Mage-Archer

""""".....Gargghhh!!!!!....."""""

"Damn it! Zen, how long can you maintain your Barrier?"

"A few more minutes maybe, since I don't have that much Mana left."

"Nymh, can you take out the Necromancer with your arrow?"

"That's impossible, Fred. I can feel his presence but I can't see his location in this swarm."

After running for nearly an hour, our great escape finally failed.

We have been surrounded so much that we can't keep the Undead monster approaching near our carriages.

With that happening, we decide to change our strategy to Zen-san casting his Magic-Barrier around us, then Nymh-san, Ms. Karna, Mifumi-sama and me shooting down any approaching Undead monsters, while Fred-san, Felin, and Mr. Nach deal with the Undead monsters that are trying to break the Magic-Barrier.

However, Zen-san's Magic-Barrier won't last long since there are too many Undead monsters that can come near us. We were unable to eliminate the Undead monsters before they caused damage to the Magic-Barrier.

If Mr. Burden No.1 and Mr. Burden King can help us right now, maybe Zen-san's Magic-Barrier will last much longer. Those two really deserve their title.

"Nymh, I don't want you to waste those seeds but we won't be able to handle this anymore, we need you to blast our way out."

"Okay, just give me a few minutes... Evergreen-Magic... Primus-Tree-Form..."

So it's finally happening, Nymh-san is going to use her Sub-Spirit Magic.

Nymh-san stored his bow in her Item-Bag and then released something from it as well. I'm not sure what it is but in just a few seconds, vines and branches of plants start growing from both of Nymh-san's hands.

I don't understand what is happening so it's better to ask an annoying guy who knows...

"Mr. Nach! What's happening with Nymh-san's hands."

"Huh?... Ohh! She's going to use her Sub-Spirit Magic. Didn't you see what she did before that thing started?"

"I noticed her getting something from inside her Item-Bag, and then those things started growing out of her hands."

"What she gets from her Item-Bag are the seeds of the Primus-Tree. Since, Nymh's Sub-Spirit, Dryad, allows her to use magic that controls plants and trees, she can grow any tree as long as she has its seeds. Those things will soon take a proper shape, so just watch and see, kid."

Primus-Tree are said to be the first trees that were created after the 2nd-World recreation and the source of all seeds of every forest in the world.

After Mr. Nach explains about Nymh-san's Sub-Spirit Magic, the two branches growing out of Nymh-san's left-hand bend in bow-like arcs, and the vines at the end of each branch join together, forming a bow that is so elegant like those Primus-Tree that I see in portraits and photos before.

Then the multiple branches that are growing out of her right hand are compressed and coiled together to take the shape of a single arrow. I can already see the dense Mana contained in that arrow even without enhancing my eyes by using Mana-Flow.

This is it. This is what we always wanted to see ever since knowing the Adventurers-Party DryadGuardian one year ago.

"Felin, Mifumi-sama, Nymh-san is going to use her Sub-Spirit Magic."

...CLICK!...SHUTTER!...

"Nymh-san's Magic is quite majestic don't you think, Vier-chan, Felin-chan."

"Nymh-san looks so amazing and cool."

"Mifumi-sama, did you just take Nymh-san's photo using the Art-Phone?"

"Mhm!"

"Mifumi-sama! You know that it's rude to take someone's photo without their consent, right?"

"Don't worry Vier-chan! I'm going to ask Nymh-san later."

"You're supposed to ask their permission first before you take their photo."

"Mhm! Permission and consent first, Mifumi-sama!"

"But I can't talk to Nymh-san right now!"

"Ms. Vier, everyone! We don't have time to admire Nymh-san, there are still Undead monsters around us."

"But Ms. Karna, we always wanted to see Nymh-san's Sub-Spirit Magic."

"We don't have time for that kid, Everyone! Hold on to the carriage and brace yourself."

"Huh?... What do you mean by that Mr. Nach?"

"Nymh is surely overdoing this. The Mana in her arrow probably has enough force to wipe out this swarm."

"... Evergreen-Magic... Rain-Forest..."

After Mr. Chuck gave his remark about how strong the Magic Nymh-san had prepared, Nymh-san finally released her arrow aimed at the night sky.

From what I observed, the moment the arrow leaves the bow, the multiple branches that are compressed and coiled together to form a single arrow begin to untwist and uncoiled themselves forming multiple arrows that spread above us.

