Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 4 - Chapter 14

14. First Impression of the Hole of Surprises

The Wonder Hole.

Who had named it the Wonder Hole?

When had it become the Wonder Hole?

The Wonder Hole.

Imagine for a moment that there was a super giant mole on the Quickwind Plains. Now, this super giant mole, being a mole like any other, would of course dig tunnels. This was a super giant mole, so the tunnels it dug would be giant, too.

Imagine that this super giant mole started digging a giant tunnel around 1.5 kilometers to the north of Lonesome Field Outpost. The tunnel entrance wasn’t vertical. It was diagonal.

The super giant mole had started digging a really long time ago, so the slope was covered in thick grass. How far the super giant mole’s giant tunnel went, how it spread out, no one knew for certain. That labyrinthine tunnel was so ridiculously huge that some people thought it might go on forever.

Now, this was the Wonder Hole. Also called the Hole of Surprises, or the Hole of Mysteries.

According to one theory, the deepest point of the Wonder Hole was connected to another world. They said that that was why the Wonder Hole was inhabited by bizarre and dreadful creatures seen nowhere else, and a unique ecology had formed inside it.

Furthermore, there were a number of beasts, monsters, and races that, having been defeated in the factional struggles of Grimgar, had fled into the Wonder Hole. It seemed that each of these groups had undergone their own independent growth and development.

The Wonder Hole was, of course, not a giant tunnel dug by a super giant mole. That was merely an analogy. Then how was it formed, you ask? The most persuasive theory was that a number of limestone caves, lava caves, geological fractures and ravines had been connected through a series of natural phenomena and the actions of various living creatures.

The Wonder Hole was a place of many mysteries. For many long years, people had been working to map it in its entirety, but that had yet to be accomplished. The Wonder Hole was just too vast.

In some places, it was too dangerous even for experienced explorers and well-trained volunteer soldiers. However, there was no shortage of people who went into the Wonder Hole.

The explorers were driven by the lust for adventure, walking forward again today in search of lands yet unseen. And as for the volunteer soldiers, it was well worth taking the risk.

“We’re here...” Ranta gulped. “We’re really here. It’s the Wonder Hole.”

Ranta was acting calm, by his standards. Well, that was to be expected, because this area near the entrance was kind of, well, calm and quiet.

Honestly, Haruhiro had been expecting there to be more fierce and dangerous-looking creatures waiting for them, so it was a bit of a letdown.

The Wonder Hole was easily a hundred meters across, so he did feel like, Wow, that sure is huge, but there were chickens, of all things, on that slope.

No, they weren’t chickens. They were too fat for that. They were big and plump. At a glance, they looked bigger than a person, so these weren’t just mutated chickens. Probably, they were an entirely different creature that just happened to resemble them.

Those pseudo-chickens were sitting down or walking around all over the place.

“What is this...?” Haruhiro let his honest opinion slip out.

“It’s kinda...” Kuzaku narrowed his eyes. “...pastoral and idyllic, huh.”

“The chickens’re cute, huh,” Yume said, smiling—no, smirking.

Shihoru shivered. “...But, they’re a little scary.”

“Yeah,” Merry nodded. “They’re big, but still weirdly realistic.”

It was strange for her to say they were weirdly realistic, since they were living and breathing right there in front of them, and were, therefore, without a doubt, real. Still, Haruhiro sort of got what Merry wanted to say. If you took a fly or mosquito, blew it up to ten times its normal size, and you could see all the little details of it clearly, it’d be pretty grotesque. It didn’t feel any better seeing that done with chickens instead. Probably, that was what she was getting at.

“Well, that’s just how the Won-Ho is,” Ranta said, acting like an insufferable know-it-all. “It’s the sort of thing where it’s pretty easy up by the entrance, and it gradually gets more hardcore from there. Like that’s the design? We haven’t even gone inside yet, so this is about what you’d expect.”

“Fine, but what’s this ‘Won-Ho’ supposed to be...?” Haruhiro asked.

“Huhh?! Parupiro, you moron, it’s short for Wonder Hole, duh! You ought to be able to figure out that much. Use some common sense.”

