by Okina Baba
However, I cannot fail if we are to have any hope of defeating that ogre.
I have no choice but to make it work!
“Grrr?!”
The ogre growls.
For a moment, it seems as if its eyes have met mine through my Clairvoyance skill.
Hrmph! How unfortunate. It seems to have noticed me.
“Nyudoz! Keep it pinned down!”
“Got it!”
If I’m attacked while preparing a spell, I have no way of defending myself.
Nyudoz responds to my order to keep the ogre in check, boldly attacking it.
The soldiers follow his lead, slowly forming a circle around the monster and closing in.
No doubt Nyudoz will be able to keep the ogre occupied long enough for me to complete my spell.
Even with its incredible recovery power, the ogre cannot possibly survive an Inferno Magic spell infused with extra magic power.
This shall be the finishing blow!
“GRAAAAAAH!”
A roar from the ogre dispels my thoughts.
It’s an animalistic, earsplitting roar, a stark contrast to the ogre’s almost humanlike behavior thus far.
And that isn’t the only change.
The force emanating from the ogre is far stronger than it was mere moments ago.
This pressure… It’s akin to the presence of the earth dragons I once encountered in the Great Elroe Labyrinth!
No, it’s even stronger!
According to the information from the adventurers’ guild, the ogre was suspected of having three unusual abilities.
One was producing magic swords.
One was complete recovery.
And this is the final one: an unnatural increase in stats!
Just as the rumors said, this dramatic transformation cannot be explained by any known skills like Magic or Mental Warfare.
Since I am observing the phenomenon with Clairvoyance, not the naked eye, I cannot Appraise the ogre.
I have no way of knowing just how drastically the creature’s stats have increased.
However, judging by its overwhelming presence, I do not think Nyudoz and the others stand a chance against it.
In fact, I doubt that even I can bring this beast down.
But we cannot turn back now!
Though it may be a vain struggle, I shall strike the monster with my Inferno Magic spell!
“Hrmmm?!”
But unfortunately, I’m unable to activate the spell after all.
Before I can do so, the ogre whirls around and charges away.
Giving the soldiers surrounding it no time to react, the ogre crashes right through their ranks.
It moves too quickly for my eyes to follow.
“It…ran away…?”
For a few moments, I stare after the fleeing ogre in disbelief.
The other soldiers seem to be just as flummoxed.
“Hrmph! I must admit, the creature runs splendidly!”
Nyudoz’s absurd remark brings me back to my senses.
I turn in time to see him putting away his beloved Wind Magic sword, a clear sign that the battle is over.
Nyudoz knows as well as I do that we cannot pursue this creature.
Why the ogre fled, we cannot know for sure.
But whatever the reason, it is doubtful that we could catch up to the fleet-footed monster; even if we did, I cannot say for certain whether we could defeat it.
The ogre’s abilities were simply far too unusual.
Perhaps I should have risked the danger to gaze upon it with my naked eye and done my best to Appraise it.
If we knew anything about its mysterious abilities, perhaps we could come up with some kind of countermeasure.
“Well then, what to do now?”
It would be extremely dangerous to chase after the ogre.
However, we cannot simply ignore it.
Above all, I swore to Buirimus’s wife that I would avenge him.
My own pride will not allow me to go back on that promise.
“I suppose we must regroup and decide how best to pursue the creature another day.”
“That will not be necessary.”
I was speaking only to myself, and yet, a voice answers me.
A person clad in black clothing kneels behind me.
How did they get so close to me without my noticing?
Who…? No, there is only one organization that keeps such people.
I already know this person’s identity.
“A dog of the Word of God, are you?”
“Indeed.”
Despite my rude phrasing, the person confirms without hesitation.
Their emotionless voice hides their thoughts the way the black fabric they’ve donned hides their face.
Such is always the way with the covert agents employed by the Word of God.
Cloaked in shadows, the legends about them say they dispose of heathens, monsters living among humans, and so on.
Though they are normally the stuff of rumors alone, one has appeared before me now.
“And what might such a dog want?”
“Allow us to take care of that creature, please.”
The operative responds with a concise request.
So these shadowy agents intend to defeat the ogre themselves?
“This is empire territory. You ask that while knowingly entering our lands?”
I glare at the black-clad operative, attempting to remind them of the consequences for a foreign agent who does as they please in the empire.
The Word of God may be a powerful organization that transcends borders, but if they aim to interfere with our army’s official business, that will certainly be a problem.
Meddling with another nation’s domestic affairs could easily create an international incident.
“Yes. We understand.”
Judging by the response, it’s clear they realize the risks involved.
In other words, the Word of God must have a strong reason for doing so.
