According to the story, these days the elves don't attack as soon as we enter their territory, they come after us after they've whittled us down with a trap or something.
"It's a quiet thing."
I tried detecting them with magic, but there was no response.
The traps are also not found at the moment.
Well, that's okay.
It's not a good time to be optimistic, but let's not worry about it.
I have a plan for the future, just in case.
My first contact will be with the Dark Elves.
They seem to be sceptical about this stinking faith of theirs, so it's convenient for me to talk to them.
...However, the Dark Elves are less numerous than the Elves.
The settlements are also small and seem to be located in secluded places, so it is necessary to spend a little time looking for them.
There is no need to rush, so let's just go as we please.
Abdullah and the others are likely to complain, but you should concentrate on the work Fatima has assigned you.
Savage toddles along, yawning deeply.
I'm vigilant and enjoying the view.
I don't know how to make contact...
In templates, there's a beautiful elven woman who's been attacked by something or is in trouble, and she's conveniently fallen into the path, but I wonder if she's fallen into my path too.
Unfortunately, such a convenient turn of events did not happen, and Savage stopped instead.
"What's up?"
Savage doesn't answer, but growls.
I ask him on comms and he replies that he smells something strange.
I use detection magic too, but it doesn't catch anything in particular.
And the smell... I can't make it out.
When I ask where it is, it seems to be the trunk of a nearby tree, and it stares in that direction.
The first thing I suspected was a trap.
... and from what I've heard, it's definitely a trap.
I magically create a slightly larger stone and throw it.
Before the stone hits the tree trunk, part of the tree trunk glows.
Instantly, a tree-like object suddenly grows out of the ground and entangles the stone, then drags it into the ground.
Whoa.
Savage says there are countless traps of that kind in the future.
I see why it's so hard to attack them.
Well, goblins are numerous, regardless of their quality.
It's not a bad idea to try to cut them down with traps without having to deal with them every single time.
I don't intend to get caught up in it either, so let's go around.
I'm avoiding the traps, but they don't cease to be there.
After a while, something was caught in the detection.
The location is probably in a tree.
I can only get a rough location, but it seems to be watching me ...... or checking for traps?
Apparently it's a system that tells the other side if the trap is triggered.
It's not convenient for them to find me, so I run Savage lightly to gain some distance.
The presence didn't notice me or it went straight towards the trap that was activated.
...It seems to be all right.
I decided to bypass the trap for now, and instead of going north, I decided to go around to the west.
After a few hours, the trap ended and we changed direction.
We headed north. I hear that there are some bad guys over here, but I'll think about it when they come out.
According to the memory I sucked out, there should have been some elven settlements, but it is difficult to proceed because it is on the other side of the trap.
If I wanted, I would have liked to see what was going on from a distance, but I didn't want to force my way through, so I decided to ignore it.
Besides, there is the matter of the High Elves. Let's not do anything rash.
Either way, the first contact was going to be with the Dark Elves, which is fine, but it's a bit of a detour.
It's a hassle, but this can't be helped.
I decided to keep going.
After a few days of progress, the landscape changes.
Mushrooms, wildflowers and wild strawberry-like fruits can now be seen.
Incidentally, everything seems to be edible.
This area is outside the living area of the elves.
Why don't the elves stay in this area? .......
... there you go.
There are... 15 of them.
I can feel them in the trees, but I don't see them coming.
It's the weight difference. Every time they moved, I could hear the branches of the trees creaking.
The nearest sign jumped down from the tree and landed.
It appears with a heavy landing sound.
The size is around five metres.
It is humanoid in shape, but its entire body is covered with thick muscles and grey body hair, which is far from human-like.
Its stance is close to crawling on all fours, but it has both fists clenched on the ground.
In short, that one.
It looks like a gorilla.
Its name is Goriberingay.
They are territorial monsters that will attack anyone who steps into their territory, no questions asked.
They basically work in packs, with the leader having silver body hair.
They are vindictive, and once they invade a territory, they will never let them go.
They are natural enemies of elves and will never approach their living area.
The reason lies in their physical strength.
Their strong muscles are almost impervious to bows and arrows, and their body hair is said to dissipate the effects of magic.
The fists they use with their arms as thick as logs are said to crush the skulls of elves with ease at times.
Other Goriberingay come down from the trees one after another.
I observe the big monkeys in front of me.
They were all grey in colour.
...no boss monkey?
Scouts, perhaps?
The lead Goriberingay stopped crawling on all fours, stood up slowly and walked towards me, turning his shoulders lightly.
I step down from the Savage and step forward as if to respond.
As the distance between us closed, I could see the expression on the other's face better.
The expression on the humanoid monster's face is a ferocious smile.
There is nothing lecherous about it, and it looks as if it genuinely wants to enjoy the fight and wants to be entertained.
I lift the corners of my mouth as if to respond.
