Ch.63Potion City, Shahelm (2)

Clippity-clop! Clippity-clop!

Around 8 AM.

We rode Spotty along the road.

Because of the reported ogre sightings, the road was mostly empty except for a few travelers on foot, and we asked them if they had seen the ogre.

“Hey, we’re looking for an ogre. Have you seen one?”

“There’s a wrecked carriage in the middle of the road, you know? Some kind of potion or whatever… anyway, a carriage with liquid spilling out… the ogre was lurking around there. I quickly crossed without being noticed, but you folks look like an extermination team. Aren’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I wish you luck. Ogres aren’t opponents to be taken lightly.”

“Thanks!”

I replied as I steered the horse toward the center of the road.

Now that we knew the location of the carriage and the ogre, all that remained was to defeat the ogre and check the contents of the carriage.

After riding for two straight hours, we finally discovered a carriage in the middle of the road with dried potion leaking from shattered glass bottles, and nearby, we spotted an ogre carrying a log.

“Let’s dismount now. Watch your step.”

“Yes…!”

We got off the horse and sent Spotty far away to keep him from getting involved.

Shing!

Whoosh!

As I drew my twin swords and Raisha aimed her halberd, the ogre’s blurry eyes turned toward us, and it gripped its log tightly as it approached.

-Grooooar!!!!-

“Here it comes!”

*

Boom!

“Ugh!”

“Be careful!”

The ogre struck first.

I dodged the log it swung down, then approached closer, but the ogre immediately tried to kick me away.

Thud!

-Groooar!-

But at that moment, Raisha thrust her halberd’s blade at just the right timing, stopping the kick, and I began slashing at the ogre’s right leg as it stood awkwardly frozen.

“Dieeee!!!”

Slash! Slash! Clang!

After cutting repeatedly, I finally heard the sound of my blade scraping against bone, but that wasn’t enough.

Crash!

“Gaaah!!”

Thud! Crack!

When the ogre regained its stance and kicked again, I rolled ungracefully across the ground, and simultaneously, tremendous pain washed over me.

“Nngh!”

I used Pentin to suppress the pain, then gripped the two longswords that had fallen from my hands using Tuta.

“Sir Victor!”

“I’m fine! Focus on dodging!”

As I charged forward, I used Verhde to bind the ogre’s bleeding right leg, and immediately the ogre’s movements slowed considerably as it tried to strike Raisha.

“Hyah!”

Slash!

Raisha made a wide evasive maneuver while cutting the ogre’s hand with her halberd’s blade, and while the ogre clutched its hand, I quickly slashed repeatedly at its right leg, which was still wrapped in Verhde’s gradually disappearing tentacles.

Whoosh!

Next, I used Ignatus to set fire to the wound, then quickly pulled a potion from my belt and gulped it down. With my strength restored, I climbed onto the back of the ogre, which was still clutching its burning right leg, using Barkal and Charsak. I plunged a longsword into its back, then drew my medium swords and held them in both hands as I hacked away at its back.

Thwack! Thwack!

With my fierce attacks, occasionally enhanced with Ignatus, the ogre began to stagger heavily. I embedded my medium swords alongside the longsword in its back and pulled out daggers from my armpits to launch another attack.

Crack!

“Ugh!”

But then, the ogre’s massive hand grabbed me, and I was slammed into the ground at tremendous speed.

“Gaaah…!”

-Groooar!!!-

Crash!

“Aaaagh!!!”

“Sir Victor!”

The ogre’s angry fist came flying at me as I lay embedded in the ground, and I felt excruciating pain as my flesh pressed against my internal organs.

Thanks to using Pentin, I managed not to lose consciousness, but I knew that if I took one or two more hits like that, it wouldn’t just be unconsciousness I’d be facing—my life would be in real danger.

Cough! Cough!

Thanks to Raisha diverting its attention, I was able to gather myself, and with trembling hands, I gulped down another potion.

Gradually, the pain subsided, and sensation returned to my body.

I gripped the two daggers that had fallen from my hands using Tuta again, then accelerated toward the ogre using Aksen.

