With the [Guide Lens], Even Named Monsters Become Too Easy
“Move out! No breaks!”
The soldier leading us shouted loudly.
In the end, more than thirty adventurers had gathered.
Bridget was taking the lead with the soldier.
The rest of us trailed behind them like a school field trip.
“Hey, once we get our reward, let’s head out at night.”
“Hah, you’re into that stuff, huh?”
Everyone around us was already smiling confidently.
Maybe it was because we had a large group, or maybe hunting a Named monster wasn’t that difficult after all—I couldn’t tell.
“They’re just letting their guard down.”
Milfie said, perhaps noticing my expression.
“You never know what’s going to happen. Even gathering simple herbs can get you killed. People who don’t understand that get weeded out.”
I considered giving advice to the others, but if I did, it would be the same as picking a fight.
In the world of adventurers, “Rank” is absolute.
Then, the guys who had messed with me earlier spoke up from the side.
“I’ll give you ten percent of my reward, so carry my stuff, will ya?”
“Haha, carry mine too.”
Milfie gave them a sharp glare, but this kind of thing probably happened often.
Still, she looked like she’d crush them the moment they laid a hand on me.
If a fight broke out in a group this large, it wouldn't matter who was right or wrong.
They knew that and were baiting me anyway. Seriously, what a bunch of jerks.
“Ninety percent of the reward and I’ll carry all of it. Deal?”
“Hah! This guy’s got a mouth on him.”
They laughed mockingly.
I had no idea what was so funny.
“Tabito, let me know when you’ve had enough.—I’ll kill them in the confusion of battle.”
That was Milfie’s line, by the way.
And she probably meant it.
◇
About an hour of walking later, the formation came to a halt.
It felt like a pretty long distance to me, but the others were chatting about how close it was.
That’s adventurers in this world for you.
The map had expanded quite a bit.
But with the sides cut off, it was irritating for a perfectionist like me.
Also, we passed by tons of “loot”.
That was painful in its own way.
I held back, not wanting to collect strange titles on my status any further.
Ahead, a wide river stretched out, with huge rocks spaced evenly along it.
A small bridge was also built there.
—
[Near the Royal Capital, Ojiaria River]
3.4★★★☆☆ (9845)
Merchant from Ortria
★★★☆☆
Pretty river, but sometimes monsters show up.
Wish there was some security or something.
C-Rank Adventurer
★★★☆☆
There are fish in the riverbed, so it's good for camping.
Monsters can appear depending on the day, so be cautious.
B-Rank Adventurer
★★★★☆
Relatively peaceful place.
The monsters that appear aren’t too strong, but sometimes they act strange.
A-Rank Adventurer
★★★☆☆
Fought a giant variant here—too damn big.
—
“… That wasn’t mentioned.”
At that moment, a soldier muttered.
Apparently, my ears were quite good—I seemed to have a knack for picking up sounds.
Bridget, at the front, was staring into the distance.
When I followed her gaze, I saw a huge Cyclops peeking out from behind a distant rock.
Its massive body, a giant single eye, a huge club in its hand—and most of all, its towering height shocked me.
I wondered if that was the normal size, but the other adventurers shouted in fear.
“Hey, what the hell is that!?”
“It’s huge… what’s going on!?”
“Damn it, the variant meant it’s giant-sized!? We got tricked!”
I turned to ask Milfie, but she spoke first.
“This is the worst.”
It must have been significantly bigger than normal.
Too far to use the Guide Lens.
Bridget seemed to be saying something to the soldier.
I moved closer and focused on their conversation.
“We should retreat for now. Or at least reduce our numbers. If something goes wrong, it'll be chaos.”
“Sorry, but we can’t do that. I’ve promised these people a reward. It’s tied to the royal capital’s honor. More importantly, we must hurry.”
He didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down.
Apparently, his rank was fairly high, as there was golden embroidery on his shoulders.
Bridget looked clearly displeased.
Then, the soldier turned to look behind him.
“Form up! If we all do it together, it’ll be over quickly. Anyone who hesitates doesn’t get paid!”
That one command got the adventurers moving.
There wasn’t much of a plan. Just surround it.
“This is really it?”
“No good. Bridget knows that too. But that soldier’s medal—it means he used to be a noble. I bet he was ordered from above and is in a rush. Probably trying to steal the credit too.”
“... This is the worst-case scenario, huh.”
It wasn’t quite fear, but the lighthearted atmosphere from earlier had completely vanished.
“Normally, they’re about four meters tall.”
“That one’s clearly twice that.”
Still, we had accepted the request.
I was one of them too.
At that moment, the Cyclops must’ve sensed mana and let out a roar.
Then it started charging.
Bridget moved to the front, and everyone followed.
The surrounding mages unleashed their attacks. I saw it for the first time—it really was just like a game.
But it didn’t even flinch. It seemed its toughness matched its massive frame.
Men started shouting. So this is what a Named Monster Subjugation is like.
But then something unexpected happened.
A scream came from behind.
When I turned around, I saw another massive Cyclops.
It must’ve been hiding—when I checked the map, more and more kept appearing.
—Damn, they were in the river.
“Tabito—”
“Yeah.”
I had to switch gears.
Once battle began, it turned into total chaos.
More monsters were appearing from the front too. Bridget was still fighting at the front, but others had shown up as well.
