episode_0111

It could be hunting us.

Max’s scary assumption became more and more credible as time passed.

Because similar things have happened several times since then.

A group of monsters attacked, and while responding, another death occurred elsewhere.

“I guess that’s right?”

Johanna said.

“This guy is hunting us.”

These were words filled with confidence, not speculation.

“Hmm, I guess so… … .”

Max also agreed with that opinion.

And although I didn’t say it, me too.

“Even though it’s a forest, I never thought someone like this would come out.”

Hector suddenly appeared next to me and clicked his tongue.

Max looked at Hector with subtle eyes.

“… But didn’t you receive a request? Is it okay to abandon clients so frequently?”

“Progress stopped anyway, so what does it matter? Since I told them it was for smooth progress and to prevent any possible threats, they didn’t say anything.”

“… I got a good client.”

After that short conversation, the topic of the group returned to normal.

“This guy is not just a little bit intelligent.”

“Has there ever been a guy like this?”

“I think it probably wasn’t there… .”

“If there was, I would have known. The name must have been floating around like a legend among mercenaries.”

Just because a forest monster is not intelligent does not mean it is not intelligent.

Although most people act based on instinct, individuals with some degree of intelligence still exist and still exist today.

However, it seems that there has never been a monster that moves other monsters on its own to create a gap and ‘hunt’ a human by stabbing that gap.

I also learned a lot of knowledge while working as a mercenary in Darbil, but as far as I know, there was no such entity.

“Even that is not the end. It’s not just about high intelligence. Strong, fast, and above all, stealthy.”

okay. What made him special and difficult wasn’t just because he was highly intelligent.

It is strong and fast enough to kill a highly skilled drone without much time, and is stealthy enough that other drones cannot respond.

In fact, no matter how many deaths there have been so far, no one has actually seen him yet.

This means that he took the deceased’s life away and disappeared before the person could even make eye contact with him or even before the other person recognized him.

There was no information about him except that he saw a glimpse of something black.

“Due to the nature of the forest, it is difficult to detect with magical power.”

Johanna added.

As I said, if this were an ordinary place, I would have been able to spread my magic widely and find the guy.

However, it was not easy to spread the detection widely due to the forest’s unique magical flow.

Because of that, we were currently unable to even get a clue.

“Hmm… What should I do with this… … .”

It was obvious that if the situation continued like this, the damage would accumulate.

Therefore, Max and others had no choice but to worry.

Max, who had been thinking for a long time, soon opened his mouth.

“When there is an attack by monsters, it would be better for us not to get involved. Instead, I think it would be better to walk around the outskirts and wait to see if he shows up.”

“That would be better.”

“Hmm… We might not be enough on our own, so it would be better to find other people.”

Should we really say that he was a skilled mercenary? He was able to organize his opinions quite quickly.

In an instant, the policy was decided.

“Anyway, a troublesome guy has appeared.”

After the story was roughly summarized, Hektro frowned and said.

What a pain in the ass.

Considering what he had done so far, it wasn’t wrong.

However, I didn’t completely agree with that.

Because I wasn’t sure if he would stop being just a nuisance.

After that guy began his activities in earnest, after there were deaths caused by him.

I was also scanning the area with magical energy detection.

It is not easy to detect due to the forest’s unique magic flow, and the influence becomes stronger the further you go into it, so I am not able to detect it as smoothly as in other places, but since I can use my intention, I am relatively free from its influence.

But despite this, I couldn’t detect him properly.

In this case, the possibilities are narrowed down to two.

First, if he is at a level where he can completely fool even my senses.

Just avoiding detection is a different story than tricking someone into not even feeling the foreignness.

Even that swordsman would not be able to completely shed my senses, and would create at least a slight sense of heterogeneity.

It would be impossible for anyone, unless they were far ahead of me, to pass over my senses so that I could not even feel the sense of heterogeneity.

So, has he reached that level?

I thought that couldn’t be possible.

Even if we leave out the fact that it simply makes no sense for a monster of that level to exist, if he were really at that level, there would be no need to go through such trouble.

Even if you just confidently fight head on, you will be able to annihilate the people here in an instant.

So I thought the possibility was low.

And one possibility remains: if it has the ability to avoid detection.

The forest is truly a place that contains all kinds of mysteries, and the monsters that live there have special characteristics that cannot be compared to ordinary animals.

