◆ Mist Village, near the Exit ◆
「 I’m only 33! You smelly little girl who’s never been hugged by a man, don’t get smart with me! 」
Her eyes went up, and she opened her mouth so wide that I thought her jaw would come off. Her red lips made her look even more horrible.
I don’t want people to judge me just by my appearance, saying that I’ve never been held by a man or that I smell. I’ve even been hugged gently by my father when I was a child. I don’t know what that woman is talking about.
【 Marilyn’s magic sword, Thunder Sword, enchanted Marilyn’s sword with lightning 】.
「 When you’re a Magic Fighter like me who is of this caliber, you can do something like this. And here comes the real thing. 」
Marilyn swung her sword not at me, but at the ground. The lightning struck the scaffolding, which was a large puddle of water, and was released in a wide area. I didn’t see that coming. This will damage not only me, but Roel and the others behind me as well. Not satisfied with just that, Marilyn slashed at me with her electrified sword.
I’m not sure if it’s the lowest level of magic, but it’s probably not meant to be powerful, and while Magic Fighter can combine magic and swordplay, its total magic power is much lower than that of a wizard. This is why it tends to have a half-hearted image, but it can be effective if it is used to control the opponent, as in the case of Marilyn.
She uses one hand to cast a series of small magic spells to limit my movement, and the other hand to slash with her sword.
It’s a slender sword because even Marilyn, who doesn’t have much arm strength, can handle it with one hand.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. At the time I was fighting in the abyss cave, I thought a lot about it. I went through a lot of trial and error, but in the end, I was able to get by with just one sword. I think it’s because I was never good at thinking to begin with.
「 Ahahaha! What, you’ve been talking a lot, and now you’re on the defensive! And be careful of your surroundings! 」
I’m sure he’s feeling good about the fact that I’ve been dodging him without making a move, and he’s even giving me unnecessary advice. As if I had killed that adventurer, another arrow flew right at my brain. It’s amazing how precise the arrow is to catch me moving around in the fog and shoot me right in the head.
If I had been distracted by Marilyn attacking in close combat, I would have been shot through by that thing. You can’t help it, it’s a personnel thing, but it really is a personnel thing.
【 Roel casts Rainbow Barrier! Everyone’s attribute damage is greatly reduced! 】
【 Bobs has taken 2 damage for 168/170 HP. 】
【 Josh has taken 6 damage! 】
【 Roel takes no damage! 694/694 HP 】.
I’m not at all worried about Marilyn’s lightning being released behind me. I checked what kind of magic Roel could use beforehand, and she was able to handle all kinds of defensive magic. The Rainbow Barrier is a high-level magic that only a few priests can use, as it protects you from all attributes. It doesn’t protect you completely, but if it’s at the level of Bobs and Josh, then they can get away with just a scratch.
And with such a meager amount of power, if the fog chasers attacked, there would be no way to stop them. I guess they were lucky that they were never attacked.
「 Damn, that little blonde B*tch! 」
「 You mean Roel? She’s a little brat. She’s much more of a child than you are. I’m surprised you didn’t get attacked by the fog chasers. 」
「 Anyone who takes those things seriously doesn’t have what it takes to make it to A! When I threw the corpse of the adventurer I killed, they were all over it! Ahaha! 」
The moment I heard those words, something snapped inside me. The next thing I knew, I was grabbing Marilyn’s face in my hands. I put so much pressure on my fingers that I thought I could hear her blinking.
「 Agh! Aaahhhh, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, let me go, let me go, let me go! 」
「 Do you want me to kill you, Auntie, and feed you to the fog trackers? 」
「 You’ve got to be kidding me! 」
Of course not. No matter how much of a jerk she is, she’s still a human being. The same goes for Kank, who is sneaking around and shooting arrows at us from over there. It’s time to show him that it’s useless to do something like that.
「 Don’t let your guard down, Ryua! That guy, her partner… I thought I’d seen him somewhere, but then I remembered. I remembered that I’ve seen him before. He’s an archer who specializes in assassination, shooting 100% of his opponents in their vital areas. There’s even a rumor that he’s an assassin turned adventurer. We need to find that guy as soon as possible! 」
「 I’m fine, Josh. I already know. 」
An arrow flew at me, trying to shoot me with precision, and it definitely aimed for my head. But just as the spear of Dridon’s men didn’t pierce me, this arrow also fell to the ground without piercing anything.
