Chapter 61

We students had set up our tents in a tight cluster, as we had been ordered.

The veteran Dragon Masters had their own tents that were a short distance away.

They were set around us as if in a protective circle.

And it was just as I thought we would be safe, that a shadow moved at my back.

“…!”

Before I knew it, I was looking at a Moon Beast.

There were three patterns when it came to Moon Beast appearances.

The most common was when the two moons aligned and the steel shells fell to the ground, along with boulders.

The boulders were destroyed when they hit the ground, but not the Moon Beasts.

They curled up as they fell, and after some time had passed, they would rise up.

These types of Moon Beasts had very high defense capability and were dangerous opponents.

As for other cases. There were some Moon Beasts who had the ability to fly.

They fell like the others at first, but they would transform midfall and fly.

These Moon Beasts could have a much wider range of activity, which meant more damage if they weren’t found immediately.

And the third.

They fell as steel shells and then stayed dormant.

Silent and waiting.

It could be days or even months. They remained there as steel shells, and then one day, they suddenly turned into Moon Beasts.

Once they started moving, Moon Beasts could only stay active for 10 to 20 days.

As they did not eat at all, they used what was called ‘Moon Crystal’ for energy. And when they used up the energy, they died.

The dead Moon Beasts become hard like real boulders, as do their insides.

Their lives were really short.

And so one might think that you should just run away until they died.

However, they could do a lot in just 10 or 20 days.

If there is a town nearby, it could be destroyed.

And so it was necessary to kill them immediately.

“…So, this one must have been sleeping.”

There was a Moon Beast right in front of me.

But there was no moon in the sky.

And yet, there it was, standing between me and the campsite.

It would have fallen a long time ago.

I looked at the place where it was standing.

There was a crater in the ground.

It must have burrowed deep into the earth upon impact.

It was so completely buried, that even the people who passed through this area didn’t notice it.

My hand went down to the whistle at my belt.

We had all been given whistles to use during this military exercise.

“…No, wait. This might be a good opportunity.”

There was no one around. The Moon Beast seemed like it hadn’t noticed me either.

I had made plans in regards to the expected Makoku ambush, but the Moon Beasts remained an unpredictable factor in all of it.

If Moon Beasts were to attack at the same time as the ambush, the veteran Dragon Masters would have to fight the Moon Beasts.

So, if the ambush really was targeting the First-Years, that meant they would have to fight without the support of the veterans.

On the other hand, it was also possible the attacks could lead the Moon Beasts towards us.

As up until now, I had only ever heard stories about them, I didn’t know how strong the Moon Beasts were. And I couldn’t confidently plan ahead.

“It might be best to fight one here.”

I made a decision. I would fight it.

Besides, it looked like it was itching to fight.

“But first, I’ll observe it.”

The Moon Beast walked on two short, thick legs. It had no tail.

Its body was covered with hard patches that looked like a rock. These were common features.

It had spikes on its back and head.

“I think this is a turtle type.”

Generally speaking, the Moon Beasts could be separated into different types.

Dagon, snake, turtle, and horse. There were also others.

The turtle types had especially high defense but were quite slow.

It was said that they could stop the charge of an earth dragon.

Of course, this was not the kind of enemy that a human could face.

“Let’s try this first.”

I melted into the shadows.

After losing me, the Moon Beast’s eyes looked around.

So, magic was effective.

In that case…maybe I had a chance.

The night was my domain.

I could appear anywhere and attack as I pleased.

I aimed for the Moon Beast’s joints and used Shadow Blade.

However, no matter how I cut, the blades would not penetrate its skin.

“So, sword attacks are meaningless.”

Well, it wasn’t surprising that human strength wasn’t enough. That’s why Dragon Masters existed.

What was amazing was the ease at which a dragon’s claws tore through them.

And so I gave up using swords and tried to think of a way to stop it from moving.

I created shadows by its feet.

The Moon Beast started to sink. In surprise, it tried to pull its feet out, but was unable to.

Once a person fell into Shadow Pit, there was no getting out on your own.

“Hmm. It doesn’t work either.”

While the legs sunk into the shadows, that was all.

The sinking stopped before its whole body went in.

My current Shadow Pit magic had its limit.

Perhaps I would be able to improve on it later, but with the strength I had now, sinking the entire body would be too difficult.

“…So…I don’t have many options left. Even if I can’t kill it, I was hoping to be able to stop it.”

It was a Moon Beast. It would escape the Shadow Pit soon enough.

I didn’t have much time.

Well, I could try hitting it with my most powerful attack.

“I’ve only recently learned how to do it, but if this doesn’t work, then I’ll have to give up.”

It did more damage than anything else I could do.

However, as it only moved in a straight line, I wasn’t sure how practical it would be in actual combat.

And so, while the Moon Beast was still caught in my Shadow Pit, I unleashed Shadows Claw.

A pitch-black claw lashed at the Moon Beast.

It went through the shadows and reached it…

“It’s no use, huh?”

It bounced off the surface of the Moon Beast.

It had very high defense, and the force of the attack was not strong enough.

I felt a little depressed.

“I’m not really good at front-facing attacks. Or maybe it’s because its skin is that much harder than normal.”

While this was my first battle with a Moon Beast, it showed me that there was nothing I could do against it.

As I watched, it began to pull itself out of the Shadow Pit.

Time was up.

“Even if father couldn’t kill it, he would have been able to stop it. No…he’d find a way to defeat it.”

Thinking about it made me even more irritated.

Yes, there was a massive difference in terms of experience, but I was starting to think that he wouldn’t even struggle that much if he were fighting one.

I could imagine him fighting without breaking a sweat.

“Well, that’s it for tonight.”

As soon as the Moon Beast was free, I blew into my whistle.

The sound of it tore through the night and echoed everywhere.

“…Damn it. And the Makoku magicians can kill these with just magic? That’s the kind of enemy we’re expecting to face?”

I could hear voices getting louder from far away.

I would leave the rest to them. I wanted to see how they would take it down.

That’s what I thought as I glared at the enraged Moon Beast.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Here is some out of place artwork. Next Chapter will have an actual picture of the Moon Beasts.