Translator: Cialaxis
Editor: Havion
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Taking the Ruyi Staff out using Storage Magic, a thought struck me.

…Thinking about it properly, it can"t be helped that I was thought to be the one with the lowest combat power here.

Tamers are the strongest profession; however, that is only true when their tamed beasts are included.

The current 8-year-old me has not tamed a single magical beast.

Without even a single tamed beast — which obviously results in the inability to obtain shared experience — Tamers would definitely be considered as the weakest.

The idea that [Tamers are accompanied by tamed beasts] was so obvious that the thought had not crossed my mind.

Yeah, that must be it.

The statement the feudal lord"s son made about [(Eight-year old) Tamers (without any tamed beast) are useless] was not entirely wrong with that premise in mind.

Generally, to say that Tamers are worthless is…nah, there"s no way.

With that out of the way, I took a stance with the Ruyi Staff.

In any case, in addition to me possessing the highest combat power here with the Ruyi Staff, the situation is such that leaving the battle to any one else would result in casualties..

Usually — even if it"s a child — ignoring a n.o.ble"s demands would not end well; however, as the saying goes, "you can"t make an omelette without breaking eggs" — I"ll be taking this battle.

–As I confirmed my thoughts…

[……This is bad!] 

Seeing the Chouhakai pulling a single book out of thin air, I instantly stabbed the tip of the staff into the ground.

I then clung tightly to the staff, willed strongly for the staff to extend, and shot up towards the sky in one go.

Right after that, the book the Chouhakai was holding emitted an ominous light, releasing a creepy aura in all directions.

It"s a specialty skill of Chouhakai — the intimidation skill [Book of Terror].

[The Book of Terror] possesses no other effects beyond intimidation, dealing 0 damage in return for an outrageously short cast time.

That"s why, as I failed to defeat the Chouhakai before it made its move, I had no choice but to temporarily retreat to the sky.

Despite being pretty high up — and well out of the effective range of the skill — I still felt a chill run down my spine.

If I had taken a direct hit from that…the fear would paralyse my entire body, leaving me as a helpless prey without even getting the chance to swing the Ruyi Staff.

I took out the Nimbus Cloud using Storage Magic and rode on it.

Since with my current body, I will not be able to avoid breaking some bones if I fall from this height.

Moreover, it"s easier to target and attack the Chouhakai from the sky.

Returning the staff to its original length, I observed the Chouhakai.

Without sparing a glance to the ones who collapsed due to [Book of Terror], the Chouhakai fixed its eyes on me.

Its eyes seemed to express the desire to [Not allow even a single prey to escape].

I aimed the tip of the Ruyi staff at the Chouhakai, targeting its cranium.

At the same time, the Chouhakai began chanting a spell while gathering mana into the palm of its hands.

Could it be that it didn"t think that the Ruyi Staff"s ability to extend could be used as a means of attack? It is completely ignoring its defense while focusing entirely on attacking.

(——Extend)

So I willed the staff.

The next instant, due to the overwhelming kinetic energy brought forth by the high-speed extension of the Ruyi Staff, the targeted Chouhakai"s head exploded like a crushed tomato without leaving any trace of it ever having one.

At the same time, the half-gathered ma.s.s of mana in its palms flew off to the day after tomorrow.

The enormous boost in physical and magical strength that I feel is proof that defeating the Chouhakai was not a mistake.

This kind of growth only happens after a successful subjugation. 

I can be relieved for now.

I descended onto the ground feeling as such.

…..Well then, what do I do now?

Everyone of those hit by the [Book of Terror] skill was left unconscious while foaming at the mouth. Doesn"t look like they can move for the time being.

While it is unrealistic to carry every single person home, I can"t exactly leave them here to call for help either.

It would be putting the cart before the horse if these children were attacked by another magical beast while I was calling for help.

While I was racking my brains for an answer, as luck would have it, a single man approached the area.

[Are you okay? There was an unpleasant feeling coming from this direction so I followed it to find out what was going on.] (Man)

……I see. I thought it was an uncanny timing, but it was that huh.

