Magic Beast and Monster
Monster is the category made by the adventurer guild to classify the creatures of the world that possess magical properties and a magic core inside them. The origin of the word 'Monster' is the term for their abilities that surpass humans and threatens our safety. Creatures like slimes, wyverns, gargoyles, and dragons fall into this category.
On the other hand, magic beasts are beasts and animals that possess a magic core inside them and have the ability to use magic and monster-like abilities. The main characteristic that distinguishes a normal beast and a magic beast is the existence of the magic core inside them.
The origin of monsters and magic beasts are still unknown and unverified, but one of the most trusted theory is that they exist because of the excessive amount of mana contained in the world. The beasts that got exposed to a dense region filled with mana got forced to evolve into a magic beast, while places that contained too much mana like a dungeon gives birth to monsters in the world
-Encyclopedia of Monsters and Magic Beasts, Great Library of Eureka, The city of academy and magic, Ausbildia
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The room Lichia leads them into is one of the special rooms inside the mercenary guild that are usually used for meetings between a mercenary party and their client.
"I didn't expect we will be meeting again like this, Mr. Lyan. It's nice to meet you again. Please forgive us for the inconvenience you experienced yesterday," Abraham gives a deep bow toward Lyan.
"Ah... It's fine, really. I'm the one who arrogantly caught her thinking that she needs to be caught," (Lyan)
"Oh~ So you're the young man gramps mentioned last night, huh..." Madam approached Lyan with a playful smile as she observes his whole body.
As the Madam observes him, Lyan observes her as well. Her side-swept purplish red hair gives her a hint of boldness, playfulness, and beauty, while her sharp eyes made Lyan remember Griselda's predator eyes. Her body language is radiating an aura of a courtesan, but her eyes and the confidence residing inside it are radiating the aura of a veteran mercenary.
When Lyan heard the term 'Madam', what entered his mind is a big-built lady with bulky muscles or a fat lady with thick make-up. But the one that appeared before him is a beauty that didn't lose to Belle.
"Hou~ You're quite an interesting one, aren't you? It'll be reassuring to have you help us, boy. My name is Josephine Marguerite. Nice to meet you," (Madam)
(Boy, huh... I keep on forgetting that my body had returned to its youth as well...) (Lyan)
"My name is Lyan Arkanium Evocatore. It's my pleasure to meet you, Lady Marguerite," Lyan replied with a slight bow.
(Oh! So that's his full name!) (Rea & Lichia & Belle)
"Heh! Quite a polite one, aren't you? I heard that you saved my girls in the forest and saved Alina from falling inside the house last night," The Madam takes Lyan's right hand and grips it.
"Thank you for saving those girls. I'll give you your rewards after we finish the search, so please help us," There's only gratitude inside the Madam's eyes as she thanked Lyan. Lyan could feel how precious the girls are to the Madam.
(Well, she left the brothel together with Mr. Abraham to search for the girls personally. They must be something more than just her employees) (Lyan)
"It's my pleasure to help. But of course, as a mercenary, I'll eagerly wait for the rewards you'll be giving me," (Lyan)
"Heh! That's a good response you give there. You can count on me for the rewards," (Madam)
"Hm? Lady Belle. How did your curse disappear? Did Mr. Lyan dispel it?" (Abraham)
"Ah! You're right! He dispelled it for me, gramps!" (Belle)
"I see... Then I guess we have another reason to be grateful to him. Now we don't have to worry about searching for the curse dispelling ingredients and focus on searching Lady Alina and Lady Xena," (Abraham)
"Now, I'll be explaining how we're going to proceed," (Madam)
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---Xena's PoV---
Just like how we planned last night, Alina and I depart to the forest to search for the dark attribute magic core and the Flaahgra's seed at the third Bell.
Since we still have the map, it only takes us two hours to arrive at the place where we killed the Flaahgra yesterday. But strangely, even though we passed the place where the cloaked man battled with the goblins, there are no corpses of the goblins that could be found there, only their blood remains on some of the trees.
Well, it's possible that some beasts bring their corpses somewhere to eat them, though.
