A giant dust cloud followed the monoceros as it came our way. It was fortunate that we were the only ones coming in from this side at that time, as it would have trampled anything in its path. It was directly heading in the direction of the city, meaning that Benita was its primary target.
It only stopped once it was within a hundred meters from the gate. Its neighing felt like the roar of a thousand lions, and was as piercing and almost as deadly as the scream of a mandrake. I wasn’t sure of it, but this didn’t seem like an ordinary monoceros.
“This looks dangerous,” I said. “Is this normal?”
“No,” a guard said. “This most definitely isn’t normal. Monocerotes are supposed to be passive creatures who rarely show themselves. Even the Albega Guardian of the Forest, Borose, avoids any interaction with people.”
“This one might not seem as strong as any of the Albega Guardians,” another guard said, “but we should be careful. If you can’t protect yourself, it’s best to stay behind the city gates.”
Its eyes were glowing read, and its hair was pitch black, as if it could only reflect the most minimal of light. Its elephant-like feet left deep prints on the ground, and every step it made would make the ground tremble slightly. I wasn’t sure if we would even stand an ounce of a chance, and to be honest, I wanted to make a run for it, as I felt like we’d surely lose our lives if we didn’t. Part of me, though, wanted to see this thing unfold, and the sisters seemed to be pumped.
“Boss,” Rya said, “you don’t have to stay here.”
“What about you guys?” I asked.
“As an adventurer, I can’t just leave. As for those two, I don’t think they’re gonna leave unless you actually order them.”
“You’re pretty calm about this.”
“Well, part of me just wants to run, but it ain’t bad to be afraid when it matters. Fear keeps us from getting reckless.”
I looked at the monoceros, and then back at the guards. They seemed to be under equipped for this. The adventurers that were at the spot didn’t seem to fare much better, though. It would be unlikely that they could take down this monster.
“Is there anything we can do?” I asked.
One guard answered: “Well, unless you have mithril equipment we could use, it’s better to stay back.”
I looked at the monoceros. It seemed to just do nothing, as if it were waiting for something. I guess I had time to do something. All I needed to do is look around and look for something useful. My first target for 【Analysis】 was the armor the guards were wearing. While it didn’t tell me the material, it did give me a shape and a way to create them. This meant that I could technically use any metal I wanted to use.
I just needed to confirm something, though. I wanted to make sure I could completely recreate the helmet as it was, and for that, I had to use 【Appraise】. The guide was really helpful with this. Essentially, I had to focus on a specific item that I wanted to appraise. Depending on what I want to know and how experienced I am with the skills, I’m able to get pieces of information about the target. The reason it’s so hard to learn, though, is because it requires a lot of focus. It’s already hard with a stationary item, but it’s harder with a target that moves around.
The guide did make learning the skill a bit easier. I just had to look at the target, then I had to imagine a completely black backdrop behind the item, blocking out anything that isn’t the target itself. I already practiced this a few times before, but this time I had to do it under pressure. After that, I had to put my complete focus on the subject, essentially ignoring the black void while still visualizing it.
I don’t know what exactly happened, but at that point it felt like I was actually going to perform the skill. The guide did say that when you’re about to execute the skill for the first time you’ll know it. I wasn’t sure how that would work, but I guess focusing on a target with the intent of using 【Appraise】 actually triggers the skill.
【Appraise】 doesn’t actually work like in the games. You can make it work like it by combining it with your status screen, but by default, there’s nothing visual. It’s like the information just suddenly appears inside your head, as if you’re just remembering something you haven’t before. Also, the information that does appear, regardless of whether it’s visual or not, depends on the focus and concentration of the user. If you lack concentration, the information that appears will show up garbled or incomplete.
When I tried 【Appraise】 on a helmet, the only information I got was that it was a simple iron helmet. This was sufficient for me though, as I was now able to create iron. That’s a quirk of 【Item Creation】, unless I’ve at least seen the material, either in its raw form or after using 【Appraise】 on an item that’s made out of it, I can’t recreate it.
