Azel with a face that seemed to see a thing that really upset him even though what was in front of him was only thatch and puddles, stepping quickly even though not too fast to be called running. The blue T-shirt and jeans worn by him looked torn in some parts. Kain who follow on the back was seen walking while drinking from a potion bottle.

"That was close, I never thought there was a big snake that suddenly pounced on us from under the water. Are you OK, Zel-chan? Looks like we are too far from the safe area, even though I still smell the flower's scent ”

Azel did not answer it and continued to walk quickly, the two of them did not erase their presence and walked holding their swords as a precaution. Azel still believes that the Amulets he received from Dorem functioned well, maybe because they ran at high speed and resisted the scent backwards so that the Amulets did not function as they should.

After walking for about twenty minutes Azel saw a piece of wood that stood conspicuously in the distance, Azel thought that it was the Totem meant by Dorem. After getting close enough to be sure, Azel finally felt a little relieved because it seemed like Dorem wasn't lying. Totems made of wood carved and painted in such a way, stand tall as high as five meters.

"Ho hoo, this is a good work of art. They didn't make it half-heartedly, is this a dragon's carvings? ”

Kain examined the Totem closely in detail, and lightly tapped the Totem as if it were proud and considered it his own creation. Azel looks at his compass now to confirm the direction, then thinks about the next step.

"Ckk, it seems like Shundo isn't an option huh?"

"Are you sure, Zel-chan? Maybe that was just an exception, so far we are no longer attacked by monsters? And the flower's scent is getting stronger too! "

"We better just use a safe way’s"

It is actually easy to tell the truth to Kain, about the Talisman Dorem gave and is in the back pocket of his pants right now. But Azel did not want to give trouble to the Lizardmen who had given their trust in him, moreover Cain was a person who was considered naive by Azel.

"Come on, it's still morning, I hope we have arrived at Adali tonight."

"Shouldn't we spend the night with them again?"

"You said goodbye to them right? Be consistent a little, Adult is about making decisions "

"Wahhh"

Azel ignored Cain's complaint and began to walk again, but just after taking a few steps he felt something abnormal that made him stop. The ground around him was shaking and there was a sound that indicated something big could be heard behind the reeds, it didn't take long until all of that was answered. A bear could be seen standing out from the weeds and staring at them, almost as tall as the Wood Totem here.

‘Three horned bears’, monsters with D class danger. Although they are very large and have considerable physical strength, these monsters are said to have no magic attacks so the danger level is not too high. Even though Azel still drew his sword, who knows what was said in the encyclopedia was not true.

But the worst thing did not happen, the horned bear snorted while shaking his head. A moment later turned away from Azel and walked away from them, Azel sheathed his sword slowly and sighed.

"Yup, this looks like it works"

"Wow, I'm surprised. I was not aware of its existence "

"Come on ..."

About half an hour had passed since the Talisman was activated, Azel accelerated his steps hoping that they would arrive at their destination sooner and were given enough time to return. After passing through a number of Totems they finally arrived at the intended place, a stream of water that ...

"It's not a canal, it's like a big river Zel-chan"

"Save your comment after seeing the Jansen river, I think this is just the tributary"

Azel looked around them, but all he found was weeds and other swamp plants.

"You don't want to poop again? Can you swim and take a shower in the morning too? "

"No, ah ... I think this slow-looking stream of water is deep and dangerous. What if I get dragged and drowned? "

"I will hook you up of course! After all, how come you can't swim? "

"Of ... of course I can swim, but is that a major priority? Isn't it better if we don't waste time and get ready to go fishing ”

"You have a point, I'm also curious why they say it's not easy"

Aaaand some crocodiles were seen leisurely passing in front of them, Azel and Kain just watching them until they went away for a few seconds later.

"You want to move Zel-chan?"

"Let me think for a minute ... no. I think the other places are the same. "

Azel with the 'Earth Spell Ring' created 3 layers of 'Earth Wall' as high as 2 meters for their seats, but then he felt it was not enough and made 1 more for Kain which was a few meters next to it.

Kain was quite amazed to see the large glass case Eustella had given yesterday, he wondered if Eustella was so rich she could afford this. But then Azel made a fool out of saying the bitch only borrowed it from someone in Adali, threatening the owner was a reasonable possibility.

