-So you're telling me the old soldier left you here to track down some monster.
-No, I have to stay put and detect them. It's a training exercise, but
unfortunately there aren't any monsters around.
-That's normal, we've killed them all.
...... WHAT?
-What do you mean, killed them all?
-Lilly warned us of the presence of a rama. It's not normal to find them here, so we found their nest and took care of them.
I must admit, it's a good thing we got rid of that thing.
-You won't find anything here. We're trying to make the forest safer so people can walk around and pick what they want. It's bad timing with your training.
-Yeah, it does.
-Look, if it helps, we can get you on the next hunt and use you as bait.
-What's up?
-What?
It's not that bad.
And that's how I ended up here.
-Okay, Kayle. Stay put. There should be a nest of archos nearby. They're small spiders that prey on humans in groups. Nobody's coming this far, so we won't be disturbed by the noise. You do your training, and we'll do the hunting, okay?
-Gotcha. But isn't it a bit dangerous after all?
-Yes, it is.
-Huh?
-But it's for your training, so I thought if you wanted to die...
-Huh?
-Don't move, we're hiding.
What's that? What do you mean die? I didn't come here to die. I just had to hunt little monsters. Relax, he said they were little spiders. That should do it. After all, I've already seen a rama that I'd describe as a creature from the underworld of death. It's not a spider that's going to scare me. I need to work on my perception and senses.
Kayle had honed his senses a lot since he'd been in the forest. Even if he hadn't come across any monsters, he could now hear, even with his eyes closed, the wind passing close to the branches, birds landing on them, or even the slightest movement of a squirrel climbing a tree.
-Since when are there squirrels in this world?
That was the point of this training, to sharpen his senses. And it was paying off.
To the left, there are two things coming. They're bigger than a squirrel, but that should be fine. They're monsters, after all. It'd be weird if they were really the size of a real spider. I'll deal with them as soon as they get close enough. Ten meters...five meters...two meters...now....
Kayle opened his eyes and turned to the left, but when he saw the vision of horror before his eyes, he wished he'd never been born.
-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH
What the hell are those? They're not the size of squirrels, they're bigger than dogs. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm gonna be dead. Mom, Dad, it was nice knowing you.
-F#ck you, Kayle.
F#ck you?
-Uh,...no..., I meant get down.
In the blink of an eye, Rack threw a spear with all his might at one of the spiders that had come to eat Kayle. It was pierced from all sides.
-They're agile, weave at high speed and have a hell of a venom, but they're fragile. Use your dagger.
Jean was the second to move, putting his body in opposition to that of the spider. Roid wasted no time either, and in the space of a few seconds, five arrows pierced the spider blocked by the tank.
-More were on the way.
Rack repositioned himself behind a tree. Kayle thought she was dreaming, or rather having a nightmare, but Rack didn't lose his cool. He asked Jean to throw him his sword, which he immediately did. Suddenly, Kayle noticed another presence. François appeared from nowhere and leapt on a spider to pierce its head.
-I'd forgotten he was a pro at camouflage, but I managed to find him anyway.
But François soon found himself surrounded. The spiders surrounded him, but luckily for him Roid hit two of them, allowing him to find an opening.
-Thanks Roid.
-You're welcome.
Rack arrived at full speed. A spider spat venom at him at full speed.
-JEAN
-I'll be right there.
The huge tank arrived in time to come between them with its shield. Rack emerged from behind his teammate and charged at the spider, cutting off its head. A fifth person emerged from the shadows to decapitate two of them. Roald was an expert with the spear. He managed to defeat two more.
-There's more. François.
-I'm here.
François threw something at Rack, whom he caught with a firm hand. He then threw it into the mouth of one of the spiders, before kicking it violently into the pile. Kayle soon realized that it was probably a grenade of some kind.
-Back off.
The grenade exploded, killing and burning a dozen more spiders. Kayle had to admit, their teamwork was flawless.
