Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~

Chapter?15: Master’s?Way

Chapter 15

Master’s Way

The White Wolves Den was a cavernous form of Shrine.

Originally the Silver Moon had high intelligence and sociability, habitually forming large packs. And their nature was to dig one den out together to live in.

At their peak, the pack was said to be over a thousand strong.

The Den of the Silver Moon was similar to an ant nest in how it wove back and forth, and it’s size reached about that of a small village.

The Den remained after the Silver Moon went extinct, and even now after it became a Shrine, its original form was mostly intact.

An enormous opening in the ground formed the entrance to the Shrine. While surveying from the shadows of the bushes, Tino breathed out a sigh.

Originally when it was a den of beasts, one would need to be cautious around the entrance for the Silver Moon that would roam around.

But now werewolves with crimson fur were the ones roaming.

They were more than ten meters away, yet they could feel hot breath with an animal stench.

Only the glaring eyes stood out in the darkness.

The edge of the naked blades in their grips reflected the light of the hazy moon shining in the night sky, and gave off a faint glow.

“Oi, it’s not just swords. There are guys holding bows and guns as well.”

“Damn it, looks like it wasn’t just that one that was strong. Is it because of an excess supply of Mana Material? What’s going on here?”

Speaking to the scowling Gilbert, Greg frowned as he observed the Phantoms.

When the world’s Mana Material accumulated and reached a certain concentration, Shrines and Phantoms were created.

And for some reason when the density rose high, Phantoms and Shrines took in the Mana Material, channeling it to rise to a higher level existence.

Hunters called it 『Evolution』, a fearful irregular phenomenon. Evolution wasn’t a usual occurrence.

Mana Material generally circulated freely along veins in the Earth.

As it was constantly flowing, there was a limit to the amount of Mana Material that could accumulate at each location.

In general, evolution occurred due to changes in the Earth Veins or environment and other external factors that increased the density of Mana Material over time.

The Zebrudian Empire which had gained great national power from the Shrines in its vicinity was sensitive to fluctuations in the veins of the Earth.

If there were such signs, Hunters were expected to be aware of them. News of a change in the environment had not been heard.

But, when there were so many high rank Phantoms right in front of your eyes, you couldn’t help but make a complaint.

Tino breathed out in preparation, and calmly analysed their fighting power.

The size of the Phantoms was twice as large as the previously assumed Red Moon. Also, in comparison to the Red Moon that walked on four legs, the werewolves in front of them stood on two feet.

In terms of height, they were more than double the Red Moon.

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“From the start the Den was built for the size of the Silver Moon. If they are that big, their movements should be restricted.

They won’t be able to jump around... I think.”

“It would be better to fight inside rather than in a wide open area... but I don’t have any ways to attack from a distance.”

Outside the burrow, there were five werewolves gathered together. Their whole bodies were covered in armour, but their weapons were different.

Three swords, one bow, and one unrecognisable long barrelled firearm.

Due to the placement and number of werewolves, getting in the entrance unnoticed would be impossible.

Considering the likelihood of a pincer attack, the party decided it was better not to dive straight in and ignore them.

“Is the rescue target inside? Did they enter into this clearly dangerous looking Shrine?”

“...When a Shrine evolves, you can expect to find Relics.”

Shrines, Phantoms, and Relics all manifested under the same mechanism.

The more thick and dense the Mana Material, the more powerful a Relic will be. Also, the lack of popularity was also an important component.

Because obtaining Relics was first come first serve.

“Does anyone here have a way to attack from long range?”

To the words of Tino who had turned her head to look behind her, Greg and Ruda exchanged glances.

A long range attack in this situation meant something that could damage the heavily armoured werewolves.

For example Ruda could throw her dagger, but theres armour, plus the thick heavy werewolf pelt meant that no effective attack could be made.

After seeing the two fall into silence, Tino once again felt the poor balance of the party.

If it was a usual party, for a time like this it was common sense to include at least one person that was skilled in long range attacks.

Gilbert gripped the purgatory sword with both hands, and raised himself slightly.

“Theres no helping it, I’ll cut my way through them. If we defeat the ones with the gun and bow first, we’ll be able to manage somehow.”

“...Hah? Are you stupid?”

“Even without mana, the purgatory sword is stronger than an ordinary sword. It’s fine, this type of thing – I’m used to it.”

Gilbert had lightweight equipment.

Thin metal plated leather armour was popular for Hunters that liked to be agile, but it was most definitely not suited to the person in the role of bait.

It’s better than Tino or Ruda that specialised even further in lightness as thieves, but he didn’t have a shield.

The two handed large sword excelled in offensive power, but it wouldn’t be said to have easy handling.

From the enthusiastic voice that was unaffected by the five enemies, it gave the implication that the boy really was used to these situations.

“Now that you mention it, didn’t you say that you were a one man party?”

The talent of Hunters varied greatly between each person. It was natural there would be differences in power within a party, and for Hunters that were paired with weaker companions, they had a tendency to go ahead first.

And then continually gain victories in that way. There are many times when this becomes a source of friction when joining a new party.

