Living as a Recluse Deep in the Forest - Episode 13: Monsters of the West

The forest is changing.

Even though it’s supposedly the same "Great Demon Forest," the color of the air is different from the South. The smell of damp mulch has vanished before I even realized it. In its place, the presence of dry rock, scorched sand, and sharp sunlight grows thick. Looking up, the canopy overhead gradually increases in height, and through the gaps, a thin blue sky peeks out like cracks in a wall. The ground beneath my feet has shifted from soft earth to hard-packed soil mixed with stone. Eventually, it gives way to blatant bedrock.

Across this terrain, Yuu was running at what he considered a "leisurely" pace.

It wasn't a full sprint, nor was it a stroll. To Yuu, it felt like a slightly brisk jog. Yet, his speed exceeded that of a champion steed, despite the treacherous footing. He had been running at this speed for three days now, taking no breaks other than for meals and sleep. He continued his dash without a hint of fatigue—physical capabilities unreachable by any ordinary human.

The edge of a crumbling cliff. A parched ledge. A vertical fault line.

There were countless spots where a human would plummet straight to the valley floor with one slip. Yet, there wasn't a trace of peril in Yuu's stride. This was partly because he was "tinkering" with gravity just a little. Using magic to disperse the weight on the soles of his shoes, he had adjusted things so he could glide over the rocks. In other words—

(Well, this feels about right for curing a bit of a sedentary lifestyle.)

He had enough leeway to wear a faint, half-amused smile. As he gazed at the scenery unfolding before him, Yuu muttered internally:

(Reminds me of the Mides Canyon in Tunisia, North Africa...)

Vivid images rose in the back of his mind. Documentaries he’d seen through a screen back when he lived in Japan. Landscapes he’d only glanced at in photo books. That valley, where reddish-brown rocks piled high on both sides of the cliff, creating a harsh contrast with the azure sky.

Yuu’s magic—Memoria Reboot. It restored memories with a resolution higher than a photograph. Even a video clip that played for just a second. Even a single page of a magazine he happened to see. As long as it was etched inside him, Yuu could call it forth. The sight currently before his eyes was a close match.

However— The difference was the "density of living presence."

"But the destination is still ahead... this is where it starts getting annoying."

The moment Yuu let out that natural bit of monologue, the sand shifted restlessly in the shadow of a rock ledge one level below his feet. A black shadow loomed into view.

Carapace. Jointed legs. Giant pincers the size of mortars. Its height was roughly that of a horse's torso. Its tail was more than double Yuu’s height. At the tip of the tail was a stinger emitting a dull, wet glint. A giant venomous scorpion—a Dark Scorpion.

Its compound eyes locked onto Yuu. It let out a high-pitched, rasping cry. In the next instant, the stinger lunged with the speed of a lightning bolt. However—

"Yeah, yeah."

Yuu did nothing more than tilt his head slightly. The Dark Scorpion's stinger was aimed at Yuu’s shoulder—but dozens of centimeters before impact, it stopped as if crushed by the very space it occupied.

The air shrieked. A sound like thin glass shattering popped deep in his ears. In the next moment, the scorpion's massive body was blown upward and sideways, as if snatched by something invisible. An invisible "layer" ran centered around Yuu's body. Ultra-high-density compressed wind. A streamline that extremely polarized the airflow, snapping anything that approached toward the "outside." It swallowed the Dark Scorpion's strike with effortless ease. The massive carapace hit the rock wall with a dull thud. Then, with a creaking sound, it slid down and vanished toward the bottom of the valley.

"Out of the way."

That was all Yuu said. As if responding to his voice, the air split overhead this time. Descending while slicing through the updraft was—the body of a lion with the head of an eagle. Its wingspan was over three meters.

An Opinicus. A natural predator that claimed the rocky heights as its territory, stalking prey from above. A monster said to be capable of carrying away something the size of a horse, bones and all, with its sharp talons and beak. The giant bird's eyes glowed ferociously above Yuu's head. The sound of tearing wind. Its sharp claws were hammered down from above—and again, they didn't reach. Just dozens of centimeters above Yuu's head, the air creaked once more. A violent "flow" caught the body of the Opinicus as it dropped from above, sliding it directly to the side.

"Bugyah!?"

The flying beast's scream turned upward in pitch. Just like that, it spun round and round in mid-air, wings and all, caught in the belt of wind—and was blown toward the far side of the valley. A few feathers fluttered down. Yuu brushed away a feather that almost landed on his face with an annoyed hand.

