Chapter 67: The Wooden Guardian and the True King of the Storm

Chapter 67: The Wooden Guardian and the True King of the Storm

A few days had passed since I placed the Wood Golem near the hidden field.

“They’re back again…”

Another swarm of monsters—I’d lost count of how many—was heading for the hidden field. A moment later, the Wood Golem blew them all away in one go.

“Mhm, mhm. The fully-automatic monster-repellent system seems to be working just fine.”

This Wood Golem, you see, is built a little differently from a normal one. Normally, you build a golem from materials like stone or wood.

But an acquaintance from my past life was… an eccentric who had dedicated his entire life to them. One day, he suddenly announced, “I’ve come up with a revolutionary way to build golems!”

That was this: the Regeneration-type Golem. He had succeeded in creating a golem as a semi-sentient being, granting it the ability to regenerate, just like a living thing. The revolutionary part was that, having regeneration, it didn’t need maintenance like repairing broken parts or replacing worn-out ones.

Of course, the regeneration wasn’t perfect. It needed to, for example, absorb the monsters it defeated as material. As he put it, “You can’t create something from nothing.” Still, not having to process and swap parts was a huge breakthrough.

…Of course, about a week later, his “revolutionary” technique was designated as a forbidden spell, and he… vanished.

During his escape, things… happened, and I ended up with a part of his research. …You could also say I just… found it in my Magic Bag one day.

(By the way, having seen what all the other people in power were doing in my past lives, I seriously question why this research was what got banned. I mean, they were doing way more messed-up stuff.)

Anyway, this golem, made with that background, is both a golem and a tree. Meaning, if a branch breaks, a new one just grows. I also boosted its growth rate, so by immediately absorbing the monsters it defeats for nutrients, it can rapidly repair any damage.

I gave this golem an order: “Protect the West Village, its people, and the hidden field.” But I also told it to do whatever it wanted the rest of the time. Apparently, since it’s half-alive, giving it overly-strict orders just makes it less efficient.

So, while protecting the village, the Wood Golem sometimes moves on its own to a nice, sunny spot with good drainage.

Since I’m at it, I guess I’ll make some special fertilizer for the golem. If I give the recipe to the villagers, they can use it on their slower-growing plants, too. …Fertilizer? Am I forgetting something? …Ah, well.

“Wh-What in the world is thaaaaat!?”

The next morning, I was woken by the village chief’s scream. I went outside and found all the villagers staring at the forest in shock. What are they so surprised about?

I looked at the forest with them and saw… a giant tree, easily 50 meters tall, towering over it.

“Hmm~?”

Was that tree always there?

“Hey, Rex… what is that?”

Eh? Why are you asking me, Liliera?

“I mean, how should I know?”

“But yesterday… I saw you pouring some kind of potion on that tree, didn’t I?”

Potion?

“…Ah.”

Crap. That fertilizer… it was the same one I used in that other village, the one I consigned the anti-monster potion to. The one that made those insanely huge vegetables. I poured it on the Wood Golem.

“…It’s… grown a bit.”

“A bit!? What are we going to do!? Look, the villagers are freaking out!”

Come to think of it, the chief was screaming, but… how are the villagers reacting?

I looked again at the villagers who had been so shocked. This is a little scary…

But… they were all prostrating themselves before the Wood Golem.

“Huh?”

What is this? What’s going on?

“The Tree Spirit has grown! It must be showing us its true power in order to protect us!”

“””Haaaah!”””

Ah. So that’s how they’re taking it. They’ve interpreted this as the golem “getting serious” for them.

“Well… all’s well that ends well.”

“It is not ‘all’s well’!”

---

“Is Sir Rex heeeeeere!?”

While I was checking to see if the… enlarged… Wood Golem was still functioning, a group of knights flew in. Not the ones who stayed with me, but a new group, probably from the Sky Castle.

They spotted me and flew straight over.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s terrible! Bahamut! A new Bahamut has appeared!”

“What!?”

A new Bahamut!? I can’t believe a second one is showing up now.

“And… it’s nearly twice the size of the last one!”

“Twice!?” Whoa, whoa… does that mean…

“Hey, Rex… if it’s twice the size…” Liliera seemed to have guessed it, too.

“Yes… I think this one is a full adult.”

So, we kill the small Bahamut, and a few days later, an adult one appears. …Wait. Does that mean…

“Is it possible… that it’s the parent of the one we killed?”

“”What!?”” Both the knight and Liliera stared, wide-eyed.

“Well, considering the first one was unnaturally small, and a full adult just happens to show up a few days later… that’s the most likely answer, isn’t it?”

If it came to take the territory, it would have done so earlier, by force. Thinking of it as family just makes more sense.

“You don’t think… it’s here for revenge?” the knight asked, his voice trembling.

Hmm, I wonder. Most animals raise their young and then send them off. But monsters… what about Bahamut? I know how they fight, but I’m not an expert on their biology.

“There’s more,” the knight said.

“The Bahamut… it’s holding something in its hand. Something we’ve never seen.”

“Something you’ve never seen?”

“Yes, it looks artificial. We think… it might be something from the surface.”

