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＜ 15. Come on, you fresh fledgling (6) ＞
The arena became a mess in an instant .
In the first place, the Void Messengers were beings that could not be suppressed with the power of a few people. Void lions attacking not only the stage but also the audience, biting and scratching people at random. Blood splattered everywhere and screams rang out .
“ Kuruaaa !”
“ aaagh !”
“ Save me, save me !”
The king of the arena, whom everyone looked up to, did not have the energy to protect everyone.
I was in a hurry to face the lions .
Sh-yah! hooked !
As soon as one was pierced with a spear, another claw pierced its side. Even the impaled one was not stopped. It would have taken dozens of more piercings to incapacitate it for a short time. Decimus had big and small wounds one by one .
Decimus couldn’t get rid of the thought that something was wrong. The void messengers were formidable opponents, but none of them were so daunting. Normally, if he puts all his energy into it, he can deal with about five or six of them at the same time .
But now he was at a loss because he couldn’t deal with even two properly. Perhaps Decimus was dead, and upon awakening he would not be able to understand why. The reason why the Void Messengers became stronger was because of the ‘Eternal Training Ring’ worn by Andrea .
Meanwhile, Verdin was facing the Void Messenger for the first time. Because of this, he thought it was funny when he saw the king of the arena struggling against a monster that looked just ugly .
“ Kurrr !”
“ Queue !”
However, facing the void messengers directly, Verdin realized painfully that the king of the arena was fighting well. The confidently thrown fists missed many times, and the claws that I thought I had avoided skillfully tore my side .
Even when the attack landed, the void messenger took no damage. Verdin, who was attacked one-sidedly and gradually became covered in blood .
The more he suffered, the more anger grew inside him. It was partly because he felt helpless in the one-sided battle, but the bigger reason was that the person who despised himself as a newbie and caused a mess was invisible .
‘ Where’s this motherf*cker gone !’
In the meantime, Andrea and her party left the stage and quietly hid in a corner of the arena hallway .
Occasionally, void messengers passed in front of them, but it was no big deal. Whenever the Void Messengers saw the silver barrier placed in front of Andrea and the others, they trembled and flew away .
Emilia sweeping her chest, perhaps feeling anxious inside .
” Really, those lions can’t cross this barrier …”
“The ‘ anti-demon barrier’ blocks not only projectiles, but also monsters with demonic energy from approaching .”
Trisha shook her head as if she was dumbfounded when she saw Andrea explain it calmly .
“ How did you come up with the idea to mess with it on such a large scale? Did you mean this from the beginning when you came here ?”
“ No, I originally intended to just fight… I thought they might be in the lion pen, so I changed the plan on the fly .”
“ What would you have done if it weren’t for those weird lions in the lion pen ?”
“ At that time, I just tried to get out of the lion cage and ambush Decimus. Either way, if you defeat the king of the arena, you can escape from here .”
Andrea answered the question calmly. Trisha stuck her tongue out at Andrea’s attitude of talking like it was nothing .
Emilia’s card, ‘Anti-Demon Barrier’, was able to perform similarly to ‘Anti-Demon Talisman’. As long as they were hiding behind the barrier, there was no need to worry about getting hurt. Now all that remains is to wait until Decimus is neutralized and then leave the arena .
It was always like that before, but if there was a way to win without fighting directly, Andrea was careful to choose that way as much as possible. He had no interest in the fun of battle or the desire to win. It’s far more important that you and your party aren’t killed or injured .
He did not feel any remorse for lying about fighting the lions and cheating the audience and Decimus. Aren’t those who tell us to fight for our lives risking our lives with no reward whatsoever? I picked the wrong opponent, so it was all self-inflicted .
Then the sound of someone clashing with a void lion was heard in the hallway. Sori got closer and closer to Andrea and the others, but they couldn’t stand it and were being pushed back .
“ Kuuu !”
“ Johanna, stop it !”
“ I’m still doing it !”
A man in a cone hat and a female warrior with a shield and mace. Someone tried it, and it turned out that they were the people who were with Verdin. Andrea shouted and beckoned to them .
“ Come here! It’s safe here !”
They took one look at each other, and then, without looking back, they fled and ran over the barrier. The reason was unknown, but the void messengers who relentlessly pursued them could not cross the wall. The female warrior gasped for breath before barely raising her head .
“ Ah, thank you very much …”
The female warrior’s expression twisted as she couldn’t finish her words. The man in front of her, Andrea, was a benefactor and a powerful person who was responsible for all these evils .
“ Are you sure you let these monsters go wild outside ?”
“ Is that so ?”
The female warrior could not hide her confusion. The willingness to hide in this place and the way monsters were released to kill people indiscriminately caused a gap .
However, the female warrior did not bother to ask why she had done such a thing. If you just ask why and morally criticize him, you might be kicked out of the barrier again. In a situation where Verdin was separated, the probability that she and her colleagues would make it through this mayhem was not high .
Andrea looked at the female warrior’s uneasy complexion and put on a puzzled expression. The reaction was very different from what I expected. As far as he knew, female warriors weren’t the kind of people who would look like this …
“ Don’t worry, I won’t kick you out again .”
“ Ah, yes. Go, thank you .”
“ Looks like that shirtless fighter is his co-workers, right ?”
“ Yes, yes. That’s right …”
“ What is your name ?”
“ My name is Johanna. This dude is Parma .”
