After checking the results of treant’s evolution, we take a short break to eat some food resuming our travels towards the sky-piercing tower. As moving around with a giant world treant would be difficult, the treant is in tree spirit form right now.
『…We should probably avoid that.』
At the end of my line of sight is a giant, much taller than the trees of the forest. Its total height is about equal to a world treant.
It has yellow-brown skin, and a creepily wide mouth splits its face in two. In the middle of its face is a single giant eye. It only has a single leg, but that leg is as thick as its torso. Each time it hops, the impact sends tremors through the ground.
It’s totally an adam-type monster. It might even be an evolution of an adam.
『That’s a good idea… There’s no guarantee that it’s strong, but it definitely has an alarming appearance.』
Treant remarks from my back, nodding. As he says, there’s size doesn’t always equal strength. As a world treant, he’s far larger than me, but my strength is much greater. But of course, it’s easy for me to check the giant’s strength.
【[Ymir]: L (Legendary) monster】
【A giant with a strange body.】
【A thousand trees break as it walks, and quenching its thirst requires all the water of a lake.】
【It is said that if its anger is roused, a continent will sink.】
…Staying away from it is the safer option. It’s probably not impossible for me to win, but there’s no reason for me to try and fight a stronger opponent just now. Even if my level were to reach the maximum, I wouldn’t be able to evolve after all.
I want to prioritise Aro and treant’s levelling, as they should see much faster gains than me. So, it’s more efficient to seek out monsters that are a bit weaker but plentiful in number. That’s our current plan of action.
Besides, it seems Legendary monsters aren’t very rare in this Forest of Ngai. My experience gains are quadrupled by my skills, and the experience points that killing a Legendary monster grants is considerable. I’m not far off from my maximum level, so there’s not much benefit in risking it right now.
In addition, if I were to challenge a Legendary monster, I’d rather it be the origin matter. It had a skill that stops time for whatever’s inside it, so if I can defeat it, there might be some sort of bonus.
『It’s good that the ymir is so stupidly big that we were bound to spot it first. We’re still pretty far away. From its perspective, we probably look like ants. It’s not going to spot us easily.』
『…I’m just glad I’m not my normal size.』
Treant earnestly remarks. If he was in his world treant form, it probably would have spotted him and chased us. I get chills just imagining it. I definitely don’t want to experience that thing chasing us.
『But it’s worrying how close it is to the tower. It might be staying near it.』
We’re already close to our destination, and are on pace to arrive before the end of today.
Though I don’t think the tower could lead straight into us escaping from this world. Besides, with my current strength I’m no match for God’s Voice’s [Spirit Servants]. I still need to get stronger in this Forest of Ngai.
But, I’m certain that the tower will contain some sort of hint that will help me. I don’t know what lies in wait, and I don’t like that this is probably as God’s Voice expects. But right now, this is all I can do.
The unsettling appearance of God’s Voice appears in my mind. Just you wait…! I’ll get stronger and return to settle things with you.
『Master-dono! Front! Front!』
“Dragon-god-sama! Dragon-god-sama!”
I suddenly realise that Aro and the treant are calling out to me.
『Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about what we should do…』
I hear a repetitive loud thudding. My stomach sinks, and I look up.
The ymir is grinning as it hurtles towards us.
Its face is unlike any human or animal, yet its haphazard features are unmistakably smiling. The corners of its wide mouth are raised, and its nostrils are flared in excitement. Its single eye is open wide.
Right, it’s smiling in a simple-minded, innocent way. It’s arms are bowling down the sturdy trees, and its hops are shaking the ground.
I’m certain that it’s stronger than me. That makes sense. My selling points are my magic attacks and my tricksy skills. I’m no match for a specialist in violence.
My eyes meet ymir’s eye. Its pupil dilates slightly.
That’s proof it’s taken an interest in us. I remember hearing that when animals focus on something, their pupils dilate. I feel a type of fear that I haven’t experienced in a while.
『We’re running, Aro, treant!』
I kick my back up to throw them into the air, and quickly catch them in my mouth. I then leap into a [Roll].
As I thought, it doesn’t seem like it can match the speed of my [Roll]. The sound of its thudding footfalls gradually fades into the distance.
Once it has become completely inaudible, I continue to [Roll] for some time. Only after I’m certain that I’ve shaken it off do I release Aro and treant.
『Th-that surprised me…』
Treant says as he rolls out of my mouth and stands up.
『S-sorry, treant… We had a lot distance so I thought we were safe, but it had surprisingly good eyesight. Not that I ever want to run into it again… Aro too, sorry about that. If I had hidden with [Dragon Mirror] right away, this wouldn’t have happened.』
With a vacant expression, Aro sniffs her own body.
“Dragon-god-sama’s smell…”
『Aro…?』
“Y-yes!”
Startled, she stands up straight. I-is Aro okay…? She’s been acting strange occasionally as of late.
『I can only hope moving so fast didn’t attract the attention of some other strange monster…』
That’s the reason I usually avoid using [Roll] to get around. I was able to get significantly closer to the tower as a result, but it’s not a good idea to sprint through this forest without a plan. I had to do it to get away from the ymir, but there’s no guarantee I didn’t just bring us into the clutches of an even more troublesome monster.
I search around with [Presence Perception].
『Hmm…』
『Have you found something, master-dono?』
I nod in response.
『Yeah. It could be just what we were looking for, too. It seems we might’ve turned this disaster into a windfall.』
There are quite a few monster presences around us. Before we get to the tower, I want the treant to get at least one good levelling session in. Now then, let’s see the power of a world treant.
