The Ascent Begins!

Once everyone had logged in, we decided to set out immediately. Yes, we were finally going mountain climbing, which was our original objective.

Genzuro and Ruby were a little put off when they saw my evolved form, but Iris was the only one who praised me as usual. Thank you!

"Bone Dragons-sama, that house now belongs to you. Please use it whenever you wish."

"Thank you. We'll definitely stop by again."

Of course, this is our respawn point, so we'd come back here if we died. But saying that would be rather gauche.

"Farewell."

"We'll come again!"

"See you!"

"See ya!"

"Take care."

With the Lizardmen's words of encouragement at our backs, we set out on our adventure.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

――――――――――

You won the battle.

You defeated the Field Boss, Big Poison Frog.

You received your rewards and 3 SP.

From next time onward, you can choose whether to fight the Field Boss.

――――――――――

No, I'd had my fill of frogs. Besides, the boss was level 22, lower than every one of us. It wasn't a match for us at all. Wasn't this the first boss battle where none of my Skills had leveled up?

Still, the boss's materials, which were part of the reward, were useful. After all, they included the poison it had used. If I tinkered with it using 【Alchemy】, I could probably make a powerful poison.

We occasionally encountered Toadmen along the way, but they blanched and fled the moment they saw us. We'd killed that many of their kind, and even killed their prince. Their reaction was understandable.

Jigoro, for one, looked disappointed as he said, "Are there really no gutsy fellas willing to avenge them?" He would have happily intercepted anyone who came at us, so I thought fleeing had been the wise choice.

In any case, this brought the lake area to an end. We began climbing the mountain trail leading from the boss area toward the mountain.

"Izaam, what kind of monsters appear here?"

Ruby asked as soon as we started climbing. Knowing what kind of enemies we might face would give us time to prepare ourselves, so it was a reasonable question. Unfortunately, I didn't have the answer.

"Sorry, but I don't have any information. The strategy group actively posts on the strategy forum, but apparently they only do so after they've finished clearing an area."

If they made everything public, all the information they had painstakingly gathered from scratch could be stolen by other people, along with the first clear of the boss. Naturally, they would keep it hidden.

"Besides, the Second Wave is about to arrive. Apparently, the strategy group has already started preparing to recruit people in Fars. Nobody will come to a place this troublesome to reach, especially when they have to make the trip back."

"Hmm... I see. Oh! Speaking of the Second Wave, a friend from my club is coming! They're not a bad person, so I'd like them to join us. Is that okay?"

Huh, Ruby's real-life friend. I'd be happy to welcome them. However...

"They said they're going to choose a monster-type Race!"

Our party is called 'Night Parade.' Anything other than monster types wouldn't fit the atmosphere of the name. Conversely, as long as that condition was met and Ruby could vouch for their character, there would be no problem.

"Then there shouldn't be a problem. Right?"

"Yeah."

"A new companion, then!"

"Hmm, that energetic young lady, yes? She's a good girl."

Did Genzuro know Ruby's friend? If he vouched for them too, then there really was no problem.

"So, what Race does your friend plan to choose?"

"That...! Enemy! From above!"

Oops, time to end the small talk. Following Ruby's warning, I looked up. A large bird was swooping toward us at tremendous speed! 【Appraisal】!

――――――――――

Race: Aerial Eagle Lv21

Job: None

Skills: 【Claws】

【Beak】

【Charge】

【Strength Enhancement】

【Agility Enhancement】

【Flight】

【Capture】

【Ambush】

――――――――――

"Kiiiiii!"

Whoa, it's huge and fast! The enemy was an Aerial Eagle. At first glance, it seemed weak because it had so few Skills. But we couldn't let our guard down. This was probably an optimized Skill configuration resulting from specializing in aerial 【Ambush】 attacks.

We somehow dodged its initial diving 【Charge】, but it immediately soared back into the sky and launched another 【Charge】.

"Iris! Genzuro!"

"Yes!"