“I’m not sure a guy as far from normal as you should be talking to me about common sense...”

“Are you an idiot?” Ranta shot back. “How many people in this world do you think have as much common sense as me? Not one, man, not one. I am the King of Common Sense.”

“Man, do you even know what common sense means?” Haruhiro asked.

“Yeah, I do,” Ranta said. “The opposite of nonsense, right?”

“Oh, I give up...”

“Yeah, I bet you do! Talking to you is a waste of time anyway! Okay, let’s do this!” Ranta put on his helmet, then raced forward.

Haruhiro blinked. “...Huh? What? Man, whaa—”

“...Uwah,” Kuzaku put on his close helm and lowered its visor. “Seriously?”

“Huh...?” Yume brought her index finger to her lips, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

“...Unbelievable,” Shihoru groaned, but she still got ready to fight.

Merry shouted after him, “Stop it, you idiot!”

She was too late.

“Hahhhhhhhhhh...! Leap Out!” Ranta bellowed.

Ranta charged fiercely towards one of the giant pseudo-chickens that was sitting on the ground.

The sharp blade of Ranta’s longsword caught the giant pseudo-chicken—or so he thought.

“Gyueh!” The pseudo-chicken leapt up at the last possible moment, flapping its wings.

“Bwah...?!” Ranta’s swing missed, and he looked up at the pseudo-chicken.

Yes. Looked up at it.

“—What, you can fly?!” he shouted.

“Wugyagyagyagyagyaaa!”

The pseudo-chicken was probably beating its wings in desperation. It was currently at an altitude of about three meters. But maybe that was the limit for it. The pseudo-chicken was moving backwards in midair as it descended.

“Gwahaha! You’re making this more fun than I thought it’d be!” Ranta bellowed.

Ranta closed in on the pseudo-chicken before it could land, taking a swing at it. The pseudo-chicken didn’t have arms, so it went after him with its legs instead.

A kick. It was a kick.

“Gyugyagyugyagyua!” the chicken called.

“Whoa! Whoops! There!” Ranta’s longsword hit the pseudo-chicken’s leg. They collided. Blood flew. However, he hadn’t cut it off. It looked like the pseudo-chicken had pretty tough legs.

“Not bad!” Ranta called.

“Gyueee!”

The pseudo-chicken jumped off the ground, launching another kick at Ranta. This was different from its last midair kick. This was a strong kick with real force behind it.

“Gwuh...?!” Ranta intercepted it with his longsword, but it was pushed back. He was sent flying.

“I’m kind of supposed to be the tank!” Kuzaku called, interposing himself between the pseudo-chicken and Ranta.

“Gyugyagyagyagyah! Gyagyagyagyagyah!”

The pseudo-chicken jumped into the air and kicked. It kicked with its right leg. It kicked with its left leg. It spun its legs around, kicking again and again in rapid succession.

“Oh! Ohh! Wow! Whoa!” Kuzaku was blocking it all with his shield somehow, but he was totally being forced to back away. The pseudo-chicken might force its way past his defense and knock him over at any moment.

“Okay, Kuzaku, you’re in charge of letting it whale on you!” Ranta shouted.

Ranta had let Kuzaku take his place. Now was he trying to circle around to the pseudo-chicken’s side, or its back, if he was lucky?

“Haru?!” Merry looked over to Haruhiro.

Yeah, I know, Haruhiro thought. Orders, right? You’re looking for orders. I have to give them. Dammit. Screw you, Ranta. This is because you had to go and start this. I mean, what do we get out of killing some giant pseudo-chicken? Sure, we could probably eat the meat, but butchering it would be a lot of work. No, no, now’s not the time to be thinking about that.

Haruhiro quickly scanned the area around them. The other pseudo-chickens were keeping their distance and watching.

They sure are cold, these pseudo-chickens, he thought. But for now, it looks like they won’t be swarming us. Not yet, at least. We’ve gotta stay on our toes.

“Kuzaku, you stay there and hold out!” he called. “Ranta, Yume and I will surround it! Merry, look after Shihoru! Conserve magic!”

