As Rei was fighting against the Crystal Skeleton, Dietz, who was standing guard at the carriages, was fighting against a Living Armour.

The group traveling with Rei numbered about 30 people in total.

With so many non-combatants among them, in addition to those keeping watch further out, it just wasn’t possible to move that many of the capable fighters around.

And, even if they did want to provide support to another area that was under attack, they couldn’t just leave their posts as that would risk Undead attacking from their position.

Doing something like that was only possible if you had a partner, like Rei and Set.

「Tch, of all things, a Living Amour!? What a troublesome opponent!」

Dietz shouted in frustration as he thrust out his spear.

However, as a suit of metal armour possessed by grudges of the dead, it easily parried Dietz’s spear with its battleaxe.

A high pitched metallic clang rang out.

As a pure warrior who couldn’t use magic or magical skills, Dietz clicked his tongue at what could be called his nemesis.

「If Captain Rei……no, if Rei-san was here, this would be easy to deal with, but what am I supposed to do about it!」

He dodged a swing from the battleaxe, which was going to split his head in two, by taking a step back.

The battleaxe passed by his face with a loud whoosh.

It was an attack that would have definitely killed him if it had connected.

That said, Dietz was already familiar with such attacks.

「Compared to the training I received in the guerrilla unit, this is nothing!」

Stepping on the flat side of the battleaxe head after it slammed into the ground, holding it in place, he swung his spear horizontally.

Dietz had been a member of Mercurio’s elite guerrilla unit.

His spear wasn’t an ordinary wooden shaft spear but a metal shaft spear.

The metal shaft swung towards the Living Armour’s head……but just as it was about to hit, the Living Armour released its right hand from holding the battleaxe and used it to shield its head.

Another metallic clash echoed out.

In response, Dietz leaped back to distance himself from the Living Armour.

At the same time, the Living Armour’s gauntlet went right through where Dietz had been just a moment ago.

If he had delayed for even a single second, his head would have exploded like an egg being crushed.

「What a troublesome opponent!」

Dietz spat as he spoke.

It was basically impossible for him to defeat a Living Armour with what he had and could do……well, not really, but it would be very difficult.

(Damn it, the fastest way to take down these types of monsters is to steal its magic stone.)

After putting some distance between him and the Living Armour, Dietz glared at it as it reached back for its battleaxe on the ground.

He knew where its magic stone was. Inside the armour……probably near the chest.

But to get to it, he would have to do something about the armour protecting it, and every time he tried, he was blocked like before.

(I should have brought a club or a battleaxe of my own.)

When dealing with such monsters, a single powerful blow with blunt force was often better than a sharp weapon.

While Dietz was frustrated at his lack of offensive options, the Living Armour didn’t seem to know what he was thinking as it readied its battleaxe again……before raising it up for some reason.

What was it doing? Dietz was confused for a moment, but the reason soon became apparent.

「Gurururururu~!」

Along with that cry, something fell down from the night sky.

Dietz’s body stiffened up for a moment at that cry, but after realising it was a familiar one, he distanced himself even further from the Living Armour.

A moment later, there was a loud crash and the sound of something being crushed.

Looking over at where the Living Armour had been, he saw it lying on the ground, completely crushed.

The battleaxe that it had raised up had surprisingly not been destroyed and had been thrown a short distance away instead.

It was plain to see what had happened from Set’s position atop the remains of the Living Armour.

「Gururu~?」

Set had used Power Crush to destroy the Living Armour before giving a cry to ask Dietz if he was okay.

Seeing Set’s actions, Dietz quickly came back to his senses before hurriedly nodding.

「Ah, yes. Sorry for having to save me. If you hadn’t come, it would have been a lot harder.」

In typical Dietz fashion, he didn’t admit that he might have lost.

「Guru~」

Looking Dietz over and seeing that he didn’t seem to be injured, Set proceeded to pick up the Living Armour’s magic stone before leaving.

「Ah……」

Dietz was about to say something regarding the magic stone, but knowing that Set had just saved him, he decided that it wasn’t worth trying to ask for it.

