Re:START/If {Book 1.0}
Chapter 19: Einerseits Obst 1 of 4 (Part 01)
The trees turned white covered in snow. Squirrels and birds make nests under their roots, leaving a trail of grain above ground that is also covered in white grains. Almost all of them have started sleeping long to take shelter from the white grains that bring deadly cold. Although not dense, the pure grains that come down it never stops and continues to color the land.
In the forest of Pando trees in the southern border area of the Marquess Luke Territory, a Drake is seen pulling a wooden cart and carriage. At the door and around the wheel of the wooden carriage were carefully carved symbols of the Kingdom of Felixia, indicating that the means of transportation belonged to an important noble.
The ones riding on the wooden carriage were Odo and the Shieal. After about a day late from the scheduled expedition, they finally arrived at the destination of the expedition, namely the Pando Forest, a place where pando trees become the main vegetation in the place and is a Witch dwelling place according to local legend.
Drake's train is driven at moderate speed, passing through the trees on a narrowed path as it gets deeper into the forest. In the carriage, Odo who insisted on continuing the expedition began to make plans to accelerate their travel destination. Amidst the lack of street rattle and the shaking felt inside the carriage, the black-haired boy opened a geographical map of the area where the Pando Forest was located.
Leaning the body on the seat, the boy opened the map on the lap, and began to closely observe what to do to quickly meet the monsters and hunt them down. In the map, the area of the Pando Forest can be said to be very broad and still in the form of a beautiful wilderness that there is no settlement in it.
At some point of the forest, from the map can be seen that the place is traversed by several streams and also has several points of living swamp, which is also known as, as well as the vast forest stretches around the foot of the Border Mountains to the strait that is connected to the high seas.
As the boy was still observing the map and the people inside the carriage looked at him in surprise, suddenly their vehicle stopped speeding. This time it was not unexpected like the bandits before, but indeed the road Drake could pass was up and they arrived in front of the inner Pando Forest area.
“It looks like it has arrived, huh?” Odo rolled up the map, then pulled the wooden box under the seat and put the map into it. Kicking slowly the wooden box back under the seat, the black-haired boy immediately looked at Gariadin and Xua Lin who were sitting opposite him.
“Kak Gariadin, Ms. Lin .... After we get off, please set up a tent and prepare a campfire. We camped out tonight ..”
They were a little surprised to hear that, so was Julia. As far as the three of them were concerned, Odo was in a hurry now, and there was no time to spend the night anymore or procrastinate. Patting gently on the boy's right shoulder, Julia asked, “Master Odo, aren't we in a hurry? If anyone attacks again how?” The boy turned his head, then looked at the silvery-haired Demi-human lightly with a faint smile on his face.
“What does Sister Julia want to be eaten by monsters? It's noon now. Although we hurry .., the edges will definitely be the night of completion if the count of the quota of monster crystals sought. It's safer if we start tomorrow and finish the afternoon ..”
“If when we camp attacked again how? Isn't that more dangerous?”
“I don't think it will.”
“Why?”
“Because my instincts say that ...”
Odo said so because he had handed over the arrangement of the Magic Sensor structure to Auto Senses. By doing so, the black-haired child can detect any vibrations at ground level within a distance of more than two kilometers automatically. Although therefore he should have unnecessary information, but because Auto Senses the information obtained will be filtered so that his mind is not disturbed.
Hearing the child's words about instinct, Xua Lin began to be curious because it was indeed one of his areas of expertise. “Why do you always rely on instinct? If your instincts are wrong how?” ask that short brown haired girl. Both of his round bear ears occasionally moved.
“If it is wrong, just do it like before .... I think this is most effective and also safer than directly entering and being preyed upon by monsters later in the forest,” replied Odo.
“That's not what I mean, Young Master. What I'm saying is, what if there's a monster attacking us while camping. Although this was still the outer part of the forest, there was no possibility that there were monsters that failed to hibernate and roam around. They are more aggressive and brutal than ordinary monsters ..”
Odo was only aware of that possibility. The black-haired child slightly turned his gaze out the window, then thought of something else using the new possibility.
“Hmm, how about we use the Cave? There I think it's pretty safe than camping in an open space. Although there are monster attacks, we can immediately survive and avoid ambushes from many directions. Well, despite the shortcomings we can be locked in the Cave anyway ...”
“Is there no back choice just yet, Young Master?” ask Gariadin who started participating in the conversation. The dark red-haired man opened the carriage door, and let a cold wind in. Seeing the falling snow getting heavier, the boy just put on a flat gaze.
“Tonight looks like it's going down a storm. If we return, at least we can get out of this dangerous forest area and make plans later tomorrow,” said Gariadin.
“It was just repeating itself. If we get out of the forest first, we'll come back at this point at the same time and end up finishing at night. Moreover ..., there is no guarantee that tomorrow the weather is bright ...” Odo stared intently at the dark red-haired man.
