Wortenia Senki (WN)

Volume 3 Chapter 22 (Wortenia Peninsula 1)

Translator: HASUTSUKI, Editor:

Day 15th, 1st month, the year 2813, Western Continent Calendar: (Wortenia Peninsula 1)

*Gushu*

A sound something being crushed resounded inside a forest.

Grassy-smell that came out from the trees mixed with the rusty smell of blood entered Sara’s nose.

“Ryouma-sama… How are you feeling? Is there anything uncomfortable about your body?”

While saying that, Sara handed the towel toward the person standing in front of her eyes.

“Oh… There’s no problem… This is a great thing, a combat magic art that is… I felt like my body have turned into a fierce beast.”

“Ryouma-sama have mastered the basic. Afterward, it is only a matter of practical experience.”

“Acquiring experience huh… With this alone, I already able to kill a fierce monster with just bare hands. I wonder how far can I go if I train myself with this…”

Saying that Ryouma lifted his lips and smiled. The figure he was now is exactly like a smile of a demon.

With blood from the monster smeared on his face.

Both arms dyed with blood up until the elbows, and from his fingers, bloods driped down to the ground.

Near his feet, ferocious wolves were laying dead.

Five of them in total.

The wolf body length was around 1,5 m with the weight of its body around 50kg.

The wolves that was supposedly being categorized as one of the strong monsters inside the forest, now were laying dead near Ryouma’s feet.

It was the appearance of a loser in a battle for survival.

From the wolves body with its head being crushed blood keep coming out soaking the ground.

“To be honest, I never thought that it would be this easy, to the point I can actually kill them with bare hands. Not only my strength increased. But my sense and body have also become sharp.”

Saying those words filled with his overwhelmed feeling, Ryouma shift his gaze toward the wolves dead bodies.

Other than the exhilaration rising from the depth of his body, the things that appear in front of him felt like an illusion.

A human muscle strength is significantly inferior to that of animals.

Even if you were armed with guns and knives, you can’t say that you can absolutely win.

That is how much difference between humans and animals.

And yet, now he could kill animals with just his body alone. Not only that, he was taking the enemies at the same time.

And after wiping his body with the towel. Ryouma could not find any injury either.

It is a proof that Ryouma is using the strength that is higher than the ferocious animal’s strength.

The warm temperature he felt when he pierces the wolf’s belly with his hand.

The feeling when he ripped the wolf’s head by holding its upper and lower mouth.

Besides that, the one that Ryouma had killed is not just your ordinary animal. It is a ferocious creature categorized as monsters.

A sense of accomplishment for being able to do what he could not do previously begin to swell up.

Ryouma could feel such sensation dominated his body.

“Of course not everyone could do it. This is possible because Ryouma-sama already has a trained body. And also had an actual fighting experience.”

Just like Sara had said, it was thanks to Ryouma’s body that had been trained by his grandfather.

Moreover, he had experienced actual fights that he cannot get at his original world.

With various factors and together with the new power he gained called magic art, this is the result of such synergy.

“Even the children who learn the same combat magic art, currently, they have a hard fight…”

Saying those words, Sara directed her gaze toward the depth of the forest.

Although she speaks ambiguously, it is rare for her to direct words that indicate criticism toward Ryouma like this.

“A hard fight huh… Is Sara dissatisfied?”

Ryouma frowned toward Sara while asking the question.

He can also felt the dissatisfaction from her tone of voice.

Of course, Ryouma is not stupid enough to think that his choice as absolutely correct.

However, this selection process is absolutely necessary even if it was something not right.

There’s no other choice even if Sara told him she dissatisfied with it.

Since right now, Ryouma has no room to save the weak.

Sara looks directly at Ryouma’s unshakable eyes, and unexpectedly she diverts her line of sight.

She herself also understands.

But even if she understands it with her head, her heart could not really swallow it.

“Of course, I understand the reason why Ryouma-sama brought them here…”

Her elder sister Laura does not feel about it too much, but Sara seems to have a strong trauma toward slave life.