We both move in for a pause.
At that moment, my opponent raised his fist with all his might and came at me, but I hit him in the face with [Explosion II] the moment he had swung it up.
There was a roar and Goliveringay was thrown back with all his might.
When the smoke cleared, there was the face of a monster, almost unharmed except for a little scorching on its face.
Goliveringay gleefully returns to his slightly crumpled position and strikes again.
I reverse and move forward into the pocket, slamming my fist into the dove-tail area.
...a sandbag?
That would be the closest thing to touch.
The feeling of hardness and elasticity is felt in the hand.
The damage hasn't gone to the body.
He tries to grab my shoulder.
I tried to grab it in the opposite direction and try to lock joints with it, but it was big and strong, so it resisted me.
"Gee!"
My feet leave the ground.
The arm I grabbed was lifted up with force.
He swung his remaining arm.
I invoke [Withering Death] on the arm in contact before I was hit.
I know it's supposed to dissipate magic, but how much can it prevent it in contact?
The arm loses its moisture - before I'm thrown.
I position myself in the air and land.
I hold up the club monster on my back as the distance opens up.
The shears open and close with a menacing clattering sound.
The opponent moves his arms as if checking them to make sure they are safe for combat, and then moves with both arms and legs.
It rushes at me.
I drop to my haunches and brace myself to intercept him.
The oncoming goriberingay slams its fist on the ground and leaps before it can get in time.
It dances towards me in a parabolic line.
I activate [Heavy Pressure]. I make it heavy and forcibly shift the position of the fall.
The gravity suddenly changes in mid-air and Goliveringay falls into an unexpected position, with a look of agitation on his face.
As soon as it is released, thrusts the Club Monster at the fall position.
Aimed at the neck, the tip is changed to nippers.
The shears are closed, which are opened with all their might.
The blade cuts through the goriberingay's neck from both sides, as if the neck was less protected than the rest of the body.
The blade stopped when it hit bone and went no further.
Hard.
Blood spurts out loudly, but the monster doesn't care, it grabs me and grabs my head with both arms.
It's going to crush me.
I don't care, I put all my strength into my arms.
My skull creaks in its grip, but it is faster than that for the shears to sever the bones in its neck.
I feel a thumping, a response of something hard breaking, and the head falls off and rolls to the ground.
My whole body is covered in spurts of blood.
I spat the blood in my mouth and looked at the other Goribelingei.
The rest of them all look at each other and the other one steps forward.
The rest of them collect the bodies and step back.
I frown.
Why?
Apparently, they don't show any signs of anger when their comrades are killed.
They seem to be obsessed with one-on-one combat.
I have no idea why they don't make use of the advantage of numbers. ...... Maybe they only fight in equal numbers with their opponents...?
Because it's not fair?
I can't say for sure, because the elves I've pulled out memories of, I had knowledge of them, but none of them actually came across it.
At least the elves' perception is that they are beasts that come at you in packs.
Do you fight with the numbers of your opponents?
While I'm thinking about it, a second one is pounding on its chest with its fist while howling.
Drumming, that's what it is. It's a gorilla no matter how you look at it.
I got a feel for it earlier.
If it's one-on-one, I may struggle, but I won't lose.
"......... phew."
I'm tired.
I sit down on the spot.
Bodies are scattered around me.
Naturally, it's those goriberingay guys from earlier.
I killed them all, but they kept the fight to the end.
The faith they put their lives on the line for is a great thing, but it's worth nothing if they die.
After the second one, I attacked them relentlessly from a blind spot with my left arm, Human Centipede, and destroyed them.
Apparently, these guys were weak against locks because they were so poorly built.
The memory was sucked out of the brain of the corpse, which was in a state where it was a little hesitant to look directly at it, but as I thought, they learned to resist fighting in greater numbers than their opponents.
They even seem to think it a shame to fight an opponent with less than the same number.
They are very conscious of their ape habit!
I respect them, but I don't sympathise with them.
That said, I'm honestly grateful for the situation.
That figure, that movement, that body that is hard to work magic on.
If they had come together, I might need to consider retreating... but I was saved by their habits, wasn't I?
After absorbing the corpses and recovering damage and strength, I straddle Savage and continue onwards.
Let's hurry a little, if we linger, the next one will come.
Savage has changed dramatically from before, and moves forward with a nimble, leaping motion.
In the meantime, I use magic and other means to keep my disguise and detection fully activated to watch out for my surroundings.
Occasionally, there are signs of Goliveringay, but thanks to Savage's serious movements and the inhibiting effects of magic, I am able to draw them away before they notice me.
We kept moving, hiding in such a way that we managed to get out of their territory in a few days.
If we continue to move eastwards, we will be able to enter the elves' territory, but that is not our destination.
Our goal is the Dark Elves.
We're almost to the settlement, aren't we?
