episode_0004

-clang! Thud!

-Clang!

“…!”

As Rudy exerted his remaining strength to engage in a fierce battle with the tree spirit,

Rose couldn’t help but lose focus for a moment.

It was an astonishing sight.

The incredible agility of a boy who still looked like he hadn’t even reached adulthood.

Dodging the attacks of the massive tree spirit, he counterattacked accordingly.

It was an impossible feat without innate combat sense.

But if that was all, Rose wouldn’t have been so surprised.

The boy, who appeared to be in his late teens at most, was holding his own against the tree spirit that even seasoned warriors would struggle to defeat.

“No, if you’ve done this much, just give up already!”

-clang!

Of course, it seemed like the boy’s magic was running out soon, but still.

Rose reached into her pocket, deep in thought.

“I was a bit surprised, but the chances of this boy defeating the tree spirit, which is being regenerated by dark magic, are slim.”

The situation remained unchanged.

In the end, was she left with no choice but to use the summoning stone?

Rose had the high-ranking spirits she had contracted with summoned and released in her mansion.

It was an act she had to perform due to the vast spiritual power she possessed as a Grand Spirit Master.

If Rose were to shatter the summoning stone she had, she could gather all the high-ranking spirits currently residing in her mansion to this location.

“I may feel a bit embarrassed that I couldn’t defeat it with Phoenix… Huh?”

Just as she was about to use the summoning stone,

Rose’s attention was once again diverted by the strange transformation of the boy.

The boy’s body was glowing.

*

[System: The moon recognizes the protagonist of this world.]

[The moon resonates with the protagonist’s body and spirit!]

[You have acquired the Moon Energy.]

“Whew, whew….”

Having exhausted all of his auras, Rudy realized that something strange was happening to his body.

The swordsmanship he had used in his confrontation with the tree spirit so far was the Thousand Moon Sword he had learned from a secret book in the underground chamber.

A swordsmanship created for cutting the moon, accepting the moon, a kind of ‘ritual dance’ for cutting the moon.

He used it under the full moonlight, almost depleting his auras, and used it again.

And now his body was glowing like this.

-clang!

In the moment of distraction, the tree spirit, entwined with its long roots, counterattacked.

Was it not getting tired?

Squeezing out the last remaining aura, Rudy wielded the named sword, Drakan.

Twak!

The shattered roots of the tree spirit sprouted again, beginning to regenerate.

Now he had truly exhausted all his auras.

Although he had exhausted all of them.

“…I don’t understand. Why does the power keep coming back?”

Usually, when the auras run out like this,

The body’s strength is released as if suffering from a body ache and collapses.

But Rudy was still energetic.

“Is it because of the glowing body phenomenon?”

The answer was yes.

Unfolding the Thousand Moon Sword under the full moonlight with depleted auras.

That was the first condition for acquiring the Moon Energy.

The pure moon power, the Moon Energy, cannot be accepted in a state where the auras are full.

Just like water and oil cannot mix.

The Moon Energy, which is the oil, could only be accepted after all the water had been drained.

-clang!

The recovered tree spirit rushed towards Rudy to strike him.

Rudy tightly gripped Drakan once again.

And.

“Hup!”

With a strangely glowing and light body,

Rudy unleashed a sword strike.

It was different from the previous strikes.

A sword strike imbued with moonlight.

Along with Rudy’s glowing body, Drakan also resonated.

Kwaaang!

-clang?!

“…What is this?!”

The tree spirit, hit by Rudy’s sword strike, hastily recoiled.

Its body hit by the strike was not regenerating.

The recovery was delayed.

The ominous magic that was felt just a moment ago noticeably weakened.

The eyes of the woman who had been watching from the front also widened for a moment.

Unable to understand English, but regaining his momentum, Rudy had to charge again.

Shaaak!

Skkrek!

Kwagwak!

The tree spirit began to lose its form and sink.

No longer able to make the unpleasant groaning sound.

It was just dying under Rudy’s fierce attack.

“I did it… No, I must not say that line.”

Rudy squatted down and poked the tree spirit that had lost its life force.

It no longer moved.

The tree spirit, which had been emitting ominous magic, was completely dead.

“Haha! I did it! I don’t know how, but I got the Thousand-Mile Sword… Let’s see, if I take this to the Adventurer’s Guild, I might make some money, right? Right now-”

“No, even if you take it, you won’t be able to buy food. That’s just a regular tree spirit.”

“…?”

Where was she just standing and watching from across the river?

The woman who had been forgotten approached and sat down next to Rudy.

