LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 7
Intrel Village is your typical “A village that increases the protagonist’s fame and experience points” found in novels.
So, it’s no wonder this village doesn’t show up in the later parts of the story.
However, some readers, including me, have noticed that Intrel Village is mentioned in the latter half.
It was mentioned by a demon race member.
“I heard one of those sneaky guys in the southwest of the Empire formed a new legion and cleaned up the surrounding area. Well, they were eventually hunted down, but still.”
Whether this news reached the hero party is unknown, as the author didn’t provide any related reactions or descriptions.
But one thing is certain: the goblins and orcs appearing near this village are influenced by the demon race.
Creak. Creak.
The metal rod I’m holding is a device used for detecting those demons.
I came up with the idea after hearing it from a friend and made it out of boredom.
“I should have taken it more seriously.”
Right now, this device only points in the direction, but I have no clue about the exact location or form of the demon.
Given the makeshift detection method, it could spin around in circles if I’m not careful.
Still, it’s better than tossing it into the magical creature-specific space and forgetting about it, so I slipped out of the village while the hero party was distracted.
Creak.
“Um, this way. Hmm.”
The detecting rod subtly controls itself to search for the demon.
I felt a sense of pride and nodded at it.
“Hmm, hmm. Who made you? You sure are good at this.”
When walking, one should always look ahead. I almost forgot this obvious fact just moments ago.
Fortunately, I didn’t get hurt falling into the ditch, and the detecting rod was fine too.
After shaking off the ditch water from my robe, I mustered my strength and crawled out.
Then, after confirming that no one was watching, I cleared my throat and started walking again.
Wow…
Not too far from the village, I heard a small cheer.
It seems like the hero party has begun their activities.
“I might have to reveal myself soon.”
If so, I need to prepare for battle.
I checked my pure white robe for any dirt once more.
I foolishly spun around to check the edge, but since no one was watching, I didn’t care too much.
Sometimes, when someone is too smart, they do foolish things.
“Fools and geniuses are two sides of the same coin.”
My recent behavior was a prime example of that.
Creak.
“Is this the spot?”
From some point on, the detecting rod started spinning around instead of pointing in one direction.
It was bumping into each other, turning away and causing absolute chaos.
That meant something I wanted to detect was right here.
If that’s the case, I should be able to see the manifested demon immediately.
But since I couldn’t see anything, it meant it wasn’t here.
I lowered my gaze to the ground.
“What should I use to dig?”
I entered the space full of magical tools to start picking a suitable friend.
Having left it idle for a long time made me feel like I was seeing new magical tools for the first time.
Maybe that’s why.
“Hmm, hmm~.”
Without realizing, I started humming while rummaging through the magical tools.
*
The hero party began hunting magical creatures.
Leading the charge was the hero, Aswel, traversing the mountains while constantly executing mock operations in his mind.
The holy sword and abilities he possessed could easily take down goblins and orcs.
However, Aswel didn’t consider that power to be entirely his own.
A precarious power that could vanish at any moment.
The hero evaluated the holy sword in such a manner, which is why he committed to rigorous training and study every day.
More knowledge offered various ways to dominate the battlefield, and more power made those methods possible.
This was also a lesson from his first mentor, Serelin, who was currently heading in the opposite direction to set up a nest with Aswel.
On the other hand, Rapirie was waiting in the mountains to clear any remaining magical creatures, while the non-combat support, Ariya, took care of the villagers’ ailments.
While their movements could not be deemed perfect after a year of practicing together, they were still good enough.
“Rui… huh.”
Speaking of which, just earlier, when they were welcomed by the villagers, Rui was absent.
Ariya also seemed unaware, likely having dashed off somewhere immediately after the meeting ended.
“Probably went to sleep or is conducting some research.”
From what I had seen of Rui’s behavior up to now, the probability of one of those two options was high.
Having kept close watch over Rui’s every move, I was confident in this conclusion.
“Come to think of it, Rui didn’t mention anything about the materials in the magical creature hunt.”
I’m sure Rui mentioned coming in to gather materials for magic.
Yet now, in a place overflowing with those materials, she was not participating in the battle.
“Is it because goblin and orc materials are so common?”
Unfortunately, Aswel was completely unfamiliar with the supply and demand of magical materials.
However, based on his personal experiences as a hero, he could make certain deductions.
Rui had likely encountered goblin and orc byproducts several times.
Thus, it made sense that she wouldn’t be particularly interested.
