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We've been in the forest for a week now, and we haven't seen a sign of Vector or his men. Even though we've already scouted about 30% or so of the forest.

Azur keeps flying high in the sky most of the time, to check the terrain from above, while Deirdre and I check the ground for footprints or signs of people passing through the forest.

Before leaving the capital, Lilian handed me a communication device with which I have to inform her of the progress of our mission every night.

It is quite useful because it allows me to send messages over long distances, but it requires a large amount of mana to maintain communication.

Since the farther you want to send the message, the more mana the user requires.

And there is also the disadvantage that to use it, the device requires the user to concentrate. So, it cannot be used in a rushed situation.

Also, she gave me information on which creatures are native to this forest. As well as information on what targets we need to eliminate, even if they are natives, such as goblin burrows.

For the latter, it is a good thing that I've gone up so many levels in my magic skills these days. Being able to cast faster and with a more efficient mana cost will be very helpful when facing large groups of enemies.

So far, the most dangerous thing we've encountered has been small orange crabs that have mushrooms on their backs.

They are not particularly difficult to kill and are not aggressive.

But, as a defense mechanism, they disperse somniferous spores whenever someone gets too close to them. And, since they are so small, several times we were about to fall asleep because of the effect of their spores.

I don't know how I missed them the first two times I came to the forest. But I suppose that, being such a large forest, it is normal not to see all the species that inhabit it just by visiting it once or twice.

Falling asleep in the forest wouldn't be a problem if it weren't because Azur would also be affected, as it is an external substance that induces sleep. So we would be at the mercy of monsters and predators.

So now we walk with extreme caution. Trying to avoid the areas where we see these small crabs.

As we walk, Deirdre speaks to me, momentarily distracting me from the search for clues "Hey, master, I have a question. The capital of the kingdom is called Liones, right?"

"Yes," I say, not understanding what the question is about.

"And the kingdom has the same name, and also one of the districts also has that name, right? Isn't it a bit confusing if so?" she throws one question after another without giving me time to answer.

"Ahh," I say and start laughing at the realization, "I have no idea of the reason. I think it may be because, initially, the kingdom only reached the extent of the capital, but over time, it acquired more land. Although I'm not sure if that's the reason why they have the same name, I think…" but I stop speaking mid-sentence.

Suddenly, the sounds of the forest go silent, and we start to hear a sound that makes my hair stand on end.

A few moments later, I take Deirdre by the arm. And, pulling her close to my body, we drop to the ground.

She looks at me questioningly, but I simply wave her upward in response.

At the spot where we were a second before, there was what looked like a floating slug full of fangs.

Azur, who was flying far above us, seizes the opportunity and throws a flare at it that prevents the monster from becoming invisible again.

Once the surprise is over, we manage to defeat the monster without any problems. It is not so dangerous when it loses the possibility of using stealth.

I see what Lilian was saying about monsters that shouldn't be here.

According to the information she passed on to me, griffins should be at the top of the food chain here.

But this wraith is several leagues above the power of a griffin.

No wonder the griffins were so aggressive towards people. They must be looking for a new habitat since, if there are more monsters of this wraith's level around here, this is no longer a safe place to nest.

***

After the encounter with the wraith, we went several days without finding anything strange. Until, one day, we found the strangest thing a person can imagine.

An elemental animated armor. Or at least that's how its name appears with my identification skill.

I quickly understand the 'animated armor' part in its name. Since, at first glance, it's an armor of a blue-green metal that moves by itself with no one inside it. Inside, it seems to be some sort of whitish-colored energy, but that doesn't explain why it is called 'elemental'…

"That... That's orichalcum, master! The whole armor is made of orichalcum!" says Deirdre in a rush, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Before I can answer her to tell her to get ready, the monster attacks us at blinding speed.

Its target is Deirdre. But, although I fail to prepare a good stance, I intercept its attack by hastily stepping in the way.

The blow throws me back a few inches, and all the air is knocked out of my lungs by the impact, making me dizzy.

Ugh, a single hit from this thing has decreased my health by 25%...

I have to limit its movements. If it hits Deirdre like that, it could be lethal to her.

My intervention gave her time to use her ability, but this is only a temporary solution.

In our current situation, it seems that it will be difficult for me to control this guy with my low-level equipment and strength.

In that case...

"Azur!" I exclaim as my partner dissolves into energy, and the Spiritual Fusion takes place.

As the fusion finishes taking effect, I run in the direction of the armor. And, raising both my claws, I hold its arms to impede its movement. Thus, preventing it from attack again.

"Pass me the dagger, girl!" I say to Deirdre and, although the little therian takes a while to react, she throws me the dagger "and doesn’t expose yourself by any means. This monster is too much for you."

I flick the armor away and catch the dagger on the fly, as I see the look of fear on Deirdre's face.

Hmm, I guess I should have explained to her about this ability beforehand.

When the armor sees that I'm holding the dagger, it starts to form a sword of mana.

Hmt, as if I would give it time to do that!

With one kick, I break the half-formed sword image. And, spinning 360 degrees from the momentum of my kick, I thrust my dagger at it with both my hands, using all my strength.

The dagger is thrust up to the handle into one of the slits in its chest armor.

When this happens, the armor falls to its knees. But, moments later, it begins to make attempts to stand up and push me off of it.

Screaming in the effort to keep it from getting up, I set my dagger ablaze as I launched a flare from my mouth towards the monster's helmet.

"I-is it dead?" Deirdre asks stuttering, as the whitish energy that could be seen between the gaps in the armor goes out.

"Hmm, I don't know if it was alive in the first place," I say, deactivating the spirit fusion and standing up, after bending down to remove the dagger from the monster's body, now lying on the ground "but yeah, I think the battle is over."

It was probably one of these things that took out Vector's group. And as I think that, a shudder runs through me at the thought of finding several of these things at once.

When Deirdre sees that I'm back to normal, I see her relax her tense expression.

I should have told her about my ability beforehand... not knowing anything about the matter, it's only logical that she would be startled to see and hear me for the first time during the spiritual fusion. Since my voice becomes a kind of roar and my eyes turn black with vertical blue pupils.

Her eyes also have vertical pupils, but her sclera is white instead of black… Anyway, I should explain now what happened while we pick up the remains of the armor and rest for a while.

Hmm, if indeed this armor is made entirely of orichalcum, that means that we got an absurd sum of money.

And that I already have the matter of paying for my sword taken care of.