Nido Tensei Shita Shounen wa S-rank Boukensha Toshite Heion ni Sugosu ~ Zense ga Kenja de Eiyūdatta Boku wa Raisede wa Jimi ni Ikiru ~

Episode 74: Protect the Camp Base!

I was the one who had to defeat the group of Hightrolls alone in order to demonstrate my abilities to everyone, but I was able to gain their recognition by successfully subduing the monsters without any problems.

“But it’s strange for a group of Hightrolls to appear in a place like this.
They shouldn’t be approaching human settlements or highways in the first place.”

Rodi-san tilts his head as he looks at the corpses of the Hightrolls.
Now that he mentions it, he’s right.

“Hmm, it might be related to that ruins.”

“If that’s the case, we need to investigate quickly before the surrounding villages suffer any damage.”

“Yes.”

Just as a new plan was decided upon, something happened.

“Hey, look at that!”

An adventurer who was on guard in the surroundings points in a certain direction and raises their voice.
We also look in the same direction and see smoke rising in the distance.

“Is that… smoke?”

The smoke was rising at the foot of the mountain, ahead of the highway.

“That’s… the direction of the first camp!”

Upon hearing Wanda-san’s words, the adventurers start to murmur.

“The first camp!? Could it be trouble!?”

“What should we do? Should we send a reconnaissance team?”

“No, something is clearly happening.
We should hurry and join them.
Our objective is to explore the ruins, so we have to head to the camp anyway.”

There is a clash of opinions between those who believe we should proceed cautiously and those who believe we should hurry since we’re going there anyway.

“Then I’ll go.”

The one who volunteered for reconnaissance was the S-rank senior, Ramise from Heavenly Demon Magic.

“I can use Lost Magic flight magic.
I’ll be able to reach there faster than by carriage.”

“Hmm, can we rely on you?”

Wanda-san seems to hesitate for a moment, but immediately accepts Ramise’s suggestion.
This quick decision-making ability is truly befitting of an S-rank adventurer who leads in forbidden territories.
A competent commander is wonderful.

Oh no, this is not the time to be impressed.

“Um, I can also use flight magic, so can I accompany you?”

“I can use it too.”

Among this group, Liliera and I are newcomers, so if there’s something we can do, we should step forward.

“What!?”

When Liliera and I step forward, Ramise somehow looks surprised.

“Y-You can use flight magic too!?”

I wonder why Ramise is surprised.
Did I mishear something?

“Yes, we won’t be a burden.”

“Understood.
I’m sorry to ask after the battle, but I’ll rely on you for reconnaissance as well.”

With Wanda-san’s permission, we set off for the first camp ahead of the others.

“I see, that’s the camp.”

We, who flew ahead, confirm the sight of numerous tents covered by square walls at the foot of the mountain, and the figures of monsters gathering around them.

“Oh no, a part of the wall is broken!”

I notice that a corner of the wall protecting the camp has been destroyed and hurry to go there.

“W-Wait! You guys are too fast!”

When I turn around, I see that Ramise is quite far behind.
Oh? Could it be that Ramise is not good at flight magic?

“I’m sorry, but the camp is in danger, so we’ll go ahead!”

“H-Hey!!”

“Let’s go, Liliera!”

“Yes!”

Without waiting for Ramise to catch up, we head towards the camp.

“W-What is that speed!? Faster than me, the expert in flight magic!?”

Huh? I heard Ramise say something about being good at flight magic, but did I mishear?

When we reach the campsite, we witness a chaotic scene.

“Let’s defeat the monsters quickly!”

Liliera descends from above and rescues an adventurer who was about to be killed by the monsters.
I also want to join the fight immediately, but first, I should focus on repairing the broken wall.

“Protect Stone Wall!”

I use magic to create a new wall in place of the destroyed section of the wall.
The monsters trying to pass through the hole in the wall are blown away by the stone wall that rises from the ground and fall towards the other monsters behind them.

The blown away monsters angrily attack the wall, but it’s not just an ordinary stone wall.
It’s reinforced with an enchantment that makes it stronger than iron.

As expected, the claws of the attacking monsters break instead.

“Alright, the temporary repair is complete.”

However, since the other walls are also under attack, I should reinforce them with stone walls as well.

“Additional Protect Stone Wall!”

I cover all four walls surrounding the camp with stone walls, making it impossible for the monsters to invade.
Although the monsters desperately hit and scratch the walls, there is no sign of them breaking.
In fact, the monsters’ claws are getting worn out.

Alright, now all that’s left is to defeat the monsters that have entered the camp, and we can hold our ground here.

“Finally caught up!”

Just as I was about to join the battle, Ramise arrives.

“What’s the situation?”

“The walls protecting the camp were destroyed, so I repaired them with magic.
All that’s left is to exterminate the monsters inside the camp until the reinforcements arrive.”

That’s right, since the camp composed of A-rank adventurers is struggling this much, there’s no need to forcefully fight the enemies.
I think it’s best to secure the safety inside the camp and wait for the reinforcements.

“Is this the time to be doing something so slow? It seems that a considerable number of monsters have infiltrated.
We should exterminate them all at once!”