Rustle.
“………”
A sly sound of footsteps right in front of me.
Goblins.
“Did they even have scouts now?”
This land cannot yet be considered their territory.
Still, if I heard a small group of goblins moving around, it was certainly a scouting party.
The emergence of scouts meant the main force would soon expand their territory, serving as a warning.
If we had delayed by just one more day, Intrel Village could have been wiped off the map.
“Let’s wrap this up quickly.”
As much as possible, without putting Rie in a difficult position, and quickly.
Meanwhile, I needed to ensure that Ariya and Serelin wouldn’t blame themselves.
“…Just to be safe, let’s aim for a clean kill.”
And since Rui might need it, let’s make sure to finish them off cleanly.
Swish.
The holy sword began to radiate its inherent light.
Blue letters floated from the black gloves that gripped the holy sword, bestowing Aswel with various spells.
Even with just changing gloves, his posture felt more comfortable.
With his body bent as much as possible, Aswel burst forth like an arrow.
—-!
—-?!
Slash!
Thus began the one-sided battle between the hero and the magical creatures.
*
Hmm.
No matter how hard I look, there’s no appropriate tool in sight.
For now, the demon I’m about to capture isn’t one to act on their own, so there’s no need to rush.
After all, this is a creature that concealed its presence until the hero party left, so it’s likely to stay quiet.
That gives me some leeway; however, I still need to return before the hero party finishes their tasks.
“Otherwise, I might arouse unwarranted suspicions.”
The creature I aim to capture isn’t planning to inform the hero party.
Other events are all scenes I’ve seen in novels, and they don’t concern me, but I can’t predict how this will play out.
To be honest, the chances of experiencing a significant power boost from capturing this creature seem extremely slim.
So, I’ll just capture it casually and head back quickly.
“Deployment.”
I summon a pen and gather magic in my mouth.
“Disperse. Status. Statistics.”
Blue and golden letters quickly arrayed in the air.
Simultaneously, several materials emerged from the dozens of spaces nearby, floating toward me.
“Hmm, the bone of this guy looks good.”
Just like dragging an item, I drew a line in the air.
Following the line’s trajectory, a long bone floating mid-air came to a halt right before me.
“Disassemble. And… hmm.”
It seems I’m overthinking; I briefly set the pen aside and spun around.
This has become a habit after continuing my research in this world.
Spinning around something like how the Earth orbits the sun, right now, the long bone is the center.
“Complete disassembly? Or partial? Or maybe just a fragment?”
The shape of the bone changed with each variation of my words.
It turned to powder, then some parts reassembled, morphing into a cube-like appearance.
Rustle.
“A fragment sounds good. Then let’s add scales and wings, and fuse them. Shape transformation.”
Crisp! Crack!
“Visually, it’s looking great. Now, what’s left is the core material… hmm.”
-Wooaah!!
“Huh?”
Perhaps too engrossed in my tool crafting, I failed to hear something approaching.
In the end, I was left gaping at the sight of a green giant armed with a stone axe and shield, the infamous orc, charging at me with a monstrous grin.
However, the monster would not reach me.
BAM!
After colliding with a translucent sphere surrounding me, it fainted.
An orc’s axe. Since it’s the one controlling goblins and orcs, this core material should suffice.
“Sorry, but I’ll be taking the axe.”
With the fainted orc behind me, I completed the last procedure.
At last, a magical tool resembling a celestial device was created.
But the fact that the orc lunged at me was odd. That wouldn’t have happened under normal circumstances.
Sensing something strange, I turned to look back at the orc again.
Signs of fear rendering its reason paralyzed were evident.
So that meant…
“You figured it out, huh?”
SMACK!
I slammed the detecting rod hard, and it began rotating, gouging into the ground.
Now all that’s left is to wait for the celestial device to reach where it is positioned. They probably put up barriers and made various preparations, but the celestial device will tunnel through everything and create a direct line to it.
“I should have brought some food.”
Feeling sleepy after a light breakfast, I grew hungry.
The carrot soup I had previously at the last village flickered in my mind.
“I should ask the village chief about it.”
Carrot soup is a universally popular recipe across the empire.
I’m sure this village has its unique secret carrot soup recipe too.
Creak! Crunch!!
—-!!!!
The sound of something solid scraping against the end of the celestial device. Looking below, I saw a black root resembling a plant emitting purple liquid.
And shortly followed by a monstrous roar.
It’s them.