A Familiar Forest
Peixa forest had not changed much since the last time I was here. A familiar peaceful, and quiet scenery extended ahead of me.
With my memory as my crutch, I passed by the pond I had regularly used, and continued walking deeper until the trees became thicker, and the area became dark like it was night already.
And on top of this darkness, was the odd silence that enveloped this forest.
Coming here after a long gap, I was once again overwhelmed by just how utterly odd this forest and its ambiance was.
Looking inside the gap between the two rocks that I often used as my base, it was once again covered in moss, and the disgusting bugs that lived in that moss.
Thinking back, I really was incredible back then in how I managed to eat these things, even if it was to survive.
………..now then, that’s enough of sightseeing mode for now, and time to start looking for that Duke Urus seriously.
Since this forest was mostly safe other than the Duke itself, I finally activated my Detection skills that I hadn’t needed to use until now.
I activated all of them at full strength, and began to seriously search for this monster.
The first place I went to was the spot where I first encountered it.
Since I had no other info, I had no choice but to go around and look for it on foot but, bears are often famous for being vengeful and they don’t forget or let go of the prey they set their sights on once.
Of course, it was unknown whether the Duke Urus also possessed the same behavioural patterns as a normal bear but, if that really was the case then……..
As I continued to walk into the Peixa forest, there’s a good chance that monster itself would sense me and rush towards me instead.
There’s a chance that the place I was attacked in was part of its territory as well so it was optimal to roam around the area where that attack had happened while using my detection skills.
While using the utmost caution, I continued to boldly walk through the Peixa forest——and finally reached the spot where I first met the Duke Urus.
Since entering the forest, I had not encountered even a single monster on my way here, and in fact I didn’t even detect a single monster with my skills either.
It was to the point where you’d begin to wonder if the monster even existed but, it was a hard and cold fact that I was attacked right here, in this place.
Stopping there, I waited for some time for the Duke urus to hopefully come to me but I sensed nothing still.
………if I recall, I did feel an intense pressure and presence strong enough to send shivers down my spine, right before it attacked me, didn’t I?
Was it a skill that the Duke used or was that simply my sixth sense warning me? I had no idea but I think it was important to specifically look for that presence.
I could start searching right away, but before that I want to wait just a little more an see if maybe it shows up.
It was so quiet that only the sound of leaves rustling with the wind could be heard, yet I continued to simply stand there, waiting, for a whole 2 hours.
…………even after all this time, not a single creature, not even a small animal was detected by my skills, so it seems unlikely that I’ll run into it by waiting here.
Just when I grew impatient of waiting, and was about to move to continue my search——-my whole body felt a chill run through.
I could never forget this feeling. It was the same as when I first ran into the Duke urus.
If I can still feel this even after getting so much stronger, it was likely that this was indeed a skill that the bear had.
While making this observation,. I turned my focus towards the Duke Urus who I could sense was rushing towards me with immense speed.
It was quite faster than I expected. Judging by the size of its body and its speed, I think this monster would be a platinum rank subjugation I think.
It really was a miracle that I was able to drive it back off when I first met him huh.
And finally——-the figure of the Duke Ursu rushing towards me came into my direct view.
I could see orange coloured patterns glowing on its jet black body, and it even possessed what looked like a lion’s mane that swayed with the wind.
Last time, I had no composure or room for error so I couldn’t carefully observe its body but, damn, it’s a pretty cool looking monster huh.
In the first place, I wasn’t sure if this really was the same exact Duke Urus that I fought last time but although it seemed a size bigger than last time, overall it looked quite similar to the one in my memory.
The only way I could find out if this really was the exact same monster would be by checking the inside of its upper jaw that I had stabbed and wounded by putting my own arm on the line……..
But that was impossible to do unless it opened its mouth wide right near my face.
“Well, in either case, I have to defeat it before anything.”
As I muttered to myself, I pointed my sword towards the Duke Urus.
By the way, I wasn’t using the Vendettatein but instead holding an ordinary iron sword I randomly bought while I was info gathering,.
Of course I could cut it down with Vendettatein but, this was a test of strength for myself so I decided to use a normal iron sword instead.
And on top, I was planning to not use any skills, and fight it in my raw state.
Unlike last time, the Duke who had run at me stopped a distance away and then began to slowly gauge my abilities from afar.
………..I can’t check the wound on its upper jaw like this but, I have feeling this is the same one.
It’s eyes were glaring at me in a way that wasn’t aimed at any normal human. And not to mention it was being exceptionally cautious towards me.
Unlike last time where it got hurt due to being careless, it wanted to go all out against me from the start and kill me———I could feel such a strong will emanating from the Duke Urus.
That fight was a bitter experience for me I guess, it was even worse for the Duke.
I was still only holding my sword in a stance but……….almost as if we could read each other’s thoughts, the fight had already begun through a conversation made through bloodlust.
