Black Death Ice Forest (3)

The exploration of the 'Black Death Ice Forest' was progressing smoothly. Most of the monsters that appeared were Ice Horn Rabbits, while Blue Water Wolves occasionally appeared—wolf monsters that could be called the Water Attribute version of the Green Wind Wolves we had fought before.

Their levels were also in the 40s, and their Skill compositions were hardly different, apart from their Wind Attribute being replaced with the Water Attribute. However, we were clearly stronger.

The cause seemed to lie in the difference between their ecologies. Green Wind Wolves were pack leaders who commanded Wind Wolves before their evolution, whereas Blue Water Wolves were solitary monsters that did not form packs.

It made sense that a lone wolf that had survived through its own strength, without relying on subordinates or numbers, would be stronger. Unfortunately for them, they had picked the wrong opponents. We had both greater numbers and higher levels. As far as we were concerned, they were nothing but delicious prey. They would have to accept that this, too, was survival of the fittest.

As we continued through the forest, hunting the enemies we encountered, we finally came across a formidable foe unlike any we had seen before. It was a monster completely different from what we had imagined.

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Race: Demon Spirit Lv54-58

Job: Cursed Swordsman or Cursed Axeman or Cursed Spearman Lv4-8

Skill: 【Cursed Sword Arts】 or 【Cursed Axe Arts】 or 【Cursed Spear Arts】

【Ghost Armor Arts】

【Strength Enhancement】

【Agility Enhancement】

【Dexterity Enhancement】

【Time-Space Magic】

【Void Magic】

【Berserk】

【Vengeful Scream】

【Physical Attack Phasing】

【Magic Vulnerability】

【Status Ailment Immunity】

【Light Attribute Vulnerability】

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We had expected nothing but beast-type monsters, so the appearance of ghosts came as a surprise. Demon Spirits were black mist in human form, with sinister red-black lights flickering where their eyes should have been. Every one of them carried battered weapons enveloped in a filthy, dark green aura. The reason they could move normally despite it being broad daylight was probably that the 'Black Death Ice Forest' was perpetually covered in thick clouds that blocked out the sunlight.

They shared many Skills with Wisps, so they were probably an evolved form. Six of them appeared at once. Wisps could hardly be called anything but the weakest monsters, but the strength of these evolved versions was on an entirely different level!

"Tch, what a pain!"

"How annoying."

The four-person group led by Genjuro, who was taking point, was having a hard time. The reason was entirely due to their 【Physical Attack Phasing】 Skill. Pure physical attacks were completely ineffective against them. They were frontliner killers.

"Whoa!? My axe went right through it!?"

"The swordsmanship is sharp as well... huh!?"

Eiji and the others had used 【Enchantment】 to imbue their attacks with the Light Attribute, so the attacks that passed through the Demon Spirits still dealt damage. However, that damage came only from the added Attribute; physical damage was still nullified. They could not unleash their attacks' original destructive power.

Even when their attacks connected, the lack of any impact threw them off, and the Demon Spirits took advantage of their phasing ability to charge in while deliberately allowing attacks to hit them. People said that one could sacrifice flesh to cut through bone, but if there was no flesh to cut, there was no reason to fear.

To make matters worse, their equipment-related Skills, such as 【Cursed Sword Arts】 and 【Ghost Armor Arts】, had evolved as well. Thus, monsters with high basic combat power continued to employ suicidal tactics without hesitation, as though they did not fear death. This was seriously impossible to deal with!

"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

"Oh, be quiet."

"My stats have gone down again! They're using something like Izam's magic!"

They also possessed several other powerful Skills. One of them was 【Vengeful Scream】. It lowered the stats of anyone who heard the scream for a certain period of time. You could call it 【Curse Arts】 cast through one's voice.

It was unclear whether the lowered stat was random. Sometimes it lowered my Strength or Genjuro's Intelligence, but at other times it precisely targeted the stat each of us needed most, such as taking Agility from Ruby or Dexterity from Shio.

"O... Oooooooh!"

"What the hell are these things!?"

"Did they get stronger?"

Even so, we were steadily reducing their HP when a sudden change occurred. The one whose HP had been reduced the most suddenly began rampaging as though it had gone mad. There was no mistaking it. It was 【Berserk】!

"Watch out! They'll lose all sense of reason!"

Jigoro, who had once belonged to a Race with the character '狂' in its name, also possessed 【Berserk】. It dramatically increased the user's stats, but had the disadvantage of sometimes making the body move on its own against the user's will.

Moreover, this disadvantage became more frequent the longer 【Berserk】 lasted. Once activated, 【Berserk】 continued until the battle ended or the user died. That made it extremely difficult to use.

However, it was an almost perfect match for the Demon Spirits. Their already reckless suicidal tactics did not change, so the only effect was a straightforward increase in their stats. An already powerful enemy becoming even stronger was a serious problem. It was, but...

"That actually works in our favor. Purification."

"Hiiiiiaaa!?"

"That's right. Holy Ray."

"Gyaaaaaaah!?"

Conversely, to those of us who specialized in magic, they were nothing but easy prey. That was because they possessed 【Light Attribute Vulnerability】 and 【Magic Vulnerability】. Only Iris and I could use 【Holy Magic】, but while the frontliners held them back, the two of us could bombard them and steadily blast away their HP.