Kain then twirled his fishing rod as if he wanted to immediately throw the hook into the river, but then remained silent for a moment and seemed to remember if they forgot one thing that was very important here, which was the bait. Azel exasperatedly took out another box and took something from the box to throw at Kain. Azel then pressed his palm against the glass box and began to cast a spell to fill the box with water.

The object thrown by Azel was a meat ball whose size was quite large, the size was twice a baseball and had a smell like fried duck. After sniffing it several times, Kain gives one bite to taste it. It was quite tasteless even though the taste of the fried duck was still left, and when he was still chewing and trying to feel it more closely then looked at Azel whose mouth was slightly open and began to scream at him.

"Don't eat it stupid Blonde !!! That's the fish bait given by Lizardmen !!! Who knows if they put some drugs or poison in there !!! ”

Kain immediately spits out everything in her mouth, takes a drinking bottle from her CR and rinsses her mouth and throws it away again.

"Why didn't you say if it was bait, Zel-chan !!! What if something happens because I swallowed it earlier !? ”

"Don't blame me if you die because of your own stupidity, didn't you ask about the bait earlier?"

"I thought you were giving snacks to start hunting small animals here as bait or something!"

"Is there only food in your head? ... oh shit"

A stream of water overflowed from the glass box sign that the box was full, Azel immediately opened the top cover. So if they have caught the fish they only have to throw it in, it's easier that way. Then Azel looked at his palms and moved his fingers, he felt quite weak because he seemed to use quite a lot of 'Mana' for this box. Azel felt the surface of the box to insure somethin, it is true that this box sucks Azel's 'Mana' and uses it to strengthen the material.

"Hmmm? It seems like that female snake knows enough to judge good things. Oi Blonde! Let's start!"

But Kain did not answer that, Azel searched him around and found it already on the ‘Earth Wall’ he made earlier and now he is ready to throw his hook. This glass box is right between the two 'Earth walls', Kain takes the one on the right and without saying anything Azel immediately moves to take the left one.

... ... ...

... ...

...

 

More than three hours had passed and now the sun was almost directly above their heads, Azel with a sour face looked at this calm stream of water. The atmosphere was very quiet, only the sound of gurgling water flowing slowly and the sound of animals in the distance occasionally heard.

"Fuck ..."

The sky looks bright blue, the sun is blazing hot but the gentle breeze carries its own freshness that can make you still feel cool. Clouds are seen going hand in hand and dancing in the sky, but there aren't enough of them to invite a rainy party.

"Fuck ..."

Several birds now descended from the sky and landed on the stomach of a crocodile that was lying on its back both immobile and lifeless right next to where Azel sat. The 'Earth Wall' he had created had now partially collapsed and he was now sitting on a large headless snake that also lay dead on the wall.

"Fuck ..."

The condition of their fishing grounds has now been disheveled like a former fierce battlefield, some hotspots are seen emitting smoke and besides the two previous monsters there are still some dead monsters that can also be found lying around. The smell of fresh blood that stung in the air seemed to defeat the floral scent of the talisman that Azel had brought, the body of a three-horned bear whose neck was almost severed giving certainty to it.

Kain throws some food crumbs hoping the birds earlier come close to him, the plan worked and he then threw more food crumbs afterwards. Now the birds huddled in such a large amount that it caused him to be frustrated, so he gave up and began to drive them away. Azel ignored that, he was more concerned and glanced at the meat ball bait in the open box next to him because the number had decreased by more than half now.

"Ckk, this is not good"

Azel grasped his fishing rod tightly, hoping that it wasn't the monster that came out this time. But the crows that now come and fly around in the sky surround this place, sending a signal to him if this place is no longer safe. The stinging scent of blood will definitely attract the Hyenas around the swamps, The three-horned bear is one thing but if what comes is stronger monsters? He didn't want to think about it but had no choice but to move, he pulled his hook with a heavy heart and hoped that it would all be over soon.

"Zel-chan seems like I got something!"

"Oh really? If it's another monster, don't expect me to help you! ”

Azel had given up hope of Kain's 'Holly Child' luck, indeed his bait always managed to hook something shortly after being thrown. But it wasn't Koi who was caught but the monster that kept getting it, and that was the main reason why their bait had run out more than half. Fortunately, however, what he got was a Monster that relatively did not pose a significant threat, and turned this fishing spot into a killing field.

