Desperate cries echo throughout the woods. They ring throughout the plains, stirring Cain as he slowly wakes. Cain looks around the makeshift cave for food. Not being able to find any, he looks over at Dresil, who is sitting at the edge of the cave, staring at Hellion Forest. He asks Dresil about breakfast, resisting the lure to go back to sleep.
"Breakfast? It's past noon Master. Don't worry, our lunch will be heading towards us soon." 'Dang, that didn't sound spooky at all.' Cain thinks to himself sarcastically. 'Guess I'll practice some. Let's start with this annoying glow from Insect Eraser. I should probably disguise it well to not draw suspicion since it'll be with me all the time.'
Cain walks outside the root cave, blinded by the intense rays of afternoon sun. 'Oh, that reminds me. Are there still 24 hours in a day here?' Cain sits down a few meters in front of Dresil and looks back to ask her about the time.
He opens his mouth, about to ask the question, but before the words escape his mouth Dresil responds, "Yes Master, there are 24 hours in a day."
'That's good, that would mean I just slept close to 12 hours again. Wait, did she just read my mind? I thought she could only do that if her roots are implanted in someone. Oooh, should I try reading minds without an implant? I'll have to make a mental note to start that experiment later.'
Still attempting to wipe away the drowsiness, Cain begins to meditate while focusing on the Insect Eraser at his feet.
'I can disguise my mana to look like natural mana since it has no distinct element. As for the glow, I should be able to just toggle it on and off. It might need a hint of shadow magic though. The problem is mimicking the flow of natural mana… Meh, let's just toss some stuff together and see what works. When in doubt, use trial and error.'
Cain begins to edit the details of Insect Eraser. New glyphs form around the edges of the circle, as condensed ones are formed near the center. They're being constantly rearranged as the circle dims, blinds, and disappears occasionally.
Once he is satisfied, Cain uses the mana within his eyes to inspect the artificial flows of natural mana. 'Hmm… Needs some ironing out but should fool most people who don't have a keen sense. Next is detection magic. I really want to know how far away my lunch is… Wait, what even is for lunch?'
Cain closes his eyes again and begins pulsing his mana in a 20-meter radius. 'If I treat this method as a type of echolocation with my mana being the soundwaves, I should get some results. The problem is being able to convert what happens into interpretable information.'
Cain begins to shorten the time between each pulse, focusing on what it hits. An image of a 15-meter grasshopper flashes in his mind, followed by an ant going at speeds that should be breaking the sound barrier.
'Holy crap, that scared me. It looks even weirder because all I can see are outlines of everything, even if it would normally obstruct my vision. There's no color either.
'I need to find something roughly a meter long to use as a scale to avoid the insects becoming a new type of Godzilla. Hmmm… My leg would work, just need to mark where the meter begins and ends.
'Having my mana float around in this space should work better to prevent a constant drain. Time to set up a new magic circle.'
A massive circle appears on the ground with glyphs frantically flying about. Cain uses what he learns about disguising Insect Eraser to obscure the detection circle. He replaces all of the natural mana within the spherical space covered by the circle with his own, ensuring nothing here will be able to escape his view.
'This should also help with suppressing my enemies since they will only be able to use their own mana unless I allow natural mana to leak in. Sweet, now time to make a long-range detection spell to look for my food.'
Cain begins to visualize what type of meat will be put over the fire. Sharp, shrill screams interrupt his fantasy abruptly. 'The heck was that? Someone better not be stealing my food.' Cain sticks his hand out, launching streams of mana that spread out to encompass the depths of the forest.
He begins to focus on the feedback of the signals from his mana. 'Interestingly, there doesn't seem to be a noticeable delay. Oh right, food.' 200 meters in front of Cain lies the entrance to the forest. The path leading the capital appears to be at an angle, relative to Cain's position.
One would have to cross the uneven grassy surface if they wanted to get to him. Delighted that he won't be disturbed by other people easily, he begins to interpret the signals being sent from within the forest.
150-meters from the entrance, and closing fast, a group of adventurers are huddled together in a carriage. They appear to be huddled over a body; the coach driver is often looking back worried. The horses race with all their might, rocking the carriage back and forth. Tears on the canvas begin to appear, their safe little world is about to come crashing down.
'Weird… why does one of them seem isolated from the group? Oh well, I just need to find my food. I should try to use mana to interpret sounds as well...' Cain directs his senses towards what's chasing the grim adventurers. Several demon wolves are snarling and bumping into each other. Two wolves flank the carriage with one on either side. Frustrated screams begin to penetrate the canvas.