“Better than camping during a snowstorm,” Gariadin said.
“Means I said camped in the Cave. There it is safer, we also avoid the storm ..”.
Gariadin fell silent, as did Xua Lin who had no words to protest. Seeing the two people put on dissatisfied faces and the Master looked annoyed, Julia began to be confused what to say to break the tense atmosphere.
As they sat in the wooden carriage with the door wide open, Iamania and Minda got down from the coachman's seat in front, and walked towards the open door. Seeing the people inside just pensively doing nothing, Mind kicked the side of the carriage until a loud sound was heard.
“Cold to know! Motion!” Everyone was shocked to hear that, even Imania who was standing beside Mind was also shocked.
“We're thinking, can be silent not anyway?” said Gariadin while looking at the long black-haired woman.
“Don't you say Young Master will find the Cave and camp first? Why are you protesting, Gariadin? Madam has said that we should help Young Master in various circumstances, ‘kan? Do you want to tarnish our loyalty to Madam?” minda said as he bent his body forward and stared intently at Gariadin inside the carriage.
“Not it .... I'm just ing―”
“Good ,” said Odo suddenly. The Shieal immediately saw the black-haired boy. When their Master lifted his head and looked sharply at Gariadin, He again said, “If you want to go back, just go back, Gariadin. At first I wanted to do this alone. I don't need people who don't obey.”
The dark red-haired man was shocked when he heard Odo's words, what he said was very similar to the way his Great Lord spoke. Disregarding Gariadin, Odo opened the door of the other side of the wooden carriage and passed Julia stepping out.
Standing in the wind and snow with only a shirt on, the black-haired boy looked back and looked at the Shieal with a dark look that no child should have.
“If you don't want to come, please go there. I'll bring some of the remaining food boxes and find the Cave to shade.”
Seeing such uncompromising eyes, the Shieal finally decided to stop protesting. Their loyalty to the Luke Family is very high, because it is very unlikely for them to leave the person who will later become the Patriarch in the Luke Family in the middle of a dangerous forest filled with beasts.
After agreeing to keep up with the boy, they climbed back onto the wooden train and spurred Drake around the interior of the forest to get near the mountainous area at the southern end of the forest. Tracing the area of steep cliffs covered with snow, it did not take long they found a cave large enough. Of course in the Cave there are residents, a flock of Hob-Goblin directly out and attack those who just arrived.
No more difficult than the bandits, the swarm of dwarf-green creatures was massacred all-out in front of the mouth of the Cave. Since Julia orders not to spill blood inside as it could give rise to a foul fishy smell, the monster slaughter just goes on outside and colors the snow white pile to red.
Still remaining some Goblins in the Cave, Julia fumigates the inside using a top-level element combination magic, Agni Breath, a magic combined from the elements of fire, wind, and wind, and nature to create the origin of the tip of the palm. As the oxygen in the Cave depleted and left the monsters out of breath, the green dwarf creatures that ran out were slaughtered easily by Gariadin and Xua Lin.
Seeing Julia commanding them so well, Odo who just stood by and observed got a lesson on how the concept of loyalty worked and the task-sharing coordination system was put in place quickly. In addition to this, there is something else that comes to Odo about Julia.
“From the fishy smell, he prefers the charred smell, yes ...”
Stepping forward and treading on the red snow, the boy had absolutely no regard for the Goblin corpses that were being dissected by Immania and Mind for his magic crystal to take. Basically, magic crystals are a common designation that is often used to name a crystal stone that has magic power and stores Mana containing certain information. Before the name was widely enforced by most of society, the crystals that came out of the corpses of monsters were also called Life Crystals.
“Indeed the color is different from ordinary magic crystal .... Is it because it has no attributes or is the crystal type different?” that's what Odo thought when he glanced at Minda who was piercing the middle of the chest of one of the Hob-Goblin with a dagger, then reached into it and took out a transparent crystal hexagonal shape is not neat.
“While all living things have Mana in the body, why only monsters have crystals? Animals don't have that either, but if Magic Beasts are said to have crystals in their bodies. Is it because their Magic Core is different, or is it that the way they were created in this world is different?”
Pausing for a moment in front of the Cave, the black-haired boy's curiosity began to grow about the magic crystal. Previously Odo only considered that the crystal that came out of the monster's body was just a system of sorts in video games that he knew first.
But after knowing the fact that the world where it is now is not really a fantasy world but a world with a world system so sophisticated that it looks like a mystical thing, the boy was really curious about the systems that took place after World Reconstruction.
“Young Master, if you already know a lot of blood do not be stepped on like that,” said Minda. Looking to the side, the black-haired child put on a flat gaze seeing Minda carrying a few pieces of crystal with bloodstained hands.
“Kira ..., how much does it weigh, Mbak Mind?” ask Odo.