According to the story, these days the elves don't attack as soon as we enter their territory, they come after us after they've whittled us down with a trap or something.
"It's a quiet thing."
I tried detecting them with magic, but there was no response.
The traps are also not found at the moment.
Well, that's okay.
It's not a good time to be optimistic, but let's not worry about it.
I have a plan for the future, just in case.
My first contact will be with the Dark Elves.
They seem to be sceptical about this stinking faith of theirs, so it's convenient for me to talk to them.
...However, the Dark Elves are less numerous than the Elves.
The settlements are also small and seem to be located in secluded places, so it is necessary to spend a little time looking for them.
There is no need to rush, so let's just go as we please.
Abdullah and the others are likely to complain, but you should concentrate on the work Fatima has assigned you.
Savage toddles along, yawning deeply.
I'm vigilant and enjoying the view.
I don't know how to make contact...
In templates, there's a beautiful elven woman who's been attacked by something or is in trouble, and she's conveniently fallen into the path, but I wonder if she's fallen into my path too.
Unfortunately, such a convenient turn of events did not happen, and Savage stopped instead.
"What's up?"
Savage doesn't answer, but growls.
I ask him on comms and he replies that he smells something strange.
I use detection magic too, but it doesn't catch anything in particular.
And the smell... I can't make it out.
When I ask where it is, it seems to be the trunk of a nearby tree, and it stares in that direction.
The first thing I suspected was a trap.
... and from what I've heard, it's definitely a trap.
I magically create a slightly larger stone and throw it.
Before the stone hits the tree trunk, part of the tree trunk glows.
Instantly, a tree-like object suddenly grows out of the ground and entangles the stone, then drags it into the ground.
Whoa.
Savage says there are countless traps of that kind in the future.
I see why it's so hard to attack them.
Well, goblins are numerous, regardless of their quality.
It's not a bad idea to try to cut them down with traps without having to deal with them every single time.
I don't intend to get caught up in it either, so let's go around.
I'm avoiding the traps, but they don't cease to be there.
After a while, something was caught in the detection.
The location is probably in a tree.
I can only get a rough location, but it seems to be watching me ...... or checking for traps?
Apparently it's a system that tells the other side if the trap is triggered.
It's not convenient for them to find me, so I run Savage lightly to gain some distance.
The presence didn't notice me or it went straight towards the trap that was activated.
...It seems to be all right.
I decided to bypass the trap for now, and instead of going north, I decided to go around to the west.
After a few hours, the trap ended and we changed direction.
We headed north. I hear that there are some bad guys over here, but I'll think about it when they come out.
According to the memory I sucked out, there should have been some elven settlements, but it is difficult to proceed because it is on the other side of the trap.
If I wanted, I would have liked to see what was going on from a distance, but I didn't want to force my way through, so I decided to ignore it.
Besides, there is the matter of the High Elves. Let's not do anything rash.
Either way, the first contact was going to be with the Dark Elves, which is fine, but it's a bit of a detour.
It's a hassle, but this can't be helped.
I decided to keep going.
After a few days of progress, the landscape changes.
Mushrooms, wildflowers and wild strawberry-like fruits can now be seen.
Incidentally, everything seems to be edible.
This area is outside the living area of the elves.
Why don't the elves stay in this area? .......
... there you go.
There are... 15 of them.
I can feel them in the trees, but I don't see them coming.
It's the weight difference. Every time they moved, I could hear the branches of the trees creaking.
The nearest sign jumped down from the tree and landed.
It appears with a heavy landing sound.
The size is around five metres.
It is humanoid in shape, but its entire body is covered with thick muscles and grey body hair, which is far from human-like.
Its stance is close to crawling on all fours, but it has both fists clenched on the ground.
In short, that one.
It looks like a gorilla.
Its name is Goriberingay.
They are territorial monsters that will attack anyone who steps into their territory, no questions asked.
They basically work in packs, with the leader having silver body hair.
They are vindictive, and once they invade a territory, they will never let them go.
They are natural enemies of elves and will never approach their living area.
The reason lies in their physical strength.
Their strong muscles are almost impervious to bows and arrows, and their body hair is said to dissipate the effects of magic.
The fists they use with their arms as thick as logs are said to crush the skulls of elves with ease at times.
Other Goriberingay come down from the trees one after another.
I observe the big monkeys in front of me.
They were all grey in colour.
...no boss monkey?
Scouts, perhaps?
The lead Goriberingay stopped crawling on all fours, stood up slowly and walked towards me, turning his shoulders lightly.
I step down from the Savage and step forward as if to respond.
As the distance between us closed, I could see the expression on the other's face better.
The expression on the humanoid monster's face is a ferocious smile.
There is nothing lecherous about it, and it looks as if it genuinely wants to enjoy the fight and wants to be entertained.
I lift the corners of my mouth as if to respond.
