I run through the forest. I’ve traveled a good distance, but the scenery is the exact same.
These trees must be over a hundred years old, but they’re spaced far apart enough that we don’t get in each other’s way, and only fallen leaves and short grass are on the ground.
This scenery that gives me a sense of deja vu loosens my nerves, but thanks to the monsters that appear periodically, I don’t have time to rest.
After moving for a while, the baby starts crying, and I have to either feed it or change its diaper.
Every three stops, I carve the face of a baby into a nearby three.
This keeps going until I see light ahead.
Is the forest over? No, I’ve reached a big lake.
I’m on alert.
I’ve learned from my time here in The Abyss that nothing good happens when the environment changes.
I try to go back to the forest and take a detour, but I feel eyes on me from the lake.
At first I think about ignoring it, since I don’t feel hostility, but the large movement of magic energy means I have to turn back to the lake.
I see a face coming from the lake.
Its head is that of a reptile, but there’s a mellow kindness to it. I don’t feel hostility from it, like fighting isn’t even a thing for it.
This reptile head stretches its neck from the lake towards me. It’s like Nessie or a plesiosaurus, and eventually, I see its body too.
It’s all muscular.
A gentle reptile head and long neck. And a bipedal macho body. Even its white color stands out.
I don’t even know what to say anymore.
I’d kill it no questions asked if it was hostile, and I still want to eliminate it quickly anyway, but its neck approaches my stomach and it looks at us with big round eyes.
Should I cut it? Let it go? I guess I really should cut it, I think as I draw the longsword, but a cry coming from near my stomach stops me.
Kyu~.
The baby made a sound other than crying.
I look at the baby, and it has its eyes open as it looks at the fake Nessie.
They keep staring at each other.
It keeps approaching, and I shrink back wondering what’s going to happen, when the baby suddenly goes ‘kyua!’ and attacks the fake Nessie with a magic energy bullet.
The fake Nessie bends backwards because of this sudden attack.
I’m thinking this is the start of the fight, but its head goes back to where it was and looks at the baby.
This keeps repeating.
Seriously, what is going on?
This is so chaotic that it makes me miss the minotaur.
That was nice, kill or be killed. Simple and easy. The winning conditions were clear.
But what is this?
They stare, the baby goes ‘kyua!’, and the fake Nessie bends back again.
Maybe I should’ve cut its head before this weird exchange began.
Eventually, the baby starts crying, probably because it’s hungry, and I stop the fake Nessie with my hand, telling it it’s over.
And it goes back quietly like it understood me.
As I think I should’ve done that from the start, I give the baby milk. Maybe it’s because it opened its eyes, but it stares at me as it drinks.
Its golden eyes are pointed straight at me. The same color as the silver-haired guy’s.
Once it’s done drinking, it lets out magic energy like it’s vomiting, and the rampaging magic energy runs to the sky.
It happens every time it drinks, so I’m used to it.
It closes its eyes like it’s nap time now that its stomach is full. Eventually it falls asleep, and I get on Fuuma to move again.
The fake Nessie watches, but doesn’t move.
Bye, I say, and it goes ‘gah’ and nods.
I leave the lake thinking I can communicate with it.
And then night comes to the forest.
Greater minotaur (minotaur)
It has a big strong body, and the ability to control cold. Has a magic weapon that can stop time within a certain range, but the effect is canceled if it attempts to perform any action on the target. The reason is that the effect stops once it enters that area. This higher rank minotaur has a warrior’s spirit, but since it does not like to fight, its beast of possibility is never truly realized.
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