"Xena! Did you find the seed there!?" (Alina)
"Still looking for it," I replied as I continue to dig the ground with the shovel we brought.
I've read in a book that when a Flaahgra grows mature and becomes capable of eating monsters and emitting poisonous gas, it shoves its seed together with its root deeper into the ground to search for more water since it needed more water and needed more nutrients when there is no prey to eat.
The seed that got planted deep inside serves as a magic core of it as well, gathering and condensing the nature mana from the ground to strengthen itself.
"Ah! I found it!" I informed Alina as I stared at a purplish-green gem-like seed on the ground.
"You did!?" (Alina)
"Yeah! This is the first time I saw one this big, though..."
Its size is as big as a boar. Usually, the seed of a Flaahgra only grows as big as a person's head. This one here must be a variant...
"After curing Belle, could we still sell this? This might sell for quite a lot..."
"Whoa! What is this!? It's bigger than Belle's breast!" (Alina)
"What with that comparison..."
"It just that round things make me remember her breast. While flat thing makes me remember with mine..." Alina starts patting her chest with a gloomy face.
"What are you self-destructing yourself for? Come on! We've spent about two hours and a half here, even though we still have lots of time before the deadline, we should finish this quickly and cure Belle quickly," I put the huge Flaahgra seed inside Alina's bag. Since I'm a scout, Alina said that my speed needs to be prioritized, so she decided to be the one holding the loot bag.
"Okay~ Now what's left is just to search for the dark attribute magic core, right? Let's finish this quickly and cure Belle. I'm curious about how much this seed will sell as well," Alina cheerfully closed the bag.
"Yeah. If the mana contained inside it is as big as its size, it might cost a fortune. We might get closer to paying our debt to the Madam,"
The monster we're searching for the dark attribute magic core is the blight bat. It's a famous omnivorous magic beast that feeds on fruits and small monsters and magic beasts. It has dark attribute mana and feeds on the darkness at night. It usually sleeps inside the Carvana trees to hide from the sunlight.
"Ugh... I hate facing monsters deep inside a forest like this... Escorting quests and delivery quests are much better! We could even go sightseeing and have some refreshing rather than going into the forest and getting drenched in monster's blood!" (Alina)
"We're not even drenched in any blood yet, Alina... But you're right, maybe next week we should try accepting some es- Alina,"
I sensed a gaze of a monster nearby. Alina immediately understands that there is something and ready her sword.
"Duck!"
The both of us splits up. Alina jumped to the right while I jumped to the left. And at that moment, something green dashed towards our position before from above.
"Alina! It's a hobgoblin! Let's finish it quickly!"
The one that appeared is a hobgoblin. Since we jumped at the precise moment, the hobgoblin that jumped from the tree above us could only slash the thin air and became exposed.
"Okay!" (Alina)
Using our usual tactic against a humanoid monster, Alina is the one who charged toward the hobgoblin first. Between me who only holding a knife and Alina that holds a sword, the hobgoblin's attention focuses on Alina whom he deemed as the biggest threat.
"Take this!" (Alina)
*Slash!*
With a powerful but skillful slash, Alina cleanly cut off the hobgoblin's head.
*Plop!*
The head slowly falls to the ground. Blood gushed out the hobgoblin's neck, defiling the ground with blackish-blue blood.
"I guess there's no need for me to do anything, huh,"
"Fufu! My one slash one kill seems to be as great as usual," Alina gives a smug smile as she sheathes her sword back.
Our original plan is for Alina to attack first, but in case she couldn't finish the enemy off in one strike, she'll just make sure to make an opening, while I assassinate the enemy from its blindspot.
"But there are sure lots of hobgoblins appearing in this forest recently, huh..."
"It makes me remember that myth! The birth of the goblin king! I used to read the story about that quest when we first started as mercenaries back then!" (Alina)
"Yeah, if I remember, Belle also-"
Suddenly, a huge figure as huge as an ogre appeared behind Alina.
"Alina!!!"
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Name: Lyan
Occupation: Mercenary
Money: 22,800 Elnes
Weapon: Hobgoblin's Sword
Equipment: Black leather cloak
Grimoire's Companions: 8 High Spirits, Shadow Hobgoblin