In contrast to Kain, Azel's hook has only received two catches so far. It's just that he also didn’t catch the main prey, and unfortunately both of them are C class monsters that are very dangerous. Mourasuchus crocodile similar to the one he faced yesterday whose size is much bigger than a normal crocodile and the 'GreyIron Python' whose his dead body is now become seat for Azel, these two monsters is so powerful and forced Azel to use the 'Fang of Reaper' to finish em off and he had collapsed twice because of that. That’s why Azel looks tired, he stood up and pulled his hook as if strengthless. But...

"Hyeaaa !!! Zel-chan! Look I got it! I got it! ...eh? "

Azel turned his attention to Kain's catch from his place, as if he could not believe what was happening, he jumped close without removing the fishing rod from his hand. He watched the fish that struggled struggling to devour the hook, if at first glance all the features that were in the Carp that were in Azel's head had stated that they had managed to capture their prey. The size is quite large, its length is about 30cm and its weight may be around 2-3kg. One that makes this fish a little different is its white color with silvery scales along with a pair of long red mustaches, Azel does know that there are many types of Carp and if you ignore the colors and strange whiskers, this fish really is a genuine Carp. Azel heaved a sigh of relief, as if his hopes for this 'Holly Child' boy paid off. While Kain was still with a doubtful face, seeing the results of his capture that did not seem to match his expectations.

"Is this Koi's cub?"

"Ha? This is definitely an adult Koi! You've never seen one? "

"No no no, as far as I know the size of the Koi isn't this small?"

Azel remembered his conversation with Shido, indeed he said that Koi was a fish monster the size of an adult male. But suddenly an idea hit him from behind, and with a smile he looked at Kain immediately.

"Wait a minute, let's get one thing straight. Kain ... what do you think you just caught? "

"Koi cub"

"No, I think you've captured Koi"

"But Zel-chan, its size"

"Isn't Koi's toddler also Koi?"

Azel's smile grew wider now, he could already imagine what kind of annoyed face Eustella would show him.

"..."

"Right? Right? Are You want to say No? Human children are also human right? Well now, because we both agreed. Let's end this shit hunting and immediately leave this swamp which is just as shit”

"But Zel-chan, I want to hunt for a real Koi!"

"Aren't you just want to eat Koi? Stop whining, you have to be able to differentiate your desires and needs if you want to be a mature adult man. You see the condition of this place? Are you planning to make it worse? "

Now Kain's face was slightly sour, still Azel's words hold a truth. Without complain, he walked and jumped down while releasing the Fish from the hook. Seeing Kain leave, Azel continued to roll up his fishing line, quickly this time because he finally had nothing to do with this place. But only a few seconds after started, he felt that the hook was pulled strongly into the river.

"Damn it!"

Azel made stance and ran his 'Mana' on his feet to make a solid footing on the 'Earth Wall', he also immediately put 'Mana' on the fishing line to strengthen the rope so it wouldn't break. The pull is so strong that the fishing rod that has been flowed with ‘Mana’ is curved and manage to drags Azel foots slightly, whatever pulls it must have a large size body.

"Damn it! Should I take it off? "

If what he is luring is another C class monster, it is a wise choice if he releases the fishing rod here. With the 'Potions' supply also running low, they might be overwhelmed on the way home if they are forced to fight. But Azel did not want to give Eustella another chance by giving him a reason for Azel to compensate for his lost equipment, Eustella could have given him another troublesome request.

Not having time to do anything, suddenly a burst of pillar-shaped water came out of the river and hit the ‘Earth Wall’ where Azel rests. Because they had never been attacked like this from fishing so that it made him unprepared for this, fortunately the attack did not hit Azel even though it was strong enough to make it partially chop on the right edge of the wall.

"Water Gun? This creature can use magic? Ukhh ... Null Gravity "

As he had done with the two previous monsters, with a fishing line as a medium he cast a spell that made the affected object lose weight. Azel did not have the choice to know the situation, he chose to pull him out and fight before the next 'water gun' hit him and gave him a fatal wound. After he felt the weight at the end of the hook began to fade, with one beat of the foot he pulled the fishing rod with all his might.

