About an hour after seeing the fight between Kenny and Lenora in the guild, both Rei and Set were outside Gilm.

They were in an open area surrounded by trees that seemed to hide the place.

Yes, it was the place he had used to absorb magic stones previously. Rei preferred to absorb magic stones here partially because how fast Set could travel and because he could absorb the magic stones without worrying about anyone seeing them. And because there were monsters in the surrounding area as well, there was no shortage of targets to test their new skills on.

「……It’s been a long time since I’ve come here, but because it’s so remote, it doesn’t look like anyone has been here.」

「Gururururu~」

Rei muttered to himself as he looked at the surroundings that seemed to be the same as the last time he came. Set gave a cry as if agreeing with him.

Of course, it was the first time he had been here in a few months, so some details were different. For example, a tree that seemed to have been knocked over by some monster was lying on the ground. There were also monster bones here and there.

At first, Rei thought that some magic stones might have remained, but it wasn’t that convenient and all that was left was just bones. As far as he could see, not even skin or organs were left. It definitely wasn’t a monster that had died today or the day before.

「Even if there are bones left, it’s just something useless. It looks like it’s been left here for a long time, so it’s no longer useful as material.」

If he stepped on them with the Shoes of Sleipnir, he could probably break them quite easily without any effort.

Rei didn’t know what monster the scattered bones belonged to, but they were a bit of an eyesore.

「Gurururu~?」

Thinking Rei was playing with them when he broke some of the bones, Set gave a cry with round eyes asking if he could try.

Rei was lost in thought for a moment, but since the bones on the ground were annoying him anyway, he nodded thinking that it would be fine for Set to pick them up and play around with them somewhere else.

「That’s right. Set, can you move these bones out of sight? Of course, it doesn’t matter if you break or destroy the bones in your beak. ……That said, I think it would be better not to eat them.」

Set’s body was that of a lion, but at Rei’s words, he seemed to be acting more like a dog considering his friendliness. Set gave a happy cry and immediately picked up what looked to be a femur bone before flying over to the other side of the tree cover.

Since this was the frontier, there would naturally be some danger, but Rei didn’t think that anything would try to attack a Griffon like Set. He didn’t think that any high ranking monsters would be able to deal with Set in the first place. After thinking about that, Rei took out a Wyvern’s magic stone as well as the Death Scythe from the Misty Ring.

The magic stone was about 5cm in diameter. Although it was a small magic stone for a Dragon, it was nonetheless a lesser Dragon’s magic stone. Judging that there should be skills that could be learned without a doubt, he threw the magic stone into the air as he readied the Death Scythe.

「Let’s see if we can learn some new skills!」

Rei swung the Death Scythe down towards the magic stone as it arced through the air.

The next moment, the magic stone that was sliced by the Death Scythe’s blade disappeared like haze. And……

【Death Scythe has acquired the skill 『Power Slash　Lv.2』】

Such an announcement echoed through Rei’s mind.

However, Rei frowned slightly when he heard it.

Of course, he was happy that he was able to learn a skill. To be exact, it was a skill level up, but it was still nothing to complain about seeing how Rei had started to use skills more frequently as of recent times. But still……

「Why would Power Slash be learned from the magic stone of a Wyvern?」

Yes, that was the problem. Rei remembered how the Wyverns fought in his mind. Their most impressive attack was, of course, their fire breath. Of course, it wasn’t really a fire breath and was more of a fireball. But, if he had to classify it, he would still call it a fire breath. It was only natural for Rei to expect a skill that could release fire similar to how Flying Slash worked, or be able to cover the blade of the Death Scythe in flames. However, all he learned was a skill upgrade to Power Slash.

「Well, it’s true that they used the claws on their feet while fighting……I guess?」

That was the reasoning he decided on after thinking about how they fought.

At the very least, he had managed to upgrade a skill rather than get nothing at all.

「Gurururu~!」

Set seemed to have also heard the skill acquisition announcement. He flew towards Rei while flapping his wings. Rei watched with a smile as Set flew over.

「Gurururu~!」

Why did you use the magic stone when I wasn’t here! Set seemed to say. However, Rei just stroked his head with a smile.

「Look, no need to be mad. Here, this magic stone is for you.」

Rei took out a second magic stone and offered it to Set.

「Guru~」

Set looked at the magic stone in Rei’s palm before immediately turning his head away. No matter how you looked at it, Set just looked like he was mad……or sullking.

With a wry smile, Rei took out some Fang Boar skewers from the Misty Ring in order to try and cheer him up.

「I’m sorry. Come on, eat this and cheer up.」

「Guru~? ……Guru~!」

Set glanced at the skewers for a moment, but turned his head away again as if he wouldn’t be bought over by such things.

However, even so, he probably cared about the skewers as his lion tail was swinging side to side.

Usually, even a knight in full plate armour would only cause his tail to shake slightly. Shaking his tail like that would usually only indicate a threat. However, Rei just gently reached out and started to stroke Set’s back to appease him.

「Hey, I’m really sorry. Please cheer up. When we get back to Gilm, we’ll go to the Satisfied Stomach.」

「Gurururu~?」

Really? Set seemed to ask as he looked at Rei.

Nodding at Set with a serious expression, Set finally cheered up. To start, Set dexterously picked off the meat from the skewers with his beak.

Although it was a meat skewer, it was still ultimately a meat skewer designed for humans. After having that small snack, he tilted his head and demanded the magic stone as he looked at Rei.