I activated [Guide Lens].
—
[Enlarged Cyclops]
Violent by nature, with a craving for human flesh and blood.
Bigger and stronger than a normal one.
Weak points: eyes and legs.
—
I see. The problem is, it’s too tall to hit the weak points easily.
“Alright—let’s do this, nya!”
Milfie crouched down.
A moment later, she unleashed an incredible leap with astonishing leg strength.
She flew up to the Cyclops’s eye level, dodged its club, and landed a back-kick straight into its eye.
“Amazing…”
“So that’s an A-Rank, huh?”
“GRROOAAAAHHH!”
Everyone followed up and surrounded it.
But the club hit a few of them and sent them flying.
One coughed up blood—probably had bones broken.
Its destructive power was overwhelming, unlike anything we’d faced before.
Yet strangely, I remained calm.
I could clearly recognize that this was a life-or-death fight.
I steadied my breathing and ran in.
“Tabito!”
“I’m fine.”
I dodged the incoming club at the last moment.
The wind howled past my ears.
I got behind it and sliced its Achilles tendon.
The Cyclops collapsed in pain, and everyone slashed at it.
It felt like bullying. But this is battle.
“Huff… huff…”
“Tough bastard.”
“Keh, wasn’t that big a deal.”
After that, we took down several more.
At the front, Bridget was reportedly going wild.
Several Cyclopses lay dead on the ground, drenched in blood.
Thankfully, I didn’t see any adventurer corpses, but there were many injured.
It had been a tough battle.
With no coordination, people got in each other’s way, which only weakened our fighting power.
Still, this was a learning experience…
Just then, my map reacted.
The moment I shouted, the soldier froze.
“Fall back!!!”
As the adventurers noticed what I’d seen, they all turned to look.
From behind the surrounding rocks, Cyclopses emerged again.
Their eyes were bloodshot—red.
And they were even bigger and more muscular.
“Waaaahhhh, they’re enraged!”
Someone screamed, and chaos broke out.
I spotted the letters on the guide map and shouted.
“There’s more! Front and back!”
I’d seen an enraged state once before in a hunting ground.
When their comrades are killed, some monsters lose their brain’s limiter from sheer rage.
I was surprised that monsters had such a mode, but this was the first time I’d seen multiple go into it at once.
Their mana output increased explosively, and they burned with rage that made them many times stronger.
“R-run for iiiiiiiiit!”
Then the noble-born soldier was the first to flee.
But he ran straight into the worst possible place.
A river too deep to stand in—he started to drown.
Bridget noticed and chased after him.
And then the worst chain reaction began.
Those who had been wanting to flee suddenly took the soldier’s escape as permission.
Chaos and screams—adventurers who had been hiding in the distance ran away yelling.
Of course, only the wounded were left behind.
“W-wait!”
“Don’t leave us behind!”
“M-my legs won’t move!”
There was no way we could carry them all.
In other words, they’d be left behind.
And with most of the fighting force gone, there was no reason left to fight, especially if the soldiers had fled.
Among the injured was the big guy who’d mocked me before.
“Tabito, I’ll make a path. First, I’ll secure a route, then—”
“Milfie, can you watch over the wounded? You’re better at moving in a wide area than I am.”
“… Where are you going!? You can’t go that way!”
“It’s okay. I’ll be fine—just watch me.”
There was something I hadn’t told Milfie.
And I realized something.
After fighting a few times, and getting used to this world, I’d come to understand it.
Even to her, the one I trusted most, this was the one thing I couldn’t say.
"Hey, D-Rank, fall back!"
Bloodshot Cyclopes come charging.
There are five of them.
Normally, anyone would be terrified.
I shifted my gaze. The guide, the lens, they predict the enemy's movements.
But that alone won’t be enough to win.
I still have to move my body the way I intend, and I can’t afford to feel fear.
But I barely have any such emotion to begin with.
That’s probably just how I originally was—my nature.
—Crushing the enemy, fighting… is fun.
… Ahh, you lot really think—you can beat *me*?
"—You won't land a hit."
"Gaagh! Gyaaa!?"
I dodged a club swing.
I dashed up from its feet.
It thrashed its body wildly, but that’s not nearly enough to shake me off.
I reached its eye and sliced straight down with all my might.
—The first one.
"Gyaaagh!!"
I sensed the club being swung from behind by the sound.
I twisted around, slashed through the carotid artery, and gouged out the eye.
I repeated the same with the rest, effortlessly taking the life of the last Cyclops.
The adventurers around me stand still, not moving, just staring at me.
I realize I was smiling—happy, thrilled—after killing the enemy.
Hah… What the hell am I? Who *was* I?
Well, whatever.
Ahh, that was fun.
Then Milfie came running.
I wondered what was going on—and then she hugged me.
"Tabito, are you okay!? Are you hurt!?"
It’s like all the tension drained from me, and I finally felt like I was back to myself.
"I'm fine. Thanks."
"Good… I mean, that was way too amazing, meow."
My whole body was drenched in blood.
We were supposed to be on a leisurely trip, weren’t we…?
"Things might get complicated from here."
"Complicated?"
I glanced around.
The adventurers nearby were staring wide-eyed in shock.
Ahh, what was that line again?
… It’s “Did I just do something crazy?” right?
What do you think about this chapter?