“Hmm, it’s a similar magic to when the ghoul was around. It must be the work of the Eclipse Cult… those guys.”

“Aren’t you running away yet?”

“…What?”

Oops.

Rudy felt the presence.

It was the energy emanating from the woman in front of him.

The woman noticed Rudy’s slight fear and continued.

“Originally, you were planning to defeat the tree spirit after you fell and retrieve it alone. But things turned out like this.”

“Yes, well… I guess so.”

“Yeah, surprisingly, right?”

“Anyway, since I killed the tree spirit, I will take it with me.”

“No? You can’t.”

“?”

Rudy briefly doubted his ears.

“Why did you come to that conclusion?”

“Yeah. Because I need the remnants of this guy.”

“But I killed it?”

“So?”

“….”

He fell for the crazy woman again.

Thinking that, Rudy quickly opened his backpack and began to sweep the remains of the tree spirit into it.

“Yeah, yeah, take it. I didn’t want to touch it anyway because it was dirty.”

“….”

Rudy gathered all the remains.

He neatly swept up even the core left by the fallen tree spirit.

He began to move his feet towards the direction of leaving the forest.

But then it happened.

Thud!

“Huh?”

Rudy’s body was tightly bound by tentacles of unknown origin.

He couldn’t move forward anymore.

Looking at the source of the tentacles, it was the binding spell cast by the woman from before.

“It’s better not to try to escape.”

“You…!”

Rudy, tied up by the tentacles, obediently put down his backpack.

He had no intention of fighting.

He had seen the tremendous power of the phoenix that the woman had summoned earlier.

Having harmed the tree spirit, he didn’t know when she would summon that phoenix again.

Rudy had no choice.

“…Huh?”

However, even though he obediently put down his backpack, the woman did not stop the binding spell.

“Excuse me? This hasn’t been released yet?”

“….”

“…Excuse me?”

Even when Rudy asked, there was no answer.

She just smirked and looked at Rudy.

Once again, Rudy felt a threat to his life.

“Oh, and one more thing, by the way…”

As she finished her last sentence.

Rudy…

“Why do I always get involved with these crazy people!”

As he ran away, breaking the binding spell with a burst of wind, he didn’t hear her words.

He sprinted at full speed.

Although he didn’t know why, it was clear that he had gotten involved with dangerous people.

“Pant, pant, pant!”

He ran with all his might towards the edge of the forest.

But…

“…Huh?”

“Kyaah!”

A giant hamster spirit flew from somewhere behind.

In the midst of the chaotic moment, Rudy delivered a solid blow to the spirit’s front paw, knocking it out cold.

Simultaneously, his vision flickered out.

As a result,

Rudy lost consciousness right there on the spot.

***

“Rose, who is this person exactly…?”

“I found him. Please use your healing magic to wake him up.”

“Are you going out again?”

“Yeah. I have something to check.”

“……”

Just before opening his eyes,

a voice reached Rudy’s barely conscious mind.

He felt a soft sensation on his back.

Was it a bed?

It felt comfortable as if his body was sinking into a cloud made of high-quality goose feathers.

His limp body gradually felt strength returning to it.

“Uh, ugh.”

Rudy regained full consciousness in no time.

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

“…Incredible recovery speed. Are you the person Rose found after all?”

“W-who are you?”

The first person he saw was not a familiar ceiling,

but a healer reaching out a hand towards him.

He appeared to be in his fifties, wearing the attire of a cathedral priest.

The room around him was lavishly spacious and well-decorated.

It seemed to be someone’s mansion.

“I am Lines, the vice bishop of the cathedral. I am currently in charge of emergency healing at Rose’s mansion.”

“Vice bishop of the cathedral…?”

A bewildered Rudy.

Why was a person like the vice bishop of the cathedral healing his body?

“Who is this person Rose you mentioned?”

“Oh, it seems you haven’t heard my name. Perhaps Rose, the one who brought you here…”

Thud!

Before the priest could finish his sentence, Rudy suddenly kicked the bed and jumped up.

“That crazy woman’s house!”

He opened the door,

rushed down the stairs to the first floor.

The maids inside the mansion looked surprised at Rudy’s hurried actions.

“Why is my otherworldly life always entangled with crazy people!”

Finally reaching the entrance of the mansion in a rush,

just as he was about to open the last door and leave!

“I knew you would do that.”

“You crazy kidnapper-!”

“Tsk, looks like we need to start with language education for a while.”

“Kyaaah!”

Deja vu.

Once again, Rudy was hit on the head by the hamster behind Rose,

and he could do nothing but faint once more.