LEGEND

Chapter 461

「So, what are you looking for as part of your request?」

Rei asked Vihera as they walked along the seemingly endless maze like path, away from where they had dismantled the Cyclops, where the scent of blood was highly likely to attract other monsters.

When asked, Vihera glanced at Byune, was was petting Set as she walked along with barely any expression. Seeing her nod back, Vihera spoke up.

「A monster known as Jewel Sniper. It’s a very rare monster and while there have been several reports of sighting in the dungeon in the past, only a few adventurers have ever managed to kill it. A few days ago, a Jewel Sniper was reported to have been found on the 14th floor and a merchant who heard about it put out a request for it.」

「A Jewel Sniper……?」

Rei was a little confused hearing the name of a monster he didn’t recognise, either from Pleiades or the information that he had collected.

However, he immediately remembered another monster, which Elena seemed to think of at the same time as she spoke.

「I see, like that Antlion?」

「……Antlion? What about that bug?」

Although it was Elena that said that, Vihera went over to Rei as she asked, as if provoking Elena.

No, it wasn’t as if, she was definitely provoking Elena.

Part of it was because she wanted to provoke Elena into a fight after not having her fill fighting the Cyclops.

……However, the biggest reaon was that she just wanted to tease her.

Rei nodded at Vihera without seeming to notice the quite interaction between the two.

「It’s not an insect, it’s a monster. Do you know the area covered by cacti and Cactus Mimics on the 13th floor?」

「Yeah. ……Did you go through there? You’ve gone and done something reckless and troublesome again.」

「I didn’t know it was going to be like that. Anyway, after passing the area with all the cacti, we were attacked by a giant Antlion monster.」

To be exact, they had found people creating abnormal species there, or rather, a Cactus Mimic that had failed to become an abnormal species. But as expected, they couldn’t really talk about that and just skipped over it.

「So the monster that attacked you was called an Antlion?」

「I’m just calling it that out of convenience, I think there is probably another official name. But anyway, it’s a monster that didn’t exist at all in any of the information I looked up in advance. Just like the Jewel Sniper you mentioned earlier.」

Vihera looked envious at Rei’s words.

For someone who loved to fight, she honestly wanted to fight unknown and rare monsters.

Because Elena knew that, she called out to Vihera, who was close to pushing up against Rei.

「Unfortunately, we killed the Antlion, so it will be hard for you to fight it anymore.」

「……Heh.」

Vihera’s sudden change in expression showed she understood Elena’s intentions, but Rei didn’t seem to notice anything as he continued to ask.

「So, is the merchant’s request to collect the magic stone of the Jewel Sniper?」

「……No, it’s not. They want the monster’s body. If possible, captured alive.」

「Captured alive? That’s troublesome to do……generally speaking, even if you caught it alive, could you take it back?」

Rei asked this because the Antlion they had previously fought was even bigger than Set. However, Vihera just looked a little surprised before she nodded with a smile.

「Jewel Snipers are an insect like monster about 10cm long. It’s hard to find, but once you catch it, it’s not hard to bring it back.」

「A 10cm insect monster? That’s very small. What’s its rank?」

「It’s physical strength isn’t high, so if you can make direct contact with it, even a D rank adventurer should be able to catch it. ……Although it’s hard to get to that point.」

Vihera’s words seemed to be some sort of prophesy.

What do you mean? Rei was about to ask back, but at that moment, he felt something fly towards him and he moved on reflex.

Next, a 10cm hole suddenly opened up in a rock that was next to where Rei had been walking a moment ago.

「What!? Byune!」

「Mm!」

Rei heard those words as he rolled along the ground several times before recovering his balance.

Vihera sounded impatient while Byune sounded forceful.

While listening to their voices, he tucked himself around nearby rock as many similar holes were opened up along the ground as if following him.

「Damn it, what’s going on!? Set, Elena, are you okay!?」

「Yeah, we’re fine.」

「Guru~!」

Rei gave a sigh of relief as he hid himself behind a rock large enough to cover several people. He peeked out call out to call out to Set and Elena only to see that they were right next to him.

The moment they had seen Rei roll along the ground, they had immediately moved their mind to combat mode. Elena pulled out her sword whip as she ducked behind the rock where Rei was hiding.

「I had hoped you would be worried for us as wel.」

Vihera called out as both she and Byune also leapt to the rock.

However, despite being attacked, Vihera didn’t seem particularly excited about fighting and was calm and collected.

She must have noticed the questioning look from Rei and Elena. Vihera spoke with a shrug of her shoulders.

「I know what you two are thinking, but how can I look forward to fighting when the enemy is not nearby?」

「……The enemy isn’t nearby? Being attacked like this? Actually, wouldn’t it not be too hard for you to approach an enemy using magic or a bow and arrow?」

「Fufu~, that’s true, as you said, but unfortunately, this enemy is different. ……Right?」

「Mm.」

As she hid behind the rock, Vihera asked Byune.

Byune gave a brief nod in response.

「I don’t understand. What’s your reasoning for that?」

「It’s easy. We’re definitely being attack from a distance……watch this.」

Saying that, Vihera three a fist sized rock that was lying close by.