The next second Azel could see the form of the creature and it was an orange-colored fish the size of an adult male, bigger even though Azel glanced at it because the fish seemed to jump at him. Cain who heard the commotion immediately threw the Fish in his hand earlier into the glass box, he immediately turned around and held the sword in his hand to help Azel. But just one step moved Azel as if he was ejected from above and fell right next to him, there was an orange-colored fish that was twice the size of an adult floundering and pressing Azel down.

"Null gaaahh, Nuu gaahh !!"

Looks like this monster fish is strong enough to be able to neutralize Azel's magic spell this quickly, Azel tries to chant the anti-gravity spell again but it continually fails because the Fish's movements really bother him. Kain with a pose would draw the sword still standing stiffly looking at the scene, but then after actually ascertaining what had happened he instead smiled broadly and shouted.

"Yosh !!! You made it Zel-chan !!! You managed to hunt Koi !!! Banzai !!! "

"Bwa a, Help me stupid blonde!!!"

"Oh ok!"

After inserting his sword into the ‘CR’ Kain trying to pull and push the Fish from above Azel's body, he felt difficulty initially but suddenly the Fish jumped at him and now it is 'Kain' that is replaced by the Fish. Azel who was struggling got up and took a deep breath, in his heart he hoped that this incident did not give him another phobia. And it seems that his hopes were fulfilled, not the fear he got instead of the annoyance at the Fish peaking.

"Zel-chan help me !!!"

"Take it easy, maybe because you both look identical on the same color. It looks like this damn animal thinks you are his female, maybe he will stop after fertilizing you! "

"Hey!"

"Ok ok, well in my opinion the punishment for rapists is death!"

"Don't Zel-chan! The fish is delicious to be processed and eaten while fresh! Isn't that the function of the box we carry? "

"Ha? Even up to this point, food is the only thin in your mind huh? Ckk, maybe it's better that way. After all, we won't gave this one to that bitch ”

Azel, who had been ready to split the fish into two parts, now sheathed his sword. After chanting an Anti-Graphitation spell, he kicked the fish lightly so it was thrown into the box. After sealing the box and putting it in 'CR', he and Kain get ready to leave.

"Is there anything else we forget about Blonde?"

Kain looked around, making sure for the last time that nothing would be left behind.

"Do we need to bring one of the monsters here Zel-chan? Maybe they have things we can sell dearly in the city, the Crocodile skin and the Snake that you killed for example? "

"Do you still smell the flower?"

"It's a bit vague"

"From a few minutes ago I had planned to move to change places, this scent of blood was strong enough to summon a crow above! Who knows if the next one is more dangerous? come with their flock for example! Come on, if nothing else is left we better walk right away. We don't have time to skin them, they might become victims and distractions of the monsters that live here if left alone. Don't forget to get rid of your aura, who knows they prefer to hunt the living ”

With a few nods of approval from Kain, they immediately walked away from the place. Still, Kain wanted them to spend the night with the Lizardmen and spend tonight partying with them with their hunted Koi meat, Azel refused and argued that if he gave their hunted Koi to one of the leading restaurants in Adali then maybe they would be willing to cook for free with their portion bigger and more than he got from a party with Lizardmen. He agreed again despite thinking for a while, and now he stepped steadily by raising his chin as if there was a noble goal in the distance.

After quite a while they walked, a strange sight began to meet them. The Azure King Crab they met yesterday Now standing in front of them about 10 meters in front, Azel can confirm that through the scratches on the shell made by Azel yesterday and the size of his arms are different from each other because Azel cut one of them yesterday. Azel and Kain prepare for bad things but avoiding is the main choice, so they decide to slowly move to the right to avoid. What is strangely, the crab is also moving to the right slowly to follow Azel's movements despite opposing each other. Without taking his eyes off to glare at each other and they moved very slowly around each other, Azel stopped and the Crab stopped too. This happened repeatedly for about 10 minutes, after making a 180 degree movement they also found out if their positions were swapped. Azel and Kain are now in the place of the Crab in the north, and the Crab is now in the place of the Azel and Kain in the south. Still glaring at each other, Azel was now moving backwards and strangely again the Crab was also moving backwards. After a good distance of about 20 meters, then the crab turned and walked away to the south.