「……A Living Armour’s magic stone is worth quite a bit. I guess I at least have the battleaxe though.」

Although Dietz said that, he couldn’t help but grumble a bit.

 

 

Rei was warming himself up by the campfire, completely ignoring the battle that had taken place just a short while ago

In his hand was the Crystal Skeleton’s magic stone.

「Since there’s only one, it’s either the Death Scythe or Set……but I think it will be Set.」

Rei had acquired the skill Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour while in the Bestir Empire.

He had also gained a new magic item, the New Moon Ring, a relic from an ancient magical civilisation.

In comparison, Set hadn’t acquired any notable skills or magic items during his time in the Bestir Empire.

Of course, he had gained valuable combat experience against Noiz, which held intangible value.

But Rei still wanted to give Set something to properly express his gratitude.

「Well, although it is a magic stone, it disappears once it is absorbed, so it’s not really something tangible either.」

Rei tossed a dead branch into the fire.

As he watched the flames grow as the fire crackled, he noticed the sound of something running towards him.

Rei didn’t even have to guess who it was.

Eventually, as he expected, Set emerged from the darkness.

「Gururururu~」

Set gave a happy cry as he went over to Rei and handed over the magic stone in his beak.

「Hm? Thanks. If you brought it back, does that mean this is the Living Armour’s magic stone?」

「Guru~」

Yes, Set seemed to say with a cry.

Rei gently stroked Set as he took the magic stone.

Set had already absorbed the magic stone of a Living Armour from the last time Rei had defeated one.

Considering that, it would be best for the Death Scythe to absorb this one instead.

(If I do this, it doesn’t feel like a thank you gift any more but a trade of magic stones……I guess I’ll find another way to thank him later.)

Hearing more sounds of combat a short distance away, Rei handed the magic stone of the Crystal Skeleton to Set.

「Set, this is the Crystal Skeleton’s magic stone. I’ll trade you it for the Living Armour magic stone.」

「Guru~!?」

Set gave a happy cry at Rei’s words.

Set couldn’t absorb magic stones from battles he didn’t participate in.

But, having been created from Rei’s magic power, Set could still absorb magic stones from monsters that Rei killed.

……Of course, whether he would learn any new skills was a different matter entirely.

「Gurururu~」

With another happy cry, Set swallowed the magic stone in his beak.

【Set has acquired the skill 『Crystal Breath Lv.1』】

The announcement echoed through Rei’s mind.

「Crystal Breath, huh? I can guess what kind of skill it is, but it would still be best to try it out. Luckily everyone is either keeping watch or asleep right now, so there’s no need to worry about anyone seeing it.」

Rei muttered as he looked around.

Not only could he see the area lit up by the campfire, but his night vision allowed him to see further into the surroundings as well.

As far as Rei could tell, no one was looking in their direction.

Of course, he knew that there were some people in the carriages who weren’t quite able to sleep comfortably in their current environment.

They would have been woken up by the sudden sounds of battle. And, since they were on the Selemus Plains, the only thing that could be attacking would be undead.

Unless they were a former adventurer, someone with an army background, or had grown up in rough conditions, it would be difficult to sleep in such conditions.

「Try it, but not too hard, we don’t want to disturb the others.」

「Guru~」

Set gave a brief cry at Rei’s words and then moved a short distance from the campfire before taking a deep breath and using Crystal Breath towards the sky.

「Gururururu~」

Set used Crystal Breath as quietly as he could and it soon vanished into the air.

「……Huh?」

Rei tilted his head in confusion, having expected something different.

「I was sure the skill would shoot out a crystal spear or arrow, or maybe just chunks of crystal along with the breath……」

「Guru~」

Set bowed his head apologetically and Rei shook his head in a panic as he patted Set.

「Don’t worry about it. It’s not like skills always turn out the way I expect them to. Besides, from what we saw earlier, it seems like it mixes crystals into the breath to inflict physical damage. So……I see, could you try it against this next?」

Saying that, Rei picked up a piece of firewood intended for the campfire.

Seeing Set give a cry in understanding, Rei tossed the piece of wood into the air.

「Gurururu~」

Just like before, Set released a breath attack from his beak again.

