And so the group traveled to the next town and made their way to the Exploratores HQ. This one was almost empty as well, with a board full of requests. They spoke with the receptionist, but since all the Exploratores in the province were occupied, no one had any updates regarding NSLICE-00P’s request just yet.

It was at that moment that someone approached them. A woman, dressed in a simple tunic and cloak with a bow strung across her back, rose from her seat in the tavern area and walked over. She also had feline ears at the top of her head and sharp, predatory eyes.

“Excuse me, you bunch over there? Are you Exploratores?”

Ateia turned to face the newcomer. Eventually, she nodded.

“Yes, can we help you?”

The woman grinned, showing off her larger than normal fangs.

“I certainly hope so. My name is Metilia, a local hunter. Been looking for someone to help me with a hunt, but seems the Exploratores are busy with the barbarians, or so they claim. Could you spare some time before you run off to the front?”

Taog crossed his arms.

“That depends, what’s the request?”

Metilia nodded.

“A monster decided to claim a piece of the forest for its own. Normally I’d just avoid it, but the problem is this forest is right next to a village I frequent. Won’t be long before it wanders into town.”

Taog frowned, and narrowed his eyes.

“And what exactly is the monster?”

Metilia grinned again, narrowing her eyes back at him.

“Oh, nothing much for an actual Exploratores, I imagine. Just a little beastie called an Ursanus Natura.”

At the mention of the word Ursanus, NSLICE-00P’s robotic eye turned red and she stepped forward.

“High priority target identified. Request: Please provide target location.”

Metilia blinked at the sudden question while Taog jumped.

“Wait, Seero?! What are you doing?”

“Response: Hostiles designated ‘Ursanus’ have proven a threat to this unit, and severely increase the danger levels in the operational area. They are therefore designated as high-priority targets that must be terminated before any other operations may proceed.”

Metilia slowly smiled and nodded.

“Um…yes, that’s right! Let me show you where the village is, then!”

The receptionist behind them raised an eyebrow, but reached under the desk.

“Miss Vedrix there does have an official request with us, may I assume you’ll be taking it, then?”

Taog glanced at Ateia, frowning as he did. She just shrugged.

“I mean, Seero’s not wrong. An Ursanus is pretty dangerous, if there’s one close to a village that’s not something we can just ignore, right?”

Taog opened his mouth to object, but then closed it. He had a bad feeling about this…but Ateia was right. An Ursanus moving close to town…

Images of monsters assaulting a town…and the people who rushed to stop them…briefly flashed through his mind.

He heaved a sigh.

No, he couldn’t object to this without a specific reason.

“Yes…I suppose we’re taking the request then.”

Metilia grinned at them.

“Excellent. I’ll meet you at the west entrance, then.”

Metilia led them to a nearby forest, then began stalking through the trees. The group followed as silently as they could…well, Ateia and Taog did. NSLICE-00P avoided extraneous noise but had not activated full stealth protocols yet while Estrith…cursed as she tripped over a branch. A glowing Mana Barrier caught her just before she hit the ground.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

NSLICE-00P moved the barrier up, letting Estrith regain her footing.

“Query: Does friendly Estrith require assistance with mobility?”

Estrith scowled and shook her head with all her might.

“No, Queen of the Dobhar. I would not be fit as your guard if I required such assistance.”

That, and Estrith’s stomach curdled at the memory of the last time NSLICE-00P ‘assisted her mobility’. She accepted Her King’s strange opinion that the Dobhar should move onto land, despite the fact that the dirt was coarse and rough and irritating and got everywhere, not like the soft and smooth water of the ocean. But she definitely drew the line at moving into the sky, where she was surrounded by nothing at all and subject to a swift death should this foul demon lord decide to drop her.

In that moment, she happened to glance at Taog. For once, he viewed her with something other than suspicion, and nodded as fast as he could in agreement. Which fouled Estrith’s mood even further.

But NSLICE-00P simply accepted her words. In any case, she had locked onto the largest mana signature in the forest, which wasn’t moving at the moment. Metilia seemed to be a highly efficient tracker, as she was leading them straight towards it.

Soon, Metilia stopped and held her hand up, then motioned for the group to remain quiet. She pointed through the trees as Ateia and Taog stepped forward to get another look. Estrith nearly tripped again but she caught herself by planting her spear on the ground. She decided she wouldn’t bother trying to get a glimpse herself.

NSLICE-00P, of course, had identified the target long before Metilia pointed it out.

Far ahead of them, in a small clearing, a huge bear rested on the ground. It had green fur that appeared more like moss, and its characteristic shell was made of bark. Its spikes were replaced with sharp branches, leaves growing off their sides.

Metilia motioned for everyone to take a few steps back. Ateia, Taog, and even Estrith huddled with her. Metilia spoke in a whisper.

“That’s the one, one Ursanus Natura. As you might have guessed, Nature-element Ursanus, because you know the one thing those dumb bears need is extra HP and stronger regeneration. Traps and arrows don’t bother them, they simply lumber on and regenerate before you hit them again. Do you all have a plan?”

Taog frowned, and turned to Estrith.

“I don’t think we ever got your name.”

Estrith scoffed.

“Royal guard will do.”

Taog raised an eyebrow, but continued on.

“Ok then…Royal Guard, do you think you could pin it down? Ateia has some fire potions but the last thing we need is for it go on a rampage.”

Estrith frowned.

“Of course I can. Its shell cannot be harder than that of the Steel Turtles.”

“Then, you and I will need to suppress it while…”

At that moment Ateia shrugged.

“Actually, I don’t think we’ll need to do any of that.”

“Ateia?”

“Seero’s got it covered.”

The group turned. Metilia’s eyes widened.

NSLICE-00P had stepped out into the clearing, facing the Ursanus directly.

And alone.

Metilia cursed and pulled out her bow.

“What is she doing?!”

Meanwhile, NSLICE-00P’s robotic eye was flickering. She analyzed the monster’s mana signature against her records, and found it similar to the Nature attribute mana from the Strangling Salicum and other such monsters. And so, she already knew what attributes would likely work well against it.

“Engaging Ursanus termination protocols.”

The Ursanus noticed her as she stepped into the clearing. It slowly began to rise to its feet, shaking its body as it did.

And then it paused.

Dozens of red magic circles appeared in the air around NSLICE-00P. She lifted her hand and fired the Equalizer at the Ursanus. It growled but concentrated its mana, trying to repair the damage rather than avoid it.

As that occurred, the magic circles activated and dozens of Fusion Fire Beams shot out, coalescing together at a spot slightly in front of the cyborg.

And then a massive red beam lit the clearing on fire…as well as piercing through the Ursanus.

The spell modifier Fusion is now level 6!

The skill Fire Magic is now level 10!

You have slain Ursanus Natura (Level 75)!

Gained 37 Personal XP and 3 Dungeon XP!