[Kieeek―!]
Bang―!
"They just fall over with one hit?"
After 30 minutes of dealing with the rats, it was surprisingly uneventful. At this point, the term "cleaning" felt almost embarrassing to use.
Leo carefully picked up the dead man-eating rats and put them into a sack.
Despite the rats climbing up his legs madly, they easily fell off with just a wave of his hand.
Now, cleaning up the corpses was more troublesome than dealing with the rats themselves.
I burned the top of the barrier to drop the rats onto the ground and answered simply.
"It's because you're strong."
"Is that so... Have you filled your sack too?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's clean up and head back."
Leo looked down at the rats caught on the tips of his boots.
The muddy ground from yesterday's rain was littered with rat corpses the size of a hand.
Leo clicked his tongue as he watched.
"I know we have to deal with them, but there are so many of them. It's a bit pitiful. It would be nice if there were a cure."
I nodded at his words.
These kinds of monsters were ordinary animals that had acquired magic power and gained a core like humans. They constantly craved magic power.
The only treatment was to periodically infuse them with divine power. Even then, it wasn't a fundamental solution.
'It's certainly pitiful when you think about it that way.'
Feeling such sentiments while facing a horde of rats trying to devour our flesh was a luxury. Normally, people are too busy surviving to have sympathy for man-eating rats.
Leo was this kind of person in the novel too.
Although I don't remember the exact timing, he eventually developed a cure for monster-specific diseases.
I tied the full sack and floated it in the air as I spoke.
"Just make the cure. Why don't you try making it later?"
"Me? No way, even the adults haven't done it."
"What?"
I couldn't help but laugh at his disbelief.
Thinking back, the part I read was quite far from now.
Knowing what future Leo would create, I couldn't help but smile.
I turned around and patted Leo's shoulder as we headed back to the starting point.
"If you don't do it, I will. Just lend me your family's lab."
"First, you need to survive."
After some idle conversation, we arrived at a familiar location.
The manager, who happened to be outside, greeted us.
"You finished quickly."
"We'll drop this off and head back."
I placed the sack full of rats in front of the building.
The manager approached the bulging sack with a curious look.
"Why is this so... hm?!"
The manager, who opened the sack, was speechless.
"Where did all these come from... I've never seen so many man-eating rats before."
"Are there really that many?"
"Yes, with this many, you might have eradicated the entire population. Usually, even if we find a lot, it's just half a dozen."
"They probably sensed our magic power and swarmed more than usual. They're fundamentally starved for magic."
The manager nodded at Leo's explanation.
"I see. With this amount, they won't show up for a while. It's been a problem when they occasionally reached residential areas. This is fortunate."
"Glad to be of help."
"Judging by the weight, this should be worth at least 50,000 won."
The manager said after lifting and placing down the sack.
I nodded at that. Working for an hour and earning roughly 500,000 won in value was something you couldn't find anywhere else.
'We practically eradicated them...'
Even Leo, who grew up in a wealthy family and lacked a sense of reality, seemed satisfied with the compensation for the time spent.
Leo, once again inside the barrier, shrugged as he spoke.
"I can earn a month's allowance in an hour like this. This job isn't so bad. Thanks to you, I had a good experience."
"Sure. Just don't assume you can always earn this much in an hour."
"Of course, I know... I know."
Leo rolled his eyes as he answered.
He didn't seem to know. He was the epitome of a rich kid. Fortunately, he didn't follow the protagonist to the royal palace for financial work later.
Leo, noticing I didn't believe his words, quickly changed the topic.
"Anyway, we encountered some decent ones during our investigation."
"Yeah."
Although they were fast and large for rats, making them difficult for non-mages, we just had to cover our bodies with a barrier to prevent them from biting, making them easy to deal with.
"With this difficulty level and 50,000 won, we could earn enough for two of the items you wanted if we stayed here all night. And with me here, it'll go even faster."
"Right. But are you planning to stay here the whole time? I thought you'd suggest stopping after catching enough."
"Since we're here, we should do it properly. Not many volunteer for this, so I think it's good to get it done thoroughly while we're here."
"Well, if you say so."
At that moment, I stopped again.
Leo looked at me with a wary expression.
"What, you smell blood again?"
"Yeah."
"You've got a good nose. I can't smell anything."
"This time, it's cleaner. Not like the pus-mixed blood from before."
"...You can tell that much? People might actually think you're from Pleroma..."
Leo shook his head.
I brought my finger to my lips, signaling him to be quiet, and moved slowly.
With the talking stopped, only the sounds of small creatures rustling and the wind rustling the leaves remained.
Tadadak―
'Hm?'
The moment I heard something unusual in the silence, an indistinguishable mass jumped out of the bushes.
Bang―!
I frowned, moved the barrier, and stepped back.
"That scared me."
"What is it?!"
It seemed that the creature had simply crashed into us while running wildly, not intending to attack.
After confirming that no further attacks were coming, I flipped over the collapsed brown mass lying on the ground.
"It's a rabbit. It's not contaminated."
While I poured some water to wake the rabbit, Leo shouted from behind, seemingly dissatisfied with my defense.
"Hey, if you put that much distance, you should put all your strength into the barrier."
"You told me to reduce the power before."
"That was about the edges of the barrier. And this isn't a sparring session. Don't forget to connect your lower body to the ground to brace for recoil!"
"Even in this situation, you're giving a lesson."
Despite my words, I felt the same thing when casting the spell just now.
'This is why practical practice outside of sparring is important.'
