The day after Estelle played with Annelie and the others, we continued to hunt again.
　I've now accumulated 802 magic stones and my level is now 78.
　Today, after finishing the hunt, I went home and took a break before going to the Adventurer's Association.

''Hehe, I've accumulated a lot of magic stones.

''The level has gone up a lot, sir!　Besides, collecting the magic stones this time was quite fun!

'In Nole's case, he wasn't just collecting mushrooms...'

　I've been steadily accumulating them over the course of the day, and I've finally saved up this much.
　Dius, Glynn and the others are also defeating rare species, and the fact that the magic stones are coming in from time to time is still significant.
　It was a good decision to ask them to form a group for me......I should thank them for something when I see them next time.

''Uh-huh, so now I'll be able to play the next event gacha when it comes, as much as I want.

'Sisha and Heihachi are floating around when it comes to messing around. Is that so much fun?

'Of course!　Gacha is what I live for, you know!

I think we should look for something else to live for a little while longer...

He's your brother. You can't help it.

　Looking at me and Sisha who are happy, Luna is tilting her head.
　

　After resting for a bit, I left Luna and Sisha at home as they were, and me, Nol and Esther decided to head to the Society of Adventurers in Queles to prove the defeat.
　We took the beacon to Queles and entered the association and approached the usual receptionist.

''Um,''

Oh, Okura-san. You came at the right time.

Just in time for the...?

Yes, I have a favor to ask of you.

　Another request........after all, when you become a B-rank adventurer, you're asked to do more requests like this.
　The first thing I heard was that more than a dozen torrents have been found in the bamboo forest to the west of Queres, and they want me to investigate.
　He also wants me to go and collect some shiny, magical bamboos from there.
　The investigation will end when the magical bamboo is found.
　Glowing bamboo.........sounds like something out of an old story.

''I'm sure Okura-san and the others who can hunt Grandis in a single party will be fine, but if you're worried, multiple parties are possible. What shall we do?

I'd be happy to accept a private party.

　It's possible that we may have another Grandis outbreak.
　Normally it would be better to go with another party, but in our case, we have a lot of things to hide, so it's easier to do it as a solo party.
　I told the receptionist that I would take the party alone, and after receiving the request form with the details, we left the association.

'Another Trent outbreak.......what the hell is going on?



If there is, it's probably just like the one at the Angoli ruins.

　Now we've got a huge outbreak in the bamboo forest to the west and it's overflowing with torrents all over the place.
　Like Noll and Esther said, this is just like the Angoli ruins.

'Hmm, I'd be happy to go destroy it then. The area where Trent appears is so large, I have no idea where it is.

Yeah. Considering where it's likely to be I'd say the place where Grandis was last time is about as suspicious as it gets.

You must go back and look at it after this assignment.

　The Angoli ruins had a labyrinth within the ruins, so the demon abnormality was occurring only in that area, but the abnormality is occurring in Queres, scattered over a fairly wide area.
　Considering where the anomalies were occurring until now... is there some kind of supermassive labyrinth underground around Queres?
　........no, that's not really possible. What the hell is going on here?



　The next day, I immediately came to the bamboo forest that was the subject of my request.
　It had looked like medieval Europe up until now, but I didn't expect to see bamboo...
　While looking at the bamboo forest that reminded me of that original world, I found a few thick trees growing unnaturally mixed in with the bamboos.

''........That's Trent, isn't it?''

You're in a bamboo forest, so you haven't been able to mimic anything at all.

Is that the tree Trent?　Let's skewer it for now. Teeeeeee!

　Even Trent, as you might expect, would not be mimicking at all if he were in the bamboo. It's more unnatural than growing on the plains.
　Maybe it's just a tree, but I'm suspicious, so Luna decides to throw a spear to check it out.
　The spear she throws successfully pierces the middle of one tree.
　Then the pierced tree began to struggle, shaking its branches painfully.

'Oh, it's moving!'

'You guessed it perfectly!　That's Luna indeed!

I like the idea of not being taken by surprise.