There were some unusual weapons among the adventurers, though, so surely there would be some materials that I could use. I focused 【Appraise】 on one of the most flashy looking weapons there was, a sword. It looked like a katana with a red blade.
【??? (Akanite tachi)】
I wasn’t sure what the question marks were for or what they meant, but the most important thing I got from this is that the sword was made from akanite, a material I’ve never heard of. Not that it mattered, all I had to do was create something from akanite to test my abilities out. I decided upon a small ingot, the size of a medal. I closed my eyes and focused, trying to visualize the shape of a box made of akanite, in the palm of my hand.
I wasn’t sure what the question marks were or what they meant, but at least I knew that the sword was made from akanite. Even though I’ve never seen the metal in ore form, I was confident I could create a small medal made out of akanite. I decided to give it a try. I closed my eyes, and focused on the shape of a rectangular ingot that would fit in the palm of my hand. Then I decided on the material, akanite. I opened my eyes, and poured my mana into my 【Item Creation】 skill.
I nearly collapsed, as the mana required to create even a tiny bit was significant, and even the small amount I created drained nearly everything. Akanite is a metal that can hold a lot of mana, and its magic conductivity is fairly high, higher than mithril, though it doesn’t really matter a lot in most cases. Making a helmet out of akanite would be overkill, not that I would be able to.
“Oi, you alright?” a gentle voice said, and when I looked, a mage was standing next to me.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” I replied, while trying to stand up. “No wait, I think I should lie down.”
“That was a lot of mana you’ve been using. You really shouldn’t lie down here, though.”
“Yeah, I know, it’s just that, give me a moment.”
“So, what have you been doing?”
I showed him the ingot. “I created this.”
“Really now?” he said as he took a look, though his expression quickly changed. “Mate, did you just create akanite?”
“What about it?”
“Akanite is a rare metal with a high magic affinity. No wonder you’re drained. You should have been making mithril instead.”
“Don’t know what it looks like.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got something. Lightrider, pass me a mithril arrow.”
An archer quickly threw out an arrow, and the mage caught it in one swift movement. Without hesitation I focused my 【Appraise】 on the arrow. It was an arrow completely made of mithril. The arrow felt strong and durable yet was as light as a regular arrow. There was no time to think about that, I had to create a mithril helmet. Since I already had a helmet in my 【Crafting Catalog】, I only had to use 【Item Creation】 to create a mithril helmet.
My only concern was the amount of mana I had left. I didn’t want to sacrifice the mithril arrow. Even though it would have saved me some mana, I couldn’t just use this, the archer could still use this. I had to just bet on it.
It didn’t take long for the helmet to materialise, but the mana consumption was enough to almost send me unconsciousness. My vision temporarily got blurry, but I had to do more. After my head got a bit clearer, I could see that Jeanne, Gilian and Rya getting ready with the other adventurers.
“I think you can use this,” the mage said, as he handed me a potion.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“It replenishes the mana reserve.”
Normally I’d be reluctant to accept such a gift, but I really just wanted to avoid any dizziness and inevitable headache that would result, so in a few gulps, I emptied the bottle. It almost felt instantaneous, but my mana was completely restored.
“Are you feeling well?” the mage asked.
“Yes, thank you,” I replied. “What about that thing? Why isn’t it attacking?”
“I have not a single clue. It seems to be waiting for something. Now, before it does anything, can you create more mithril equipment?”
“I don’t think I have enough mana for that.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll lend you my mana. Just do whatever you must.”
I nodded and proceeded to look around, searching for equipment in need of an upgrade. I’d use 【Analysis】 to look into the building process of each piece, and whenever I wasn’t sure what material something was I’d use 【Appraise】. If it wasn’t mithril, I’d either ask the mage or I just wouldn’t replace it. The main advantage of mithril wasn’t its magic conductivity. In fact, in some cases, that would be a disadvantage. No, it had to do with the fact that mithril is strong yet light.
