The Protective Barrier was deployed around the Dark Elf settlement. Beyond it lay another barrier known as the maze barrier, and the settlement was protected by these two layers.
Within the safety of those barriers, Rei walked through the forest alongside Set.
"Alright, Set. It's just the two of us this time, so we can go all out without holding back."
"Gruu!"
"Still, there's a chance Poro might barge in again like yesterday, so we need to stay on guard against that."
"Grururu!"
At Rei's words, Set purred happily, as if to say, Leave it to me!
Indeed, Rei and Set were currently operating alone — just the two of them.
Marina had figured that Rei and Set's sharp sensing abilities would be useful for tracking down whoever had likely tampered with the World Tree. At the same time, though, she also felt they needed to patrol the forest — specifically, to deal with the abnormally excited monsters lurking within.
Given that the World Tree had begun weakening again, the forest's abnormalities were almost certain to be worse than the day before. That was why Rei and Set — the group's strongest combat assets — had been assigned to the forest.
Others assigned to the forest team included Vihera, since combat was likely to break out; As and Poro, who had originally taken the request to investigate the forest's abnormalities; and several skilled Dark Elves, since those alone wouldn't provide enough combat power.
Among those Dark Elves were Odoban and Jusura, but Rei and Set had taken separate action from the rest of the group.
Vihera had also chosen to operate independently, wanting to enjoy combat to the fullest.
...Strictly speaking, since letting Vihera run entirely solo was considered risky, Ielo had been paired with her. But in terms of pure combat power, Ielo was of almost no use.
Ielo's role was primarily that of an emergency communication relay and conversation partner for Vihera.
Elena, who could access Ielo's memories, had looked somewhat worried about the arrangement. But after Vihera promised not to show Ielo anything strange, Ielo ultimately ended up going with her.
"No monsters showed up at all yesterday. With that in mind, we definitely need to find an Aerowing today."
"Grururu!"
Set cried happily, pleased that Rei hadn't forgotten his promise to hand over the Aerowing's Magic Stone.
Part of that joy was about the Magic Stone, but an equally large part was about the Aerowing's meat.
The Aerowing meat they had eaten at the Dark Elf settlement had been incredibly delicious, but the amount harvested from a single creature wasn't particularly large — nowhere near enough to satisfy Set, with his large body and hearty appetite.
Because of that, Set was radiating determination to find an Aerowing today, no matter what.
"You're fired up, Set."
Rei scratched Set's head as they pressed deeper into the forest.
What surrounded them was the forest in its raw, natural state.
There were no trodden paths to follow, and the terrain was difficult to navigate on foot, but neither Rei nor Set paid that any mind.
"Even if we're searching for monsters... or testing the skills we couldn't last time, we can't exactly go around cutting down or destroying live trees."
Since this was the forest where the Dark Elves lived, arbitrarily felling or smashing trees could easily make enemies of them.
Having come all this way to help the Dark Elves, angering them and ending up at odds would completely defeat the purpose.
That was why the pair was walking through the forest searching for things they could cut or destroy without consequence — fallen trees and rocks, specifically.
Of course, they also hadn't forgotten to keep an eye out for the abnormally behaving monsters, which was their original mission in exploring this forest.
As an adventurer, Rei was well aware of that responsibility.
...In truth, there were very few monsters that could escape Set's five senses, so he wasn't particularly worried on that front.
"Grururu!"
Suddenly, Set let out a cry.
It wasn't a tense, alarmed cry, so Rei casually followed Set's gaze... and spotted a fallen tree lying on the ground.
The trunk bore what looked like claw marks, making it clear the tree hadn't fallen naturally.
"There's a monster in this area... or at least there was one, without a doubt."
The fallen trunk was so thick that even a grown man wouldn't be able to wrap his arms around it.
A tree of that thickness seemed impossible for a Low-Rank Monster to destroy.
Well, it's not like every Low-Rank Monster would be incapable of it.
There were some monsters that could deliver devastating single strikes.
It was possible the tree had been destroyed by such a blow, or perhaps a wild animal had snapped it instead of a monster.
"Well, either way, if one shows up, we just take it down. ...What do you think, Set? Want to test a skill on that tree?"
"Gruu."
At Rei's words, Set shook his head.
Rei was surprised for a moment, but quickly understood.
Set's strikes were already capable of snapping trees with ease, even in his base state, thanks to the combination of a Gryphon's innate physical prowess and the Magic Item known as the Bracelet of Herculean Strength.
In that case, Set was apparently saying that a tree like the one before them wasn't worthy of testing the power of Power Crush, which had gone up two full levels.
Understanding that, Rei decided to test his own skill and pulled out Death Scythe.
It was a tree with a trunk so thick that even an adult probably couldn't lift it alone. If so, it was naturally perfect for testing the power of Flying Slash.
Trees grew all around them, but there was still enough open space to swing Death Scythe.
Rei confirmed that Set had stepped back to a safe distance, then swung.
"Flying Slash!"
The slash released with those words flew straight toward the fallen tree.
With a sharp cutting sound, the tree — its trunk too thick for an adult to even carry — was bisected clean through.
"...Eh?"
What slipped from Rei's mouth was a thoroughly dumbfounded voice.