"Zel-chan?"

"Huh, at least the sweat we put out to eradicate the monster paid off, our bait in the south was as successful as it was. So they prefer to hunt carcasses rather than the living? fuckind animal ... I mean fuckind hyena "

Azel heard a distant noise on his right, despite the tall grass covering, but he could clearly see a group of animals jumping around moving there. Seeing that his eyes widened and immediately walked quickly to leave the place, as if there was a hand that wanted to come out of his throat Azel held back vomiting and did not slow down his steps. Faced with a collection of nightmares that spilled like a flood was not a story that would end well, he could have survived yesterday but at another time his luck might have run out.

"Ahhh !!! I want to get out of this place immediately !!! ”

"You're really afraid of frogs, Zel-chan? Ranidaphobia really seems to exist, I guess it's just a rare medical term and I don't think I will prove it right here "

"How come a country bumpkin like you know all of that? Even to use scientific word is a for me y’know!"

"Hora! Our village has a library! What's more in the capital, you will be surprised to find that most of the students there are nerds! But my mother said never become a rigid bookworm, and also tell me that communication skills would be very important in society ”

"Hahahaha, yes I agree with your mother. By the way, where are you from? "

"Oya? I haven't told you yet? I'm from ... Zel-chan !? Do you see the one in front?

Azel who was talking to Cain while looking at him now turned and sharpened his gaze to the front, there was indeed something odd that seemed not far from them makes Azel stopped his steps. Thick white fog can be seen suddenly covering the road they are going to take, like a mass of cloud that just falls from the sky and dwells there. This lump of fog did not move, stagnant like a frozen white wall.

In a few seconds Azel could tell that if it wasn't something that appeared naturally, it was most likely the effect of some kind of area magic that was deliberately used by a person or group for a certain purpose. Azel's instinct told him if there was danger in there, made Azel not think twice and made a signal to step back on Cain.

"Zel-chan, maybe this is the Mist Monster meant by those people!"

"Shhh!"

Azel glanced sharply at Kain giving him a firmer signal, he also gave a movement not to pull the weapon from the 'CR' and then spoke in a whisper tone.

"Hold your voice and aura"

Mist Monster? If so, why were they not attacked? According to the information provided by the Lizardmen, Fog will appear suddenly and after that they don't remember anything. Through this information Azel believes that at this moment every second is chairal, Azel glances wildly to the right and to the left hoping that they are not trapped.

However not yet done analyzing the surroundings, suddenly the sound of weapons colliding, explosions and screams could be heard from inside the Fog in front of them.

"Father! That symbol! They!"

"I didn't expect to face you people in this land! Keep the formation !!! Even though we are outnumbered! Make sure we finish off at least one of them! Hyaaa !!! "

"UOOOOO !!!

It was the voice of Sido and Dorem, thus Azel managed to ascertain their situation. The so called Mist Monsters did not attack them but the Lizardmen hunting group, fortunately since leaving fishing grounds they had hidden their Aura so that anyone there was unaware of their existence.

"Zel-chan, don't we have to help them !?"

"Don't be silly, don't you realize that we are in a very advantageous position even for the Lizardmen? There is no guarantee we win if we help them, remember if no one dies in every attack and end with them do not remember anything that happened right? We might be able to help even more by knowing the Mist Monster Id! So don't do anything funny, let's hide ”

"Uhhh I hope they will be fine"

"They will be fine if you bring lots of 'Healing Potion'"

"You're right Zel-chan"

Even though they didn't see it they knew that if the battle inside the Fog sounded very fierce, the sounds of the Lizrdmen's war cry might be louder than the sounds of arm’s friction and explosions that followed. Azel saw flashes of lightning and flames rising from the Fog, followed by grains of dust and gravel falling down from the sky.

After at least fifteen minutes, a Lizardmen's long roar signaled the end of the battle. However Azel still heard some small sounds that sounded quite busy, like the steps of many people who were busy walking to and fro and the sound was heard quite loudly because of this watery swamp area.

