Ch.131131. The Great Warrior of the East

The eastern mountain village of the Griffin Kingdom.

This village, which everyone must pass through to reach the Marias Great Forest, was primarily filled with businesses catering to tourists, travelers, and hunters.

Most food establishments were taverns, and the tallest buildings were inns offering lodging.

Since the Griffin Kingdom itself had such a good reputation among citizens of other countries, there were many travelers. The Marias Great Forest was teeming with beasts and magical creatures, making it a paradise for hunters, so outsiders were always visiting.

Another day began in the mountain village.

People greeted each other with smiles, welcomed guests, and prepared breakfast.

Generous hospitality and fair prices.

For travelers crossing the Marias Great Forest, this village served as the face of the Griffin Kingdom, and the villagers took great pride in that role.

A place where positive influence and mindset spread from person to person.

A truly special place.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Along with the morning roosters’ crowing, vibrations that shook the ground arrived in the village.

“Hmm?”

“Are there many travelers today?”

Beyond the Marias Great Forest lay the Sahar Desert, once called the cursed land. And beyond that was the Kingdom of Zerman.

People turned their gaze toward the forest entrance, wondering if a group of travelers or perhaps a delegation from the Kingdom of Zerman had arrived.

The villagers began gathering at the entrance to welcome the incoming group.

And soon after.

A massive horde emerged from the forest shadows.

They were all shirtless, with bizarre tattoos covering their bodies. They weren’t riding horses but rather creatures called Lizards—monstrous beasts resembling dragons with horns, hideous teeth, and wings.

Whoosh!

The sound of wind splitting echoed.

Thwack!

“Huh?”

A villager couldn’t help but gasp in surprise when his friend beside him collapsed after taking an arrow to the head.

But immediately after, another arrow flew toward him, piercing his neck and sending him rolling to the ground.

“They’re tribespeople!”

“What! Why are they doing this suddenly?”

“Th-they’re crazy! The Marias tribe has gone mad!”

The Marias tribe, indigenous people living in the Marias Great Forest.

They charged into the mountain village in an instant and began ravaging everything.

Only livestock with value as food survived. Everyone else, regardless of age or gender, spewed blood as their faces hit the ground.

And leading them was a great warrior riding a black Lizard.

With bronze skin and a massive build, the great warrior had shaved his head completely to avoid showing weakness in battle. He raised his spear high toward the sky.

“Today, the wrath of Marias will pour down!”

His bulging muscles writhed as if alive, and fierce hostility toward the Griffin Kingdom was concentrated at the tip of his spear.

“To avenge our Great Chief and our Setima comrades!”

His voice, though difficult to say it contained mana, carried a strange power that spread throughout the village.

“I, Balkzar, Great Warrior of Marias, stand with the spirits of our ancestors and our guardian deity Horua!”

As he spoke, red wings extended from his back.

Just like the guardian mountain deity living in the Norsweden Mountains.

These were the fiery wings of Horua, the guardian deity who lived in the Marias Great Forest.

“Our fury shall rain down upon those who call themselves the noble Griffin!”

In just two hours.

In exactly two hours, they completely devastated the entire village and immediately headed toward the next village, reins in hand.

* * *

With the first-year students gone for their field training, I was back to my seemingly normal daily routine.

Of course, that was only how it appeared on the surface; the reality was somewhat different.

I was making quite a lot of preparations.

“Is something going to eat you? Why are you so busy?”

Findenai, watching what I was doing, casually asked why I was acting this way.

The Dark Spiritmaster beside her nodded in agreement, but I had no choice but to be busy.

I had given Aria Rius the gift of freedom.

She was no longer the hero destined to save this continent.

Therefore, I needed to devise a plan to save the continent without Aria.

Dealing with Dante was particularly tricky.

The part where I failed in the first playthrough.

If I kill Dante’s leader, there’s absolutely no way to reach the ending.

If I kill him, the boundary between life and death becomes unclear, and the continent will perish.

But following Dante’s will goes against my beliefs.

I needed to find a solution to this problem and consider what comes after.

‘The good thing is that we have plenty of power and time on our side.’

With Findenai and the Dark Spiritmaster as our top fighters.

Plus Erika and even the Saintess at our disposal.

And thanks to my position as a Spiritmaster, I could also receive help from the royal family.

In fact, we had more than enough power, and time-wise, we were just at the beginning of the first-year second semester.

There was no need to rush, but…

‘You never know.’

My actions have had significant influence in various directions.

From meddling with Dante to the royal family’s suppression of nobles.

At this point, my game experience is merely knowledge that offers advice rather than something that can predict the future.

“Heave-ho!”

Professor Per Petra entered the lab, struggling with a large box in both hands. Owen quickly ran over to help him hold it.