"Kieeeeeeeeee!"

However, they apparently had enough intelligence to try to kill us first, since we were accurately targeting their weaknesses. They used Short Teleport from 【Time-Space Magic】 to instantly move over to us. But we had already prepared for that.

"We're here too!"

"【Lightning Magic】 does plenty of damage too."

"Hiii!?"

Shio drove off the approaching Demon Spirit with a Light Attribute arrow, while Raga fired magic at it. They could not use 【Light Attribute Magic】, but because of its 【Magic Vulnerability】, they could still deal sufficient damage.

"Hmm, as I thought, my song doesn't work. Then do your best—meeeee."

Because of the enemies' 【Status Ailment Immunity】, Wool could not put them to sleep with his singing as usual. However, putting enemies to sleep was not the only power of song. Some of his songs inspired allies and raised their stats. That strengthened the backline group's Intelligence and increased the damage dealt by their magic.

"Higyaaaaaaaaah..."

"Good, that's one down. Let's keep reducing their numbers!"

"Easy for you to say...!"

Although this placed a burden on the frontline group, the backline's magic reduced the enemies one by one. Once we discovered that the stat debuffs from 【Vengeful Scream】 could be removed by Dispel from my 【Curse Arts】, the battle became easy.

――――――――――

You won the battle.

Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your tamed monster's Race level has increased.

Your tamed monster's Job level has increased.

――――――――――

We defeated all the Demon Spirits without any further major developments. We had outnumbered them, but since they had been opponents around our level, we received more experience than expected. We were feeling quite flush.

"They were tough to deal with until we got used to them."

"They were a difficult type of enemy to fight."

Genjuro and Ruby muttered those words, unable to hide their fatigue. Because of their lifelike realism, the monsters we had encountered before had generally not used attacks prepared to trade their lives for ours. This time, however, the Demon Spirits' ghostly realism made them use suicidal tactics as a matter of course. It was only natural that they were difficult to fight.

"We can't harvest their parts, but they've dropped some items."

"Yeah, there's a magic stone and a weapon... wait! Whoa!? Don't pick that up!"

Shiitake suddenly shouted a warning. The normally carefree Shiitake was unusually flustered. Had something gone wrong?

"What happened?"

"What do you mean, what happened!? Try using 【Appraisal】 on this weapon!"

"Let's see... ugh!?"

I followed Shiitake's instructions and used 【Appraisal】 on the sword lying on the ground. Only then did I understand why she had panicked. This was the result of 【Appraisal】.

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True Steel Straight Sword (Cursed) Quality: Poor Rarity: R (Rare)

A True Steel straight sword that draws out the power inherent in iron to its utmost limit.

A mass-produced item made using ancient technology. It has no special effects.

However, its performance is equal to or greater than that of a first-rate blacksmith's work.

※This weapon is cursed.

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What lay on the ground was an unexpected cursed weapon. The True Steel metal was interesting, but the curse was a far more serious problem. The same dark green aura that had emanated from the weapon while it was in the Demon Spirits' hands seeped from it now. It was practically screaming that it was dangerous.

"I hesitate to touch this carelessly."

"Right? I want to take it home because it might be useful as research material, though."

"It's frightening that we don't even know whether it curses you when equipped or merely by holding it."

The idea of a weapon carried by a ghost being cursed was practically a rule of the genre. Similar situations appeared frequently in all kinds of stories.

However, what happened next differed from story to story. In some cases, the owner was cursed merely by putting the weapon in a bag, while in others, the curse took effect when the weapon was drawn from its sheath. Picking it up without taking any precautions certainly warranted caution.

"All right! Then I'll pick it up!"

"Are you sure?"

"A woman's got to have courage! Here goes!"

Having made up her mind, Shiitake bravely picked up the cursed weapon. We had no idea what would happen if she had been cursed. At worst, we would have to put her down with our own hands...

"...Oh!? I'm fine! Looks like it's okay as long as I don't equip it!"

Thanks to Shiitake's body-on-the-line experiment, we learned that there was no problem with merely picking up the cursed weapon. However, it still could not be equipped. It was an item whose ability to be processed remained unknown. Her spirit of inquiry and curiosity were clearly no ordinary things if she was willing to risk herself for that.

"Hey, Izam-han. We're more worn out than I expected. Why don't we take a break?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

We had been exploring a field about which we knew absolutely nothing while fighting reasonably powerful enemies, even if they were opponents we were accustomed to fighting, and we had just fought a powerful group right beforehand. We could not ignore the resulting mental fatigue. As Nanako said, we should take a break here.

"Then let's take our breaks in the order we decided at the start. Get started on setting up the tent."

"Sure thing."

"Okay."

Everyone gave a casual reply as they set up the tent Iris had made. Shiitake also burned the monster-repelling incense she had crafted, making the area even safer. Even so, there was no guarantee that monsters would not come, so we left someone on watch and took turns resting.

Thus, our first exploration into the 'Black Death Ice Forest' came to an end. I was on first watch, so I could not rest yet, but once I logged out, I would drink some water and eat something.