"It's a good thing the weather's nice."
"Guruuu."
Set purred in response to Rei’s voice.
They were currently soaring over a region about thirty minutes away from the City of Gilm, with the spring sun casting a soft, golden glow from above.
A warm breeze likely wafted across the landscape below, but Rei and Set were buffeted by a strong headwind as they cut through the sky.
As for their destination, they were headed toward the Port City Emocion. Their goal was to hunt a certain bounty monster and claim its magic stone, a task Rei had accepted after hearing about it from the Guild Master, Marina, the day before.
Perhaps because it was still early morning, the only creatures visible in the area were ordinary animals like birds; there were no monsters in sight. For a short while after departing Gilm, Rei had spotted adventurers traveling along the ground, but at Set’s cruising speed, they had long since left those travelers far behind.
"Look, Set. I hear it takes a few days to reach Emocion, so let's not push ourselves. This is partly for rest, so try to think of it as a sightseeing trip."
Muttering this, Rei retrieved a sandwich from his Misty Ring and handed it to Set, who had turned its head back toward him.
"Gurululuuu?"
Set chirped from the back of its throat while munching on the sandwich. It turned its large, round eyes toward Rei as if to ask, Is it really okay to take it this easy?
Understanding the gryphon's concern, Rei spoke while slowly stroking Set's neck.
"Of course, being too slow might be a problem, but the bounty stays out at sea and never comes ashore. I don't think there are many people besides us who could actually take it down. The only other options would be for adventurers to head out on ships or for someone to fire high-powered magic directly from the harbor..."
Even as he said it, Rei knew those methods would be difficult to execute.
Ships aren't maneuverable, and if the creature targets the hull directly, there's no way to defend against it. On the other hand, if they use small, agile boats, a single wave from the monster would capsize them instantly. That leaves firing large-scale magic into the sea from the harbor as the best bet, but seawater acts as a natural shield against most spells. That just leaves water magic... but I have my doubts about that, too.
Refining his thoughts, Rei realized his logic applied to himself and Set as well, and he let out an involuntary sigh.
Because Rei specialized in flame magic, an opponent submerged in the ocean was a terrible match for him; his offensive options were severely limited.
"What do we have that might work? Your Wind Arrow and Tornado? King's Intimidation is still at a low level, so it’s a gamble against a high-rank monster like this one. Water Ball is out of the question. ...Ah, considering that, your Poison Claw might be our best bet."
"Gurululuuu!"
Having finished the sandwich, Set cried out as if to say, Leave it to me!
"In my case, Corrosion... well, since it's a monster, it probably isn't wearing metal equipment, so that's useless. Terrain Manipulation is pointless in the middle of the ocean. As for Wind Hand, maybe I can combine it with your Wind Arrow or Tornado? Then there's Flying Slash and Power Slash. If I hit it directly with those... Directly? Directly, huh. I see, that's an option."
"Guruuu?"
Set chirped, asking what he meant. Rei stroked the gryphon's back and continued.
"It's true that flame magic is weak against anything underwater, but if I can't burn it from the outside, I just have to burn it from the inside. With 'Dancing Flame Serpent'."
The spell involved thrusting the butt end of the Death Scythe into the enemy and releasing a snake of fire directly into its body. Rei judged that this would be highly effective, even against a marine foe.
"Guruuu... Guru?"
Set had been nodding along with Rei’s explanation, but its gaze suddenly snapped toward the ground ahead.
There, far from the highway—or perhaps precisely because they were so isolated—a group of about thirty men had surrounded two travelers. Or rather, they looked more like adventurers. A fight was on the verge of breaking out.
"Guruluuu?"
Set asked what they should do. Rei considered the situation for a few seconds.
Normally, he didn't need to concern himself with who was being attacked by bandits. In fact, since they were traveling through such a remote area, one could argue they were responsible for their own safety. They likely avoided the highway because they were confident in their ability to handle trouble.
However...
"Thief hunting is quite lucrative, after all."
The bandits' hideout Rei had decimated during his rank up exam had been filled with weapons and armor. While there hadn't been any magic items of the sort Rei collected, he could never have too many weapons—especially spears for throwing—given the convenience of his Misty Ring. Above all, no one complained when a few thieves were killed; quite the opposite, people were usually grateful. That made it easy for Rei to justify the hunt.
"And it’s not like I’d turn down the extra coin."
Emocion was the premier port of the Kingdom of Mireana, which meant it was also a massive trade hub. Since he was headed to such a place, the more funds he had to purchase rare magic items, the better.
"All right, let's go lend a hand to those poor souls."
"Guruuu."
Set chirped in agreement and flapped its wings, diving toward the ground. A moment later, Rei’s eyes widened in surprise from his vantage point on the gryphon’s back.
"Uoooooh! Die!"
One of the pair Rei had assumed was in trouble charged the surrounding bandits while swinging a massive weapon.
Seeking a balance of speed and protection, the man wore armor made of leather and metal. In his hands, he wielded a pole-axe.
"Hey! Don't just rush in like that!"
The woman behind him swung her own weapon at a bandit trying to flank the man.
The weapon whistled through the air, followed instantly by the sound of something bursting.
"Gyaaaaaaa!"
