(EP-296.1) #5

296 – Fall #5

Dordor of the Black Rock.

That was the name of the ogre who ruled as the master of the Sandora area.

Of course, that was now in the past. After being defeated by me, it seemed Dordor had lost his right to be called the forest master.

━You. Little mage. Strong. Worth serving.

He favored me so much, it was almost unbelievable that this was the same ogre I had just fought. Survival of the fittest, the elimination of the weak. This was the only rule left among the monsters after Solomon’s death.

“I’ve heard that monsters followed the Demon King simply because he was the strongest. He became their leader purely through power.”

“I see.”

“Still, this is the first time I’ve seen someone subdue an ogre.”

Stella seemed quite impressed that I had made the ogre my subordinate.

For me, it wasn’t my first time having an ogre as an underling, so it didn’t feel all that novel.

Nonetheless, having Dordor around was convenient—no other monsters dared to come near us.

Riding on Dordor’s shoulder, I asked.

“Do you know any way to get past that wall?”

━Dordor, big. Wall. Much bigger. Wall cannot break. South land. Cannot go. But east and west. Small wall, they said. Through that. Can go.

So basically, we have no choice but to head east or west.

However, Dordor calmly and firmly disagreed.

━East master, Kubilai. Strong. West master, Yanmit. Strong. Their land. Pass. Won’t agree.

“You’re saying there are forest masters like you in the east and west?”

━Yes. Them. Foolish. Vicious. Tricks. Do not hesitate use. Cowardly. Ogre Dordor. Deal them is trouble. Will not lose. But not win either.

At that moment, Stella asked.

“Are they ogres like you?”

━Fairy woman. Don’t ask recklessly. Dordor not acknowledge. You ride shoulder. Be grateful.

“What, seriously?”

━But you. Little pretty. So I answer. They not ogres.

It seemed clear that the masters of the east and west would be difficult to deal with. If they were on par with Dordor, they were undoubtedly powerful monsters.

Considering I had already expended a significant amount of magic during the fight with Dordor, it might be safer to avoid fighting the western or eastern masters right now.

━But new master strong. Small but greater and more dangerous. Compared anyone. Maybe. You defeat all masters. Unite in one. Possible.

“You’re asking me to take down all of them?”

━Yes. Long ago. When Dordor smaller. Only one forest master. She was strong. But she fight stronger north master. Dead.

Seuuk-.

Dordor slowly pointed, and at the tip of his finger was a crack in the sky like shattered glass. I didn’t understand it fully, but it seemed there was an incredibly powerful northern master there.

But, where was Professor Balan?

We searched desperately for Professor Balan, who had been sent flying by Dordor’s club. However, no matter how much we looked, there was no sign of Balan.

It would have been nice if I could just contact her through telepathy, but without an imp tail, Balan had no way of receiving it. So when evening came, I just said my regards to Marmar.

「Marmar, we’re fine. We’ve been separated from Professor Balan, but she’s probably okay.」

「Got it! They say they’re going to organize a search party at the eastern citadel! Once you get close, someone will meet you!」

‘I see.’

The east citadel, huh.

From what Dordor mentioned, a giant wolf named Kubilai lived in the east. It was said to be a monster as big and strong as Dordor.

━Kubilai. Group. Men. Cumbersome. Also, east forest. Centipedes, spiders, poison insects. Lots. Bite hurts. Also, Angala. Angala. Scary.

It seemed that the eastern forest was filled with all sorts of difficult creatures. It wouldn’t be easy confronting Kubilai.

Still, since I promised Marmar, it would be best to head east tomorrow morning. We didn’t have much time.

* * *

━From here, east forest. I, Dordor, not enter. But new master strong. Dordor help. Won’t need.

Dordor, who had escorted us to the border of the eastern forest, bid us farewell. For some reason, he seemed quite reluctant to enter the forest.

━Centipedes. Many legs. Many legs things. Hate it. Disgusting.

For an ogre, he had a sensibility similar to Mirna’s. It made him oddly relatable.

“Then try to find Professor Balan. If you do, let her know we headed east.”

━Okay.

Still, we were lucky to have Dordor’s help in getting to the border of the eastern forest without trouble. Thanks to him, we avoided wasting time and supplies.

As we finally stepped into the forest, Stella looked around and said.

“No one would believe that people survived this long outside the wall.”

“It doesn’t seem as hard as I thought it would be.”

“Well, that’s because we’re not ordinary people.”

That was true.

If it were the normal me from before, I wouldn’t have lasted half a day in this forest before being torn apart by monsters.

Thinking about it that way, I could really feel how much my skills had improved recently.

And with Stella and others’ help, I even won against an ogre and was acknowledged as the new master…

There was no trace of the weak and bullsh¡tting me of the past.

Not that I was bragging or anything, it was just kind of surprising when I thought about it.

Was I adapting well to this strange world?

Fsssh.

Then I heard the rustling of bushes beside me.

“Theo-kun, you’ve noticed, right? It seems a few have been following us. I didn’t expect such a warm welcome so soon.”

“Following us?”

“Most likely four-legged beasts. Based on what the ogre said earlier, I think they might be the minions of that monster called Kubilai. They’re pretty cautious.”

Now that she mentioned it, I could sense several presences around us—sounds of branches snapping, leaves rustling, and even some faint panting.

Stella spoke again.

“There seem to be about six of them. They don’t individually seem high level. But the large number and the fact that they’re controlled is quite bothersome.”

Edit by: faker