Konjiki no Wordmaster Chapter 32: The Gree Caves
Hiiro and co. stayed a night in 【Lyntemb】 and immediately set off for 【Beast Kingdom Pa.s.sion】.
“If we just go straight down this road, we’ll find 【Pa.s.sion】, right?”
Hiiro posed a question, and Arnold answers.
“No, to get there we’ll have to go through the 【Gree Caves】. We’ll see it right after we get through them.”
“Is there something special about the caves?”
“Yeah. They’re crawling with monsters above Rank B, and we can’t really take the Raidpics with us.”
Apparently, the caves were teeming with narrow pa.s.sages, making travelling through them on Raidpics impossible.
“Is there any detour we could take?”
“There are, but they’re quite long, and the monsters are stronger. Considering the risks, I think the 【Gree Caves】 are still the best option.”
“I see. So we just have to go straight?”
“Are you okay with that?”
“I don’t really care which way we go, but isn’t it best to get there faster?”
“Y-yeah.”
“That’s why I’ll listen to you this time. You better be grateful.”
“You sure sound important today!”
And so the group’s next destination was settled.
After riding for a while, they came to the entrance of a large cave. The hole itself expanded greatly in all directions.
“Oy, are you sure we can’t take these birds?”
Just from the outside appearance, it seemed that anything would be able to pa.s.s through easily.
“Yeah, the inside structure is a bit complicated, and there are quite a few narrow pa.s.sages that we have to go through. It may seem a bit sad, but this is where we and the Raidpics bid Adieu.”
Arnold said as he patted his Raidpic’s head.
“Thanks for taking us here. Give Max my regards.”
The Raidpic gave a sorrowful expression as it rubbed its beak against Arnold’s face.
“Oy, do something about this one.”
Arnold turned at these words and witnessed a Raidpic licking Hiiro’s face with its long tongue. It seems that that one was also reluctant to part with Hiiro.
“Ahaha! It sure has become quite attached to you!”
“Quit messing around, bird! Want me to grill you?”
Even so, the Raidpic paid no mind and continued to soak Hiiro with its drool.
“For the love of… It’s sticky.”
Hiiro glared at the Raidpic with an unpleasant expression.
“Now, now. That’s just how much he liked you as a master. Please leave it at that.”
“… Yeah, you guys did make my ride quite comfortable. Here’s a farewell present.”
Hiiro started writing a character which he released at both of the Raidpics, and the two shook with expressions of delight.
“W-what did you do?”
“I used 『Comfort』. It should blow away their fatigue.”
The word should have also made them feel refreshed. Hiiro imagined them returning to their homes at a refres.h.i.+ng pace, but suddenly, the two birds cried out and ran off at an alarming pace.
“W-what’s wrong with them?”
“… No idea.”
It seemed that the effect was too strong. It raised their tension to too high of a level. Watching the Raidpics press onward like bullet trains, Hiiro concluded to himself that they would return home safely.
“And what’s with this turn of events?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I thought that would only give a reward to the one that carried you.”
Muir imitated Arnold’s questioning pose. She seemed to be of the same opinion.
The two of them had a slight grasp of Hiiro’s personality. The only time when Hiiro would move would be when he was in a good mood, or he was returning a favor.
He didn’t seem to be particularly happy, so they wondered what had moved him to this extent.
“What are you saying? They took good care of my servants. So isn’t it natural for me to grace them as the master?”
“Haha~n, I see, I see. To you, we’re all your servants, and you rewarded the two with your 《Word Magic》 for their hard work. I see, I see. By the way, can I raise an objection now? Mostly towards being called a servant!?”
“Objection overruled.”
“Funnuuuuuu! I keep saying this, but we’re no servants of yours!”
“I think I’ve said this before, but I was joking.”
“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Are you just trying to make me mad!?”
“Now then, let’s go.”
“Listen to me!”
Muir shrugged her shoulders as she followed the two.
The inside of the cave was dim, but it seemed to be quite wide. The sound of running water could be heard. It was coming from the left, and when the grouped turned towards it, they found a giant slug monster drooling as it stared at them.
“Right off the bat!? What’s more, this is the Rank B Gree Slugger!”
Arnold stood in front of Muir and brandished his sword.
“A slug… is it? I’ll test something.”
Hiiro spoke as he released a word. And suddenly, a white powder scattered over the slug. The already-slow slug’s speed dropped even further, and its body gradually began to shrink.
“Oh, so Slugs actually can be dealt with with 『Salt』.”
Right, the word he wrote was 『Salt』.
(As long as I have a clear image, this magic can even bring salt into existence. It really can do anything. Though instead of it being actual salt, it may have brought forth something with a similar effect. It’ll probably disappear in a minute.)
He groaned about his own power. But he did feel glad that he had used it from the depths of his heart. Since the Slug had become small, Arnold impaled it on his sword.
“I’m not surprised anymore, but what did you do?”
“I just put into practice something I wanted to test since I was a kid.”
“…?”
Arnold and Muir stared at him with a blank expression. But they had long ago realized that at this point, they wouldn’t be able to get him to talk any more. So the group pressed forward.
After walking a while, the pathway became quite narrow. They could only tread along it one at a time, so they proceeded with vigilance. Eventually, they found themselves in another open s.p.a.ce spanned by a small bridge.
“Can I… cross this bridge? Is it even crossable?”
Hiiro’s question was valid. The bridge was made out of wood, but several places were rotten, and the rope holding it up was visibly decayed. It didn’t seem that this bridge was able to support humans.
But it looked like this was the only way to the other side.
“What should we do, Hiiro? This distance is a bit far for a jump…”
“If I just use 『Fly』, all our problems will be solved.”