The vulgar look filled with desire that the slave traders directed to her.

Anxiety thinking about the moment when she is going to be sold. And also despair for being treated as domestic animals.

Every time she saw the children training, such feeling spring up from the back of her heart.

Nevertheless, she understood that there’s no other choice, she also have no intention to fully criticize Ryouma who ordered her to teach the children how to fight, and beyond that, she also felt benevolent from his intention.

In this world, it is a survival of the fittest.

In this world, the right to live can only be obtained by one own’s power. and there’s no consideration toward the weak.

But, if you do not mind being oppressed by the others with powers, then you can stay as the weak.

Getting robbed, violated, and killed. If you were prepared those kinds of things to happen to yourself or the people you want to protect, then you can stay as the weak.

Being robbed by thieves, or having your loved one violated by unreasonable nobles, or having you being killed by monsters and become their food, if you prepared to experience all that then you can stay as the weak without learning how to fight.

But if you want to live with the rights and pride as a person.

If you want to protect those important to you, then there’s only one option.

And that option is to become strong.

You can be strong financially. you can be strong violently. Or you can also use wisdom. All of that can become power.

The power itself is justice.

For some people who understand that, Ryouma’s method can be said as something gentle.

He taught the slave children reading, writing, and also give them the power to fight.

That is the same as giving a hope to the weak.

Even if such choice comes from Ryouma, the act itself is not something to be condemned.

In truth, the children are fortunate. They were given the opportunity to change from the weak and become strong.

Now, while they wander around the boundary of life and death, they were about to change from their weak self, and be reborn as the strong.

They will become the strong by surviving in this forest, where strong monsters wander around.

Sara turned her gaze to the depth of the dark forest once again.

Then she quietly prays for the safety of the children.

It is the only thing she can do for the children, hoping as many children as possible survive this trials.

-

“Melissa! What are you doing! If you idly around like that you’re going to die! Ready your sword properly! The enemy is going to attack again!”

Melissa was unable to react immediately after hearing the boy voice.

In her eyes, the figure of a black beast bearing its fangs is being reflected.

That is the figure of a black fur tiger.

From its mouth, two sharp curved fangs protruding out trying to tear Melissa’s body.

The tiger runs like a win and attack Melissa with its 3m huge body.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Melissa screamed out of fear.

Although she was able to hold her sword properly.

But her body won’t move because of fear.

Light flashes on the tiger eyes. With its two sharp fangs. And its huge body, far bigger compared to Melissa’s body.

Such fact binds Melissa’s mind and with no combat experience her body ends up frozen in place.

“Are you idiot! Clan! Take Melissa to the rear! Coil! you and I will engage the tiger!”

After pushing Melissa aside, the boy set his sword, ready for battle.

The boy releases his murderous intent.

But such murderous intent from him is not a threat to the tiger.

However, the tiger seems to change its evaluation which previously only looking at him as a food.

The tiger stopped its feet, and turn toward the tiger, creating some distance between them.

“Melissa! Get back, now!”

The boy called Clan grabs Melissa body and drag her toward the rear.

“Eh?! Wait! It’s hurt! Wait a bit…”

Melissa who was being dragged with full force unintentionally protest.

The boy who confronts the tiger reacted to that voice.

The moment the boy reacted, the tiger strike the boy like an arrow being released from the bow.

“Damn it!”

The next instant, the boy clenched his sword and thrust it into the tiger that jumped toward him.

And the moment the huge tiger pushes down the boy, the boy called Coil pierced the tiger belly from the side.

The moment when the tiger attacked the boy, he had unintentionally pushed his sword forward.

That was just his instinctive act trying to protect himself, but it seems like the goddess of fate didn’t want him to die yet.

His sword stabbed directly into the tiger’s opened mouth.

However, because of the overwhelming weight of the tiger, he was being pushed under the tiger body.

“Are you alright?! Kevin!”

Coil shouted out the name of the boy who was being pushed down by the tiger.

The tiger had already died but Coil cannot afford to be happy yet.

