Chapter 270

270 – The Great Grafant

I lead Aro, the lesser treant, and the baby araenie en masse into the forest . As usual, it’s not like we can show our faces to the Lithovars at the moment, so I lead them in the opposite direction to the village .

The baby araenie are crawling around as they please, though at least it looks like they’re following me to an extent… If they stray too much, they’ll end up inside an abyss right away, so I hope they don’t do as they please too much . There’s no way for me to get them to understand what I say, so there’s no helping it . If I only feed them, they’ll grow lazy and won’t ever be able to hunt for themselves .

First of all, I want to get the baby araenie to evolve up to D-rank . That should be enough to make them considerably more sturdy .

My [Presence Perception] isn’t picking up on any Lithovars, so I carefully proceed through the forest .

Noticing some small presences, I raise my eyes to once again see a group of small children sitting on a tree branch, emitting a faint green light . They’re forest children, rarans . They’re lined up on a nearby tree branch . There’s eight of them this time, more than usual . I wonder if there’s some reason for there to be so many of them . I hadn’t thought they were very heavy, but with so many, the branch is starting to creak .

It doesn’t look like they’re doing anything beyond just observing me from a distance . They’re still keeping an eye on me, then? It’s a bit creepy .

Hey, wouldn’t you guys say I’m getting used to being the dragon-god? I give them a look packed with that thought, but they don’t give any particular response . After observing me for a while, they all jump down from the branch together and start running in the same direction . They soon disappear, not a single one being left behind .

…As usual, I don’t understand them . Do they want me to follow them?

But that way I’d be going into the shallow part of the forest . It’d be one thing if it was just me, but since Aro and the others are here, I don’t want to walk around an area where the encounter rate of people is high . Last time I followed one of them, it led me to finding another village . Though there’s no reason for them to take me anywhere… Was it just a coincidence? Both previously and now, they just ran off in the opposite direction form me and disappeared .

『This way, this way!』

While I’m worrying about what to do, my partner starts pulling me in a different direction . She must’ve spotted something . I probe around that direction with [Presence Perception] .

There’s a large presence that way . I put my head to the ground and hear what sounds like massive footsteps . Is it a giant-type monster? I can’t say anything without seeing its status, but it doesn’t sound very fast . I can help from the side, so I’m wondering if it’s perfect for everyone to earn some experience .

The giant monster is headed in this direction, so I wait in a place where there’s a good view of the surroundings .

It’s big, but it’s still a size smaller than me . It’s as large as the little rock dragon at best . I feel a bit nostalgic, remembering being unable to do anything but run away from it with Miria .

While I’m indulging in my emotions, a distant tree falls down . The monster that makes its appearance by the base of the tree is a giant cow, about six metres tall and covered with light brown hair . The hair on its face is bizarrely long . Its eyes are bright red and its breathing is rough, so it’s clear that it’s in a state of excitement .

I-it might be a little tough . Anyway, from this distance, I can check its status .

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Species: Grafant

Condition: Enraged

Lv: 27/65

HP: 342/361

MP: 125/153

Attack: 152

Defense: 167

Magic: 98

Speed: 64

Rank: C

Characteristic Skills:

[Short-tempered: Lv-] [Automatic HP Recovery: Lv 1]

Resistance Skills:

[Physical Resistance: Lv 2] [Poison Resistance: Lv 3] [Fall Resistance: Lv 4]

Normal Skills:

[Horn Lance: Lv 4] [Charge: Lv 3] [Ramming Attack: Lv 2] [High Jump: Lv 3] [Meteor Dive: Lv 2] [Power: Lv 3]

Title Skills:

[Strongman of the Forest: Lv 4] [Reckless Charger: Lv 3]

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…Aro’s status is [Magic: 42], [Speed: 22] . Previous experience has taught me that in order to damage a target, you need to hit it with firepower of atleast half the its defense .

If I make a wound and they aim for that, they should be able to get some of the experience… But if anyone takes a single hit from the grafant, they’re dead, so it’s a bit dangerous .

But, there’s no mistaking that it’s a good target . With my speed, I should be able to interject the moment it tries to attack Aro and the others . Plus, I’m grateful that it doesn’t have any suspicious skills .

There’s some skills there that I don’t recognise, but judging from their names, they’re only about attacking straight forwards . If I leave its rear to Aro and the others while I take it from the front, it should be restricted in its ability to attack them .

[Meteor Dive] might cause damage in all directions, but since it’s probably a pair with [High Jump], I should be able to tell when it’s about to use it . After jumping up high, it’ll fall back down . If the preparations are long, I should be able to safely evacuate Aro and the others and before maybe launching a counter .

Its level is quite high, so they should be able to get a decent amount of experience points . In order for them to be able to defend against an abyss, I can’t let this prey get away . Even if they’re not able to fight an abyss, I’d like if they at least had a high enough status to run away . As things are, there’s a good chance they’ll suddenly end up in the stomach of an abyss one day . They should fight here .

Though I was preoccupied, my partner noticed it first . I ought to concentrate on [Presence Perception] a little bit more .

『That looks tasty . Please roast it after the hunt . 』

…Ah, that’s why . Part of me was expecting that was why .

I fire off a light [Wind Slash] to the grafant’s foot . Clad in magic power, the blade of wind draws closer to the grafant’s leg as though sucked in, before leaving a slight wound in its surface .

Of course, I could slice through its entire leg if I felt like it . But that attack was purely to provoke it . If it got scared and tried to run away, it wouldn’t be a fight any more . It’s important to attack it lightly like that to appeal that the difference in our fighting ability isn’t so large .

“Buumo…?”

The grafant raises its thick neck and fixes me with a hostile gaze . Its eyelid twitches . If it were a human, it’d be saying 『What have you done, you bastard…?』about now .

I shrink my body down, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible from its perspective . It’s the opposite tactic of a weak insect trying to make itself big to look strong . I lower my back to the ground, occasionally fluttering my wings to fire off weak [Wind Slashes] . With a sputtering sound, the blades of wind collide with its forehead .

『What are you doing…?』

Stretching out her head, my partner looks at me in concern . N-no, I was trying to get that huge one over there to let its guard down… Well, I’m more huge, though . You should stoop down too, partner . Put your jaw on the ground .

“BuumoOOOOOOOH!”

The grafant opens its mouth and roars as it charges towards me . It looks like the provocation was a success .