In the Toadmen's Territory

"So if we head farther north from here, we'll be entering the Toadmen's territory, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

We had been guided by the Lizardman fisherman we'd first encountered and had proceeded to about the middle of the lakeshore. Apparently, the Lizardmen's territory extended from the center of the slightly distorted circular lake a little way north.

They apparently lived by hunting and gathering in that area. The Toadmen lived much the same way, and apparently ate many of the same things as well. Thus, until now, they had been mindful of each other's territories to avoid letting unnecessary conflicts develop.

And yet, this incident had occurred. There was no doubt some kind of problem had arisen. Finding out what it was—that was the point of this quest.

"Thank you for guiding us. Be careful on your way back."

"Thank you for your concern."

To prepare for the worst, I had him leave us here. We never knew when a battle might break out from this point onward. Besides, it would be dangerous, and fighting alongside someone we couldn't coordinate well with would be difficult.

"He's gone back... Still, I had no idea we could add an NPC to our party."

"We never had the opportunity to find out."

But more than anything, I was surprised that we could recruit an NPC into our party. I hadn't known because we'd never had the chance to speak with a proper NPC before, but apparently it was possible to add one to the party if both sides consented.

The details of the system around here were probably posted on the forums, but I hadn't been interested and had ignored them. What a foolish oversight.

"But a Toadman, huh...? I hope they're strong."

"Unfortunately, I hear they're weaker than Lizardmen."

According to what I learned by questioning the Lizardmen directly, in a one-on-one fight between individuals at the same evolutionary stage, a Lizardman would win for certain. The only thing to watch out for was 【Ambush】, but conversely, that meant they weren't much of a threat in a head-on fight. It probably wouldn't be a battle Jigoro would find satisfying.

"Tch. What a bore."

"Now, now, don't say that. That only makes us more eager to find the root of the anomaly, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, I guess, but..."

Genzuro gently admonished the complaining Jigoro. No, no, you're just looking forward to that yourself, aren't you?

I-If the cause of this anomaly turned out not to be very strong, would Jigoro go on a rampage? Boss, please let it be strong enough to give us a suitably difficult fight. All I can do is pray earnestly.

"Ah, there's something over there. Stay alert."

While we were doing so, Ruby seemed to have spotted something. Had the Toadmen already appeared?

"There!"

Ruby pulled out a throwing knife she had stored inside her body and hurled it into the mud. She'd launched a preemptive attack, but what would happen?

Clang!

However, the knife was easily deflected. Were they carrying a shield or something? It was fully armed... No, wait. That wasn't a Toadman.

――――――――――

Race: Mud Snail Lv10

Job: None

Skill: 【Shell】

【Earth Magic】

【Water Magic】

【Launch】

――――――――――

What emerged from the mud was a ridiculously huge pond snail. So there were monsters like that, too. Frankly, it was quite weak and didn't have any particularly impressive Skills, but apparently its shell was extremely hard. Ruby's throwing knife, with 【Throwing Arts】, hadn't even left a scratch.

If we could defeat it without breaking the shell, we might be able to obtain it as a material. For some reason, I had a feeling it would be easy to defeat if we flipped it over. I could use Dark Arm here and...

"This'll be fun! I'll see if my fist can smash it!"

"Wait!"

Jigoro moved before I could explain my idea. He seemed intensely interested in a tough opponent. No doubt he wanted to see whether he could smash it.

But wait! I was thinking of a way to defeat it without breaking the shell!?

"Haaah!"

Crack!

Jigoro's right straight punched into the shell. It left a crack, but did not shatter it.

It actually withstood that? It's astonishingly hard!

"What a nuisance!"

Crunch—splat!

But apparently it couldn't withstand a second blow once it was cracked. Jigoro's follow-up strike with his left hand pitilessly shattered the Mud Snail's shell, and the force of the blow crushed its innards as well, killing it.

"Now that's some satisfying toughness!"

I was glad Jigoro was satisfied, really. Should we try harvesting it, at least...? Ah, nothing dropped. Well, even if it had, the shell was shattered and the insides were mush, so it probably wouldn't have been usable quality anyway.

"I won't be outdone. I'll cut through the contents along with the shell."

"Um, the shell might drop as an item, so could you defeat it without breaking it, if possible?"

"W-What did you say!?"

Iris said what I had wanted to say for me. As one would expect of a crafting-class player, apparently she understood the importance of materials better than any of us.

In fact, it was astonishing that a level 10 monster had withstood even one blow from Jigoro's fist. If that shell dropped and we could make armor by processing it, it was sure to have excellent performance. We couldn't let that possibility slip away right before our eyes.

"That's right, Grandpa! You have to take good care of the materials!"

"Mmm..."

"Hahaha! Too bad, old man!"

Ruby scolded Genzuro, who drooped dejectedly, while Jigoro laughed in triumph. Hey, you don't get to laugh here!

"Jigoro too, you know?"

"Guh..."

Ruby said it in a terrifyingly cold voice. Oh, Jigoro was actually shrinking back! From now on, maybe we should leave the care of these two battle junkies to her.

"Mm... There are more enemies. Probably the same kind as before. ...You know what to do, right?"

"Y-Yes!"