In his heart, Coil was worried about Kevin’s safety.

“Clan, Help! Help me move the tiger! Melissa watch the surrounding! Listen, there’s the possibility of another monster come and attack us. Don’t miss any movement from beyond the forest!”

Just because they killed the enemy in front of their eyes, it does not mean everything is over.

Monsters are wondering inside the forest.

And some of them might be attracted toward the blood of the tiger they had killed.

“Y-Yes…”

Melissa replied weakly while nodding her head.

Coil and Clan then begin to deal with the tiger dead body.

“Damn it! It’s soo heavy… Clan! Put more power!”

“I know!”

The two boys tried to lift the 300kg dead tiger body.

“Kevin! Kevin! Now… Crawl out!”

Clan calls out toward Kevin the moment there’s a gap between the tiger body and Kevin body.

Even though they use physical strengthening magic art, they are physically still at the age of 13 to 15 years old.

Due to the fact that they had lived a tough life as slaves, their original physical strength is kind of low.

It could be said that the reason why they managed to lift the tiger body is thanks to the four months they had been trained.

“Fuck! This is bad, Clan! Kevin might have been unconscious!”

Coil said those words after seeing Kevin did not move out from under the tiger body.

“Melissa! Help Kevin! Hurry!”

“Eh?! Wait…”

“Hurry up Melissa! Clan and I can’t hold this huge body much longer!”

A boy raises his voice in anger toward the hesitated Melissa.

“What are you waiting for! Are you trying to kill Kevin or what! Hurry up!”

The boys cannot hide their irritation toward Melissa who did not move.

The four of them have been sharing their happiness and sorrow for the past four months.

Their bond is strong.

They do not think differently even toward Melissa. In their mind right now they are only worried about Kevin’s safety. -

“I-I’m alright… Can you lift it up already… It’s heavy…”

“Kevin!”

Hearing the voice from under the tiger body, Coil shout out Kevin’s name.

Before long, Kevin crawl out from under the tiger’s body.

“Are you alright, Kevin?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, my shoulder got injured a little…”

Kevin answered Coil’s question while holding his left shoulder.

His left arm hung down listlessly.

Due to the overwhelming tiger weight, his shoulder might be dislocated and worst case scenario would be the bone is broken.

Well, for him survived after getting attacked by such a huge tiger can be said to be lucky, after all, if their number getting reduced their overall chance of surviving inside the forest also will be reduced.

“Melisa, we will take over watching the surrounding. You take a look at Kevin’s shoulder.”

After Clan said those words, he grabs his sword and turns his eyes toward the surrounding.

His behavior befitting of a soldier is the result of his training after four months.

Although he was worry about his friends, he cannot afford to neglect watching the surrounding.

Coil also nodded his head and take the opposite direction to watch over the surrounding.

Melissa who was stand petrified all this time immediately took out the medic supply from her bag and check Kevin’s injury.

After checking Kevin’s injury, it seems like he was lucky that his shoulder is only dislocated.

After performing the first aid taught by the mercenaries and let him drink the medicine, he should be able to move his shoulder like usual after a few days.

With this, their overall battle potential drop is minimized.

However, Melissa heart still cannot recover.

She thought that it was because of her failure that Kevin got hurt.

“I’m sorry, Kevin…”

While rolling the bandage around Kevin’s shoulder, Melissa said her words of apology.

When she saw the tiger, she was unable to move due to fear.

And she was also unable to help Kevin out from under the tiger body.

Melissa was apologizing for all of that.

However, on the contrary, after hearing her words, Kevin frowned his eyebrows.

“Are you stupid? Why are you apologizing? Aren’t we comrades?”

He bluntly said those words to her.

But, one can also felt the deep affection from his words. <Note: Alright the word affection is as friends/comrades etc… The author did not use any indication that Kevin love her as a girl.>

“B-But…”

“Didn’t I said already? We’re a team. Living together, Die together… Am I right?”

Kevin strokes Melissa’s head with a smile on his face.

This act of kindness is backed by absolute trust and affection.