Andrea nodded. It wasn’t really a very necessary question. I didn’t know her colleague, but I already knew her name .
Johanna, a crusader who serves the sun god .
She was also one of the playable characters in ‘Dungeons of Infinity’ .
Andrea gave up the fight and surrendered partly because he did not want to harm her. The playable characters I’ve encountered so far had very strong powers. I don’t know now, but thinking about the time we met later, I had to avoid building ill feelings .
I wanted to meet and talk in some way later, but Andrea didn’t know that it would be like this. After meeting him, the other side seemed to be a little uncomfortable with him, but .
’ In any case, I avoided being hostile. It would be better if you went further and thought that you were indebted. Because I don’t know what this relationship will be like later. …The situation Johanna is in doesn’t look very good .’
Andrea decided to give her some advice. Andrea cautiously talks to Johanna .
“ It’s not easy going through the dungeon, is it ?”
“ Yes, I guess… that’s right .”
“ Even though he’s a colleague, his fighting skills seem to be a bit different from that guy’s equipment .”
Johanna smiled bitterly .
“ Because Verdin is the strongest in our group. Verdin always wanted to match his equipment or cards first with the gold we collected. Even though I thought it was unfair, it couldn’t be helped because we were weak …”
A way to reward one challenger. Wouldn’t this be possible if it became ‘multiplayer’? It was an idea that Andrea also came up with .
At first glance, it seemed like a fairly efficient method. Even if you don’t cooperate well, there is no problem in defeating tolerable enemies. If you’re going to stand up to a cat, you’d rather have one chicken than three ragtag chicks …
However, there were too many problems compared to the advantages. If one person who drove was incapacitated, the party was doomed, and the person who drove could act like a tyrant, ignoring the opinions of the party and monopolizing the reward. Just like now .
Besides, now Johanna’s party has chosen the wrong target to drive from the beginning .
“… won’t Johanna never be weak ?”
Of course, playable characters have higher potential than most NPCs. Yohanna didn’t know that fact and assumed that she was weak and couldn’t farm properly .
However, for Yohanna in the current situation, it was an absurd sound .
“ Yes ?”
“ That Verdin will be of no help to Johanna the higher you go up the dungeon. From the next floor, separate neatly. And can I have a look at your deck ?”
He hesitated at the sudden request, but in the end, Johanna dragged the deck and handed it to Andrea. Andrea glanced through the deck in an instant .
“ Still, you built your deck with consistency. In the next rest area, prioritize enhancing ‘Blessing of Radiance’. When ‘Light’s Punishment’ appears in the store, buy it unconditionally, even if you have to sell the equipment you have. If you link ‘Sacrifice Flame’ and ‘Skin of Steel’, you can greatly reduce your stamina loss. And again . . .”
Advice from 5,000 hours of time . Andrea’s bloody and sweaty advice poured out nonstop. Johanna, who had no idea how valuable those advices were, didn’t memorize them, but just listened in a daze .
It was deplorable for Andrea, but there was nothing she could do about it. If you try to memorize it here, you will only become a strange person .
‘ No, am I already a strange enough person…? Well, I can’t help but hope that even if it’s memorable, I’ll make good use of it …’
Hearing all the advice, Johanna stared at Andrea with a bewildered face. And then, Trisha and Emilia’s thoughts that always come to mind came out of their mouths .
“ How do you… know all that ?”
Andrea shrugged her shoulders and gave a concise answer .
“ Because I’m not a novice like anyone else .”
Johanna tilted her head, not guessing who she meant. But there was no time for her to ask him about it. The hallway shook greatly for a moment, and then portals appeared in the air all at once .
It was the exit of the arena .
‘ Looks like Decimus is dead .’
Andrea and her friends escaped from the anti-demon barrier. Then he said goodbye to Johanna .
“ You can get out of the arena by going anywhere. It was a short meeting, but it was nice. Excuse us .”
“ Yes, yes. I was happy too .”
“ Think carefully about the advice I gave you .”
“ Yes…? which one ?”
“ Fighting doesn’t accompany him anymore .”
“… um… yes. I’ll consider it …”
Johanna was still unconvinced. Andrea smiled bitterly .
It was so different from the attitude seen in the game, that he firmly believed in the sun god and had no doubts about his future path. You can guess what her journey has been like so far .
She needed one last push on her back .
“ Don’t think, decide. believe in yourself For those who move forward without rest, the sun never sets .”
An old adage handed down from Helios. After leaving those words, Andrea took a step without regret. Johanna, who was still, barely opened her mouth right before Andrea entered the portal .
“ Oh, me .”
“…?”
“ Thank you so much for your generous advice. May the challenger’s journey be blessed by Helios, the owner of the unfading flame .”
A blessing given by saying the true name of a god, with the highest respect as a person who serves a god. Andrea responded to Johanna’s sincerity with a light smile. Deep down, I was worried that Khalisis might be upset about this, but .
Before long, Andrea’s party completely disappeared beyond the portal. Johanna’s colleague, Parma, looked around nervously and then spoke .
“ Johanna, what are you going to do now? Are you really… not going to accompany Verdin anymore ?”
Johanna did not answer. But Parma felt as if it had already been answered. Johanna’s straight, unwavering eyes were those of someone who had already made a decision .
The crusader of the sun god kept looking into the portal where a challenger had disappeared for a long time .
＜ 15. Come on, you fresh fledgling (6) ＞ End