“Entaih, maybe half a kilogram just does not exist.”
“If sold, about how much?”
“Hmm, maybe only one hundred to three hundred Rupls only.”
The child's Magic Core that began to actively made his aura firmer and the snowflakes that fell around him evaporated as a heat radiance shot out from the body. Gariadin and Xua Lin who were dragging the corpses of Hob-Goblin were shocked to see that, as well as Imania and Mind. In contrast to them, Julia with a sharp gaze looked straight at the inside of the dark Cave before her.
“Mr Odo, do you feel it too? Inside there ..., there is one powerful monster,” Julia said as she increased her magic pressure. Korea the Demi-human girl's eyes turned golden, and her body emitted a golden-coloured bright light.
The other Shieal was surprised to see the two people increasing the magic pressure all of a sudden. Before he could ask, suddenly a terrifyingly strong pressure emanated from within the Cave along with an extremely sharp killing intent. Their feathers stood up for a while, except for Odo and Julia.
From within the darkness of the Cave, slowly seen the figure of a monster who became the ruler of the dark and humid place. A two meter tall Ogre came out, its body was smaller than most of its kind and it also had signs of a strange body shape like long claws coming out from between its fingers and shoulders. It was a form of aberrant mutation that could occur in monsters. Such a phenomenon was extremely rare, and the comparison of mutated monsters so had a special characteristic of up to one in a thousand.
Although the mutation form usually harms the monster itself because the body shape is distorted which makes the life pattern change, but in that level it can become a weapon and increase the ability to fight monsters. Because these genetic changes are mutations, traits and traits will not be passed down to the offspring of monsters.
“Mutation First Stage Yes .... Mr. Odo, let me fight him ..” Julia stepped forward. Standing a few meters away from the Ogre, the silvery-haired girl pointed with her right index finger while smiling faintly.
The Ogre in front of Julia instantly shot out quickly with her body smaller than its kind, and harnessed the utterly undiminished overwhelming physical strength that characterised Ogre. The fanged monster sticking out from under the mouth was not directly targeting Julia, but rather the black-haired child standing behind her.
“How dare you go after my Master, a lowly creature ...”
Just as the Ogre was about to pass by, Julia moved very quickly and directly swung her right index finger to stab the chest of the monster. In a matter of less than two seconds, strengthening magic to maintain body position and enhancement magic to improve physical abilities used Julia simultaneously. As if running towards a sword, Ogre's chest was pierced and blood drenched in Julia's right hand.
The wound was not deep, Ogre leapt back in fear. As he looked back at Julia, the monster realized who to worry about. In the hierarchy of monsters within the Cave where he was residing, that monster might be at the top. But in front of Julia, the monster was just a helpless prey like a rabbit that had been cornered by wolves.
“Light becomes single, as I wish ...” Julia pointed straight at the Ogre with bloodied hands. Slowly the aura surrounding him centered and formed a dense ball of light at the tip of his index finger.
“Surya is eternal and invisible, being the bullet that decays everything.”
The small ball of light at the tip of his index disappeared. In a matter of less than three seconds a glance of visible light, and suddenly Ogre's head exploded into pieces without scattering flesh or blood. Smoke came out from the neck of that shattered monster head. Still stepping with a headless body, the monster began to collapse forward.
The magic Julia used was the coordination of the concentration of heat and light, or it could be called a laser attack. Using light elements and heat control to concentrate, it uses a small light bulb as a container of light energy and makes a directed laser.
“It's done, Mr. Odo ..” Julia turned around, then looked at Odo with a faint smile on her face.
“Kurasa no .... Inside there is still something ...”
“Something? What monsters again? But I feel nothing, loh ...”
Looking into the Cave that the black-haired boy continued to see, the Demi-human looked confused because indeed in the dark place there was no figure or monster air at all.
“Not monsters, humans .... Maybe ..., they were kidnapped while passing into this forest before winter. You know that monsters like Goblin and Ogre are difficult to have children with the like, right?”
Julia was immediately shocked and quickly turned to look into the Cave. So did the Shieal, those who had heard the boy's words were shocked. What the black-haired child said was very possible because it was in the Cave or nest of humanoid-type monsters very often found women who were used as breeding factories before being used as food, but it was very common, and it happens because the majority of monsters are male and there are rarely any females caused by their adaptation tends to be hunted so rarely born female monsters that tend to be weaker.
“What in there is a person, Mr Odo?” ask Julia. His face began to look trepid for several reasons.
“Maybe .... It was still moving, but after the Ogre was killed, it was now not felt anymore. Well, judging from the movement of the monster that hid its existence and intended to ambush if we were rash to enter, I think Ogre had fought humans or Demi-humans.”
“Ja-don't talk weird, Young Master .... There can't be a fool wandering around in this Pando Forest and being caught by monsters ..” The mind looked terrified, what Odo said reminded the woman of her dark past.