It seems that he came running after sensing the waves released from the [Book of Terror].

[Somewhat. It"s just that…the others have fainted due to fear, so would you mind lending me a hand in carrying them to a safe place?] (Varius)

[Of course. Still, what exactly happened which caused such a thing to happen? ] (Man)

The man turned his eyes towards the Chouhakai"s corpse as he spoke.

As soon as he did, the bag that he was holding fell from his hand.

[An orc……no, it"s a little different. Which would mean…could it be a Chouhakai?] (Man)

[I believe so. Since it did use [Book of Terror] just now.] (Varius)

[To think that such a thing would appear here…] (Man)

The man sighed after he muttered those words.

A few seconds of silence followed. The one who broke this silence was the man"s question.

[……N? Wait a minute. You, were you the one who defeated this thing?] (Man)

He had an expression of disbelief as he looked between the Chouhakai"s corpse and me.

[Uh, well…It just so happened that I had a weapon that was capable of defeating the Chouhakai]

I answered ambiguously.

Originally, the Ruyi Staff was not meant to be used by a child, and as a projectile weapon no less.

Although it"s fine to use the excuse that it was due to self-defense this time, it"s also true that many would not think too highly about a child being in possession of a Ruyi Staff.

Taking that into account, it"s unquestioningly better to simply conceal the specific name of the weapon.

……Yeah, let"s change the subject.

After all, this is not the place to be talking about how the Chouhakai was subjugated.

[The feudal lord"s son, Prinzel,  is among those who are unconscious. Hence, I think we should carry all of them to the lord"s mansion for now.] (Varius)

I suggested as such. 

Since the lord"s mansion is the nearest building from here, that would be the best course of action logically speaking.

[Yeah, you"re right. Let"s divide the work and carry them separately.] (Man)

The man readily agreed.

….Thank goodness.

The man did not press further on how I subjugated the Chouhakai.

The number of people that accompanied Prinzel numbered at four including me, which means that the number of victims due to the [Book of Terror] is 3.

The man carried 2 of them — one of them being Prinzel — while I carried the remaining one on my back.

It would be faster to just use the Nimbus Cloud, but it has a mechanism where only the subjugator of Son Goku, along with their tamed beasts are capable of riding, while others would simply slip through it.

Well, it"s a matter of asking for the impossible. 

After ten minutes of walking, the lord"s mansion came into view.

……Just a little more.

As I thought so-

[Cough, Ha…haa…haa…]

I could suddenly hear heaving sounds next to me.

As I faced the source of the sound, pale blue discolouration could be seen on the hands and earlobes of the feudal lord"s son, Prinzel.

This is bad…..

As the thought crossed my mind, the man who was carrying Prinzel increased his walking speed for some reason.

[Please wait! …….Let"s put Prinzel-san down for the time being] (Varius)

I suggested.

However, I couldn"t believe what the man replied in response to that.

[What are you saying. Prinzel-san does not have much time left. If we do not arrive at the feudal lord"s place posthaste, he would not be able to even see his parents" face for the last time you know?] (Man)

I seriously doubted the man"s sanity.

……..This guy, did he just a.s.sume that Prinzel was going to die?

["Does not have much time left?" Right back at you, what are you saying? Rather than accepting his death, wouldn"t it be better to prioritise taking measures that ensures his survival?!] (Varius)

With that counterargument……the man went silent for a few seconds, and said quietly.

[You, are you saying that you can save Prinzel-san in his current state? I can"t think of it as anything else but a brat"s selfish ideal.] (Man)

It seems that it would take some time to persuade him.

As I had that thought, the man continued.

[……Is what I would like to say, but you have accomplished the miracle of defeating a Chouhakai alone. Just once, I"ll put my trust in you] (Man)

Notes:
ED: As Chouhakai is treated as a species" name rather than a unique name similar to how one uses orc or goblins, that would be how we"ll treat it. As for why the “C” is capitalised, it"s because it feels weird to not do it…I guess? LOL Well this may change in the future.