From that day onward, the road heading west was peaceful.
When looking at the vast plains, they felt so wide that it drained one's energy, but the journey wasn't bad at all.
"The sky is high today. It's a good day to walk while gazing at the sky."
Rem was truly an excellent guide.
Even though it had been quite some time since he left the west, he was skillful.
"Nothing has changed, right?"
So, Encrid asked.
"Nothing could change. This land is just that kind of place."
That was the answer he got.
They walked, watching the clouds drift by.
The clouds scattered, gathered, and scattered again, repeating the cycle before disappearing.
A 'high sky' referred to a day when the sky felt particularly distant, meaning the clouds were almost invisible.
Today was such a day.
After drinking the ground squirrel fruit, Encrid sensed something unusual.
It was at dawn. While keeping watch, he felt a strange gaze.
It was low and thin, yet unmistakably perceivable.
Without a heightened sense, one might not have noticed such a subtle presence.
Encrid sought the source of that gaze.
A small shadow flitted across the uneven ground and vanished.
After that, he could no longer sense any presence.
When he mentioned what he saw in the morning, Rem nodded with a laugh.
"The Pocket Spies are bound to show up soon."
"Pocket Spies? Aren't they called thieves?"
While polishing Aker and preparing the gifted weapon and bow, Encrid said this.
Breakfast this morning consisted of dried rations.
Well, it's hard to cook proper meals on such a long journey, so for days, they had to fill their stomachs with jerky, salted meat, and dried fruit.
Rem mentioned it would only take a few more days, but in the meantime, it was during this supposedly quiet journey that he sensed something odd.
"If we steal the fruit, the owner who ripened it would be furious, don't you think?"
"It has an owner?"
Naturally, he thought it was just something that grew from the ground.
"Of course. Look over there."
Rem raised his hand and pointed at a tree with dry branches, which they occasionally saw in the barren plain.
It was something they'd seen a few times.
Thorny branches with long leaves hanging from them, the leaves appeared similar in texture to hard wood.
"That's the ground squirrel fruit."
"What?"
He couldn't see anything resembling fruit.
"That one."
Rem pointed at the long leaves. As he followed his gaze, he realized it was true.
"That?"
"That's right."
Even Dunbachel, curious, approached and asked. After sparring with Encrid so many times, Dunbachel's body was covered in fresh blue bruises.
Despite getting hit so often, Dunbachel always spoke her mind and showed no signs of resentment.
"That's correct."
It was the same for Rem, who struck her.
Neither of them harbored any ill will toward each other, nor did they share any special feelings.
They simply hit and trained each other, nothing more.
The two of them were fascinating to watch.
One might think that with all that time spent together, something might blossom between them, but Rem was always strict.
It was as if the concept of women didn't exist for him.
"Those ground squirrels take the fruit and bury it in the ground. Then, the fruit absorbs the earth's essence and grows. Only the ground squirrels can find the land where the essence, or rather the energy, is strong enough for the fruit to grow."
There were many rare and mysterious things in the West.
Encrid realized the strange gaze he sensed came from the ground squirrels.
There was always something to learn, both from what he saw and heard.
As a result, his curiosity started to stir.
It was the third reason he sought this land.
"How do other Westerners fight?"
Sitting, standing, walking, or stopping, it was always the same thought consuming him.
It was both a strength and a weakness to be so focused on one thing.
Rem, looking at the sword-crazed man, answered.
"There are those who fight like me."
"And?"
"And those who fight differently from me."
"Is that all?"
"Do you want to know in advance?"
Encrid shook his head without much thought.
"No, don't tell me."
In the past, when his skills were lacking, he would have needed to gather as much information as possible, to know his enemies, or else he would die.
But now, he could afford to be a bit more reckless.
So this, too, was fine.
"I'll face them and enjoy it."
It would be more fun to confront the unknown. It wasn't a path leading to death, after all.
Rem smirked. He expected that answer.
Encrid also smiled.