After a long time the busy noise now subsided, followed by fog that is also increasingly thinning. On the contrary, now the rhythm of the sound of the step is like a ripple of water that is quite noisy like the sound of a group of livestock fish fighting over food in a pond. Then Azel and Kain from their hiding place could clearly see a group of people in the armor walking away from the thinning fog area towards them, as they passed in front of them Azel realized that this men of this armor walked on the water surface and he could hear if one of the men walked in the front sounds annoyed about one thing and argue with another of his mate.

"I hope this is the last Castor! The drug supply is limited, no, the drug should not be used for this sort of thing! You should prioritize our mission! Oh man! I never thought ‘Argonauts’ would be a group of thieves! I should be suspicious of you guys who keep carrying that fish, even though I'm sure none of you can swim! ”

"Save your complaint to your grandfather, this is his order you know. And just so you know, I can swim! Even with all this armor attached to my body! ”

"Do not lie! We've known each other since you still pooped in your pants! After all, if you realize that what you are doing is very risky, why don't you refuse it! "

"Watch your mouth, little horn! Times can change, including the people you know! Besides as a soldier, what can I do if the General gives orders, huh? This fish has become a must on his dinner table, he really likes it and this also affects his mood you know! You as his grandchildren have realized how unpleasant the atmosphere of the camp if he is in a bad mood right? His face is even scarier than my father's! "

"My horn is longer than you! You should at least discuss it with me or Pahl! Maybe we can find a better way out, no, that old man would want to listen to reason! Don't you also know, if our spies say that Elvia's troops are stationed in the city not far from here? "

"Mine is bigger, size determines everything, little Jord! Let you know, Pahl also does this because this is the best choice! We can all dispel the problem around in one hit, and this is quite successful because the number of those who come here is decreasing! The informant also said that what we are doing is considered a dispute between local residents, and it looks like your hope that this will be the last will come true! Isn't that your initial reason for joining me on patrol? Because the informant said if the courier had met him in the city yesterday, and most likely they would come today? I'm sure this will all end today and we will all go home soon! You remember the place, right !? ”

"I brought a GPS, just take it easy we won't get lost ... and I think girls prefer horns that look sleek and fashionable!"

"Oh, realy? How many women have you managed to date Little Jord ~? ”

"... ... ..."

"Haaah ~ even though I was happy with your confident words"

"My body and soul is only for one person"

"Yes yes yes, don't you think if you have to move fast before your girl is taken by someone"

"I'm sure she still holds our promise as a child, our love is eternal like the stars in the sky!"

"... Bullshit!"

After the entourage of armored troops had gone far enough away from them, Azel and Kain came out of their hiding place. They moved closer to where the battle was heard, and another strange sight was seen. The Lizardmen seem to be lying helpless, but their lying position looks neat as if sleeping parallel to consisting of several lines.

This place also looks not cluttered, indeed some areas look unnaturally empty without weeds. But you could say this place does not look like a former fierce battle field. Damaged weapons are seen piled up into one, and other items are also lying neatly as if they have not been touched.

"Mr. Dorem!Oh my, Zel-chan he’s seriously injured! ”

"Give your potion immediately, but only to those who appear to be seriously injured!"

"Eh? Why?"

"Do it fast! We don't have much time! "

Kain seemed to want to say one thing, but she held his tongue because he saw Azel take out the 'Potions' from his CR and started giving them to several Lizardmen. Not long after, it seemed like Azel already felt that what he had done to a Lizardmen in front of him was enough. He stood to look and examine one by one the Lizardmen, then after making sure that no one else was seen to have severe injuries. Azel turned his face and looked south from where they came from, with sharper eyes this time.

"Argonauts? Why that famous bands of Elite Knights from  North Continent is here?"

 

***

Three shadows were seen moving slowly in the muddy Magnild swamp water, one shadow in the middle was shorter than the others as if to confirm that one was the youngest in line. The three shadows are owned by three people who wear white hooded coats with black layers on the inside, walk slowly in silence with one person in front who determines the direction while looking at a small instrument in the palm of his hand.

The guide suddenly stops and raises his hand, immediately the person in the back says 'Stop' and the person in the middle also stops.

"Are we there yet?"

Ask the last person in a voice that sounds like a grown man.

"This should be the place, I'm not sure myself"

One in front answered it with the exact same voice, looked around and found only thatch and puddles. But a moment later