Chapter 168

It seems that I woke up an hour later .

I reassured Zeal-san who suggested that I lie down with a worried look on his face and stood up .

My body felt somewhat sluggish .

As expected, perhaps it was because I had been the most focused that I’ve ever been in my life so that the two support magic that I casted for the first time would be a success, moreover, it was magic that was of a different attribute than mine, but my head hurt a little as well .

Even when I was gaming, I was not as focused as I was just now .

「It’s probably because you used magic circuits that you don’t use on a regular basis . I’m sorry . I shouldn’t have forced you . 」

I was confused as to why Zeal-san had a look of regret on his face .

Support magic was magic that you could not cast on yourself .

And, it seems that because attack magic required magic power of a different nature, there were magicians who couldn’t use support magic as well .

For me who only knew attack magic, it was something that was a bolt out of the blue .

Even in games, it was normal for there to be strengthening-type and acceleration-type magic .

There’s no way that there wasn’t any in this world .

It was a blind spot .

In the first place, I was a gorilla player who only focused on attack, so it had completely slipped my mind that there was support magic .

TN: in japanese gaming terms, a gorilla ningen/gorilla human is a player of a computer game that’s based on music and rhythm who can easily beat the highest level, so someone who is very powerful .

「The one just now gathered a group of them to come to attack us . Perhaps there is also the possibility that there are other similar groups?」

The reason why Zeal-san taught me and went as far as to have me cast support magic, was because he had the intention of increasing my options as well, but truthfully, it was so that his own physical strength and magic would not bottom out .

I too often sacrificed others in order to bring back my strongest character .

The Treants from just now were in a group .

If I compared it to something, it felt like a huge family coming and moving together .

Rather than there being other groups of Treants, it would be appropriate to think that this place was the territory of the Treants .

If they waited for us to be in disarray, then it would be their hunting ground .

In either case, it seems that we behaved just as they expected .

Zeal-san’s eyes widened slightly and gave a wry smile .

「As expected of the hero party? Akira-kun as well, your knowledge is distorted in some respects . 」

This time, it was me who had a wry smile on my face .

「It is because Akira and I have the same interests . In the other world, there were many kinds of entertainment, so specialization meant that you didn’t know everything about it, but that didn’t mean that you knew nothing about it . That was where Akira and I stood . That’s why, even if you asked Asahina, you wouldn’t get the same answer . 」

Entertainment…Zeal-san groaned at that .

He probably couldn’t understand why something that could become battle tactics would become entertainment .

I think that, in several hundred years, this world too will become one of peace with no conflicts .

All the more true if there were people like Zeal-san .

Come to think of it, did Tsukasa play games and the like .

Putting aside games, he didn’t seem like he watched anime, but people’s personalities differed from their appearances .

Next time, let’s try asking him .

「In any case, you should be correct . This is the Treants’ territory . The other groups are probably being attacked as well . Also, these Treants have a troublesome nature . 」

Anyways, I was urged by Zeal-san to speak as we moved, and to pick up our things that had been scattered due to the battle .

「Treants can measure the strength of their opponents . It’s just the strength and not any habits or any skills you may have, but it’s exactly because of this that they’re difficult to defeat . 」

「…Treants will also take countermeasures . If I were the Treants, after measuring the opponent’s strength, I would match up a comrade that was equally as strong or stronger against them . 」

As we were running, Zeal-san nodded at my response .

He had a grim look on his face, and he was focused on what was in front .

「Our group of eight people was split into three groups . This is my own opinion, but we were most likely not assigned the strongest Treants… . 」

At that moment, off in the distance in the direction that we were heading towards, there was a huge pillar of light .

A thunderous roar reverberated soon after, and the entire forest was astir .

「It is not us, but the group in which Satou Tsukasa-kun who is the hero is in . 」

Zeal-san’s face turned pale .

We picked up our speed a little .

「But, just now, that was Tsukasa’s skill, wasn’t it?」

「Yes, that seems to be the case . However, if the fight continues on like this, there is the possibility that the lord of the forest will wake up . 」

According to Zeal-san, the previous heroes also awaken it, and it turned into a disaster .

There was no way for us to go up against the lord of the forest that gave the previous heroes a hard time .

I finally understood why Zeal-san’s face turned pale .

「Oops, there are still more, huh . 」

On our way to where the pillar of light appeared, we encountered a group of Treants .

The good thing is that, although they camouflaged as trees, if you looked closely, you could tell them apart, though it was a different story when we were in a hurry just now .

「They’re probably the remaining Treants . 」

Looking at the Treants, Zeal-san calmly analyzed them .

If that’s the case, remembering what happened just now, there was something that I wanted to try .

「Zeal-san, can I do it?」

After pondering over it a little, Zeal-san nodded .

Under the condition that he be there right behind me in case something went wrong, I moved forward to stand in front of the Treants .

Zeal-san seemed to be extremely curious as he was staring at my each and every move .

「Then, copycat rocket punch!!」

I enveloped my fist in wind magic, and threw it out in front of me .

Just like the skill that I saw Commander Saran use in the Continent Dungeon, the Treants that were in front of my fist were blown away and disappeared .

As expected, they weren’t vaporized like that skill, so I felt extremely uncomfortable when I saw them turn into splinters and disappear .

It turned out well even though I hadn’t done it before, but I definitely didn’t want to use it against human-type monsters or monsters that had red blood .

「Nanase-kun, what was that? Did you say ‘rocket punch’?」

Zeal-san looked at my hand .

I heard about Commander Saran’s eccentricness from the knights that were in charge of me, but I think the same went for Zeal-san as well .

He was the type to abandon everything if there was something that he wanted to know .

The rocket punch (provisional) just now, was a technique that released your wind magic through your fist, but that wind was the key point .

I tried creating it from what I learned from a certain ninja manga, but there were miniscule wind blades within this wind, and it could cut your opponent at the cellular level…that’s the kind of technique it was .

TN: reference to Naruto and the rasenshuriken, which was based off of the rasengan . The rasengan is a wind vortex, and the rasenshuriken is similar, but it’s in the form of a shuriken, what is commonly known as ninja stars

At any rate, it was a long-standing manga that serialized for close to twenty years and it was finally completed .

My memory of it was considerably vague, but it’s good that remembered that if I continued on like this, the nerves in my hand would become damaged .

I recall that the main character changed it into the shape of a shuriken and threw it .

It started its serialization the year that I was born, and I was unconsciously moved to tears when it was completed .

Back to what we were talking about, the rocket punch (provisional) .

Even if I told him that, it was based off—-a mange, he wouldn’t understand, so I summarized it—-as “entertainment” and smoothly explained as we ran .

If Zeal-san was also able to come to our world, I wanted to have him read it by all means .

「We should be there soon . Please prepare yourself!」

In accordance with those words, the faces of the three people that I recognized came into view along with a slightly burnt smell lingering in the air .