Haruhiro drew his dagger and sap and rushed forward. Ranta was already trying to get behind the pseudo-chicken.

“—No matter what, I’m gonna be the one to decide this!” Ranta hollered. “O Darkness, O Lord of Vice! Dread Aura!”

Ranta activated his dark magic, and something like a blackish purple haze enveloped him. Dread Aura. It was a spell that gave the dread knight who used it a general power boost.

Use that from the beginning! Haruhiro shouted at him mentally.

“Urkh...” Kuzaku grunted with exertion.

Kuzaku’s hanging in there, Haruhiro thought. But it’s sloppy, the way he moves. Is he too tall, so it’s throwing off his balance? His shield and sword are both too far out from his body, and they’re not in sync; it’s a mess. He’s got too many gaps. Is he gonna be okay as tank like that?

Regardless, while he’d been managing to hold out somehow, Ranta had gotten right behind the pseudo-chicken and taken a swing at it. “Hatred!”

“Gyueeh!”

The giant pseudo-chicken took to the air once more, dodging Ranta’s slash. Once again, it was about three meters up, but that was high enough that Ranta’s swings just barely couldn’t reach it.

“Fwoosh!” Yume called, quickly loosing an arrow. Despite being a hunter, Yume wasn’t good at archery. But she hit. It struck the flying pseudo-chicken in the breast.

“Yay!” Yume cheered, but the pseudo-chicken didn’t even flinch. It looked like it was pretty meaty, so one or two arrows might not hurt it much.

“Hit it in the face, okay? The face!” Ranta bellowed, chasing after the descending pseudo-chicken, swinging his sword around as he did.

Kuzaku followed after him with heavy steps.

When the pseudo-chicken landed, this time it started running.

“Gyueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!”

“I-It’s running?!” Haruhiro was dumbfounded. At the same time, he thought, This isn’t going to work. We can’t catch it. I mean, it’s fast. That thing’s super fast.

“Hey, wait, you...!” Ranta hollered.

Ranta was trying to chase after it, but it was getting further and further away from him. Kuzaku just stood there, while Yume was nocking an arrow.

“Jess, yeen, sark, fram, dart...!”

Shihoru cast a spell. It was one she had newly learned. It wasn’t Darsh Magic. It was a Falz Magic spell, Lightning.

There was a flash of light. Then a roaring sound, like the sound of tearing paper, only magnified tens or hundreds of times.

It was lightning. Lightning came down. Right at the feet of the fleeing pseudo-chicken.

In other words, she missed.

“Meow...!” Without missing a beat, Yume let her arrow fly. It didn’t even graze it.

“Dammiiiiiiiiit, aaaaahhhhhh....!” Ranta yelled.

Ranta’s still running, Haruhiro thought. It’d be stupid to go to the trouble of stopping him.

“...I mean, when you get down to it, this was all his fault for suddenly starting a fight in the first place,” Haruhiro added aloud.

“Whoa...” Kuzaku looked down at the ground, shaking his head. “I broke into a cold sweat there. I’ve never fought anything like that before...”

“I don’t think that’s your only problem here...” Haruhiro muttered, despite himself.

Kuzaku raised his visor and looked in Haruhiro’s direction. “Huh?”

“Nah—” Haruhiro said.

I’ve got something to say to him. I feel like I really ought to say it. But, as infuriatingly stupid as it is, I can’t just leave Ranta alone.

“Hey! Ranta! Get back here already! Don’t waste your time!” Haruhiro shouted.

“You’re so annoying! Shut up, Parapillion!” Ranta hollered.

All he’d gotten in return was some verbal abuse, but it still seemed that even Ranta had realized how stupid he was being. Or maybe he was just tired. That seemed more likely. Either way, Ranta finally stopped.

“...I’m sorry,” Shihoru said, shrinking into herself. “...I couldn’t hit it with my spell. I know this is just making excuses, but I’m not used to Falz Magic yet...”

“Grr,” Yume said with a grimace. “That arrow hit, but it didn’t end up doin’ anything.”

