Rei stared at the scene before him, unable to drop his dumbfounded expression.
He had already understood just how much power Set's strikes possessed.
But even so... for a single blow to shatter a rock more than twice Set's size was completely unexpected.
Rather than shattering, destruction would be a more fitting word for what had happened.
The Power Crush Set had unleashed carried power that far exceeded Rei's expectations.
"That's... incredible."
"Gururururuu!"
At Rei's involuntary murmur, Set cried out happily, as if to say Pretty amazing, right! with a note of pride.
Snapped out of his daze by Set's cry, Rei hastily turned back toward it.
"S-Set! Is your body okay?!"
The reason he rushed to check on Set's condition was, undoubtedly, because he remembered using Power Slash—a skill of the same type as Set's Power Crush.
It was unquestionably a strike with enormous power, but due to its nature, the recoil returning to the body was equally immense.
If the recoil wasn't properly redirected, it would inflict damage on the user's own body just as it did to the enemy.
Since it was a skill where self-inflicted harm was only a hair's breadth away, mastering Power Slash had required considerable practice even for Rei.
But... just now, despite Power Crush having risen two levels, Set had unleashed it without the slightest hesitation.
Because of that, Rei couldn't help but worry about Set's condition.
Perhaps the bones in its forelegs had fractured from that last strike.
He had even harbored such fears. However...
"Guruu?"
Seeing Set tilt its head as if asking What's wrong?, Rei let out a sigh of relief.
Still wondering if Set might merely be enduring the pain, he gently reached out to its forelegs to check for injuries. Fortunately, there was no sign of any damage anywhere.
"...Thank goodness..."
"Gurururuu?"
Set tilted its head as if not understanding what Rei was worried about. Rei lightly tapped Set's head.
"Seriously, don't make me worry so much."
"Guruu."
Seeing Set purr, Rei let out a sigh mixed with relief and turned his gaze toward where the rock had been... yes, where it used to be.
What remained there was no longer a rock, but mostly rubble—the debris of the boulder shattered by Set's strike.
"...Hey, Set. Just to be sure, you didn't use the Bracelet of Herculean Strength this time, right?"
"Guruu."
Set nodded in response to Rei's words.
Seeing that, Rei once again turned his gaze toward where the rock had been.
(This isn't just a matter of level five or anything like that.)
The power was clearly different... no, so different that calling it atrocious wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Destroying the rock alone would have been impressive enough, but on top of that, the boulder had been pulverized to the point where most of it could only be described as sizable stones.
Of course, not all of the rock had been destroyed; what could be called the foundation portion still remained on the ground.
But even so... the fact that the last strike carried tremendous power was undeniable.
(And to think it didn't even use the Bracelet of Herculean Strength... how much power would it have if it did? And what about the strike Set specializes in—delivered while diving, combined with falling speed... What the heck was I even thinking, going on about level five this and that?)
Flying Slash had gained a dramatic surge in power upon reaching level five.
But right now, the shock from Set's strike—which had delivered an even more intense impact—had completely overwritten any impression Rei had regarding Flying Slash.
"Ah... yeah. For now, I get that Set's strike has gotten more powerful."
"Gururuu!"
Set puffed out its chest proudly, as if to say Amazing, right!—very much in character.
Seeing that, Rei finally felt the concern he had been harboring toward Set melt away. He smiled faintly and stroked Set's head.
The sensation must have been pleasant, because Set purred and leaned into Rei's hand. After a few minutes of this, Set suddenly lifted its head—which had been drooping under Rei's petting—and turned its face toward something in the distance.
The movement, like a wild beast spotting prey, served as a reminder that Set was no mere pet. ...Of course, a pet capable of an attack that could obliterate a massive boulder in a single strike was something Rei could hardly imagine, nor did he want to.
"Set?"
"Gururuu..."
Rei turned his gaze in the direction Set was looking, but all he could see were the trees of the forest.
(What is it?)
Even as the question crossed his mind, Rei caught a glimpse of something between the gaps in the branches.
