"Ehh—! W-wait a minute! What does this mean!? What was the point of me using magic!?"
Seeing the effect of Seto's King's Intimidation skill, Nielson screamed with an expression of disbelief.
But that was only natural.
She had been trying to show Rei just how useful her magic could be, but Seto's King's Intimidation skill had rendered Nielson's magic—causing grass to grow and bind the deer's legs—completely meaningless.
Seto's King's Intimidation was a skill that had little to no effect on opponents of equal or higher rank, but against those of lower rank, it was extremely powerful.
Looking at the spider, the deer, and the pack of lizards—all three types of monsters unable to move—made that abundantly clear.
If one successfully resisted the King's Intimidation skill, one's movements would become sluggish but still allow some mobility.
However, whether it was luck or simply that Seto was overwhelmingly higher in rank, the King's Intimidation had taken effect on every single targeted monster this time.
"Seto, I'll take the spider! You handle the lizards! Once I take down the spider, I'll go for the deer!"
"Gruu!"
Rather than responding to Nielson's words, taking action was the top priority right now.
King's Intimidation had the effect of rendering opponents unable to move, but its duration wasn't particularly long.
That was why Rei set aside the conversation with Nielson and made defeating the monsters his absolute first priority.
"Nielson, if you can provide support with magic, do it! Choose your own targets!"
With Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear drawn from the Misty Ring in hand, he stepped out of the bushes.
Seto had already burst from the bushes the moment Rei's voice rang out, charging toward the immobilized pack of lizards...
"Gurururururu!"
Using the Power Attack skill, it charged straight into the pack of lizards.
It was a skill with enough power to snap even a tree trunk thick enough for four adults to link hands around.
Rather than Power Crush—a skill delivered with a single foreleg strike—it was a body slam.
Against a single enemy, Power Crush would be better suited.
But against a large number of enemies like this, there was no question that Power Attack, which could hit multiple foes at once, was the better choice.
The massive body of Seto bearing down on them.
Yet the pack of lizards, unable to move due to the King's Intimidation skill, could not evade the body slam... and in the next instant, numerous lizards were sent flying spectacularly.
It was a body slam from Seto, whose body length exceeded three meters.
Naturally, the force was tremendous—among the lizards, some had their necks snapped by that single blow and died instantly.
Even those that survived had suffered damage ranging from a bone or two being fractured.
While watching Seto's onslaught, Rei also kicked off the ground and charged toward the spider.
Unlike the deer, its shape wasn't much different from an ordinary spider.
However, with a body nearly two meters across excluding its legs, it was clear just how vicious the spider's appearance was.
In actual combat, being a spider, it would undoubtedly employ a variety of attack methods.
But... that was only if it could move.
Unable to move, it could neither shoot webs, spray venom, nor use its sharp legs and fangs.
All it could do was watch Rei approach with scythe and spear in hand.
Even though the spider couldn't move, the webs strung throughout the surroundings still functioned effectively.
If Rei touched those threads, he would become immobilized just like the deer.
Not wanting that, Rei used his Sleipnir boots to kick through the air, launching an attack with the Twilight Spear from above at the spider.
Naturally, the spider couldn't evade that strike, and the Twilight Spear pierced through its body...
"And while I'm at it, take this too!"
Slash.
Death Scythe, swung by Rei's hand, effortlessly severed the spider's head.
Using his Sleipnir boots once again to kick through the air, Rei closed the distance to the deer—which was immobilized by the webs, King's Intimidation, and the grass tangled around its feet... no, not just that, but also by vines extending from the bushes binding its legs.
(Nielson, huh?)
He remembered that he had asked Nielson for magical support when he charged out.
Given Nielson's fickle nature, he had only expected support as a lucky bonus, but contrary to Rei's expectations, she had apparently provided it properly.
Rei swung Death Scythe down at the immobilized deer monster.
Blades were growing from the deer's torso, but the Death Scythe in Rei's hands effortlessly cut through those blades and simultaneously cleaved the torso in two.
"Peep..."
The deer, its torso severed, let out a small cry and died right then—perhaps finally able to move at that point, or perhaps it was a final burst of strength like the last flicker of a candle before burning out.
To Rei, there was something incongruous about the deer making a cry so different from its fearsome appearance, but right now he needed to deal with the pack of lizards more than anything.
Having defeated the deer and landed on the ground for the first time in a while, Rei looked toward the pack of lizards that Seto was attacking...
"He doesn't need help with this, does he?"
He murmured.
The pack of lizards had already been immobilized by Seto's King's Intimidation, and on top of that, many individuals had suffered greater or lesser damage from the Power Attack.
Despite being such an overwhelming—and unbelievably well-coordinated—combination of skills, Seto didn't appear particularly exhausted.
From Seto's perspective, he had simply let out a war cry and charged at the enemy, so that was only natural.
Even so, that single blow had already brought the pack of lizards to the brink of annihilation—there was undeniably something that could only be called a difference in rank between them.
That said, being a pack, the lizards numbered quite a few, and among them, perhaps as a result of taking Seto's Power Attack, some were beginning to stir, little by little.
Considering that, there was no mistaking that it would be better to finish them off as quickly as possible.
