Chapter 89 : Guardian Beast

Chapter 0089 Guardian Beast

Translator: Tseirp

Guardian beasts.

Non-human creatures that inhabit the land.

They often built symbiotic relationships with the people who lived there in various ways. That was why they were called 『guardian』 beasts.

They fundamentally can’t be found in crowded places like a city but in places rich in nature such as mountains and forests.

Also, their existence were rarely made public, and in most cases, only the villagers involved knew.

Therefore, it was not well understood how many guardian beasts existed, what kind of guardian beasts inhabited the area, and what kind of relationships they had with people.

“Guardian beast-sama, this is Nasu. I brought Boulan and the four people here for the subjugation request.”

From the outside of the cave, Nasu, also known as Baba-sama, politely called out to the inside.

With that voice, Etho, who had been walking while in a daze, rebooted.

Looking sideways, Ryo was relieved.

If the guardian beast was corrupted, as Ryo was anticipating, it would be a sudden battle.

In that case, it would be fatal if Etho could not act immediately.

But …

“Um, good work.”

What slowly came out of the cave was …

“Fenrir …”

Ryo heard what was muttered by Etho.

It was about 3 meters long. A wolf whose whole body was silver.

The wolf’s feet were atrophied, and it felt as though it was considerably weakened.

However, its gaze was firm and the words it spoke were clear.

(It seems that it wasn’t corrupted … Damn, the event didn’t happen.)

Both Niels and Amon saw the flicker of disappointment across Ryo’s face.

And at the same time nodded. He was thinking about something weird after all …

“Hmm, a Priest of light? If you have a priest, you won’t be pushed back by their numbers. I’m not exactly Fenrir … well, I am something similar.”

Then the guardian beast laughed faintly.

“A Priests of light, two Swordsmen … and …”

The guardian beast stared at Ryo directly and continued.

“I am called Nkusin. What is your name, Magician of Water there?”

“It’s Ryo.”

When asked for his name, Ryo answered with a little surprise.

However, Baba-sama and the village mayor Boulan, who were next to him, were more than a little surprised.

“Guardian Beast-sama gave its name …”

They were surprised that the guardian beast named itself.

That had never happened before.

In fact, both Baba-sama and Boulan found out that the guardian beast’s name was 『Nkusin』just then for the first time.

“It’s a name that’s hard for people to pronounce. I didn’t approach it until now. But the Magician there… did you say it was Ryo? I have to tell Ryo. It’s dishonorable not to state my name.”

“Dishonorable?”

Ryo asked back while tilting his head.

“Umu. How should I put it … I am like a relative to fairies. For such beings, you are … yes, it is very comfortable to be near you.”

It was something that Ryo didn’t really understand.

The teacher of Ryo’s sword was the Water Fairy King who looked like a Dullahan.

He also received a sword and robe from the Fairy King.

Looking at the robe, the Elf Sera commented that ‘You’re liked by the Fairy King’.

And the guardian beast that was a relative of the fairies in front of him said that it was comfortable to be near Ryo.

Taken together, Ryo seemed to be liked by fairies … but he didn’t know what fairies were at all.

(When I get back to the City of Rune, I should ask Sera. She said that Elves were like half-fairies so I’m sure she can tell me a lot.)

“If it is pleasant to you … well, thank you?”

It felt that his answer didn’t match the situation.

When Ryo said that, the guardian beast burst into laughter.

“I should be thanking you. Thanks to you, it seems that my life has been extended by a thousand years. Actually, my life was about to expire in about 10 years … Nasu too, you brought an interesting person.”

“What …”

Baba-sama was speechless.

It was shocking that the guardian beast’s life was about to expire in another 10 years, but it was even more shocking that it was extended by 1000 years by bringing Ryo.

“Ryo is amazing …”

“It probably doesn’t have any benefit to myself though …”

Niels was impressed but Ryo shook his head and remained confused.

Having its life span extend by 1000 years just by encountering him … Ryo felt he could understand that a guardian beast was really a mysterious being.

“Well then, regarding the subjugation … because the last ones started without permission, it seems that various matters have become difficult.”