It was just like the pain I felt when Roel fell down and the pen in her hands shot out and hit me in the head. It was a minor prickling pain. No, it was more of an itch than a pain. Marilyn saw it and said.
I could see the tears in her eyes. No, that’s just because of the pain from me grabbing her head.
「 No, no, I’m pretty sure he just hit you… what are you doing Kank! Aim properly, you idiot! get me out of here! 」
「 Kank did hit me properly. 」
In fact, it was amazing that he could aim so accurately from that distance. If I tried to dodge, he wouldn’t have been able to miss at all, and when Josh said he specialized in assassination, that’s exactly what he did. But that’s it. You can’t simply shoot people with a bow and arrow, and you can’t shoot monsters the same way with it. He hasn’t released any attacks that seem to be skills since a while ago, and I’m sure Kank definitely trained for those skills.
It’s not as good as Bloom, though, the firepower cannon of Kiesel’s inn. That’s how I feel about Kank. I want to you to show me if you have the power to shoot arrows into the ground like that guy.
「 Kank-san! If you don’t come out soon, this old lady’s head will crack! 」
「 It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! 」
Despite Marilyn’s crying and screaming, there was no sign of him coming out. I wonder if he doesn’t care what happens to his partner, or if he knows that I don’t want to kill this lady. At any rate, I’ll let the lady go.
As soon as I made a move, she took her sword and attacked me. Perhaps she was too angry, but her sword stance was too rough compared to the first time. I grabbed the thin blade with my bare hands, and when I put some effort into it, it shattered and broke easily. I knew the price of the weapon very well, and I didn’t feel comfortable destroying it, but I had no choice, because otherwise this lady would continue to rampage.
Marilyn stared at the broken sword with a pale face and didn’t even scream anymore. Her body began to tremble faintly, as if she finally understood the difference in power. It’s very important to determine the difference in power between you and your opponent, but this person is too slow to realize it.
「 Mo, monster… are, are, you even human… 」
「 I’ll have Kank come out too. Auntie, you stay there and be quiet. 」
Leaving Marilyn to her own devices, I pointed my sword deep into the forest. I leveled my sword and held it like a bow and arrow. I thought about how I could silence my opponent without killing him, and this is the technique I developed.
「 Sonic Spear 」.
【 Ryua unleashes Sonic Spear! 】
The sonic ripper’s slash is horizontal, while this one is as thin as a spear. The sonic ripper’s range is far greater, but this one has more penetrating power. Of course, there was no way I was going to shoot him seriously. For now, I’m just going to shoot Kank right in the shoulder. I’m going to make it, so he can’t handle a bow and can’t fight.
I don’t want him to get hurt badly, but I don’t care if he gets injured. If it comes to it, I can can ask Roel to heal him.
A spear-like blow, not a slash, hit Kank who was lurking deep in the forest. I couldn’t see much because of the fog, but I was sure I hit him. I could even hear the sound of him falling out of the tree with a scream from deep within. A figure was cowering on the ground, moaning.
「 Now there’s nothing you two can do about it. 」
I made my way over there to pick up Kank. Blood was pouring out of the hand holding his right shoulder, and he would die if I let him be. That was the situation. I felt a little sorry for him, but it was his own fault. I hope you can put up with this much.
◆ Mist Village Exit ◆
「 Ora, get a move on. 」
「 Tsk… this day sucks, man. 」
Bobs kicks Kank in the back as his hands are tied behind his back, forcing him to walk. As long as I’m here, I’ll be able to catch them if they try to escape, but just to be safe, I tie them up with a piece of string that Josh was carrying. With their weapons destroyed, there should be no way for these two to resist anymore.
「 So, what are they going to do with us? Little girl. I know you don’t think you’re going to turn us in to the Kingdom, do you? Then it’s useless, there’s no conclusive evidence, and this is a test, right? Like the first test, there are no prohibitions. And Shinbu didn’t say that killing is wrong. That means it’s allowed. That’s what Assassin-sama means, right? 」
I’m trying to sound triumphant, but I’m not thinking that far ahead. At any rate, these guys don’t have any collectibles, so they’re sure to fail. Even if they didn’t, it’s hard to believe that Shinbu would accept someone who was taken out in such a state as this as acceptable.