“Aaaaargh!!!”

I deliberately screamed to draw the attention of the ogre that was pressing Raisha, and when it turned its head toward me, I performed a triple jump to reach its head.

-Groooar!-

The ogre reached out its hand again, but my Verhde bound its hand faster, and I plunged my dagger into the back of its neck, using my weight and gravity to drag it downward.

Slaaaash!!!

-Groooar!!!-

“Aaaah!!”

Slash!

As soon as I landed on the ground, I sheathed my daggers, slipped between its legs, and executed another triple jump. I grabbed the longsword embedded in its back and dragged it downward just as before.

“Raisha!! Thrust your halberd in!”

“Yes!”

With its skin and flesh stripped from both front and back, the ogre collapsed in extreme pain, and I seized the opportunity to strike its injured right leg with Ignatus and my longsword to immobilize it.

Crack! Sizzle…!

-Gyaaaa….!-

The ogre’s life force began to drain away, and Raisha’s halberd blade started severing its internal organs.

The ogre writhed in extreme pain, but because I had frantically used Verhde to pin its arms to the ground, it had to endure the agony of having its intestines cut one by one.

“Raisha… hurry…!”

I had already consumed two more potions due to extreme fatigue.

Since mark magic consumed stamina, I no longer had the strength to hold my swords, and I was at my limit just binding the ogre’s hands as it tried to harm Raisha, who was stirring her blade in the fallen ogre’s abdomen.

“Just… die… already!!!”

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Raisha, like a madwoman, stabbed and swung her halberd, stirring the ogre’s entrails, and then moved from its chest to its abdomen, beginning to hack apart its vital heart and lungs.

-Phuuurgh!! Hnnnngh!-

With the sound of air escaping and the heart being pierced, the ogre finally stopped struggling.

*

“Ughhhh…”

“A-are you alright?”

“Yeah. Somehow still alive.”

I drank my last remaining potion.

Since we were returning to Shahelm anyway, we would have no trouble finding more potions.

I forced my still-aching body to rise and walked toward the carriage.

“Raisha. Go find Spotty. I’ll look for what we need to find in here.”

“Yes. But… don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

“Don’t worry…”

I waved off her concern and, with my trembling body, began tearing apart the carriage to search its contents.

It seemed a long time had passed since the wreckage occurred. The dried potion smelled like water mixed with powdered medicine, and sharp glass fragments were wedged between cushioning materials everywhere.

“Hmm…”

Fortunately, since I was wearing armor, I could search the carriage without worrying about cutting my hands. Inside, I found a small box and two purple potions that appeared to be samples.

“Only these two survived, huh…”

Assuming the carriage had been fully loaded, there must have been over 200 bottles of potion.

Yet all of them had been destroyed in a single collision, turning into nothing but decaying dried liquid, which gave me an inexplicable feeling of emptiness.

“Hmm…”

Using Navis, I could tell the box was magically sealed, and I could also see the words “Posha Pharmaceutical Company” written on the bottom.

This meant the box contained a formula, and I put the box and the two potions into my spatial storage box, then removed the heart from the ogre’s corpse, which had a large puncture wound in the center.

This too went into my spatial storage, and when I turned around, I saw Raisha in the distance, bringing Spotty back.

I climbed onto Spotty with difficulty and pulled Raisha up onto the horse with even more effort.

“Ugh…”

“A-are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s not like I’m going to die.”

I joked to reassure her, then gripped the reins and steered Spotty back toward Shahelm.

The wind blowing along the road cooled the sweat on Raisha and me, and as I touched the torn part of my chain mail, I thought about getting it repaired.

By the way… that ogre was truly a formidable opponent.

They say that adventurers of steel rank to gold rank can instantly take down multiple trolls, monsters that make ogres look like “nothing”… I wonder when I’ll reach that level?

Perhaps Raisha might awaken her aura and rise to metal rank before me.

But regardless, we had completed our quest, and all that remained was to receive proper compensation for our work.

We rode for another two hours back to Shahelm and headed to meet Manager Orka of Posha Pharmaceutical Company.