With that, Ramise starts chanting a spell.

“Oh dwellers of the river of flames, take the form of a burning serpent made of melting rocks, dripping flames like blood.
Obey my will and incinerate my enemies, Lava Snake!!”

A bright red lava appears in front of Ramise and transforms into a giant lava serpent.
This is a tracking-type attack magic that mimics a living creature.
Wait, with this magic…

“Now, Lava Snake! Eliminate the monsters that have invaded the camp!”

The fiery serpent attacks the monsters that are attacking the camp.

“No!”

That magic won’t work!

“Frost Gale!!”

I use ice wind magic to counter Ramise’s magic.

“What!? My magic!? What did you do just now!? My magic is Lost Magic! There’s no way it can be nullified by a mere ice wind magic!”

“More importantly, with that magic, you’ll end up burning the camp! You might even involve the adventurers we should be saving!”

However, Ramise just laughs at my suggestion.

“Is this the time to be saying such naive things? The camp protected by A-rank adventurers is being attacked! In this situation, we must exterminate the monsters even if it means sacrificing a few.
Otherwise, we won’t be able to save those who could have been saved! Or do you think you can attack only the monsters without involving the adventurers in the chaos?”

“I can do it!”

“Show me… Wait, what!?”

Ramise is surprised by my confident assertion.

“If you can, then prove it! Defeat all these monsters that are in such large numbers! Show me if you can!”

“I will show you!”

I position myself in the sky above the center of the camp and activate my magic.

“Hydra Venom Stake!”

The released magic branches out multiple times, just like the heads of a hydra.
And the magical stakes target only the monsters inside the camp.

The monsters pierced by the magical stakes scream in pain.

“It’s no use! The damage is not enough to defeat them all!”

Ramise says that and starts chanting a spell to attack the monsters.
But I stop Ramise.

“It’s okay.
It’s already done.”

“What?”

Ramise, who was puzzled by my words, changes her expression as she notices that the movements of the monsters on the ground have become strange.

“What!? What happened!?”

The monsters that were showing odd movements fall to the ground and wriggle in agony.

“Hydra Venom Stake not only attacks the enemies by extending its heads like a hydra, but it is also a magic with an additional effect that inflicts lethal poison on the targets it hits.”

“L-Lethal poison!?”

“This magic was developed to instantly exterminate disaster-level monsters that multiply rapidly in a short period of time.”

“Disaster-level monsters that multiply rapidly in a short period of time? Could it be the legendary monster Infinity Mouse that destroyed the city of Bamiyam overnight?”

Infinity Mouse, a rat-like monster that lays eggs every five seconds and multiplies at an incredible speed.
It is said that any town where Infinity Mouse is discovered will be destroyed overnight.
And I’m not using a metaphor, it’s a real thing.

This magic was developed to exterminate such Infinity Mouse.
If it lays eggs every five seconds, all we have to do is kill them at a faster rate.
It’s a very simple theory.

Yes, of course, I was the one who created it in my previous life.
And the birth of Infinity Mouse was a major failure of the magic technology at that time.
Seriously, I don’t want others to clean up after my failures.

“I-I can’t believe it.
The magic that defeated that legendary monster actually exists… no, that’s not all! Just how precise do you have to control magic to achieve something like this… not to mention the tremendous magic consumption it must require.”

“Ah, the control is an application of detection magic.
With this, we can pick up only the monster’s reactions.
And if you create an efficient spell formula, you can greatly reduce the magic consumption.”

Like magic that consumes the magic in the air, for example.

“Creating a spell formula!? Are you saying you can create magic!?”

Ramise-san showed a shocked expression upon hearing about creating spell formulas.
No, not creating, more like… it’s as if he’s talking like a god.

“It’s not that difficult of a magic, you know.
The basics are just a regular tracking magic…”

“W-Wait a minute! Let me take notes! … Alright, I’m ready! Please continue!”

It seemed like Ramise-san was ready with her notes, so I tried to resume my explanation.

“Hey, this is not the time for that! We have injured people, so hurry and go rescue them! You can use healing magic, right!?”

Just as we were getting absorbed in our magic discussion, Liliera-san came back and scolded us.

“I’m sorry.”

Oh no, oh no, I got too caught up in the technical talk after such a long time.
We decided to hurry and go treat the injured.

“But that was some amazing magic.
With the previous battle and all, it’s no wonder you became the youngest S-rank.
Hehehe, I’m looking forward to what comes next.”

“Huh?”

Ramise-san’s atmosphere completely changed from the tense air earlier, and instead, it became very gentle.

Could it be that using the lava snake magic back there was just an act to gauge my power? Yeah, it’s not an impossible story.
After all, there’s no way an S-rank adventurer like me couldn’t handle this number of monsters.

I see, it was a strategy to measure the opponent’s true worth by forcing them to make a critical decision right after letting their guard down in the fight against the Hightroll.
Truly befitting of an S-rank adventurer, their way of assessing someone’s abilities is quite Spartan.

“Alright! Let’s gather our spirits once again and go!”