"Indeed... Caw!"

"Kik!?"

But that was a bad move against us. Iris had tentacles for 【Capture】, while Genzuro could actually spit thread from his mouth, just as he had during his larval stage. It should have given up the moment its 【Ambush】 failed.

"Hya!"

With its left wing restrained by tentacles and its right wing bound by thread, the Aerial Eagle came tumbling down, and Ruby slashed it apart. Apparently, its HP wasn't particularly high, because it immediately became a corpse.

"I didn't get a chance to do anything..."

"Neither did I. Well, we'll take care of the next one ourselves."

I consoled the dejected Jigoro. Ah, Ruby had gone on guard again. Looks like the next one had already arrived—the same kind of Aerial Eagle as before.

"I'll restrain it, so you handle the finishing blow."

"Leave it to me!"

"All right. Now, let's give this a test run."

I untied the knot on the new book holder hanging from my left hip and touched the book inside—in other words, the 'Book of Darkness'—with my left hand. The 'Book of Darkness' floated to my left at about chest height. Ooh, what a nice bit of theatrics!

"Dual Magic Circle, Remote Activation: Black Thread!"

"Gik!?"

One strand of Black Thread extended from each of the two magic circles that appeared in midair, binding the Aerial Eagle. The threads seemed to have wrapped around it nicely, because the Aerial Eagle came falling down in a shower of feathers.

"Take this!"

Jigoro responded by kicking it like a soccer ball! He kicked it with enough force to snap my Black Thread! W-wasn't that a little too brutal!?

The Aerial Eagle kicked by Jigoro spun like a drill and crashed into a nearby tree. It was obviously dead, but I suspected it had already died before hitting the tree. Terrifying!

"Izaam, I got these from it."

――――――――――

Aerial Eagle Feather Quality: Fair Rarity: C (Common)

An Aerial Eagle feather.

Used for ornaments and arrow fletching.

Aerial Eagle Talon Quality: Good Rarity: R (Rare)

An Aerial Eagle talon. It is sharp and hard enough to withstand the impact of a dive.

Used for ornaments and arrowheads.

――――――――――

Feathers and talons, huh? We got a similar combination from the bats in the cave, didn't we? Can I assume that flying monsters almost always drop feathers? No, it was too soon to draw that conclusion.

"Material for arrows... These will probably just be used to raise Iris's Skills and then become dead stock."

"We don't have anyone who uses a bow, after all."

Apparently, making arrows was ideal for raising 【Woodworking】 and 【Crafting】 levels, so Iris made and stored large numbers of arrows even though nobody used them. These would probably meet the same fate.

"Ah, wait!"

Ruby was the one who called for a halt. What? Was she about to say that she wanted to use a bow herself?

"That friend I mentioned wants to use a bow. So if we find any Aerial Eagles, I want to hunt them!"

Oh? Was Ruby's friend aiming to be an archer?

"Come to think of it, I forgot to ask. What Race does your friend plan to choose?"

"Um, a Birdian!"

Birdians... If I remembered correctly, their silhouette was that of a winged human, but their head, hands, and feet were those of a bird, and their entire bodies were covered in feathers with no gaps. I knew this because I'd looked through the official website's list of Races that players could become.

Still, a Birdian archer sounded like a hardcore build. Birdians could fly, after all, so they could shoot enemies like clay pigeons from the air.

"She loves VRS and is at a professional level, so I'm sure she'll be strong!"

"I-is that so?"

VRS was the genre that had been called FPS before immersive VR was announced. When you played a shooting game in immersive VR, it inevitably became a first-person perspective, so the name had changed, if I remembered correctly.

Its popularity remained strong worldwide, and it boasted one of the largest player bases in the now-mainstream world of esports. I heard there were many professional teams, and that they earned enough to make movie stars turn green with envy.

So a girl with professional-level skill in that would start firing arrows from the air... From an enemy's perspective, it would be a nightmare.