Hmm. A Bahamut with an artificial object…

“And so… the Knight Commander asks that you please join the reconnaissance team!”

Ah, a request from Karm. Well, they finally got rid of one Bahamut, only for a new, stronger one to appear. I get why they’re terrified.

“Understood. I’ll go with you.”

If this new Bahamut is here because I killed the last one, then I’m partially responsible.

“Oh, thank you!” The knight bowed his head deeply.

“By the way…”

Eh? There’s more?

“This… exceptionally large tree. What is it? I don’t recall it being here before.”

That’s what you’re asking?!

“…It, uh… seems to have grown.”

“Hah… ‘grown’…”

Right, explanation over! Let’s hurry and meet up with Karm!

---

We met up with Karm and the others and flew out to the perimeter of the Forest Island to scout. We didn’t enter the island, so as not to provoke the new Bahamut.

“Look. That… thing that looks like a black mountain… That is the new Bahamut.”

I didn’t need Karm’s explanation. The new Bahamut was easy to spot. It was so tall, it towered over the entire forest.

“But what is that… thing… it’s holding? Do Bahamuts use tools, like humans? I’ve never heard of such a monster.”

I listened to Karm while staring at the object in the Bahamut’s grasp. Yep. No doubt about it. That’s…

“That… is a ship.”

“A… ‘ship’? What is that?”

Ah, being sky-islanders, they don’t know what ships are.

“A ship is a vehicle used to move on water, like rivers or the sea. For travel, or for fishing.”

“Move on a river? But… wouldn’t it just get washed away and fall to the surface!?”

Ah… right. Their rivers all end in massive waterfalls. A cultural difference.

“On the surface, the rivers… don’t have anywhere lower to fall.”

“What!?” The knights gasped in shock. (Well, there are some waterfalls, but…)

But more importantly… that ship… it looks familiar… No, more than familiar…

“Hey, that ship… is that…?”

Just as Liliera spoke, the Bahamut turned its head… and looked right at us.

“Damn it, we’ve been spotted!”

I thought we were far enough away, but it has good eyes.

The Bahamut let out a massive roar, turned its body toward us, and spread its wings in a threat display. No… that’s not a threat. That’s… “I’m going to hunt you now.”

“All units, retreat!” Karm gave the order, but it was too late. The Bahamut raised the ship in its hand… and threw it at us.

Its form was terrible, but the ship was huge. If it hit, it would be a disaster. And if there were people inside…

“Physical Boost!”

I enhanced my body, then activated my wind magic. Not an attack.

“Guide Stream!”

A current of air swirled around me. “Here I go!” I leaped… straight into the path of the flying ship.

“Rex!?” “Sir Rex!?”

Liliera and Karm’s voices shouted as one. No time to explain!

Using my enhanced reflexes and vision, I matched the ship’s speed, flying backward as I slowly approached it. When I was close enough, I synced my speed perfectly. Then, I placed my hands on it and slowly began to decelerate.

I couldn’t just stop it. The shock would slam anyone inside against the walls. I had to bleed off its momentum, slowly. At the same time, the “Guide Stream” magic blew, a gentle but powerful current, against the ship’s hull.

This spell is used to guide large flying magic items into a port… or to catch them when they lose control. In other words, perfect for this.

Between my enhanced strength and the magic’s deceleration, the ship slowed to a safe stop, saving it from crashing into the knights or falling to the surface.

“Okay… managed to catch it gently. Now… let’s get this to a safe place on the island and retreat.”

I said to Karm, still holding the ship.

“…”

But Karm and the others were just… frozen, staring at me with wide eyes. Ah, Liriela too.

“Umm… guys? Should we retreat?”

“Gk-!?”

My voice snapped them out of it.

“””He… he caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaught iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!?”””

Huh? Why are they so shocked? Even Liliera…

---

(The Tree’s Point of View)

I am a tree. I was a seed… a bird brought me to this “sky island.” I was growing. Humans came and started messing with the dirt near me. They’re taking good care of my little comrades. Humans: super useful.

Then monsters came. Hey! Stop attacking my little comrades! And don’t attack me! I mean it!

…Huh? My branches feel… tingly. …Whoaaaaa!? My branches! They’re… growing! And they’re attacking the monsters!? My body is moving on its own!

So scary! I can’t control my body! …Oh, wait. I’m a tree. I couldn’t move anyway.

Now the humans are… worshipping me. And they gave me water. Mmm! Tasty!

Maybe this life isn’t so bad… …And then a human… tinkered with my body. Now my roots and branches are moving and attacking monsters. What is this? What’s happening!?

The human told me to “protect the village, the humans, and the field.” Eh? Why should I listen to… ah, my body is moving again. …He said “do what you want otherwise?”

Oh, true. When I’m not fighting, I can move. If I try to fight on my own, I can move. I get it. As long as I follow the order, I’m free.

Okay. I’ll just accept that I can get my own food now. Also, when I beat monsters, the humans worship me and give me stuff.

…Hmm. Maybe this life is pretty good. …Ooh, that colored water. That’s good. Super tasty.

The next day, I got real big.