It had to be said that the people of the Church of Dawn were remarkably efficient.
It did not take long for them to find a relatively well-fitting outfit for Ogre, along with some makeup.
It was a standard male hunter ranger outfit, complete with a bow, arrows, and a quiver.
This was precisely what Ogre wanted.
His original dress and accessories were far too eye-catching, making him look like a noble lady.
A ranger outfit like this was just right. Looking somewhat threatening from a distance was the best choice—it was neither too flashy nor did it make him look like easy prey.
“Do you need me to help you change, or...”
The young attendant unconsciously switched to a respectful tone, having caught sight of the silver badge Ogre had just placed on the table.
“That won't be necessary. I can handle it myself. You may leave,” Ogre said in a soft voice.
“Yes.” The young attendant turned to leave.
Just as she reached the door, Ogre's voice called out, “Wait a moment.”
“Is there anything else, Friar Gelin?” The young attendant turned her head back.
“Could you please fetch me a pair of gloves as well?” Ogre requested, glancing down at his small, delicate hands.
“Of course.”
The young attendant nodded, left the room, and closed the door behind her.
“Phew... Finally, I can change back.”
Ogre immediately shed his inconvenient clothing and began changing into the new outfit.
...
“That's roughly what happened...”
Macar walked out of the side hall while explaining the final events to the gray-robed Cleric.
“So that's how it is... It's a pity I am stationed here and cannot accompany you, but I can arrange a few guards for you,” the gray-robed Cleric offered.
“There's no need. That would make too big a target and waste manpower. My only goal is to escort Miss Gelin and the items left behind by Grand Friar Fula as quickly as possible.”
Macar declined the gray-robed Cleric's offer. In truth, all he needed was a sufficiently fast mount.
“Very well, then take this with you.” The gray-robed Cleric produced a crucifix and handed it to Macar. “This miracle item contains my master's divine spell, allowing you to cast healing or shields up to three times.”
“Alright, thank you.” Macar didn't stand on ceremony; he voiced his thanks and accepted the help.
By this time, the demon-blood horse requested earlier had been brought out by the young attendant.
This demon-blood horse was pitch-black. Unlike ordinary magical horses, it bore scales characteristic of non-equine beasts, and between its jaws hung the sharp fangs of a carnivore—this was a magical horse infused with dragon blood.
Though the bloodline was thin, it remained a remarkably precious asset of the church.
“Thank you.” Macar took the reins of the dragon-blood horse.
Much like the horned horse, the reins on this mount were magic array items crafted with control effects.
“Karl, I'm ready.”
A familiar voice sounded behind Macar.
“Gelin... Huh?!” Macar turned his head, but at first glance, he couldn't spot Ogre at all.
It was only when Ogre raised a hand.
“Why are you dressed like that?”
Macar found it difficult to connect the nimble young ranger before him with Sister Gelin.
Even though the person was wearing a mask.
“Just some disguise. Wasn't I dressed like this when we first met? Otherwise, how do you think I protected myself?” Ogre removed his mask, curling his lips into a light smile.
Having applied his makeup, he had transformed into a handsome young male ranger.
“You applied makeup? Well... Never mind, I'm just a bit surprised.”
Had Ogre not spoken up, Macar truly wouldn't have recognized that this handsome boy was the very Gelin who had made his heart flutter earlier.
The clean, concise outfit, paired with nimble movements, a bow and arrows slung across his back—he genuinely gave off the vibe of a professional adventuring ranger.
Of course, what mattered even more was his temperament and gaze.
“I've always been a professional,” Ogre offered a faint smile. “There's no time to lose. Let's keep moving.”
“R-Right.”
After a brief daze, Macar stopped dwelling on it. Ogre's appearance would indeed save them a lot of trouble when entering the city.
The contrast in image was just a bit drastic.
With a swift leap, Macar mounted the dragon-blood horse and extended a hand toward Ogre. “Gelin, mount up.”
“Mm.”
Ogre took Macar's hand and swung himself onto the horse.
“Hold on tight. The dragon-blood horse is extremely fast.”
Feeling Ogre's body press close behind him, Macar's heart—which had not long since calmed down—couldn't help but beat faster once more.
He felt an attraction from Ogre yet again.
It was a different kind of attraction than the pity-inducing one from before.
The contrast, rationality, cunning, and decisiveness... when paired with the image of an innocent girl, possessed a powerful pull.
I can't betray Eve... Macar bit down lightly on the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to steady his mind.
“May Dawn bless you,” the gray-robed Cleric offered a prayer gesture toward Macar.
“Farewell.” Macar nodded, then spurred the dragon-blood horse and rode out of the town's side hall.
“That Gelin... is so handsome.”
Once Macar and Ogre had departed, one of the young attendants poked her sister beside her.
“Stop swooning, Sister. She's a girl too, you know,” the other young attendant said, somewhat helpless.
“I know... but he really is so handsome.”
...
It really is much faster. Even using Heartbeat Drum, I might not match this horse... It seems dragon blood truly grants massive enhancements to creatures.
Feeling the fierce wind rushing against him, Ogre had no choice but to wrap his arms tightly around Macar in front of him—otherwise, he might genuinely be thrown off.
At this speed, trying to speak would only choke him on the wind.
“Can you hold on, Gelin?”
Feeling the ‘girl’ press close behind him, Macar worried she couldn't take the extreme pace.
“I'm fine.” Ogre pulled his body back slightly, shielding his entire frame behind Macar's back, save for his hands.
This minimized wind resistance.
It was fortunate Macar had such a large build.
It feels like this dragon-blood horse could rival a gryphon in speed. I wonder if eating a dragon-blood creature would yield even greater enhancements.