"Hurry! We just need to get out of this damn forest, and they'll stop chasing us!" A woman holding a bow, desperately fending off the approaching wolves, directs the coach driver.
"I know! I know! Damn… this is all my fault… I shouldn't have agreed to this earlier." The coach driver begins to grumble while ushering the horses to go faster.
A frail girl sobs over the body. "I can't… hic… do anything. I have no mana left… Please don't leave us yet. Who's going to help us save money if you go?"
The giant body stirs slowly, gasping for breath. "Don't worry… It's just a flesh wound." 'Welp… that's one death flag.' Despite not being able to understand what they are saying, Cain can interpret the meaning by their body language and tone.
He spectates the tragedy from afar while tagging each wolf with his mana. 'I'll graciously use these guinea pigs-er, wolves, that these people have brought me. If I camouflage my mana as natural mana, I wonder if the wolves would absorb it?'
Cain's mana envelops each wolf. With each step the wolves unknowingly absorb Cain's mana while attempting to use it to hasten their pace. Unable to utilize Cain's mana, the confused wolves begin to slow down.
'Woah, that's an unexpected effect. I can even see the anatomy of each wolf. What would happen if I cut their nerves or tried to stop their heart?'
Cain focuses on the wolf flanking the carriage on the right. It lunges at the coach driver, Cain simultaneously cuts off the nerves on the wolf. The driver pulls his dagger out, getting ready to cut it when it falls short and rolls behind the carriage, knocking out two of its companions. The driver looks back confused.
'The hell happened? That doesn't matter right now, we just need to get out of this forest!' The driver thinks to himself as he lashes at the horses, trying to make them go faster.
'Current record is two wolves. Time to use the other wolf to go bowling.' Thrilled that his experiment worked, Cain focuses on the left wolf, the one closest to him.
He directs his mana to the arteries surrounding the wolf's heart, waiting for the moment to interrupt the muscle that controls the pacing of the heart. The wolf, sensing that it doesn't have long to live, jumps at the carriage.
The woman with the bow braces for impact as the wolf plops down on top of her. Cain had successfully activated the technique in time. The mage on the side let out a scream as the ranger shoves the wolf completely into the carriage. The young girl stores the wolf into a ring on the body.
'Woah, was that a storage ring? This group is interesting, I should invite them over here. They can also be my pass into the capital without arousing suspicion due to my clothes and lack of ID.' While Cain was figuring out how to get the group's attention, they finally broke through the clutches of the forest.
"Catherine, do something! You're a powerful mage right?!" The woman holding the bow furiously shouts at the person who is isolated from the group. Catherine is frozen in fear, unable to do or say anything.
"Damn… should've known this would happen. These rich types always leave everything to us to clean up." The woman begins to mumble under her breath, letting loose all of her arrows furiously.
The carriage races on the dirt pathway. Noticing a sudden shift in the terrain, the group collapses in relief. Their cries of joy echo through the beaten frames and torn canvas. The coach driver looks back to check on his friend lying there. He is greeted by the snarls of the wolves instead of their joyous expressions. His face sours sharply.
Pure despair enveloped him, shaking his whole body. The confused group looks back as a wolf lunges towards the woman with a bow. She reaches for an arrow, only to grasp air. 'Is this the end?' She thinks to herself as she curls instinctually into a defensive pose.
The wolf squeals before falling to the ground. Confused, the woman looks at the road. The corpses of all 20 to 30 wolves were being covered by roots. One by one the ground began to swallow them. There are no signs of wounds, poison, or blood. The woman could only tell that their heart just suddenly stopped beating, similarly to the wolf that jumped on top of her.
She attempts to trace the source of these roots and finds a person waving desperately for them to come over. The choppy dirt path and grassy hill is instantly flattened into a smooth road. Even the capital's roads aren't this flat. The coach driver peeks out one of the tears on the canvas after checking on the body lying motionless.
"Do we go over there?" His voice shakes, unable to recover from the shock.
"Do we have any other choice? Maybe that person can save our leader. He'll die before we get to the capital." At the sound of the woman's sharp words, the girl begins to sob uncontrollably. The woman bends down and tries her best to comfort her as the coach driver directs the horses over to the unknown man.
"Whew, I'm glad they're coming over here now." Cain sighs as he plops back down on the ground. 'That was the most physical activity I had the past few days…' He looks back looking for Dresil just in time to see her merging with the cotton in his clothes. Her body spreads out into multiple vines as they weave themselves into Cain's shirt.
[Master, are you sure it's alright to bring them here?] A familiar voice echoes throughout Cain's skull.
'Dresil? How are you doing that? I know you are residing in my clothes right now, but that shouldn't give you telepathy…'
[Master, unless you think with the intent to talk to me, I won't be able to hear it. This is a form of thought transmission monsters are able to do.]
