Riot Grasper

From the direction of the entrance of the lava cave, I saw several groups of people walking towards me.

I took a quick peek at their faces, but I could see that some of them were dressed lightly, not taking into account the fact that they would be fighting monsters.

Only two are dressed in equipment designed for combat.

He has messy brown hair and stubble, and the wrinkles between his eyebrows are so tightly centered that you might wonder if he had been chewing something extremely bitter.

Hey, hey. Shouldnt kids be at home right now?

Dont say that Cyrus. Hes dressed like an adventurer you know, hes just like us.

The frowning man apparently named Cyrus was rebuked by a woman with long black and white mottled hair hanging down her back.

She must have seen the adventurers plate I was wearing around my neck.

Yeah. Its hard to tell from her tone of voice, but its definitely a woman.

Im really tired of being paired up with you Cecil, you half-breed.

Haha. Im not sure I know what a half-breed is. care to explain it to me?

Immediately, the air changed.

.. Oi, isnt this kinda dangerous?

Hey! You guys are idiots. I dont care if you want to fight, but dont do it here!

Reliable. thanks Rei!

Is what I wanted to say, but it seems it came a few seconds too late.

The woman turned towards us at those words Cecil looking amused, and her expression softened a bit.

Youre right. Ive got a bit of a temper, and I need to work on that.

I dont have time to do things that dont pay the bills.

The two broke eye contact and stepped away from each other.

I know this is late, but Id like to introduce myself. Im Cecil. This unsociable man is Cyrus. The people behind me are from the Karnak trading company.

Apparently, this group of people was sent by the Karnak Trading Company or something.

The Wide Citadel to the south is a border town on the southern edge of the Kingdom of Rayshil, and is key to preventing an invasion from the demons. The Karnak Trading Company is a large trading company that built its head office there. They actively trade in weapons, armor, and offensive items.

For those reasons, it is not uncommon to hire the best and brightest to collect high-quality materials.

They brought the mercenaries, Cecil and Cyrus, to hunt for various materials, including the fangs of the Scorching Agni Tiger.

The people from the Trading Company are not armed, but instead carry large backpacks, and they leave the fighting to the two of them to continue collecting materials as long as they can.

With such a large backpack, it would definitely be cheaper to sign a contract with a mercenary as an escort to hunt than to buy the materials.

I guess thats why were here.

Ohh so the company also hires mercanaries.

Thats all that Cecil told us on our way through the lava tubes.

Its some kind of fate that we met here.

Ive already told them briefly why were here as well.

Its unusual to use the fangs of the Scorching Agni Tiger for blacksmithing. Im curious as to what kind of material its made of. Well, I guess I shouldnt be too pushy about asking.

As you can imagine, the phosphorus dragon crystal is not something I want to talk about with random strangers, so I kept it to myself.

Hey, youre always cheating, Se-chan. Why dont you introduce me too? Im Ren Xiao! And my scary sister over their is Lei.

When Ren, who interrupted the conversation, finished introducing himself, Cecil-san also gave a light bow.

Hey there. I thought you two hated us, so Im glad you decided to finally talk.

No, no, Rei nee-chan is always like that.

Im sorry about that too.

Her cheeks tinted slightly as she fiddled with her fingers through her black and white mottled hair.

She calls herself withBokuand gives the impression of being a manly woman, but I must say that she is genuinely beautiful with her toned limbs that have all the undulations of a womans body. (TL: In case you didnt already know,Bokuis generally only used by males, primarily young boys, to refer to themselves.)

If she makes a feminine gesture, it definitely changes her impression.

Why did you get so angry earlier, Cecil-san? Because you were called a half-breed?

Oi, oi! Pretty direct question there Ren

Why do you want to know?

No, because if we know what Cecil-san doesnt like to be told, well be less likely to offend you without knowing. Of course, if you dont want to say anything, thats fine too.

Theres nothing to hide. Im half-beast, half-human. So when Cyrus said that I was a half-breed

That kind of.. thing?

Huh? But I dont see any ears or tails, which are the general beastmen characteristics.

My ears and tail are shorter than normal. If I keep them well tucked away, Im not much different from a human, am I?

Cecil smiled and lifted her hair with her fingers, revealing her tiny ears.

Of course, just because Im half-human doesnt mean Im half-breed. I have both beast and human blood in me. Im really happy about that. Thats why Im sorry I got angry over such a flippant insult.

Half-beastman, half-human, huh

Then maybe this kind of case is not uncommon in other species?

Name: Cecil Atmais

Race: Half-breed (Lion/Human)

Age: 22

Occupation: Mercenary

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Special: Beast Kings Pride

Skills:

Looking at her status, shes pretty strong. I think I can understand why the Trading Company would go through the trouble of hiring her.

Beast Kings Pride Lion Beast?

hey, hey! What the hell are you talking about? Im not supposed to be doing this by myself, you know.

Cyrus is pretty angry, but hes certainly fulfilling his duty as an escort.

.. Yes, youre right. I didnt mean to let my guard down. Its my fault for chatting at work.

