Extra 34: Manga SS – Tomoe’s training journey and a Crab (1/2)

Extra 34: Manga SS – Tomoe’s training journey and a Crab

TLN: This is a complementary story with the chapter 17 of the manga, or so it says…but I would say it is actually chapter 20.

And all extras with ‘Manga SS’ in them are exactly that, manga side stories, meaning they are from very early stages of the story.

“What-ja. You only got numbers going for ya? It has been a while since pipsqueaks have tried to go against me, so I ended up expecting something.” (Tomoe)

A wasteland that is called the World’s Border and is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world.

For some reason, a woman was standing there in the middle of a pile of corpses, sweeping away the stains in her sword.

“Hm…If I remember correctly, aren’t they called Red Bees? I think I defeated the boss of this swarm…” (Tomoe)

The woman looked at a part of the corpses, and steps on one of the corpses that is specially bigger than the others.

Her opponents were indeed Red Bees, which are big insect mamonos.

The one she was nudging with her leg is a Red Bee Queen.

It is normally at the deepest parts of the swarm making it difficult to encounter.

“From what I know, the ones doing the hunting outside should be the soldiers. Are there instances where the whole hive goes hunting?” (Tomoe)

The Red Bees are the kind of mamonos that have their danger level change heavily depending on the size of the hive.

When many are encountered at once, unless they are adventurers who are incredibly skilled or have their own circumstances, the normal decision is to escape.

But Tomoe is not only on a whole different plane from adventurers, her very existence is different. She was a peak existence within dragons before she had decided to have Makoto as her master after all.

Even if the whole hive of Red Bees were to attack, counting the Queen, it wouldn’t even be a challenge.

She could crush them all with just brute force swordsmanship without the need to use techniques or skills.

Of course, without damaging the clothes she likes.

“…Fumu, now that I think about it, I practically have no meetings with enemies that prove challenging. If this incident was caused because these guys were being chased and attacked me due to being cornered…” (Tomoe)

Right in the middle of the wasteland where even surviving is difficult, Tomoe was smiling all in her lonesome.

And then, she looks at the direction where the insects had come from.

“There might be an interesting one. I have to catch up with Mio quickly, but well, it is not as if I am inferior to her in actual ability, it is just that this weird number called level is lower than that of hers though.” (Tomoe)

For some reason, she was making excuses by herself.

Tomoe had sheathed her sword and ran looking forward to this supposed strong opponent.

She abandoned the corpses that would easily be enough to afford a two story house if gathered properly as if they were nothing.

“In the first place, Waka’s level being one is the very proof that such a number is a deception, but if I think of this as a training journey, it does feel fun. I have gotten pretty used to using a katana too.” (Tomoe)

Tomoe touches in glee the sheathed single-edged sword that she plans on having as her trusty weapon.

A katana.

Right now, it is simply a prototype that the dwarves made though.

An ivy that was approaching her at fast speed had frozen in place with a single glare of hers and was blown away.

That ivy normally aims for prey that is alone or is sleeping. It is a creature that one has to be on alert for in the wasteland.

Even when the real body that is the bulb lives underground, it can dig through the ground like a mole and move. It is one of the species that usually wipes out parties, considered an Adventurer Killer.

There’s many an adventurer that get attacked by them at night and have had their life end there.

“If I were to hunt the same stuff as Mio -as that spider-, would I level 500 to 600 levels? I was still in the middle of the third arc of Yatsushiro Shogun, and Waka had just recently recommended me the Tokaido arc of Koumon-sama, and yet…” (Tomoe)

Tomoe continued running deftly at a speed faster than riding a horse.

Inside her head, there wasn’t a single shred of fear in regards to the dangers of the wasteland.

She was thinking about easily finishing this training journey that his master had told her about before.

It was clear that she didn’t believe that strength was equal to level.

And in reality, Tomoe doesn’t think that she would lose to Mio if they were to have an all-out fight, and she doesn’t think she would be able to win against Makoto even if he is level 1.

While she was rambling, a number of mamonos camouflaging as different shaped rocks attacked Tomoe all at once.

They had sharp claws and fangs, and were covered in scales similar in texture to stone, and had a look similar to that of crocodiles.

At the end of their tails, they also have some sort of needle used for attacks resembling that of scorpions.

It was a complete surprise attack.

But Tomoe used a punch and kick to deal with two of them that rushed first, and after that, she unsheated her sword and went by cutting them down with one slash.

Even those scales that clearly had high defensive capability were powerless against Tomoe.

It didn’t take long to trample down those pitiful creatures, but Tomoe stopped her feet in place without running on just like the time with the ivy.

Crocodile

“…What’s with these guys? I don’t remember there being mamonos like these. Hmmm…” (Tomoe)

She picks up one of the corpses.

A whole corpse of it should be bigger than Tomoe in size, but she managed to pick them up without any difficulties as she checked them out one after another.

“Someone or something has tinkered with them. I see, it would be safe to assume that those insects were running away from an opponent of this nature huh.” (Tomoe)

The scales, claws, and every part of their bodies; Tomoe patted those areas, checking them out in order.

“I see. They made them eat Spirits huh. Earth element…the low-ranked ones most likely. They change in this way after eating several of those Spirits that look like mini people huh. Nfufu, I don’t know who it is, but this is quite the crazy and interesting experiment here-ja na.” (Tomoe)

Tomoe continues investigating the mamonos in the same fashion.

“Hoh? Even though they were artificially raised, they are different from chimeras in the fact that these guys still retain their ability to reproduce. Let’s check out the taste……Hm, let’s not. Just in case, let’s throw a few of these corpses into Asora to research them. We can check out whether they are comestible after. In the first place, these guys don’t look like they would taste good raw.” (Tomoe)

Tomoe continued her investigation, but for now, stopped her hand that was grabbing a piece of meat, and looked at her surroundings.

Light brown stones were strewn about here and there.

A number of them were mamonos camouflaged.

In other words, the place that Tomoe was standing in was already incredibly dangerous, but the mamonos, that had their comrades defeated easily, didn’t attack immediately, and Tomoe didn’t show signs of being bothered by the current situation.