It wasn't long before they started to travel on foot. Maintaining flight was not so great for their mana pools, especially if one considers the fact that despite being capable of controlling hundreds of swords manually by mind, Seven can't focus in flight if she forgets she's flying.
Surely enough for her case, absorbing mana while expending it is possible. However forgetting to control your magic is akin to suicide.
So walking was the safest choice, ofcourse intaking the geographic view was enjoyable too.
"Seven, aren't you a magic caster? You're not that strong physically aren't you?"
"Geez, you're the one who suggested we go to the Sun Dragon Empire. Are they really that strict in physical strength? Do they even know of magic?"
"Scarily so. The elite warriors in their local government have armors resistant to magic."
"...That really is scary!"
A magician who can't use magic is as good as a swordsman without a sword. Magicians would be near helpless if they were pitted against people who wear clothes that can nullify magic. So it would be weirder if Seven didn't get terrified of such news.
"Even so, you would still go to such a place?"
"Mhn! Yep! I'm a spellsword so I can't pass up the chance to learn something besides magic."
Estel shifted her gaze to Seven, intrigued.
"I heard humans have these aptitudes too. How balanced exactly are your aptitudes for you to say that you're a spellsword, Seven? I've met other spellswords born in the village before but they weren't as great compared to a focused role."
Estel inquired with a subtle curiosity. Deep down she's not expecting much from Seven's physical aptitude. Spellswords are often mediocre if you spell out their magic power and swordsmanship compared to the more focused roles of Mage and Warrior since they'd have to put their dedication to both categories and so their jobs are mostly half assed even if they're talented.
Since Seven showed a remarkable amount of mana along with her control, it's normal to assume she's the Mage among those focused roles.
"Truthfully I don't even know how to use a sword. I only know how to swing and follow my instincts so you can see me as a mage just holding a sword just in case."
"I see, so that's how it is. That's... A bit hilarious if you put it that way. Actually it is so ridiculous..."
Estel giggled at her own realization.
Telling her the truth about a score of 100 over both Physical and Magic will just make Estel assume Seven is awesome and that wouldn't help Seven at all. It would just make Estel envious.
And it's not like she lied, so all is well. Right now Estel should be thinking Seven is merely a pure mage without being told.
While on their walks, Seven noticed Estel was always glancing from left and right as they walked the dirt road. Judging from the serious look on her face she seems to be cautious of something.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I forgot to tell you this..."
"Tell me what?"
Estel lowered her voice, so quiet that it seemed as if she was only breathing and whispered to Seven.
"I heard the monsters in the Sun Dragon Empire's territory is nothing like the ones we have, that they're far superior. Rumor has it that the reason why not many of us westerners live there is because the forests leading to the Sun Dragon Empire is packed with strong monsters."
That was a hair raising information.
Now both of them became cautious now that they've already set foot in their territory. Subconsciously, Seven erected a magic barrier surrounding her, Estel didn't fail to do the same.
'What is this feeling..?'
She's never felt this much pressure from nature before. Her first encounter of the more scarier monsters was in the Forest Of Scritz, the lycans.
But what is this feeling?
It's as if this whole forest was going to devour them alive.
Seven could see Estel's face darken as a giant silhouette began to engulf their shadows from behind. Something was behind them.
Seven turned around in a flash as eight swords swiftly materialized from her left and right, each burning with crackling fire.
'I guessed right.'
A snake... No, a cobra... A giant white cobra as big as a truck and ten times it's length was standing in front of them. Staring at them with reddened eyes as if ready to pounce at any time.
Seeing such a gigantic monster, Estel was perplexed. Not because of it's big and intimidating size, but because it managed to sneak close to them without being detected despite it's conspicuous presence.
"S-Seven, let's run for it."
Estel whispered under her breath while preparing to use Nature Magic to distract the monster. Green written symbols were starting to form a ring on her wrist.
However, contrary to her plan, Seven charged right in!
It happened before she can even say anything.
The burning swords that guarded Seven's sides launched like missiles from where they were and bombarded the giant snake's eyes, blinding it temporarily and causing the beast to start a rampage.
Seven used that chance to zap through it's defences and materialize a magic sword sharpened to the maximum. Just like the amount of mana infused in that weapon, the unbelievable brightness it emitted was almost blinding to the eyes.
"Body Enhancement! Thirty Percent!"
Seven yelled and mana enveloped her body in a swirl before being fully absorbed by her skin. Her movement and the power of her steps shook the surrounding air and she was able to close the distance between her and the enemy with a quarter of her original speed.
Using the momentum as catalyst, Seven lodged the sharp sword below the snake's snout.
"S-Seven! Watch out!"
Estel shouted a few meters away. What was she scared of? But then, Seven found out.
An unpleasant smell entered her range of scent, and the scent was coming from above her.
Without being warned beforehand, thick and sturdy vines that sprouted out from the ground grabbed Seven from the torso and reeled her towards Estel.
After that, even more thicker and larger plants grew from the ground at a surreal speed and rose with high momentum to form a wall. It instantly separated the two.
However, behind those walls came the sounds of something being trudged on. And then after a series of acids touched the surface of the wall, a hole appeared from the center and became bigger.
The unfriendly crimson eyes stared at them from that hole.
'It's venom is so dangerous it melted through that sturdy looking wall?'