After checking the results of treant’s evolution, we take a short break to eat some food resuming our travels towards the sky-piercing tower. As moving around with a giant world treant would be difficult, the treant is in tree spirit form right now.
『…We should probably avoid that.』
At the end of my line of sight is a giant, much taller than the trees of the forest. Its total height is about equal to a world treant.
It has yellow-brown skin, and a creepily wide mouth splits its face in two. In the middle of its face is a single giant eye. It only has a single leg, but that leg is as thick as its torso. Each time it hops, the impact sends tremors through the ground.
It’s totally an adam-type monster. It might even be an evolution of an adam.
『That’s a good idea… There’s no guarantee that it’s strong, but it definitely has an alarming appearance.』
Treant remarks from my back, nodding. As he says, there’s size doesn’t always equal strength. As a world treant, he’s far larger than me, but my strength is much greater. But of course, it’s easy for me to check the giant’s strength.
【[Ymir]: L (Legendary) monster】
【A giant with a strange body.】
【A thousand trees break as it walks, and quenching its thirst requires all the water of a lake.】
【It is said that if its anger is roused, a continent will sink.】
…Staying away from it is the safer option. It’s probably not impossible for me to win, but there’s no reason for me to try and fight a stronger opponent just now. Even if my level were to reach the maximum, I wouldn’t be able to evolve after all.
I want to prioritise Aro and treant’s levelling, as they should see much faster gains than me. So, it’s more efficient to seek out monsters that are a bit weaker but plentiful in number. That’s our current plan of action.
Besides, it seems Legendary monsters aren’t very rare in this Forest of Ngai. My experience gains are quadrupled by my skills, and the experience points that killing a Legendary monster grants is considerable. I’m not far off from my maximum level, so there’s not much benefit in risking it right now.
In addition, if I were to challenge a Legendary monster, I’d rather it be the origin matter. It had a skill that stops time for whatever’s inside it, so if I can defeat it, there might be some sort of bonus.
『It’s good that the ymir is so stupidly big that we were bound to spot it first. We’re still pretty far away. From its perspective, we probably look like ants. It’s not going to spot us easily.』
『…I’m just glad I’m not my normal size.』
Treant earnestly remarks. If he was in his world treant form, it probably would have spotted him and chased us. I get chills just imagining it. I definitely don’t want to experience that thing chasing us.
『But it’s worrying how close it is to the tower. It might be staying near it.』
We’re already close to our destination, and are on pace to arrive before the end of today.
Though I don’t think the tower could lead straight into us escaping from this world. Besides, with my current strength I’m no match for God’s Voice’s [Spirit Servants]. I still need to get stronger in this Forest of Ngai.
But, I’m certain that the tower will contain some sort of hint that will help me. I don’t know what lies in wait, and I don’t like that this is probably as God’s Voice expects. But right now, this is all I can do.
The unsettling appearance of God’s Voice appears in my mind. Just you wait…! I’ll get stronger and return to settle things with you.
『Master-dono! Front! Front!』
“Dragon-god-sama! Dragon-god-sama!”
I suddenly realise that Aro and the treant are calling out to me.
『Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about what we should do…』
I hear a repetitive loud thudding. My stomach sinks, and I look up.
The ymir is grinning as it hurtles towards us.
Its face is unlike any human or animal, yet its haphazard features are unmistakably smiling. The corners of its wide mouth are raised, and its nostrils are flared in excitement. Its single eye is open wide.
Right, it’s smiling in a simple-minded, innocent way. It’s arms are bowling down the sturdy trees, and its hops are shaking the ground.
I’m certain that it’s stronger than me. That makes sense. My selling points are my magic attacks and my tricksy skills. I’m no match for a specialist in violence.
My eyes meet ymir’s eye. Its pupil dilates slightly.
That’s proof it’s taken an interest in us. I remember hearing that when animals focus on something, their pupils dilate. I feel a type of fear that I haven’t experienced in a while.
『We’re running, Aro, treant!』
I kick my back up to throw them into the air, and quickly catch them in my mouth. I then leap into a [Roll].
As I thought, it doesn’t seem like it can match the speed of my [Roll]. The sound of its thudding footfalls gradually fades into the distance.
Once it has become completely inaudible, I continue to [Roll] for some time. Only after I’m certain that I’ve shaken it off do I release Aro and treant.
『Th-that surprised me…』
Treant says as he rolls out of my mouth and stands up.
『S-sorry, treant… We had a lot distance so I thought we were safe, but it had surprisingly good eyesight. Not that I ever want to run into it again… Aro too, sorry about that. If I had hidden with [Dragon Mirror] right away, this wouldn’t have happened.』
With a vacant expression, Aro sniffs her own body.
“Dragon-god-sama’s smell…”
『Aro…?』
“Y-yes!”
Startled, she stands up straight. I-is Aro okay…? She’s been acting strange occasionally as of late.
『I can only hope moving so fast didn’t attract the attention of some other strange monster…』
That’s the reason I usually avoid using [Roll] to get around. I was able to get significantly closer to the tower as a result, but it’s not a good idea to sprint through this forest without a plan. I had to do it to get away from the ymir, but there’s no guarantee I didn’t just bring us into the clutches of an even more troublesome monster.
I search around with [Presence Perception].
『Hmm…』
『Have you found something, master-dono?』
I nod in response.
『Yeah. It could be just what we were looking for, too. It seems we might’ve turned this disaster into a windfall.』
There are quite a few monster presences around us. Before we get to the tower, I want the treant to get at least one good levelling session in. Now then, let’s see the power of a world treant.
