Whew, that's a lot of stuff today.

'As usual, picking up material while you're hunting will be awesome.

　It's been more than ten days since we started hunting in the Alde Forest.
　Today, I'm on my way home after finishing my hunt.
　My level has been 67 since then.
　Maybe it's because it's getting higher, but the rise is much slower... well, that's just the way it is.
　I've already recovered nearly 200 magic stones, and together with my original holdings, I have over 300.

　

These mushrooms are so crunchy and delicious, you'll want to eat at least one a day!

What about the mushrooms biting?

It's good, sure, but the color.

I'd happily eat your mushrooms. Hey, brother.

No, I don't know what to do with you if you ask me...

　Noor holds the silver mushroom in his hand, his mouth relaxed and happy.
　Sisha and Luna react to it with mixed expressions, but these mushrooms are delicious, even though they look yucky.

　The night of the first time we finished hunting in Alde's forest.
　We started cooking the mushrooms in a no-frills mood and made some grilled or pasta dishes.
　Normally, Sisha and I would make them, so we were surprised that they were cooking, but more than that, we were all don't expecting Noor to eat the mushrooms that were silver and bright blue one after the other.
　
　The silver mushrooms had a crunchy texture and I didn't think they were mushrooms, but they had an indescribable flavor.
　Then Esther and the others started eating them too, and now there's a little mushroom craze going on between us.

●

Huh that's a lot of mushrooms again.

'Well, I've been going to Alde Forest lately.

　I sent Esther and the others home first and came to the Adventurer's Association in Queles, just me and Nol.
　It would be suspicious if I went there every day, so I asked them to check my proof of Matango's defeat at intervals of a few days.
　I only brought about 50 or so at a time, because it seemed like it would cause a fuss again if I brought them all at once.
　Even so, they say it's still too many, so it's a difficult task.

'Okura-san and the others, they're even talking about it a bit in this town.

Well, what the hell is the subject?

'I've heard that some mages are curious about some adventurers taking large quantities of quality Matango and Madango mushrooms and pouring them into stores.

　The mushrooms I brought with me were sold at the store as is, but is that number enough to cause a rumor?
　And I'm not sure what you mean by quality.
　I thought it was just a matter of being lucky to sell at 30,000 G per unit and making as much money as a stinger's crust, that's all.

Oh, and this is a different story, but I have a request for an appointment with Okura-san and the others.

Are you Mr. Arderbel, by any chance?

　The receptionist suddenly said she had a request for us to be appointed.
　We haven't received a request in this town yet, and we don't know nearly as many people as we should.
　If that's the case, is it Mr. Arderbel who told us to tell the association when we were leaving?
　It's been quite a while now, and it's not surprising that we're about to go back to King's Landing.

'No, no. Chris--oh, rumor has it.

What?

　Apparently it wasn't.
　The receptionist who was about to say the disturbing name turned around as she looked behind us and raised her voice.
　There was a bespectacled woman in a white coat coming towards us, swinging her brown hair tied behind her neck.
　It's Christia-san!

''You came to Queles again right after you returned to the royal capital, didn't you?

Ha ha ha I'm just running a few errands again.

So what the hell do you want, sir, coming all the way to our office?

'Yes, the thing is...'

　After receiving the 400,000G reward after the defeat certificate is finished, Chris wants to talk to me, so he decides to borrow the Adventurer's Association's desk to talk to me.
　Nol asks what the hell he wants to talk about.
　He said that this time he doesn't want to talk to you personally, but rather he wants to ask you to make a request as an institute.

　I wondered why he would bother to ask us, but when I asked him, he said he got information that we were hunting a lot of matangoes.
　The request is to retrieve the magical stones that occur in Alde Forest.
　The reward is quite high at 300,000 g each.
　It seems that there is a lot of magic element in that place to begin with, and it seems that high quality magical stones are often produced there.
　However, it seems that not many people go deep into the forest, and it seems that most of the time you can get things that are rarely found outside.

　Moreover, recently, it is said that even torrents have started to appear, making it increasingly difficult to explore the forest.
　So they want to ask us, who are hunting Matango in large numbers, to help them.