"That's too much Nymh, now we're in a much bigger problem."

"I'm sorry everyone, I got fired up and put too much Mana in my arrow."

"Mr. Gregg, Mr. Borris, make sure to hold the horses so they don't run away from us."

"But the swarm Mr. Fred..."

"The swarm is not a problem anymore. We need to respond fast to a new problem."

"Ms. Karna and Ms. Mifumi cast all your Magic-Barrier skills around us at full power. Place them inside my Magic-Barrier. Remember, at full power okay?"

"I'm not sure what is happening but we'll do it Zen-san."

"We'll do what you said, Mr. Zen."

I'm not sure what Nymh-san is apologizing for, what Fred-san meant by saying we have a much bigger problem now, or why Zen-san is asking Mifumi-sama and Ms. Karna to cast their Magic-Barrier. So...

"What's actually happening, Mr. Nach?"

"Kid, when the arrow uncoiled themselves how many did you see?"

"Around 50 or a little bit more?"

"It's 109, Vier!"

"You count all of that, Felin?"

"It's super fast so maybe I miss some."

"Jeez!... So it's more than a hundred."

"And what about those arrows Mr. Nach?"

"Each one of those arrows has the force of a tree moving down at the speed of those arrows, and more than a hundred of those are coming down around us, probably any second now. So you know what I mean kids?"

"""Ehh!!!"""

"Wait! Then we need...."

...BOOMMM!!!...BAMMMM!!!...

"""Aaaahhhhhh!!!..."""

...BOOMMM!!!...BAMMMM!!!...

"""Nymh-san!!!"""

...BOOMMM!!!...BAMMMM!!!...

Just like what Mr. Nach had said, each time one of those arrows pierced the ground a big crater would be carved in the ground along with the explosive sounds from the impact, the debris from the destroyed ground, the uprooted trees, and the crushed Undead monsters.

I almost fainted when the debris finally broke Zen-san's Magic-Barrier.

Seeing nothing but the destruction of our surroundings and hearing nothing but the explosive sounds as those arrows pierced the ground, we really panicked when the Magic-Barrier of the strongest Sorcerer in our group got broken.

But thanks to the efforts of Ms. Karna and Mifumi-sama, at least one Magic-Barrier protecting us managed to withstand until the destruction around us was over.

I said before that we really wanted to see Nymh-san's Sub-Spirit Magic but I didn't think it would be like this.

"Nymh-san! Why did you do that? I'm so afraid that I thought we were all goners!"

"It's alright Vier-chan, no one is hurt thanks to Zen, Karna-chan, and Mifumi-chan's efforts."

"That's right Vier, Nymh-san please do it again."

"It's not alright Nymh-san! And we can't do it again Felin, those seeds are expensive... No! They're sacred."

"Is it alright to use those seeds Nymh-san? Aren't you supposed to plant those to fix any contaminated forest?"

"And that's not all, the trees around us got destroyed. Aren't the Elf race supposed to restore life in the forest?"

"Karna-chan, destroying a few trees won't damage the ecology of this area. You can just consider this as me cleaning the Undead monsters that are contaminating this forest. And don't worry about the two seeds that I used Mifumi-chan, those arrows that pierce the ground will soon grow into trees that will support this forest."

"But the animals, Nymh-san are they..."

"Don't worry Felin-chan, they all run away from the Undead monsters, so they're all safe."

"Thank you Nymh-san."

After complaining to Nymh-san, our group begins the search to find the Necromancer.

During the destruction of our surroundings caused by Nymh-san Sub-Spirit Magic, all of our Magic-Lanterns start working again.

We assume that both the Light-Eater monster and the Necromancer are dead or that the Light-Eater has died and the Necromancer runs away.

"Be careful, everyone! He could still be alive and hiding beneath these corpses of Undead monsters."

"Do we still need to find his body Fred-san?"

"If he's alive, he can tell us many things, like why he attacked us or if he is working with someone else. And if he's dead, we need to at least find things that would tell us who he is."

I don't think that after all that destruction he's still here hiding beneath the corpses of Undead monsters and waiting to ambush us. After all, our group only survives since none of Nymh-san's arrows were aimed at us.

The searching group only includes Me, Felin, Mifumi-sama, Fred-san, and Mr. Nach. Nymh-san and Zen-san are guarding the carriages and our employers and Ms. Karna is looking after the Burden-Brothers.