“Ah, right!”
But there, Hiiro thought.
(If I use that, we’ll definitely be able to get across. But if something were to happen when we were crossing, the other two…)
If there was some sort of trap laid, or a monster was lying in wait, it would be inconvenient.
(Instead of flying, it’ll be easier to deal with through walking. Though if something does come out, I could just abandon them…)
No, there was something wrong with that train of thought. They were currently important sources of information. For now, they were necessary. It would be too great a loss to lose them here.
“Oy, hurry up and cast magic on me!”
“No, I think I should…”
Hiiro approached the run down bridge. He concentrated magic on his finger and wrote 『Connect』.
“Good, no matter what happens, it’ll hold together for a minute. Let’s go.”
“Eh? O-oh? Oy!”
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Though they were surprised at seeing Hiiro suddenly rush forwards, the sight of Hiiro crossing without a problem caused them to join hands and run after him. The bridge that seemed like it would collapse under their feet caused Arnold to apply pressure to the hand connected to his, but he rea.s.sured himself that Hiiro had done something again.
(Even so, what magic did he use this time…)
Even with all three of them running on it, though the bridge creaked dangerously, it showed absolutely no signs of collapsing.
(And, like, I kinda wanted to fly, you know…)
Not only Arnold, but Muir as well. Both of them have a disappointed expression.
The group succeeded in crossing the bridge within a minute, but the two beside Hiiro seem to be tired because they thought that the chances of falling to their deaths was high. As Hiiro believed in his own power, he could not understand their fatigue.
“Y-you… what did you do?”
“The word 『Connect』 made it so that for one minute, the ropes would not give out no matter what.”
“Y-you can even do that?”
Muir raised her voice while Arnold glared at him with his eyes half closed.
“Ye~ah, no matter how I look at it, that magic is unfair!”
“No idea. Anyways, let’s go.”
But at that moment, Hiiro experienced an extreme impact on his back, causing him to roll on the ground.
“Hiiro!”
“Kya!”
The two of them watched Hiiro get sent flying before their eyes. But immediately after, it appeared before them.
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“G-Ganrock!?”
The Ganrock, as its name might imply, was a monster whose limbs and face were made of rocks. Its height was only around 50 cm, but these monsters were able to build up amazing amounts of momentum, so getting hit by them was no joke.
(Ow… That hurt quite a bit…)
Hiiro lifted up his aching body and glared at the cause. But it wasn’t only one, there were two more for a total of three.
(Right, this cave was supposed to be filled with monsters over Rank B…)
He briefly glanced at Arnold.
(I think it’ll be a bit difficult for that old man…?)
Usually, he would just use 『Burst』 to take them out in an instant, but this was a cave. He didn’t want to cause a cave-in here.
But with a body structure like that, a Sword probably wouldn’t do much damage. It would be difficult for Arnold. Thinking that, Hiiro shouted out.
“Old Man, use your sword!”
That was his conclusion. Though it would definitely be difficult to deal with them with a blade, Hiiro had a reason.
“Old Man! Start with the one closest to you!”
“B-but with a sword, it’s a bit…”
Arnold knew about the specialties of the Ganrock and knew that he wouldn’t be able to do much with his current armaments.
“Don’t worry, I’m going to use this!”
He said as he began writing a word. The word collided with the Ganrock in front of Arnold.
“Now!”
“I-I don’t really get it, but Ora!”
But, the Ganrock dodged to the side
“Like I’d let you escape!”
He turned his blade sideways and slashed at it horizontally.
And, for some reason, the Ganrock’s body split perfectly in two.
“Eh? …wha?”
The lack of resistance from his enemy shocked him. That’s right, there was barely any force acting against his blade. It felt as if he were swinging his sword through a ball of sand.
“Hey, on to the next one!”
Hiiro sent out another word. But perhaps the Ganrocks had become more vigilant. They jumped up to avoid it. The Word hit the ground and activated, and as soon as one of the Ganrocks landed, it sunk into it.
“Ah! I see, so that’s it!”
It seemed that Arnold finally understood the effect of the word. He turned his eyes to Hiiro.
“You have a word that makes things softer?”
Correct. The word that Hiiro used was 『Soft』. The first Ganrock felt its effect and was easily cleaved in half by a sword. When the ground was affected by it, the Ganrock buried itself with its own weight.
“Old Man, I’ll leave that buried one to you!”
Saying that, Hiiro once again began concentrating. Arnold turned his gaze to the Ganrock, who was desperately struggling to get out of the ground.
“Fufun. If it’s an immobile Ganrock, then all I have to do is concentrate my power and break it!”
He took a stance with his large sword.
《Wind Fang》!
The wind wrapped around the blade.
“More. I have to bind it stronger, or it won’t go through their bodies.”
With plenty of time, he continued to strengthen his sword. Eventually he positioned himself to thrust.
“HAAAAAAAAAH!”
The sword pa.s.sed perfectly through the Ganrock’s body. And it seemed that Hiiro was able to use his 《Word Magic》 to defeat the last one easily.
“Fuu~ That was hectic.”
Arnold lowered his back onto the ground and took a deep breath.
“You were suddenly sent flying. My insides went cold for a moment.”
“Are you alright?”
Muir let out a worried voice.
“No problem. But it consumed more magic than I thought.”
Air Writing cost 100 MP, so even with his large reserve of Mana, Hiiro couldn’t use it too often. Though he had MP recovery items, there was no telling what would happen next, so it was best to save them.
“Then we better get out quickly.”
“Right.”
“Let’s go.”
The Three pressed onwards. Eventually, they arrived at another open area. But to their delight, they could see a light at the end of the gently sloping path.