The two of them answered while standing ramrod straight. This is starting to feel like the military. Now, shall I try flipping it over and defeating it this time? That was probably the proper strategy.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

After that, we fought several more battles, but we never encountered a single Toadman. Weren't they supposed to be more active? At this point, it was even possible the Lizardman chief had lied to us.

In any case, we hunted Mud Snails, Evilfish, and Loaches as we went, and managed to obtain some drop items. The Evilfish and Loaches only gave us meat and whiskers, but the Mud Snail dropped this.

――――――――――

Mud Snail Shell Quality: Good Rarity: R (Rare Grade)

The shell of a Mud Snail that lives in the mud of swamps.

It boasts considerable hardness to protect itself from predators.

It is difficult to process, but makes excellent material for shields and armor.

――――――――――

Just as I'd expected, the Mud Snail dropped its shell. Iris was practically beaming at obtaining such a high-quality material. ...She didn't have a face, so that was more of an expression in spirit.

"Seriously, it's nothing but loaches and snails. We haven't seen a single Toadman."

"Yeah, that's true."

Jigoro complained about it. I wholeheartedly agreed. We'd heard that the Toadmen were acting suspiciously, yet it felt strange that they had let us pass unchallenged even after we'd spent quite a while inside their territory.

"...I just thought of something. Could it be that we've been lured in?"

"No way... Actually, it could be."

Iris murmured a thought that had just occurred to her. We'd been told that their "activity had increased," but perhaps the reality wasn't that simple. And if her guess was correct, we were isolated deep in enemy territory. This was dangerous.

"All right, let's turn back for now. We'll start over."

"Huh...? Seriously?"

Jigoro sounded like he hated the idea from the bottom of his heart. However, we'd made this decision a little too late.

"!? T-There are enemies! So many! We're surrounded!"

Ruby announced the attack in a near scream. Then, perhaps realizing that they'd been discovered, the bipedal frogs—that is, the Toadmen—emerged from the mud and the lake. There were no fewer than twenty at a glance. This was bad!

"Ribbit!"

"Gerooo!"

The Toadmen charged at us, their voices filled with unmistakable hostility and murderous intent. Oh, to hell with it!

"Repel them!"

"I've been waiting for this!"

No matter what we did next, we couldn't begin until we dealt with this group. For now, we had to fight!

◆◇◆◇◆◇

――――――――――

Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

【Scythe Arts】 level has increased.

【Light Magic】 level has increased.

【Summoning Arts】 level has increased.

【Enchantment Arts】 level has increased.

【Spirit Summoning】 level has increased.

【Dark Arts】 level has increased.

【Linguistics】 level has increased.

――――――――――

When we stepped into the Toadmen's territory, we'd complained that there didn't seem to be anything unusual going on. In reality, however, an abnormal situation far beyond our imaginings had been unfolding.

"Gerorororo!"

"Gero! Gegoooo!"

The Toadmen, who could only be described as bipedal frogs, approached with murderous intent laid bare. Like the Ratmen, their words were incomprehensible beyond the emotions packed into them. The Lizardmen's speech had been perfectly normal, though. What was the difference?

"Damn, you're persistent...!"

Jigoro shouted angrily, and his fist sent two Toadmen flying. All right, enough escaping into denial. We were being cornered here.

We'd already finished off the first twenty. But whenever their numbers started to dwindle, they raised their voices to call for reinforcements. As a result, enemy reinforcements kept arriving one after another, and we were forced to fight battle after battle without even being able to flee.

"Ribbit-ribbit!"

"Geroo! Gegoge-go!"

We'd been fighting continuously for nearly twenty minutes by then, without a break. Reinforcements kept coming endlessly, so our experience was piling up, but the strain was finally beginning to show. It was no wonder Jigoro was cursing irritably.

Besides, with one battle after another, our actual investigation hadn't progressed at all. We didn't have a moment to spare! ...No. We really ought to retreat.

"Everyone, let's retreat! We'll get nowhere like this!"

"Retreat? Who's going to buy us time!? Anyone left behind is sure to die!"

"I'll summon a rear guard! Astral Magic Circle, Summon the Dead!"

Through 【Spirit Summoning】, a large number of the dead descended into the world of the living. Each one was inferior to a Toadman, but they had the advantage in numbers. Just as we'd been overwhelmed, it should be possible to forcibly hold them back through sheer numerical superiority.

"Summon: Skeleton Shield Warrior! And Undead Boost!"

I summoned five defense-oriented Skeleton Shield Warriors with 【Summoning Arts】 and enhanced them with 【Necromancy】. My maximum MP had suddenly dropped below half, but it was the necessary expense of escape!

"All right, let's get out of here while we can!"

"Yeah!"

We fled like startled rabbits. Genzuro and I flew, while Jigoro and Ruby carried Iris, whose movement speed was poor, and sprinted at full speed.

Thus, in our first investigation, all we learned was that there were simply far too many enemies; we achieved nothing else. I think the reason was that we'd gone in without any proper sense of danger or anything resembling a strategy. Next time, we have to come up with a proper plan before we go in!

"This looks like it's going to be a pretty troublesome problem..."

As I fled with my back turned to the enemy, I muttered that to myself.