Chapter 37: Mandatory Monkey Camp Episode

(Dante POV)

Perched high atop a Sunsettia tree, I employed my new rendition of my sensing ability, which I dubbed, Elemental Sense.

Unlike the Elemental Sense that the Traveler possesses in the game, my version is quite different.

It is essentially an adaptation of the AIM and Magical Senses I previously utilized in the To Aru world but with a different source of power.

By harnessing Teyvat's ambient elemental energy flowing throughout the surroundings, I use it as a conduit to extend all of my five senses in every direction, reaching a radius of one kilometer.

'While there is no issue with using my Esper abilities or casting some of the magic recorded by the Great Sage, such as Stiyl's fire magic or Kanzaki's Nanasen and Yuisen, relying on my personal AIM and mana reserves to extend my senses would be impractical. Instead, it's far more efficient to adapt the ambient local energy as a conduit for my enhanced senses.' I thought to myself as I felt the Elemental Energies and a few other types of energy ambient to the world of Teyvat.

Eating a freshly picked Sunsettia, I walked a few minutes towards the north looking for the Hilichurl camp I was supposed to raid.

Earlier, after waking up at the inn, Aether and I decided to go our separate ways.

Aether, accompanied by Paimon, continued their journey toward Mondstadt's capital city, while I embarked on my own adventure.

We felt that both of us traveling together during the early stages of the plot would be overkill, so we decided to split up until the plot to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel began.

With the private chat function unlocked after Iris and Sogiita joined, Aether could easily contact me.

Additionally, with teleportation at my disposal, I could quickly reach Mondstadt if needed.

This arrangement allowed me to freely explore and enjoy the fantasy world of Teyvat, engaging in various adventures without any concerns.

With such thoughts, I took on a daily commission at the Adventurers Guild which led me to the current situation, looking for a Hilichurl camp situated close to a river.

"Hmmm, two club wielders, two Pyro shooters, and two mitachurls—one with an axe and the other with a shield," I muttered as viewed the camp with my senses.

'Aight, aside from phase shield. I would only use my spear against this camp to practice my spear-wielding.' With such thoughts, I teleported outside the Hilichurl camp.

Slowly walking towards them, I made sure that the hilichurls noticed my approach.

The two club-wielding hilichurls stood up as they slowly moved towards my left and right.

The two Pyro shooters atop a wooden tower then raised their arms lifting their crossbows and aiming in my direction.

The shield-wielding mitachurl positioned himself in order to run over me with his shield.

Lastly, the axe-wielding mitachurl slightly bent his knees preparing to jump.

'Oya? These monsters are not as dumb as I thought them to be. At least they have a basic formation and not just throwing random bullshit.' With appreciation, I summoned my spear as I dashed straight towards the club wielder on my right.

Without breaking stride, I pulled my right arm back, gripping the spear tightly.

With a powerful thrust, I drove the spear forward, aiming directly at the Hilichurl's mask, using the momentum from my short sprint to add force to the attack.

As the club wielder turned to ashes, I ignored it as I hurriedly lowered my center of gravity before rolling to my northeastern side to avoid the two Pyro arrows and the shield charging toward my previous location.

I then transitioned from rolling to running, dashing past another club wielder who moved closer only to disintegrate into ashes after a single swipe.

With a distance of about 10 meters away from one of the Pyro archers, I stomped my right knee down, using the momentum to hurl my spear directly toward the archer's torso.

As the archer was gone, reduced to atoms, I retrieved my spear by teleporting it towards my hands before facing the spinning axe-wielding mitachurl a few meters towards my back.

"I'm not sure how strong this guy is. I'd better evade or hide behind the guy with the shield," I muttered to myself.

Backing away carefully, I lured the mitachurl that was continuing its spin towards the direction of the other mitachurl.

Either the shield wielder understands it is not a great idea to charge with its shield as its ally is on my back or it simply did not feel the need to do so, it opted for a slow approach.

Its left hand then extended while it pounded the massive wooden shield on its right, like a gorilla beating its chest in a display of aggression.

Chuckling at its actions, I dashed toward the shield wielder, only halting my steps before I reached its arm's distance as I used my spear as a pole to enhance my jumping ability.

Following the successful pole vault, I summoned my spear once more and thrust it toward the back of the head of the mitachurl.

As it was busy blocking the spinning axe attack from the other mitachurl with its shield, it was unable to defend itself and immediately turned to ashes.

With the shield wielder gone, the wooden shield lost its user as it flung towards my direction from the impact of the axe.

But with my phase shift active, the shield phased through harmlessly, while the axe wielder stopped, expending all its momentum, as it froze momentarily, likely from dizziness or disorientation.

Seizing the opportunity, I swiftly delivered another precise thrust to its head before it could recover, reducing it to ashes.

*Swish*

An arrow then hit me on the head or so it should have, but simply phased through me.

With a click of a tongue, I slowly moved towards it before ending the final hilichurls life.

'Two attacks would've hit if it wasn't for my shield. I need to practice more, still, this is good enough for my first real battle, right? The ones against the super-powered kids on the Academic City don't count as Great Sage usually takes over.' I mused before admiring the increase in my physique.

'Still unlocking my Aura is nice. While not really enhancing my body to be super strong, at least I am not that weak anymore. I could at least fight off against a normal adult in a brawl now.' Flaring of the aura barrier which is normally translucent, I noticed the energy orbs that came out from the hilichurls got pulled over as they merged with my aura.

"Eh?" Muttering dumbfounded, I asked the Great Sage what was going on.

[Notice: Total amount of Aura increases by 0.01% after absorbing the Energy Orb.]