He understood what Rem was thinking.
The two of them bumped their fists together.
It was as if a flower of friendship was beginning to bloom.
"When we meet them, it'll be fun. Oh, you might get angry, but the Captain probably won't. That dumb beast will likely get caught, and Frog might not even get involved in the first place."
Rem, recalling memories, continued to lead the way.
After leaving the plains, they walked with a small ridge to their left, heading slightly above where the sun was setting.
Eventually, a small village came into view.
While monsters occasionally caused trouble, everyone living here was a warrior.
From the continent's perspective, they would probably be considered rangers living in a border region.
But in the West, they were simply called a village of warriors.
A village of people who all knew how to fight and fought well.
It was time for Rem to encounter familiar faces.
'Phew.'
Rem secretly took a deep breath. He was a bit tense.
One of the people he was about to meet would likely hold a grudge against him, and that grudge would be justified.
'What should I say?'
Should he just say it's been a while?
If he had known this was coming, he might have picked up a few sparkling jewels along the way.
If Krais had been there, he surely wouldn't have let him show up empty-handed.
Rem was lost in such trivial thoughts.
Thud.
Encrid raised his arm to block Rem's steps. Rem looked at Encrid's arm resting on his stomach and then raised his head.
The village he knew was still a bit farther ahead.
But in front of them were three figures whose faces one had to look up to see.
They had clumsily hidden themselves behind a small hill and were now crawling out.
"Did someone send us lunch?"
"No, idiot, we're the ones furthest out. Who would send us anything?"
"Then what are those?"
The three of them spoke while looking at the group. Their voices were like thunder, deep and loud. If heard up close, it would be enough to make one's eardrums scream in pain.
Steel-like beards, iron-like fingers, and thick torsos came into view.
They were Giants.
The three Giants, pausing their conversation, blinked.
Each held thick, dark brown wooden clubs studded with what looked like sharp spikes.
"Do Giants appear often in the West?"
Luagarne asked.
From her perspective, or rather from her talent for reading people, she could tell these three Giants were no easy opponents.
While the group hesitated momentarily, the three Giants reached a conclusion.
"I don't know."
"Just a snack, I guess."
"Let's eat."
The three Giants turned their bodies toward them.
Encrid had encountered Giants before.
But never Giants like these.
What? Eat? Us? Are they planning to eat humans as food?
"Frog isn't tasty, so scram!"
The one in the center of the three Giants shouted.
His rough roar echoed across the barren field. There was a palpable sense of Intimidation.
Within Encrid, the Will of Refusal naturally activated.
"Crung!"
Dunbachel's pupils elongated into vertical slits.
Whirr, snap.
Despite the absurdity of the situation, Rem spun his axe around in his hand.
Crack!
Luagarne drew her whip and cracked it against the ground.
As the whip lashed the earth, a thin cloud of dust rose up.
The three Giants began striding forward.
"Frog is too tough."
"Spit it out while chewing."
"The beast is mine!"
These were man-eating, or perhaps omnivorous, Giants.
The three Giants were closing in.
At a glance, they seemed slow, but that was only due to their massive frames, not because they were actually sluggish.
One of the three suddenly accelerated, closing the distance.
It was an unexpected move.
Instead of the anticipated heavy strike, the Giant thrust his club forward.
To think they would suddenly thrust the club after seemingly planning a brute-force swing?
And more than anything, it was surprising that after recklessly rushing, he would suddenly make such a precise strike.
Surprised or not, Encrid reacted immediately.
His finely tuned sense, integrated with the Isolation Technique, cleared the way.
The sharpened blade of concentration, born from Focus Point, revealed itself with a piercing blue gleam.
From there, all he had to do was let his physical strength bring to life the image in his mind.
Bang!
When Aker collided with the Giant's club, there was a loud crash.
The blade and club met, then parted. Both weapons were pushed back at the same time.
Aker's sharp edge split part of the dark brown club. Splinters from the club flew to the side.
