Chapter 52: What, a D-Rank Demon Beast Like That?

[ Swiftness Lv.1 ]

With the trees packed so tightly together, climbing up wasn’t difficult.

A hop to the left, a hop to the right, and before I knew it, I’d reached the top of the tallest tree.

“Let’s see…”

The view from up here was quite the sight. I swept my gaze across the surroundings.

A few giant birds were flying through the sky, but none of them were carrying an egg.

‘High chance it’s nesting around here.’

I didn’t think it had gone far. Its nest had to be nearby.

Even for a giant bird, carrying that heavy egg over a long distance would be tough.

Honestly, the fact that Deneb was carrying it around like it was nothing was the real anomaly.

That abnormal strength was probably a sign that Deneb was an Awakened One.

And just as I’d guessed—

‘Found it.’

I was hopping from tree to tree, scanning the area, when I saw it.

That unforgettable, massive egg, sitting all alone in a nest at the edge of a high cliff.

‘Good thing I learned Gravity System magic.’

Back in the day, I would’ve been frowning hard at that sight.

Because I’d have had to figure out how to carry that heavy egg.

But now, no problem. I’d learned gravity magic, which let me move objects without worrying about weight.

A sense of pride at reaping the fruits of my learning made a smile slip out.

With light steps, I hopped along the branches and reached the cliff without trouble.

‘Damn, it’s huge.’

The egg was so enormous it was hard to believe it had fit in Deneb’s backpack, and even mixed in with other giant bird eggs, it stood out.

The bird that stole the egg wasn’t small either. The egg in front of me was way bigger than my current body.

Of course, being big didn’t guarantee it was a strong Demon Beast. This was a D-Rank dungeon, after all…

Anyway.

‘Let’s handle this quietly.’

I reached my hand toward the egg. As I activated gravity magic, the huge egg began to rise slowly.

‘Slowly, without anyone noticing.’

I’d finish before the bird that stole the egg showed up.

If the bird appeared and made a ruckus, Deneb might see this scene.

I wanted the egg recovery to be a surprise. Honestly, if we made eye contact here, it’d be embarrassing.

‘Got it.’

Since I wasn’t used to this spell yet, I had to focus hard, and after all that concentration, the egg finally floated in front of me. Man, it was big.

‘Come to think of it, wasn’t it originally in a backpack?’

Something felt off, like it had been stripped away. I quickly looked around, but I didn’t see anything that looked like Deneb’s backpack.

‘No choice. I’ll just have to go back.’

Thinking that, I was about to carefully descend the cliff with the egg.

“CAAAAAAW!!”

A furious screech suddenly slammed into my ears.

I turned my head toward the sound, and there was an uninvited guest… no, the homeowner had returned.

The giant bird was flapping its massive wings rapidly, flying straight toward me.

[ D-Rank Demon Beast, Albatross ]

The Artifact helpfully explained the Demon Beast’s info. Just as I’d expected, it was a D-Rank Demon Beast with nothing special about it.

‘I was hoping to avoid a confrontation.’

But if it wants to die that badly, I can’t help it.

I reached my hand toward the giant bird.

[ Flame Element — Fireball Lv.3 ]

A blazing red magic circle formed in the center of my palm.

WHOOSH—!

A fireball shot out from the magic circle.

The projectile of fire pierced straight through the giant bird.

‘…What? It dodged?’

I thought I’d pierced it, but the bird suddenly dove down fast and dodged easily.

I rubbed my eyes a few times in disbelief. But nothing changed.

The giant bird was still screeching in fury, flying toward me.

‘Have I gotten rusty?’

I never thought I’d make a mistake like this.

I was glad Deneb wasn’t beside me.

It’d be embarrassing. I’d been putting on such a show in front of Deneb.

[ Flame Element — Fireball Lv.3 ]

Focus. I won’t miss this time.

WHOOSH—!

Once again, a projectile wrapped in flames shot toward the giant bird.

The moment it closed to a range where it absolutely had to hit, I smiled with confidence.

“No way you’re dodging this.”

‘Huh?’

But my smile twisted almost immediately.

That crazy giant bird twisted its body at the last second, right before the ball hit, and dodged the Fireball!

‘What the hell, a D-Rank Demon Beast like this?’

At least among the D-Rank Demon Beasts I know, there’s none that can pull off a move like that.

The projectile’s speed wasn’t slow. Even if I’d held back on the power, that has nothing to do with speed.

Of course, if I’d poured in more mana, I could’ve fired it faster than what I just launched, but it was enough to chase down a D-Rank Demon Beast.

‘Something’s off.’

At this point, suspicion is inevitable.

