CHAPTER 114: APPEARANCE OF DIFFICULT ENEMIES

“I thought I heard a sad voice.” (Toru)

“Huh?” (Esther)

　After we had finished defeating dozens of ogres, I shook the blood and unsummoned my [Magic Sword].

　 It seems that we were unwittingly lured into the ogre village.

“I didn’t think that even an Ogre Elite would show up. I thought I was going to die…” (Esther)

“But we were fine, weren’t we?” (Toru)

“I (my heart) wasn’t okay at all!!” (Esther)

“That hurts!” (Toru)

　Esther, with tear marks on her cheeks, kept hitting my arm.

“Really, Toru is always like this. Whether it’s goblins or orcs, he ignores my abilities and attracts a horde… I wish you would put yourself in my place a little.” (Esther)

“Sorry, really sorry.” (Toru)

“It was the same at the time with the Queen Rock Worm, and again when the Demon Tribe man showed up, but Toru just rushed too far ahead anyway. Toru may be worried about failing this quest, but failure won’t cost you your life.” (Esther)

“…Certainly.” (Toru)

“Adventurers are creatures that move with life. The most important part of the mission is to save your life by retreating. If you are alive, you can try again. So, from now on, keep in mind that if you are in danger, you must run.” (Esther)

“I understand.” (Toru)

“Do you really…?” (Esther)

　Esther’s lips twitched in suspicion.

　Certainly, as she said, I never thought of “retreat” in my mind. Now that I think about it, I should have avoided this battle.

　However, I didn’t run away and fought because I felt like I could somehow get through it, or that although I wasn’t sure, it felt like I wouldn’t die.

　As a result, my choice was not wrong, but I might lose my life in the future. Thinking of this, I reflected on my decisions.

　It had been half a day since he started climbing up Rheitis, and I had already had more than a dozen battles with B-rank monsters.

　None of them were easy fights. However, with each battle, the monsters became easier to defeat. That’s because I can gain a lot of experience when I fight a superior opponent.

　My level, which had been 33 at the foot of the mountain, had now risen to 41.

>> Level: 36 => 41

“I guess because I’ve fought so many battles, I’m able to defeat ogres easier than I did at first!” (Toru)

“Haa, haa… it’s really not easy at all…” (Esther)

　Unlike Toru, who is somewhat relaxed, Esther is breathing so hard that her shoulders are heaving.

　The difference in level shouldn’t be that big, so the biggest difference would be the difference in skills.

>>Skill Points 55 => 30

>>Climbing Lv5 (NEW)

　The mountain path in Rheitis was harder to walk than I had imagined. Large stones would catch my feet, and if I stepped on the loose slopes, they would soon cave in.

　If I continued to fight here, a serious accident would occur someday. Thinking of this, I found out from among the vast number of skills and allocated points to [Climbing].

　The difference brought by this skill is the change in the degree of fatigue between the levels.

“Would you like to take a break?” (Toru)

“…ah, no, I’m fine. It looks like we’re getting close to our destination.” (Esther)

　A burning smell had been wafting around the area for a little while now. A short walk and we would see the Eternal Flames. Beyond that, there is the persimo tree.

　The goal is almost there.

　After moving forward for a while, the view suddenly opened up. The slope flattened, and beyond it was a large depression on the surface. It appears that the Eternal Flames are below.

　I was curious to know what was going on below, but even at a distance, I could feel the heat. It would be better not to approach it carelessly.

　There is a way to avoid the fire. However, the slopes there are severe, and it is more like Rock Climbing than Hiking.

　Even I, as expected, would not dare to climb in this world where monsters appear.

　It is easy to imagine flying monsters appearing in the sky and gnawing at our backs.

　We are more likely to break through if we go straight through the depression where the Eternal Flames are located.

(Well, I wonder what the Eternal Flames look like… hmm?) (Toru)

　That’s when I approached the depression. Suddenly, a black shadow appeared in front of me. The shadow changes into the shape of a person.

“Toru, get back!” (Esther)

　Almost at the same time as Esther’s warning, I stepped back.

　The next moment.

　In the space where I had been a tenth of a second before, a pitch-black long sword swung down.

　If I had been even a little late in my evasive maneuver, I would have been cut in half from the head down by now.

　A bead of sweat trickled down my temple.

　Normally, when a person, animal, or monster attacks, there is always a sign of an attack.

　My [Intuition] is at a very high level, and even the slightest sign of an attack can be caught with high accuracy. Despite this, there was not the slightest sign of an attack.

“What’s this?” (Toru)

“I don’t know. But I can tell you this—” (Esther)

　As Esther drew her sword, she said.

“That’s an enemy.” (Esther)

　I summoned my [Magic Sword] into a bow and quickly plucked its strings.

　The arrow fired from the bow is in a straight line and approaches the black shadow.

　A direct hit.

　Just when I thought so, the arrow hit the black shadow.

　—Ping!

　A new shadow suddenly intervened and deflected the arrow with the shield in its hand.

“Huh?!” (Toru)

　I was startled by the unexpected sight.

　My Magic Bow had never once failed to penetrate an object. It even smashed through several stone walls of the Finlis lord’s mansion. I had never thought that a bow with that much penetrating power would be repelled by a shield.

　With this, the number of unidentified shadows increased to two.

　One has a long sword and the other has a shield.

“…They are like a party.” (Esther)

“Certainly.” (Toru)

　Attacker and shield bearer. The position of the attacker and the Shieldbearer is also exquisite.

　The attacker is in a position to attack at any time, while the shield bearer is in a position to protect the attacker at any time.

　The posture, the standing position, and the behavior. These shadows are not ordinary people.

“Is this also another trial?” (Toru)