"Every time I come here, someone from this crowd always tries to ram me..."

He grumbled but didn't stop moving. From a hollow in the rocks ahead, a slick, blackly-glistening shadow poked its face out.

Bipedal like a human. But with scales instead of skin. It had a tail and a mouth filled with sharp rows of teeth. If it were a normal Lizardman, that would be all. But the one in front of him was different. Black miasma leaked from between its scales. The parts that served as skin were corroded in places, and from those gaps, a sludge-like black peeked through, as if mana itself were leaking out.

A Gavial. A subspecies of Lizardman unique to the West, corroded by darkness. Constantly shrouded in miasma, anything it touches has its mana drained. Its black eyes sharpened with caution the moment it saw Yuu. A low warning sound rumbled from the back of its throat. In the next instant, that miasma extended like a spear. The black spear was thrust toward Yuu’s chest. However—

"I told you."

At Yuu's feet, a ripple of mana no stronger than a breeze. The compressed wind layer. Only its surface increased in density for a moment, as if gripped tight. The moment the Gavial’s miasma spear touched that "layer," it lost all momentum. The black mist was crushed flat and dispersed. In its place, the wind "counterattacked." The compressed air was released in the opposite direction. A small pop. Simultaneously, the Gavial's body was sent flying sideways, as if struck by a giant invisible hammer.

"I said you're in the way."

He muttered it. Yuu gave the black shadow flying over his shoulder a mere glance before facing forward again.

Dark Scorpion. Opinicus. Gavial. To a human adventurer, any one of these was an "Upper-Tier Monster" that would elicit screams upon a solo encounter. Roughly Level 35. A threat that would require a squad-sized party to engage properly. In this canyon region, they were everywhere.

Defeat one, and the next appears. From outside his field of vision, yet another. On the ground, in the air, in the shadows of the cliffs. Eyes stalking prey gleamed from every direction. If a human exploration team tried to cross this place, it would turn into a scene from hell. But— To Yuu. It was truly, helplessly...

(...A really annoying path for a stroll.)

That summed it up. The wind layer surrounding him was constantly flowing at speeds the eye couldn't track. It pushed anything it touched outward. That wasn't all. At his feet, gravity control to prevent tripping. On his clothes, a thin membrane to block heat and toxins. Attack, defense, and movement assistance were all running on "auto-pilot." Yuu just had to run. He just had to decide the "direction to proceed." With that alone, the surrounding monsters were blown away of their own accord.

Of course, he couldn't ignore everything completely. Occasionally, strange monsters mixed in that looked like they might slip through the "layer." For those opponents, he would take out their heads with a small light bullet fired from his fingertip, or locally increase the wind density to crush their bones. But it wasn't enough trouble to make him stop each time. Even now, a new shadow jumped out from behind a rock—

"...Right, goodbye."

The moment Yuu lightly waved a hand without even turning his gaze. The wind blasted out in a single direction. The body of the pouncing monster lost its balance in mid-air, was slammed against the rock wall, and never moved again. Before the blood could splatter, the wind swept it downward. It didn't even give it time to leave a reddish-black stain on the rock. Yuu let out a yawn.

"...Ah. I'm getting sleepy."

Indifferently, he proceeded along the path by the valley. The surroundings grew more "canyon-like" by the second. The rock walls towering on either side were already at a height unreachable by human hands. Reddish-brown rock faces were marked with vertical and horizontal lines carved by wind and rain, with strange rock protrusions formed here and there. Looking up, the sky was a thin strip. There, a clear blue and piercing sunlight. But the direct sunlight didn't reach the valley floor. Instead, heat was stored in the rock faces and radiated out slowly. It was a sticky heat despite the dry air. A different breed of discomfort from the clammy humidity of the South.

"...I've got to make sure I stay hydrated, at least."

Yuu lightly tapped the canteen hanging from his belt. The contents were water drawn from his own well in the South. It had been treated to remove impurities and maintain its coldness via magic. High-quality water that left a soft sweetness on the tongue with one sip. While walking through this hellish canyon, it was a small luxury and a lifeline.

(...Well, if I get parched, I can just extract moisture from the nearby rocks and drink that.)

Even so, he didn't want to be so destitute as to go out of his way to do that. Yuu checked the position of his canteen and returned his gaze forward. His destination lay ahead.