That forest is a dangerous place, and I don't want to impose on you. But if you are going to continue to hunt for matangoes, I'd like to ask you to do me a favor...

'I'll be going to Alde's Forest for some time to come, so I don't mind, but...'

'Really?　Thank you!

　We're hunting lightly, but it's a forest with matangoes and even torrents.
　It might be quite difficult to just hunt, but if you try to find a magic light stone in the forest.
　Since there wasn't anyone to accept the request, I wonder if this is how they came to make a direct request to us.
　We go there all the time anyway, so it would be nice to at least explore while we're there.

''And yet........are the contents of that bag all mushrooms?

Yes, I do.

Once again, a great harvest.

　Chrystia looks with interest at the bag of mushrooms placed behind the chair I'm sitting in, with a large amount of mushrooms in it.
　Then Noll proudly opened the bag to reveal the large number of bright mushrooms inside.

'I didn't know there were so many matango mushrooms.... They can be used for research, and they're delicious to eat...''

Do you like these mushrooms, Chrystia?

'I love it!　But these days, even if you line up in front of the store, they're all sold out in a heartbeat. Especially the ones that Mr. Okura and his colleagues are selling these days are of high quality, and they are very popular right now. I rushed to the store the other day when I heard that they were in stock, but all that was left were gray mushrooms.

　
　But still, it's all about quality again. I've only been paying attention to the numbers, but what is it about the quality that's so high that it makes people talk about it?
　I mean, my mushrooms are unsold!　I don't know why this is so frustrating!

What's the difference in quality?

It's a big one!　Matangoes drop different mushrooms depending on the magic power of the person they defeat!

Oh, I see.

　Does it depend on the magic of the person who defeated you.......................my magic is gray?
　I don't want to feel like I have a dirty mind. No, but Sisha was pure white, so it doesn't matter.
　The mushrooms that Estelle defeated are dyed the color of the magic that she fired off, but if I let her hit him directly and defeat him, he'll be a rainbow-colored mushroom just like my necklace.
　Maybe I'll get him to do it next time.

'Especially that silver one!　I've never seen anything like it before!

Mm-hmm, I feel embarrassed when you say that. Would you like one?

You're sure you want to do this?

Go ahead, sir.

Thank you!

　Christia is a little excited to see the silver mushrooms in the bag.
　Is this what happens when you discover something unknown as a researcher?
　Noll took his own mushrooms out of the bag and offered them to her.
　She's apparently embarrassed to be told that her mushrooms are rare.
　It's nice to praise a weapon or something, and Noor is happy to be praised for something of his own.
　Okay, I'll try to praise something next time too.

●

　The day after I received the request from Christia-san.

''So, you're also going to explore the forest today?''

Yeah, and while I'm at it, I'm going to look for the magic stone in the Alde Forest that you asked me to find.

　As usual, the five of us headed to Alde's Forest, and today we were hunting matangoes as we progressed deeper into the woods.
　We had already found a matango spring, so we hadn't gone deeper from there, as we had been hunting in multiple spring locations yesterday, moving through multiple spring locations.
　We didn't run into any trent, so it was nice to hunt there.

　In comparison, now.........

''Mm, Okura-dono. I have a feeling that the number of torrents is increasing somehow.

'It's not my imagination, there are definitely more of them. I've already encountered nearly twenty of them.

The further back you go, the more you get.

　Noor slashed down a tree that had started to move and came back.
　As soon as we started to move deeper into the forest, the frequency of encounters with torrents suddenly increased.
　I've encountered nearly 20 moving trees that I hadn't even seen yesterday, but today I've encountered nearly 20 of them.

　I didn't expect to find so many Torrents stuck deep in the woods.
　And compared to the entrance of the forest, there are fewer Matangoes around here.
　Why are there suddenly more torrents in this area?
　Is something unusual happening?

'Hmm?　Could this be the magic light stone from Alde Forest?

It's a mushroom.

It's oddly shaped.

　As I walked further in, knocking down Trent, I found a yellow, luminous object growing near a tree.
　It was shaped like a mushroom, and its surface was rugged like a stone, about thirty centimeters in diameter.
　So this is a magical stone..... The shape and color differs from place to place.
　It would be tough for an ordinary adventurer to move around with these things.

