"Huh..."
The Greatsword Adventurer could only let out a dumbfounded voice at the sight of the Cobolt he had been struggling against killed so effortlessly in a single blow.
What was the point of him having struggled against an agile Cobolt precisely because he wielded a heavy weapon like a greatsword? The outcome was so swift that he almost wanted to say exactly that.
What was unfortunate for the adventurer was that the Cobolt had been unarmed, fighting barehanded—or more accurately, using the claws on its fingers as weapons.
Normally, a Cobolt would be armed with a longsword, short sword, spear, or something similar. But the Cobolt he had fought this time carried no weapon, and therefore was able to maximize its natural agility as a Cobolt.
On top of that, while a Cobolt's claws were normally sharp, they weren't typically usable as weapons. And yet, this Cobolt's claws possessed enough sharpness and length to serve as one.
He had believed he was by no means outmatched in skill, but in this case, the compatibility had simply been terrible. That was surely why he was so dumbfounded at seeing the opponent he had been struggling against dispatched so easily.
While he stood there in a daze, Rei approached with Set in tow and called out to him.
"Are you unharmed?"
"Huh? O-oh. Um... sorry. Thanks."
The dumbfounded adventurer came back to his senses and expressed his gratitude to Rei.
It wasn't that he felt nothing about seeing the opponent he had struggled against killed so effortlessly. Inadequacy in his own strength, and jealousy toward Rei's overwhelming power. But even so, he had been saved—and considering that he had been saved after asking for help, not offering at least a word of thanks was not an option.
"I see. Glad you're safe. So, about this Cobolt—is it a Rare Species or a High-ranking Species?"
"No, sorry, but I wouldn't know about that. However, there shouldn't have been any Rare Species or High-ranking Species appearing during this incident. At least, that's what I've heard."
"Well, it's true that Cobolts are hard to distinguish from one another. For now, would it be alright if I take this Cobolt's Magic Stone? You can do whatever you like with the rest."
With its head destroyed, securing the Subjugation Proof Part was impossible. On top of that, if the Magic Stone—which sold for the highest price among the materials—was taken too, the man would walk away with nothing.
(No, having my life saved is the profit, I suppose.)
The man had been about to say something in response to Rei's words, but reconsidered and gave a nod instead.
"Yeah, got it. That's fine. I'm not the one who killed this Cobolt, so I don't mind you taking the Magic Stone."
"Appreciate it."
Rei said briefly, then immediately produced a knife, opened the Cobolt's chest, and extracted the Magic Stone from its heart.
"Alright, sorry to rush you, but we're in a hurry, so we'll be going now."
"Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?"
He asked this not for any particular reason, but simply because the mood struck him. What could someone of Rei's caliber be in such a hurry for? Maybe some troublesome problem had come up? That was what he had thought when asking—but Rei showed no particular sign of panic and spoke as if it were nothing at all.
"Oh. I'm thinking of building a wall so Cobolts can't enter Gilm."
"...Huh? A wall? By yourself?"
"That's right. Though it won't be a proper wall, just a simple earth wall made with magic. I don't think it will completely stop every single Cobolt from getting in... but the numbers should drop."
"Can you really pull off something like that? It'll cover a pretty wide area, you know."
"Well, yeah. I'd say it's not impossible."
"Gruu!"
Rei said casually while stroking Set's head.
The Adventurer Man honestly couldn't understand the person in front of him. Just how much power did someone need to have to say something like that so nonchalantly?
"Ah... I see. Got it. No, more accurately, I realize it's impossible for me to understand you. But what should I do now? I needed to earn a bit more from Cobolts."
"Oh. In that case, you should join the Gigant Turtle dissection the Guild is recruiting for. Once I build a wall here, the Cobolts that can no longer enter Gilm will naturally go toward the Gigant Turtle dissection site, so you can fight Cobolts to your heart's content there. Plus, besides the pay, they'll give you a little Gigant Turtle meat too."
Saying only that, Rei left the scene with Set.
The Adventurer Man still looked like he wanted to say something, but perhaps because Rei showed no sign of paying attention, he eventually gave up and went off to search for another Cobolt.
"...Now then, about this Magic Stone... what do you think?"
Holding the Magic Stone from the earlier Cobolt, which he had wiped with a cloth taken from his Misty Ring, Rei asked Set.
In response, Set opened his beak with a purr, as if to say "You'll know if you try eating it."
"I suppose so. Then, here."
As if feeding him a piece of candy, Rei tossed the Magic Stone into Set's beak. Set swallowed it.
But... no announcement flowed through his mind like when acquiring a skill or leveling up.
"...Unfortunately, no skill was acquired, huh. Does that mean that Cobolt really wasn't a Rare Species or High-ranking Species, just a normal Cobolt? Though it was oddly strong for that."
That strength was only relative to the greatsword-wielding adventurer. But even so, it was undoubtedly stronger than a typical Cobolt.
"The most likely possibility is that it came from its experience fighting as a Cobolt for a long time? Like what you'd call a veteran."
Thinking about it sensibly, that was probably the case. In battle, experience was in some ways a more important factor than stamina or raw muscle strength.
However, even if that were the case, there was still something he couldn't figure out. Specifically, the claws extending from the Cobolt's fingers were clearly longer and sharper compared to a normal Cobolt's.
"Maybe the monsters entering Gilm are gradually getting stronger... or something?"
"Gruu...?"