"Is that... an Aerowing?!"
Rei naturally recognized the four-winged bird monster diving straight toward them from the sky.
No—rather, it would be more accurate to say they had been searching for this very monster.
And the Aerowing was heading straight for them.
(Moths to a flame... no, Fire Bird. ...Calling it Fire Bird makes it sound like it'd get a bit stronger, huh.)
Even as those thoughts ran through his mind, the Aerowing continued bearing down on them in a straight line.
"Set, I'll fire a probing strike first. Once you see an opening, follow up with your attack!"
"Guruu!"
With Death Scythe in hand, Rei swung it toward the approaching Aerowing.
"Flying Slash!"
What flew forth was the skill that had just been strengthened.
The slashing projectile shot toward the Aerowing as it came rushing at Rei and Set.
"Shaaaaaaaaah!"
Just like before, letting out a cry that sounded like a snake's hiss, it flapped its wings and sent numerous wind blades hurtling toward Rei.
Set was already gone from Rei's side.
It had activated Optical Camouflage and shifted into position for its next attack.
Under normal circumstances, the Aerowing would have noticed Set's disappearance.
But it was currently in a highly aggressive state, incapable of rational judgment.
Because of that, it went straight for Rei—the most visible target.
Colliding in midair were multiple wind blades and a single large slashing blade.
The Flying Slash blade advanced, scattering the incoming wind blades one after another.
Even so, the fact that several wind blades had struck it must have succeeded in reducing Flying Slash's power to some extent. The Aerowing flapped its four wings and evaded the blade.
"Shaaaaaah!"
Now it was its turn.
From the Aerowing's cry, Rei could sense that very intent.
But what Rei directed at the Aerowing was a smile—one of absolute conviction in his own victory.
Whether the Aerowing noticed something in Rei's demeanor or not at all... it tried to unleash another volley of wind blades, and in the next instant, registered a roar from above.
"Gururururuuu!"
Using Optical Camouflage to slip away from Rei's side, Set had soared into the sky to a position invisible to the Aerowing, and was now plunging down from a greater height to deliver its strike.
On top of that, the Bracelet of Herculean Strength was active, and it was a strike using Power Crush—a skill Set had only just acquired.
A blow with enough power to shatter solid rock. There was no way the Aerowing could withstand it.
"Whoa!"
Rei, who had been watching from below as Set unleashed the lethal strike at the Aerowing, let out a scream and bolted from the spot on pure instinct.
His destination was the cover of a tree a short distance away.
The reason for his desperate flight became clear in the next moment.
...It literally rained blood.
To be precise, it would be more accurate to call it a rain of blood, flesh, bone, internal organs, feathers, and everything in between.
After all, it was a strike from Power Crush—which possessed enough power to shatter a rock roughly five meters across—further enhanced by the Bracelet of Herculean Strength and the momentum of a high-altitude dive.
Taking such an attack, it was naturally impossible for even an Aerowing to defend itself... no, to retain anything resembling its original shape.
"Whoa..."
The Aerowing's blood and flesh rained down with audible splatters.
Rei had managed to take refuge under a tree, so he was unscathed. But if he hadn't registered the power behind Set's strike, he would have been caught right in the middle of it.
It wouldn't have been strange for a scream to tear from his throat.
(No, if the Aerowing was pulverized to this extent, what happened to the Magic Stone? Did it not survive either?)
Once the deluge—encompassing blood, flesh, bones, internal organs, and everything else that could be called the Aerowing's rain—had stopped, Rei cautiously emerged from the shade of the tree.
Looking upon the scene anew, it could only be described as a portrait of hell.
"The Aerowing's meat too... now that it's ended up like this, we can't eat it, can we."
"Guruu..."
At Rei's murmur, Set—which had landed on the ground still carrying the momentum from its Power Crush—cried out sadly.
The Aerowing's Magic Stone was one Set desperately wanted to absorb, and it remembered the meat being exceptionally delicious.