Ogre was mulling over whether to spend some money later to hunt down a mixed-blood sub-dragon species to taste.
With his current strength and physical constitution, devouring a weak dragon-blood creature shouldn't pose much of a problem.
Strengthened by lightning body tempering and aided by the recovery of his new breathing technique and meditation method, Ogre's physical constitution was far beyond what it once was.
Monsters he couldn't handle before might actually be worth trying now.
The only thing left to consider was when Ogre's Lunchbox would finish its “digestion,” and what buffs it would grant him.
Twenty-three days...
Ogre silently arrived at a number in his heart—that was the "digestion" time required by Ogre's Lunchbox.
The Electric Eel was far easier to digest than the Devil-Claw Falcon, yet it still required roughly a month.
However, compared to the power gained, this amount of time was an absolute bargain. In just a few days, Ogre had gained strength comparable to a Professional.
Even if he still fell short in many aspects.
I hope my next meal brings me just as much help. Ogre already had a few plans in mind for his next meal.
...
“What was that sound?!”
An adventurer in the Forest of Monsters suddenly sensed a surge of danger.
Yet when he turned around to look, he saw no monsters at all.
There were only dense, crowding trees.
“Captain, you're probably just tired,” a brown-haired youth nearby said, nonchalantly picking up his waterskin to take a drink.
“Dalic, go check it out.” The adventurer drew his sword, still feeling that something was amiss.
“But haven't all the monsters around here been cleared out?” a young female mage beside them asked, equally puzzled.
“Alright, I'll go take a look.”
The brown-haired youth called Dalic set down his waterskin after getting his fill.
Though his words leaned toward listening to the captain, his tone sounded entirely indifferent.
“Be careful, Dalic,” the sword-wielding adventurer instructed. The scar on his face was a remnant from a narrow escape granted by a similar hunch in the past.
Thus, he placed immense trust in these baseless instincts.
“Got it.” Dalic made an OK gesture with his fingers before heading off with his weapon to scout the surroundings.
“Everything's fine, Captain,” Dalic turned around after a short while and chuckled.
“I told you Captain was just being overly cautious—” The young female mage was about to tease her captain when she witnessed an unbelievable sight.
“What's wrong?” Dalic asked, slightly confused.
“Run!” the scarred captain yelled toward the front, charging forward with sword in hand.
“Ugh... ah...”
Regrettably... it was too late. Several branches had pierced Dalic's chest out of nowhere.
“Captain... run...”
Dalic reached out weakly, but before the word "run" could escape his lips, he was completely drained into a shrivelled husk.
“Dalic!”
Only now did the scarred captain realize what his instinct had been warning him about—
These trees, which should have been harmless... had all stood up!
And not just one, but every single one of them!
We're dead...
...
“Do you need a rest, Gelin?” Macar gradually slowed their pace.
Of course, this wasn't solely out of concern for Ogre's state; part of it was due to the dragon-blood horse, whose stamina was flagging.
Few creatures could maintain top speed indefinitely.
The dragon-blood horse was no exception.
After riding for over an hour, a decline in stamina and speed was only natural.
“There's no need. Let's keep pushing on... We can press straight to the village ahead and replenish the horse's energy there,” Ogre declined the offer to rest.
Even though the dragon-blood horse had slowed down, it was still capable of outpacing a horned horse.
“Alright then.”
Macar took Ogre's advice, setting the dragon-blood horse to a slightly slower, sustainable pace.
After galloping for several dozen minutes, a village came into view.
“Shall we take a break up ahead?” Macar suggested.
It would be a good opportunity to restore the dragon-blood horse's stamina, though he wasn't sure if the village ahead had a Church of Dawn presence.
“Sure.” This time, Ogre did not refuse, as he was hungry as well.
“Then—”
Just as Macar was about to say more, an arrow came shooting straight toward them.
An enemy!
Macar reacted swiftly, instantly releasing one hand from the reins and snatching the arrow out of the air.
“This village was just taken over by raiders,” Ogre spoke up.
He had only just noticed the abnormality among those ‘villager’ guards.
“Should we leave?” Macar felt an urge to step forward.
Under normal circumstances, encountering a situation like this, he would charge in without hesitation to drive off the raiders and bandits.
But things were different now.
Ogre's presence behind him, the urgency of their mission, and Friar Fula's cautionary precedent...
Every single one of these reasons was enough to make Macar hesitate.
“Only when the horse is well-fed can we travel better. How can you call that a delay?” Ogre gave his answer.
His meaning was crystal clear: charge in!
Ogre's enhanced vision told him that these were merely human bandits, posing no great danger.
A raiding group of this size would have no more than three formal Professionals at most; otherwise, their target would have been a town.
Unlike the situation back in Roke Town, Ogre noticed... some of the tied-up villagers inside were still alive.
“Can you take care of yourself?”
Macar maneuvered the dragon-blood horse to dodge another incoming arrow.
Ogre's response just now had left him slightly bewildered.
He hadn't expected Ogre to give an answer completely different from the one back in Roke Town.
“I'm a ranger,” Ogre replied.
This wasn't like last time.
They were already being shot at, meaning hiding was no longer an option.
Had he not seen those living villagers, it would be one thing, but since Ogre had spotted them, there was even less reason to simply walk away.
Besides, he thoroughly detested scum who targeted weaker members of their own kind.
If he had the power to intervene, he naturally would.
“Then I can rest easy!”
Macar brought the dragon-blood horse to a sudden halt and flared his battle qi.
He vaulted off the horse in a clean flip, unsheathing the sword on his back.
Rate on N.U.
