Chapter 291

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

To the Tower

Hikaru checked his map . Taking everything into consideration—where he originally saw the tower from, Lands Harvest’s location, and their current coordinates—he should’ve been able to see the tower even from the boat . The fact that he couldn’t meant it was hidden using some sort of special method .

『Are you really going? We’ve been told never to go north of the river . 』

The river flowed north of Lands Harvest, and the tower was also located north where monsters were more vicious .

「What did he say?」Hikaru asked .

「He’s asking if you really intend to go . I agree with him… Silver Face, can I come with you?」

「No . 」Hikaru replied immediately .

Wakamaru probably thought that if his brother was still alive, he’d be in that tower . He wanted to talk to him directly . But to Hikaru, Wakamaru would be nothing but a burden . He could use Group Obfuscation for them both . If, however, Wakamaru was right and his brother really planned the Yamamaneki attack, nothing would change by talking to him .

「I see . 」the old man muttered .

It appeared as though Wakamaru aged rapidly . Having descended from Man Gnomes, however, it was difficult to tell if he’d aged or not .

「Bye . 」

Hikaru wrapped Drake around his neck and leaped from the edge of the boat . He made it to the land just like before, but something was a little different this time . He could sense massive amounts of mana, most likely powerful monsters prowling about .

Now that I think about it, Deena mentioned there was a Root near Lands Harvest . There was one on our way here too, and the monsters around it were strong . So there’s a Root up north too?

『Be careful, Hikaru . There are a lot of evil creatures here . 』Drake said, baring his teeth .

「I know . Just tell me if you notice anything . 」

Hikaru proceeded cautiously . The forest looked the same as the one he was in yesterday, except it was quiet . Insects and birds barely made any sound . The crunching of leaves under his feet sounded loud in comparison .

Neverthless, he could feel unfamiliar ferocious enemies lurking all throughout, not only with Detection, but his Instinct as well . He had to believe his Stealth was working, or he wouldn’t be able to take a step .

Hikaru followed a route that avoided the monsters . Strangely enough, the monsters seemed to be avoiding him as well . They couldn’t have sensed Hikaru . It was probably their intuition—or perhaps they had the same Instinct that humans had—that told them to avoid confrontation against strong enemies (read: Hikaru) . This was convenient for Hikaru . Although monsters having Instinct would be too troublesome .

He was walking with a map on one hand, but he couldn’t see the tower . He couldn’t find the so-called “Roots” either, perhaps because he was inside the forest . Am I lost? Hikaru wondered .

「Hmm?」Hikaru stopped all of a sudden .

『What’s wrong?』Drake asked .

The white drakon looked at Hikaru and saw the cold sweat beading on his face .

「Oh, I see now…」

Hikaru detected massive lumps of mana, shining bright as though announcing their location . He stopped counting when he reached thirty . He was sure the tower was there .

Hikaru found an open space where the forest ended . The ground was bare, without a trace of grass . It was a strange place in the middle of the woods . In the middle stood a man-made tower, its walls white with no seams and windows . It looked as if the tower prevented nature from coming closer .

「I sense vicious mana from the tower . 」

『I’m sure there’s a filthy dragon in there . 』Drake growled, baring his fangs .

「You’re not being you right now . You look scary . 」

Drake growled once more . Hikaru let him be in the end, as he didn’t really know what went inside the minds of drakons .

「Anyway, the problem now is how do we get in . 」

Hikaru and Drake were hiding behind a tree a little away from the clearing . Although grass didn’t grow there, creatures still roamed about . More than thirty Stone Golems—monsters with arms, feet, and bodies made of rock—were stationed around the tower . The lumps of mana that Hikaru sensed earlier came from the tower and the golems .

「Hmm . 」

A high-pitched shrill came from above . Something spread its wings and took off from the tower . The clearing was as big as a school’s campus grounds, and the tower was more than fifty meters high . The flying creature appeared to be a dragon .

「A dragon’s residence?」

『Filthy dragon!』

「You idiot!」

Hikaru’s Group Obfuscation wouldn’t work if the enemy had high-level detection Skills . In fact, the hollow eye sockets of three Stone Golems glinted red . They started lumbering towards Hikaru . He closed the drakon’s mouth and moved to a different spot .

Only three of them moved . The others are staying still . I don’t think I can draw all their attention at once .

If there were only a few of them, he could make do with his revolver . Unfortunately he only had ten bullets on him .

If I knew this would happen, I would’ve asked Professor Katy to make lots of bullets .

Hikaru had seven Flame Gospels, two Flame Lasers, and one Healing magic from Paula in case of an emergency . The bullets could only hold mana for twenty days at most, except for healing magic which only lasted ten days . Hikaru was overjoyed when he found out he could put healing magic inside the bullets too .

Back when he first found the revolver, the mana in the bullets had been stored there for hundreds of years . Katy’s studies could further increase the preservation period for sure .

Now how do we get inside…