「 We’re finally out of here. I guess we’ve been cleared now! 」
Near the exit of the open forest, the fog had all but disappeared. When I looked back, I saw a pungent forest shrouded in fog. Absolutely no one would think of entering such a place unless they were adventurers.
At the exit, we saw a gigantic carriage pulled by Gigahorses. To my surprise, there were a few more people ahead of us. I wondered if these people had been accepted. The Royal Knight in his armor was sitting on a rock, meditating quietly again. Unlike the others, he doesn’t seem to be at a party, so I guess that person passed by himself.
「 Hmm, you were surprisingly slow, weren’t you? I was expecting you to be the first.「」
Shinbu pointed at us with his backhand in his usual manner. Shinbu pointed at us with his other hand, and then twisted his hips as he walked around us. After circling us as if he were inspecting us, Shinbu ordered us to bring out our collections.
「 The shell of the Mist Tracker and swamp snake fangs…you don’t need any of this stuff, Ryua, Roel, Bobs, Josh pass. It was an easy test for a brainy muscle girl. 」
「 Hey, what, do you mean by muscle brained? 」
「 So, who are these guys? 」
Shinbu turned his attention to Marilyn and Kank. Roel explained about the two with their hands tied behind their backs, not me. I probably wouldn’t have been able to explain it properly, and it would have been a mess. It’s better to leave these things to Roel.
「 I see. If that’s the case, then I guess we’ll take these guys in. 」
「 Oh, come on, Shinbu-san. Do you believe what that kid says? 」
「 In any case, you guys have made an abomination of yourselves by coming out of the dungeon in captivity.And there are plenty of ways to find out. 」
「 What, brains are muscles? 」
「 So, who are these guys? 」
Shinbu turned his attention to Marilyn and Kank. Roel explained about the two with their hands tied behind their backs, not me. I probably wouldn’t have been able to explain it properly, and it would have been a mess. It’s better to leave these things to Roel.
「 I see. If that’s the case, then I guess we’ll take these guys in. 」
「 Oh, come on, Shinbu-san. Do you believe what that kid says? 」
「 In any case, you guys have made an abomination of yourselves by coming out of the dungeon in captivity. And there are plenty of ways to find out. 」
「 He, heh… like what? 」
「 Well, the rest of the candidates… 」
Their expressions tightened. I was wondering how they were going to find out, but if they did, would those two be punished? By the way, I wonder what happened to Grundom, who was captured before. I don’t think he’s been killed, but I wonder if he’s locked up in jail.
「 I’m sure he’s quietly in the carriage. Mugen is the one standing guard, so there’s no point in even thinking about escaping. 」
「 Oh, that Salvation Monk Mugen… 」
「 Well, let’s get a move on. 」
The two nodded their heads in resignation and were led away by several soldiers. In the middle of all this, Kank stopped dead in his tracks. The soldiers urged him to walk, but he didn’t seem to move. Suddenly, he looked at me and gave me a weird smirk.
「 You’re scared of Phantoms, aren’t you? 」
It was a calm day, the leaves were still, but the wind was blowing hard, the trees in the forest leading to Mist Village were rustling and swaying from side to side, Phantom, that was the moment I said that.He was laughing all the time, as if it was something funny, and I silently watched him walk away.
Phantom, is that the name of the demon? But I don’t think it’s anything like that. I wonder why I’m scared of Phantom. Maybe I’m just a sore loser.
「 Well, sunset is the Time Limit, right? Anyone who doesn’t come back by then fails the test. I’ll at least search for them as missing people. 」
The fact that they haven’t come back from the Mist Village means that there’s a possibility. I wanted to do something about it, but I couldn’t get the word Phantom out of my head. Neither Bobs nor Josh questioned any of Kank’s statements just now. They were fighting at first, but now they’re happy to have passed, like best friends.
Roel was the only one who saw Kank giggling along with me. Kank laughed and laughed until I couldn’t see him anymore.
「 What do you think this means, Ryua-chan? 」
You’re scared of —-Phantom.
Who wouldn’t be terrified.
