"M-my lord, will this really work?"
Hemet stared at Al, who looked downright bizarre as he twitched his nose, and asked hesitantly.
"Relax. It's a little embarrassing, but finding Mosh is our top priority."
"But if you really can smell those strange gems, why not look for that beast directly?"
"You think I haven't thought of that? The wisdom of mortals! The footprints disappeared at the lakeshore. Apart from the footprints Mosh left behind, I couldn't smell anything..."
"Then..."
"And you call yourself a hunter of some renown. Can't you see something even a child would understand?"
"You mean?"
Something seemed to occur to Hemet, and he said excitedly:
"That beast is in the lake?"
"At least you're not a complete idiot. That devilsaur is no ordinary beast anymore. Those mysterious gems changed everything about it.
"Strictly speaking, it no longer falls into the category of living creatures. Or rather-it's now just an unknown monster wearing a tyrannosaur's skin...
"Besides, all we know is that something seems wrong with its mind. We know nothing else about it. So, do you understand what these multicolored gems mean to us now?"
"So, my lord, you're looking for these crystals to lure that beast out of the water?"
"More or less. Before that, I need to figure out the secret of these crystals..."
As Al spoke, he lifted his head and twitched his nose, his eyes closed as he concentrated on distinguishing the scents in the air.
It wasn't that elves had keen noses, nor had Al lost his mind. It all came down to a single skill.
[Super Smell]
Six years ago, shortly after acquiring Cross-Realm Teleportation, Al had discovered a compilation of magical coordinates for the various regions of Kalimdor in the Sun King's library. His curiosity piqued, he had immediately followed the guide and cast the teleportation spell.
Whether his skills had been inadequate or the ancient tome had become outdated was unclear. After all, it dated back four thousand years.
The intended teleportation destination had been the goblin port of Ratchet, but he had instead ended up somewhere entirely different: the southernmost reaches of the Barrens-Razorfen, the capital of those savage quilboar who called themselves the children of Agamaggan.
Although Al had only been nine at the time, and his grasp of spatial magic had been mediocre, he had already been a fifth-circle mage.
Coupled with years of fleecing the upper echelons of Quel'Thalas, it was no exaggeration to say that Al had possessed the strength of 0.4 Anasterians by then.
Sun King: Did I get cocky about being a unit of measurement?
Facing the enraged quilboar high priestess, Charlga Razorflank.
Although Al had come off worse against her wild nature magic, he had still made off with several piglets and escaped unscathed.
Fortunately, those piglets had possessed exceptionally pure Agamaggan bloodlines. That was also how Ayou had later come about.
And Ayou had not only given Al one percent brain development and teaching material, but also an ability that had seemed rather useless at the time-Super Smell.
Many people might think dogs had exceptionally keen noses, but pigs' sense of smell was actually two to three times stronger.
"Found it!"
Al gazed at the enormous cave before him, his expression wary. In a rare departure from his usual languid manner, he took the [Defender of Freedom] off his back and gripped it tightly.
"I smell danger. Stay sharp, Hemet. The challenge ahead of us may not be simple."
Seeing a seriousness on the boy's face that he had never witnessed before, Hemet grew nervous too.
As far as he remembered, Lord Al always wore that same easygoing, languid air. Only during intense experiments did he show such a grave expression.
The old dwarf tightened the collar of his trench coat, took down his weather-beaten double-barreled hunting gun, and began loading it one round at a time.
Hemet followed close on Al's heels into the pitch-black cave.
Just inside, a fresh breeze blew into their faces, proving that the cave had another opening.
Al cast a Light Spell, startling a cluster of tiny red dots on the ceiling. They turned out to be bats roosting there.
Hemet jumped, and even the footsteps he had just softened grew heavy again.
"Sorry, my lord. I'm too nervous."
The old dwarf scratched his head sheepishly.
"Shh!"
Al stopped the old dwarf, then crouched down and pressed his ear to the damp ground.
"Hemet, do you hear anything?"
Al asked uncertainly.
"A sound? No. My lord, are you hearing things?"
Before Hemet could finish, the ground began to tremble faintly. Several small stones fell from the ceiling and landed squarely on the dwarf's gleaming forehead.
"Get outside first. Something's coming."
Al spun nimbly, grabbed the dwarf's arm, and retreated.
Hemet: Can't you play fair? Do I not have legs?
The thunderous footsteps inside the cave drew ever closer. Al pulled out all the stops and finally made it out of the entrance just before that "big fellow" caught up.
As for the old dwarf dangling from the boy's hand, he was already dizzy and foaming at the mouth-a clear indication of just how fast Al had been moving.
Yet even with a powerful physique far surpassing that of a high-level warrior, Al had only barely outpaced the "big fellow" inside the cave.
Tossing the dwarf aside, Al finally saw what the thing really looked like.
"A stone guardian!"
Al was somewhat surprised. Strictly speaking, the "big fellow" before him did not belong to any category of living creature, for its entire body was made of stone.
It had neither neck nor waist, its whole body seemingly carved from a single boulder. Ring upon ring of arcane runes wound around its thick arms and legs.
Even with all his learning, Al could not discern the meaning or structure of these runes.
"Unknown flesh-and-blood organism detected. Threat level-extremely high. Executing elimination directive."
As Al pondered, the massive stone figure before him spoke a string of words in human Common whose meaning was unclear.
Its enormous feet slammed into the ground like those of a prehistoric beast, kicking up dust. Kinetic energy became speed, and like a thunderclap out of nowhere, the stone guardian charged at Al with inconceivable swiftness.
"Watch out!"
Hemet's eyes went wide as he watched, somewhat despairingly, as the impact shattered Al's bones and tore his tendons.
"Cough, cough... Not bad, huh?"
Al touched his caved-in chest and struggled to spit out a mouthful of bloody froth mixed with fragments of his organs.
Hemet stared in anguish at the dying elven boy in the distance. His trembling legs stopped shaking, and he swiftly raised his double-barreled hunting gun, roaring at the stone guardian.
"Ah! Die, die, die, die!"
The old dwarf fired shot after shot into the towering creature advancing steadily toward him.
The wisps of smoke dispersed, and the unscathed stone guardian continued closing in. Thunderous footsteps rang out, and the level ground began to crack.
"Target-deformed earthen. Threat level-extremely low. Infection with the Curse of Flesh detected. Elimination recommended..."
Tears blurred his vision. Hemet sank to his knees on the ground, giving up all resistance.
"I ruined everything. I'm sorry, Catherine. I'm sorry, Ailno. I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Al."
PS: There's another chapter, but it'll be a little late.