Burning Bird

Since the attack by the wolf-like creatures, I advanced with increased caution.

Fortunately, it had been three days since then. We were still alive. Evacuation shelters were periodically set up along the highway, providing some relief for camping. It's not that the monsters didn't come to the shelters.

"How were you holding up?"

"I was... sorry. Just a bit... let me rest..."

"Don't worry."

Finally, it seemed Kimishima reached the second step on the Ladder. As expected, compared to me, who had actually dealt the final blow, her progress was slow. I thought the third step would be next, but I managed to climb it before her. Even so, my ranking was around 5 million, and the lack of progress made me feel a bit sad.

When climbing the stairs and feeling unwell, it's scary to be unable to move in the middle of the road. I asked Kimishima to do her best and entered the forest to make a curtain of grass and trees.

"Thank you. You did well. Rest well."

"No... Thank you... Please..."

It seemed like she was at her limit, after she created a cover, Kimishima lost consciousness.

With this, Kimishima's position on the Ladder would likely ascend even further. It would be preferable if the naginata could cut through, especially now that it's the fourth step. Although I believed I could strike four times with the increase in steps, it would be challenging if I were attacked by a monster at the moment of running out of spheres.

Well, even if I thought so, reclaiming an area dominated by advanced monsters for 50 years was not an easy task. There were few humans capable of fighting against advanced creatures, especially around the second step.

...Why could I cut them?

I understood that the carried-over skills were synergizing well, but it was not without doubt. However, there was still confusion.

I had tried adjusting the amount of magic power, but it didn't go well. If I forcibly suppressed consumption, another option was to refrain from using Iaido. As Karimah-san had mentioned, my concentration was reasonable, even from the posture of direct gaze. Still, it didn't seem useful against the monsters in this area.

Probably, concentrating magic power was more like concentrating all my elements. So, when magic power decreased, other elements, such as speed and strength, also decreased overall. Furthermore, it seemed that dynamic visual acuity dropped, and I still couldn't cope with the speed of monsters.

So, I continued to conserve magic power while attacking individual monsters only when magic power was fully recovered.

As we advanced, there were towns other than Galal Blue. However, I might have imagined it as a village because I didn't see such a large town. And everything seemed to be in quite a bad state.

We had struggled to escape from Galal Blue last time, and the trauma was still strong. Therefore, we only observed from a distance without entering. The town surrounded by walls was tough because once you entered, the exit was limited.

This time, Kimishima slept for almost half a day again. It would be good if it ended with a little warmth in the body like me, but every time she went up the Ladder, I felt a bit sorry for her, thinking she might end up in this condition.

While Kimishima was sleeping, I occasionally performed the Iaido stance to conduct overall reconnaissance. I noticed it when I fought with wolves, but interestingly, doing so significantly increased the surrounding perception abilities.

Repeating such actions, there seemed to be a change in the surroundings. Suddenly, the presence of monsters approached.

This was bad.

What to do... At the moment, they didn't seem to have noticed me.

…….

…….

Tension still lingered. I watched the movements of the monsters while feeling my heart beating fast. Dealing with it here was possible because there was only one... What to do.

Usually, I was cautious of the smell of blood and slashed, then immediately moved to another location. I couldn't do that while Kimishima was sleeping.

Huh?

What's this?

Little by little, it felt like the presence of monsters was fading. I didn't understand the reason. The monsters seemed to have stopped in one place for more than an hour without moving... Maybe it was a scene where monsters that had reached the end of their lifespan were dying. Or perhaps there were injured monsters... Somehow, the way the presence was fading gave me that impression.

Snap... Snap...

...Huh? Fire!?

As the presence of the monsters completely faded and disappeared, I heard a sound like something burning. There was also a burnt smell. ...Uh oh. If I got involved in a wildfire in a place like this, Kimishima, who was sleeping, would be caught up as well. No. It would be better to escape by carrying her, but it would be even worse to encounter monsters in such a situation. Faced with the sudden change, I was perplexed.

Damn.

Gently leaning Kimishima against a tree, I took out a water bottle from my backpack and Kimishima's bag. It was better than nothing.

Quietly approaching the place where the monsters' presence disappeared, there was a large red bird lying there. Heat seemed to emanate from the bird, and the fire had started spreading to the surrounding trees. I desperately poured water from the water bottle, but it was like trying to put out a burning stone with water. I cut the bushes around it to avoid them touching the bird as much as possible. The attached fire was desperately stamped out.

After partially stopping the spread of the fire, I dug the ground and desperately covered the bird with soil. However, the bird continued to burn like charcoal. The distance from the surrounding trees and leaves had been significantly increased, but the ignition of the bird didn't stop.

"Hey!"

Even I, who had climbed three steps, was quite different from when I was in Japan in terms of raw power. I hesitated a little, but I grabbed the bird's toes firmly.

"Hot!"

Biting my teeth against the heat, I dragged the bird down the slope. The road here was quite close to the lower river. I rushed down the slope, and throwing the bird towards the river with the momentum.

Splash! Sssss...

What the h*ll was this? Looking at the river, I saw smoke rising while being carried away.

…

Right. What about the fire???

Hastily climbing the slope, I headed to where the bird was burning. It was burning with quite a heat, but for the wood to burn, the time to come into contact was short. The fire had somewhat subsided, and where the bird was, steam was rising as if it were boiling.

Even so, if the fire starts again, it's dangerous. So, while keeping an eye on the surroundings, I continued to stay away. I went to the place where the bird was burning, and when I stepped on a suspicious spot with my foot, I noticed that there was something hard buried under the soil.

...What's this?

Digging it out, a bright red egg appeared. It was slightly larger than the ostrich egg I saw a long time ago.

...Did it lay this and die?

I didn't understand at all. But, although I kept my vigilance, it was also worrisome to stay too far away from Kimishima. I picked up the water bottle and the egg and returned to the tent made of leaves.

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