Published at 29th of May 2020 08:19:50 PM
Chapter 37
Battle with the Chimera
The Pellrat driven to the edge of the cliff bared its teeth, and desperately tried to show defiance in the face of the chimera, but it was hopeless . The chimera saw the small beast shaking . It could smell its fear . Its meal was cornered .
Their power as magical beasts was far too different . Ninety nine times out of a hundred the chimera would win .
For the Pellrat, its only hope at survival was to flee, but it had nowhere to go . If it retreated back anymore it would fall head first over the edge .
Whether it chose to fight or to run, its odds were abysmal . Its life was in clear jeopardy .
From the shadows of the bush where Lynn crouched watching, he felt a shiver run down his spine . The chimera was truly a hideous creature .
With the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a snake that slithered around at its rear, as a sort of tail, it was a distorted, bizarre sight that could only be described as some kind of horrible mistake by nature .
He had fought and defeated a lion once in combat, but would his magic really be of any use against such a monster?
His ring was giving off a strong glow, indicating the imminent danger posed by the magical beast .
It may as well have been telling its wearer to run .
“Lynn”, Illia called out .
He had lost himself in doubt for a moment, but her voice brought him back to the present .
He had Illia with him, a member of the Wangold royal family who possessed a powerful magical spirit that accompanied her, and her knowledge of this forest wasn’t something to scoff at . Telling himself this, he felt a little better .
“A moment ago I made my spirit scan the area for any other magical beasts, but it appears that there are none other than the chimera . How lucky for us!”
She had a playful smile on her face, and despite his trepidation, Lynn managed to return her smile .
“The chimera right now is confident that its cornered its prey, but from our perspective the chimera is the prey . It doesn’t have anywhere to run either . There’s a good chance you can bring it down” .
“How do I kill it?”
“Slice off its head with the Vesper Sword . That will slay it . You should be able to strike from here . Strike before it knows you’re even there” .
“Ok, I’ve got this” .
He stepped out of the bush, careful not to make a sound, and assumed a balanced stance facing the chimera .
It still hadn’t realized he was there .
He advanced forward slowly, calculating the distance between them .
He stopped walking, and focused his will into the ring .
The ring began glowing more and more, and then light erupted from its jewel in dazzling fashion, before beginning to form the shape of a sword .
The moment the ring released all that light, the chimera’s tail- the snake- turned its head sharply . It was staring right at him .
The snake let out a long, drawled hiss, threatening him .
Just at that moment the ring released a final burst of light, and the sword assumed its final form .
However it wasn’t the Vesper Sword . What he had manifested was the Raegis Sword instead .
The sword burst forwards through the air, and its blade came darn in a large arc, grazing the side of the chimera and disappearing off into the waterfall uselessly .
Damnit, I missed! But it was the Raegis…
The lion turned its head in surprise and looked back at him . It loud out a blood curdling roar .
Now the chimera had realized that it had prey that was far bigger, and looked far more tasty, than the small Pellrat .
Its full attention and hostility was now centered on Lynn .
The chimera’s priority now was to protect itself, and moreover to satiate its hunger with this large sack of delicious meat that it now saw in its new prey .
Seeing the Chimera lower its body and begin to draw closer, he let out a short scream .
The way its muscles were poised, the way its limbs moved with such agility… It did not match its goat body .
He was frozen to the spot in fear, and his heart felt like it would burst through his chest at any moment .
It was all he could do to keep his mind working, to not give into the fear that threatened to paralyze his thoughts entirely .
“It’s okay” .
He heard Illia speak up from behind him, and she laid her hands gently on his shoulders .
He jumped at first . At some point she had crept up behind him, where she was now standing .
She put her lips close to his ear, and whispered to him .
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“So long as I’m next to you, no danger can befall you . Let your muscles loosen . Relax all the tension in your body” .
Her words were enough to help him to calm down . He felt his body released from most of the paralyzing fear .
“If you attack with a sword so recklessly, you’re going to miss . Be more aware and mindful of what part of your enemy you want to strike . Direct the ring’s light towards your enemy, and use your will to aim . Concentrate Lynn” .
Even at a time as urgent as this, her voice was as serene as ever . From it could be detected not a single trace of impatience or unrest .
He felt his body’s tension being absorbed through her hands .
How strange… Just knowing she’s next to me is so calming .
The ring again shone brightly . He focused on directing the light at the chimera’s head .
She’s a good teacher, he thought to himself in the back of his mind .
The chimera let out a fierce roar, and launched itself into a charge . When it had closed down half the distance between them, it leapt up into the air, mouth wide and fangs ready to sink into its prey .
His ring fired off an incredibly strong blast of light . This time, without fail, the sword he manifested was the Vesper, and within the blink of an eye the light coalesced into its Vesper form, and severed the chimera’s head clean from its body while it was still mid-air .
The chimera crashed to the floor and tumbled a short distance before coming to a rest at his feet . Dust kicked up from the impact was swirling around his legs .
The head had rolled off to one side . The body writhed for a short while, its muscles spasming, but before long it became still as blood soaked the ground around it .
The Pellrat let out a cry and jumped down from Illia’s shoulder, before running over to his friend .
The other Pellrat, which was trembling with fear only moments ago, saw its brethren and ran over to greet him .