Maybe that beast’s rank isn’t actually D-Rank. But the Artifact has never lied to me before…

While I was running through all sorts of guesses, the giant bird had already flown right up to me and swung its foreleg, tipped with sharp claws.

*SWISH!*

The sound of flesh being sliced.

“…How humiliating.”

But that wasn’t the sound of my body being cut.

“Kuaaak?!”

It was the sound of the giant bird’s wing being torn. Right before its claws reached me, I pulled out a Mana Sword and slashed its wing.

“You should’ve just kept dodging.”

You dare try to fight back against me? I only let my guard down a little because my opponent was a piece-of-shit Demon Beast!

The giant bird tried to flap its wings to escape, but with its torn wing, its speed was noticeably slower than before, and there was no way I’d miss that.

*Thunk!*

I drove the Mana Sword straight into the giant bird’s belly.

“Kuaaak…!”

The giant bird’s thrashing didn’t last long.

“…”

I won, but I don’t feel great about it. I can’t believe it dodged my Fireball twice. The first time, fine, but the second time I should’ve definitely hit it.

I checked the Magic Stone that dropped, and it was just an ordinary D-Rank Demon Beast’s Magic Stone. Did I really go all-out against something like this?

“Hoo.”

I let out an irritated sigh.

Right after.

“Who’s there.”

I turned my head and glared toward the trees as I spoke.

I felt a gaze. That gaze had been watching my fight with the giant bird from the very beginning.

I’d known from the start, but I didn’t pay it any mind since it was staying still.

The owner of that gaze revealed themselves surprisingly quickly. And quite boldly, at that.

“I didn’t think the Demon Beast I was handling would get taken down.”

At the voice from above, I looked up and saw a man sitting on a tree branch.

He hopped down lightly from the pretty tall tree and walked toward me.

White hair, slit eyes — it reminded me of Hames with his similar impression, and I frowned for a moment.

Still, up close, there’s a bit of a difference from Hames.

Hames’s eyes were sharp, but this guy looked a little softer.

Not that it makes him any less unpleasant than Hames, though.

“…Handling?”

More than that, I repeated what he’d said.

“Sorry for startling you. I was controlling that Demon Beast.”

‘Controlling a Demon Beast?’

I’ve never heard of anyone successfully taming a Demon Beast.

“Ah, it’s my ability. I can control living things as I please.”

Whether he read my expression or not, the man kindly explained.

So he directly controls the target itself. That makes sense.

Still, a Hunter with an ability like that… he doesn’t seem like an ordinary Hunter.

‘What’s a Hunter with that kind of ability doing in a D-Rank dungeon—’

While I was lost in thought for a moment. The man, who’d been staring straight at me, slightly opened his closed eyes.

‘Cheap trick!’

I reflexively wrapped my cloak around my eyes. A slit-eyed guy suddenly opening his eyes is the same as trying some shady business! And on top of that, he said he can control living things. That means it’s an ability similar to brainwashing. It must be an ability that works through eye contact! As if I, with my knowledge from the previous world and the countless experiences I’ve accumulated on my way to becoming an S-Rank Hunter, would fall for that!

“…Huh?”

The man reacted immediately. At his flustered voice, the corner of my mouth was about to curl up.

“Covering your eyes doesn’t mean you can resist… Why isn’t it working?”

“…”

Contrary to my guess, it seemed the brainwashing trigger wasn’t eye contact after all…

Feeling embarrassed, I was just about to lower my cloak a little.

“Don’t make that face, young lady. I’m pretty surprised myself right now.”

“…!”

The man was already standing right in front of me. And at the edge of my vision, I spotted the iron club gripped in his hand.

*WHOOOSH!*

Without a moment’s hesitation, the man swung the iron club at me.

I was a little startled by the sudden move, but dodging it wasn’t all that hard.

The iron club came crashing down on the spot where I’d been standing.

*CLANG!*

An ominous sound rang in my ears. He’d swung it with all his might. Thanks to my Mana Shield, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but if I’d taken a direct hit, it would’ve been dangerous.

‘Is he crazy?’

That thought came to me naturally. Brainwashing wasn’t enough, so now he’s swinging a weapon?

At a little girl like me, no less?

‘Uh, well…’

A little girl like me — I was pretty surprised at myself for thinking that so naturally.

“…Sorry, that startled you, didn’t it?”

But it seemed that man thought I was startled by him.

“I figured words wouldn’t work on you. My apologies.”

“…”

I glared at the man as he apologized with a warm smile.

His gaze turned toward me. But where his eyes landed wasn’t me.

“How about handing that egg over to me? Then I’ll let this slide.”

More precisely, it was the egg I was currently holding with gravity magic.

…He swings a weapon at me and says he’ll let it slide?

‘The hell is this lunatic on about.’

I’m not letting this slide. You son of a bitch.