We both move in for a pause.
At that moment, my opponent raised his fist with all his might and came at me, but I hit him in the face with [Explosion II] the moment he had swung it up.
There was a roar and Goliveringay was thrown back with all his might.
When the smoke cleared, there was the face of a monster, almost unharmed except for a little scorching on its face.
Goliveringay gleefully returns to his slightly crumpled position and strikes again.
I reverse and move forward into the pocket, slamming my fist into the dove-tail area.
...a sandbag?
That would be the closest thing to touch.
The feeling of hardness and elasticity is felt in the hand.
The damage hasn't gone to the body.
He tries to grab my shoulder.
I tried to grab it in the opposite direction and try to lock joints with it, but it was big and strong, so it resisted me.
"Gee!"
My feet leave the ground.
The arm I grabbed was lifted up with force.
He swung his remaining arm.
I invoke [Withering Death] on the arm in contact before I was hit.
I know it's supposed to dissipate magic, but how much can it prevent it in contact?
The arm loses its moisture - before I'm thrown.
I position myself in the air and land.
I hold up the club monster on my back as the distance opens up.
The shears open and close with a menacing clattering sound.
The opponent moves his arms as if checking them to make sure they are safe for combat, and then moves with both arms and legs.
It rushes at me.
I drop to my haunches and brace myself to intercept him.
The oncoming goriberingay slams its fist on the ground and leaps before it can get in time.
It dances towards me in a parabolic line.
I activate [Heavy Pressure]. I make it heavy and forcibly shift the position of the fall.
The gravity suddenly changes in mid-air and Goliveringay falls into an unexpected position, with a look of agitation on his face.
As soon as it is released, thrusts the Club Monster at the fall position.
Aimed at the neck, the tip is changed to nippers.
The shears are closed, which are opened with all their might.
The blade cuts through the goriberingay's neck from both sides, as if the neck was less protected than the rest of the body.
The blade stopped when it hit bone and went no further.
Hard.
Blood spurts out loudly, but the monster doesn't care, it grabs me and grabs my head with both arms.
It's going to crush me.
I don't care, I put all my strength into my arms.
My skull creaks in its grip, but it is faster than that for the shears to sever the bones in its neck.
I feel a thumping, a response of something hard breaking, and the head falls off and rolls to the ground.
My whole body is covered in spurts of blood.
I spat the blood in my mouth and looked at the other Goribelingei.
The rest of them all look at each other and the other one steps forward.
The rest of them collect the bodies and step back.
I frown.
Why?
Apparently, they don't show any signs of anger when their comrades are killed.
They seem to be obsessed with one-on-one combat.
I have no idea why they don't make use of the advantage of numbers. ...... Maybe they only fight in equal numbers with their opponents...?
Because it's not fair?
I can't say for sure, because the elves I've pulled out memories of, I had knowledge of them, but none of them actually came across it.
At least the elves' perception is that they are beasts that come at you in packs.
Do you fight with the numbers of your opponents?
While I'm thinking about it, a second one is pounding on its chest with its fist while howling.
Drumming, that's what it is. It's a gorilla no matter how you look at it.
I got a feel for it earlier.
If it's one-on-one, I may struggle, but I won't lose.
"......... phew."
I'm tired.
I sit down on the spot.
Bodies are scattered around me.
Naturally, it's those goriberingay guys from earlier.
I killed them all, but they kept the fight to the end.
The faith they put their lives on the line for is a great thing, but it's worth nothing if they die.
After the second one, I attacked them relentlessly from a blind spot with my left arm, Human Centipede, and destroyed them.
Apparently, these guys were weak against locks because they were so poorly built.
The memory was sucked out of the brain of the corpse, which was in a state where it was a little hesitant to look directly at it, but as I thought, they learned to resist fighting in greater numbers than their opponents.
They even seem to think it a shame to fight an opponent with less than the same number.
They are very conscious of their ape habit!
I respect them, but I don't sympathise with them.
That said, I'm honestly grateful for the situation.
That figure, that movement, that body that is hard to work magic on.
If they had come together, I might need to consider retreating... but I was saved by their habits, wasn't I?
After absorbing the corpses and recovering damage and strength, I straddle Savage and continue onwards.
Let's hurry a little, if we linger, the next one will come.
Savage has changed dramatically from before, and moves forward with a nimble, leaping motion.
In the meantime, I use magic and other means to keep my disguise and detection fully activated to watch out for my surroundings.
Occasionally, there are signs of Goliveringay, but thanks to Savage's serious movements and the inhibiting effects of magic, I am able to draw them away before they notice me.
We kept moving, hiding in such a way that we managed to get out of their territory in a few days.
If we continue to move eastwards, we will be able to enter the elves' territory, but that is not our destination.
Our goal is the Dark Elves.
We're almost to the settlement, aren't we?