“Wh-what’s arrived?”

Per thought it might be research equipment I had requested from the academy, as such items had started arriving recently.

But I’m sorry to say, this time it wasn’t something that would help with research.

“Findenai, open it.”

“Huh? Me?”

The box was large, but what was inside wasn’t actually that heavy.

It was just thoroughly packaged and secured because it was a valuable item.

Findenai tore open the box with a crackling sound, and instead of following the instructions to open the protective case, she simply smashed it with her hands.

Inside was a round bracelet. It gave off an eerie aura, tinged with blood-red.

“Ugh.”

“Th-that’s scary.”

Professor Per and Owen immediately stepped back, but Findenai stared at it blankly before slightly pushing it toward me.

“What kind of bracelet is this?”

“Put it on. It’s yours.”

“…Huh?”

Findenai looked back and forth between me and the bracelet with surprised eyes. She made an uncharacteristically careful expression as she put the bracelet on her right wrist.

Click!

With that sound, Findenai’s eyes trembled slightly as if she felt something unusual.

As if she sensed something, she infused mana into her hand, and the bracelet soon spread a red light, transforming into something like a glove covering her hand.

“What is this?”

“It’s called the Hand of Blood Tide. If you inject blood while using it, you’ll feel your health gradually recovering.”

“You’re giving this to me?”

“Yes, it’s an item that suits you well.”

Findenai gets stronger the longer a battle continues, so dragging out time was important.

In game terms, a life-steal item was essential.

In that sense, the Hand of Blood Tide, which infuses the wearer with vitality as it absorbs blood, was the perfect item for Findenai.

Besides, it originally belonged to Findenai anyway.

‘Since it’s a drop item from Findenai.’

An item that would drop with a certain probability when defeating her as a boss.

There were also other items that made Findenai a true chapter boss, like her main weapon Bangbu and the Lending Machine.

For Bangbu, thanks to Illuania finding information, I heard it would soon be listed at an auction house, but the Lending Machine was from the Republic of Clark, so I couldn’t get it right away.

“I thought you were giving me something nice, but you’re just telling me to work hard?”

I nodded naturally at Findenai, who asked with a pout.

“Try it out when you get the chance.”

“It’s too boring here. There’s no one to beat up.”

When she clenched her fist, the red glove surrounding Findenai turned back into a bracelet.

Well, even though Findenai said that, she kept glancing at the bracelet, so it seemed she quite liked it.

Come to think of it, this might be the second gift I’ve given to Findenai.

The first was the tobacco I gave her when we returned from the Republic of Clark.

Now that I think about it, she hasn’t smoked that one but keeps lighting other tobacco instead.

“Have you finished the tobacco I gave you?”

Suddenly curious, I casually asked, and Findenai reached into the front pocket of her maid outfit and pulled out a familiar pack.

Inside were the ten tobacco sticks I had given her, neatly arranged.

“You said it was precious.”

I saw her smelling it before, but she still hasn’t smoked it. It was a bit surprising that she hadn’t smoked even one.

Maybe that’s why.

I just stared blankly at Findenai, and she stared back at me as I sat there.

There wasn’t anything particular we needed to say to each other, but as we were just looking at each other without much thought…

Clank.

The door opened, and Erika Bright entered the lab.

I naturally shifted my gaze from Findenai to Erika, who spoke with quite an urgent expression.

“Th-the royal family has contacted us.”

“His Majesty?”

“They contacted the principal’s office through the crystal ball, so hurry and go.”

This was the first contact since coming to the academy. I wondered if there was something they wanted me to do, and I thought it was good timing.

I didn’t know what it was about, but I thought I might be able to use this opportunity to get some useful items from the royal treasury.

But the matter was bigger than I had thought.

“The tribal people living in the eastern Marias Great Forest have crossed the border and are massacring citizens.”

“Tribal people?”

Leaving the others behind, Erika and I left the lab and headed to the principal’s office.

Meanwhile, Erika quickly shared the information she knew with me.

“They’re claiming revenge for Chief Katolerer and… the Setima residents.”

Stop.

My steps suddenly halted.

Erika also took a few steps forward before stopping and looking back at me.

“Is it related to the Setima residents?”

This was the first I’d heard of this.

They had already resolved their grudges and were at rest.

“I’m not sure about that. But I heard that the Zeronia family, who are connected to the Setima residents, departed to subjugate them…”

“And?”

“They were half annihilated.”

Sigh.

Gideon, who was probably not at the academy right now, must have been involved. I didn’t care about their karma, but using the name of the Setima residents to justify massacres was quite irritating.

“Let’s go for now.”

I resumed walking toward the principal’s office.