The "Oasis" that existed only in the western part of the forest. Beyond the trek through the canyon, a green paradise suddenly opens up. A spring bubbling up to the surface. A patch of forest surrounding it. There, mock-cumin and mock-coriander grew in clusters. And at the same time—

"...It’s the garden of the Master of the West."

Yuu shrugged. A forest administrator whose values couldn't be measured by human standards. An existence with overwhelming mana and a different sense of time. It was intelligent, capable of conversation, and would even welcome him if approached amicably. However, he still hadn't completely mastered the sense of distance between them. If he made one wrong choice, there was no telling what might happen.

"This time, I have a clear goal—curry. I need to speak carefully."

Thinking such things, Yuu turned the corner of a rocky outcrop. The path became slightly more level.

The wind changed.

Into the air that had been filled only with the smell of dry rock, a faint scent of greenery mixed in. A smile naturally surfaced on Yuu's lips.

"...I see it."

At the end of his vision. Across the canyon, in a slightly open space, a mass of deep green began to appear. In the middle of a world that was only rock. A sudden "forest" stood waiting with an open mouth. That was the Western Oasis.

And—it was the place where the long-winded "Master of the West" waited.

The dense sea of trees broke away, and a world of blue and green spread out as if a hole had been punched through the landscape. A lake brimming with transparent water, surrounded by lush meadows and shrubs, with low, palm-like trees dotted here and there. The air of the demon realm, usually filled with dry miasma and the scent of beasts, was thin and clear here.

"...Oh, finally, the oasis."

Yuu Setowatari wiped the sweat from his brow and exhaled slightly. That said, he wasn't out of breath. Up to this point, his level of exertion was nothing more than a light jog. The monsters that had jumped out earlier—Dark Scorpions, Opinicus, and the like—had all been treated like pebbles on the side of the road, blown away as "obstacles blocking the path." But.

"...Hmm."

Yuu stopped and knit his brows slightly. The air touching his skin had changed. The mana density in the atmosphere jumped one... no, two levels. A sensation like invisible thorns mixed into the wind licking his skin. These were in a different league than the ones from before. However, Yuu didn't show a look of surprise at that fact. It was a slight shift in mindset, like moving from a light jog to a pre-sprint stretch. He relaxed his shoulders slightly and, conversely, sharpened his awareness.

"...Here it comes."

Just after he muttered it to himself, a shadow fell. The sky darkened. Yuu looked up. Slicing through the blue sky, a giant green shadow came gliding in.

Wings. Giant wings that shone as sunlight passed through them. Dropping down like a trailing tail was a supple draconic body covered in emerald-green scales. It wasn't an Earth Dragon housing the power of the land. It wasn't a Forest Dragon that assimilated with the woods. In the quality, purity, and pressure of its mana, it was superior to both.

An Emerald Dragon.

If applied to human level indices, it was a high-tier dragon definitely over Level 50. Anyone who slayed this would have their name echo throughout the country as a hero. The title of "Dragon Slayer" would undoubtedly be bestowed in the audience chamber. Yuu at least knew that much regarding "this world's common sense." Whether he was interested in that or not was a different matter.

"Oh? A rookie?"

Looking up at the dragon as it circled and descended, Yuu muttered to himself.

"...Heh, they made a dragon the gatekeeper this time. Not bad."

His tone was disappointingly carefree. It was the gaze of someone looking at a new junior assigned to a research lab, or perhaps observing a part-timer who just started at a convenience store. The Emerald Dragon, of course, did not answer. The command given to the dragon was simple.

— Drive away those who approach the oasis. Or annihilate them.

It hadn't been given any other thought processes to begin with. No matter how abnormal the presence before it was, the dragon did not stop. A kin of the Master of the West. A faithful servant.

The battle began without a greeting.

The dragon's throat glowed brilliantly. Wind and mana squeezed from the depths of its lungs were compressed, and compressed, yet still pushed further as they passed through its throat. The wind mana, which should have been invisible to ordinary eyes, became dense enough to be seen. In the next instant, it was unleashed. Emerald green light erupted. A single flash pierces the sunlight. A green heat ray that scorched the air and made the atmosphere tremble surged in a straight line toward Yuu. The wind mana was visualized, turning into light. A torrent of destruction focused to that degree. For an ordinary mage, there was no choice but to dodge. But Yuu—simply thrust out his right hand. Without warning, without an incantation. The space before him shimmered like a transparent membrane. An invisible wall... or rather, it was closer to a "Force Field." It caught the green beam.

