The first to leap forward was, naturally, Rei.
The lizard monster spat something at him again—fangs, most likely.
A strike like a bullet.
However, Rei currently had a Magic Shield deployed that could block any attack at least once.
The unleashed attack was something Rei could have dodged under normal circumstances, but making an evasive movement would naturally break his stance.
If that happened, there would be a delay—less than an instant, but a delay nonetheless—before he could launch his next strike.
To prevent that, he had no choice but to trust in the Magic Shield's performance and press forward.
(Besides, for some reason, only the lead lizard is spitting fangs. ...Probably a behavioral trait.)
Silently thanking the lizard's habits, Rei swung Death Scythe in an upward scooping motion.
The blade, infused with magical power, effortlessly cleaved the lead lizard clean in half.
It was a remarkably clean strike, almost unbelievable given that Flying Slash had only managed to inflict light scratches.
But that was only natural.
No matter how sharp the cutting edge of the Flying Slash skill was, it could never match a blow from Death Scythe empowered by Rei's own magical power.
And Rei's attack did not end there.
After cleaving one lizard in two with the upward scooping strike, he rotated his wrist in the same fluid motion and used the butt of the scythe to scoop up another nearby lizard, launching it into the air.
The lizard, roughly two and a half meters long including its tail, was naturally quite heavy, yet the strike sent it skyward as if that weight meant nothing.
The lizard, forcibly hoisted into the air, was pierced through the torso in the next instant by the Twilight Spear held in Rei's left hand.
...The sheer force of that strike was probably to blame. What should have only been a piercing blow through the torso instead pulverized the lizard's body, scattering viscera and blood across the surroundings.
The thick stench of blood and entrails spread across the lakeside at night.
Furrowing his brow slightly at the smell, Rei surveyed the area with Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear in hand.
In his line of sight, the other adventurers were already engaged in battle with the lizards.
Some wielded longswords, some spears, some hammers—each using their own weapon to attack the lizards.
As expected of a gathering of skilled adventurers, they fought without the slightest difficulty against lizards that Flying Slash could only scratch.
With a resounding crash, Gaga's massive greatsword came down and shattered a lizard.
...Yes, shattered, not cut.
It was less like a greatsword strike and more like the result of a hammer blow.
A larger-scale version of what happened when Rei's Twilight Spear piercing strike ruptured the lizard's torso.
It was only possible with overwhelming physical strength and a masterwork greatblade of such quality that it wouldn't be flung about wildly by that very strength.
Being ranked among the top five in the Gran Dragonia Empire was no empty title.
Then again, considering he had fought more or less evenly with Rei, his abilities were already clear enough.
"Grrrrl!"
Amidst all that, Set was naturally fighting the lizards as well.
In the battle against the Water Strider, he had destroyed the head, which meant it remained unclear whether it had possessed a Magic Stone.
That was why this time he needed to defeat the lizards while leaving their bodies intact, to determine conclusively whether they truly lacked Magic Stones—and that was why he was so enthusiastic about it.
He dodged a strike from a lizard attempting to bite off his leg with its long jaws, then countered by slamming down with a front leg.
The blow Set delivered easily crushed the bones of the lizard's long snout and jaw.
"Kyapi!"
A scream rang out that hardly sounded like it could come from a lizard.
Then again, given the length of its snout, it didn't seem like an ordinary lizard to begin with.
When Rei called them lizards, it was simply because, looking at them as a whole, if asked what they resembled, they looked like lizards.
Since they merely resembled lizards, it wasn't strange at all that they let out cries sounding nothing like one.
Right now, in particular, there were far more important things to do than worry about such cries.
"Oraah!"
Some distance away from Rei, a man swung a halberd at a lizard with that shout.
The lizard tried to intercept the blow with its powerful jaws, but unfortunately... or rather, naturally, the strike wasn't caught by its teeth; instead, it cleaved the lizard's body in two from its long snout down through its torso.
As a fairly well-known B-Rank Adventurer, his combat ability was more than sufficient.
Like that adventurer delivering such strikes, the others were also mostly attacking the lizards.
Those who were not as aggressive in their attacks as the adventurers were the Lizardmen.
A few, led by Gaga, were happily attacking the lizards, but the majority of Lizardmen, led by Zozo, stayed behind to guard the Birth Tower.
(So they really do have some reservations about it, since they're both lizard-types?)
Dodging a lunging strike from a lizard that had opened its long jaws to tear off a chunk of flesh, Rei brought down the butt of the Twilight Spear—rather than its blade—onto the open jaws from above.
The jaws, forcibly shut by the Twilight Spear, were in the next instant pierced clean through from top to bottom by the spear's tip, followed by a strike from Death Scythe that severed the head entirely.
(Crocodiles have powerful bite force, but the strength to open their jaws once closed is weak... wait, where did I learn that? Probably TV or something.)
Rei pondered this idly while pulling the Twilight Spear from the lizard's mouth.
Whether that knowledge was correct or not, even Rei didn't know.
But from the feel of fighting them, it didn't seem far off.
(Rank C... no, maybe around Rank D? They look vicious, but actually fighting them like this, I don't get the impression they're that high-ranking.)
Their bite was undoubtedly powerful.
They didn't have long fangs per se, but the sight of countless small, sharp teeth lining their jaws brought to mind a saw.
