Chapter 105

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

Alone in the Great Forest

A loud bang echoed behind him . It’s starting, Hikaru thought .

He already took into account that monsters were going to charge straight for Borderzard . If a town got destroyed, the chances of the ceremony getting cancelled would be high . Borderzard had to be defended no matter what .

「I’m going too . 」Lavia said after Hikaru told her he was going to the forest to back up the subjugation team .

She insisted she was perfect for taking down groups of monsters . He felt reluctant to send Lavia some place dangerous, but in the end he gave in .

「I have Stealth too, so I’ll be fine . 」she added .

Hikaru himself knew just how powerful the Stealth skill was . He edited Lavia’s Soul Board so she could move independently .

【Soul Board】Lavia

Age: 14 Rank: 29

6

【Vitality】

. . 【Stamina】1→3

【Magical Power】

. . 【Mana】11→15

… . 【Magic Principle】2

. . 【Spirit Affinity】

… . 【Fire】6

… . 【Magic Creation】1

【Agility】

. . 【Stealth】

… . 【Life Obfuscation】1→2

… . 【Mana Obfuscation】1→2

… . 【Imperceptibility】1→2

With this even if Borderzard fell, Lavia could escape . Hikaru instructed her to run once monsters entered the town .

A moving artillery equipped with a Stealth function . Terrifying .

Hikaru hoped Lavia would gain a few ranks from killing hordes of monsters . Once she started firing her spells, she would definitely draw attention . Unfortunately they couldn’t do anything about that . She could just take advantage of the confusion to escape . As long as no one saw her face, withdrawing would be easy .

What are the chances they will win? 70%? 80%? Either way, I can’t fail .

Hikaru didn’t expect Lavia to kill all the monsters . The other adventures could handle the rest . At this point, however, Hikaru didn’t know that the Four Stars of the East were in Borderzard .

The forest…

The sun still stood high in the sky . After traversing the wide plains, Hikaru set foot into the forest . He used Detection to sense monsters nearby, proceeding onward while avoiding monsters moving in groups as much as possible . He just had to go towards the direction the creatures were running from to find his target .

Gotta be careful I don’t get lost…

Fortunately Un el Portan didn’t have a magnetic field that rendered compasses useless . If he just checked his compass, the sun, and his location constantly, he wouldn’t get lost . Leaves formed canopies high above . Sunlight filtered through the trees, shining on Hikaru, yet the atmosphere was anything but peaceful .

Near and far, monsters still kept moving . I guess the first ones to reach Borderzard was the first battalion, so to speak . He could feel the creatures advancing in groups, though not as overwhelming at the first batch .

Hikaru spotted a group of monsters gathered around, cowering, and a flock of birds twittering as though arguing with each other . Not all monsters escaped . There were creatures that stayed behind, going about their usual business .

Oh, crap!

Hikau stopped in his tracks . A swarm of butterflies appeared out of nowhere like a cloud of smoke, their scales scattering in the wind like sparks . They passed by his side .

Hngh?! He felt his head rock . I feel dizzy!

Hikaru quickly backed away, and the sense of vertigo gradually disappeared . It seemed the butterflies released something in their immediate vicinity — most likely the scales, but he had no proof .

I have to focus .

It would be quite pathetic if he simply collapsed without the enemy even noticing . Hikaru proceeded with more caution this time . It would slow him down a bit, but it was safer this way .

Trees were starting to grow thick . He didn’t spot any monsters nearby . After all, he used his Detection skills and chose his path carefully, one with the least monsters . Roots of huge trees crawled on the ground . He’d come across shrubs every now and then, but otherwise it was an ordinary forest with a humus-covered floor .

I’m all alone .

None had perceived him as he had his Stealth on . In some way, he was “alone” in the truest sense of the word .

When I first came to this world, there was Roland who gave me his body . Then I met Lavia and I’ve been with her ever since .

He’d never felt solitude in a while . He left Lavia when he went to Forestzard, but there were still people around him, like when he took a carriage . It had been a long time since there was absolutely nothing around .

This isn’t the time to be sentimental . I have to think of what to say to Lavia .

He needed an explanation as to why he tweaked Paula’s Soul Board . Ever since he told her everything, he used Lavia’s, Claude’s, and now Paula’s Soul Board . He honestly felt he was using it too much — a powerful ability that shouldn’t be used all willy-nilly .

In Claude’s case, he edited his stats to be within normal range, nothing out of the ordinary . Regarding the girls, however, he overdid it . Which was why he thought Paula should stay close to him . Hikaru couldn’t ignore her . He couldn’t just walk away .

As a matter of fact, he trusted Paula because he wanted to . He couldn’t deny that he didn’t think things through before helping her . Still, he couldn’t let someone he knew, someone he talked to before, just die before his eyes .

I’m too soft .

He felt regret . Yet at the same time, he knew he had no other choice .

I’m sure Lavia will understand . Yes, definitely . She won’t get mad, right?

He was worried because he edited the stats of a girl . It didn’t really mean anything, but she might take it the wrong way .

I just have to clear up any misunderstanding .

An hour had passed since he entered the forest . Hikaru found a nearby tree and sat down, leaning back on the trunk . His body was drenched in sweat . When feeling elevated, he might just walk on without feeling tired . But when treading soft and root-covered ground, fatigue surprisingly accumulated fast . So he decided to take breaks every once in a while .

He drank water from his flask . Spirit Magic Gem was inside so water gradually filled the container over time . As for food, he brought five days’ worth of preserved goods . It wasn’t particularly heavy as most of them were dried .

Three days to get there and two days to get back… I sure hope my guess is right .

Traversing Un el Portan on foot took twenty days . The adventurers subjugation team’s camp was located a day’s trip away from Borderzard . From there they proceeded to hunt the monsters and spotted the dragon .

Hikaru then estimated that the dragon’s location would be at most three days away from Borderzard . Of course, the creature could have moved . But then it would be heading to either Ponsonia or Quinbland — which was a good thing . Forestia would be safe . The monsters would go back and the ceremony would proceed as planned . Though that meant the other two countries would suffer great losses .

Contrary to what he hoped, his target was nearby .

The next morning . As he was sleeping up a tree with his Stealth on, Hikaru heard the earth rumble . It wasn’t a spell or an earthquake . It was the sound of a gigantic creature moving . And it was headed for Borderzard .