"I guess I'll help out too."
Rei had already defeated the spider and the deer.
Given that, he could have left the lizards entirely to Seto, but considering the current situation, there was no question that his assistance would bring things to a speedier conclusion.
"Seto, I'll help too. Nielson... if any of the surviving lizards look like they're about to flee, use your magic to stop them."
"Hey, you're using me a little too conveniently, aren't you!? ...Well, actually, the fact that you're asking me means you think I'm reliable, right?"
"Yeah, Nielson's ability is reliable."
While pointedly saying nothing about her personality, Rei's assessment of Nielson was plainly evident.
Not that it meant Rei disliked Nielson, though.
"Hehe, of course, of course. So you've finally acknowledged my power, Rei. Fufufu."
Perhaps extremely pleased by Rei's praise, Nielson floated a satisfied smile as she said so.
...Beneath Nielson, the corpses of the deer, spider, and lizards lay scattered, but she didn't seem to mind in the slightest.
"Anyway, reliable Nielson, please stop any lizards that try to flee."
"Leave it to me! With me on the job, lizards are nothing!"
Easy, huh.
Whether Rei actually thought that inwardly was unclear, but if anyone had been watching the sequence of events, many would probably have thought the same.
And so Nielson did as Rei asked, binding the bodies, legs, and heads of lizards attempting to flee with grass, rendering them immobile.
The grass was strengthened by mana, but if the lizards could exert their full strength, tearing through it wouldn't have been difficult.
They could also have cut the grass with their sharp claws and fangs.
But the lizards were in no condition to demonstrate their true capabilities.
Immobilized by the grass, they were killed one after another by Seto's foreleg and beak strikes.
Rei, who had been watching that scene, also proceeded to cut down lizards with Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear.
The lizards' skin was covered in tough scales that an ordinary cheap weapon couldn't slash through... but unfortunately, the weapons Rei carried were anything but cheap.
Even with the lizards' natural defenses providing a certain level of protection, they were slashed through and pierced as if it were completely irrelevant.
And so, in less than a few minutes, the pack of lizards was annihilated.
To Rei, it was truly a scene that could only be described as labor.
(Probably, the strongest as an individual among these three types was the spider, and the lizards gained the advantage through numbers.)
In terms of appearance, the deer with blades growing from its body was clearly a dangerous opponent as well.
However, that deer had been immobilized by the spider's web, so from that perspective, the spider would rank higher than the deer.
Of course, that was only based on what he had seen this time.
Depending on the circumstances, it was entirely possible for the deer to win against the spider. Considering that, Rei's current judgment was by no means absolute.
"For now, here... yeah. It'd be difficult to dissect them here, so I'll store all the corpses in the Misty Ring. At times like this, I really feel how convenient the Misty Ring is."
Without the Misty Ring, he would have needed to perform rough dissections on the spot.
He could have transported them without dissecting, but in that case, the lack of blood draining would degrade the flavor of the meat to some extent.
In that sense, Rei understood more than well enough that the Misty Ring he possessed carried immense significance.
"That's true. Even from my perspective, I think it's incredibly enviable. If we had something like that, we could have brought far more things with us when everyone moved."
Nielson said, sounding genuinely regretful from the bottom of her heart.
Seeing her like that, Rei somewhat understood what she meant.
Including Nielson, fairies were fundamentally small.
That meant when the inhabitants of the Fairy Dwelling relocated from where they had been living to another place, the amount of luggage they could carry was inevitably limited.
(Being fairies, they could probably use magic and such to travel... but even so, it's not like they could use it freely whenever they want.)
Using a Fairy Circle for teleportation was another option, but naturally, that couldn't be used freely and repeatedly either.
In that case, the luggage they could carry during a move would inevitably be limited.
But what if a Misty Ring were available?
They could take whatever luggage they wanted freely, and if they gathered large quantities of the fruits fairies loved, they could eat them anytime.
(It doesn't have to be my Misty Ring—even a simplified version of an Item Box might be something the fairies could obtain.)
If they were conducting trade with Daskar, Rei thought they might be able to obtain such a Magic Item.
Alternatively, even without trading with Daskar, since fairies were skilled at crafting Magic Items, there was the option of creating an Item Box itself.
"Can fairy Magic Items create something like an Item Box, like my Misty Ring?"
"Eh? Hmm... I wonder. Still, if it were possible, I think they'd have done it already? The fact that they haven't means the Chief probably can't make that kind of Magic Item either."
Hearing Rei's words, Nielson responded.
Nielson likely wanted the Chief to make an Item Box if possible.
But since the Chief didn't make one, there was likely some reason.
Or perhaps it wasn't that she chose not to, but that she couldn't.
Rei felt there was no point in saying anything about that, so he didn't press the matter further.
"But you know, I'll ask the Chief a little about it once this matter is settled. If it's the Chief, she might be able to make one surprisingly easily once she figures out how."
"You think so? Well, I'll leave that to the Fairy Dwelling's judgment. Though, even if it's not a full Item Box, if it's a simplified version with above-average performance, it would sell for a considerable sum."
So said Rei, but if an Item Box crafted by fairies truly came into existence, he could somewhat predict that it would fetch a price far beyond merely considerable.