I think my naming sense is getting better because of those two. They have my thanks for that... Huh?... Ohh!...

"Everyone! I found the Light-Eater corpse."

"Good work kid."

"Nach, see if there's something inside of it."

"Inside? Like its Monster-Core, Fred-san?"

"Well, there's the Monster-Core but it probably has something more."

"Kids, notice any difference in the body of this Undead Light-Eater and the other Undead monsters?"

"It's not rotting."

"Mhm! Felin-chan is right. Its body has many wounds which is why I thought of it being an Undead earlier, but now that I'm looking closer, I can see that it is not rotting like the other. Is this really an Undead Mr. Nach?"

"This monster is not Undead at the same time not Alive either."

"Wait!... I think I heard the riddle before... Hmmm.... Wait! don't tell me the answer yet Mr. Nach."

"It's not a riddle kid. Look!... Inside this monster is the most famous illegal Dungeon-Artifact, the Undead-Orb."

"Why is it illegal, Mister?"

According to Mr. Nach, If you put the Undead-Orb inside the body of a dying monster, that monster will become something like an Undead and have its power increase by one rank or more depending on the level of this Artifact.

And being something like an Undead means a Necromancer with enough skill can control this monster.

"Then what will happen if someone puts this Undead-Orb inside the body of a dying person?"

What Mifumi-sama asked was a little bit scary. Even her have an anxious look from thinking about the possibility of that happening. And it was the same for me, I can't even imagine much less I don't want to know what will happen in that situation.

"The research about that topic is banned not only by the Royalties of many Kingdoms but also by many Organizations of the world, especially by The Academy of Magic and the Adventurers Guild, so you kids don't have to worry about that kind of unpleasant thing."

"I see... Thank you, Mr. Nach."

That's quite nice of you Mr. Nach. I guess you're concerned about us after all.

After putting the corpse of the Undead Light-Eater along with its Monster-Core and the Undead-Orb inside the Item-Bag, we resume our search for the Necromancer. And in just a few minutes, we're able to find him, or should I say half of him.

"Vier! Mifumi-sama! I found the bad guy!"

"Move away from him Felin-chan!"

"Is he still alive Felin?"

...STAB...

"Ehh? Why did you stab your dagger at him, Felin-chan? Is he still alive?"

"He will make a sound if I stab him!"

"That's right Felin, he can't fake being unconscious if you stab him."

"Don't praise her for that Vier-chan. Felin-chan, don't stab someone who can't fight anymore."

"It's okay if they're bad guys, Mifumi-sama."

"They deserve it!"

"No! Just put them in restraint!

Just like I thought, the Necromancer is dead. Felin found him beside the uprooted trees and his lower body was under the tree, so that's what probably killed him.

Mr. Nach then takes over the inspection of Necromancer's body. Thankfully, we have him to do the dirty work for us. Fufufu...

"Kid, stop making fun of me while I'm doing my work."

"I'm not making fun of you, Mr. Nach. Fufufu..."

"Jeez..."

"Did you find anything on him Nach?"

"Not much, Fred. There's no I.d. or tag, and his Sorcerer-Staff is broken but the Monster-Core is still okay. All his other items are probably inside his Item-Bag, but the Magic-Circuit spell is unusual so I can't open it."

Since we're unable to get any information about the Necromancer, we just put his body and all of his items inside the Item-Bag that the DryadGuardian is using for storing their Monster-Materials.

Now that we found the Necromancer, we only have one problem left to deal with.

"Fred-san, what are we going to do with all these undead monster corpses?"

If we leave all of these corpses here, the plants and trees will be contaminated and withered. Also, the animals can't come back here anymore.

"We don't have time and energy to clean all of this so we'll just ask the Guild for help. Zen, use our Beacon-Staff to send signals to the Guild at Green-Dale town and Neem village."

After setting up the Beacon-Staff to and leaving a letter that says what happened here, we ride our carriages and continue traveling back to Green-Dale town.

It's already past midnight, around 1 in the morning. If we didn't encounter those monsters we should be back at the town around 5 in the morning before sunrise. But with everything that happened, maybe we can make it back to town around 8 in the morning.

"I hope we don't encounter any more monsters on our way back to town."

"Jeez!... Don't jinx something like that, kid."

"If that happens, it's your fault saying it's a jinx, Mr. Nach."

"Seriously, kid. That's not how jinx works."