◆ Mist Village, near the Exit ◆
「 I’m only 33! You smelly little girl who’s never been hugged by a man, don’t get smart with me! 」
Her eyes went up, and she opened her mouth so wide that I thought her jaw would come off. Her red lips made her look even more horrible.
I don’t want people to judge me just by my appearance, saying that I’ve never been held by a man or that I smell. I’ve even been hugged gently by my father when I was a child. I don’t know what that woman is talking about.
【 Marilyn’s magic sword, Thunder Sword, enchanted Marilyn’s sword with lightning 】.
「 When you’re a Magic Fighter like me who is of this caliber, you can do something like this. And here comes the real thing. 」
Marilyn swung her sword not at me, but at the ground. The lightning struck the scaffolding, which was a large puddle of water, and was released in a wide area. I didn’t see that coming. This will damage not only me, but Roel and the others behind me as well. Not satisfied with just that, Marilyn slashed at me with her electrified sword.
I’m not sure if it’s the lowest level of magic, but it’s probably not meant to be powerful, and while Magic Fighter can combine magic and swordplay, its total magic power is much lower than that of a wizard. This is why it tends to have a half-hearted image, but it can be effective if it is used to control the opponent, as in the case of Marilyn.
She uses one hand to cast a series of small magic spells to limit my movement, and the other hand to slash with her sword.
It’s a slender sword because even Marilyn, who doesn’t have much arm strength, can handle it with one hand.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. At the time I was fighting in the abyss cave, I thought a lot about it. I went through a lot of trial and error, but in the end, I was able to get by with just one sword. I think it’s because I was never good at thinking to begin with.
「 Ahahaha! What, you’ve been talking a lot, and now you’re on the defensive! And be careful of your surroundings! 」
I’m sure he’s feeling good about the fact that I’ve been dodging him without making a move, and he’s even giving me unnecessary advice. As if I had killed that adventurer, another arrow flew right at my brain. It’s amazing how precise the arrow is to catch me moving around in the fog and shoot me right in the head.
If I had been distracted by Marilyn attacking in close combat, I would have been shot through by that thing. You can’t help it, it’s a personnel thing, but it really is a personnel thing.
【 Roel casts Rainbow Barrier! Everyone’s attribute damage is greatly reduced! 】
【 Bobs has taken 2 damage for 168/170 HP. 】
【 Josh has taken 6 damage! 】
【 Roel takes no damage! 694/694 HP 】.
I’m not at all worried about Marilyn’s lightning being released behind me. I checked what kind of magic Roel could use beforehand, and she was able to handle all kinds of defensive magic. The Rainbow Barrier is a high-level magic that only a few priests can use, as it protects you from all attributes. It doesn’t protect you completely, but if it’s at the level of Bobs and Josh, then they can get away with just a scratch.
And with such a meager amount of power, if the fog chasers attacked, there would be no way to stop them. I guess they were lucky that they were never attacked.
「 Damn, that little blonde B*tch! 」
「 You mean Roel? She’s a little brat. She’s much more of a child than you are. I’m surprised you didn’t get attacked by the fog chasers. 」
「 Anyone who takes those things seriously doesn’t have what it takes to make it to A! When I threw the corpse of the adventurer I killed, they were all over it! Ahaha! 」
The moment I heard those words, something snapped inside me. The next thing I knew, I was grabbing Marilyn’s face in my hands. I put so much pressure on my fingers that I thought I could hear her blinking.
「 Agh! Aaahhhh, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, let me go, let me go, let me go! 」
「 Do you want me to kill you, Auntie, and feed you to the fog trackers? 」
「 You’ve got to be kidding me! 」
Of course not. No matter how much of a jerk she is, she’s still a human being. The same goes for Kank, who is sneaking around and shooting arrows at us from over there. It’s time to show him that it’s useless to do something like that.
「 Don’t let your guard down, Ryua! That guy, her partner… I thought I’d seen him somewhere, but then I remembered. I remembered that I’ve seen him before. He’s an archer who specializes in assassination, shooting 100% of his opponents in their vital areas. There’s even a rumor that he’s an assassin turned adventurer. We need to find that guy as soon as possible! 」
「 I’m fine, Josh. I already know. 」
An arrow flew at me, trying to shoot me with precision, and it definitely aimed for my head. But just as the spear of Dridon’s men didn’t pierce me, this arrow also fell to the ground without piercing anything.