'Woooaaahhh, that's another thing added to the list to investigate.' [Eh ehm… Test--, testing, 1 … 3…] Cain tries to communicate several times to Dresil before finally succeeding.
[There you go Master, although it is rough, I can hear you.] Dresil responds in a delighted tone.
[Sweet. As for … answer to your question… The best way to enter … capital without raising suspicion … to go with a group. Especially since my clothes look weird … the average perso… Can you also translate for … in real time? And scan my memories of what just happened, let me know if I missed any crucial information in their conversation.]
[As expected of the Master. Master has thoroughly thought about this. Translating will not be an issue.]
'Not really… this is just common sense for people who have read isekai manga.' A magic circle forms around Cain's mouth and ears, containing Dresil's knowledge of the native language. As the two finish their conversation, the worn and torn carriage arrives. An elf hops out the back, dropping her bow accidentally. She rushes over to Cain.
"Please, please, save him!" She begins to beg, holding back the fear in her voice. "I'll do anything for you if you can save him!" 'Hopefully this will convince him. Most adventurers would never miss the chance to have their way with an elf.' The elf looks up at Cain, expecting to see a disgusting expression. She is greeted by a face of admiration and unease. Not sure how to react, she freezes.
'Woaaahhhh, it's an actual elf! Wait, that's not important, she said she'll do anything… hmm… ah I'll ask her for the most important thing right now then.'
Cain clears his throat. The elf backs off nervously. "I'll save him if you give me all your demon wolf corpses." The elf stares at him dumbstruck. 'This unknown man, wearing weird clothes, asks for demon wolf corpses? You can't even eat the meat due to its violent mana. No, this has to be a trap!'
The elf looks at him wearily. "Are you sure?" Before Cain has a chance to respond, the coach driver pitches in.
"Just hurry up and say yes! Those corpses are useless to us anyways!" The coach driver appears from the shadow of the carriage and gives Cain a ring. "Here are all of the monsters we've hunted, now please save him!"
The elf smacks the driver and drags him off to the side. "Jared, we're in this mess already because you said yes without thinking! Learn from your mistakes!" The elf begins to scold him. "So, what! Those corpses are dust compared to Jacob's life!" The driver snaps back.
"Hey, children. Stop bickering and show me the patient." Cain interrupts them bluntly, trying to hold back the excitement of having a test subject being brought to him. A giggle repeatedly interrupted by sniffles comes from within the beat-up carriage. The elf and the man stare at each other.
'Was that Victoria? She hasn't even smiled ever since we got hurt badly. It usually takes hours of comforting and assurance before she returns to normal.' The elf thinks as the short man just stares flabbergasted. The elf directs Cain to the back of the carriage.
Cain enters the torn canvas, not daring to touch it for fear of it collapsing immediately. He looks upon the massive body, covering most of the floorboards.
Three gashes caused by claws appear to have torn his armor like butter. 'This is going to be difficult… At least I'll be able to test out the limits of regeneration with this.' Cain begins to ponder how to save the man in front of him until a snark voice cuts him off.
[Dresil, can you compile the anatomy of the average adventurer from the memories you have? If so please send it to me through this method of communication. If you can't, then make a replica using some vines or something similar.]
[Of course Master! Although it won't be too detailed...]
[It'll have to do...]
Several images flood into Cain's mind. He begins to parse through the information, comparing it with his knowledge of the human anatomy while staring at motionless body.
"Heh, you really think this country bumpkin can save your leader? He's already dead!" The mage that was too scared to do anything has finally recovered. At the sound of her words, the girl hunched over their leader resumes her sobbing fits. The elf tries desperately to pry her off so Cain can inspect the wound.
"Where was that attitude when you were fighting the wolves, huh?!" The elf snaps at the woman while sheltering the girl. The mage cowers in recollection of the nightmare. On closer inspection, Cain realizes the girl is a priest. Ignoring the woman, he shuffles over to the girl.
"Are you a priestess? Can you not heal him?" Cain asks with a soothing voice. She stares at him with a confused look, attempting to hold back her tears. 'This girl looks 15, maybe 16… why is she doing something this dangerous? Either way, if I stick close to this group, I'll be able to investigate holy magic too.'
The girl responds in between sniffles. "No.. sniff.. I ran out of… sniff… mana."
"Ah, I see." Cain moves over to the body, kneeling down at its side. The floorboards have been stained red, except for some lighter imprints from people standing or kneeling. He begins to inspect the wound in detail.