The sharpened magic sword was still apparently embedded on it's mouth but it still looked unstoppable. Rather, it looked almost unfazed.
"Hey Seven let's run, we'll gain nothing from fighting it!"
Estel recommended, however, Seven wasn't quite in the same page. She didn't want to run away and lose this fight.
She lost to Nemisis just the other day really badly. She can't possibly lose again, this time to a mere monster.
"I can beat it and sell it's hide for Gryles so it's okay! Something this strong is bound to have a reward! Don't interrupt this time, Estel!"
At this point, the elf was thinking there was no way to convince Seven to just run away, she didn't do anything but watch as Seven summoned dozens of five meter long swords from the skies to crash down on the serpent.
'I can't rush in carelessly like last time. If that venom touches me even once, I'm betting I'll die within seconds so I'll have to attack from a distance.'
With an attempt to chop the snake in pieces, the swords fell down with overwhelming weight. It seems like the enemy failed to notice it for a brief moment so Seven succeeded in slicing it's tail off while the rest it luckily avoided.
The giant snake hissed loudly from the pain it felt from it's rear. It's desire to flee was surfacing.
"Sorry, but you attacked us first."
Seven raised both her arms.
Six massive, dark-themed, magic swords materialized above the snake and plummeted strongly downwards like pins on the snake's body. Nailing it to the ground in a very painful and gruesome way.
For some reason though, it didn't react. It didn't even seem like it was feeling pain.
Using her newly acquired basic knowledge of Dark Magic, or "Debuff Magic", she applied an effect on those dark swords to nullify the pain receptors of those it impales.
"It wouldn't feel any pain, but since my Dark Magic isn't that good then the pain nullification won't last long. It's gonna have to die now."
"Kill it immediately, Seven! The commotion you made may attract more monsters!"
Estel shouted while hiding inside a cone made out of thick tree branches that she must've conjured.
She was thirty metres away from Seven and the giant snake, but she was already conjuring another spell in the case Seven finds herself in an unexpected pinch.
"Ah... right, right. Let me kill and dissect it real quick, first!"
"Alright!"
She said that, but before Seven could summon Bane Of True Evil, she was suddenly pushed down to the ground.
"Oof..!"
Something hit her from the side. And it definitely wasn't a snake tail, it was a human.
"Please calm down, miss foreigner. We're here to help!"
A girl smaller than Seven was staring right into her eyes. Seven noticed two chignons holding her brown hair together from the sides and judging by her facial features she's definitely not unfamiliar.
But most importantly, that headbutt on Seven's side really hurt her ribs and she was calm to begin with. But Seven didn't spare much thought about that, rather she was more interested in something else.
'Korean? No, Chinese? An asian girl?'
Seven was too busy looking at the newcomer that she forgot to look at the enemy at hand. But the girl already had it covered.
"Byung Gul! Song Li! Kill it quickly before it gets away!"
The girl shouted at the direction where the snake was, making Seven do the same.
Two young men were standing in front of the snake each holding two well fashioned long swords.
"Lucky! We get to practice our newly learned sword technique on a real beast!"
"Silence and focus your internal energy, Byung Gul if you don't want to get sent to the infirmary again with a stretcher."
They were both wearing the same uniform that martial artists would wear back on Earth. There was definitely a similarity.
In unison, a pure white gaseous substance began exuding from their swords and the amount was gradually increasing, flooding the floor with clouds.
Eventually the clouds reached Seven and then Estel. Seven herself touched the clouds and scooped a handful in her hand. She could definitely feel it, that cold moisture sensation.
'What is this? An illusion? Or is it real?'
But her attention was cut short from that and Seven's eyes wandered back to the two swordsmen right in front of her.
"Ascending Cloud Sword Technique: Sky Flower Resurface!"
At the same time, their right feet slid back and both arms wielded their swords.
Like a tornado, the clouds surrounding the two began to swirl and form a spiral on each of them. Caging them inside the rapid rotations like fairies inside a blossoming white flower.
Then like birds, the two leaped so majestically from the ground towards the snake that they seemed to fly. Leaving a trail of clouds and the blossom behind.
At first glance, it seemed as if the two were rushing to their deaths by charging right into the snake's giant mouth that could easily fit the two of them. But instead, from inside the mouth came countless sword slashes by a gale of clouds more than a hundred times every few seconds.
By the time the ones called Byung Gul and Song Li came out from the other side, the snake's head was no more than a thousand pieces of meat.
The clouds enveloping their body dispersed into the environment, and the two landed on the ground effortlessly like they were as light as feathers.
Seven gulped.
That seemed impossible, she's never seen someone slash so fast they create forms of art. Compared to the swordsmanship these youngsters showed, the adventurers from the Star Continent felt like toddlers who couldn't even hold a wooden sword yet.
Seven didn't even realize, but all the clouds around them disappeared like they were nothing but a dream or an illusion.
Was that magic? Or pure swordsmanship?
The latter seemed too scary to be true.
After their work was done, the duo came rushing over to Seven and the girl who knocked into her.
"Are you alright, miss foreigner?"
"Don't worry, you're safe now!"
"You're not hurt, are you?"
Seven was bombarded by words of assurance from the three first asians she'd seen in this world, however she remained unfazed.
"You guys stole my kill!"