It was just like the pain I felt when Roel fell down and the pen in her hands shot out and hit me in the head. It was a minor prickling pain. No, it was more of an itch than a pain. Marilyn saw it and said.
I could see the tears in her eyes. No, that’s just because of the pain from me grabbing her head.
「 No, no, I’m pretty sure he just hit you… what are you doing Kank! Aim properly, you idiot! get me out of here! 」
「 Kank did hit me properly. 」
In fact, it was amazing that he could aim so accurately from that distance. If I tried to dodge, he wouldn’t have been able to miss at all, and when Josh said he specialized in assassination, that’s exactly what he did. But that’s it. You can’t simply shoot people with a bow and arrow, and you can’t shoot monsters the same way with it. He hasn’t released any attacks that seem to be skills since a while ago, and I’m sure Kank definitely trained for those skills.
It’s not as good as Bloom, though, the firepower cannon of Kiesel’s inn. That’s how I feel about Kank. I want to you to show me if you have the power to shoot arrows into the ground like that guy.
「 Kank-san! If you don’t come out soon, this old lady’s head will crack! 」
「 It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! 」
Despite Marilyn’s crying and screaming, there was no sign of him coming out. I wonder if he doesn’t care what happens to his partner, or if he knows that I don’t want to kill this lady. At any rate, I’ll let the lady go.
As soon as I made a move, she took her sword and attacked me. Perhaps she was too angry, but her sword stance was too rough compared to the first time. I grabbed the thin blade with my bare hands, and when I put some effort into it, it shattered and broke easily. I knew the price of the weapon very well, and I didn’t feel comfortable destroying it, but I had no choice, because otherwise this lady would continue to rampage.
Marilyn stared at the broken sword with a pale face and didn’t even scream anymore. Her body began to tremble faintly, as if she finally understood the difference in power. It’s very important to determine the difference in power between you and your opponent, but this person is too slow to realize it.
「 Mo, monster… are, are, you even human… 」
「 I’ll have Kank come out too. Auntie, you stay there and be quiet. 」
Leaving Marilyn to her own devices, I pointed my sword deep into the forest. I leveled my sword and held it like a bow and arrow. I thought about how I could silence my opponent without killing him, and this is the technique I developed.
「 Sonic Spear 」.
【 Ryua unleashes Sonic Spear! 】
The sonic ripper’s slash is horizontal, while this one is as thin as a spear. The sonic ripper’s range is far greater, but this one has more penetrating power. Of course, there was no way I was going to shoot him seriously. For now, I’m just going to shoot Kank right in the shoulder. I’m going to make it, so he can’t handle a bow and can’t fight.
I don’t want him to get hurt badly, but I don’t care if he gets injured. If it comes to it, I can can ask Roel to heal him.
A spear-like blow, not a slash, hit Kank who was lurking deep in the forest. I couldn’t see much because of the fog, but I was sure I hit him. I could even hear the sound of him falling out of the tree with a scream from deep within. A figure was cowering on the ground, moaning.
「 Now there’s nothing you two can do about it. 」
I made my way over there to pick up Kank. Blood was pouring out of the hand holding his right shoulder, and he would die if I let him be. That was the situation. I felt a little sorry for him, but it was his own fault. I hope you can put up with this much.
◆ Mist Village Exit ◆
「 Ora, get a move on. 」
「 Tsk… this day sucks, man. 」
Bobs kicks Kank in the back as his hands are tied behind his back, forcing him to walk. As long as I’m here, I’ll be able to catch them if they try to escape, but just to be safe, I tie them up with a piece of string that Josh was carrying. With their weapons destroyed, there should be no way for these two to resist anymore.
「 So, what are they going to do with us? Little girl. I know you don’t think you’re going to turn us in to the Kingdom, do you? Then it’s useless, there’s no conclusive evidence, and this is a test, right? Like the first test, there are no prohibitions. And Shinbu didn’t say that killing is wrong. That means it’s allowed. That’s what Assassin-sama means, right? 」
I’m trying to sound triumphant, but I’m not thinking that far ahead. At any rate, these guys don’t have any collectibles, so they’re sure to fail. Even if they didn’t, it’s hard to believe that Shinbu would accept someone who was taken out in such a state as this as acceptable.
