Take Down the Leader First

The next day, the two set off once they were ready.

There was hardly anything to prepare, really. That was one advantage of being a mage: unlike warriors or archers, they did not have to polish their weapons and armor.

Of course, as a "warrior," Lilia still made a show of wiping down her shortsword. Then, with her identification tag still hanging from her neck and her adventure journal in her arms, she followed Rhode out.

Sheriff Redpath naturally did not go with them.

This was an adventurer's job, while the sheriff's job was to maintain order in Southshore.

Only when everyone did their own job and contributed their share could society enjoy lasting peace.

According to the map, the giant yeti Yetius lived in a cave on Darrow Hill to the north. That was probably his private territory by now.

It was not too far from Rhode's farm, just a two- or three-hour walk... which probably did count as far.

In the past, on a walk that long, he would have started complaining about being tired halfway through and been completely wiped out by the end.

But Rhode's stamina was much better now. His many days of practicing magic had strengthened not only his mana, but his body as well.

Lilia still got tired, of course.

Besides, there was not actually a road to the cave on Darrow Hill. They first passed through a maple forest, then came to nothing but thickets and grass. Rhode followed the traces of people's passage that he could make out among the undergrowth.

There were no roads in the world to begin with; paths became roads when enough people walked them.

But walking a path like this was more tiring than following a proper road.

So the two walked for a while, rested for a while, then walked and rested some more.

After crossing a dense stretch of low shrubs and small trees, Rhode and Lilia finally spotted the cave entrance.

The entrance looked rather ominous, covered in creeping vines. Years of wind and rain had weathered the stones surrounding it to an indescribable grayish white. Cracks crisscrossed their surfaces, and the white and yellow flowers scattered over them swayed in the breeze.

They cautiously slipped into the cave. Lilia looked all around, fascinated by everything, touching this and that before turning back. "Rhode, where's the monster?"

"I don't know. We need to be careful."

"Are there any treasures here, then?"

Keeping watch for any enemies that might appear, Rhode asked in return, "Where do you think the treasure is?"

"I don't know."

"Let's find the monster first, then look for treasure." Rhode continued scanning their surroundings warily.

The cave was actually quite bright, so they did not need a light.

As a precaution, he summoned several small Mage Hands to guard the two of them.

A gust of wind swept past, rustling the leaves outside the cave, and Rhode tilted his head to listen.

"Quiet. Too quiet." By quiet, he meant there were no chirping insects or birds, no rustling footsteps of small animals.

Rhode did not know how to describe it. Was it killing intent? Whatever it was, an uneasy feeling rose within him and sent a chill down his spine.

His many days of practicing spells had given Rhode a keen intuition.

Suddenly, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. One of his Mage Hands hurriedly grabbed Lilia's arm and pulled her to his side.

The adventure journal in the little girl's arms fell to the ground with a flutter of pages, just as a dark shape flashed past and pounced on empty air.

At last, Yetius had appeared!

Rhode saw an upright monster standing before him, a full three meters tall. He looked much like the drawing on the wanted poster, but distinctly uglier.

The missed pounce seemed to have angered him a little. Air puffed from his nostrils as though he were growling under his breath.

Rhode quietly gathered power in his right hand, ready to send him straight to his grave with a Fireball.

But just then, Rhode seemed to hear the same growling coming from all around him-and more than one growl.

What? Am I hearing things?

Rhode glanced around and saw more dark shapes appearing.

"One, two, three... eleven altogether. I'm good at arithmetic, aren't I?" Lilia counted.

You've got to be kidding me.

The watchtower never said there were this many yetis.

No wonder nobody could ever wipe out this yeti boss. The intelligence was wrong! Of course any adventurer who came here would die.

Rhode was inwardly miserable.

Then Rhode spotted the largest yeti among them.

He stood at the very back of the group, probably over four meters tall, still gnawing on a bone with an arrogant air. He was clearly the leader.

Rhode also noticed that his two horns were thicker and more curved than those of the other yetis, and his skin had a reddish tint. He certainly stood out.

So this was the real Yetius.

"Lilia, get ready for battle," Rhode warned. "Be ready to run at any moment."

Lilia's safety was Rhode's highest priority.

"Got it," Lilia said. She was not frightened at all. Instead, she was brimming with the excitement of being an "adventurer."

But Rhode had yet to figure out how to fight this battle.

There were eleven monsters in total: ten small ones and one big one.

He had no idea how much mana a Fireball would need to kill a yeti this large. What if he ran out of mana after the fourth or fifth one?

Then he would have no choice but to sit and wait for death.

Ever since learning Fireball and Mage Hand, Rhode had been full of confidence in his spellcasting abilities. But he had never really thought about how to handle so many monsters at once.

Just then, an even louder roar rang out.

It came from Yetius. They were about to attack.

A boss was a boss, after all. He merely ordered his underlings to attack while he remained safely in the rear, gnawing on his bone.

Upon hearing the command, the ten "little" yetis immediately charged at Rhode and Lilia.

They were fast, and in moments they were almost close enough to reach the pair.

Frost Nova!

Rhode instinctively thought of using that spell.

Right! This is exactly the sort of situation where a crowd-control spell can shine!

That's how it works in games, too. The more tightly packed the monsters, the easier they are to handle.

A patch of frost appeared beneath Rhode's feet, then spread outward along the ground, rapidly expanding.

The yetis did not seem particularly intelligent. They probably could not think of jumping to dodge the Frost Nova on such short notice.

As the Frost Nova swept over them, their feet were instantly frozen in place. They struggled where they stood, letting out strange howls of uncertain meaning, seemingly furious that they could not catch Rhode and Lilia.

At the instant Rhode cast Frost Nova, he lifted Lilia high into the air so her little feet would not get frozen.

As the mage casting the spell, Rhode naturally would not be immobilized by his own magic.

How long would they stay frozen? Rhode did not know either.

But a saying came to mind.

Take down the leader first!

Right! While the underlings are all frozen, take out their leader, Yetius!

And so Rhode pulled Lilia through the cluster of yetis, whose upper bodies were all they could move. Carefully avoiding their claws, he arrived in front of Yetius.

Yetius seemed quite surprised.

He finally stopped chewing his delicious bone, tossed it aside, and roared, but his eyes were on Lilia.

Compared with an adult like Rhode, the little girl was clearly easier to deal with.

His strategy was presumably the exact opposite of Rhode's.

Yetius's battle strategy was probably-

Start with the easy ones, then tackle the hard ones. Pick them off one by one!

P.S. Since this story received its first tip, here's an extra chapter.

P.P.S. To the buddy named "One Fat Pigeon": how did you manage to tip just one Qidian coin?!