　I quickly dealt with the tree that turned out to be a torrent and headed onward, having Luna spear the tree in sight.
　We continued onward, looking for the luminous bamboos, and along the way we found about 10 ordinary trees. And all of them are torrents.
　
　As we were advancing in such a manner, the ground rose and something popped out.
　It's about the size of a matango and it's a bamboo shoot.

''This time it's a walking bamboo shoot...''

　The bamboo shoots have two hands and two feet, and in its hands it carries a spear with a pointed object like a bamboo shoots on the tip.
　It looks bigger and a bit slower than a matango, but it looks a bit stronger because it has a weapon.


"Okura-dono, is that thing likely to drop food?

''Eh ... yeah. I guess I'll drop the bamboo shoots because they're an ingredient, but........

　Well is that the first thing you ask when you see a demon?　I'm starting to get a little worried about Noll being okay....
　Will this guy drop bamboo shoots like Matango when he's defeated too?
　The same thing happened with the mushrooms, but knowing their original form, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to eat them... though I'm sure this guy is delicious as usual.
　Anyway, let's check the status.

　------
Species:Bambus
　Level: 55
　HP: 15,000
　MP:300
　Attack Power: 800
　Defensive Power:1300
　Agility:10
　Magic Resistance:30
　Unique Ability Rapid Growth
　Skill Stab
------

　That's some strength. Not enough to be a threat, though.

"Mm-hmm, let's get the foodstuffs by defeating it right away!　The demons are all about food these days, and they make me smile!

'There are foodstuffs all over the place in Queres, aren't there? That fruit was good too.

"Hmmm, I'm very torn on that interpretation as far as I'm concerned...

Don't get hung up on the details.

　Realizing that she might drop food, Nol ran towards Bambus with glee.
　Takenoko tried to intercept him with her spear at the ready, but her sword slashed off the tip of the spear before she could thrust it out.
　It continues to slash forward, and in an instant, the Bambus is chopped up and dismembered by the knoll, turning into particles of light.
　And when the light disappears, there's a magnificent bamboo shoot lying there.

'I have quickly harvested them!

The bamboo shoots were not normal.

There's a slight difference in color. It looks like these are the same as the mushrooms.

　If you look at the bamboo shoots that Noll brought, you'll see that the normally green, grassy part at the tip has turned silver.
　Furthermore, the mussel part underneath should normally be red, but it's also silver.
　

　Since hunting isn't the goal this time, I don't look for the rare species of Bambus and resume my search for the magic light bamboo and torrents again.
　Noll was complaining about it, but I told him I'd come back to hunt more carefully next time and he gave up for today.

　We then proceeded to find and defeat Trent one by one, as well as the occasional bumpus.
　Finally, we found a dazzling light from deep in the bamboo forest.

'Whoa, the bamboos are really glowing!'

That's the magical bamboo we're delivering to you. There's a lot of magic elements stored in that bamboo.

　A luminescent bamboo from base to top, about 3 meters long, it's a short bamboo, but it has an overwhelming presence in this bamboo forest.
　This is the magic light bamboo.......unlike the magic light stone in Alde Forest, it was hard to find, so it must be quite rare.
　I decided to cut it off from the root, cut it into six equal parts and take it home.
　That's one of the objectives accomplished.

''Well, now that I've found the Demonlight bamboo, I can go home now...''

　The moment we found the Demonlight Bamboo, the investigation is over as well, but.......can we just go home?
　By the time I got here, I had taken down nearly 30 torrents. Obviously, there's an outbreak.
　There might be a Grandis somewhere in this bamboo forest.
　I'd better look for them just to see if they're there.

''Well.......for now, let's look for Grandis while defeating Trent.

'Maybe that one's out there again I don't like it a bit since it was tied up last time.

　Luna looked confused, as if she was remembering what happened then.
　Seeing this, Sisha said something that made her head hurt while snorting.

''Don't worry!　I'll make sure to protect you this time!　I'll be the first to charge in!

You're the last person in the world I should be charging into!

　You're kidding me!　What's going on with the priest who's in the recovery role and tries to jump into the demons first!
　With his head in his hands, as usual, Sisha was still in the same boat, but he regained his composure and began to explore the bamboo forest.