If one were bitten by those saw-like teeth and shaken about, it would unquestionably result in severe wounds.
Wounds severe enough that scars would remain unless one used Recovery Magic or high-quality potions.
Also, the attack where they shot fangs like bullets—as they had done to Rei—could easily be fatal for someone caught completely off guard.
Even so, as long as one understood such an attack existed, dealing with it wasn't particularly difficult.
However, considering that Flying Slash only inflicted light scratches, their defense against slashing attacks could be considered considerable.
Overall, individually they were Rank D Monsters. However, considering their nature to attack in groups, as a pack they were Rank C Monsters—that was Rei's analysis.
Of course, that was merely Rei's own assessment, and how the Guild would ultimately classify them remained unknown until it actually happened.
The battle itself did not take all that long, partly because the adventurers were all seasoned veterans.
Aside from the few that fled back into the lake upon realizing they stood no chance, every lizard that emerged was slain by Rei's group.
"...Right."
Facing a pile of lizard carcasses, the first thing Rei needed to do was, naturally, dissect them.
That said, it wasn't because he wanted to eat the lizard meat or to determine how the materials could be used—it was to confirm the presence or absence of Magic Stones, just as with the Water Strider.
With the Water Strider, only one had appeared, and when defeating it, Set had blown its head apart with a front leg strike.
As a result, the Water Strider's head had sunk into the lake in fragments.
By now, it was likely being devoured by fish, insects, Giant Clams, and other animals.
Even so, Rei had no intention of blaming Set for that incident.
After all, as a general rule, the Magic Stone a monster carried was located in its heart.
"...Yeah, nothing here either. How about you?"
The adventurer dissecting another lizard nearby shook his head.
"Nothing. No Magic Stone after all. You can't say I missed it in the dark—not in these conditions."
Rei nodded at the adventurer's words and turned his gaze toward the still-burning Slime.
The area around the Slime, which continued to burn from Rei's magic, was considerably brighter than the surroundings.
It was, at the very least, not nearly dark enough to overlook a Magic Stone inside a monster's body.
Under such conditions, with not just one person but Rei, the adventurer he had called out to, and several others all performing dissections—finding no Magic Stone was impossible.
Of course, mindful of what happened with the Water Strider, they thoroughly searched the heads as well, but naturally, no Magic Stone existed there either.
"In other words... I can't say for certain about all of them yet, but the monsters in this lake don't possess Magic Stones. ...What a hassle."
Monsters without Magic Stones essentially did not exist in this world.
There was a possibility that such monsters existed somewhere if one searched hard enough, but as Rei reasoned, it was most sensible to conclude that this lake had come from another world.
"Zozo, I'll ask you again: the monsters in your world also have Magic Stones, right?"
'Yes. We Lizardmen have them, as do other monsters. There might be monsters that don't possess Magic Stones, but I do not know of any such beings.'
Zozo answered Rei's question via the Stone Tablet.
There was not a trace of hesitation in Zozo's voice as he read aloud the text appearing on the Stone Tablet.
That alone made it evident he was not lying.
Then again, considering Zozo's deep loyalty toward Rei, it was hard to imagine he would attempt to deceive him here.
"Then that means this lake really is..."
"From another world, teleported here."
"!?"
The one who continued Rei's sentence was the adventurer who had just asked about Magic Stones.
That adventurer cast a gaze at Rei with a hint of exasperation.
"What, did you really think it was still a secret? With this many abnormal circumstances, it wouldn't be strange to think they came from a different world entirely."
"Well, I mean..."
Rei faltering was only natural.
As the example of Zephyle showed, the concept of other worlds existed in this world as well.
Even in fairy tales, there were stories of heroes who appeared from nowhere and vanquished evil monsters.
But those who genuinely believed in the concept of other worlds were but a mere handful of intellectuals—scholars and mages, for instance.
That was why hearing that adventurer speak of another world as if it were a given was nothing short of astonishing to Rei.
"With all these abnormal events piling up, plus Lizardmen who have their own nation? If something like that existed, word would have spread at least a little. Since I've never heard anything of the sort, it's not strange to arrive at the idea of another world."
"...Is that how it works?"
He had assumed that, being an adventurer, the man wouldn't have given any thought to the existence of other worlds.
Thinking that, Rei asked.
The Adventurer Man smiled and nodded.
"Right. A normal adventurer might not think that way. But... this is Gilm, out on the Frontier."
Because it was Gilm.
Put that way, Rei had no choice but to accept it.
Gilm's status as a frontier city made it a special place in many regards—that much was certain.
"I see."
"That's how it is. Though, the only ones who've realized that are the guys here, so I don't think you need to worry."
Hearing the adventurer's words, Rei reconsidered, thinking that was true enough.
The adventurers present here were hired as skilled, capable hands.
It was hard to imagine such seasoned adventurers carelessly spreading talk of other worlds.
Knowing that Lord Daskar wished to keep it hidden, bringing it up in the current situation would undoubtedly lead to troublesome consequences down the line—that much was certain.
"Let's hope so. Lord Daskar seems to want to keep this matter as secret as possible."
Rei also wanted to keep it secret, but he judged it better to invoke Daskar's name rather than his own here, and so he said as much.