The two rat-like magical beasts allowed their noses to meet in greeting, and after a few sniffs to confirm each other’s identity, they rejoiced at their survival, rubbing their flanks up against each other in affection .
Lynn let himself crumple to the floor where he stood . He felt exhausted .
“Are you okay?” Illia asked him, catching him and supporting him from behind .
“Yeah… It just feels like all the strength has been drained from my body” .
“You did well . Leave the rest to me, just rest here for a moment ok?” .
She smiled at him reassuringly, and turned to deal with the chimera’s corpse .
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From her bag she took out a clay doll . She recited an incantation, and the clay doll became animated, almost like a small person . She ordered it to dismantle the corpse .
Using a carving knife and a cloth, the small clay person proceeded to carve and dissect the chimera’s corpse . It had the demeanor of someone preparing dinner in any normal, domestic scene .
For the parts of the body that would later be used to make various parts for items, the clay person wrapped the cloth around the area it wanted to protect from spilled blood, before proceeding with care in carving and cutting up the desired bits .
Meanwhile, Lynn was on his hands and knees in the dirt . He had never exerted so much magical energy in one pulse like that before . His body felt listless, and the nerves throughout his body were tingling .
For a while he remained like that, absentmindedly watching Illia and the clay person go about the ghastly work .
Illia had finished collecting all the desired parts of the chimera’s body . She came over to where Lynn was sitting and handed over the various parts . It was around this time that he finally felt some vitality return to his body .
Seeing the spoils of war, he at last felt the gratification of his victory, and excitement bubbled up from within him .
Of the parts they retrieved from the chimera, there was the lion’s fangs, its mane, the snake’s head, its poisonous fangs, and the goat’s coat, among other bits and ends .
According to Illia these could be used to create various magical items, such as some types of medicine as well as clothing . He would be able to sell it at the marketplace, and it would fetch a price as it was . They decided to split the spoils evenly .
“Are you sure you don’t mind me taking half?” She asked him .
Lynn wasn’t able to think of his victory as entirely his own . Afterall, he received a considerable amount of help and guidance from Illia, and in the end it was thanks to her that he was able to slay the magical beast .
“Of course . You’re the one who dismantled and collected all the parts after all . And you did it with such skill, too” .
Having completed the hunt, they began the trek towards the camp area .
A clay person trailed behind them . It was a different one from before, and it carried with it a sack which it had loaded the loot into .
Lynn couldn’t help but stare at it every now and then . Its face was smooth and featureless, and it was short . It’s height couldn’t have been any more than 100 centimetres, at the most .
It trod through the forest in silence, carrying out its basic work with an aura of plain indifference .
Illia had told him that each clay person could only execute one skill . The two she had packed were capable only of dismantling the corpses of magical beasts, and carrying luggage .
“Aside from not being able to learn multiple skills, they’re slow as well, so some people don’t like to use them . I however think they’re strength is quite useful . They also happen to be adorable! In any case, I regard them as priceless treasures” .
Carrying the loot they gained from the chimera through the thicket would have been back breaking work, so having a clay person do it for them was certainly convenient .
They may have been slow, but they were strong . The luggage it was carrying was by no means light . In fact it might have been impossible for either of them to carry it the entire way by themselves .
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While Lynn saw the merit in these things, he couldn’t help but recoil from the way she had used the term ‘adorable’ . In his opinion, a small clay person quietly carving up the corpse of a beast- and with a blank face too- was more than a little bit creepy .
“There’s a limit to the number of items they can carry, so to continue hunting you’d usually have to leave behind anything unnecessary, but I think we’ve done enough for today . A chimera for your first hunt is quite something! Anyway, if we head for camp now we should make it just in time” .
“Are you sure you’re okay with all this though? I feel like you’ve been so focused on helping me today…”
“Well, I’ve already encountered all of the magical beasts that you can find in the blue area, and I think it was good to make today about you, and to give you the opportunity to learn all about the forest” .
As they spoke and trekked through the forest, they were accompanied by not only the clay person, but also two others .
They were the two Pellrats that escaped from the clutches of the chimera . They had become emotionally attached to Lynn and Illia, and now they rode on the shoulders of their human friends .
Illia had the one she had healed using her magic on her shoulder, and Lynn had the one that he had rescued from the edge of the cliff .
“This is so strange” she laughed, “they’re usually so afraid of people” .
“What are we going to do with them?”
“Well, how about we take them with us? There are quite a lot of wizards who keep magical beasts as pets . After all the trouble we went through, I think I’m going to keep one . Why don’t you try keeping that one?”
“Well, I guess I could try” .
“That makes us a matching pair”, she said, laughing .
Lynn didn’t have any particular problem with keeping one, but he wondered if they would be fine if they were seperated .
Lynn and Illia were of different social class, and they lived in different worlds from each other .
This of course was outside the comprehension of the Pellrats . For all they knew, he and Illia could be really close friends, or siblings even .
I wonder what she thinks .
He looked to her to try to read her, but she was walking along with a smile on her face, pleasant as ever .
They continued walking for a while, and eventually they noticed thin trails of smoke rising high up into the air .
It was the smoke of an open campfire .
As they drew nearer they spotted tents, a flag planted in the ground with the Magulheim streamer, and even cooking stoves .
When they at last got close enough to hear voices from the camp, the Pellrats climbed down into their clothes to hide .