The Farm

As we reached the top, we found ourselves on a fairly large plateau. What caught our attention, though, was the long wall standing in front of us. It wasn't as tall as the city's walls, but it was still of a considerable height, not something easily surmountable.

Nevertheless, the wall had some sections that had crumbled, so we approached it cautiously and peered inside.

...This is bad.

Inside the wall was a substantial farmland. It made sense to have walls around farmland in a place infested with monsters. Despite being in a rather disheveled state, there were many wild plants that seemed to have once been crops. Large, pumpkin-like plants extended vines and bore impressive fruits outside the wall.

And within the wall, we sensed the presence of a considerable number of monsters, probably here to target such crops. Kimishima glanced at me with a slightly anxious expression. It was only natural.

Nonetheless, considering the future food situation, I used the small sword to cut the vines of the pumpkin-like plants that were growing right in front of us and stored them in our bags.

We then descended the mountain we had climbed and decided to proceed sideways while hiding in the bushes.

! ! !

As we were about to descend, we noticed a monster climbing up from below. It was a creature we had never seen before. It had a reptilian face resembling a frog's, and it walked on two legs. It also had a sturdy body that seemed to be about two meters tall. We briefly glanced behind us, but there was the wall with many other monsters right there. What should we do? There seemed to be no choice but to go forward.

"Kimishima..."

"Let's go!"

Kimishima replied while already activating her plant magic. Leaves began to rustle and extend, hiding our presence. The creature hadn't noticed us yet. If we could launch a surprise attack...

I sheathed the small blade I had been using as a makeshift weapon and gripped a larger sword. Behind me, Kimishima took out the spear from her bag. A frog-like creature... Did it have a long tongue?

Ssh, ssh, ssh.

The monster climbed straight up, ignoring the fallen leaves and bushes. Perhaps its purpose was the crops inside the wall. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered if there were herbivorous monsters among them. No, I shouldn't entertain such naive thoughts.

Kimishima turned to face the creature and silently invoked something. A water sphere appeared in front of her. Ah, a water magic attack, it seemed.

Trying to gain some experience by launching an attack, regardless of whether it works or not.

I crouched down and assumed the stance for an Iaido strike, focusing my consciousness. Holding a small stone in my right hand, I waited for Kimishima's signal. As soon as she nodded to me, we moved.

Just as we had discussed, I threw the picked-up stone towards the opposite side. I shifted my consciousness with the sound the thrown stone made.

Seriously!!!

The stone I had thrown smoothly vanished with a swish. I somehow managed to catch a glimpse of the monster's reflexive action as it coiled its tongue around the flying stone. It then chewed on it for a moment before spitting it out with a "pff" sound. And then, it turned its attention toward where the stone was thrown from.

This is bad.

It seemed my presence was visible through the leaves, and I immediately assumed an Iaido stance. I sensed the initial movement as it extended its tongue again, as if it were about to capture me. Damn. Wasn't a frog's tongue supposed to move at kilometers per second? No, maybe it wasn't that fast when they were this big. I desperately tried to discern it within my focused consciousness.

I had to be careful not to distract Kimishima. I kicked off the ground and leaped to the right, where there were no leaves for cover. The frog-like monster definitely had me in its sights and extended its tongue. The speed of its tongue was so incredible that I couldn't react in time.

A quick draw. There were various types of Iaido draws, but the type you used depended on the situation you anticipated. The position of the target, the timing – it all directly influenced the type of Iaido. There were also ad-hoc techniques for situations where everything went wrong.

Dentō otoshi.

I used a technique, which involved dropping my sword hand to seize the opponent's arm when they swung their weapon at you. It was a cunning maneuver in a one-on-one situation, meant to deflect an incoming sword and then attack the hand that was holding it. Dealing with the frog's incredible speed was nothing short of a miracle.

I managed to avoid the tongue that was reaching out to ensnare me by moving it aside and then flicked it upwards.

Bang!

Damn! Did I not have enough magic power to perfect this technique? I barely managed to lift the tongue, and my attempt to cut it off failed. However, I did manage to make a small cut. The frog-like face contorted in pain. Without wasting a moment, Kimishima's water sphere collided with it from the side. It seemed to hit around the back of its head, and its neck snapped momentarily.

With the frog-faced monster's attack halted, I sheathed my sword again and focused my concentration. It was likely that the frog-faced monster was now directing its anger at me for cutting its tongue. A promising sign. Ignoring Kimishima, who had fired the water sphere from behind, the monster turned to face me, raising its waterlogged hand upwards.

...Ge.

Suddenly, a water sphere formed just above its hand. It was huge, much larger than Kimishima's. Damn it. I had anticipated facing armed humans but had never thought about techniques against magical attacks! A cold shiver ran down my spine.

Should I try to dodge the magic, or...

...In any case, all I could do was wait for it to make a move.

My magic power was depleted, and I had used one shot already. I had to strike again.

Magic against magic? Damn it. But if I tried something like that here and passed out again... I glanced briefly at Kimishima, who was lifting her short spear with a determined expression, ready to strike at the frog-faced monster's arm.

The timing was perfect. I was saved.

Just as the monster was about to release the water sphere at me, Kimishima's spear hit its arm. It made a solid sound, highlighting the shortage of magic power. But a long weapon swung with both hands carried its own strength, even if it didn't cut. The shaken hand disrupted the control of the water sphere.

I cut the scabbard, and my heart had already calmed down, like a mirror reflection on still water. I wouldn't miss this kind of timing. Stepping forward, I delivered a powerful strike. The earth churned beneath me. The explosive speed of my attack, concentrated into that moment, left no room for even a high-level monster to move, and I severed it in two.

It was a brief exchange, but we took caution to leave no trace of our presence and quickly retreated from the scene.

"Huff, huff. How was that? Did you move up the ladder?"

"Eh? I still don't know."

"I see... I used two strikes. Can't use magic for a while..."

"I understand... Let's slow down soon."

"Yeah..."

As careful as we were, the faster we moved, the more noise we made. We had to slow down and proceed cautiously once again.

Oh...

As I moved forward, I felt my body heat up again, and a warm heat washed over me.

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