Dream Life Vol II Chapter 52.2: “The Black Panther Hunt”

　The cold wind was blowing through the forest, but after an hour’s walk, we began to sweat. We take a break to check the rough map, as well as the search area.

　Gerald says, “I don’t see any footprints. Well, we’re roughly where we’re supposed to be, but what do we do now?” Just then, we heard a high-pitched whistle sound.

　The direction I heard was to the southwest. I don’t know how far away it is, but it sounds pretty clear, so it doesn’t sound that far away.

　Gerald sharply ordered, “Let’s go!” and we quickly followed him.

　The whistle sounded intermittently and repeatedly, but it was hard to get a sense of direction, perhaps because it echoed off the trees in the forest. The veterans were the same as me, stopping several times to check our direction.

　After about ten minutes of running, the whistle suddenly stopped sounding.

　Still, we kept running in the direction of the whistle.

　Sharon and I, who had no physical strength, were getting out of breath, but we were desperate to get to the site as quickly as possible, so we kept up with them.

　Within a few minutes, we arrived at the site.

　There we found nothing but the five dead adventurers.

　The bodies of the five had been torn apart, their leather armor and all, their carotid arteries severed. The smell of blood, like iron, filled the air.

“Damn! I wonder how these guys were killed… They’re sixth-ranked, but they were reasonably skillful…” (Gerald)

　Gerald muttered then followed with an order, “Watch your surroundings! It must still be nearby!”

　I watch the five victims.

(They are in their mid-twenties. Two swordsmen and two archers, and one spearman. …It’s like they were completely taken by surprise. The archers’ bows were broken, and the others didn’t even have time to draw their swords. …Even so, the claws are extremely sharp. Leather armor was sliced through like paper…) (Zack)

　We slowly form into a formation where the vanguard surrounds the rear guard, and we take a look around.

　I search for signs of life, but I can’t feel any presence at all.

　Liddy, Beatrice, and Gerald are searching for presences as well, but they can’t seem to sense them.

“We can assume that they have left this place. We’ll retrieve the bodies later and wait for the other parties to arrive.” (Gerald)

　I wondered if we were going to be okay with this dispersed force.

　And when I asked Beatrice about it, she said,

“Certainly, it’s not a good situation. The others will probably gather here, and we’ll discuss it immediately there.” (Beatrice)

　The other parties would have heard the sound of the whistle, so it should be time for them to show up. Just as I was thinking that the sound of the whistle echoed through the forest again. This time it was from the northwest and much closer.

　Gerald’s “Let’s go! Gerald’s “Let’s go!” signaled everyone to head in that direction. As I ran, I thought about the actions of the Black Panther’s hunters.

(Obviously, I’m lagging behind. Or rather, I can’t believe the enemy’s movement is this monstrous. No matter how you look at it, it is intended to kill them. Or did it intend to return to eat them later?) (Zack)

　After five minutes of running, I heard a scream mixed with the sound of a whistle.

　We crossed a small hill, where a huge black feline beast was about to slice through a swordsman with its claws.

　The swordsman thrust out his sword to block the claws, but the supple but muscular black panther blew him away, sword and all.

　Around him, two swordsmen and an archer were down, and the only one who was alive was still holding an arrow and looking for the right moment to shoot.

　Me, Sharon, and Liddy began to cast spells.

　All three of us chose wind magic, with Sharon and I using our specialty, [Swallow Cutter], and Liddy using the [Wind Blade].

　Liddy’s [Wind Blade] quietly approached from directly behind the Black Panther. Just when we thought she had hit the target, the Back Panther, not looking behind, jumped two meters directly up and avoided Liddy’s magic.

　I hear Liddy say, “No way,” but my [Swallow Cutter] and Sharon’s [Swallow Cutter] are heading straight for the Black Panther. I fired another [Swallow Cutter], just in case.

　The first shot hit the leaping panther near its hindquarters. Sharon’s [Swallow Cutter] hits near its hindquarters as well.

　I shouted in my mind, “Yes!” but the next moment, I am surprised to see that the black panther has not been injured at all.

　[Swallow Cutter] is a magic designed for speed and maneuverability, and its attack power is certainly not very high. However, if it hit the bear properly, it had the power to break through even the bear’s thick skin.

　But this time, the Black Panther was not injured at all.

　While I was shocked, the second magic swallow was closing in on the Black Panther.

　Already on the ground and on alert, the enemy turned and headed toward us.

　The Black Panther saw my [Swallow Cutter] and tried to evade just before it hit. However, my magic, which has a tracking function, successfully hits its face.