The moment it flew out from behind the shadow of the large rock, something flew through the air, striking the rock and shattering it.

「Could you tell where it attacked from? With your strength and Set’s, you should at least be able to sense its signs right?」

「……No, I couldn’t tell.」

「Guru~」

Set gave a cry that seemed to agree with Rei.

However, Vihera didn’t seem to blame them as she spoke.

「That’s right……it’s not that your sense are bad Rei. The Jewel Sniper, our target for this request, is the thing attacking us. There is a jewel on its back that covers most of its body and uses magic power to attack from range……like that.」

Vihera looked at the rock that had shattered a few second ago.

「But, it’s power isn’t that strong. No, it’s true that if it hits you, it’s quite strong, but it doesn’t mean you can’t avoid it like Rei did. The biggest problem with catching or killing a Jewel Sniper is its range. They can attack from much further distances than a bow. And, given its size, it’s going to be hard to find.」

「……Mm……」

Byune nodded at Vihera’s explanation of the Jewel Sniper.

「Ruther range than a bow or magic huh? That definitely makes things tricky.」

「Yeah. Especially since the terrain here is so much more advantageous for them.」

Adventurers walking along the ground had no choice but to navigate the maze like environment created by the forest of stone. However, the Jewel Sniper could target them from a very far distance.

Yes. Ordinary adventurers had no means of counterattack as long as they were targeted from a distance. That was why it was named Jewel Sniper, after its long range attacks and the jewel embedded in its body.

But……that was only the case for ordinary adventurers and adventurers who could only walk along the ground.

Quickly gathering the thoughts in his head, Rei threw out several nearby stones in a row.

Each time, the stones were destroyed by the Jewel Sniper’s magic power shockwave, but its general direction could be predicted from how the stones were destroyed.

「Vihera, Byune, here’s a deal. I’ll take down the Jewel Sniper and give it to you. In exchange, I would like to trade it for the Cyclops magic stone you have. How does that sound?」

Although he offered that deal, Rei honestly didn’t mind if they didn’t accept. If that happened, he would just take the Jewel Sniper’s magic stone instead.

If he absorbed the Jewel Sniper’s magic stone he would definitely be able to learn or upgrade a skill tied to long range attacks.

That said, the reason he still offered the deal was because the Cyclops’ magic stone was more appealing to Rei. Unlike the Jewel Sniper, which specialised in long range attacks, the Cyclops’ greatest feature was its strength.

(If the Death Scythe absorbs it, it will be Power Slash, if Set absorbed it, it would be……what would it be? He doesn’t have any direct attack skills, maybe Poison Claw? Or would it be a new skill? There is a high possibility that he would be able to acquire a physical attack skill. ……I would like to think it’s not impossible for him to learn such skills. Though to be honest, as a C rank monster, I’m not sure if I’ll get anything.)

As Rei thought to himself, Byune and Vihera consulted with each other before coming to a decision and turning back to Rei.

「What’s your decision?」

「We’ll leave it to you.」

It was a brief exchange.

But, that was enough.

In the first place, Vihera and Byune were here on the 14th floor for the Jewel Sniper. If they reject Rei’s deal here, it would be almost impossible to find it again because it was a monster that rarely appeared to begin with. If they couldn’t catch it, they would fail the request and wouldn’t receive any reward. Rather, they would have to pay 30% of the reward back as a penalty.

This wasn’t something acceptable, especially for Byune, who needed a lot of money. In this situation, they judged that it would be better to give up the magic stone of the Cyclops, which they had encountered by chance. As for Vihera, money wasn’t a problem for her as long as she could live her daily life, so it was only natural they reached this decision.

「Alright, Set. You know what to do?」

「Gurururu~!」

Set gave a sharp cry at Rei’s words.

Hearing that, Rei took out the Death Scythe from the Misty Ring and immediately got on Set’s back, who crouched down, and activated a skill.

「Magic Shield.」

At the activation of the skill, a shield of light appeared right next to Rei.

「Eh? What? Did Rei use some kind of magic?」

「Yeah, it’s a shield that can block a single enemy attack.」

When Vihera saw the magic shield for the first time, she had a voice of surprise. Rei turned around to briefly reply before tapping Set’s neck to signal to him.

「Gurururururu~!」

With that signal, Set gave a loud cry and took several steps from within the rock’s shadow before flying into the sky as if he were running on air.

「Blocks enemy attacks……then why didn’t he use it? If he used it, he would probably have defeated me in combat. Was he holding back against me?」

Vihera muttered as she saw the two of them fly away.

Elena was about to say something to Vihera, but immediately shook her head as she stopped herself.

Their fight that had taken place under the moonlight had only been seen by Yellow.

No, to be exact, it was better to say that she had relived what Yellow had seen at a later time.

Because of that, Elena knew that Rei had been fighting with his bare hands and not with any weapons.

Whether it was the magic shield that Rei had just used or flying slash, which he often attacked with, those were all Death Scythe skills that were obtained via the Magic Beast Art.

However, considering the importance of information about the Magic Beast Art, she decided not to say anything to Vihera.

(I hope this doesn’t turn strange later.)

Elena muttered to herself as she felt an unpleasant premonition well up inside her chest.