After saying her apologies, Cecil-san closed her mouth.

Im kind of sorry. Its my fault for prolonging the conversation.

Im sorry as well. I talked for so long.

Well, Im also.

In response to the apology, Cecil-sans mouth formed into a small smile.

I wish we could have talked more

After hearing that, Ren and I looked at each other and nodded.

We proceeded through the lava tube in silence, and soon came to an open area.

The domed space was so large that even if you jumped with all of your might, you wouldnt have to worry about hitting the roof at all.

However, with the lava flowing here and there, it would definitely be dangerous.

Ahhhh, I can finally move on to real work. Im tired of walking this narrow path with so many people

Does that mean that the Scorching Agni Tiger will appear around here?

Instead of answering my question, Cyrus stumbled along.

Theyre tough guys, so if you think youre in danger, you should call for help right away. There are many people who have lost their lives due to bad luck even if they have the skill. No its a rare monster, so I guess youd be lucky to encounter it.

Laughing, Cecil-san walked away with the people from the Trading Company.

.. Oh, is that where you laugh now?

So, what are we going to do? Do we try to find them around here?

Yeah, I guess so. Its a pretty big place, so lets explore it without getting too far away or too stuck together.

Its so hot! Cant I just rest here?

I dont mind but. I think it would be pretty bad if Ren encountered a Scorching Agni Tiger by himself.

Its.

Even Ren is not weak, but Sienna said that the opponents strength reach Rank A depending on the individual monster.

That would be a tough opponent for Ren to face alone, as none of his skills have reached Lv3.

My fire magic wont work against a fire monster. I can only support from a distance where my sword is broken and my limbs are burned and I cant move.

Help me, not cheer me on!

. Then just stay where you can help.

Alright, Se-chan.

Communicating eye-to-eye.

I dont know what you guys are talking about, but thats disgusting.

Apparently, the joke was too much. Rei pierced us with a disdainful look.

No, dont worry. Ill help Rei if shes in danger, okay?

I dont have that kind of hobby?

What? You guys are idiots.

She tried to walk away again, swearing that it was disgusting, but she didnt go too far from us.

How much exploring have we done?

Even though it was large, it was still a cave. It was naive of me to think we would be able to find it if we walked around at random.

A Lavat flying through the air.

A Lavaworm crawling around my feet.

Flame Cats and others monsters running around the cave.

Searching while fighting off the monsters that attack us.

With this heat, Im running out of energy.

As for the long emptied canteen, it is fortunate that it can be refilled using water magic. Im not sure if its because Rook is fire resistant or not, but she seems to be fine.

Still, I cant seem to find the tiger Im looking for.

It is indeed a rare monster. If were not careful wed probably dry up before we find it. But that doesnt mean we havent gotten anything out of this.

Right now, there is one hypothesis floating around in my head. The key is the Flame Cat this is on the move.

The little Flame Cat we met on the way here didnt attack us, but was quietly sipping lava.

However, the Flame Cat in this area has a large body, and when it finds people, it attacks them.

As expected, Rei didnt try to hug the monsters that attacked her, but she looked very unhappy while she was waving her whip.

Now, the question here is if there are individual differences in Flame Cats. The larger ones prefer to attack humans rather than feed on the lava.

Whats the difference.?

Weve encountered two larger Flame Cats.

I checked the status of both of them, and what they possessed was theFire Magic Lv2skill.

I had the chance to take the skill from one of them, but I failed.

Well. its fine.

Hopefully I can prove my hypothesis with the skills I currently have.

.. again? Im not really into that.

Reis frustration leaked out from next to me, and I finished my thought at the same time.

Flame Cat Possesses the skillFire Magic Lv2(43/50).

.. is here.

Its growing well, isnt it? He must have enjoyed plenty of fine lava.

The skill I took from the first Flame Cat wasFire Magic Lv1 (8/10).

Total it up and give it to it!

Ill take care of it! You two stay here.

I quickly hopped onto Rook.

Im very excited to have found what I was looking for.

With a burst of energy, I drew my sword from its sheath and held it at the ready.

Perhaps noticing our presence as we ran straight at it, the Flame Cat immediately generated a fireball in its wide open jaws and took up an intercepting stance.

The first blow missed its target and crashed into the ground in front of us as we sprinted.

The ground was gouged out with the explosion, and small stones caressed my cheeks, making a scraping sound.

The second strike struck me accurately, and the swelling fireball was about to burn its target to the ground.

Ooohhhh!

It was useless, and I cut straight through it, extinguishing it and scattering a large amount of steam.

.. Just a nice distraction.

There is no longer any obstacles between me and the monster.

A gift is supposed to be received maturely, right?

I touched the Flame Cats body and focused my attention on it.

The warm bounty within our bodies.

The act of transferring this is akin to giving a gift to a dear friend.

No problem the transfer of skills is complete.

.. This should do it.

Not knowing what to expect, I motioned to Rook to keep a little distance.