-Kayle behind you.
A spider suddenly appeared behind Kayle. Rack rushed forward, but it was already too late. However, Kayle, having seen this extraordinary team fight, could no longer stand back, frightened, doing nothing. The flame had been rekindled in him.
If I don't do something here, all my training will be for nothing. I'm no coward. I intend to defeat the hero and destroy Charles Venkclerk. And to do that...
Rack was surprised to see that Kayle had reacted in time. Not only had he reacted, but he'd managed to balance himself with one hand on the spider's head. He immediately pierced the spider's throat and landed back on the ground. However, the spider's wound wasn't deep enough.
-Should we help him, Rack?
-No. Let him finish.
Kayle got to his feet and stood guard with his dagger. The spider wasted no time and charged at him. He narrowly avoided three of its legs and its fangs at mouth level. He then managed to slice the leg that stood in front of him. The spider jumped back, realizing that his opponent was more dangerous than expected. But Kayle wasted no time either. He too lunged at his prey. The spider suddenly spat poison in the direction of his face. With a superhuman reflex, he dodged, ducking at full speed. The spider took the opportunity to pounce on him. Kayle had predicted this and threw dirt into its many eyes.
-He's really clever.
The spider landed on top of Kayle even though she couldn't see him. It decided to plant its legs all over the place. But Kayle got out of there in a hurry and made several more cuts in the spider as she went. The spider managed to open several eyes on the left side of its face. Kayle saw this and moved quickly to the right. The spider lost sight of him. She could no longer keep up with him, as he moved according to its blind spot. Many more gashes appeared. Its purple blood was dripping to the ground. The desperate spider opened its eyes and saw its end. Kayle stood before it, dagger in front of face, unable to dodge.
-Well, that's quite a victory for you, Kayle. Although I'll have killed at least twenty by then. Congratulations, it was your first successful solo hunt.
God, what a drag. I'm out of energy. Fortunately, they're pretty slow within a one-meter radius of it. I can't take it anymore. But it feels damn good. That was my first monster kill. The first of many, I hope.
-You've got five left, haven't you?
-No, I just had to dodge monsters with my senses. Then I had to hunt. But it looks like I'm done.
-Alala. San is still in soldier mode. I'd have trained you in hand-to-hand combat first. Anyway, we're off to the Queen's nest. Want to come along?
Why not? I'm not really restricted in that respect. I can do whatever I want as long as I bring back prey.
-You're really good at hand-to-hand combat despite the little energy you've got. I think you really have the potential to become one of the best no-az of all time.
-A no-az?
-Yes, that's what we call them. No-azes are people who have reached the top level despite their deficiency. It's said that their bodies have been blessed by nature because, despite their lack of Az, they're able to beat the strongest. But there are very few of them, it's even rare. There's only one in our time. And he's been the only one for two hundred years.
Two hundred years? Wow. So let's not get carried away, eh?
-What's his name?
-The current no-az is called Arteus Roza. He heads the Emperor's army. He's known as the great no-az general or the supreme blade.
That's a bit of an overstatement, isn't it?
-I thought the current general had been sentenced to death.
-You're confused, kid. There are several great generals, that's clear, but only one is at the head of the army. François was only a great general. He wasn't the head of the army. They're all called great generals, but Arteus Roza is the head of the army, so to differentiate him from the others, we call him great general no-az. They all have different names, don't worry. In fact, it was Astreus himself who took care of François.
It's confusing to call them all grand general. We should change it a bit. But it's surprising to learn that a guy with no az could defeat a great general. So I can achieve my goals if I become like him. At least, if I can.
-Well, here we go. The nest can't be far, given the amount of stuff that's fallen on us. I'm counting on you, Kayle. If you want your monster-detected story, there's nothing like getting into a situation. We'll have a hard time protecting you then. So if everything goes wrong. Don't just stand there and run. We're going after the queen, so everyone be careful.
-All right.