Although it had the face of a wolf, the four people from Room 10 somehow understood that the guardian beast had a troubled look.

“Before I knew it they were in a battle with skeletons … I apologize for them polluting the forest with blood.”

The village mayor Boulan apologized to the guardian beast.

“Umu, that can’t be helped … it was for survival. But … if even those weak 30 beings were tough for them, they wouldn’t have been able to complete the subjugation anyway.”

The guardian beast exhaled a little as though it was sighing.

(The number has increased from 20 … Well, by the way it phrased it … those weak 30 beings were probably skeletons … but that means there are other stronger ones?)

Ryo analyzed the words of the guardian beast.

“Is there anything else to subdue other than the 30 skeletons?”

Niels asked the question on Ryo’s mind.

As expected of a party leader.

“Umu. There’s only one strong one. It is the same type but bigger. I don’t know what you call it among humans. I captured the strong one in the shrine near the entrance … If you defeat the 30 weak beings, I will release it and you can defeat it.”

“Guardian Beast-sama captured it …”

Baba was impressed and surprised by the explanation of the guardian beast.

“Umu. It seemed to have been bound by the spiritual power of the shrine. I used the rest of my power to capture it … Recently, my life span has been greatly reduced due to the extraordinary need to sustain that power.”

Then, the guardian beast laughed again.

Could it laugh at its life span because it’s a strong being or because it had lived a long time …

The guardian beast could not move from the cave, so the party traveled to the shrine.

“This size is more of a 『Hidden Temple』 rather than a shrine …”

Etho says to Baba-sama.

“Umu … I don’t know the definition in that area … we used to call it a shrine for generations in the village. However, skeletons began to appear about half a year ago … Since then, we’ve not been able to get close and could only look at it from a distance … Moreover, Guardian Beast-sama says that there is another thing in the shrine … what the hell is going on?”

After saying that, Baba-sama sighed loudly.

“Etho, what is a 『Hidden Temple』?”

Ryo was wondering, so he decided to directly ask him.

“The Temple of Light has a few 『Hidden Temple』too, but basically there is an altar installed behind the door. If you are a priest, you can perform a ritual immediately … In the case of a 『Shrine』, there isn’t anything large installed that can be called an altar. The door would also be small. The knowledge of when and what it was made for has been scattered and lost, but some older ones were made more than 1000 years ago …”

Etho’s explanation was very interesting to Ryo.

His wording was also more polite than usual, probably because Baba-sama was also listening.

“As far as I know, the door of the shrine has never been opened. Nobody alive now knows what’s inside.”

Baba-sama commented and shook her head a little.

“In the past, Guardian Beast-sama said that the cave seemed to have some power flowing in. So, Guardian Beast-sama whose power had weakened moved to live in that cave … The source of that power may be this shrine.”

“It’s possible. There is a theory that the 『Hidden Temples』 were built on ley lines where energy from the earth gathers. If that is the case, the energy gathered from the 『Hidden Temple』 might flow through that cave.”

Etho presented his theory while thinking.

Author’s note:

Finally, the foreshadowing from the Dragon Ruwin in Chapter 0025 can be collected.

TLN: Ruwin’s thoughts in Chapter 0025:

<<Even so, he was such a strange man. Or was he really human? Are there such humans? That’s the first time I’ve seen something like that in hundreds of thousands of years. Or was he a human mutant or an evolved species? I’ve never heard of such a thing though.>>

Before entering battle with the skeletons, the four from Room 10 had a detailed meeting.

“The problem is the 『strong and big one』. If it is a type of skeleton, it can be a Skeleton General, a Skeleton King, or an Arch Skeleton. Other more common situations would be, for example, if a bear carcass becomes a skeleton ... for such cases, the method to deal with it would be the same as a normal skeleton so there’s no need to discuss that.”

“Etho, which is the most troublesome among them?”

“The Arch. All magic is ineffective on Archs.”

(Immune to magic ... I’ve heard that phrase somewhere recently ...)

Ryo traced his memory as he heard the exchange between Niels and Etho.

But he couldn’t remember when.

(Well, it doesn’t matter.)

