Chapter 95: Haultina Sea of Trees
Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Haultina Sea of Trees, Outskirts.
"Did you really have to kill him?" Cam asked while looking down at the corpse of the man Tatsuo shot after getting the information he wanted.
"I didn't." Tatsuo replied while shaking his head.
"Then why?" Cam asked, sounding a bit upset at the unnecessary loss of life.
Looking around, it seemed that many of the Haulia tribesman shared the same sentiment, causing Tatsuo to shake his head even more exaggeratedly.
"It was out of pity." Tatsuo replied, his eyes meeting Cam's as he did so.
"Pity?" Cam asked in a somewhat confused tone.
Cam then looked down at the corpse once again. When he did, he noticed how much blood had pooled under the body. It all came from the stumps where his legs used to be.
"I see." Cam said in a tired tone. "*Sigh* I suppose bleeding to death would have been a more painful way to go than dying from what you did."
"Honestly, I'm not a hundred percent sure." Tatsuo replied. "But it definitely did not last as long. Even though he's a piece of filth who had no qualms about enslaving another living being, I didn't really want him to suffer."
'He's not worth all the air he would draw in while he was bleeding out.' Tatsuo thought to himself.
"I suppose you're right." Cam said. "Anyway, shall we get going to the Sea of Trees?" Cam asked. "You said you were looking for something in there, right? Although we're not exactly welcome in there anymore, at least allow us to guide you. Since only beastmen can navigate through the fog that is ever present in the Sea of Trees without losing their way."
'Hmm… I remember that from the web novel.' Tatsuo muttered internally. 'But now that I'm not completely human, I wonder if I would be able to find my way through the fog.'
With Cam's suggestion, Tatsuo took all the carriages left behind by the Hoelscher Soldiers. Then, he used [Alchemy] and a few metals to make trailer hitches and couplings on all of them before linking them together. Finally, he took the Hummer back out of his [Inventory] and attached the frontmost carriage's coupling to the Hummer's trailer hitch.
After Tatsuo worked for about half an hour, he, Sumire, Aletia, Shea, and Cam loaded into the Hummer while all the rabbitmen climbed into the carriages. Then, when everyone was seated, he pulled off, following Cam's directions to the Haultina Sea of Trees.
Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Haultina Sea of Trees.
About forty-five minutes later, Tatsuo stopped the Hummer and all the carriages outside of the largest forest he had ever seen. After that, everyone disembarked from the vehicles and gathered together in front of the tree line while Tatsuo stored the Hummer in his [Inventory] once again.
"We're back." Shea said with a smile while her ears swayed from side to side. A moment later, however, her smile dropped as she continued. "But won't the other beastmen be really mad if they see us?"
"Don't worry, we won't let them hurt you if they do see us." Cam said while patting Shea on the shoulder.
Hearing that, Shea smiled at her father weakly. She then lowered her head. But when she felt a hand land on the top of her head and start rubbing the spot between her ears, she could not help but start to shiver as her cheeks reddened slightly.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure that nothing happens to you." Tatsuo said with a charming smile. "Or to anyone. I promised I'd protect you, after all."
Hearing that, Shea raised her head while smiling bashfully, her ears flopping to one side and gently landing on Tatsuo's cheek. Then, she lowered her head once again, this time in embarrassment, and shyly nodded. Yet, her ear stayed in place on Tatsuo's cheek.
Meanwhile, Sumire and Aletia, who watched this entire interaction, both sighed in exasperation.
"It's only going to get worse, isn't it?" Sumire asked quietly.
"Probably." Aletia replied.
"Then, I guess the only thing we can do is accept it." Sumire continued while shaking her head.
"Or we could just get rid of her." Aletia said while glaring at Shea. "And any new girls in the future, too."
*Smack!*
In response, Sumire lightly slapped Aletia upside the head, causing the vampire princess to glare up at her, her red eyes glowing in irritation.
"Don't look at me like that." Sumire said sternly. "Even if I don't like the thought of sharing Tatsuo with more women, it's obvious he's changing. And it's definitely thanks to his bloodline awakening. And I bet he sees all of us as part of his hoard at this point. Not to say that he sees ups as items or objects, but rather as his treasures. And he'll probably be very upset if one of his treasures is damaged and/or stolen."
Despite all that she said, Aletia continued glaring at Sumire for a while longer. However, she did eventually look away and sigh in frustration, as she understood that Sumire was more than likely correct.
While Sumire and Aletia had their little strategy meeting, although she was not trying to Shea overheard them. And when she heard Aletia suggest getting rid of her, her ears could not help but twitch, inadvertently tickling Tatsuo's cheek. But when she heard Sumire mention that Tatsuo might think of her as one of his treasures, her shy smile widened while a few, more explicit, ways of showing her appreciation began to form in her mind.
"Anyway, do you think the three of you can hide your presences once we enter the Sea of Trees?" Cam asked, oblivious to the girls' thoughts. "We wouldn't want any of the beastmen patrolling the area to find you. That would just turn into a fight."
