’ll reach the ruins in the desert by nightfall?”
“If nothing goes wrong.”
We had a short rest after eating the lunch the innkeeper had given us.
While we were idly gathering firewood, the heron monster attacked Lipa. He swung his sword as hard as he could but was attacked by the beak. Both Chel and I watched, thinking it would be good practice for him to take attacks, but all it did was tear Lipa’s clothes to shreds.
“Is it time to go?”
“Yes, it’s probably best if the cleaner of the demonic land doesn’t fight yet.”
Chel finished the battle training by burning the heron monster. Lipa wanted to go to the demonic land on his own, but that was impossible right now.
We went straight to the cliff in the north. We cut down the plants and trees with our knives and burned the monsters that came near us to make a path. If we made a loud noise, the wild animals would be wary and stay away.
Soon, we reached the cliff.
“Lipa, it’s better to ride a flying broom from here.”
When I looked up, I saw eagle-like monsters the size of horses and half-bird, half-human creatures called harpies circling in the sky above us. Lipa looked weak, and the monsters were targeting him.
“Yes!”
Lipa slowly concentrated his magic power into the flying broom and floated into the air.
“Well, we’ll wait down below, so take your time.”
“Huh?”
Leaving a confused Lipa behind, Chel and I jumped off the cliff, holding the shell of the haze turtle in our hands. At the moment we hit the ground, Chel released a wind spell, and we landed softly. Through the dust, I could hear Lipa’s screams.
“Whoa! Get away!”
Lipa, riding the flying broom, came down the cliff at a speed that was almost like walking. The sky monsters attacked Lipa, who had clearly become conspicuous.
“Is he just naturally noticeable?”
“If his clothes are torn, he probably looks weak to the monsters. Let’s leave him alone for a while and let him take care of them with his sword.”
Lipa controlled the broom with one hand and fought the monsters with the other. Nature is hard on the weak. The weak die first.
As he approached the ground, the monsters gradually retreated.
There were still monsters flying around near the cliff, but they were just ordinary forest monsters. A shark-like monster that swims in the desert jumped up and, getting carried away, preyed on a low-flying harpy.
This is already the demonic land desert. Only the strong survive here.
I threw the magic stone in my hand at the flying eagle monster. When I broke its wing bone, it fell in a spiral. We needed food for the long night. I broke its neck and threw it into the shell of the haze turtle.
Chel healed the bloodied Lipa with her healing magic, and we began to move. We continued to ride Lipa on the flying broom. We decided to attach a string to the broom and have Chel pull it. Since there are no trees in the desert, this way is faster. It also helps Lipa improve his magic.
“If you don’t hold on tight, you’ll be thrown.”
I called Lipa as we ran, but he seemed too busy holding on to the broom to hear me.
We continued north through the desert, chased by lizards with wounds all over their bodies and earthworms crawling underground. Lipa’s magic ran out after crossing a few sand dunes, and he let go of the broom. He was unconscious, so I tied him to the haze turtle’s shell.
“The sun is setting. We have to hurry.”
“Yes, we should have done this from the beginning.”
Chel and I channeled our magic into our legs and ran as fast as we could. Until now, we had been holding back for Lipa, and with the Cliff Garuda, we had been afraid of being seen, so it felt like the first time we had unleashed our power in a long time.
The sun is setting over the sand dunes. We can see the town where the desert traders used to come and go.
We light a fire in the ruins near the dry well. Chel takes care of Lipa, who is still injured and puts him to bed. Lipa still clings to his flying broom.
I pluck the feathers from the desert eagle, a monster of the eagle species, cut off its head and take out its entrails, then dismantle it. The thigh, breast, and wing meat of bird-type monsters are easy to dismantle.
I grill the thigh meat and eat it for dinner. Before I knew it, Chel was baking a cylindrical loaf of bread next to me.
The sky is completely dark, and the stars are twinkling.
A large flying monster descended to the top of the ruined tower, obscuring the stars. The shadow of the monster stretched out in the moonlight. It was slightly larger than the monster on the cliff.
“We’d better eat before it takes our food.”
“Shall we do it first?”
Chel put a magic flame on her hand.
“No, we won’t be able to eat it all. Leave it alone while it’s not attacking.”
But as I said that, the number of monsters increased one by one, and the winged monsters gathered in the ruins.
“Does it smell that good?”
“Why don’t you throw some wings at them?”
As Chel said, I threw the remaining wings to the group of monsters, but there was no reaction. It seems that they were not interested in food. Did I destroy the monsters’ nest?
“All right, shall we do it?
Let’s show them the power of humans. A little exercise before dinner. I stand in front of the dried-up well and concentrate my magic power in both hands.
“Come on! Bring it on!”
As I take a step forward and provoke them, the monsters let out a scream and begin to fly into the air and circle around. There’s no sign of them coming down.
“What? It wasn’t me?”
“It looks like they came for me.”
This time, Chel stepped forward, flames shooting from her hands.
The monsters continued to circle in the air, showing no signs of coming down. In fact, they seemed to flee whenever Chel and I approached them.
“So, is it Lipa?”
As Chel and I carried the sleeping Lipa to the front of the dried-up well, the monsters suddenly came down from the sky and let out a menacing shriek. They seemed to be targeting Lipa.
“It’s a talent. Lipa is very popular.”
“Lucky. We won’t go hungry in the demonic land.”
If the monsters come to you, you’ll never run out of meat.
“He could really become the cleaner of the demonic land.”
“But he’s still weak.
“Until he gets stronger, we’ll take care of him.”
Chel and I went to the monsters that threatened Lipa while he slept.
“Why are you ignoring us?”
“Let’s turn you into a grilled chicken!”
We knocked the monsters down and trampled them before they could escape into the sky. Their skin is thinner than that of rock crocodiles, so our attacks went through easily. They only attack with their heads or legs, so they are easy to read. Monsters that can only fly will not be able to survive in the demonic land for long.
Chel grilled the fallen monsters.
A small bug-like monster crawled out of the ground and crawled into its wings. It must have intended to burrow into the blood vessels and eat its way out from the inside. A few seconds later, it opened its beak and spat out blood.
The monsters in demonic land are sensitive to the smell of blood.
Small poisonous scorpion monsters were also gathering. We could hear the howling of sand coyotes and see the shadow of a desert salamander crossing the sand dunes.
I carried Lipa and moved our sleeping quarters to the top of the tower that hadn’t collapsed.
“We’re back. To the demonic land.”
“Yeah.”
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