　The Black Panther jumped up with a yelp as it received the magic on its nose.

　The Black Panther didn’t seem to think that the magic would change its direction. It roared loudly as it was attacked just when it thought it had completely avoided the attack. The Black Panther gave itself a lick across its nose with its bright red tongue and turned its sharp, angry eyes on me.

　A chill runs down my spine.

　But in the meantime, Gerald and Beatrice were heading toward the Black Panther and about to attack it.

　The Black Panther instinctively knew that they were skilled, and instead of fighting, it jumped to the side and tried to escape into the forest.

　At that moment, an arrow fired by an archer from Gerald’s party pierced the Black Panther’s right side. As expected, he was unable to repel the powerful bow arrow used by a third-rank adventurer.

　Still, the wound was shallow, or perhaps the Black Panther’s movement remained almost unchanged as it fled through the forest. I fired a [Fire Cannonball – Flame Cannon], forward to stop the enemy in its tracks.

　The Black Panther noticed the magic but decided it would and did not try to avoid.

　That was my aim.

　The fire cannon hits a large rock in front of the Black Panther and explodes with a bang. The impact and the scattered flames made the panther flinch slightly and it stopped in its tracks.

　Liddy and Sharon did not miss this opportunity.

　Liddy thought that a bow would be more effective than magic, so he fired an arrow. Sharon had also read my intention and released an air hammer just before the Black Panther stopped.

　Liddy’s arrow pierced the right hind leg, and right after that, Sharon’s air hammer blew the Black Panther’s body away.

　The Black Panther, blown away, twisted its body in the air and landed without falling.

　But that time was fatal.

　Gerald’s party’s magician, Rufus, unleashed an [Lance of Ice – Icicle Spear], which pierced the panther’s left shoulder.

　The Black Panther still tried to flee into the forest. However, Beatrice and Gerald, two members of his party, had already caught the Black Panther in their attack range.

　The wounded Black Panther, deprived of its prided mobility, glared at Beatrice and the others hatefully before moving to attack.

　Showing a blinding flash of power that one would not expect from a wounded animal, the Black Panther leaped at Beatrice.

　Beatrice calmly dodged by stepping to the left, and then slammed her spear into it as it passed each other. As it landed further, Gerald and the others attacked, and the Black Panther fell, coughing up blood.

　In the end, I had only fired my magic and could not join in the close combat. If I had joined them, I would have ended up dragging them down, but I honestly wanted to participate in the battle to improve my swordsmanship skills.

　The adventurers who were attacked this time were seriously wounded, but no one died as a result of the treatment provided by me, Liddy, and Gerald’s archer and healer.

　The black panther we had defeated was, in the opinion of Gerald and Rufus, a Mutant. In extremely rare cases, monsters with remarkably high abilities are born, and these are called Mutants. This time the individual seemed to have high intelligence and resistance to magic.

(This time, it was clearly enjoying the killing, or should I say tasting human blood? Is it like the “Brazilian Cat” in the book I read long ago? Once it got to know the taste of human blood, it would keep on killing. …But even so, is it equivalent to a fourth rank with this level of ability? No, this time it’s a mutant, so maybe it’s a third-rank equivalent.) (Zack)

　The other adventurers joined us one by one. Gerald ordered the bodies of the five dead adventurers to be taken to the city, and also ordered the skinning of the dead Black Panther.

“Thair pelt fetches a good price. Especially being a mutant, it would be a nice little bonus.” (Gerald)

　I thought to myself, “Five people are dead.”

　But neither Liddy nor Beatrice seemed bothered. According to them, adventurers are responsible for their own actions, and if they are not confident of their own survival, they should not accept dangerous requests. If they were not confident in their ability to survive, they could have chosen not to accept the urgent request. Worst-case scenario, they could be penalized with a demotion in rank, but it was not a penalty worth risking their lives for.

　On the way home, Gerald approached Beatrice.

“Indeed, your party’s attack power isn’t half bad. Isn’t it about time you boys went to the mountains.” (Gerald)

　Beatrice replied, “Yeah, I’m thinking of doing that in the spring.”

(Mountains, huh… if there are a bunch of guys like this one, it’s pretty dangerous, but it seems more efficient for leveling up than in the woods right now. Maybe we should seriously consider it…) (Zack)

　In the end, the Black Panther’s pelt was sold for 500 C Krona (=500,000 yen), and we got a share of 20 C per person.

　Since the reward for the urgent request was 100 C for us at the sixth rank, the additional bonus of 20 C would be a fair amount.