Chapter 79: Discovery
Norte's petite frame being flung by the boar's tusks appeared to slow down like slow motion.
With blood rushing to my head, I charged at it with my sword at the ready. There was a sense of piercing impact, the boar's cries, but it ran off still bleeding.
"Norte!"
I rushed over in a panic, but she was in bad shape. The surroundings had turned pitch dark since she dropped the torch, but I could feel that a considerable amount of blood was flowing.
The tusks had cut through her thigh, right between her leather armor and boots.
"Master..."
"No need to talk."
What should I do first? First, stop the bleeding. Do we have any cloth?
I took off my leather armor, then my shirt, and tore it. Where should I tie it?
"Shiro, calm down. First, put me in priest mode."
I suddenly realized what Rina was saying.
"But..."
"It's okay. My level went up during the last sleep."
I see! If Rina reaches Priest Level 2, she should be able to use "Heal"!
I hadn't noticed that, being so flustered. I quickly changed Rina into priest mode.
『Rina - Priest (LV 2)
Spells: "Purify," "Heal"』
You can do it!
"Please, Rina."
"Okay, Norte, it's going to be okay... 'Heal.'"
A faint light appeared in the darkness, and the wounds rapidly closed up. I applied the healing spell again. Her rough breathing calmed down.
"Thank you, Rina-san."
Thank goodness! ...And this is my fault.
First, I shouldn't have pushed myself in the darkness.
And I had overlooked the possibility of someone getting injured or afflicted. I had become accustomed to having healers like Carena in previous dungeon raids and had forgotten their importance.
Plus, I had neglected to check the current levels and skills of the party members, something I used to do...
Because of me, Norte might have lost her life.
"Thank you, Rina. And I'm sorry, Norte. It's my fault."
"No, it's not, Master."
"No, it's Shiro's fault."
Norte interrupted Rina.
"You're our 'Master,' so think about your own woman, okay?"
Rina isn't "my woman," but yes, Rina is right.
"Yeah, I promise. I won't let you go through this again."
***
We returned to the inn, rested until dawn, and had a light breakfast before setting out again.
First, we eliminated the two kobold nests to the north, just as we had done yesterday.
Norte had reached Level 3 as a blacksmith, but I didn't want to push her too hard since experience points still flowed to the party.
Then we searched for the scent of the boar we missed during the night.
Since we had spotted it once, with enough concentration, we could sense its presence, although it was quite far away.
It seemed to be 1-2 kilometers to the east of the village. We hadn't ventured there yet, so it didn't appear on the map, but we had no choice but to go and investigate.
As a precaution, I crafted small hardened ceramic shields and stored them with my clay skill "Storage." This way, I could quickly retrieve them when needed.
We followed the boar's scent deeper into the dense forest of the mountains.
Since there were no paths, it was tough going. We created three ceramic "axes" and cleared the underbrush as we progressed, which took time.
While the boar's scent was getting closer, we couldn't pinpoint its exact location.
Moreover, we began sensing the presence of other creatures around us.
I decided to have Rina move in a slightly different direction on her own.
In Rina's case, if she encountered any creatures, she could immediately receive a signal through telepathy and "Return Home" to retreat.
Despite the risks, with me and Rina using detection skills while separated, we could triangulate the positions of the boar and other creatures.
It worked out well.
By using map skills in conjunction with our detected directions, we realized that a group of creatures had gathered in a strip-like area where we couldn't see them yet.
I used the discovery skill in that area.
It seemed that something was there near the edge of the group of creatures.
I had Rina return, and we proceeded with caution.
I sensed a stronger presence of monsters than before.
I handed a shield to Norte, and Rina and I carried bows on our backs. The bow I gave Rina was the one Norte had been using. Although they weren't visible yet, the map skill showed three or four red dots getting closer.
To intimidate us as we entered their territory, we heard sharp cries. Almost simultaneously, arrows flew towards us, but I blocked them with clay walls.
When I pulled out one of the arrows stuck in the wall, I saw that it was a rudimentary arrow with a stone tip.
"They're probably kobolds. They're fast, so be careful."
I warned the two of them.
Soon, two kobolds appeared on each side, darting in and out of the bushes. I set up clay walls on both sides, and I aimed an arrow at the one on the left through a gap. I still missed, but my level was different from before.
Turning around, I saw that one kobold on the other side had already been defeated by Rina's fireball, and the other had dodged the second fireball and was charging. I stepped forward to protect Norte, but she moved faster than I expected. I had thought the same yesterday; she was agile.
In turn, I closed the gap with the kobold and swung my hammer. Surprisingly, I shattered the kobold's stone axe as it tried to defend itself, sending it flying. Strong.
For now, there were no monster traces nearby, so I changed Rina into a priest to collect the magic stones.
"Norte, that was impressive."
"Thank you very much."
She looked fired up. It seemed like the injury's effects were gone.
Now, all that was left was that "something" in the area where the group of monsters had been.
I had a hunch as I moved through the underbrush.
Soon, my field of vision opened up, and I saw the entrance to a large cave on the mountainside, just as I had suspected.
The boar that had attacked the village's fields and the kobolds we had encountered earlier had probably come from here.
It made sense that the presence of monsters in a strip-like formation was showing on the map.
We had found a new dungeon.