As I created the first weapon, the mage put his hand on my shoulder. The mana used to produce it, a mithril bow, was quickly replenished thanks to the mage’s skill. The skill allows you to transfer part of your own mana to a target.
“The mithril bow’s ready,” I said.
“Good,” the mage said, passing the bow to the archer.
Rya walked over to me.
“Boss, the sisters tell me it’s sending waves of magical energy into the city.”
“Is it attacking?” I asked.
“Not sure, but we need to act now. They don’t know how strong it is, but if we’re not being careful it can level the entire city.”
“Due noted,” the mage said. “Lightrider, gather those who are ready. If what I’ve heard is true, we need to act now.”
“I’m on it,” the archer said.
As the archer gathered adventurers for the initial attack, I began to work on the next weapon.
“Are you sure this is the right course of action?” I asked.
“I’ve been sensing it too,” the mage replied.
“So it’s dangerous? It’s going to attack the city?”
“I’m not sure, for now, it seems like a simple detection magic. But let’s not talk about that right now, there are other pressing matters.”
I looked at the adventurers, who were now ready to strike. The monoceros was still standing its ground, unphased by the commotion around it. This was a calculating beast, unlike most monocerotes who act on instinct.
It was only when the first few arrows hit that the monoceros began to respond. At first, it flinched, which seemed to momentarily stop the energy flow, but soon enough, an actual fight took place.
“Focus,” the mage said.
He was right, I had to focus on providing all adventurers with mithril weapons, at least until both our mana would deplete. I wasn’t able to see how the battle went on, but I could tell it was fierce. It was only after we provided everybody, even the guards, with mithril equipment that I was able to see the battlefield.
There were quite a lot of adventurers, some were wounded and had to be taken back to the city, but fortunately there were no casualties yet. I tried to look for Rya and the others, but I wasn’t able to see them due to the commotion. There was nothing left for me to do other than to head back to the city and look at it from a distance.
Every adventurer was divided into smaller groups and was led by what I assume was a high ranking adventurer. Ranged attackers and magic users were properly instructed so that they wouldn’t accidentally hit others, and close range attackers were told when to strike and when to fall back.
The monoceros was halted but didn’t seem to be weakened at all. Regardless of how many times it was attacked, it wouldn’t go on the offense, or at least, it seemed to be too focused on the city itself. As long as everybody would keep it from finishing the job, nobody would get seriously injured. Wait, what was its job?
“Why isn’t it attacking?” I asked.
“It might just be a hypothesis,” the mage said, “but it might be that it’s trying to complete a certain objective, and until that’s completed, it won’t do much else.”
“But what is its objective?”
“I think it’s scouting the area.”
“Scouting the area? What do you mean?”
“Those energy waves, they didn’t just get sent to the city, most of it bounced back, in varying degrees.”
“Wait, like echo location?”
“Yes, pretty much like that.”
“But why does it need to do that?”
The mage remained silent. There was something he either didn’t want to tell me or couldn’t.
“Anyway, stay behind the city walls,” the mage said, as he headed to the battlefield.
I did what I was told, since I wasn’t planning on dying that day. Just as I was heading to the gate, though, a large shadow came over me, and when I looked, I could see the monoceros landing in front of the gate. I guess it was a bit too late for me to get to safety.
“Boss, you’re still here!” Rya said.
“Yeah,” I said. “I was gonna head to the city, but I guess that’s not gonna be an option.”
“Rivers, we need to talk,” Jeanne said. “There’s something wrong with the monoceros. Its magical energy, it’s different from any of us. It’s not dark magic or black magic.”
Gilian interrupted. “What my sister is trying to say is that its magical signature is a lot different than what any of the adventurers have exhibited.”
“Isn’t it just because its magical power is greater?” I asked.
“You’d think that’s the case, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth. The only thing that’s really strong about it is its aura. Yes, the rest is physical strength and magical defense, but the magic waves it emitted, it’s at most mid-tier, at least compared to the other adventurers.”
“A mage told me it was a form of detection magic.”