Even ordinary monsters are like that, but even more special individuals are sometimes born among them.

An entity with strange characteristics that cannot normally be had.

However, it is an entity that can be called special in that it possesses intelligence that far surpasses that of other monsters.

But what if it also has the ability to dispel the detection of magical power?

Unless it’s just a special entity.

If so, I thought it might not just end up being a headache.

***

In order to catch the newcomer, Max and other mercenaries came up with a plan.

When monsters attack, skilled mercenaries such as Max, Johanna, and Hector do not participate in stopping the attack, but rather wait and run to the place where the monster appears and subdue it.

Originally, it was planned to be carried out only by mercenaries, but some of the warriors also offered to participate.

After much thought, the mercenaries decided to accept the offer.

However, in order to prevent unnecessary sacrifices, it was decided to go through the judgment of several mercenaries, including Max.

If the spirit is good but the skills are lacking, the number of deaths will only increase.

There were some who felt bad about the process itself, but those who took action in the first place could be said to be quite normal among martial people, so fortunately the number was not that large.

Since he was highly intelligent, there was a possibility that he would feel suspicious and not show up if he went this far, but the mercenaries, including Max, calculated that such an outcome would not be bad.

If he gives up, there will be no more deaths in the future, and the group’s progress will not be delayed.

However, since he was too dangerous to be left completely unattended, we would have to set aside time to deal with him once the business was over.

But now, the time for the Hero’s Tomb to be opened was getting closer, and frankly, we couldn’t slow down the progress by tying ourselves to just one guy.

Anyway, maybe it was because I thought about it in my own way.

“It’s him! That guy has appeared!”

Finally, the group was able to grab the guy’s ankle.

As soon as the sound was heard, all the waiting personnel rushed there.

And they were finally able to see him with their own eyes.

“Shadow… ?”

okay. It was a form that could only be described as a shadow.

Even though the sun was still shining, it only looked dark, like a shadow.

“Don’t give up and catch that guy first!”

At Max’s shout, the personnel rushed at the guy at the same time, but the guy seemed to be aware of the situation and had already pulled away.

“Where!”

However, Max immediately blocked the guy’s path.

At a speed that can be described as lightning fast.

In his hand, a hatchet was suddenly pulled out.

“Thank you for bothering me so far!”

With his eyes flashing, Max swung an ax full of magical power at the guy.

but.

Kang!

Max’s ax burst into flames and was blocked.

A long, sharp thing that looked like a fingernail suddenly protruded from the creature’s body.

“Hoo.”

A moment passed by Max’s eyes.

But it was only a moment, and Max’s body was immediately moving on to the next movement.

He pushed away the guy’s claws with the ax, creating a gap in his movements, and at the same time stretched out his magical power-laden feet towards the guy.

Although it was not a weapon, it contained enough power to shatter even a rock.

Perhaps because the speed was too fast,

Pow!

The guy couldn’t avoid Max’s feet and was hit directly.

Wow!

At that moment, the shadow split open, revealing sharp teeth, and a strange noise that could even be called a scream came out of the creature.

It was a noise so unpleasant to hear that it made even mercenaries and warriors, who were accustomed to all sorts of things, frown.

Max even frowned because he heard it from close range.

But even in that situation, Max did not stop.

He swung the ax again with all his might, intending to finish off the man who was stiff from pain.

However.

Grumble─

“… … !”

The guy dodged Max’s axe by squirming as if he were really a shadow.

Although Max was embarrassed, he immediately adjusted his posture and tried to go on the offensive again, but the guy had already retreated.

The speed was so fast that there was no time to stop it.

The mercenaries and warriors around him tried to stop him, but he ran away at such a speed that they couldn’t even think of chasing him.

“… Wow, that guy is really fast.”

With a look of regret on his face, Max put the hatchet on his belt.

And Hector trudged towards Max.

“What is that guy? Why are there all these guys who look like that?”

“Do you guys understand?”

Max shook his head.

“But, well, since we gave it a shot, it will be quiet for a while.”

That was Max’s judgment.

Although the form was foreign, it did not mean that the blow did not work.

Max was sure that his physical condition would not be good as he had been hit directly by a kick loaded with a lot of magical energy.

As expected, the judgment was correct, and the shadow monster did not appear for a while after that.

However, the peaceful time did not last long, and after a few days, the bastard appeared in front of them again.