“Ha ha ha, woof woof!!”
“Whoa, Tabo! You’re too fast!”
I desperately chased after Tabo as he dashed through the forest.
After a week of living in the woods, my stamina and familiarity with the forest had improved considerably.
Following Tabo’s rapid sprint, we arrived at—a clearing.
A rather unpleasant scene unfolded before us.
Tabo and I hid ourselves in the thick undergrowth.
“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!”
“GOB!!”
“Gyahahahahaha!”
A wyvern…!
It was badly injured, weakly spreading its wings while continuing to threaten its attackers.
A large spear was lodged in its chest…
To make matters worse, there were creatures surrounding the wounded wyvern.
Small, armed humanoids with green skin…
“…Goblins!”
The classic fantasy enemy—goblins.
They seemed to be targeting the injured wyvern.
Upon closer inspection, the wyvern had something resembling a saddle on its back.
Someone must have been riding it.
Either they fell off during the crash or had already been taken by the goblins…
This is really bad! No time to hesitate now.
“…Tabo. It’s dangerous, so stay hidden in these bushes.”
“Bofu! Buuuuun!”
Tabo snorted in clear dissatisfaction.
He didn’t seem willing to listen.
“…You sure about this?”
“Woof!”
Then there’s no choice but to act.
The goblins were slowly tightening their encirclement around the wyvern.
The wyvern seemed barely able to keep up its threatening display from the crash damage.
As for whose side to take—that was already decided!
“Poison Hand, full release! No holding back!”
I’d trained and practiced my Skills.
Now, it was time for real combat!
“Gob!?” “Gob…!”
Nine goblins in sight…!
Some wore armor, others carried spears.
There was still some distance between them and the wyvern.
From this position—
The goblins were startled by my sudden appearance.
They raised their swords and spears, beginning to threaten me.
An Apothecary is weak.
In a straight fight, surrounded, stabbed by spears, and slashed by swords—I’d be easily killed.
That’s why—
“I have no intention of fighting fair—’Poison Smoke Art’!”
“Gob!?”
Bofun!!
Purple smoke spread before me, obscuring my figure.
An application of Vaporized Poison and the Grand Poison User Skill.
Using concentrated poison as a smokescreen.
The goblins seemed to have lost sight of me.
Immediately—
“Poison Clone Art.”
I created a clone of myself.
The method of slaughter was prepared.
Let’s begin.
This was my first real combat deployment, but it was worth testing.
I sent my clone charging at the goblins.
“Gob!!”
“Gobububu!”
The goblins swarmed my clone as it emerged from the smoke.
Just as expected.
They reflexively attacked the clone all at once.
Their eyes gleamed as they tore my clone to shreds.
Drooling, swinging their crude weapons.
Hey, hey, hey—those spear and sword tips look filthy.
Did they smear them with feces or something?
Disgusting.
Meanwhile, the smoke cleared.
“Gob?”
They stared at me—the real one—in confusion.
Their eyes darted back and forth between the shredded clone and me.
“GOB.”
1Details didn’t matter.
With that look, the goblins drooled and laughed.
As if saying, “You’re next.”
With that smile—
“Nah. There won’t be a ‘next’ for you guys—’Detonate’!”
““““Gob?””””
I raised my index and middle fingers before my face and shouted!!
This was the signal—the detonation!
BBBOOOOOM!!!
The Poison Clone exploded all at once.
The goblins were sent flying by the shockwave, scattering across the area.
Not a single one was unharmed.
Some didn’t move at all, others were wounded.
Either way, the fight ended in an instant.
The Poison Clone explosion was a technique I’d adjusted for power during Elma’s training.
A full-power detonation would create a toxic blast and turn the epicenter into a poison swamp—too dangerous.
Thankfully, the wyvern remained unaffected.
“G-Gob!!”
The last resistance—a goblin aiming a broken Crossbow at me—
“Grrrrrr!! Gau!!”
Crack.
Tabo pounced, instantly twisting its neck with a bite.
…Wow, my pup is cute AND strong…
The ultimate pet…
“Alright, the one-hit kill with Poison Clone was a success. Let’s use this against every new enemy from now on.”
“Woof woof!”
Threat eliminated. Now, as for…
“Grrrrrrrrrrr!!”
This wyvern at maximum alert—what to do…?
The wyvern dripped blood, baring its fangs—
“—You wretch!! Stay away from me! Heretic who wields Forbidden Spells!!”
“…It talked.”
And called me a heretic.
I don’t get it.