　After finding one, I continued to go deeper and deeper, and recovered four more.
　Then I went to search a little further back, but....

"What the hell is this? It's huge!

This is another big tree.

　Suddenly the trees were gone and an open area emerged.
　There was a huge tree there that looked to be over twenty meters tall, with trees the size of torrents growing in a circle around it.

'Right. If this was a demon, we'd be in trouble.

Ha, that can't be--oh?

　I don't think I could take on a tree this big if it was a torrent.
　It's bigger than any demon I've ever fought.

　Estelle looked up at the huge tree while putting her hand on her cheek and muttered, and the moment I replied to her, the ground shook.
　Hey, hey, no way........

''........it looks like a demon.

It's bad if we don't take it down here.

All the trees around us are starting to move at once...

　The ground around the giant tree rises greatly, causing a large amount of dirt to dance in the sky.
　The trees around them begin to shake loudly along with it, and one after another, their roots come loose from the ground and become like legs.

　Yikes........is that all Trent?　There's probably more than 20 of them....
　And the guy in the middle is bad. He's so big that I don't think we can win.
　I'll have to check the status of this guy to see if I can beat him though.

　------Let's take a look at his status.
Grandis Species:Trent
　Level: 70
　HP: 80,000
　MP:2000
　Attack Power: 1800
　Defensive Power:1600
　Agility:10
　Magic Resistance:120
　Unique Ability Mimicry
　Skills: Demon absorption, earth movement
------

　It doesn't look as strong as it looks, but it's not a good monster to have here....
　Finally, someone with not just 100 but 120 demon resistance has come out.
　If it was a normal torrent, Esther's magic attacks would still work, but I'd have to use my skills to get through to it.

　This giant torrent, just like the other torrents, has branches growing around it like tentacles.
　If this guy is joined by nearly 20 more Torrents, I don't think I'll be able to join the fight.
　Even when I was only dealing with one of them, they caught me........

''This is a bit.......impossible for me to do.

You leave it to me, sir!　Okura-dono will protect Estelle and the others!

Sisha, you wait here too. Let me and Noor take care of that one.

Yeah, but...

Okay?

Yes.

　That's why Nol and Luna will be dealing with those Trent and others this time.
　I'll be following Esther and Sisha by their side in case other demons come from around the perimeter.
　Sisha clenched her fists and looked like she wanted to fight, but Luna told her to wait for me and she became quiet.
　She listens to Luna's words honestly, so I'm grateful for times like these.

　The Nolls who had Estelle and Sisha's support magic cast on them ran to the Trent's group at the same time.
　And when they got somewhat close, Luna jumped up and threw a spear.
　The moment the spear is thrust into them, a part of their body shatters and they fall backwards.
　The guys behind him were caught up in it too, and about 3 of them fell down without changing.
　.........Luna-san!

　Taking advantage of the confusion, Nol also runs into the crowd of Trent and cuts down trees one after another.
　He's trying to reach out his tentacles to catch them, but he evades them lightly and shows no signs of being caught at all.
　It's a good idea to avoid the tentacles coming from behind, or maybe it has eyes.... I don't think you can imitate them.

　The battle was overwhelmed by two Nolls, and soon Trent's numbers were reduced to less than half.
　Grandis is also just big, and in the end it's all about attacking with tentacles, so they can't even be snatched up against these two.
　The giant trees were also being slashed by swords and pierced by spears and torn to shreds.
　It's like an old tree that's already lost its initial power.

　I thought that if it continues like this, it will end safely...but....
　Grandis, who had been beaten down one way or another, finally made a move.
　The tentacles that had been stretched out to strike the knolls were brought together into one and inserted towards the ground.
　Then the surroundings shook greatly, and the ground gradually rose, and it began to advance in waves in all directions.

''Kyaa!''

"Whoa, eh, hold on, Esther!

Wow, what is this?

　A wave of dirt loomed in front of us, so high that it could easily swallow us up.
　I hurriedly held Estelle, who almost fell over from the tremor, and jumped over the wave.
　Oh, that was close........if my physical abilities hadn't increased, I would have been swallowed......

''So, were you okay?''

Yes, thank you, brother.

