In the boundless primeval forest, two figures, one tall and one short, moved between the trees, occasionally startling flocks of birds into flight.
"The footprints have disappeared..."
Hemet crouched with a grave expression, scooped up a handful of compacted earth, and brought it close to his nose to sniff.
"The footprints are still fresh. Given that beast's tonnage, it shouldn't have been able to vanish without a trace."
Al frowned as he gazed at the endless expanse of emerald lake water before him. He stood lost in thought, seemingly pondering something.
"My lord?"
Hemet looked at the elven youth beside him in puzzlement. Judging by his many years of hunting experience, they should have been tracking down that monster immediately, not standing here in a daze.
"Be patient..."
"Hemet, tell me about that beast."
At Al's words, the old dwarf sank into his memories. A moment later, he began:
"It was a brown-skinned Devilsaur, with light brown markings winding around its thick body. It looked about seventy percent similar to the 'material' you killed last time.
"But that beast was enormous, about four or five times the size of an ordinary Devilsaur.
"Oh, and there was something else strange about it. His eyes were red. When we first saw it, he was gnawing on his own tail..."
Hemet stroked his fine beard, recounting everything that had happened to Al in exhaustive detail.
"Red eyes? Eating its own tail? I get the feeling this beast isn't just unusually 'big.'"
The youth finished speaking and began circling the enormous lake. The old dwarf had no idea why, but could only patiently accompany him on his rounds.
There are faint residual energy fluctuations in the air. This energy is peculiar, mingling the ever-changing nature of arcane energy with a trace of vigorous vitality...
"Hemet, think carefully. What else happened after you encountered that tyrannosaur called 'Mosh'? I know this might be cruel to you, but if you want revenge, it's necessary."
"Let me think..."
Hemet vigorously rubbed his shiny forehead and began racking his brains, leaving Al feeling rather awkward.
"I've got it, Lord Al! There's another detail I overlooked."
Seemingly recalling something, Hemet excitedly seized Al's hand, startling the youth into a shudder. He nearly flung the old dwarf away.
Ignoring the youth's excessive reaction, he began recounting the details:
"After my companions were killed, I was the only one who escaped..."
At this point, the burly dwarf could no longer hold back his grief and began to sob.
"Whenever I wake from dreams at midnight, my mind is filled with the horrible way my companions died...
"Catherine-that beautiful girl from Loch Modan, that strong, brave dwarven girl with lovely long flaxen hair.
"That beast bit off both her legs. She dragged her body toward me in agony, and I could do nothing but scream...
"Ailno, that human brat. When he was alive, he always liked getting up in the middle of the night to tug on my beard. Oh, no, I shouldn't call him a brat. He was only a child. He died so horribly... sob..."
Hemet lay on the ground, his whole body convulsing as he pounded the earth with both fists until they were covered in blood.
Al stood silently to one side. Having started with a heaven-defying hand, he had experienced no real setbacks since coming to this world, much less cared about the pasts of these "little people."
Not until he came to this unfamiliar continent alone, suffered the first setback of his life, and made his first friend.
Only after seeing the joys and sorrows of these "little people" did he realize this was a living, breathing world. For the first time, he felt "compassion."
He was not some game character "leveling up." He was a person, a living, breathing person of flesh and blood.
Right now, for instance, Al was angry. Beneath his silent expression brewed a volcano on the verge of eruption, for no one else but the dwarf kneeling before him, crying his heart out.
Phew, so this is what being alive feels like. No wonder people in my previous life always said there was no Warcraft without brothers.
Al discreetly wiped the glistening liquid from the corners of his eyes. He offered Hemet no words of comfort, merely sitting quietly beside the dwarf and gently patting his back.
As though sensing the power of those emotions, Hemet stopped crying. He sheepishly wiped the snot clinging to his beard and gave Al a bitter smile before continuing in a tearful voice:
"I'm sorry. I'm a coward, I..."
Al cut the dwarf off and said softly:
"No, you're a hero. You're already on your way, aren't you?"
The tears Hemet had only just stopped began flowing again. He looked at Al with a complicated expression and nodded emphatically.
"When that beast chased me, I was terrified and didn't notice anything. It was so fast that I'd only run a few hundred meters before it nearly caught me.
"But something seemed to hold it up. I glanced over out of the corner of my eye, and it seemed to be eating some kind of stone, a stone giving off multicolored light..."
"A stone? Multicolored?"
Al seized on the key words and began pondering them carefully.
A long while passed.
"Is it possible that King Mosh devoured these stones that give off multicolored light, and that was what caused him to mutate into something so enormous and savage?
"The red eyes indicate a confused mind, and the tail-biting indirectly supports that too. Or perhaps his craving for these prismatic gems caused him to hallucinate?"
Without realizing it, Al voiced his thoughts to Hemet.
"M-my lord, that's very possible. That beast's mental state really wasn't right. After killing my companions, he didn't eat them. That was what gave me the chance to bury them."
Hemet spoke excitedly.
"In any case, these prismatic gems are inextricably linked to King Mosh. That gives us a direction."
"My lord, what do we do next?" Hemet asked in puzzlement.
"I've memorized the scent of those gems. What we need to do next is find them. As long as we find these prismatic gems, Mosh won't be far away!"
PS: Wishing all you dear readers smooth sailing and abundant wealth in the new month.
My editor told me that writing about 4,000 characters a day would be enough, since I also need to stockpile chapters for a mass release after the novel goes premium. But as a reader, I feel 4,000 is still too little, so I've decided to release more.
There will be two more chapters later. I'm on my knees begging for monthly votes and recommendation votes. If you haven't added this to your favorites yet, please do~