Balancing academic magic practice with lethal magic requires actual combat experience to be most effective.
Of course, you can't see the full effect in a place where small creatures like these usually appear, but if I can't find real combat later, I'll have to take down Pleroma.
'But...'
This is ambiguous.
I watched the fleeing rabbit and fell into thought.
Can we really say there are no dangerous creatures here?
The rabbit had run without even checking what was ahead.
Moreover, I smelled another scent of blood earlier.
'We should head back.'
The barrier we checked on the way here was a lower-level barrier. It indicated that there shouldn't be dangerous monsters around.
Even if there were contaminated animals, they'd be like the rats and rabbits we encountered earlier.
There was no need to worry much if they weren't monsters, but encountering carnivorous animals that eat humans at night was unnecessary.
I quietly spoke while examining the footprints on the muddy ground.
"Leo, prepare for defense. Let's turn back and avoid this."
"…I was going to say the same. Those are wolf tracks, right?"
We hadn't heard of wolves living around here.
However, the footprints in front of us undeniably belonged to a large animal.
Leo adjusted his grip on his wand and strengthened his body barrier.
[Grrooooo....]
At that moment, an indescribable cry echoed faintly throughout the forest.
Whatever the creature was, it didn't sound like a herbivore.
We're already too late.
I slowly took a step back.
Suddenly, two red lights formed a line and extended towards us.
[Graaaw!]
Bang―!
"Ugh!"
I crouched to maintain my balance.
It was much stronger than the rabbit.
Fortunately, thanks to following Leo's advice earlier, the caster didn't get bounced back from the recoil.
Instead...
'The barrier is cracked.'
Ordinary animals shouldn't be able to break my barrier. Given the light I saw earlier, it's highly likely that it's a contaminated creature.
I rolled the wand in my hand and transformed it into a sword.
Creating a new barrier towards the sky, I shattered it, briefly illuminating our surroundings.
'…!'
This is insane.
Leo and I both couldn't hide our shock at the fleeting scene revealed before the light went out.
"…This is..."
It wasn't just a wolf.
A solid horn had grown inside the wolf's ears. It was an unimaginable combination that left our mouths agape.
'This is crazy.'
The cracks in the barrier were probably thanks to that horn. But that wasn't the surprising part. That was still within the realm of understanding.
My gaze shifted to the wolf's legs.
Unlike its long, thick grey-furred chest, its legs were short and covered in yellow fur.
It wasn't just a matter of fur color. Anyone could see those legs belonged to another animal.
There was no more time to analyze the situation.
The wolf, reacting to our magic, started to rampage even more.
[Graaaaah!]
Bang! Bang!
I kept firing spells to distract the wolf's vision.
Then, the plants around us thickened and lengthened, wrapping around the wolf.
It was the spell Leo had used on me before. The attempt to grab its legs failed, but it managed to snag its horn.
Because it had the legs of a herbivore instead of its own, the wolf easily lost its balance.
Taking advantage of the opening, I swung the wand. The tree behind the wolf snapped in the opposite direction and fell.
Bang!
The wolf's scream was drowned out by the crash.
I didn't hold back at all, but for now, Leo didn't say anything.
Leo, pale and wiping the blood splattered on his skin, averted his gaze from the corpse.
"…It's a chimera."
"Yeah."
Connecting different animals haphazardly like that and making them move as one is generally impossible.
Only magic can make such an absurd thing possible, but even so, magic doesn't naturally fuse different animals. It was clearly a human-made result.
"I felt this in the barrier earlier too, but according to the information you found, this isn't supposed to be a dangerous area. Why is this..."
I nodded at Leo's words.
There wasn't any mention of this in the novel when the protagonist came here.
I considered the possibility of different beasts appearing due to the timing, but I didn't expect such a suspicious monster to show up.
"The barrier here was originally low-level, indicating it wasn't a dangerous area."
After confirming that the creature was completely dead, I knelt and examined it closely.
"Leo, come over here. What do you think the main body of this creature is?"
"Haa..."
Leo sighed deeply, as if he couldn't bear to look, and took a spot opposite me.
"…From the head to the chest, it's a wolf. The horn and legs seem to be from a goat. So, the main body must be the wolf."
"Yeah, I thought the same."
"Why, who would do such a thing..."
Leo's face twisted in disgust.
Shaking my head, I stood up.
"We can think about that later. Get up. This is just the beginning."
"What?"
"No matter how much of a chimera it is, its habits should follow the main body. Do you remember the footprints we saw earlier?"
"...."
Leo's face hardened instantly as he understood my words.
The small carnivorous animal footprints flashed through his mind. But those were from another creature, not the wolf we just killed.
Leo muttered softly.
"…There's no reason for a wolf to leave goat tracks."
"Right, so they would live in packs, following the wolf's habits."
"How many are usually in a pack?"
"Well, if we're lucky, it'll be fewer than ten."
I readjusted my grip on the wand.
The distinct wave of non-human magic touched my skin. It was getting closer.
[Grroooar….]
It was too late to call for reinforcements.
If we turn our backs now, they'll chase us madly. These wolves, starved for magic, won't leave a mage alone.
Even if we manage to shake them off, if they descend into the residential areas, many lives will be at risk.
'Should I attempt it with the barrier?'
No, that won't work. The barrier is just a secondary tool; it's not perfect.
Considering that rats occasionally reached residential areas, it was clear the barrier couldn't guarantee safety.
I spun the wand in my hand.
A red glowing spear formed.
"We need to deal with them all before dawn, right?"