At Rei's murmur, Set tilted his head as if asking, "Is that so?"
Feeling soothed by Set's demeanor, which belied his abilities and exuded nothing but cuteness, Rei realized that thinking about the Cobolts on his own was pointless.
Besides, once he created the earth wall he was about to make, he couldn't definitively say that no more Cobolts would enter Gilm—but the numbers would certainly decrease.
...In exchange, all the Cobolts would be diverted to the Gigant Turtle dissection happening outside Gilm, though.
"Anyway, once the earth wall is built, some of those doing Cobolt subjugation should judge that they can't earn enough and switch to the Gigant Turtle dissection. So then... let's head to the place connected to the outside for now."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a sharp cry, then let Rei climb onto his back before breaking into a run.
Once Set started running, the surrounding scenery blurred past at an astonishing rate.
In the middle of town, Set naturally couldn't do something like running at full speed. If he did, the people walking around would undoubtedly crash into him and suffer serious injuries. Alternatively, instead of just causing injuries, there was a high possibility he would destroy buildings along the way.
But out here, without needing to worry about such things, Set could run to his heart's content. That said, Set had been freely running around at the Gigant Turtle dissection site too, so he wasn't particularly frustrated.
And so, in the blink of an eye, Set arrived at the front line of the Expansion Construction—the place where Gilm connected to the outside.
Along the way, he caught glimpses of several adventurers fighting Cobolts, but because Rei and Set moved so quickly, some of them didn't even notice their presence.
"Thanks, Set."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set purred briefly.
While stroking Set, Rei looked around once more... but there were no Cobolts in sight.
"Now then, what's going on here. I was fully expecting a pack of Cobolts to attack when I got here. Not having any trouble is nice, though."
Whether this happened to be a lull in Cobolts entering Gilm, or simply that they were done for today—he didn't know the circumstances, but either way, it was undoubtedly fortunate for Rei.
Rare Species or High-ranking Species aside, there was almost no benefit for Rei in defeating normal Cobolts. What's more, since even the residents of the Slum District couldn't easily approach a place like this, there was a possibility that Cobolt corpses killed here could become Undead if left unattended.
Thinking about that, not having to fight here was lucky for Rei as well.
"Anyway, since we've come this far, let's get it done before any unnecessary interruptions. Set, keep watch around us while I concentrate."
"Gruu!"
Watching Set cry out as if to say, "Leave it to me!", Rei took Death Scythe out from his Misty Ring.
Then, confirming the effective range of the Terrain Manipulation skill he was about to use, he focused his consciousness on the Death Scythe in his hands and plunged its ferrule into the ground.
"Terrain Manipulation."
What left Rei's mouth was just that short phrase.
But that alone activated the skill, and the ground within a seventy-meter radius centered on Rei was placed under his control.
What was created first was an earth wall one hundred and fifty centimeters high.
Next, the ground on the outside of the wall sank by one hundred and fifty centimeters.
Normally, his Terrain Manipulation could only create an earth wall of one hundred and fifty centimeters. However, by sinking the ground on the other side of the wall by one hundred and fifty centimeters as well, a pseudo three-meter earth wall was created.
"...Well, this should do. Though I'll need to do this quite a number of times."
The area connected to the outside was fairly large. Given that, completely blocking the outside from the inside with earth walls would require using Terrain Manipulation a considerable number of times.
"Grurururu!"
Just as Rei was about to move to create the next earth wall, he heard Set's roar.
Wondering what had happened, he turned his gaze toward Set, only to see him leaping over the earth wall.
It wasn't that an enemy had appeared—Set had simply taken interest in the earth wall right in front of him and was jumping over it to play.
"Ah... keep it in moderation."
While difficult for Cobolts to leap over or climb, a wall of this height was no bother at all to Set. It truly seemed like nothing more than a plaything to him.
Rei was a little unsure of what to say about Set's behavior, but since he wasn't destroying the earth wall and appeared to be keeping watch of the surroundings at the same time, Rei left it at that.
"Grururu!"
At Rei's call, Set cried out happily and resumed jumping and playing on top of the earth wall.
Rei had no idea what was so fun about it, but there was no doubt that Set had a strong interest in jumping over the earth wall.
Rei left Set there and headed to a spot slightly farther away—where he would use Terrain Manipulation next.
"Terrain Manipulation!"
Once again, an earth wall was created.
He repeated this process over and over, and the earth walls connected together.
(The joints... should be fine if I use Terrain Manipulation to attach them. But to be absolutely sure, I should call Marina and have her freeze them with Spirit Magic.)
Looking at the one-hundred-fifty-centimeter earth wall in front of him, he thought this.
Considering the power of Marina's Spirit Magic, having her cover areas where his own abilities fell short would undoubtedly be extremely helpful.
Creating this many earth walls in a matter of tens of minutes would be an incredible feat by normal standards, but the person who had done it showed no particular concern. This was partly because there were few—or perhaps no—people nearby with similar power.
Anyway, satisfied that the earth wall—one hundred and fifty centimeters from Gilm's side, three meters from the outside—was complete, Rei shouted toward Set, who was still flying over the earth wall.
"Set! The earth wall is done for now, so we're heading back into Gilm! I need to find Marina and have her do the finishing touches!"
"Grururururururu!"
For whatever reason he found it fun, Set, who had been single-mindedly jumping over the earth wall, let out a high cry at Rei's words and stopped playing.