Tino glared at Gilbert that was beginning to wind himself up.

“Don’t do things on your own. If you want to die it’s different, but although temporary, I am the leader of this party and it’s my duty to return with everyone alive.”

“......Huh?”

To the unexpected words, Gilbert’s eyes opened in surprise.

From the way the party ended up together, it was unexpected for the leader to say something out of concern for Gilbert given her personality.

To begin with, for the most agile in the party Tino, it would probably be easy to escape from an engagement with the werewolves.

It may be they were experienced in hunts, but the the members were jumbled together.

In any case the likelihood of being shielded was little thought about.

In Gilbert’s line of sight, Tino’s eyebrows knitted together in discomfort and then she made a declaration.

“I won’t run away. This time Master is expecting me to act in the role of a leader. Without one person going missing and returning alive – those are the minimum conditions.”

Even Tino knew that being a Hunter didn’t consist of all beautiful things. Sometimes a judgement to abandon one member to save the whole party was a necessary decision.

But that wasn’t what was needed this time.

The Master, although a special example, would not abandon the companions that had been entrusted to him.

That’s the master of 『First Step』, the way of Cry Andoric.

Even if put together into a temporary party with strangers – no, it’s for this very reason that Tino Shade was being challenged in her leadership.

Drawing in the cold night air, and suppressing the excitement from the approaching battle.

Then looking to each party member, Tino spoke.

“As the most agile, Ruda and I will go out first to attract their attention. I have training in evading long distance weapons.

In that interval, Greg and Gilbert will assault the rear guard from behind. Firearms and arrows aren’t scary when you get in close.”

§ § §

Ah, please just let Tino live. It’s fine to use the other members as shields on this occasion.

I grit my teeth as I soared under nothing but the moon shining in the night sky. A membrane of air stuck to my whole body.

With propulsion generated by the overcoat Relic, I was like a single arrow that had

been fired from a crossbow.

Same as an arrow, once fired it couldn’t turn back.

In the darkness I can only control the direction and continue forward.

The capital was surrounded by a wall, and in the blink of the eye I passed by its huge gates.

Under my eyes were endless plains, and well maintained roads without lamplight.

It was a beautiful sight, but when I saw it my sentiments could be contained in a few words about throwing up.

The『Dark Wings of the Night Sky』was an overcoat type Relic. As if shaped from the night itself, it had beautiful deep blue fabric.

The Relic with a white jewel placed on the front of the neck gave the user the

extremely powerful ability of flight.

Relics that gave the ability to fly were rare, and their popularity was high so they were also highly priced.

The only one in my collection was the 『Dark Wings of the Night Sky』, but this

Relic had many serious flaws.

The last owner became the subject of the 『Human Missile Affair』, and the truly sad event made both the usefulness and the danger of the Relic well known.

With terrific propulsive force the Hunter had gone head first into the ceiling and was called to heaven.

The 『Dark Wings of the Night Sky』 was about to be disposed of as the Relic that

killed an excellent Hunter when I took it into my possession. It was an authentic defective product.

But with it, you could doubtlessly fly through the sky.

There was no fine control, and it put too much importance on propulsive force over gravity control which made 『floating』 impossible like other flight Relics.

And there were no brakes in the first place, but doubtlessly, you could fly through the sky.

And it was absurdly fast. It was a speed that could not be considered perfectly safe. Since it manifested as a Relic, it must have been an item that existed at some point in the past.

I want to give an hour long lecture to whoever thought it up.

A distance through uninhabited area that would take a Hunter more than an hour by foot, I passed through in a flash and entered the forest as is.

Walking by ground your vision is obstructed by dense forestry, the stones and foilage make it so stamina is wasted just from walking.

It’s all irrelevant to me when I’m racing through the sky.

Towards me flying at high speed far in the sky, the forest dwelling birds and beast raised noisy screams.

I’m the one that wants to scream.

And somehow, through my extremely blurred field of vision I managed to find the target Shrine.

An open area without trees. The ground opened up into a huge hole. It was certain that there were no other cave type Shrines in the area.

Quick. With such speed even I would be fascinated by it. Like this Tino will manage to survive.

The only problem from now is the lack of brakes.

.

And so I clenched my teeth, aimed my direction diagonally downwards, and without change in momentum I burst into the opening.

Translator Notes

-the night skys dark wings, was changed to dark wings of the night sky.

-So I did some minimal searches about Earth Veins/Pulse (地脈).

Veins in geology via wikipedia are “a distinct sheetlike body of crystallized minerals within a rock.” The story likely instead refers to the feng shui definition, in which earth chi runs in pulses through underground waterways/spaces.

Building something on an Earth vein was said to bring prosperity, and practitioners used a Lo P’an compass to locate them.

All this to say, when Earth Vein are mentioned you can just take it as ‘the pulse of Mana’, not something connected with a geological concept (from what I can tell).

-seems like someone clicked on a site ad. I encourage everyone to use ublock origin on my site, it won’t effect me. (chrome or firefox)