Seeing Leinas condition rapidly deteriorating, Minori immediately pulled out a bottle of regeneration potion and carefully poured it along her cheek.
Hiss—
The moment the potion made contact with the festering flesh, a sizzle rang out. Leinas groaned in pain, her body flinching involuntarily as the potion forced the decay to retreat, albeit temporarily.
The creeping corruption on her face slowed—halted for now.
"...Thanks."
Leinas face was pallid, drained of blood. She gripped her spear, pressing it into the swampy earth, and struggled to her feet. Despite the agony, she wouldn't let herself appear weak.
"This isn't the time for courtesy," Minori said with a small wave of his hand, eyes narrowing at the seemingly empty field before them.
Leinas spat to the side and muttered, "We may have found the source."
"I've fought manticores before," she continued, frowning. "They were never this twisted… this wrong."
It was becoming clear to her now. The curse tormenting her hadn't come from the manticore. Minori's theory had been right from the start—something else, something far worse, lurked in this swamp.
"The potion suppressed the curse on your face, but that's only surface-level," Minori warned. "Whatever's inside your body—it's losing control."
Unlike Leinas, Minori didn't suffer side effects from exposure. As a Player, he bypassed the conventional restrictions. He could access these powers directly—without learning, without adaptation.
His eyes flicked toward the dead manticores nearby.
He'd gained experience as usual, but more importantly—he could feel the curse inside him growing stronger. Subtle, but distinct.
There was only one explanation: the manticores carried the curse.
"It's just pain," Leinas whispered through gritted teeth. She raised her chin, a thin smile stretching her lips. "I brought you into this mess. How could I let an alchemist stand alone?"
Suddenly—
Both Minori and Leinas snapped their heads to the same direction—thirty meters ahead.
The brush there was sparse, offering little cover. Nothing obvious stood out, no monster in sight.
But both of them stared at a warped, half-dead tree lodged between crooked roots—short, withered, and gray. It seemed to have been dead for years.
But Minori felt it.
A pulse of corruption seeped from it—like a quiet heartbeat buried under the swamp.
"There's something wrong with that tree," Leinas said sharply. Without hesitation, she pulled a dagger from her waist and hurled it at the withered trunk.
Whoosh!
A shrill whistle cut through the air.
Just before impact—
Crack!
The "tree" twitched—leapt back—and twisted in shape.
Before their eyes, it shed the illusion of wood, revealing a hunched, humanoid creature covered in bark-like skin with tangled gray-brown hair. Black lines ran across its body, and a grotesquely scaled nose jutted out from beneath its facial hair.
The stench of corruption poured off of it in waves.
It was short—no taller than a child, barely reaching Minori's waist. But its presence was unnatural.
"That's it!" Leinas gasped, fury flashing across her pale features. "It's different… but it's the same!"
Minori narrowed his eyes, scanning the creature. No entries from YGGDRASIL matched it—neither in the anime nor the sourcebooks.
"…Die…"
The creature muttered in a low, guttural voice, as if repeating the word over and over. "…Die… all… drive…"
"It can speak?" Minori blinked.
Suddenly, the creature let out a bone-chilling shriek. "Ha-hoo!!"
Buzz—
A wave of magic surged outward.
"Charm magic—" Minori recognized the signature. "Human race charm!"
Leinas froze.
Her eyes glazed over, lips parting slightly as she stood still. She was caught.
"Immortal Spirit." Minori chanted, summoning two blazing Fire Archangels and pointing them toward the creature.
The archangels surged forward—but Leinas didn't move. She remained under the spell.
Then—
Red light.
The creature pulsed again. A secondary effect. Minori's heart raced.
His blood surged unnaturally, excitement clouding his mind—it was as if adrenaline was being forced into his system.
It wasn't charm—it was blood magic. The first effect hadn't even been the real threat.
"Back!" he growled, retreating instantly toward Leinas.
The creature began another incantation. "Bleed quickly."
Minori braced himself. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he resisted.
Leinas, however—still under the previous spell—couldn't. With a gasp, she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her already-rotted cheek gushed, dyeing her clothes crimson.
But—
The injury broke the charm.
"Kh…!" Leinas doubled over, coughing violently.
Minori caught her just in time, pulling her back. He uncorked another potion and poured it down her throat.
"Ah… thanks." She coughed out the words, eyes dull with shame.
She'd thought she would protect him. But now, she'd done nothing but drag him down.
Minori didn't respond. He turned to the monster.
His Fire Archangels were attacking—fast, precise. But the creature moved with stunning agility, slipping through their swings.
It wasn't fighting like a mage.
"Are you sure that's the monster you saw before?" Minori muttered, glancing at Leinas.
Then—
He pulled up his status screen.
Second-tier magic "Blood Boiling" detected. Mental-type caster level required: 8–14. Conditions not met.
Second-tier magic "Rapid Bleeding" detected. Mental-type caster level required: 8–14. Conditions not met.
[Genius] job class activated. Transformation successful. Learning conditions met. Consume 1 skill point to learn?
"A… psychic spellcaster?" Minori frowned.
Only Fluder of the Empire had shown signs of developing that rare subclass. Yet this thing—this sub-human—possessed it?
Then, the panel flashed again.
Class skill "Wild Transformation" detected. Requires [Forest Priest] job. Learning conditions met.
A guttural growl echoed through the swamp.
The creature's body suddenly expanded—massively.
Within moments, the small, bark-skinned being transformed into a colossal emerald-scaled lizard with eight legs.
A Basilisk.
"Run!" Leinas roared, instinct overtaking her pain. She stood in front of Minori, spear raised.
This was no ordinary foe.
A basilisk of this size… its difficulty rating had to be over 83—a monster requiring a Mithril-rank party to even attempt fighting it.
"Hiss!!"
The lizard surged forward with terrifying speed.
Leinas heart sank. She knew she wouldn't last a second.
And just as she braced herself for death—
A column of radiant white light descended.
A shining figure, three meters tall, wielding a silver warhammer, descended from the sky.
A Seraph-class angel.
It raised its weapon—
BOOM!
The warhammer struck the basilisk's head, slamming it into the dirt and shrouding the battlefield in dust.
Leinas stared in awe.
Bathed in divine light, she looked at the man who had walked to her side.
"…Who… who are you?"
Minori looked back with a gentle smile, eyes calm.
"Haven't I already said?"
"Bronze-class adventurer, Free Will Minori."