Or perhaps showing themselves before me like this is supposed to a gesture of good faith.
With their high capacity for stealth, surely they could have done whatever they’re planning without my ever noticing them.
The question is, if I refuse their request, will they give up and turn back?
If they choose to instead act in secrecy, I doubt I would have any way of knowing.
“And how do you intend to deal with the creature?”
“We can promise that it will be of no disadvantage to the empire.”
That does not quite answer my question.
Perhaps they cannot reveal their plans but can assure us that no harm will come to the empire.
“…Very well, then. We shall leave it to you.”
“Your cooperation is appreciated.”
I reluctantly agree to the Word of God’s request.
For one thing, it’s entirely possible that they would act on their own if I refused.
And most of all, it would be difficult to defeat that ogre with our power alone.
It has shocking recovery power, and its stats may even surpass those of an earth dragon.
Since it ran away, there may be some limitation or weakness to exploit, but it would be foolish to move our troops based on mere wishful thinking.
I cannot repeat the same error I made in the labyrinth.
…I am sorry, Buirimus.
I wanted to avenge you with my own two hands, but it seems that is not to be.
If the Word of God is willing and able to fulfill that goal instead, I must grant them the right to do so, even if it may break my heart.
“Once again, I must remind you that this is empire territory, and you must act accordingly. Is that clear?”
“Of course.”
The black-clad operative nods at once.
I suppose I have no choice but to trust them.
“I am terribly sorry to chase this with an additional request, but there is a
certain personage currently staying in the nearby town. The adventurers’ guild may ask you to do something about them, but please, we must request that you do not interfere.”
Hrmmm?
This request seems completely unrelated to the matter at hand.
And yet, the operative seems more desperate about this than the matter of the ogre.
The length and politeness of the request is made that painfully obvious.
“What do you—?”
“Hrm! Who goes there?!”
As I start to ask a question, Nyudoz interrupts me with a shout.
Turning, I see him charging in our direction at top speed.
I suppose I cannot blame him for finding a completely black-clad agent of darkness to be highly suspicious.
Nyudoz is always quick to react in such a way.
“Thank you for your continued cooperation.”
“Ah, wait!”
Ignoring my exclamation, the black-clad individual disappears.
I cannot help but be awed by such agility.
“Sir Ronandt! Are you all right?!”
“Yes, I’m fine. I shall tell you in more detail when matters have settled.”
Feeling a bit of heat from Nyudoz, I nevertheless set off to gather the soldiers.
THE OGRE PURSUED
“Hff! Hff!”
The fierce winds force my white breath to trail behind me.
Without turning back to watch it disappear, I run with all my might.
I was naive.
Going in, I did not think myself too prideful or too careless.
In fact, it seemed to me that I was overpreparing due to needless anxiety.
And yet, I was naive.
The fact that I’m running away so shamefully is proof of that.
After I defeated one troop of adventurers, I started readying myself for the next battle.
To put it simply, that first battle was a massacre.
I made preparations in advance and intercepted them with my full power, and it went even more smoothly than I imagined.
However, I wouldn’t say that it was an easy win.
In fact, it was a close call.
I used up every one of the magic swords I’d prepared and had to run myself ragged before I managed to shake the enemy, so it wasn’t as one-sided a slaughter as it may have seemed to the attackers.
The adventurers I killed probably didn’t notice, but they’d actually driven me pretty close to the wall.
Without my special trait of fully recovering when I level up, I probably would have been killed.
It was only because there were so many of them, and of such high strength, that I was able to receive so many experience points and reliably level up.
It’s pretty ironic that their strength and numbers are what allowed me to win.
However, that worked only because they were still weaker than I am.
As long as I’m up against enemies I can defeat individually, one-on-one, there’s not too much to worry about, but if any of them were stronger than me, I wouldn’t be able to count on beating them and leveling up to recover.
Not if I can’t beat them.
And for all I know, there are plenty enemies out there who I can’t beat.
Even if there aren’t, a group of several strong contenders around my level of strength would also make it much harder for me to win.
That’s why I have to undertake all these preparations.
I continually make magic swords as long as I have the MP.
When my MP runs out, I practice with my katana.
Among the previous group of adventurers, there was actually one swordsman was able to match me.
If he hadn’t been injured in the process of closing in, I might’ve been in serious trouble.
See, I have magic-oriented stats.
Creating magic swords requires using a lot of MP, so my magic stats are higher than the rest.
My physical and defense stats are a lot lower than most would probably assume from my bulky physique.
After the battle with the adventurers, I evolved again and became an Ogre King.
This species seems to have a special trait that makes my physical stats rise much higher than before.
My magic stats are oriented toward making magic swords, so they’re not actually all that useful in battle.