Additionally, while Set had zero interest in them, the feathers—which commanded high prices among Aerowing materials—were now so caked in blood and flesh that they couldn't possibly be sold, and gathering them would undoubtedly be a monumental effort.
Seeing Set looking so down, Rei felt sorry for it and gently stroked its drooping head.
"Come on, cheer up. It's not certain the Magic Stone was actually destroyed by that strike, right? Let's search a bit more carefully... ah."
Rei's words never reached their end.
That was because, at the edge of his vision... he spotted a Magic Stone nestled among the Aerowing's scattered remains.
"Set... Set! Set!"
"Guruu?"
At Rei's sudden shout, Set looked toward him as if asking What's wrong?
But Rei left Set where it was and broke into a run toward the Magic Stone.
The stone he picked up was smeared with blood and flesh, but strangely, it was unbroken—still retaining its clean, original shape.
"Set! This!"
At Rei's shout, Set tilted its head for a moment as if wondering what he was going on about. But the instant it realized what Rei held in his hand was a Magic Stone, it let out a joyful cry and trotted over.
"Gurururuu!"
The lightness of its footsteps as it bounded across the ground was surely because Set, too, had feared the Magic Stone had been destroyed.
Not that it would have been surprising if it had been broken.
It was nothing short of a miracle, born from the fact that the stone had been cushioned within the Aerowing's body.
Wiping the blood and flesh from the Magic Stone with nearby leaves, Rei turned to face Set.
"Here, Set. Go ahead. The Aerowing's Magic Stone you wanted so badly."
Tossed along with those words, the Magic Stone was caught in Set's beak and swallowed whole.
[Set has acquired the skill "Tornado Lv.2"]
At the message echoing in his mind, Set let out a cry of pure joy.
"Gururururururururururuuu!"
That elation was undoubtedly driven by the fact that it had successfully learned Tornado.
Set, always at Rei's side, had witnessed countless times the sight of Rei creating Fire Whirlwinds to obliterate enemies.
Because of that, Rei knew Set held particularly strong feelings toward Fire Whirlwind among all his attack methods.
The strengthening of Tornado—which would make Fire Whirlwind even more powerful—was without question a cause for celebration for Set.
"Set, want to give it a try right away?"
"Guruu!"
At Rei's words, Set—still purring with delight—stared fixedly at the open space ahead and activated the skill.
"Gururururuu!"
The tornado that materialized with that cry reached approximately three meters in height.
"When it was level one, it was about a meter tall, so roughly three times. ...Going by the pattern so far, I figured it'd be around two meters. This is a welcome surprise."
Wearing a pleased smile, Rei stroked the head of Set, which had been watching the Tornado intently.
Whether pleased by the sensation, Set purred happily and inadvertently shifted the Tornado in an unintended direction... and tragedy struck.
The surrounding area was littered with massive quantities of Aerowing meat, bones, internal organs, and feathers—and the Tornado had wandered straight into them.
What happened next was painfully predictable.
The Aerowing remains scattered across the ground were sucked into the Tornado, only for the centrifugal force to immediately fling torn flesh, organs, and bone fragments outward in every direction.
When Set had killed the Aerowing, it had been a vertical rain of blood and flesh. This time, it was a horizontal barrage of meat, bone, and organs.
...Since Set had been standing in front of Rei, Rei escaped unscathed. But in exchange, Set ended up plastered head to toe in gore.
"Guruu..."
Only Set's sorrowful cry echoed through the surroundings.
[Set]
"Water Ball Lv.3" "Fire Breath Lv.3" "Wind Arrow Lv.3" "King's Intimidation Lv.1" "Poison Claw Lv.4" "Size Change Lv.1" "Tornado Lv.2" new "Ice Arrow Lv.1" "Optical Camouflage Lv.2" "Magic Eye of Shock Lv.1" "Power Crush Lv.4" "Sense of Smell Enhancement Lv.1" "Bubble Breath Lv.1" "Crystal Breath Lv.1"
Tornado: Creates a tornado. The size of the tornado varies by level. At Lv.2, it is approximately 3m in height.