He had been the one to unleash it, but he never expected that single strike to carry that much power.
And why would he? Until now, Flying Slash had decent speed and range, but its power had been merely decent as well.
It certainly never had the power to cut through a tree too heavy for an adult to lift — a tree with a trunk well over a meter thick.
Because the level went up? ...No, but when it went from one to two, two to three, and three to four, the power never jumped this drastically.
Completely shaken, Rei's gaze darted back and forth between his own arm, Death Scythe, and the severed tree in the distance.
"Gruu!"
Set purred at him, as if to say, Congratulations!
Seeing Set nuzzle his head against him in celebration, Rei finally pulled himself out of his daze.
He reached out and stroked Set's head, turning the situation over in his mind.
Maybe that was a fluke? Like the critical hits you see in games — maybe it was something like that?
Unable to believe the power of the Flying Slash he had just unleashed, Rei stared at Death Scythe.
After thinking it over for a while... he decided that actually trying it again would be faster than speculating, and readied Death Scythe once more.
"Flying Slash!"
The Flying Slash released a second time flew straight, just like before... and struck one half of the already bisected log, splitting it in two yet again.
"Grururu!"
Set let out another joyful cry at Rei's strike.
Hearing that, Rei walked toward the fallen tree his skill had cut through.
"Gruu?"
Set seemed to want to ask what was wrong, but followed without pressing further.
Arriving at the fallen tree, Rei stared intently at the freshly cut surface.
The log, severed as if by a razor-sharp blade, was definitely not a trick of the eyes.
In other words... what does this mean? Flying Slash's power increased dramatically — was it some kind of reason... level five?
Among all the skills Death Scythe had currently acquired, the one with the highest level was, unsurprisingly, Flying Slash — the very skill he had just used.
Its level was five — a number that, in games and the like, often served as a milestone.
Games? ...That's right — Takumu!?
Takumu Suzunose, who had used a form of magic called Arithmetic Magic within the Zephyle Clan. His true identity was someone who, like Rei, had been born on Earth.
Unlike Rei, who had crossed over as a soul alone, the fact that Takumu had been wearing a school uniform meant he had almost certainly come to Elgin with his physical body intact.
In other words, since he naturally knew about games and the like, modifying the Beast Magic Spell Formula so that skills surged in power at level five wouldn't have been particularly difficult for him.
If that's true, then the next skills I have that might reach level five are... Wind Hand and Corrosion, both at level three. On Set's side, Power Crush hit level four with this latest incident, so it's getting close to five. There are also quite a few other skills at level three. I'll just have to wait until other skills actually reach level five before drawing any firm conclusions.
Set was watching him with round, innocent eyes, as if asking what was wrong. Rei shook his head to indicate it was nothing and gently stroked Set's head.
"Whatever the reason, it's an undeniable fact that Flying Slash has become more powerful than before. So I might as well be happy about it for now. ...Alright, I'm done checking my skills. Pain Burst can't exactly be tested, after all."
Pain Burst, which inflicted greater pain on its target, couldn't be visually assessed the way Flying Slash could.
It was a skill whose effect could only be confirmed by actually using it on a living opponent.
In that case, he obviously couldn't test it on Set. He would have to wait for a monster or perhaps a wild animal to come along.
"For now, we need to find a suitable target to test the power of Set's Power Crush."
"Gruu!"
Setting Pain Burst aside for the time being, Rei continued walking with Set, keeping a careful eye on their surroundings.
But just like the day before, no monsters showed themselves.
I hope Poro doesn't come crashing in again...
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the sound of nearby bushes rustling brought both Rei and Set to a halt.
Wondering if it might be a monster — while simultaneously dreading that it might actually be Poro — they watched the bushes...
"Kon!"
A single fox emerged with that cry... but the moment it spotted Gryphon Seto in its line of sight, it turned tail and bolted on the spot.
"Gruu..."
Whether Set's disappointed whimper was because he had wanted to play with the fox, or because he had been eyeing it as a snack, was unclear.
Either way, after seeing the fox off, Set suddenly turned his gaze past the bushes... and spotted a large rock.
"Gruu!"
The massive boulder — roughly four meters tall and five meters wide — was so enormous that its very presence in this forest seemed almost strange.
A rock in the forest? Well, it wouldn't be unusual, I suppose... but still, something about it feels... hmm, off. Or maybe it's just my imagination?
Set turned an expectant gaze toward Rei, who was tilting his head in puzzlement.
Rei had a pretty good idea what that look meant. He thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright. A rock that size should make a worthy target for Power Crush. But be careful — just like my Power Slash, delivering a powerful strike puts a serious strain on the body. ...Well, in your case, Set, I probably don't need to worry."
For Set, whose Gryphon physique was exceptionally sturdy, even a strike of that caliber would rarely cause any real harm.
At Rei's words, Set purred as if to say he understood, then kicked off the ground and charged toward the rock.
"Grururururururururuu!"
What erupted from Set's throat was a sound that could only be described as a battle cry.
He launched himself into the air, activated Power Crush, and slammed his front leg squarely into the rock.
The strike Set unleashed produced a result that could only be called overwhelmingly powerful.
As if crushing tofu, it shattered the rock — a rock more than twice Set's own size — into pieces without the slightest effort.