　After setting down Esther in my arms, I looked at my surroundings and saw that the green ground that had been covered by weeds and other things earlier had all been gouged out and dyed an earthy color.
　That's the ground motion of the skill...............................It's a hell of a skill.
　I mean, this isn't the time to be worrying about that!
　Are the Noles who were nearby safe?

No, it was a close--oh, my God, Mr. Luna!

　Sisha, who had evaded the same way I did, came up to me and screamed.
　I looked in the direction she was looking, and there was Luna, her arms and legs bound and lifted up by her tentacles, unable to move.
　Noor managed to avoid it, or maybe he was a little farther away, looking up at Luna.
　At that height, it seems impossible for even Noll to help her.

''Now I--''

Wait! I'll take care of it!　Go, centavra!

I'm coming with you.

　Immediately, Sisha tried to run out, but I stilled it and I activated the centimeter bra.
　Then I transformed it into the shape of a blade and shot it out as fast as I could now.
　I can now accelerate to as fast as I threw the ball with my hand, so it should be fast there.

　Continuing to focus on the gunununu, I landed on the tentacles that were restraining Luna's spear-holding hand.
　Estelle also used the same exquisite control to apply wind magic to the tentacles.
　However, the tentacles still didn't break.

　However, thanks to the little wound that was created, Luna forcefully pulled the tentacles apart and cut off the rest of the tentacles with her one-handed spear.
　After cutting off all of the tentacles, Luna falls and lands on the ground, back stepping away from them.
　

''Haha, I'm glad Luna's okay.

Totally. I'm glad I practiced.

Thank God.... If something had happened to Luna-san, I would have gone to make that tree disappear without leaving a speck of dust in the world.

　Thanks for flying the centipede in my spare time.
　I'll continue to train it properly in the future.
　More importantly, the Priestess is saying something very fussy.
　I know what you're thinking, but........

　Then Nol and the others' offensive began, and in a daze, Grandis became a fallen tree.
　He tried to use the skill of ground movement again, but before his tentacles could reach the ground, Nol dove underneath and pushed back with his shield, and was blocked by Luna's spear through it with a rough move.
　The original Trents that were there seem to be buried under the dirt, swallowed up by the first ground motion.
　Killing an entire group of people is a horrible demon.

"Heihachi, Esther, I'm sorry. You're safe.

No, I'm the one who's sorry for leaving it up to Noor and Luna.

That can't be helped, sir. If we had fought poorly, I think we would have been entangled.

　The Noles came back after they finished defeating Trent and the others.
　I don't think I'm going to be able to get into a battle like that I was right to wait and be quiet.
　I'd have ended up getting tentacle-stripped immediately when I got there.

'Oh!　Le, Mr. Luna's delicate skin is scarred!

Hmm, true. It's not that bad.

'No, it's not!　Get well soon!

　When Luna came back, Sisha ran up to her and started to fuss about the wound that had formed.
　She had snatched it while escaping from the tentacles, and when she looked at it, she saw a long, thin red streak on the back of her hand.
　Sisha hurriedly took Luna's hand and cast a recovery spell on it.

''How dare you!　I will not allow you to hurt my precious Luna!　Estelle, let's burn all these woods down!　Not a single Trent will be left behind, and it will be reduced to ashes!

Yeah, I'm on it.

Hey, stop!

...you're overreacting.

Ha ha ha.... Estelle, you shouldn't be doing that kind of thing.

　After finishing the treatment, Sisha clenched her fists and said something outrageous.
　Esther agrees with that and starts holding out her red grimoire and her staff.
　Luna reacts to it in a dumbfounded way, and Noor chuckles.

''But what was that all about, anyway?　I didn't expect to see that one in the back...

It looked like he was in charge of all the other Trents. It was like he was the boss.

　I didn't expect to find this guy deep in the Alde Forest.
　Was this guy the reason for the recent Trent fiasco?
　But I don't get any notifications on my phone after defeating it, so it doesn't seem to be a boss, or even a labyrinth or big defeat related.
　...You don't think it's a rare species of Trent?
　No, I don't want that kind of rarity.
　I don't want a skill that can cause a tsunami of dirt.
　I'll just report this to the Society of Adventurers.