The song quickly came to an end, but it is still resounding within the audience's minds.
"…Whoa, it sound much clearer and beautiful than before."
"Yup, I can almost see a different scenery~."
But…
"Nothing happened…?"
"Nope, it worked. Yenni, stop here."
Yenni is confused but stopped the sleigh nonetheless and the wolf followed its speed to zero. Since there is no friction on the sleigh the wolf cannot stop abruptly or it will be hit, so there is magic enchanted on the sleigh to decelerate.
We stopped in the middle of the forest close to reaching the other side as I took out my knives and throwing them to different locations. I also carved various runes and sigils on different trees.
"This will hide us and deter the monsters from closing in."
The trio looks confused as I linked the them into a magic formation using the knives I threw as a power source.
"? Are we camping here?"
"Nope."
"Then why?"
"Your song was too successful, it is basically a [Song of Captivation]. Soon, a hoard of monsters that heard your song will gather here in a frenzy."
All three were stunned at my word, it took them a few seconds to restart.
"What?! I cast an AoE Taunt!?"
"You did Bard, well done!"
She panicked, perhaps taking my words as sarcasm.
"R-Run away! Run away, Aruk. Run away!!"
-Pow
"Ow!"
"Calm down."
"But you're going to die-"
-Pow
"Ahh!"
"I'm a B-rank hunter idiot! What did I tell you, there is literally nothing capable of killing me here."
"…Oh, sorry…"
-Pow
"Why did you hit me!?"
"…I just felt like it!"
Both Drom and Yenni were calmer than the elf girl since they remembered that I set up a barrier.
"Now, let's sit and watch the show! Did everyone bring their lunch?"
Soon after the barrier was activated, one by one, monsters converged around us. They searched around the area whilst avoiding each other, but soon too many crowded together and fights inevitably broke out. All without coming within 10 meters of us as we ate comfortably between the trees.
"Uwaa… It's so bloody."
So they say, but they are eating just fine.
"I'm more surprised by how well the barrier is working. They don't even realise that they are avoiding us."
"The barrier is illusory in nature so they can't mentally recognise this area we are in."
As more and more monsters arrived we return to the hunter's 101 lecture. I introduced the monsters one by one and explained their traits.
"Almost everything in this world, monsters and items, are graded between S and G rank. E, F and G ranks are very common. In terms of power level, a wild bear would be E-rank. Wolves would be F-rank. Animals are all under E-rank. The Direwolf with us has slight magical ability and is considered D-rank."
"Heh~. What about Goblins?" April asked as Goblins begun to appear in droves. There was most likely a nest around this part since the numbers add up to hundreds, scaring away some beasts while the injured and ferocious ones tore into them. Both Yenni and Drom are watching the battle between the goblin faction and the beast faction entranced.
"Slightly stronger than horned rabbits. G-rank. Elite and High goblins are F-rank. Hobgoblin just breaks into E-rank. This classification only works for wild monsters since those that is a part of the civilisation can overcome the rankings by training class and skills. Humans were originally F-rank, but most combat personnel like soldiers are at least D-rank in strength."
"I see~"
Silence pervaded for a moment, not including the war ongoing around us. As I munched on some food I counted the time.
"This is a huge commotion, those from the north mountains should be here soon."
As I was speaking, large shadows broke through the trees and grabbed onto the monsters before taking flight.
"Those are hawks ranging between C and D rank from the mountains up north. They have sharp eyes that can see the forest clearly from miles away. Anything that breaks through the forest canopy becomes their prey."
"Is that why there are no flying monsters in the forest?"
"Yup."
As I finished off some jerky, I looked towards April with amusement.
"Get ready to play another song. This time, play something violent and disastrous."
"Why?" All three wanderers looked toward me and I spoke like it's obvious.
"So many monsters have gathered. It would be a waste if you don't leech some XP, no?"
My question got them fired up, forgetting their apprehension a while ago.
Since I expected this situation already I activated the other function I placed in the barrier, amplification. It will enhance the effect of April's song.
The knives I threw out before started glowing blue as they emptied their stored mana. I signalled the Bard.
"Then, here I go."
April picked up her guitar, hanging around her neck as she started her performance. The song this time is unlike the one before. If the last one was like an eternally spring garden, this one depicts a natural disaster. It illustrates the helplessness of mortals in front of the wrath of nature.
As she sang along her performance, enhanced by my magic, the song resonated throughout the forest as the earth began to quake. Fissures appeared on the earth, swallowing wolves, goblins and orcs all the same. The shifting trees caught some avian off guard and was pierced by the branches.
Wind turned into a storm, grounding the hawks from the mountain. Accompanying the storm, there are thunderclouds gathering in the sky as it rained lightning above the forest, striking down a few wyverns that arrived late to the party.
The monsters could not react to the sudden change as many died and rest injured to various degree. While the scale of destruction surprised me a little, I made sure no monsters escaped beyond the range of disasters.
The song did not last long, only a few minutes. But when April opened her eyes again, what she saw was a land, a few hundred meters around her that experienced a cataclysm, only the area around us unscathed.
"Hmm? Hmmm!??"
"…Holy…"
"…H-Ha… haha…"
All three are muted by the leftover destruction made by a short song. Maybe I overdid the amplification?
It's not my fault, Driel.
"Alright!" I woke them up from their dream. "Lunch break is over, let's get going. We are already near the exit of the forest, it should take no more than half an hour to reach our destination."
"""…"""
While dazed, the dwarf was still a blacksmith and the halfling was still a merchant. They immediately finished off some monsters and jumped at the B-rank wyverns to salvaged everything they can from the thunderstruck corpse.
Wanderers are blessed by the gods with a subspace called [Item Box]. It is a small space the size of a rucksack that can be used for storage. April's has already been filled by her instrument while Drom and Yenni emptied theirs for the claw, fangs and wing membrane of the wyverns and feathers, talon and beak of hawks.
An hour later, we arrived at the city of Terrune, with a fully loaded sleigh.
[Conditions Realised]
[Acquired Title: 'Candidacy of Godhood']
[Title: Candidacy of Godhood
Description: Your skills were borne witness by the World, the Gods and the Sage, and acknowledged by them all. So long as you keep this title, you will be eligible to take one of the highest thrones.]