「 We’re finally out of here. I guess we’ve been cleared now! 」
Near the exit of the open forest, the fog had all but disappeared. When I looked back, I saw a pungent forest shrouded in fog. Absolutely no one would think of entering such a place unless they were adventurers.
At the exit, we saw a gigantic carriage pulled by Gigahorses. To my surprise, there were a few more people ahead of us. I wondered if these people had been accepted. The Royal Knight in his armor was sitting on a rock, meditating quietly again. Unlike the others, he doesn’t seem to be at a party, so I guess that person passed by himself.
「 Hmm, you were surprisingly slow, weren’t you? I was expecting you to be the first.「」
Shinbu pointed at us with his backhand in his usual manner. Shinbu pointed at us with his other hand, and then twisted his hips as he walked around us. After circling us as if he were inspecting us, Shinbu ordered us to bring out our collections.
「 The shell of the Mist Tracker and swamp snake fangs…you don’t need any of this stuff, Ryua, Roel, Bobs, Josh pass. It was an easy test for a brainy muscle girl. 」
「 Hey, what, do you mean by muscle brained? 」
「 So, who are these guys? 」
Shinbu turned his attention to Marilyn and Kank. Roel explained about the two with their hands tied behind their backs, not me. I probably wouldn’t have been able to explain it properly, and it would have been a mess. It’s better to leave these things to Roel.
「 I see. If that’s the case, then I guess we’ll take these guys in. 」
「 Oh, come on, Shinbu-san. Do you believe what that kid says? 」
「 In any case, you guys have made an abomination of yourselves by coming out of the dungeon in captivity.And there are plenty of ways to find out. 」
「 What, brains are muscles? 」
「 So, who are these guys? 」
Shinbu turned his attention to Marilyn and Kank. Roel explained about the two with their hands tied behind their backs, not me. I probably wouldn’t have been able to explain it properly, and it would have been a mess. It’s better to leave these things to Roel.
「 I see. If that’s the case, then I guess we’ll take these guys in. 」
「 Oh, come on, Shinbu-san. Do you believe what that kid says? 」
「 In any case, you guys have made an abomination of yourselves by coming out of the dungeon in captivity. And there are plenty of ways to find out. 」
「 He, heh… like what? 」
「 Well, the rest of the candidates… 」
Their expressions tightened. I was wondering how they were going to find out, but if they did, would those two be punished? By the way, I wonder what happened to Grundom, who was captured before. I don’t think he’s been killed, but I wonder if he’s locked up in jail.
「 I’m sure he’s quietly in the carriage. Mugen is the one standing guard, so there’s no point in even thinking about escaping. 」
「 Oh, that Salvation Monk Mugen… 」
「 Well, let’s get a move on. 」
The two nodded their heads in resignation and were led away by several soldiers. In the middle of all this, Kank stopped dead in his tracks. The soldiers urged him to walk, but he didn’t seem to move. Suddenly, he looked at me and gave me a weird smirk.
「 You’re scared of Phantoms, aren’t you? 」
It was a calm day, the leaves were still, but the wind was blowing hard, the trees in the forest leading to Mist Village were rustling and swaying from side to side, Phantom, that was the moment I said that.He was laughing all the time, as if it was something funny, and I silently watched him walk away.
Phantom, is that the name of the demon? But I don’t think it’s anything like that. I wonder why I’m scared of Phantom. Maybe I’m just a sore loser.
「 Well, sunset is the Time Limit, right? Anyone who doesn’t come back by then fails the test. I’ll at least search for them as missing people. 」
The fact that they haven’t come back from the Mist Village means that there’s a possibility. I wanted to do something about it, but I couldn’t get the word Phantom out of my head. Neither Bobs nor Josh questioned any of Kank’s statements just now. They were fighting at first, but now they’re happy to have passed, like best friends.
Roel was the only one who saw Kank giggling along with me. Kank laughed and laughed until I couldn’t see him anymore.
「 What do you think this means, Ryua-chan? 」
You’re scared of —-Phantom.
Who wouldn’t be terrified.