All in all, I had little choice but to fight with my lower physical stats, but luckily I’d been able to scrape by so far.
Even my relatively low physical stats were still higher than those of the adventurers.
Besides, I can make up for that in a pinch with Battle Divinity, an advanced skill that greatly increases my physical stats.
If I activate that, I can defeat just about anyone.
But I think that adventurer who managed to get close to me had stats on par with my own, or maybe even higher.
If our stats are around the same, then the victor is determined by sheer skill in battle.
And I’m sure that adventurer was far better than me.
My swordsmanship, feints, and strategies couldn’t measure up to that man’s experience.
The only reason I was able to defeat him was that he was already injured, and I was lucky enough to level up and recover.
I’m sure that adventurer wasn’t anywhere near the strongest in the world, so I had to improve myself so that I could win even without my fortunate advantages.
If an even stronger human shows up, I might get killed.
I’d evolved and gotten stronger after that battle, but I couldn’t let my guard down.
I knew I would have to be prepared to take on my next enemy with everything I have.
But despite my best efforts, all my preparations fell apart so easily.
These new attackers must have used some kind of magic, a wide-range attack that destroyed the land mine swords and tore up the surrounding land.
They slipped past the lightning fence swords that I set up to slow them down with the dirty trick of teleporting, then had the nerve to topple them by moving the very ground itself.
And then there was the old knight who attacked me. He was even stronger than the adventurer from the previous battle.
His face under the helmet was clearly creased with wrinkles, yet the strength and sharpness of his swordsmanship showed no signs of being dulled by age.
It was a good call to practice with my swords after the previous battle against those adventurers.
Otherwise, I probably would have been cut to pieces.
The man was a master of swordsmanship.
And clearly, he was a veteran of countless battles.
In terms of brute strength, Battle Divinity gave me the advantage.
But he had enough experience and talent to make up for that with ease.
I couldn’t let my guard down for a second, but I couldn’t focus solely on the old knight, either.
Because the mage who teleported the knight over to me was attacking me from a distance.
The two elderly men had me pinned down, and when a spell blew a hole through my head, I knew I was on death’s doorstep.
But luck was on my side: a sword that I threw half reflexively managed to hit one of the soldiers and kill him, and even more luckily, that caused me to level up and fully recover, which was the only thing that could have saved my life.
It was a truly one-in-a-million stroke of luck.
If anything had gone even slightly differently…
The thought alone makes me shudder.
The only reason I’m alive now is because I got lucky.
And that’s the only reason I was able to get away, too.
My vision was swimming with red, my consciousness fading.
But I somehow managed to hold on to my senses and get through it.
If I’d lost control, I have a feeling I would never have been able to get it back.
I’m hanging on to my sanity by a thread.
I had to string together all the reasons
I needed to leave and run away, or I would have given in to my violent fury and lost myself to a reckless rampage.
In that situation, I’m sure I could have beaten the old knight and the old mage.
However, that victory would only lead to my own destruction.
It’s all right.
I’m fine.
I can still think rationally like this.
I haven’t lost my mind yet…
“Hff! Hff!”
It gets harder to breathe, so I stop running.
Since I’ve been dashing at full speed, I’m completely breathless and worn out.
But I’ve probably gotten far away by now.
I covered a significant distance, so I doubt my attackers could have kept up with me all this way.
Just as I breathe a sigh of relief, a beam of light grazes my cheek.
“?!”
A tiny trickle of blood beads on the shallow cut across my cheek.
Before I even feel any pain, I whirl toward the source of the beam.
There, I see the same elderly mage who shot my head with magic before.
“Wh…ah!”
I’m shocked for only a moment, until I realize how he’s gotten here.
That’s right.
This old mage can use a dirty trick that should be against the rules: teleporting!
No matter how far I run, he can disregard the distance and simply use Teleport to catch up.
As I stand, dumbfounded, the old mage glares at me and raises his wand.
“Aaaargh!”
Unable to suppress the chill creeping up my spine, I bellow as I start to run.
Instead of the usual anger that threatens to set my body aflame, this time I feel raw terror that nearly freezes me in place.
Rationally, I know that fleeing on foot is pointless against a mage who can teleport, but my fear overpowers all reason.
Unable to collect my thoughts, I let my instincts take over and I break into a run.
Forcing my exhausted legs to keep moving, my breath completely ragged, I push on.
Wheeze…pant… As I gulp down the cold air, pain seizes my chest.
My sides ache, and I can barely lift my feet.
But still, I keep running.
Another beam of light shoots at me from behind.
It hits the ground some distance away, barely missing me.
Remembering the blow that obliterated my head before, I feel my feet grow heavy.
