The Water Magician

"Now, for lunch, we have Bandit-style Grilled Chicken and grilled wild boar cheek meat."

Both are grilled meat...

"Abel, black pepper also has fatigue recovery effects, so eat heartily."

"Y-yeah."

Ryo savored the long-awaited chicken.

Compared to rabbits and boars, the probability of encountering bird-type monsters is quite low.

Although Abel had various things on his mind, being able to eat when the opportunity arose was an essential skill for adventurers.

First, they dug in.

For a while, the only sounds in the square were the crunching of their chewing.

By the time they finished eating, Abel, who was quite fatigued from using two 'sword techniques,' felt the fatigue dissipate.

They both drank the water prepared by Ryo, and satisfied sighs escaped their mouths.

"If it were just before evening now, I'd almost want to camp here, I'm so satisfied."

Ryo chuckled at Abel's words.

"You have to reunite with your companions soon, right?"

"Even so, it feels like it will take weeks to cover this distance, right? No use rushing."

"Well, it's true we don't know how long it will take. Still, we can walk for half a day, so let's go."

Saying that, Ryo stood up.

"I guess it can't be helped."

With that, Abel stood up as well.

"No, no, this is a journey to send Abel back to his companions..."

"Hey, Ryo, about that battle earlier..."

As usual, Abel was in front, and Ryo followed behind.

The forest was dense, and since there was a risk of getting lost if they separated, Ryo stayed close behind Abel.

"Yes, what is it?"

"How did you defend against the assassin hawk's attack? It has invisible wind magic and a charge attack, right? Moreover, the charge is at a speed that makes it impossible to react visually."

Abel faced forward, speaking to Ryo as they walked.

"What I used to defend was water attribute magic, specifically a spell called Ice Wall, which creates a wall of ice."

"Oh, I see, there’s such a spell."

"Abel, please turn around."

When Abel was told that, he turned around.

There was nothing special, and Ryo was within reach. He was there, but... something felt off.

"Hm? This is..."

Knock knock.

Abel noticed the Ice Wall and tapped it like knocking.

"It's incredibly transparent."

"Yes, it's quite hard to notice."

(I see, the assassin hawk charged into this transparent wall and ended up self-destructing.)

"Water magic is amazing, huh? I don’t really know since none of my acquaintances are water magic users."

The mages Abel knew were fire, wind, earth, and light. There were quite a few mages of those four attributes, but none for water or darkness.

Darkness is rather special, so even in the Central Nations, there are almost no users. As for water...

"I heard that water attribute magic isn't suited for combat, but honestly, it seems quite useful. When I meet that old man again, I’ll complain to him."

"Hm? Abel, did you say something?"

"Oh, no, just talking to myself, don’t mind it."

Ryo had something on his mind.

It was about the monster that had been in the forest beyond the square where he fought the assassin hawk.

At least, it wasn’t any monster Ryo had encountered before.

The battle between Ryo and the assassin hawk began, and ultimately, that monster never emerged into the square before retreating.

From the 'feel' of it, it didn't seem to be a very large monster.

Currently, they were passing through an area where the monster was thought to be, but there were no broken branches. If it had been a large monster, the branches would have been snapped. The forest was dense enough for that.

(Well, there's no point in worrying about various things.)

If it was something pointless to think about, he wouldn't dwell on it.

That was one of Ryo’s strengths.

"I hear something from the front."

Abel whispered to Ryo. Ryo nodded in response.

After advancing for a while, the forest opened up, revealing what seemed to be a wetland ahead.

And unlike the dullahan’s wetland... there were lizardmen there.

"Lizardmen..."

Abel grimaced as he spoke.

Lizardmen live in groups.

This meant there was a high possibility of a lizardman settlement deeper in the wetlands.