Just to be sure, I checked my opponents status it wasFire Magic Lv3 (1/150).

Now how about.

Gu, gu!

Something is clearly happening to the Flame Cat.

Keh-heh-heh-heh. that was quite a show.

The moment the steam smoke cleared, Rei and Ren came running towards me.

The Flame Cats body expanded even larger and popped.

No, I think its more appropriate to say that it went into a temporary intangible state in order to rebuild its body.

The surrounding lava synchronized with the change, and compressed into a whirlpool.

.. Tremendous heat.

The object at the center of the whirlpool is fetal and pulsating.

Thump, thump, thump.

Guahhhhhh!!

The loud sound echoing in the lava cave is the sound birth.

A huge, red-hot body.

Perhaps the surface temperature of the body varies from region to region, and the stripes of flame color are fantastic.

Its golden eyes look at its prey with nobility, and its four large fangs can kill its prey with a single bite.

This is it the Scorching Agni Tiger.

Finally, we found it.

Whoa! Whats that..?

Pretty. not.

Rei nee-chan, that one looks feline in a way, so why dont you give it a.. hug?

Shut up. If I touch that thing, Ill obviously be burned.

.. Aside from my impression of these twins, Im glad I got to encounter it this way.

The tigers jaws are aimed at me, and a large fireball forms.

Sorry, but those fangs

Rei and Ren, cover me!

Ill take it.

When the large fireball was released, Rook did his best to take evasive action.

No matter how muchFire ResistanceRook possesses,Lv2is not enough to prevent it.

I mean, Im on his back, Ill probably get burned as well.

A large fireball exploded as it slammed into the wall of the lava cave, and the vibrations echoed throughout the cave.

Kuooo!

Without even needing to signal, Rook took a leap of faith and closed in on the violent tiger.

Im not going to take my time. Ill decide this in one blow.

Given the opponents fire magic, our level of magic cant counter it.

Even if we try to defend ourselves with water magic, which is an anti-attribute, we are the ones who will be overwhelmed and take damage. My magic sword may be able to offset it, but if I come at it too strong, I risk damaging its fangs, which are my main goal.

Close in and cut its torso in half with a single blow

Goooooooooooo!

As the violent tiger swung his log-like arm down, a trail of arcing flames came flying at me.

As soon as I saw that I couldnt ignore the flaming claws flying at me, I immediately activated my Water Shield.

After blocking several claws, the shield disappeared as well.

The incoming flame claws are not very powerful individually, but there are many of them.

It hasnt done much damage to Rook, but there are still a few flame claws flying at my body.

A few shots of this stuff wont kill

I readied my sword and Rook moved forward as fast as he could with his rushing momentum.

Seyaaaaaaa!

With a swoosh, the flam claws melted in mid air and disappeared.

.. ?!?!

I wondered what was going on, but a moments thought gave me an immediate answer.

Someone other than me who can handle water magic.

And didnt I literally ask them to cover me?

I thanked her in my heart and sprinted away without looking back

Gahhhh!

Kuo!

No sooner had the roaring tiger moved on to its next attacking move than Rook let out a light cry.

At the same time, I made a big leap into the air.

Dragons BreathThis is one of Rooks techniques, converging light particles and spitting out a breath of light and heat.

A torrent of light approached, trying to push the tiger away.

Twisting his body in flames, the frightened tiger stopped moving for a moment.

I got.. !

I prepared to jump from above, and swung my sword down from the top its over.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa? Kuh!!!!

I twisted my body and maanged to land on my feet, almost rolling over.

At the same time, a series of thuds sounded.

Guaaaaa!

As I hurriedly turned around, I saw that both of the violent tigers eyes had thick arrows stuck in them, completely robbing the tiger of its vision.

Dont be silly.!

.. Oh, my God, you look so scared. Its not nice to be treated like that after I helped you.

The voice that is adding to our frustration is Cyrus.

Laughing in amusement with his crossbow at the ready.

Helped? Please dont be silly. If I hadnt dodged the arrows, they would have hit me instead of its eyes.

What the hell is this guy thinking?

Heh. Thats called a false accusation. I dont like it when people blame others for their weakness.

The mocking tone of his voice almost made me lose my cool.

This

Look. No matter how many eyes have been destroyed, its not safe to be so careless.. is it too late?

Guaaaaoooooooooo!

The excited tigers arm swung down at me.

This is what its all about!

!!!!

.. Huh..?

So I told you. Hes a tough guy, so if you think youre in danger, you should call for help right away.

The voice I heard from above was a gentle one.

But the blow that came was a sharp one that would surely finish off the tiger.

An object pierced the flame beast from the neck on its side all the way through its throat and sewed it to the ground an extremely thick spear.

Who threw the spear that was so powerful it broke the ground?

The figure landed dexterously and soundlessly, lagging behind the spear that had arrived on the ground first.

Her hair, mottled black and white, swayed softly in the breeze.

Cecil-san..

Hmm? Whats up? I guess Im a little late, but Im glad youre okay.

That innocent smile had me puzzled as to how I should react.