39 – Ruins Investigation – 1
Monsters and traps overflowing in the ruins.
Even handling just those could yield a substantial amount of experience points.
No matter how much of a genius Lena may be, she can’t fully utilize her talent without experiencing real combat.
However, Lena is not only fearful but lacks confidence, so I pondered how to involve her in actual combat. It turned out to be a good opportunity.
“Um… But ruins exploration is very dangerous. We don’t know your skills, and…”
He glanced at Lena’s expression.
Lena, trembling and fearing the gaze of others, didn’t seem to please him at all.
“Communication is crucial for adventurers. If someone acts unilaterally, the party can collapse.”
That’s not a wrong statement.
Most of the reasons why a party member is expelled and regretfully clings to resentment in hero parties are due to a lack of conversation.
In that regard, it’s natural that Lena, who finds it difficult to engage in conversations with others, is not easily accepted.
“Well, then. Don’t want the key to the ruins?”
But that’s the role of the party leader; neither me nor Lena should worry about it.
Whether that person’s party collapses or not, what’s important is accumulating Lena’s experience.
I casually spun the necklace I received from Lucía. Valteen, who saw it, furrowed his brow.
What does it matter if you furrow your brow?
“M-M-Master. Is, is it okay?”
Of course, it’s not a bad thing that those who couldn’t withstand this provocation, as Lena worried, are attacking.
After all, experience doesn’t necessarily have to be gained from monsters.
“…Valteen, what are you going to do?”
“You’re the leader, so it’s up to you. I don’t really care. We’ve done well on our own…”
“I object. I don’t like an unknown woman joining this party.”
Valteen’s party members all had negative reactions.
Valteen’s party consisted of three women, excluding Valteen himself.
It seemed that all three of them had a liking for Valtin.
He’s undoubtedly a sharp and handsome guy.
Moreover, he seems to have quite a bit of skill.
Naturally, it must be annoying for Lena, who looks pretty, to join Valtin.
“Uhh… It’s going to be tough after all. I apologize.”
“Well, let’s settle it this way. We hold the keys, and you have information about the ruins, right? It’s meaningless to keep them separately. Let’s settle it through a duel and give the victory to the winning side.”
“Oh!! That sounds good!”
A muscular warrior woman steps forward. Seeing her, Valtin sighs and nods, patting Lena on the back.
“Can you handle it?”
“Heh, hehe… M-me… what?”
A mediocre warrior like that seems easy to defeat with just a glance.
I held onto the trembling Lena, who seemed frightened.
On the other side, the warrior woman seemed to enjoy Lena’s fearful appearance as she swung a large axe, showing off.
Lena seemed even more disgusted by that sight.
“M-me… What will happen on that stage… um, what will happen?”
What will happen? We’ll use Plan B.
“It’s nothing special. Luceria will lose her husband’s memento, that’s all.”
Rather than expressing my thoughts, I pointed to the back.
Surprised by my words, Lena looked at Luceria.
Her gaze was full of trust.
Perhaps that’s why Lena trembled once again.
“Alright! Let’s get started!!”
The weary-looking warrior woman, as if she had been waiting, swung her axe again and roared.
She’s bragging as if she has already won, even though we haven’t confirmed her skills yet.
According to my exploration, Lena is clearly superior.
“So, cheer up.”
“U-uhh… Y-yes…”
With her shoulders stiff, Lena took awkward steps forward.
As our conversation turned suddenly into a confrontational atmosphere, the people in the market were surprised and began to clear the area.
Soon, a wide arena for the duel was created. The warrior woman standing there glanced back for a moment.
Valtin, who was giving a bitter smile, met her gaze and spoke with a playful tone.
“If I win, you have to grant me one wish, too!”
“Sure, sure. Just don’t go too hard on me.”
“Haha! We’ll see about that! Charge!”
With a roar, he stomped his foot. Was it a warrior’s skill, a war cry, perhaps? A technique that boosted one’s defense by releasing a burst of energy…
“Master, uh, what should I… do?” Lena asked nervously.
“Do what you can,” the master replied.
Currently, Lena’s only offensive magic was Magic Arrow. However, having mastered Shadow Blade and Multi-Shadow Blade, she should be able to win easily with those alone.
All that remained was confidence.
“If I win.”
“…Yes?”
“I’ll take you to the big city.”
“T-to the big city?”
“Let’s spend a fabulous day there. How about that? It’s a good prize, isn’t it?”
Nodding eagerly, Lena, with her sparkling eyes, shook her head. I gave her a gentle push on her back and stepped back.
“Are you ready?! Let the match begin!”
“Let’s do it.”
At Valtin’s shout, I gave an affirmative nod, and the female warrior moved.
And then…
“Aaaargh!”
Hit by a barrage of twenty Magic Arrows, she fell down, fainted.