The bandit who had been targeting the man with the pole-axe collapsed, screaming as he rolled on the ground.
Like most thieves, he was equipped with crude gear, but he was at least wearing leather armor. However, the woman’s strike had accurately bypassed his protection, hitting him where the armor was thin. The tip of her weapon had torn through the leather and caused the flesh beneath to explode. Her weapon was a whip tipped with a sharp spike.
"Oraaaa! I'll teach you lot who you've decided to pick on! Die and be grateful for the lesson!"
With a roar, the man swung his pole-axe. The blade snapped a bandit’s defensive longsword like a twig before cleanly severing the man’s head.
"Heh. They're actually pretty good."
Rei muttered in admiration.
An axe was fundamentally a crushing tool, even with a blade. Yet this man, using a pole-axe—a weapon with a long shaft that was notoriously difficult to master—had sliced through a neck instead of just smashing it. To Rei's practiced eyes, there was no doubt the man was a veteran combatant.
"Still, for them to be all the way out here... is it a turf war?"
Rei considered the possibility for a moment, then changed his mind. He watched the woman use her whip to systematically blind bandits by targeting their eyes—an effective but brutal tactic that would make most people wince. At her feet lay a large travel bag.
"Adventurers or travelers, then. ...Probably adventurers."
"Guruuu?"
Set turned its head back to ask for instructions.
If it had been merchants or ordinary travelers, Rei would have jumped right into his "thief hunt." But since these were likely fellow adventurers, interceding carelessly might result in him being mistaken for one of the bandits.
He was weighing his options when a voice called out.
"Hey! You up there! You're clearly not with these idiots, are you? How about a little help?"
The woman with the whip had apparently spotted Set in the sky.
Rei was surprised for two reasons. First, Set was flying nearly twenty meters up, a height people rarely noticed in the heat of battle. Second, if she could see Set clearly enough to know he wasn't a bandit, she must have realized he was a gryphon—yet she had called out to him without a hint of fear.
"...Interesting."
He had been leaning toward moving on, but the woman’s boldness piqued his curiosity—purely as a fellow warrior. He signaled Set to descend.
"I knew it. I thought it was weird for a gryphon to just be hanging around out here. It's tamed, then."
The woman muttered as she watched Set touch down silently.
She seemed inclined to be friendly, offering Rei a smile even as her whip lashed out in a blur of motion. It was a terrifyingly efficient display of cruelty; she gouged eyes, slit throats, and shredded the muscles of sword-arms with ease.
Meanwhile, the man with the pole-axe continued his rampage. Shields and leather armor proved useless against his strikes as he cleaved through equipment and flesh alike.
Bandits were being bisected at the waist, decapitated, or split vertically from the crown down. Each of his blows carried staggering power.
He’s not quite on Elk’s level, but he’s better than Ara, Rei concluded, comparing the man to the battle-axe users he knew.
The man seemed so absorbed in the slaughter that he didn't even notice Rei and Set’s arrival.
The bandits, however, had certainly noticed. More specifically, they had noticed Set. They were already trying to scramble away, but the woman refused to let them go. Her whip lashed out repeatedly, targeting the knees and tendons of anyone who turned to run, breaking and flaying them.
"So, if you've tamed a gryphon, you're obviously not a normal traveler. A colleague?"
"Yeah. I'm Rei, an adventurer out of Gilm."
"Gilm?! What are you doing all the way out here... ah."
Likely having no concept of how fast Set could travel, the woman stared at him in genuine shock. In her distraction, her whip struck a bandit square in the crotch, leaving the man writhing in silent agony.
"...Whoops. I didn't actually mean to hit him there. Honestly, you lot are thieves, so at least show some resolve and die already! Such persistent little roaches. You agree, don't you? Rei, was it? I'm Miroir. The one throwing a tantrum over there is Egret. Good to meet you."
While she spoke, Miroir continued to finish off the bandits one by one. Egret was doing the same; every horizontal slash of his pole-axe claimed multiple lives or left the survivors with fatal wounds. In a way, Egret was the more merciful of the two, as his victims died instantly.
"Miroir and Egret. Well, I saw you from the air and thought you were in trouble, so I came down. ...Though looking at this, it doesn't seem like you needed me. I'll ask just in case: do you want help?"
Miroir paused for a few seconds, her whip snapping out to shatter the ankle of a fleeing man. Watching the thief collapse, she gave a small nod.
"I suppose. I don't want to drag this out and have the scent of blood attract monsters. If you're offering, we'll take the help."
"Then we'll split the spoils fifty-fifty?"
"...Spoils? As you can see, these guys don't have two coins to rub together."
Miroir tilted her head curiously. It might have been a cute gesture if not for the blood-soaked spike on her whip, which created a chilling contrast.
Rei pulled his Death Scythe from the Misty Ring and leveled it.
"Once we track down the bandits' hideout, I'm sure we'll find plenty of loot and supplies."
Miroir and the surviving bandits stared at him, dumbfounded.
Whether they were stunned by his words or the sudden appearance of the massive scythe was anyone's guess, but Rei didn't much care.
"Set, let's go!"
"Guruluuu!"
With a sharp cry, Set spread its wings and lunged. Rei followed suit, charging into the fray with his scythe held low.