Set was more than 2m in size, but even so, when he made such a gesture, combined with his round eyes, he looked more like a spoiled cat.

That said, considering his size, you couldn’t really call him a cat.

「Here, really. It’s not a substitute for dessert though. Just eat it.」

This time, Set picked up the Wyvern magic stone without complaining and swallowed it.

As Rei watched, the thought of a snake swallowing an egg briefly crossed his mind, but he didn’t say that out loud. And……

【Set has acquired the skill 『Fire Breath　Lv.3』】

Such an announcement was heard in his mind.

「I guess I should have expected that in some way.」

Since a Wyvern’s main method of attacking was fireballs, it made sense to Rei that Set’s Fire Breath would go up a level. At the very least, it was better than Power Slash leveling up.

「Gurururu~」

As for Set, he felt pretty happy that the easy to use Fire Breath had levelled up. Set gave a cheerful cry.

Or rather, maybe Set was happy because Rei was happy.

Rei and Set shared their happiness with each other for a few minutes before calming down and trying out heir new skills.

「Set, you go first. There are trees around, so please aim it towards the sky.」

「Guru~!」

With a cry, Set turned his head upwards.

「Gururururu~!」

With that cry, Fire Breath was used. The flames that Set spat out were undoubtedly wider and denser than before.

The Lv.2 Fire Breath was a powerful attack, but the Lv.3 flames could be called an attack worthy of a killing blow.

「…… If it’s like that, the only downside is that I can’t use it publicly anymore.」

The more powerful the skill, the harder it would be to use in public. Rei had expected that to be unavoidable, but there were still many things Set couldn’t fully utilise because of those limitations.

(I could team up with Scorching Wind, or Elena and Ara. Considering that, it’s quite nice to be able to go to the Labyrinth City with Elena……Elena.)

Rei recalled Elena’s appearance and the feeling of her lips.

「Guru~?」

Set gave a worried cry at Rei, who had suddenly stopped moving.

「-My bad. It’s nothing. Anyway, Set’s Fire Breath has become more powerful and easier to use. There aren’t many situations where it can be used, but it’s a good trump card in the case of an emergency.」

「Gururururu~」

It was amazing. Set seemed to boast as he gave a cry. Stroking Set’s head, Rei gripped the Death Scythe’s shaft in his hands.

「Well then, I’m next. Power Slash’s Lv.1 was a powerful single attack, but the Death Scythe’s blade wasn’t as sharp. It was basically a skill that made the Death Scythe more like a club.」

Muttering to himself, Rei looked at the trees around him.

Among them, he approached the first one he saw.

Slowly, slowly, step by step, he approached a tree with a trunk as thick as an adult’s body before raising the Death Scythe.

「Power Slash!」

The blade of the Death Scythe was swung with those words, smashing rather than slicing through the tree trunk the moment it hit……

「I see.」

Although he had attacked with a huge scythe blade, the tree showed no signs of having been cut. Instead the raw power was transferred in the impact, smashing the tree directly.

A few seconds later, a creaking sound was heard and the tree that Rei had attacked fell over like a broken tree branch on a tree.

Watching from short distance away, Rei had an unhidable smile on his face.

「As expected, even though it’s just Lv.2, it’s a lot more powerful.」

Rei found it to be much more powerful that when he had used it before. Previously, he had used Power Slash to attack an opponent’s weapon, but this level increase meant that he would still be able to deal a fair amount of damage even if he hit his opponents armour or shield.

「It will also be do effective damage against monsters with armour or shells……ouch!」

Saying that, he looked at his hands as he felt a dull pain.

His wrists were pale and purple. If he moved them slowly, there wasn’t much pain, but if he tried to do anything like swinging the Death Scythe, he would feel a dull pain.

「Guru~?」

Are you okay? Set seemed to ask. Nodding slightly, Rei took out a potion from the Misty Ring and poured it over his right and left wrists respectively.

It must have been a moderate sprain. Within a few seconds of pouring the potion, the pain was gone and the colour of his skin, which had become a blueish purple, had gone back to its original colour.

「No need to worry, it’s okay.」

Rei gently stroked Set’s back with his pain free arms. While enjoying the particularly smooth feeling of a Griffon’s fur……or rather Set’s fur, Rei frowned slightly.

(The power is high, but the kick back is also large. I can’t use this carelessly. I can only use it as a final attack to defeat an enemy. If I used it in the middle of a fight, in the worst case, I will be at a disadvantage in subsequent fights. ……Could this be harder to use the higher the level?)

Despite the minor injury he suffered from the recoil, he decided that he would eventually be able ignore the kick back when he used it.

************************************************

【Set】

『Water Ball Lv.2』 『Fire Breath Lv.3』 new 『Wind Arrow Lv.1』 『King’s Awe Lv.1』 『Poison Claws Lv.2』 『Size Transformation Lv.1』 『Tornado Lv.1』

【Death Scythe】

『Corrosion Lv.1』 『Flying Slash Lv.2』 『Magic Shield Lv.1』 『Power Slash Lv.2』 new 『Wind Hand Lv.2』 『Terrain Manipulation Lv.1』

Fire Breath: Breathes out hot flames. The breath is not like a Wyvern’s fireball. The strength of the flames can be controlled at will by Set.

Power Slash: Increases the power of an attack. At Lv.2, it is strong enough to hurt enemies even through their armour. However, the recoil is a lot stronger.

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