Chapter 38

After climbing the mountain path for a while, the two had no choice but to stop.

Kurt, who had been scouting ahead, raised his hand to stop Serena.

However, Serena noticed Kurt’s signal a step too late and bumped into him, falling on her butt.

“Kyaa! Ouch… What was that for?”

“Shh. We’ve approached the target. Get ready for combat.”

“Huh? I don’t see anything.”

But no matter how much Serena looked around, she couldn’t see anything.

“Maybe you saw wrong…”

Just as Serena was about to give Kurt a suspicious look, something emerged from between the trees in the distance.

It was dozens of meters away from where Kurt and Serena stood.

Moreover, it had been hidden by the trees until now, revealing itself a few beats later than Kurt had reacted.

Serena should have been surprised and asked Kurt how he noticed it, but…

Instead, she just stared at it in shock, forgetting to even question Kurt.

“…Is that a Fruit Tree Antlered Reindeer?”

“Honestly, if there was another one besides that guy, I’d be more surprised.”

*Gulp*

Serena swallowed dryly as she stared at the monster.

The creature was nothing like the Fruit Tree Antlered Reindeer she knew. Its size alone was completely different.

Its massive frame, seemingly ignoring perspective, looked at least 4 meters tall, and its neck was covered in long, messy gray fur like a mane.

But what caught her attention the most were its eyes.

Deep, blue eyes that felt like she was staring into the wisdom of a sage.

Those eyes seemed to hold a profound wisdom that transcended mere monstrosity, as if they had glimpsed the truths of the world.

Could that really just be a reindeer?

As Serena stared blankly at the reindeer, she soon realized something crucial.

“…We made eye contact!”

“It’s noticed us!”

Though momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the monster, which was nothing like the reindeer she knew, Serena, being a seasoned adventurer despite her unassuming appearance, quickly sprang into action.

“I’m going to fire something big, cover me!”

She took a big gulp of the distilled liquor she had been sipping sparingly while climbing the mountain and focused her mind.

Soon, mana began to vibrate around her.

“…What?”

Even Kurt, a seasoned hunter, was taken aback and turned to look at her.

Her red hair, now surrounded by the mana-infused air, waved wildly as if dancing in the wind.

Soon, the casting was complete, and a translucent blue mana arrow appeared above her head.

Seeing the mana arrow, Kurt finally realized Serena’s profession.

“…You’re a mage?”

With a smug smile, Serena responded to Kurt’s dumbfounded voice.

“Watch closely. This is how a mage fights. Fire! Shattering Arrow!”

With her gesture, the mana arrow, poised like an arrow on a bowstring, shot forward with a sound that tore through the wind, heading straight for the Awakening Species monster.

.

.

.

‘Hehe~. Good reaction. Alright. Be amazed. By the power of magic!’

Seeing Kurt genuinely surprised, Serena smiled inwardly with satisfaction as she fired the arrow at the reindeer monster.

At that moment, Serena had no doubt that her magic would pierce through the monster’s body.

Of course, if it actually pierced through, the quality of the meat would drop drastically, and Kurt would probably throw a fit, but Serena didn’t know that. At this point, she was determined to take down the reindeer in the most destructive way possible to show off her prowess.

After all, even if it was an Awakening Species, it was still just a Fruit Tree Antlered Reindeer.

The monster’s subjugation rank was only Iron, one rank below Kurt’s Bronze, and it was an omnivorous monster that ate grass and small rodents.

She didn’t doubt that it would die in one hit without even putting up a proper fight.

But in her confidence, she had forgotten something.

Why the participation requirement for this quest was Silver rank.

Awakening Species monsters are at least one rank higher than their original species.

Here, “at least one rank” means the minimum is one rank, but it can go even higher.

Just as Serena’s magic was about to hit the Awakening Species,

An anomaly occurred.

The Awakening Species monster didn’t move a single step, but the vines and branches around it began to grow wildly, forming a shield that blocked her magic.

“Wha—what is that!?”

But it was too early to be surprised.

What happened next was even more unbelievable.

The Awakening Species monster, having blocked Serena’s magic, walked out from the destroyed vines with a leisurely gait.

And as it walked, flowers and trees around it began to grow at an incredible speed, as if time had been accelerated hundreds of times.

It looked less like a single monster and more like a mountain god ruling over the forest and life itself.

By the time the monster approached Kurt and Serena, it was surrounded by the plants it had grown, like a king surrounded by countless nobles and servants, and it quietly stared at Serena.

The ability to make plants grow around it.

Completely caught off guard by the monster’s ability, Serena forgot to cast another spell and just stared blankly at the scene.

*Click*

And like a dignified noble, the monster gave a small nod, and the plants around it lunged forward.

“Wha—what… Kyaa!”

*Slash!*

*Slash!*

*Slash!*

She could understand the plants growing, but for them to attack like animals?

Completely unprepared for the attack, Serena screamed belatedly, but Kurt, who had been watching carefully since the monster started moving, reacted quickly and cut down the attacking branches and vines with his hunting knife.

“Th-thanks…”

“Don’t let your guard down. I expected it to be troublesome when I saw that a Fruit Tree Antlered Reindeer had a Silver subjugation rank, but this is more than I thought.”

At his words, Serena looked at the monster with a tense expression, different from before.

And then Serena remembered another name for Awakening Species.

Awakening Species.

Another name: Named.

Unlike regular monsters that are born as such, Awakening Species are monsters that have undergone a mutation due to some factor.

Thus, the mutations they undergo vary depending on the factor that caused the mutation.

For example, let’s say there’s an Awakening Species of a Basilisk.

One Basilisk might awaken with two heads to compensate for its blind spots.

But another Basilisk might enhance its Evil Eye, gaining not only the Petrification Eye but also a Mind Control Eye that dominates the minds of those it gazes upon, or a Destruction Eye that causes anything in its sight to explode instantly.

The abilities gained through awakening vary from individual to individual.

And naturally, the danger level of the monster increases differently depending on the type of awakening.

Awakening Species are treated as at least one rank higher than their original species.

The hidden meaning here isn’t that some species become more dangerous while others become less dangerous.

Even within the same species, the danger level can skyrocket by two ranks or more depending on the type of awakening.

And the monster in front of them was a freak that had risen two ranks above its original species.

“The abilities it has are rapid growth of surrounding plants… and Monsterification.”

“Huh? Monsterification?”

At Kurt’s words, Serena slowly looked at the plants that had lunged at her.

Even though they had been cut down by Kurt’s attack, the vines squirmed grotesquely, like snakes that didn’t realize their heads had been cut off, clearly different from ordinary plants.

“So, that thing is a monster that spawns monsters!?”

“Exactly.”

At his words, Serena bit her lip.

She regretted her uncharacteristically poor judgment as a seasoned adventurer, driven by the thought of finding a Lizardman who could cook delicious meals.

‘Then this subjugation is going to be tough… Even bringing a Bronze-rank adventurer for this…’

But it was her own fault for bringing an unqualified Bronze-rank adventurer on a dangerous mission, intending to lure him in.

In the end, this disaster was her own doing, and she had to clean it up.

No matter how difficult it was, she couldn’t give up and run away.

No matter how tough, she always gave her best in the missions she took.

That was her duty as an adventurer, and it was also her nature to never give up once she set her mind to something.

And she couldn’t let go of the chance to have a Lizardman cook for her.

‘Right. I can’t give up now.’

“Kurt! I’m preparing the next spell, cover me! We’re taking it down!”

Serena took a deep breath and began casting again.