Chapter 523

「Around here?」

『Maybe. Can you find it, Urushi?』

「Woof?」

『Can't find any signs of herbs either, huh?』

「Woof...」

We had just received a request from the master of Kiarazen to collect medicinal herbs.

The Adventurer's Guilds in this area had a unique and interesting system. This system allows requests made by other guilds to be accepted by guilds in different locations. Conversely, you could report requests to other guilds, but it's limited only to gathering requests such as harvesting.

This was also thanks to the commercial fleet. By using ships to transport items, they could deliver materials to different guilds. It seems that the small fleet called squadrons were mainly responsible for this.

The herbs we were looking for were said to grow at the bottom of the lake, but it was difficult to collect them due to the presence of magic beasts around.

If we collect it and deliver it to the town ahead, it would also be delivered to Kiarazen. That's why this system was so convenient.

『Well, we'll find out when we dive in. I'll set up a wind barrier. Fran and Urushi, get ready for any magic beast』

「Okay」

「Woof!」

『Then, let's go』

We then dove into the lake. There we found an amazingly beautiful sight. First of all, it was so clear that I couldn't believe it was a huge lake. Could it be because it was a lake in another world that hadn't been polluted by civilization?

The bottom of the lake was covered with green water plants, and the slight current of the water made them sway and flutter. Moreover, colorful flowers were blooming there.

I had seen the water-crowfoot before I died. It was a plant that grew small white flowers in the water. But this one was incomparably larger and looked no different from the plants on the land.

We also saw various fish that swam around on the green carpet, and underwater creatures such as shrimps and turtles glanced out from among the flowers. The unfamiliar creatures must be those from this world.

The sunlight coming in was diffused by the surface of the water, wavering more gently and softly than on the ground. The shimmering and changing light added to the fantastic atmosphere of this place.

We almost forgot that we were in a dangerous place inhabited by magic beasts for a moment to look at the scene.

『It's amazing』

(Nn)

(Woof!)

It was so amazing that it even impressed Fran and Urushi.

However, the excitement did not last long.

「Kyaaaa!」

『Tsk, we have a guest, huh?』

High transparency also means that we could be seen clearly by those who were targeting us.

(Huge lizard?)

『That's what we call a crocodile!』

I proudly said so, but it seemed like it wasn't a crocodile.

Its face was similar to that of a crocodile, and it had the same hard scales all over its body. However, the shape of its body would be more like a seal or a sea lion.

It had two pairs of fin-like limbs on each side of its body that was probably used for swimming. In total, it had eight fins. If you were a dinosaur lover, you may also say that it was just like Mosasaurus with eight fins, huh?

It's about three meters long, so it was probably about the same size as a crocodile.

(So that's the Lake Murder?)

『It seems so』

It seems that this magic beast with a scary name would be the powerful enemy that would prevent us from collecting medicinal herbs. Its threat level was E. But underwater monsters tend to be difficult to fight, so the threat level tends to be set higher. I appraised it, and based on its status alone, I'd say it had a threat level of F. Its Swimming skill was outstandingly high, but that was not unusual for an underwater magic beast. To be honest, even a low-ranked adventurer could fight it if they knew how to handle it.

But only if they were alone. These Lake Murders always act in groups of 10 or more and hunt in coordination. They were also difficult to exterminate because they quickly run away when they feel endangered. In fact, there were probably more than thirty lake murders coming at us right now.

Not only that, but it was also the most hated magic beast in the lake because of its weak but long-range water magic attack. It was also said that it caused the most damage by far.

Just like goblins and orcs, subjugation requests for them were posted permanently.

『Let's take care of that one first』

(Nn. I don't want to hurt the herbs or the other flowers)

『Then, let's go with a less flashy technique, shall we?』

(Let's do that)

(Woof!)

Wh-what a surprise to hear Fran say that she didn't want to hurt the flowers...! I'm so touched! It was worth coming to this place just to hear those words!

(Nn!)

(Woof!)

Fran shot a flash of light magic. It was a technique used to blind people or signal them to go farther, but this time she used it to create a blinding light.

Then, Urushi's dark magic exploded. He used shadow-mediated binding magic. It was a type of magic called shadow stitching or shadow binding. What Urushi just used was a technique that created darkness from shadows and wrapped it around the opponent to seal their movements.

I was surprised when Fran said that she wanted to raise her light magic, but it worked surprisingly well with Urushi's dark magic. In particular, the ability to create shadows at any location would be a considerable advantage. My Fran must be a genius because she could come up with something like that in her own way.

『Yosh, I'll take care of the rest!』

A group of Lake Murder was struggling to rise to the surface with their limbs restrained by Urushi's magic. Then I split my blade into multiple pieces with Shape Transformation and moved each piece separately to pierce all of their magic stones

Once I stored their corpses, the subjugation was complete. I heard that its flesh was smelly and inedible, but the skin was in demand as armor, and the stuffed heads were popular with enthusiasts. Besides, we could also fulfill the permanent request.

The subjugation was an E-rank request, but it was also an achievement for getting rid of a magic beast that was hated in this area. So, there's no harm in defeating it.

『Let's collect the herbs. It is said to be a red and thorny plant』

(...Is that the one?)

『Ooh, it's definitely red and thorny... I'm that's the one we're looking for. Let's get the whole rood』

(There's more in there)

『All right, let's split and gather them for now. They said that they want as many as we can get』

(Okay)

『Urushi, secure the perimeter』

(Woof!)