The Giant hesitated and stopped. As one stopped, the two Giants beside him also moved to the sides, widening the distance.
The three Giants now encircled the group.
Encrid, still holding Aker in an upward strike stance, looked down at his feet.
It was truly the strength of a Giant.
Even though he had just unleashed the Heart of Great Strength, his feet had been pushed back.
Rem, holding his axe, tilted his head and asked.
"Who are you guys?"
Giants, and ones that ate people, no less—why had they appeared here?
Rem was genuinely curious.
"Are you scared, little one?"
The Giant spoke with an intimidating tone, as if trying to scare a child.
Rem, who had never been treated like this before, thought for a moment.
As long as one of them was still alive, they could at least talk.
Judging by their earlier charge, they weren't stupid—they knew how to use their appearance to their advantage.
In other words, they were capable of using their heads.
And if they knew how to use their heads, they also knew how to instill fear.
"Don't kill one of them—just play with him."
Rem lowered his axe and spoke.
He tucked his chin and slightly lowered his head, but in his upturned eyes, a fierce spirit ignited.
There was someone who should have been protecting this area.
But they were nowhere to be seen, and only these omnivorous Giants remained.
That fact irritated Rem.
He planted his feet firmly into the ground. The Heart of Great Strength activated, sending power into his thigh muscles.
Bending his knees, he put strength into his ankles.
Rumble.
The ground trembled.
"What is it?"
The Giant, still putting on his stupid act, was trying to bait Rem.
Rem decided to fall for it.
Boom!
He kicked off the ground. There were techniques he couldn't use when sparring with Encrid.
For example, he couldn't push the Heart of Great Strength to its absolute limit.
Of course, even if he did, it didn't mean he could defeat Encrid.
Just as he held back, his Captain probably hid something as well.
Whizz.
The club fell at the perfect moment, aiming right for Rem's head.
Rem kicked the ground with his left foot, shooting his body forward, and with that acceleration, kicked the ground again with his right foot.
Though not as explosive as the first kick, it was a step that doubled his speed.
It was called the double jump technique.
Thud.
The second step wasn't as powerful as the first, but it was more than enough to increase his speed.
As he passed by the club, Rem's axe slashed through the Giant's body.
Slice!
"Graaaahhh!"
The Giant howled like a beast. Their blood splattered everywhere.
Originally, Giants were a species called Red Blood Beasts, but their blood was a bit different.
Their blood was a dark purple, closer to violet.
Among the splattered blood, the Giant howled and swept its foot across where Rem had been standing.
Instead of a haphazard kick, it was a wide sweeping motion, evidence that the Giant knew how to fight.
Rem struck the Giant's sweeping leg with his axe, using the rebound force to leap to the side.
It was, of course, an intentional move.
As Rem moved, another Giant, who had been pretending to swing his club, reached out his hand.
Rem kicked off that hand and dodged to the side again.
Encrid, watching this unfold, suddenly noticed that one of the Giants had crept up behind him.
"You bastard!"
The Giant swung his club, blocking Encrid's escape route with his right hand while attempting to grab his shoulder with his left.
The Giant yelled, "You bastard!" so loudly that it genuinely hurt Encrid's ears. It might have had the effect of momentarily paralyzing someone, but it didn't work on everyone.
Having already sensed the approach, Encrid turned and thrust Ember forward, while striking upward with Aker.
As a result, Aker struck the club, and Ember made a small wound on the Giant's palm.
The Giant, who had reached out with his left hand, quickly withdrew it, resulting in only a minor scratch rather than a hole.
Drip.
Thanks to Ember, the Giant's hand bled the same dark purple blood.
It was clearly not red.
"Where did a guy like you pop up from? I won't forgive you! You!"
The Giant roared in anger. Encrid stared straight into his eyes.
Despite his rage, the Giant's eyes were cold.
They were the same eyes Krais had when counting coins in front of the Krona.
They were calculating eyes.
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