Crossover Anime: From DanMachi to Becoming a Garbage Scavenging Master

the other side.

After entering the forest, Finn's team originally planned to advance to the lake shore first, and then steadily search along the shore to collect any possible unusual clues.

But after only ten minutes of exploration, a distinctly unnatural sound came from the winding forest path ahead—the rustling sound of some heavy object rubbing against the ground, mixed with the crisp, irregular sounds of crystals colliding.

"Wait! Something's not right with that sound!" Riveria frowned slightly and raised her staff, ready to go.

Before they could finish speaking, a deep blue spherical figure rolled out from the end of the forest path and slowly stopped not far from them, as if it were resting or wandering aimlessly.

It was a monster covered in crystal spikes, its overall shape resembling a giant sea urchin. The dense and sharp crystal spikes reflected a cold blue light in the sunlight filtering through the forest, and its central, round, giant mouth was slightly open, revealing layers of fangs. Accompanied by a low and heavy breathing sound, it appeared particularly terrifying.

"...This size is going to be difficult to handle." Grace gripped the giant axe, speaking words of concern, but his tone revealed an undisguised excitement.

The next instant, the monster seemed to sense their presence. Its body suddenly contracted and curled into a spiked sphere, hurtling towards the three. All the spikes transformed into deadly cutting blades as they spun at high speed, plowing deep furrows into the ground along their path.

"This way! Spread out so you don't all run into each other!" Finn immediately assessed the level of threat and quickly recalled the terrain he had observed along the way, deciding to lead everyone to the cliff he had noticed earlier, which was located not far away.

The three of them turned and sprinted almost simultaneously, but the speed of the crystal sea urchin far exceeded their expectations. The distance between them continued to shrink, and the bushes and tree trunks along the way were easily torn apart by the spinning spikes, with debris flying everywhere and making a piercing cracking sound.

As Finn ran, he quickly explained his strategic plan: "There's a cliff not far ahead, guide it to crash into it!"

He decisively ordered, "Rivellia, use ice to pave the way and control its direction! Grace, intercept it at the intersection ahead, let's change its trajectory together!"

Their years of working side by side had given them a tacit understanding that allowed them to grasp Finn's intentions without needing to say a word.

Upon reaching the designated position, Grace abruptly stopped and turned to face the enemy, his arm muscles tensing instantly as he activated the skill "Powerful Fist," becoming as stable as steel. At the same time, Riveria had completed the first half of her parallel incantation, and an icy blue magical glow condensed at the tip of her staff—a spell called Fimbulwinter.

As the crystal sea urchin approached, it leaped high into the air, seemingly trying to use the momentum accumulated from its rolling motion to make its attack even more terrifying.

"Come on! Do you think I'm afraid of you?!" Grace roared, swinging his axe to meet the attack head-on.

The giant axe collided head-on with the high-speed spinning crystal spikes, producing a piercing metallic scraping sound and sparks flying everywhere. The enormous recoil force traveled up his arm, but he still held on tightly, creating space for Finn to intervene on his flank.

Finn seized the moment and charged in from the side, his spear precisely striking the point of force deflection on the monster's shell, forcibly altering its rolling trajectory.

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, Riveria finally finished her chant.

"—Third harsh winter—My name is Alfre!"

The three blizzards that should have frozen everything were instantly transformed into a smooth, straight ice path under Riveria's skillful control, pointing directly to the distant cliff face.

"Now!" Finn hissed.

Grace and Finn worked together to completely guide the already deviated crystal urchin back into the ice track.

The crystal sea urchin in mid-air was pushed so hard that it spun faster and began to slip violently the moment it touched the ice. It lost control and accelerated across the smooth ice at an even faster speed, eventually crashing heavily into the cliff wall with astonishing kinetic energy.

A loud bang.

The rotation stopped! The enormous body briefly lost its balance during the impact, and its round maw opened unconsciously, completely exposing its soft internal structure.

"it's over."

Finn, who had been following closely behind, did not hesitate for a moment. He gave the monster no chance to catch its breath and thrust his spear straight into its open mouth, piercing through its vitals in one strike.

After a brief silence, only shattered branches and leaves and the gradually dissipating chill remained in the forest.

Grace put away his axe and stood beside the monster's corpse, saying thoughtfully, "This thing is pretty hard; it feels like it's even better quality than the weapons I use."

Riveria had already approached the corpse, her gaze falling on the well-preserved blue crystal spikes, her eyes shining slightly: "These crystals seem to have a high magic conductivity; we can take some back to study them."

So the two began to methodically select crystal spikes in good condition, carefully put them away, and then took out the magic stone from the monster's body, thus completing this extermination.

Unlike the other two, Finn stood still, his gaze fixed on the depths of the forest, his expression gradually becoming serious.

"We've only just entered the outer area and we've already encountered individuals of this strength..." he said in a low voice. "The actual situation here is completely different from what we initially expected."

Riveria nodded slightly after hearing this, as if she had finally ushered in a long-awaited real adventure, and a slight smile appeared on her lips: "Isn't that precisely why it's even more worthwhile to investigate?"

Grace shouldered his giant axe and chuckled, agreeing, "Let's keep going in! This battle was truly exhilarating!"

Finn shook his head: "No, let's go up the cliff and check out the surroundings first. It's not time to go in yet."

-----------------

After reaching the summit, the entire view of Lake Lolog was finally revealed to everyone.

Deep in the woods, some blue figures could be vaguely seen moving about, including many species I had never seen before. Just from their blurry outlines, I could feel a threat no less than that of the crystal sea urchin I had just seen.

The lake shore, which was originally hidden by dense forest, is now clearly visible—there are shadows of humanoid creatures moving about. The scales covering their bodies gleam with a dark luster in the sunlight, their limbs are slightly disproportionate, and they move with a gliding motion unique to aquatic creatures.

"...It's a merman!" Riveria said in a low voice.

Finn nodded slightly, his expression growing increasingly serious. There were already more than a dozen visible from here alone, and if you included those lurking underwater and in hidden spots in the forest, the number would be even greater.

"It seems Lord Njord's intuition was correct," he said slowly. "Lake Lolog is very likely the source of the entire anomaly."

After a brief silence, Finn turned around and looked at his two companions, his eyes rekindling with fighting spirit.

"Looks like I'll be busy these next few days." A smile crept onto his lips. "The first chapter of the Heroic Adventure Tale—Let's do our best, friends!"

Riveria and Grace exchanged a glance and smiled simultaneously.

The three turned their gazes back to the lake, where the unknown and dangers lay hidden—the very essence of adventure they sought.

...But beneath the surface of the lake, something seemed to be responding to their gaze.