“Wha-what?”
Everyone was surprised.
Among them, Lena was the most shocked, staring at the result she had produced, bewildered and even a bit flustered.
“I-I couldn’t block… this?”
Lena turned around quickly, full of doubt.
And she had every reason to.
Until now, I had been Lena’s training partner.
Naturally, I could easily block her consecutive Magic Arrows, and that’s why she had only considered the multi-arrow technique as a restraining move until now.
However, the reality is different.
With Lena’s consecutive magic arrows, she could easily take down such a mediocre warrior.
“Okay. So, what’s next?”
Valtin’s expression hardened.
It seems like only now he realizes that Lena is not ordinary.
He steps forward, realizing that he wouldn’t even be able to touch Lena, let alone defeat her, with his party members alone.
Lena also notices that Valtin is a completely different level of skill compared to the warrior from earlier.
Startled by his sharp gaze, she quickly rushes towards me and hides behind me.
“M-m-master….”
“The big city.”
“… Ah.”
“A splendid day.”
“…A-after…”
“With a fine outfit.”
“Well, but…”
“Plus one artifact.”
“O-oh…”
This guy knows how to make a deal.
“And even a theater performance.”
“To do, to do my best!!”
Finally gathering courage, Lena hesitantly steps forward.
Tension fills the air.
No one moves. Lena, staring at Valtin while nervously swallowing her saliva, raises her hand.
“Si-sil…”
“Inhale!!”
“…FEN!!”
In an instant, Valentin’s eyes flash, and he quickly appears.
Oh. A perfect combination of a divine sword and skill. This young one is quite exceptional.
But it won’t work on Lena.
– Eeeeeek!!!
The invocation of Spheeds has come to an end.
A powerful wind swept around Lena, rendering Valtin’s attack powerless.
“Magic Arrow!”
Before Valtin could regain his stance after being knocked back, a barrage of about twenty magic arrows rained down upon him.
Swiftly swinging her sword to deflect the magic arrows and preparing to attack again, Lena seized the moment.
“Create Water!”
-Splaaaash!!
A deluge of water poured over Valtin as he tried to evade.
Unable to dodge it, Valtin jumped in, soaked, with the intention to strike, but Lena raised her hand.
“Freeze!”
-Crackling sound-
A chill settled in Valtin’s wet body, freezing the moisture on his arms and legs, slowing his movements.
Not missing this opportunity, Lena, utilizing the wind of Spheeds, increased the distance between them and raised her hand.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Lightning Shock!”
-Zapzapzapzap-
“Kraaaaaah!!”
Electricity surged through Valtin’s still damp body.
Although basic lightning magic normally had the power of static electricity, the one casting it was none other than Lena, thanks to her overflowing magical power and talent. The Lightning Shock she unleashed reached the level of intermediate magic, dealing quite a blow to Valtin in the end.
“Ugh, ughaaah!! Is this all you’ve got?!”
Heh. He’s holding up.
Lena, unaware of whether he could withstand it, flinched. Taking advantage of her distraction, Valtin broke free from the ice encasing him and leaped out.
– My, my friend, d-don’t touch her!!
– Rrrraaaah!!
At that moment, a powerful surge of elemental energy enveloped Valtin.
Spheeds, the spirit Lena had contracted with, had used its power to protect her.
Lena did not miss the opening created by it.
“Ma-Magic Arrow!”
As a cascade of light arrows began to pour down, Valtin was ultimately blown away.
“Don’t get up… Don’t get up… Don’t get up…”
She sounds really desperate.
Whispering pitifully towards the fallen Valten, who could still fight, Lena wondered if it was to fulfill her expectations.
Valten, stumbling, eventually collapsed.
“Wow, wow!! We, we won. We won!!”
“Yeah. Well done.”
.
.
.
Valten, who couldn’t believe in his defeat and was still lost in thought, sighed and handed me a map.
It was a map indicating the location of ruins.
“The ruins here are estimated to be intermediate level.”
“Is that so? Thanks for this. You must have worked hard to find the location here.”
“Sigh…”
Valten let out a heavy sigh and turned his body.
The shoulders of the defeated were drooping.
“I won’t forget this defeat. If there is another battle in the future, I will definitely win.”
I nodded towards him and his comrades, who were determined.
“Did you hear that?”
“Sniff, sniff… Ah. I… I… if you, if you… could please… forget… me…”
Lena, crying with sadness, spoke shakily, and Valten looked at her for a while before turning around and walking away.
His comrades followed suit, distancing themselves.
Well, at least he calmly walked away. I was almost tempted to go for their necks if they hung around pleadingly.
“I, I… Master. Wha, wha… what should I… do? Ye, ye, yes?”
What should I do indeed.
“You should train hard, shouldn’t you?”
I patted Lena’s head as she cried.