I can’t wait to try out my new sword.
I wasn’t able to sleep yesterday, but I’m too excited right now to care about something like that.
You see, there’s a forest that hosts weak monsters about 80km west of the school grounds, and it just so happens that I was given permission to borrow the same chestnut-coloured horse I rode the other day today as well.
I wonder how much time had passed since I left.
The horse didn’t seem to mind the long run, in fact it seemed really happy that it was able to run as long as it wished.
I was told that the small monsters gather at the west side of the forest, and even then they don’t herd together in groups to protect themselves.
That said, I shouldn’t underestimate them. Even with their size, there are many monsters that can utilize poison and other dangerous elements for self defense. I was told that there weren’t any like that in the area I was heading to though, so I should be alright.
It’s the perfect place to test this guy out.
“Now… Let’s go!”
Clapping my legs against him, the horse understood what I wanted and accelerated to an even faster speed than before.
It was around noon when the forest finally entered my vision, but for some reason the horse had stopped.
I don’t remember telling him that though.
“Hey, come on.”
With a light scolding, I clapped my legs against his stomach again.
That’s weird, just a few minutes ago he was behaving just fine.
When I got a good look at him, it didn’t seem like he was grumpy or anything.
On the contrary, he looks just quite healthy.
Is something wrong?
As I wondered about such things, I turned towards the forest.
It was vague, but I could definitely see something moving in the thicket.
The ‘thing’ froze for a second, as if contemplating whether it had been seen or not before actually coming out.
“A ghoul, huh?”
It’s a corrupted-corpse type of demon.
Disregarding the fact that he was scared of it, for the horse to be able to sense monsters from this far away is amazing.
Even if it’s only one, if its a ghoul I should probably turn back.
According to Moran-Jiisan, he said that ghouls are a kind of monster that I should definitely run away from.
More famous than its individual strength, its poison is what people really need to be wary of. There isn’t any antidote for it, so you have no choice but to admit that to encounter one is extremely dangerous.
I know that I should’ve turned around the moment I saw it but… I really want to try out my sword…
I mean, I just have to, you know?
Fortunately its movements are very static and easy to read.
Looking closely at it, I realized it was dragging one foot slightly with each step, it must’ve been injured by something.
Oh I have to do this! My willpower holding me back was wavering.