'Each claw mark is almost a meter long and 5 centimeters wide, stretching from his left shoulder to his right hip. Each gash has pierced at least one vital organ, his left lung appears to have been filleted. If it weren't for this girl's healing magic, he may have died on the spot.' Cain thinks to himself as a raspy voice reaches his ears.
"Don't worry about me, take care of my party members first."
Cain injects his mana into the body, using it to stop the bleeding and direct the blood along the proper channels. The body's mana appears to have been completely depleted. After stabilizing the body's wounds with no change in appearance, he looks back at the driver. He has a deep gash on his left arm, his blood trickling slowly. The elf has a cut on her right leg. The mage doesn't even have a single scratch even though the priestess appears to have cuts and bruises.
[Master, that mage is from one of the three most important families. If you're involved with her, I'm afraid troublesome things will happen.]
[Thanks for the heads up Dresil. The way I see it is, if I get involved with her, I can form enemies to experiment, er, I mean spar with.]
Cain looks back to the body sprawled on the floor. He begins his repairs on the patient's lung using his mana to speed up the natural regeneration of the body while fending off bacteria and rearranging everything in their correct spots, occasionally creating new cells from mana. Once he got accustomed to the process, his thoughts began to wonder.
'According to the manga I've read… the correct course of action would be to ignore her. Assumedly, she is a spoiled brat who everyone pays attention to whether they want to or not, especially since she looks pretty. Once someone denies her of this attention, she'll attempt to figure out why from frustration.
'Worst case scenario, she'll just send some guinea pigs (assassins) to me. From this point, I'll just need to put on an act of hesitantly agreeing to whatever she says after denying it multiple times. Since she's rich I can even get some treasures from her while I'm at it.'
To the others it looks as if Cain has frozen in time. They dare not disturb him for fear of messing him up. The mage speaks up after recovering her wits from earlier. "See! He doesn't even know holy magic! How could he heal him?" A splinter of wood flies across the carriage, followed by a sharp yell from the elf. "Shut up!" The driver walks over to Cain.
"Excuse me sir, can you heal him or not?"
"Just call me Cain, and yes I can. Go ahead and introduce yourselves and what elements you can use as I work so I know how to address each of you. I'll be needing a ride to the capital as well." The mage scoffs at being ignored once again.
[Dresil, cook some meat for me while I work please.]
[Yes, Master.]
The elf replies, "I'm Veronica Crestbreezer, a C-rank ranger. I'm almost at the fourth circle and use the wind element. This little girl is Victoria Albania, a D-rank healer who can also use a little fire magic. Our leader you're about to heal is Jacob Ursa. He is a B-rank tank who uses the earth and water elements to strengthen his body and armor. The little boy over there is Jared Whittle, a C-rank assassin that can use the shadow and air elements. That disgusting woman is Catherine Tri'laze, a fifth circled B-rank mage." The elf scowls at her while she says this.
"Thank you, Veronica. I'll need everyone to step out. A fire should already be prepared in the small cave over there." Cain responds while taking off Jacob's armor and prepares to heal at a faster pace.
The group hesitantly leaves the carriage and sits by the fire. They arrange the massive leaves laying around as bedding. Roots are holding several kilograms of meat, roasting each piece delicately, filling the cave with a mouthwatering aroma.
"Do you really think he can save Jacob?" Victoria's voice quivers as she says his name.
"I hope so… I couldn't detect what magic circle or element he has though." The elf responds, staring at the meat. "Are these the demon wolves from earlier?"
Jared moves closer to the meat, reaching to take a piece of it. A root appears from the ground and slaps the back of his hand. Shocked, he rubs his hand as he retreats to his spot. "Looks like it… This guy is sketchy no matter how you look at it."
"Says the assassin…" Out of habit, Veronica mocks Jared. They sit in a solemn silence for what seems like hours. Creaks from the carriage echo throughout the cave as Cain walks out. Everyone but Catherine rushed to meet him with expectant gazes.
"Everyone go sit back down, he just needs to rest."
"Is he really ok?" The elf inquires, suspicious of this newcomer.
"Go see for yourself." Cain replies as he walks past them towards the fire. The group rushes into the carriage. Moments later, laughter and crying can be heard.
They walk out slowly and collapse next to the fire. The elf is the only one who remains awake, unsure of whether or not she can trust this guy. Cain takes this opportunity to ask some questions.
"Do monsters usually exit the forest like that?"
Victoria looks away. This is obviously not an easy subject to talk about. "Only days before a monster invasion occurs will they be able to cross the border. The adventurer's guild usually lets us know when this will happen. They didn't say anything this time though." 'Wait, why didn't they? The dean was even late to unlock the guild this morning as well…' Cain interrupts the elf's train of thought.