Merry had an incredibly dark look on her face, as if the world had just ended for her. She was depressed and at a loss for what to do. “...I couldn’t cast it... Protection...”

Merry’s got a complex about Protection, Haruhiro thought. This’s bad.

“Nah, it’s not your fault, Merry—” he hastened to reassure her, but the source of all this trouble had turned around and was on his way back, cursing all the way.

“I almost had it, but someone went and stopped me! You just had to go and make a nuisance of yourself!” Ranta yelled.

“Man...” Haruhiro muttered.

The words “making a nuisance of yourself” are a better description of what you were doing, he thought indignantly. They were made to describe what you were doing. Your very existence is a nuisance. Give me a break. Quit screwing around all the time. Seriously, you do this every time. I wish you’d just die already. I wouldn’t mind—hell, I’d be thrilled.

Haruhiro wanted to unload all of those feelings on him, but Ranta probably wouldn’t change even if he did. If Haruhiro said anything, Ranta would argue back, it’d turn into a fight, and that would only be exhausting for him. Still, he had to warn him against one thing.

“No more messing with the pseudo-chickens,” Haruhiro ordered. “Actually, you’re banned from charging in without permission.”

“Don’t get cheeky with me,” Ranta said. “Who do you think you are, pal?”

“It’s banned.”

“I asked, who do you think you are? Answer me.”

“It’s banned.”

“Can you do anything other than repeat yourself?” Ranta demanded. “Are you a parrot? Are you a parrot, huh? Yeah, you’re a parrot. Fine then, from now on, your name is Parrot, got it? You’d better get used to it.”

Haruhiro did his best to ignore Ranta and resist the urge to punch him. Haruhiro’s ability to let things go must have gone up a level or two.

“...I’m amazed that you can put up with him,” Kuzaku said with clear dismay.

“It’s because he’s always like this...” Shihoru explained with a wry laugh.

Yume stuck out her bottom lip, making a pouty face. “Still, when he’s doin’ stuff to make you mad, he makes you real mad.”

“Um! Everyone, gather around.” Merry raised her hand. “I’ll cast Protection on us. This time, I have to make sure it doesn’t run out...”

Haruhiro and most of the others gathered around Merry at once, but Ranta was dragging his feet.

“Oh, fine, if I have to,” Ranta muttered. “Honestly. You’re absolutely hopeless. Seriously. Seriously.”

It really made Haruhiro want to shout Come on, just get over here already, but he thought better of it.

“Ah,” he added, realizing something.

“Hm?” Ranta turned around. “...Oh?”

There was a rumbling sound. It was incredibly intense. Something was running towards him. It was a giant pseudo-chicken. Since it had an arrow in its breast and a bloody leg, it must have been the one from before.

The pseudo-chicken leapt into the air. “Gyueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!”

“Ohhhhhh?!” Ranta yelled.

It let loose.

The giant pseudo-chicken landed a flying kick on Ranta’s chest.

“Gwah?!” Ranta yelped.

It was a clean hit. Ranta was bowled over.

Haruhiro couldn’t help but think, Serves you right.

“O Light, may Lumiaris’s divine protection be upon you... Protection!” When Merry cast the spell, a hexagram of light appeared on Haruhiro and the others’ left hands.

“Didn’t it run away?!” Haruhiro readied his dagger and sap. “We’ll have to do this! Kuzaku!”

“Yeah!” Kuzaku put his shield in front of him and charged at the pseudo-chicken.

Yume nocked an arrow. “Is Yume better off usin’ her machete?!”

He couldn’t shout, I don’t know! I don’t know anything about that! at her, like he really felt, so Haruhiro tried saying, “Your bow is fine!” But was it really? He didn’t know.

Shihoru launched another spell, but missed again. Ranta wasn’t getting up. He was just lifting his head and glancing over in Merry’s direction, as if to say, Heal me, please. Be nice to me. That ass.

Yume’s arrow didn’t hit it, either.

As for Kuzaku, it was all he could manage just to block the pseudo-chicken’s kicks with his shield.

The pseudo-chicken jumped, flew around, and they couldn’t catch it. This was going nowhere.