"They certainly aren't formidable enemies for us as we are now. In that case, I don't mind, but make sure you keep up your scouting, all right?"

"Leave it to me!"

Then let's hunt them as if we intend to wipe them out. They weren't frightening as long as they didn't get the jump on us, which was precisely why we needed to scout carefully. From now on, I'd also use 【Void Magic】's Magic Echo frequently.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

――――――――――

Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

【Staff】 level has increased.

You learned the 【Staff】 Martial Skill: Mana-Gathering Formation.

【Scythe Arts】 level has increased.

You learned the 【Scythe Arts】 Martial Skill: Great Slash.

【Intelligence Enhancement】 level has increased.

【Spirit Enhancement】 level has increased.

【HP Recovery Speed Increase】 level has increased.

【MP Recovery Speed Increase】 level has increased.

【Divine Magic】 level has increased.

【Dark Magic】 level has increased.

【Space-Time Magic】 level has increased.

【Void Magic】 level has increased.

【Magic Circle】 level has increased.

【Curse Arts】 level has increased.

【Evil Arts】 level has increased.

――――――――――

Yes, this seemed to be a bird territory. Every enemy other than the Aerial Eagles had been a bird. They were these sorts of creatures.

――――――――――

Race: Forest Owl Lv20–23

Job: None

Skills: 【Claws】

【Beak】

【Sleep】

【Strength Enhancement】

【Agility Enhancement】

【Flight】

【Night Vision】

【Stealth】

【Ambush】

Race: Iron Woodpecker Lv22–25

Job: None

Skills: 【Beak】

【Excavation】

【Pierce】

【Strength Enhancement】

【Agility Enhancement】

【Flight】

【Ambush】

――――――――――

Both were quite troublesome, though in different ways from the Aerial Eagles. The Forest Owls were difficult even for Ruby to detect because of 【Stealth】. Once, I failed to notice one, and an 【Ambush】 took half my HP.

I thought I was going to die for the first time then. Iris and Jigoro saved me with their swift assistance, though.

The Iron Woodpeckers had beaks as hard as iron and considerably high attack power. One merely grazed Genzuro and shattered his exoskeleton.

Ambushes from the air, stealthy ambushes, and ambushes with attacks that were incredibly difficult to defend against. It was an entire parade of ambushes. Thanks to that, Ruby's 【Presence Detection】 level apparently rose dramatically. I suppose it was good experience... wasn't it?

As a result of trying various things, we discovered that 【Curse Arts】 was the most effective against bird-type monsters. If we cast a curse that lowered their agility, they couldn't maintain their speed and crashed. If we dulled their senses with Slow, they could no longer fly and crashed too. How convenient.

Next best was 【Evil Arts】. Instant death would make things even easier, and even if it failed, casting an illusion on them made them stagger.

These two types of birds dropped their respective feathers as usual, but they also dropped some interesting items. They were these.

――――――――――

Forest Owl Eyeball Quality: Fair Rarity: R (Rare)

An eyeball from a Forest Owl that possesses the power of sleep.

If processed properly, it can be used to create equipment related to sleep.

Iron Woodpecker Beak Quality: Good Rarity: R (Rare)

The beak of an Iron Woodpecker, with hardness comparable to steel.

Known as a material for excellent piercing weapons.

――――――――――

These weren't items for making arrows. With the 'Forest Owl Eyeball,' 【Alchemy】 could make an item that put enemies to sleep, while turning it into an accessory would make an item with sleep resistance.

The 'Iron Woodpecker Beak' would be best made into a spearhead or a dagger specialized for piercing. As it happened, Genzuro had apparently acquired 【Spear Arts】 using the SP left over from the event, so one of them was slated to become a spear.

We hunted until my level went up, so the materials piled up like a mountain. At the same time, we'd become quite exhausted. By my estimate, we'd climbed about four-fifths of the way up the mountain, so we should take a break.

This was a good opportunity to use the tent Iris had made for us. We decided to rest in shifts again.