"That won't be a problem." Tatsuo replied. "In fact, I can make it so we pretty much disappear from everyone's perception with a skill of mine, which I think would be for the best."
"Huh?" Cam asked as he turned towards Tatsuo. "What do you mean, disappear?"
"Like this." Tatsuo said without taking his hand off Shea's head.
In the next instant, both Tatsuo and Shea disappeared from where they stood as Tatsuo activated his [Stealth Skill], causing not only Cam, but all the other Haulia tribesman to widen their eyes in surprise before starting to look around to see where Tatsuo and Shea went.
The only ones in the group who did not look surprised were Sumire and Aletia. Though, Aletia was still in awe at just how completely Tatsuo could make his presence disappear despite having seen him do it more than a handful of times since they first met.
"[Skills] from another world truly are amazing." Aletia said with a hint of amazement in her voice.
"Yeah, they really are." Sumire replied with a nod. "And with his innate ability to manipulate space, his [Stealth] is more potent than anything I've seen in the Dungeon."
Hearing Sumire mention the Dungeon, Aletia, although she wanted to go to Tatsuo's world, knew that going to Sumire's world at first would be the best for her at this point, as it would make her stronger and she would be able to help Tatsuo more whenever new missions arose.
A moment later, Tatsuo and Shea reappeared in the spot from which they disappeared when Tatsuo disengaged his [Stealth Skill].
"See, if we're like that, no one would be able to detect us, unless I attacked first." Tatsuo said. "But if I attack and kill the target in one attack, I should stay hidden. Haven't really tested that, though."
"I see.".." Cam said, sounding a little shaken.
"So, if you run across any beastmen while leading us through the Sea of Trees, I think you should tell them that Shea was taken when your tribe was attacked by the Hoelscher Empire. That way, you won't have to deal with the bigots. "
"That could work." Cam replied as he slowly stroked his goatee. "We would be able to avoid conflict that way, too."
"Right." Tatsuo said with a nod.
"By the way, now that you mention it, where exactly do you want to go?" Cam asked curiously.
"The Haultina Great Labyrinth." Tatsuo replied casually. "From what I know, its entrance should be in the largest tree at the center of the Sea of Trees."
"You mean the Sacred Tree, Uralt?" Cam asked. "but that place is considered holy ground for the beastmen."
"I know." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "But we have to go there."
'Actually, we don't have to go there. I mean, we can't even get in at this point.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'But it would be a good excuse to stay with the rabbitmen for a bit longer. That way, I'll have enough time to train them into proper assassins. Though, they probably won't be as blood thirsty as the ones from the canon. Still, they won't be so against fighting to defend themselves and their tribe when I'm done with them.'
"If you say so." Cam said with a nod. "You did save us, after all. And although this won't be enough to repay you for that, I'll personally lead you there."
"Thanks." Tatsuo replied with a smile. "Then, let's go. We're burning daylight."
With that, Tatsuo turned back to look at Sumire and Aletia while continuing to smile. Then, he held out his free hand to them. Smiling in return, Sumire stepped forward and took Tatsuo's offered hand. Meanwhile, Aletia hopped onto his back and buried her face in the side of his neck.
At the same time, Tatsuo took his other hand off Shea's head, making her show an expression of loss for a moment. However when Tatsuo reached down and took her hand in his, her blush intensified sharply as she lowered her head, burying her chin between her breasts.
Cam, on the other hand, seeing how his daughter responded to Tatsuo's gesture, smiled.
'Oh to be young again.' Cam thought to himself while thinking back to the days he courted his late wife, Mona. A moment later, however, he frowned slightly. 'But isn't he a little too bold? Holding hands in front of so many people. That's a little too lewd, isn't it?'
"Alright, you can get started whenever you're ready, Cam." Tatsuo said, pulling Cam out of his thoughts. "And don't worry about us. Not only will we have Shea with us, keeping track of you, as big a group as you are, shouldn't be an issue."
Nodding his head in response, Cam looked back at the rest of his tribe. Then, when he received nods in return, he turned back and started walking into the Sea of Trees.
Once they passed the tree line, the group was immediately engulfed in a thick fog. While Sumire and Aletia both frowned at the feeling of disorientation it brought, Tatsuo seemed completely unaffected.
'So, I was right.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'Now that I'm part dragon after my bloodline awakened, this fog has no effect on me. Since I'm basically a beastman now. Just like the dragonmen.'
Unfortunately, Tatsuo's inference was wrong. Although the reason he was unaffected by the disorienting fog that could be found in the Haultina Sea of Trees was thanks to his Void Dragon bloodline awakening, it had nothing to do with the fact that he was no longer only a human. Instead, it was because of the Void Dragon's innate domain over space. Because of that, a fog on this level would never be able to hamper his sense of space.