The breath struck the piece of wood that Rei had thrown into the air perfectly.

Picking the piece of wood up a short distance away, Rei noticed something strange about it.

The wood seemed to be covered in a thin layer of crystal.

Touching the wood with his palm, it definitely didn’t feel like wood.

However, the crystal coating wasn’t particularly thick nor was it firmly stuck to the wood. When he slammed the wood into his palm, the crystals broke apart and scattered to the ground.

「I see. So instead of mixing chunks of crystal into the breath, it traps the target in crystal. ……It could certainly be useful depending on how it’s used, but at level 1, I think it would only slow the target down a little?」

Covering someone in crystal was more likely to surprise and alarm those around the target rather than the target themselves.

While thinking of that, Rei patted Set lightly on the head, who seemed to be in disbelief that the skill might not be of any use.

「It might be hard to use now, but we can always level it up. Well, I don’t know what kind of monster magic stones we’d need to absorb though. Besides, it’s not entirely useless.」

Saying that, Rei picked up some of the crystal that had fallen off the piece of wood as he showed it to Set.

What? What? Set seemed curious as Rei spoke up to persuade him.

Rei spoke as the piece of crystal lay in the palm of his hand.

「This is still crystal, so a craftsman or blacksmith should be willing to buy it. I think such crystals can also be used as alchemy material, so with your Crystal Breath, you’ll never be short of money.」

Of course, Rei already had a lot of money.

Enough to retire for the rest of his life.

So considering that, while the crystals could be used to make a little money in case of an emergency, he didn’t care for it that much.

Rei never had a strong attachment to money to begin with.

Still, money could be used to buy a lot of things, and considering their food expenses, it was always better to have more than not enough.

「Well then, it’s my turn now. Shall we use the Living Armour magic stone that you brought back?」

「Guru~!」

Set gave a happy cry at Rei’s words, as if his previous dejection hadn’t existed at all.

Seeing his reaction, Rei turned to look at the Living Armour’s magic stone.

However, he didn’t have an expression of anticipation for an unknown result on his face.

Set had previously learned Power Crush when he absorbed a Living Armour’s magic stone.

Since that was the case, this would probably level up the Death Scythe’s Power Slash to level 3.

At least, that was what Rei thought.

While Power Slash was a strong attack skill for Rei, it also wasn’t really quite his fighting style.

(Plus, every time I use Power Slash, it has a kickback through my wrist. If I don’t use it carefully, it will end up hurting me more.)

Rei recalled how much his wrists had hurt as he looked at his grip on the Death Scythe.

But, since Set had brought him the magic stone and was now watching expectantly from a short distance away, Rei threw it up into the air.

He then struck it with the Death Scythe.

The blade cut straight through the magic stone.

【Death Scythe has acquired the skill 『Flying Slash Lv.4』】

An announcement echoed through his mind.

「……Eh?」

Rei couldn’t help but be surprised at the upgrade of a completely different skill than he had expected.

************************************************

【Set】

『Water Ball Lv.3』 『Fire Breath Lv.3』 『Wind Arrow Lv.3』 『King’s Awe Lv.1』 『Poison Claw Lv.4』 『Size Transformation Lv.1』 『Tornado Lv.1』 『Ice Arrow Lv.1』 『Optical Camouflage Lv.2』 『Evil Eye Impact Lv.1』 『Power Crush Lv.2』 『Sense Enhancement – Smell　Lv.1』 『Bubble Breath Lv.1』 『Crystal Breath Lv.1』 new

【Death Scythe】

『Corrosion　Lv.3』 『Flying Slash Lv.4』 new 『Magic Shield Lv.1』 『Power Slash Lv.2』 『Wind Hand Lv.3』 『Terrain Manipulation Lv.1』『Pain Burst　Lv.1』 『Penetrate Lv.2』

Crystal Breath: A breath that traps the opponent in crystal. Since the current level is low, it only has the ability to coat the opponent in crystal. However, it can still slow an opponent’s movement.

Flying Slash: A skill that launches a slash. While it has decent strength, only a single slash can be launched at a time.

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