Glancing back and looking at the frightened face of the woman stepping into the cave, Odo was slightly reminded of the data in the archive room about Minda. The woman had bad memories with monsters, especially Orcs and the like because she was orphaned due to the attacks of these monsters that burned down the village where she used to live.
Looking back ahead, Odo extended his right hand towards the Cave. “Light!” A ball of light appeared in front of the boy's palm, then began to float into the dark place and illuminate its contents.
As Odo estimated, several tens of meters into the increasingly narrowing Cave were seen the bodies of people who looked like mercenaries. The body has not rotted completely, indicating that it is not too long ago.
More shining inwards again, more severe things were seen. In the corner of the dark and damp place, a fence wall of tenuous wood pegs is not neatly seen and behind it there are women who are used as breeding sites for monsters.
The number of those sitting leaning and lying on the cave floor was only about nine, with seven of them pregnant. Their eyes looked very empty and dead, their bodies full of scars and they saw amniotic fluid flowing from one of the women.
A few feet away from the women, a newborn green monster baby was seen and still could not walk. The baby is dying and appears to have trouble breathing after tearing the belly of the woman who was carrying it. Around the place were also some Goblin children who had died from suffocation.
Julia and the others felt nauseous seeing all that, a scene more para of slavery and human trafficking. Not at all concerned with what was seen within the Cave, Odo reopened his right palm forward and increased his magic pressure.
“I think those people are dead .... Probably because of the smoke ...”
“A! What mer―”
“That's better, Sister Julia. Don't feel guilty. Even though they were still alive, they might have gone mad or lost hope of life. Better they just rest like that .... Death is also a form of safety ..”
Mana focused on the tip of the palm that was directed forward, then began to change its nature into lightning. Within seconds, the blue lightning became several marble-sized balls of lightning ready to fire.
“Tu-Wait! They may still be h―”
Without listening to Julia's words, Odo shot his magic and the lightning balls shot into the Cave. The lightning balls are not the corpses of women who are still not known to live or die, but the children of monsters are also not necessarily dead and who are still dying.
The ball of lightning was aiming like a guided missile, smashing the heads of monsters that might do the same cruel thing as their predecessors if they came out of the Cave and began to gain intelligence.
Everyone was shocked by what Odo did, the most shocked being Minda and Julia. Looking at the black-haired child's face that had absolutely no hesitation when killing the baby monster, Julia could only gape with trepidation. It was not a wrong move, but still most people would hesitate to attack the baby even if it was a monster.
“Mbak Julia .... Can you please check they're alive or not? I ..., somehow started nausea.” Odo turned around, then immediately walked out of the Cave. The Shieal immediately knew that the black-haired child was forcing himself and acting pretentious.
“I will accompany Young Master, Julia.” Minda immediately chased the child who walked quickly out of the cave.
Afterwards, Julia, Gariadin, Imania, and Xua Lin entered the Cave to make sure the women inside were alive or not. Unfortunately they are dead and not breathing. In the mind Julia immediately felt guilty for her carelessness fumigating the Cave without making sure there was someone in it or not. Giving prayers and wishing them peace of mind in nature, they began to take the bodies of the woman out of the cave and bury her not far from the place.
Seeing all what was happening inside the Cave, they decided to look for another place to spend the night. Before you go, though, they collected magic crystals from monster corpses and created characteristic data of the people who died inside the Cave to be used as reports that might be matched with missing persons data in the local area.
They decided not to camp in the Cave, but in the area near the river that was in the inner part of the Pando Forest. Such an open space is indeed prone to ambush from various directions, but according to Julia it is better than having to sleep in a place full of foul smell like the previous Cave.
.
.
.
Night with the evening sky coming, the snow fell very heavily and made effective visibility reduced to two meters at night even though the oil lantern lighting tools were installed at several angles around the place to stay overnight. After setting up the tent in the afternoon and setting up the campfire, a storm hit Odo and the Shieal, which forced them all to docked inside the warm tent.
Outside, Drake who pulled their carriage and cart started to curl up in the cold. Its thick skin that serves as a temperature repellent is almost to the limit, and makes it into the semi-hibernation phase which is one way to survive in extreme temperature environments.
On a night with heavy snowfall, everyone who was inside the tent no one could sleep because of the race of misgivings of monsters that could come at any time in the wild. Odo who sat among the Shieals used his Sensor magic to detect vibrations around the tent.
“The body is too thick .... Vibration outside is severe once ..” Opening his eyes with a flat gaze, the black-haired boy sighed.
On the night of the storm, they were completely unable to sleep until morning. Although not a single monster attacked at night, but due to the storm some of the items placed outside were damaged, and Drake goes into a full hibernation phase so it won't wake up unless the surrounding temperature gets warmer.
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