“In the first place, sword attacks work poorly on skeletons, so just attacking with a sword ...”

“Well, Amon and I only have swords ...”

Amon thought about Etho’s explanation.

“Etho, how about striking with a hammer?”

“Yes, that’s the most effective.”

When Ryo proposed from his knowledge from light novels, it seemed that it was the correct answer and Etho nodded in agreement.

“Then it will be fine. I’ll stop it, so we can have Niels and Amon strike it with big hammers from afar.”

“From afar?”

“Big hammers?”

Ryo confidently said while Niels and Amon tilted their heads in confusion.

“Then, let’s first wipe out the skeletons in front of the shrine.”

Etho began chanting in a soft voice.

“Return the unclean souls to God’s side and I pray that their sins are forgiven <Turn Undead>”

When he chanted the final trigger word, the 30 skeletons in Etho’s line of sight evaporated one after another.

(Return the unclean souls to God’s side, such a cool chant! The person who made it must have Chuunibyo!)

The last skeleton disappeared into the sky while Ryo had a rude thought.

For Etho, an E-rank adventurer, Turn Undead seemed to use a great deal of magical power.

Or was it because he turned 30 at one go? He was bent over catching his breath.

“Are you okay, Etho?”

Ryo passed Etho an ice glass filled with delicious water.

A glass of water was irreplaceable at such times.

The human body worked in strange ways.

“Thank you, I’m okay.”

Etho drank the water in one go and answered.

Meanwhile, Niels and Amon were approaching the shrine door and preparing.

It was finally time to open the door.

Since the guardian beast had captured it, the 『big and strong skeleton』 would not pop out suddenly, but the two still opened the door carefully.

After the door was opened and the dust settled, they could finally see inside.

To find a single skeleton over two meters tall.

“Arch Skeleton ...”

“The troublesome one that is immune to magic!”

Etho commented and Niels verified it.

Niels and Amon distanced themselves from the door and held their swords up.

“<Ice Create Hammer>”

After Ryo chanted, ice hammers were created by covering the swords held by Niels and Amon.

“Ooo. It’s pretty big. Ryo, so you meant this when you asked us to whack it from afar.”

“Each strike seems like it would be quite heavy.”

Niels and Amon brandished their hammers and swung them, testing their usability.

“Yes, I will stop it when it comes out to the clearing, so please strike it hard and shave down its durability.”

“All right.”

“Yes.”

Niels and Amon stood surrounding the clearing designated by Ryo.

“<Ice Wall 3>”

He created a path with the ice walls connected from the door to the clearing. With that, they would be okay even if it suddenly deviated from the path and attacked.

“Then, let’s notify the guardian beast to release it. <Ice Flower>”

He named the skill as an opposite of fireworks that were called ‘Fire Flowers’.

Sparkling lumps of snow were launched into the air from Ryo’s raised right palm.

When they reached a considerable height, the snow clumps burst.

Diamond dust spread from the core and sparkled brightly under sunshine. Furthermore, the lumps burst a second and third time, raining down diamond dust in the sun.

The party was momentarily fascinated by that scene to the point that they forgot they were in the process of subduing a monster.

“It’s beautiful.”

Baba-sama’s mutter was very soft, but it still entered Ryo’s ears.

“Now then, the Arch is coming.”

Ryo warned loudly.

That brought the party’s consciousness back to the subjugation at hand.

“Come!”

Niels’ shout may not have been a signal that caused it, but the Arch Skeleton began to move, probably because the guardian beast removed its constraints.

The undead hate the living.

The reason is not clear, but they are attracted to the living and try to kill them and lure them to the same cursed fate as themselves.

Likewise, the Arch exited the door and began to walk towards the party.

It moved slowly and when it came out to the clearing ... it walked into the ice wall in front of it which blocked its path.

“<Ice Bahn>”

Even if magic doesn’t work, whether it’s an Ice Wall or Ice Bahn, you just have to not target the Arch itself.

It can’t escape from physics ... yes, like slipping on ice.

The Arch Skeleton skated wildly on the Ice Bahn.

It tried to get up many times but it couldn’t do so.