"Oh? That's actually pretty powerful."

Contrary to his glib remark, the feedback transmitted to his palm was slightly heavier than expected. Originally, he should have blocked it completely. According to the calculations of the force field he'd constructed, a heat ray of that level should have been diffused and erased in a fraction of a second. Yet, that strike had tried to push through, if only by a hair. It was enough to catch his interest. Not panic. Rather, a curiosity like a child who had found an interesting toy sparked in Yuu’s mind.

"Well then, I'll play a little, too."

Within him, a magical formula assembled. A logic fundamentally different from the magic systems of this world. He overrode the flow of mana with rules known as physics. Spatial coordinates, vectors, coefficients of restitution. Invisible equations poured into space alongside his thoughts. Symbols and concepts known to no one in this world mixed with the mana. Yuu curled the corner of his mouth slightly in a mischievous way.

"■■ Perge ■■ sequar"

The words that leaked out were fragments of a language no one in this world could understand.

In that instant—space warped.

The green destruction beam surging from the front changed course right before Yuu's eyes. As if transparent rails had been relaid, the light curved. At an impossible angle, in an impossible direction. The heat ray, back in a straight line, found its target—not Yuu, but the one who had fired it.

In the split second the dragon's eyes went wide, the green beam struck its chest directly. A thunderous roar exploded. Green scales were scorched, and the smell of burning drifted on the wind. The air trembled, and the shockwave kicked up the surrounding sand. Letting out a roar of agony, the dragon lost its balance in mid-air, its posture tilting heavily.

— What was that just now?

For the first time, "doubt" was born in the dragon's mind. Compressing wind and firing it was like breathing to the dragon. Against that, an opponent might raise a barrier and get burned through. It might be deflected by a repulsive force field. But. It knew of no phenomenon where a beam it fired "changed direction and came back to itself." Space itself was being twisted. It wasn't a flow of mana. It felt as if the framework of the world had been momentarily rearranged into a different shape.

The instinct etched into the dragon spoke: That was not a human's magic.

Construction of a spatial-repulsion force field. Local redefinition of coordinate axes. The dragon didn't understand such words. Only the fact that a "logic beyond its understanding" existed there was etched into its soul as a powerful warning. Casting aside all carelessness, the dragon slammed its gaze downward. It would glare at the human who should be standing in the spot where he was just a moment ago—or so it intended. But nothing was there. The dragon mobilized all its sensory organs, expanding its perception to the maximum. Sight, hearing, smell, mana sensing. It pulled every sensitivity to the limit. Yet, it still couldn't grasp "it." Everything was too late.

"Goodnight."

A whisper sounded by its ear. By the time the dragon noticed, Yuu had already approached its back—right at the base of its neck. Moving with a stride that ignored gravity as if he were standing in the air. Yuu’s right hand lightly touched the dragon's nape.

A tiny impact, like a flick of a finger.

But what was unleashed from it was a "vibration" that pierced the skin, slipped through the muscles, threaded through the gaps in the bone, and struck directly into the depths of the dragon's skull. Neither the dragon's iron-clad scales, its thick muscles, nor its skeleton that surpassed even mithril could block that vibration. Armor may be strong against "external blows," but it cannot stop an "internal tremor." The dragon's brain was shaken ruthlessly. A sensation as if the world had spun a full rotation. It couldn't tell up from down or front from back. Strength left its wings. It tried to swing its tail, but the command wouldn't reach.

— What is this...

The dragon learned the concept of a "concussion" firsthand for the first time in its life. It was conscious. But its body wouldn't move. Unable to prevent its fall to the ground, it was slammed into the earth. Sand flew into the air, and a low groan leaked out. It wasn't dead. But the dragon's heart trembled at the helplessness it was tasting for the first time. It understood. The human before it—no, the thing in human form—was an existence on par with its own master. It was not an opponent it could ever hope to defeat. The dragon's pupils contracted. At the end of its gaze, Yuu was lazily stretching.

"You're not bad. But you still need more training. Keep at it!"

Speaking in a joking tone like some sort of old master, he waved his hand dismissively. Just like that, treating the Level 50+ high-tier dragon entirely like a "rambunctious pet," he turned his feet toward the oasis. To him, even a high dragon was no different from a dog or cat playing by the side of the road.

The Sage of the Forest's progress continued toward the clear surface of the water, as if nothing had happened at all.

Prev            TOC            Next