Chapter 114 : Chapter 114

Chapter 114 - My Herb, Your Rescue (2)

‘How on earth did it come to this?’

Artier thought as he walked through the empty forest.

He had clearly tried to save the beastmen, so why had he become their enemy?

Master, are you okay?

I'm fine. How about over there?

They took us to some kind of sanctuary, and the shamans are casting all sorts of magic, saying they'll undo the black magic.

Does it hurt?

It's boring. In the first place, I'd have to be under a spell to be affected or not, sir.

Collie's calm and gentle thoughts were a source of comfort that calmed Artier's heart.

Is there any chance our contract magic could be broken?

There is not. That contract is a spell that The First Beast assisted with. Even Ropin-ssi would not be able to undo it.

That's a relief.

[Using Holy Magic: Divine Healing (Lv.1).]

Fwaah!

After neatly healing the wounds on his body, Artier slumped onto a large nearby rock.

What should I do now.

I think Master has done enough.

What are you talking about. Nothing has been resolved yet.

Master, conversations are meant to be had with people who will listen. What on earth do you expect from these people who discriminate against humans without reason?

Collie's thoughts were filled with disillusionment.

I honestly dislike these people. I don't even know why we have to save them. It's normal for a race that ostracizes the majority like this to be eliminated.

But I can't abandon these people.

Why is that?

Certainly, the beastmen's hatred of humans was abnormal, even from a rational perspective.

It was normal for him, who was caught up in it, to feel wronged, angry, and annoyed. He was branded as the axis of evil even though he hadn't done anything.

But Artier was not an ordinary person.

There's definitely a reason why they make irrational choices. A reason so strong that the mere sight of a human makes their skin crawl.

Do you have any… grounds for being sure?

Yeah. If they were truly hopeless, they would have been extinct before I even came.

This world is not lenient.

It's hard for the good guys to survive, but the stupid ones cannot survive.

‘A race living under the Empire not only ignored a guest of an imperial noble but also tried to kill them. If the target had been an ordinary NPC instead of me…’

That fact would have reached the Empire, and the Emperor would be furious.

It was hard to believe that they had lived for hundreds of years in their current state, openly displaying their hatred for humans.

It's clear that their hatred for humans is a relatively recent thing. I'll look around the vicinity and find a way back, so you dig around for information over there.

Understood.

Click.

Cutting off the telepathic exchange, Artier stood up and used his flight skill to rise into the sky.

The surroundings of Ker Tupa were as clearly demarcated as if cut with a knife. It was a forest that followed the mountain, and a vast plain where nothing existed.

Occasionally, monsters would run through the space between them, fighting over territory among themselves.

‘It's funny, but it's the perfect place to level up.’

Artier chuckled and glided through the air.

Of course, he had no intention of hunting in this situation.

‘The beastmen probably don't live only in Ker Tupa. There must be small villages nearby. Let's head there first.’

Fortunately, once he left the village, there were no pursuers chasing him.

To be precise, there couldn't be. There were no skilled individuals in the guard who could catch up to Artier.

“Is that it?”

How much time had passed?

Artier discovered smoke billowing from near the middle of the mountain.

‘They'll be surprised if I land in the village, so I should walk from nearby.’

As he was descending with that thought, Artier discovered something strange.

The color of the smoke was a very turbid black.

‘What is it?’

Soon, the acrid smell of something burning brushed past his nose. Feeling a sense of foreboding, Artier immediately kicked off the ground and ran.

“What is this…!”

Tents and wooden fences were on fire, and beastmen were collapsed all around.

They were all dead.

‘This isn't the sign of a monster attack. Who was it?’

Clank!

The sound of metal clashing came from beyond.

As he approached with a low posture, he saw a large wagon and four humans holding hunting crossbows.

“Tsk, there are no good ones here.”

“Can't be helped. We can't hit the jackpot every time.”

“Let's load up quickly and head to the next village. If we don't meet our quota, we're having pig slop for dinner today.”

Squeak!

Artier realized that the beings they were putting into the wagon were young beastmen.

Thick restraints were fastened around the children's necks and wrists, making it look difficult for them to even walk.

‘These guys… are slave hunters!’

He had heard of slave hunters before.

Wasn't Simon abducted by people like them?

Artier quietly drew his sword.

But there were still more shocking things to come.

“But boss, how long are we gonna stick around here? If we get caught, won't we all be toast?”

“That's right. But you don't need to worry.”

The one called the leader among them put a large cigar in his mouth and spoke.

“The Watch seems to be busy these days, 'cause they haven't shown their faces around here for six months.”

“Huh? No wonder I've been seeing a lot of different races in the market lately!”

“But the prices don't go down. There's always a shortage of young 'uns from other races. So let's make a big score while we can. Got it, boys?”

“Yeah!”

For a moment, Artier wondered what he had just heard.

