"Go on, kill them. You should be strong enough to do so against Monsters of this level," I remarked, as a group of four Monsters surrounded Prysm.

Today’s the 8th of September, 2013, a couple of days after I’d left Kieph Town, and I’d been traveling through a stretch of grasslands, heading towards Marri Town.

It was currently around 3 PM in the afternoon, and we’d just encountered a group of Monsters, known as Leapfrogs, four of them in total. They’re large frog Monsters, each one about the size of a big dog.

They’re supposed to be able to spit out a sticky fluid that, if it hits you, makes it hard for you to move. They use their tongues to restrain their targets and swallow them whole.

They tend to keep a distance from their targets and attack without getting too close. They can jump incredibly high and are quick on their feet, and always back away when you try to get close to them.

Of course, so long as you’re fast enough, that’s not a problem. Closing in on them and finishing them off isn’t too difficult, they’re ranked at the lowest Threat Level, Common Grade. However, Prysm’s not even trying to get close to them to deliver the finishing blows.

"I really don’t like frogs, these things are seriously creeping me out!" Called out Prysm in response, as she evaded the tongue of one of the frogs and countered with a water blast, "Elemental Water: Water Ball!"

But it wasn’t very effective, splashing onto the face of the frog and not doing any damage. It’s a highly basic and low level Spell, to be fair. She’s still got a long way to go in mastering Spellcasting, so she can’t rely on it in a real fight just yet.

"Use your Soul Weapon and your boosting Skills, why are you holding back?" I inquired with a sigh.

"I don’t want to get close to these disgusting creatures, can’t I just attack them from a distance!?" She exclaimed in alarm, narrowing dodging a slimy blast from one of the frogs as she chanted, "Initiate Skills: Physical Boost x10, Slow Motion Vision x10!"

Oh, she’s maxing out, huh? Seems kinda overkill, x2 or x3 would’ve been more than enough of a boost for Monsters of this level. The higher the boost she goes for, the shorter it lasts and the greater the toll it takes on her afterwards.

As she continued evading the Monsters, a hesitant grimace appeared on her face before letting out a relenting groan as she chanted and brought out her Soul Weapon.

She then shot towards one of the frog Monsters, which responded by leaping back and shooting out its tongue towards her. With a swift flick of her wrist, she spun her axe around while moving slightly to the side right as the tongue closed in on her, slicing off the tip of it.

As blood gushed out of the severed tongue and the Monster began to land, she zipped forward and closed in on it right as it’s feet touched the ground and it began to withdraw its tongue, swinging her axe up and slicing it’s head vertically in half, killing.

She then swiftly spun around and fired out a water blast with a quick chant as two of the remaining frogs fired out sticky blasts at her. Her projectile only managed to slow down theirs, but it was enough to give her time to evade.

She then raced towards one of the other frogs, a focused look on her face as she suddenly teleported right in front of it and swung her axe across, decapitating it.

She’s been working on her Teleportation Skill whenever I put her in my Pocket Dimension while we were in town. Specifically, short range Teleportation for use in battle.

Long range Teleportation is easy, she just has to set a point in a given location and can teleport back to that location at any time just by picturing it.

Naturally, she set one near Kieph Town, so we can go back there in an instant if we need to. She said she’s still not adept at short range Teleportation while on the move, but it looks like it clicked for her just now.

Anyway, back to the current matter at hand, it looks like the remaining two Leapfrogs are starting to run away, heading for the trees to try and escape.

"You’re not getting away!" Exclaimed Prysm, as she arched back her arm and flung her axe straight after them with all her strength.

I stared in bemusement as the axe stuck the ground near the two Monster with a devastating impact, a shockwave bursting out and the sheer force of it sending the Monsters flying away several meters, uprooting a couple of nearby trees as chunks of dirt and grass burst out with a dense dust cloud rising up.

I stumbled back as the shockwave hit me, Prysm nearly falling over as it reached her, bits of dirt and gravel flying out all over the place as the cloud of dust rose up high into the air from the point of impact.

I let out a sigh as I manifested my Soul Weapon and swung it across towards the airborne frogs, slicing them apart before they could land.

"Uh, oops...that was a bit much, huh?" Remarked Prysm sheepishly.

"You think? Your current limit with how much you can increase the weight of your axe is fifty kilograms, right? That impact seemed like it was made by a whole lot more weight than that," I frowned in response.

"Oh, right, I forgot to mention...I can now control it at upto a hundred kilos! Though it still feels like I’m a long way off from the absolute maximum weight to which it can be increased to," She sighed wistfully.

Huh, so her time in my Pocket Dimension turned out to be pretty productive, didn’t it?

"Hm, maybe I should lock you up in my Pocket Dimension more often," I mused thoughtfully.

"What? No!" She protested in dismay.

"Ohh, I’m definitely considering it. Now, then, let’s continue on, we’re still a ways away from the next town," I remarked dismissively.

"Wait up!"

I have a feeling that my chances of encountering Argent in Marri Town are pretty slim, but it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s likely that that’s where he registered as an Adventurer, so there’s a good possibility that I’ll get some leads if I go to the Guild there.

I wonder how things have been for him since that day about three years ago? Guess I’ll have to find and ask him to know the answer to that, huh...

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Argent Stryker

———————————————————————————

Three years ago...

I...I feel sick. The village, it’s-...there’s nothing left. There’s no one else here...no one alive, at least. My legs were shaky as I silently stepped forward, making my way across the blood-stained ground as my chest pounded, my body in a cold sweat.

Wh-where...where are they?

Where are my parents? Where’s Larrk? I trembled as I stared at each of the corpses, the familiar, yet lifeless and blood-splattered, faces sending chills down my spine.

I then let out a horrified gasp, my knees buckling weakly as I collapsed onto the ground, my eyes wide with horror and disbelief. N-no, this can’t be real, I-I’m just imagining things...

"H-hey, come on...get up. Please...please get up, mom," I whimpered in despair, my eyes welling up tears as I shook her lifeless body.

Sh-she’s so cold, why...why isn’t she moving? There’s just...there’s just no way she’s dead. She can’t be dead...she can’t be! Damn it, come on...wake up!

My shoulders slumped as I let out a choked sob, tears streaming down my face as I began trembling, a mix of anguish and rage welling up inside me and surging uncontrollably.

I clutched my chest tightly as I let out tortured wail, before gritting my teeth as I turned my gaze upwards, seething furiously as I slowly got back on my feet.

I was silent as I shakily continued making my way through the village, a sense of dread with every new corpse I came across as I looked for my father and younger brother.

But I didn’t see them anywhere, a slight sense of relief glimmering through the abyss of despair inside me. Dad was probably taken to the capital, they probably wouldn’t kill a member of Royalty.

In which case...Larrk might have been taken too, since he’s half Royal, as am I, of course. There were some young women and children whose corpses I didn’t see either...they were probably taken as slaves. It’s possible Larrk was taken for the same reason.

Well, it doesn’t matter much which it is, the underlying fact doesn’t change...in all likelihood, both my father and Larrk are now in the capital. I clenched my fists as I steeled my resolve, making up my mind...at the moment, I don’t have what it takes to save them.

But no matter how long it takes or what I have to go through, I will save them, or die trying. And the people who did this...they’ll pay. I swear, I’ll make them pay...

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