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Chapter 12 – Mad Demon Shield
I returned my sword to its scabbard.
“Fuuh….that was a close call.”
My adrenalin was pumping so I couldn’t help but banter a bit, but I was already at the end of my ropes there.
I expected him to return in about three minutes, but it took more than five minutes for Goutan to come help me.
It seems Teil had some problems with his healing.
The Mad Head’s paralysis abnormal status should recover in about three minutes, but only when full on HP, otherwise resistance to abnormal conditions is lowered, which makes it take longer to recover from.
Nonetheless, it was fortunate that he healed Goutan up instead of running away.
“….how could a mere F rank adventurer hold out this long against a mad rush of a monster that almost managed to kill me?”
Looking at me, Goutan let his thoughts slip from sheer disbelief.
“Ah, I just about reached my limit there. Thanks for the save, Goutan.”
“No… no problem…”
After stumbling with his words due to his confusion, he ceremoniously lowered his head.
“I’m sorry….Elma. My orders were lacking and I failed to properly manage our safety. Just as you warned before. Even though lives were on the line, I got too stubborn and didn’t want to be seen changing my words after getting talked back to by a youngster…. I failed at my role as the Guild’s supervisor. Once this quest is over, I intend to resign from it.”
I had him pegged as a stubborn, scary-faced man, but Goutan still apologized to me.
Honestly, if he would just confirm my promotion, I would be more than satisfied.
However, the fault doesn’t lie solely on Goutan’s shoulders.
Isn’t the adventurer’s guild’s lack of proper intel and inadequate organizational structure more to blame here?
I don’t think the Guild even educates the adventurers that get appointed as instructors.
I hope they don’t just throw the reward at an adventurer they think is more or less trustworthy and can look after others and wash their hands of the subject.
I don’t think that other supervisors would be any better than Goutan with giving orders or managing their safety.
Since the adventurer’s guild is a gathering of a bunch of rowdy people to begin with, trying to educate or order them is extremely difficult.
The reason for Goutan’s overbearing attitude at the beginning was probably because he felt that if newbie adventurers started looking down on him, then he wouldn’t be able to do his job properly.
Seeing him apologize without fuss like this makes me think that he’s a rather honest person at heart. Although his face is still scary.
“If you think you’ve failed, then shouldn’t you just try to do better?”
“It’s not something that can be just swept under the rug like that. I almost caused the death of every adventurer here.”
….my first impression of him being stubborn seems to have been correct.
“If you quit due to this, then wouldn’t it just mean that the next supervisor will be someone ignorant who has not experienced failure?”
“Mm….mn..”
“If you feel responsible, then it’s even more of a reason to keep your supervisory role, instead of throwing it all away.”
Goutan had a subdued expression on his face for a while, but eventually he raised his head with a smile.
“…..hah, you silver tongued cheeky brat. I will let you talk me into it this time.”
After that Goutan turned his gaze towards the Mad Head’s remains.
“You should have its magic stone. It’s a monster you defeated.”
The body of the Mad Head started to dissolve into mana.
Within its disappearing giant body, there was a magic stone shining with a brownish colored light.
A 【Lv：40】 magic stone.
That should be worth quite a sum.
For an adventurer, no money is too much.
If he says he wants me to have it, then I will gratefully accept it.
“Hm…?”
Amidst the decaying flesh there was a crimson red shield remaining.
On the shield there was a carving of a demonic face.
It was a drop item.
A rare monster like the Mad Head had a high chance to drop something good.
“Ho-hoh, a-a drop item from a 【Lv：40】 rare monster…..”
Goutan swallowed thickly as he kept staring at the demonic shield with regret on his face.
“Should I let you have that one?”
“Don’t be stupid! I don’t go back on my word! That is a monster you defeated!”
Goutan’s eyes flashed and answered with some heat in his voice.
“….but, can I at least identify it?”
He took it like a man, but he still felt regretful…
People who possessed the power of Class, along with the usual Skills, also had the ability to find out detailed information about items.
I picked up the demonic shield.
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〈Mad Demon Shield〉《Recommended level: 40》
【Defense：＋25】
【Market value: 3 000 000 gold】
A terrifying shield with a carving of a demonic face on it.
When the user blocks an opponent’s attack with this shield, the user gets an 【Attack Power:＋8】 bonus against that same opponent.
――――――――――――――――――――
I gulped.
It has the same stats as the one in [Magic World], but the market value is very much different.
If I sell it to the Guild or a shop, then it should go for about 1 500 000 gold, but that’s still excellent.
Although the defense increase from the shield is very good, it only comes into play when blocking with the shield itself.
Since the activation requirement for [Rampart Reversal] is to be hit on the armor, I can’t use a shield in that particular case.
That being said, with a defense rating this high, I should be able to completely block every attack sent by enemies on the same level as I.
Although the recommended level is pretty high, it’s not like I couldn’t use it anyway.
It might be a bit harder to move with for now, but I’ll just catch up in levels as I continue to use it.
…..although with how much it’s worth, I should honestly consider selling it anyway.
“…..hmm, 3 million gold, huh,” Goutan muttered in a frustrated voice.
When I turned my gaze to him I saw that he had a strained smile on his face.
“Well then, Goutan. About that promotion….”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll tell them that not promoting you would be a loss to the Guild! Something like ‘You should promote that guy to E rank right now’,” Goutan reassured me passionately.
“I was told by the Guild to ‘watch out for that Elma guy, in case he tries to cheat’, but that turned out to be one hell of a misplaced concern. If someone wants to object, then I will personally beat sense into him!”
“You don’t need to go that far….”
As I chuckled at that, Teil slowly walked closer.
“Ah, hey…. Goutan-san, my promotion… well, would you approve my promotion too? Since it was my [Heal] that helped Goutan-san get back on his feet….”
“Didn’t you freeze up completely against the monsters!? You shouldn’t be an E rank adventurer if you are like that! If you get promoted and enter a Dungeon, then you could come across a difficult situation like that anytime! If you can’t move your body in a situation like that, then unlike now, you can expect to be fully annihilated!”
“Ugh….I-I understand….”
Pressing his lips together, Teil turned to look at me.
However, it seems he understood that I saved his life, so instead of blowing up at me he just closed his eyes in frustration.