‘The Empire's surveillance disappeared six months ago? Did they neglect this area because they were dealing with the Hellmorph threat? Then the other races have been defenselessly exposed to crime all this time.’

He began to understand a little bit why they had come to hate humans.

Wouldn't their fur stand on end at the mere sight of a human, when every human they met slaughtered them for profit and abducted their children?

Moreover, the methods of slave hunters were diverse.

There were cases like this where they openly attacked and kidnapped, but there were also scammers who approached kindly and then fleeced them.

‘To do such things even while the Empire is in chaos…’

“Por, Overload on me as soon as I rush in.”

Artier whispered so and dashed forward.

Flames then erupted from his entire body.

[Por uses a skill.]

Overload (Lv.1): The target's all stats increase by 25%, but their body catches fire, taking continuous damage.

“What the!”

Artier immediately plunged his sword into the neck of the hunter in front of him.

‘Because of scum like you…!’

Rage was also burning within him.

‘The world is heading for destruction even faster!’

[Murder based on doctrine is acknowledged, and Karma Points will not decrease.]

“Enemy!”

The hunters seemed momentarily flustered that the suddenly appeared being was a human like them, but soon, as one of them fell, they simultaneously aimed their crossbows and fired arrows.

[Perfect Counter is activated!]

Clang!

The arrow, powerful enough to pierce a tree, was deflected in vain.

Artier didn't even notice the tingling in his arm.

“I want to burn too!”

“Only burn the humans.”

“Okay!”

Hunters popped out from all directions.

Artier swung his sword without even checking them.

With each slash, one of them fell.

“It doesn't matter how many there are.”

[Holy Magic: Divine Conversion is activated.]

Ziiing!

The divine power that was being pushed in through the soles of his feet turned into mana.

His fading consciousness immediately became clear.

‘My mana won't run out until all of you are dead.’

[Flame Cleave is activated.]

“What the hell is that bastard!”

The hunters looked at Artier, who was endlessly spewing flames and deflecting arrows, as if he were a monster.

Their shabby leather armor couldn't withstand the counterattacks enhanced by Perfect Counter.

“Shoot, I said shoot!”

“It's not working! He's deflecting the arrows too!”

“You idiots! Don't shoot one by one, shoot at the same time!”

Swish!

Three arrows flew towards his head at the same time.

Considering the time it took to swing a sword, he was bound to miss at least one.

But.

‘…The head, at the same time? Are they idiots?’

Thwack! Thwack!

As Artier ducked his head, all the arrows lost their target and stuck into the ground.

“He, he dodged it!”

“Let's end this soon.”

“What?”

When he looked around, his companions were either charred lumps or split in half.

“W-wait! What do you want? Money? If it's money, I have plenty…!”

Swish!

Heads with wide-open eyes rolled powerlessly on the ground.

That was the end.

After patting out the fire on his body, Artier proceeded to break the lock on the wagon.

Crack!

“…”

The young beastmen did not come out immediately. They were merely baring their teeth at Artier, another human, on guard.

This time, Artier could understand their feelings.

“Por, can you melt the restraints a bit so the children can take them off without getting hurt?”

“All those kids? I'll have to draw a lot of my friend's power?”

“It's okay. Please.”

Clang!

All the restraints cracked and scattered.

His mana scattered rapidly, but Artier simply clenched his fist and nodded. As expected, Divine Conversion was one of the most broken skills, even in his opinion as a veteran player.

‘I still have some to spare.’

[Using Holy Magic: Divine Healing.]

Fwaah!

As the light swirled, the large and small burns that remained on his body healed.

After a moment of thought, Artier also emitted light towards the beastmen children.

‘They're still children, so they probably aren't too wary of Rata.’

As he expected, the children seemed to focus more on the warm and cozy feeling than their wariness of Rata.

Realizing that their wounds had disappeared, they came out of the wagon and gathered around Artier.

“Mister, are you a bad person?”

“…No. Are you all from this village?”

“Yes.”

All five children nodded their heads.

Their ears and tails drooped powerlessly.

It was a natural reaction, having lost their home in an instant.

Artier looked at them and quietly fell into thought.

‘These children, I should probably take them to the entrance of Ker Tupa.’

The deliberation was not long.

They would surely try to kill him, but he could just run away.

‘Let's look for more slave hunters. This alone won't be enough to erase humanity's karma, but…’

It was at the moment Artier was organizing his thoughts.

Tug, tug.

A girl was pulling on the hem of Artier's clothes.

She had long, straight hair and the appearance of a fox.

“What's wrong?”

“…”

Despite Artier's question, the girl did not open her mouth. Instead, she kept pulling on his clothes as if to guide him somewhere.

‘Where does she want me to go?’

Following her footsteps, Artier discovered the completely collapsed tent of a beastman.

The girl knelt and pointed at the wreckage with a sorrowful expression.

“Ugh…”

From inside the wreckage, a very faint but audible sound could be heard.

‘A survivor!’

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