Chapter 75.1 - The First Year at the Academy - Hero's Vessel (1)
Chapter 75.1 - The First Year at the Academy - Hero's Vessel (1)
Chapter 75.1. The First Year at the Academy – Hero's Vessel (1)
WWhile I was attending lectures, "Battle Axe of Destruction" accepted simple requests and came over in the afternoon to give me practice.
When I had somewhat gotten a sense of "Hard-hitting" and "Double-hitting", we received requests to collect and defeat monsters and then trained ourselves in actual combat.
The requests to defeat the demons were not very big. We were asked to take out small groups of orcs or to wipe out monsters in the vicinity to ensure the safety of the roads. We can do these requests with a single hand, on the other hand, they are great for practice. I felt a little sorry for the orcs who would get blown away by the "Wind Slash" with their smug faces.
One day, we received a request to exterminate an unusual species and visited the forest.
The plan was to spend two nights and three days in the forest, with two days to carry out the request, travel, and return on the last day.
If I include the client's position, it goes back to when I was eight years old and explored the forest of Leknod with "Battle Axe of Destruction".
On the first day, we inspected the situation in the southern granary and set our course to the west.
We stepped deeper into the forest while carrying out our request, and it was noon on the second day.
"I followed the breadcrumbs, and this is what I found. It's like a trap."
"First, they don't attack you, so it's not even a trap. It's just creepy."
A huge, shiny black tree loomed up in front of us.
Clinging to it tightly was a beetle monster, Bornis.
It was about 20 to 30 centimeters in size, similar in appearance to a female beetle, but more rounded.
Such a bornis was not the first time I had met with a bornis.
I often saw them when I was hiding in the forest, and when I looked up at them, I saw them flying energetically in the sky. The reason adventurers, including myself, leave bornis alone is because they're neither harmful nor beneficial.
They rarely attack humans, and their magic stones are just as rare and hard to find. Of course, there was no use for the outer shell, and there was no point in troubling ourselves with killing it.
Perhaps it knows this, but it's unperturbed by our approach.
"They boil up every once in a while, don't they?"
"That was tough ……. The whole village chased them out. They're omnivores, they'll eat anything."
Valerie looked up at the herd of Bornis in disgust.
This time the request was to exterminate the large number of bornis. It seems that the individuals that overflowed from the forest had moved into the grasslands and begun to ravage the breadbasket areas. The Adventurers' Guild had asked me "To take care of this with the highest priority", and Rebecca had sent me out on a semi-mandatory mission. "Battle Axe of Destruction" was the companion piece.
But I don't know how many of them are in this tree alone. It's hard to tell the total number because the original is so big.
"There are so many in this big tree. Are they looking for sap?"
"No, because they are heavy. If the branches are too thin, they will break.
As it turns out, the only trees they're clinging to are the thick ones.
Ahead of my moving eyes, one of the bornis fell, snapping a thin branch.
The impact sends several of them reeling. I see, so this is how it goes.
"Where do we start? Even though they're docile, they'll react if we killed one of their own."
"Don't panic and run away. It's impossible to kill them all. Use "Fireball", please. They've gathered together, let's burn this tree alone."
"Okay."
Markant and Ose sprinkled oil on the trees and, on cue, unleashed the Fireball.
The flames spread like a lick, and countless bornis tumbled to the ground in flames, while those that escaped took off in a panic.
Danil chased them with magic, Ose with a bow and arrow, and Markant and Valerie put the finishing touch on the fallen ones.
I also shot down the bornis with my "Earth Bolt," but they were stubborn because they were only insects.
They don't care if their bodies are damaged a little, and even if the "Earth Bolt" stings them, they are still struggling to escape.
"Whoa!"
Suddenly, one of the bornis changed direction and lunged at me.
While avoiding it, I cut it cleanly in two with Rhino Sword.
It's a monster, even if it's a quiet one.
The other that gave up on escaping also made a nasty wing noise and came toward me.
"Save us the trouble, man."
Markant readied his weapons and intercepted the onrushing black mass.
Not long after that, by the time they had worked up a sweat, dozens of bornis were lying around.
Markant, Valerie, and Danil put the finishing touch on the living ones, while Ose and I peered into the tree hollows and shadows. Bornis seems to prefer these places – oh, there they are.
When we finally finish clearing the perimeter, we lay out the carcasses.
Markant stands at the edge of it, his holy axe at the ready.
"Okay, let's cut them apart."
As soon as he declares, he swings the axe down.
The proof of the request's accomplishment was bornis' head. He said it was meant to ensure he would finish it off since it wouldn't die from a slight wound. And we laid the carcass out to make it easier to work with and to check the magic stone.
We moved the wings out of the way and cut open the outer skin.
Many insects had magic stones on the back of their abdomens after we sliced them.
As a result, we find one small magic stone.
Many of them only have one magic stone. No wonder they are treated as part of the scenery.
After placing the head in a leather bag, we had to move around a bit to rest.
Many bornis had escaped, but we were sure to run into another bornis in pursuit. There was no end in sight.