Although he let out a sigh whenever he found game elements added by Takumu, Rei accepted them as normal since they were useful.

What’s wrong with Rei? Set seemed to ask as he rubbed against Rei’s face.

「No, it’s nothing much. Is the Water Ball the same as the one the Water Bear used?」
「Guru~」

Set nodded at his words.

「Right. Do you want to try using it now so we can take a look? I want to understand its strength.」
「Gurururururu~!」

As Set gave a cry, a water ball 20cm in diameter immediately appeared in front of his beak. It certainly looked the same as the one the Water Bear used.

「Right, please try to hit the tree trunk over there.」
「Guru~」

Following Rei’s instructions, Set launched the water ball. Although it flew quite fast, it was slower than the Water Bear’s. When it hit the tree trunk……it only damaged the surface of the bark.

「Guru~……」

Compared to the Water Bear’s spell, the speed of Set’s water ball was obviously slower, and the power was lower too. The quantity was also different, as Set could only create one, whereas the Water Bear could use three at the same time. Since he had initially been so confident, Set dejectedly lowered his head.

「Set, don’t feel depressed. In the first place, it’s still only Lv.1. Perhaps the Water Bear’s Water Ball was a higher level. If you absorb more magic stones, the power of the water ball will go up, and you can obtain other skills too.」
「Guru~」

Really? Set looked at Rei and tilted his head. He looked adorable, which wasn’t something you would expect from a creature combining the king of the skies and the king of beasts.

「Ah. Water Ball isn’t just useful for attacking. At the very least, it means you and I won’t go thirsty.」
「Guru~」

Leave it to me, Set gave a short cry, his mood completely fixed. Perhaps he was this simple because it was only the second day since his birth.

「In any case, we’ve finished dismantling the Water Bear. You’ve absorbed the magic stone and we’ve confirmed its effect. We should get moving soon, as the smell of the Water Bear’s blood will spread on the wind, and more monsters will be here shortly.」
「Guru~」

With Set nodding in agreement, they left the area in a hurry.

All that remained behind were the leftover offal Set hadn’t eaten and the blood from dismantling the Water Bear.

They travelled for about an hour from the spot where they dismantled the beast. As Rei walked through the forest, he took a Clara fruit from the Misty Ring and took a bite.

Suddenly, Set stopped and scanned their surroundings.

「Set, an enemy?」
「Guru~」

Set nodded at Rei’s words and turned his sharp gaze behind them.

Rei briefly looked over his shoulder, but unfortunately, his human vision couldn’t spot any enemies.

(Well, even if this body was created by the best magicians, there’s still a gap between my five senses and those of a magic beast. Now, what to do?)

The Death Scythe was in his right hand, and the Mithril Knife rested at his waist. Though Rei thought about it for a moment, he still chose the Death Scythe. Even if it was difficult to manoeuvre in the forest, he still had the ability to use magic with it.

「If it keeps chasing us, there’s a chance it might attack while we’re camping. Okay, we’ll fight it here.」
「Gurururu~!」

Set nodded in agreement. He created a water ball so he could attack at a moment’s notice, and waited for the enemy……firing the spell the instant he saw something move!

「Gyan~!」

A yelp echoed from where the water ball hit, and several enemies emerged from the brush as if they had been waiting. They looked like……

「Stray dogs……no, wolves?」

Six grey-furred wolves, about the height of Rei’s knees, had appeared.

「There are a lot of them, but it’s still better than fighting the Water Bear.」

At a glance, they were the same size as normal dogs and didn’t have a coat of water like the Water Bear. Assuming there was a difference between dogs and wolves, he figured the wolves would have higher combat strength.

「Grrr……」

The wolves growled and glared, trying to intimidate them. Seizing the chance, Rei hurriedly searched Zephyr’s knowledge for information regarding the wolves.

But……

「What?」
「Guru~?」

Set reacted to the noise Rei had involuntarily let slip. Rei immediately returned his line of sight to the wolves while shaking his head.

While surveying the situation, Rei clicked his tongue. Unlike the Water Bear, Zephyr actually had knowledge about the wolves standing in front of him, but they weren’t classified as monsters.

Demon, magic beast, monster. Although there are numerous names, they all refer to the same thing, which is creatures that possess a crystal called a magic stone, usually located in their hearts. Though some species are an exception, creatures with a magic stone will aggressively attack those from species other than their own. It is one of the reasons they are called 『Demons』.

However, the wolves before Rei were different. They were common beasts without magic stones.

This meant that even if he defeated them, he wouldn’t get any magic stones to help Set and his Death Scythe grow.

That said, if a common beast underwent some sort of mutation, such as staying in a magic power-rich area for a long time or swallowing a magic stone, it could establish a new magic beast in the ecosystem if it managed to leave offspring. The Water Bear that Rei and Set fought was probably a case like that.

(At least the meat can be saved for Set, and it looks like the fur can be sold……in that case.)

Honestly, the rewards were very small compared to the effort required to fight them. He seriously wished they would just leave them alone.