“<Ice Wall release> Niels, Amon.”

“Ooh! Amon, let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Niels and Amon close the gap to the fallen Arch.

And ... slammed Ryo’s special ice hammer into it.

Gakin

“So hard.”

“Yes, but it seems to be doing a bit of damage.”

Niels and Amon verified their thoughts with each other.

“Okay. Then let’s keep going.”

“Yes!”

Strike, strike, strike.

The two continued to hammer the Arch that could not get up.

Ice Bahn had a radius of about 2 meters and their hammer length was slightly less than 3 meters .... They could keep hitting without fear of taking any damage from the Arch which did not possess any projectile attacks or offensive magic.

However, since it was E-rank Niels and F-rank Amon, the damage done by each blow was by no means large.

It was unavoidable that it took a considerable amount of time to defeat it.

As the Arch continued to take damage, albeit minimal, it began to crawl on all fours.

It had given up on standing and tried to move on all fours.

“Well, that’s what they usually do, but it’s the same. You’re standing on special ice. It’s really slippery.”

As Ryo said, even if it crawled on all fours, the Arch couldn’t move forward.

It kept slipping on the Ice Bahn.

Why does it slip on ice in the first place?

It’s not because the surface of the ice had a film of water.

It would slip regardless of the melted water on the ice surface.

This was not a law of thermodynamics.

Of course, the water did make it even more slippery.

Water molecule H2O. The reason why these water molecules stick to each other is due to the intermolecular interaction called hydrogen bonds.

One hydrogen H is hydrogen-bonded to the neighboring oxygen O, another hydrogen H is hydrogen-bonded to another neighboring oxygen O, this oxygen O is hydrogen-bonded to another next-door hydrogen H, and yet another next-door hydrogen H. This state with 『four hydrogen bonds and five water molecules』 is one set, which is the most common state of ice.

The most common state equates to the most stable state, the most stable form.

The lower the temperature, the harder the 『ice』.

Conversely, in the same 『ice』, the number of weak hydrogen bonds would increase as the temperature rises.

On the surface of ice, that is, where it is in contact with water or air, there are many water molecules with only three or two hydrogen bonds.

And this 『water molecule with two hydrogen bonds』, that is, the structure of one water molecule hydrogen bonded to only two other water molecules, is the cause of slipping.

These two hydrogen-bonded water molecules move around the surface of the ice and act like ball bearings.

Suppose you spill a lot of pachinko balls and marbles on the floor ... it’s impossible to walk on them with shoes or slippers, right?

If you think of the pachinko balls and marbles as these『water molecule with two hydrogen bonds』, it may be a close representation.

And the ice sheet that Ryo created with Ice Bahn took advantage of that property.

That was possible because he made a lot of bonds at the molecular level in the Rondo Forest.

He created ice with a lot of 『water molecule with two hydrogen bonds』that are made by sticking three water molecules together ... forming ice that makes it impossible to move on even by driving the toes and heels into it but still retaining its rigidity ... this may only be achievable by Ryo, who had knowledge of both magic and science.

Anyway, on such an Ice Bahn, even if it crawled on all fours, the Arch couldn’t move forward and continued to be beaten by Niels and Amon.

Finally, the Ark shifted from crawling on all fours to crawling on its front.

“From two feet to all fours and finally crawling on its front ... true, that increases the contact area and increases the friction coefficient, but it’s the same. You can’t move or, of course, jump.”

For more than fifteen minutes, Niels and Amon had been hitting the Arch without rest.

Although recently they have been training especially on stamina, Ryo felt tried just watching from the side.

(I wonder if I should replace them ...)

Ryo was thinking of taking over the role of hitting, but that seemed to be a groundless worry.

“It’s almost over!”

The moment Niels struck it while saying that ...

Bakkin

With a snap, the Arch’s neck bone broke and the red light shining in its eye socket disappeared.

Finally, they defeated the Skeleton Arch.

“Finally …...”

“So tired ……”

Niels and Amon fall onto their rears.

Niels drank from a water bottle from his waist while Amon fell back and lay spread-eagled on the ground.