"A monster invasion? When does that occur?"
"It usually occurs when the barrier separating the forest and these plains weaken. The magic circles enforcing the border are maintained by the capital and require immense amounts of mana to sustain. A few weeks every year, an invasion occurs when the barrier weakens.
"During this time, the church asks for donations of mana from everyone, despite how much you have, while the adventurers fend the monsters off. They use this mana to maintain the barrier for another year. The weird thing is, the church asked for donations four days ago and it lasted for a day…" The elf trails off as she attempts to find a connection.
'So, the ceremony ended three days ago… isn't that when I came to this world? I'm not getting a good feeling about this.' Before Cain has time to think it through carefully, a root offers him a piece of meat.
"You're not seriously going to eat that are you?" The mage looks at him with disgust. She has been ignored this entire time and finally mustered up the courage to speak.
As Cain takes a bite, he replies, "Why not? I need to eat lunch and it tastes good." The elf immediately jumps up shielding the sleeping Jared and Victoria with her body as the mage runs away.
Cain looks at them confused as several moments pass by without anything happening. The elf sits back down slowly, staring at Cain suspiciously.
"You didn't explode?" She finally asks.
"Why would I? People don't explode out of nowhere." Cain responds dumbfounded.
"They do when they eat monster meat due to the violent mana." The elf reaches for a piece but is rejected by a swatting root.
[Dresil… didn't you say adventurers eat this meat when they're short on food?]
[Yes, Master. They explode shortly after most of the time.] Dresil responds in her flat tone, unaware of what the sentence implied.
[And you didn't think to mention this beforehand?] Cain asks worriedly. He stares at the meat he is holding with a suspicious gaze.
[It was not needed, Master. Those puny adventurers explode due to the limits of mana their body can contain. With the Master's specially constructed veins and heart, the Master can eat dragon meat without a problem.]
[Dragon meat? Sounds tasty…]
As this conversation takes place, Cain finishes off his fifth and sixth skewer. Catherine peeks in slowly, disappointed to see that Cain is still breathing. 'Maybe I can get his help with this stupid family tradition? He does seem to be powerful.' Catherine sits back down as she begins to plot her schemes.
Upon the arrival of Catherine, Veronica remembers what Cain said earlier. "You do know it's past lunch right?" Cain looks at her shocked, almost dropping his eighth skewer. He looks outside as the sun is setting, casting a bloody red sky over the city.
'What's up with this ominous view… well as long as it doesn't interrupt my meals and naps it doesn't matter. I didn't realize it took that long to heal Jacob.' Cain continues to eat his skewers before stopping momentarily.
"You guys should rest here for the night then. Jacob shouldn't be moved for a while; his body needs time to get adjusted. We can go to the capital tomorrow morning. If possible, could you direct me to the adventurer's guild as well? I would like to register." Cain looks over at the carriage as it collapses. Dresil's roots slowly replace the covering.
"Sure, we need to report this anyways. I thought you were at least an S-rank adventurer?" Veronica replies as she makes a bed to sleep on from the remaining leaves.
"Nah, I'm travelling from afar so I'm not registered on this continent yet." Cain replies as he finishes the remaining skewers. The fire disappears under the ground, once more. As the light has gone out, everyone but Cain falls asleep. A multitude of vines emerge from Cain's clothes, slowly taking on Dresil's form.
"Master, is there really a need to go with them? With the Master's power, he could easily overpower the city guards and walk in." Dresil's half formed figure asks from the dark. She begins to create more leaves to blanket everyone but the mage who passed out earlier.
"That would only create future troubles… This is the easiest way to go undetected. Not to mention, these adventurers can collectively use every element. This would give me plenty of opportunities to discover how magic normally operates in this world, along with the common sense that the natives here have. When I go to the guild, I can challenge some officials to see how they fight as well.
"As long as I have enough mana, it will be impossible to kill me unless I'm instantly vaporized, or my head is damaged. Until I find ways to prevent this, it would be best to lie low, or at the very least, prevent making enemies left and right. The worst thing I can do is go blazing in without any knowledge of this world whatsoever." Cain gathers some of the freshly made leaves to set up his bed. 'Oh, I forgot to ask Dresil something due to all of the events that occurred.'
"Dresil, did you absorb some of my mana last night? I was extremely tired this morning." Cain looks over where Dresil was sitting. He sees her merging with the cave as she appears to be entering a state similar to hibernation. 'Is she avoiding me? I'm probably just thinking too much, it's probably hard for her to move around a lot without the sun anyways.' Cain's thoughts roam through the possible experiments that can be conducted tomorrow as he gradually falls asleep.