“Yeah, no, it’s far worse. It’s a curse.”
“Wait, what do you mean?”
“It means that if we don’t do something about it, something might happen to the entire city, or at least the part that’s been hit by the wave.”
“What kind of curse is it?”
“I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t want to know.”
I quickly ran to the mage to tell him their findings.
“Let me take a look,” the mage said, while holding his hand on my shoulder. “It is what they said. There is some sort of curse placed on you, and I guess it’s true for all of us.”
“How do we get rid of it?” I said.
“Well, the best course of action is to kill the monoceros, though that could also be the trigger for the curse. It would take a considerable amount of time to try to identify what the curse is, and we don’t have the time at the moment.”
I looked at the monoceros. It seemed that it was ready to ravage the city, though luckily the gate was closed, though with this much strength it’d only be a matter of time.
“Sir,” Gilian said, “can you at least try to detect what kind of curse it is?”
“Even with my skill it’d take a lot of time to get everything.”
“Even if it’s just something, we can figure it out.”
“Alright, but I can’t give you more than a few seconds.”
The mage again put his hand on my shoulder, and for a few seconds, he closed his eyes.
“Was that a curse detection skill?” Gilian asked.
“Yes, that was 【Identify Curse】,” the mage replied.
“Thank you. Did you find anything.”
“I’m afraid not.”
With that he went to battle. As he left, Gilian put her hand on my shoulder.
“Well, it’s going to be okay, “she said. “As long as we kill it, the curse will be gone.”
“It can’t be that easy.”
“Well, if it wasn’t, then why would the monoceros put that much effort in it? If it really wanted to kill us all, he could have easily done it right here, right now, with just raw strength.”
She was right, the monoceros had the advantage over everyone. Nothing could really harm it, and if it wanted it could have just ended the fight long ago. Instead, it was just there, getting attacked and repelling attacks.
At that moment, the beast pounced on the gate. It was just one pounce, and the gate flew open. Even with everybody attacking, it walked in like it was nothing.
“Have you tried light magic on it?” I heard.
It seemed everybody heard the voice. We looked around, and right there, on top of the gate’s wall, was a man, neatly dressed, almost like a gentleman. I moved closer to the gate.
“Is that Eir?” I heard people muttering.
“Who’s Eir?” I asked.
“Eir Nuit,” the mage said. “A vampire lord who recently surfaced, and a demon lord candidate.”
There was something familiar about Eir. He wasn’t tall, at most, he seemed to be 1.60 meters, but there was this charm about him, an attractiveness. His blood red ascot made his already pale skin look brighter, and the dark aura around him made him feel that much more mysterious. There was also something sophisticated about him, like he was raised a noble. His movements had an elegant flair. There was no doubt about it. This was a true vampire.
He jumped down, and landed right on top of the monoceros, slamming its head into the ground.
“Does nobody know light magic?” Eir said. “You know, like 【Cure】, 【Heal】, 【Recovery】, 【Turn Undead】, you know, light magic.”
“I can use 【Turn Undead】,” a priestess said. “Is that sufficient? It’s only supposed to work on undead.”
“If it’s light magic, it’s light magic.”
As the priestess used her magic, the darkness surrounding the beast began to fade. This by itself wasn’t enough, but it was proof that this advice worked. As more adventurers began to use light magic, the pressure everybody felt was gone. It was as if something heavy was being lifted off our shoulders.
“The curse is disappearing,” Jeanne said.
The monoceros wasn’t taking it lying down, though, and it began thrashing around. Adventurers without any light magic instead restrained the beast, so that the damage would be kept to a minimum. Eventually, the beast collapsed, and it slowly began to crumble.
For a few seconds, maybe even an entire minute, it remained silent, until the first cheer was heard, and it wasn’t long before the entire crowd began to cheer. I looked around, to see where Eir was, and for a brief moment, he was there, but soon enough, he disappeared into the crowd. I walked to where Eir last stood, and looked around. The only thing I could find was a black rose made of silk cloth, lying on the ground.