The trek through the Sea of Trees was slow and steady. Even though the group could have moved much faster, the Haulia tribe had little to no combat ability. So, they moved slowly to avoid any monsters. However, in a place like this, that was all but impossible. Meaning, they did end up running across more than a few groups of monsters.
Luckily, they had Tatsuo with them. Although he was not sure if using his pistols, with their loud sounds of gunfire, would dispel his [Stealth], he had many more weapons suited for an assassin. For example, when he was in the mood for silent takedowns, he created a new pair of bladed knuckle dusters for himself. On top of that, he had a large number of throwing knives and senbon for takedowns at a distance.
However, unlike when he, Sumire, and Aletia were in the True Orcus Great Labyrinth, they did not collect any of the slain monsters. And the reason for that was simple. None of them were strong enough to increase Sumire's Stats.
"What do we have here?" A gruff male voice asked after the group had walked for quite a while. "If it isn't the exiled Haulia tribe and their chief, Cam. Oh, but I don't see that monster you call a daughter anywhere. Did you finally get rid of her because of the trouble she brought you? Even so, it's too late for you to be accepted into Verbergen. Hahaha!"
Following the direction of the voice, the group was met with the sight of a group of beastmen with tiger-like features, which included tiger ears, a tail, and stripes that covered their exposed skin. And the one who spoke was a tiger beastman with a particularly impressive build.
Meanwhile, Cam, after hearing his daughter being referred to as a monster, could only grit his teeth in frustration, as he was unable to raise the will to fight.
"She… she was taken by the soldiers from the Hoelscher Empire." Cam hissed out, his anger at Shea being insulted masking the fact that he was lying. "Not only her, but many of my people were taken, as well."
That last statement caused the laughing tiger beastmen to stop. Then, they looked on with anger. Anger that more beastmen had been enslaved by the humans.
"Even so, we cannot allow you to return to Verbergen." The leader of the tiger beastmen replied, much of the mockery in his tone now absent. "But we are not completely heartless. Just so longa you don't try to return to Verbergen, we will overlook your presence."
"I understand.' Cam lowered his head as he said so. "We have no intention of going back there. We will create a new settlement near the Sacred Tree."
When Cam's words ended, there was no response for a while, causing Cam to raise his head. When he did, he saw all the tiger beastmen looking at him like he was an idiot.
"Huh?" Cam intoned. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"*Sigh* Have you forgotten?" The leader of the tiger beastmen asked in an exasperated tone.
"Forgotten?" Cam asked, his tone a little flustered. "forgotten what?"
"It's that time of year right now." The tiger beastman leader said while shaking his head. "The fog around the sacred tree is particularly thick at this time. Not even beastmen can navigate through it safely. And it will be like that for the next ten to fifteen days."
"Ah!" Cam exclaimed.
With Cam's exclamation, not only the tiger beastmen, but the members of his own tribe looked at him like he was an idiot, too. Cam could even feel several gazes from which he could not sense their origin staring at him the same way, as well.
"Well, you see…" Cam said, stammering out a reply. "It's because… Um… Because I only went to the sacred tree once while I was a child. So… I mean… I forgot about that."
Cam then turned around and glared at the rest of his tribesman.
"But why didn't any of you remind me?" Cam asked while pointing his right index finger at the rest of his tribe.
"It's because of the chief." A young rabbitman male said.
"That's right." A rabbitman woman added. "We thought we must have been wrong about the time since the chief was so confident."
"Yeah, it's all because of the chief." A second rabbitman male added.
While the Haulia tribesman all pushed the blame for this oversight on the chief, Cam, they frantically looked around for the presences in their group that had disappeared before they even entered the Sea of Trees. Especially because they saw how easily all the monsters along their path were dealt with. The thought of angering the one who did all that was terrifying. As a result, something the Haulia tribesman had managed to keep hidden slowly emerged.
And that something was their unmatched level of shamelessness.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo, Sumire, and Aletia, who were concealed by Tatsuo's [Stealth], were all looking at the fourth person in their little group, Shea, who was hiding her face with her free hands, embarrassed by the way her tribesman were acting.
"They sure turned on Cam pretty quick, didn't they?" Tatsuo asked while smiling in amusement.
"I mean, maybe they just don't' wanna take the blame?" Sumire asked while covering her smile with the hand that was not holding Tatsuo's. "They're probably afraid that we'll get angry, you know?"
"Shameless Rabbits." Aletia added from her spot on Tatsuo's back.
While Tatsuo and Sumire's comments were playful in nature, Shea still wanted to find a hole to bury herself in because of her tribesmen. What made it even worse was the fact that she knew she could be just as shameless as they were. And the thought of Tatsuo, Sumire, and Aletia not accepting her and the decision she made to herself to follow them when they left the Sea of Trees was making her panic internally.
Even so, because she shared the same trait of shamelessness that her tribe all had, Shea would not let that stop her. In fact, it would more than likely aid her in getting Tatsuo's, Sumire's, and Aletia's approval in the future.
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