(That said, they can’t understand our words. I guess there’s no choice.)

As he held the Death Scythe up……the tension became impossible to endure, and one of the wolves dashed out to attack Rei. Triggered by its movement, the rest of the wolves also lunged forward, their cries ringing out through the surrounding forest.

「Gya~!」

The moment the first wolf kicked off the ground and jumped to bite Rei, Set swatted it with his right foreleg.

Set was created with Rei’s vast magic power, and on top of that, he was now equipped with the magic item, the Bracelet of Herculean Strength. Taking a direct hit from Set in that state, the wolf, which wasn’t even a monster, naturally couldn’t survive. It let out a terrified cry as it was blown away. Its neck snapped, and the body collapsed to the ground, dead.

「Haah!」

As for Rei, he thrust the handle of the Death Scythe at another wolf that had jumped at the same time.

Having realised how high his physical abilities were during the fight with the Water Bear, Rei was able to fight the wolves with a comfortable margin for error.

「Gyan~!」

The thrust from the Death Scythe’s handle pierced straight through the wolf’s chest. Rei turned to face another attacking wolf, swinging the handle with the impaled wolf still stuck to it. Naturally, the dead wolf’s body flew off and slammed into the leaping wolf, knocking them both down.

「Gururururu~!」

Set fired a water ball to deal the finishing blow. Though its power was low compared to the Water Bear’s magic, it still packed enough force to reap the lives of the common wolves.

「Three left. Set, we’ll finish them in one go!」
「Gurururu~!」

Set gave a sharp cry at Rei’s words, and the two of them moved forward at the same time.

「Garurururu!」

As expected, after half the pack died, the rest became cautious. The last three wolves surrounded Rei. However, they still showed no signs of retreating.

「Gurururu~!」

Set created another water ball. He fired it to restrain them, forcing the wolves to split into groups of two and one. Rei lunged forward. Shifting the Death Scythe to his left hand, he drew the Mithril Knife from his waist with his right hand.

「Gaaa~!」

The wolf Rei aimed for sprang up to meet him, aiming straight for his neck. From its long hunting experience, it knew that biting there would be a fatal blow.

「Let’s do this!」

As the wolf opened its mouth, Rei stabbed the knife in his right hand forward, slicing straight through the wolf’s fangs.

Whether it was a wolf or a dog, it couldn’t close its mouth while an object was stuck deep inside its throat. Rei had aimed there precisely because he knew that. And thanks to Rei’s magic power, the Mithril Knife possessed a sharpness rivalling that of rare magical swords.

「Gafu~」

As a result, the Mithril Knife pushed deep down the wolf’s throat, cleanly slicing off the top half of the beast’s head.

「Gurururururururu~!」

Set, watching the situation unfold, let out an intimidating cry.

The number of wolves had dwindled to two. The wolves no longer held the numbers advantage over Rei and Set. Whether or not the wolves understood that, the remaining two animals suddenly turned tail and ran single-mindedly into the depths of the forest.

Rei watched them go without giving chase. It was only natural, as the wolves were just common beasts, not monsters. Because of that, there wouldn’t be any magic stones even if he killed them.

「Somehow, we managed to drive them off.」
「Guru~」

As Rei petted him, Set gave a low cry of satisfaction. Rei stored the bodies of the dead wolves in the Misty Ring. There were no magic stones, but the meat and fur could still be used.

「But, this……is a bit troublesome.」
「Guru~?」

What’s wrong? Set tilted his head. Rei answered while stroking Set’s back.

「It’s only been a few hours since we left the barrier, and we’ve already been attacked by the Water Bear and a pack of wolves.」
「Guru~」
「In other words, there are a lot more monsters and beasts in this forest than we expected. More importantly, setting up camp here comes with significant risks.」

Rei considered his options while stroking Set’s back. After a few minutes, he finally settled on an idea and looked into Set’s face.

「I wonder, Set……is it possible for you to run if I ride on your back? Given the risk of being attacked while we rest, I want to get out of this forest quickly. Fortunately, we don’t need to worry about being attacked by dragons near the edge of the forest. If we can cover that distance on the ground, we can fly the rest of the way.」
「Guru~!」

All right! Set lowered his face to the ground and encouraged Rei to get on.

「Thanks. I can serve you some Water Bear meat once we get out, so do your best. Come on, eat this to wet your throat.」

He took a Clara fruit from the Misty Ring and tossed it to Set.

「Gurururu~」

Raising a happy cry, Set gobbled down the fresh fruit.

「Good. Well, let’s get out of this forest at once……I’m counting on you.」

He quickly hopped onto Set’s back. Because the Death Scythe would get in the way while riding, he stored it inside the Misty Ring.

「All right, let’s go!」
「Gururururu~!」

Raising a heroic cry, Set kicked off the ground. He accelerated so fast that the scenery instantly blurred past them.

A wry smile floated onto Rei’s face.

「I see, you were holding back to match my speed until now.」
「Guru~?」

What? Set seemed to ask with a soft cry. Rei just scratched Set’s neck and told him it was nothing.

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