Mist Village – Near the Exit
“I’m still only 33! Don’t you dare judge me, you smelly little girl who’s never been held by a man!”
The landlady’s eyes were narrowed in fury, and her mouth was agape as if it might unhinge from the sheer volume of her shout. The bright red of her lips only made her look more grotesque. I didn’t want to be judged solely on my appearance, especially not when I had been gently embraced by my father when I was a child. Surely, that’s something every child with parents experiences. What on earth was that landlady talking about?
Marilyn’s magic sword, Thunder Sword! Marilyn’s sword has been imbued with lightning attributes!
“As a Magic Fighter like me, I can pull off tricks like this! And the real show starts now!”
Instead of aiming at me, Marilyn swung her sword down onto the ground. Lightning surged through the large puddle beneath us, spreading out in a wide area. I see what she’s doing. This way, she could deal damage not just to me but also to Roel and the others behind me. But she wasn’t satisfied with that; she charged at me with her electrified sword.
With one hand wielding the lightning sword and the other casting a Fireball and Thunder Shot, she was unleashing low-level spells. While they might not have been powerful, I knew they weren’t meant for sheer strength. Magic Fighters have a far lower total mana than Wizards because they balance both magic and swordsmanship. It’s easy to underestimate them, but when used like Marilyn was—purely for distraction—they can be quite effective.
She kept firing low-powered spells to restrict my movements while slashing at me with her sword. The slender blade was likely easy for someone like Marilyn, who lacked physical strength, to handle with one hand. She was thinking things through well. I had done the same when I was fighting in the Abyss Cave. I tried various approaches, but in the end, I learned to rely on my sword alone. I suppose my struggle with thinking things through played a part in that.
“Hahaha! What’s this? You’re all talk but only on the defensive! And watch your surroundings!”
Feeling buoyed by my evasions, she even threw in some unsolicited advice. Just like she had killed that Adventurer, another arrow flew toward my head. It was already hard enough to see through the Mist, and with me moving around so much, the precision required to hit me was impressive.
If I got too distracted by Marilyn’s close-range assault, I might just get hit by that arrow. It was easy to think of it as someone else’s problem, but it truly was a matter of life and death.
Roel cast Rainbow Barrier! All attribute damage is significantly reduced!
Borbs took 2 damage! HP 168/170
Josh took 6 damage! HP 116/122
Roel took no damage! HP 694/694
I wasn’t worried at all about the lightning that Marilyn had unleashed behind her. I had checked beforehand what spells Roel could use, and she had learned a full range of defensive magic. The Rainbow Barrier was a high-level spell that only certain priests could wield, protecting against all attributes. It wouldn’t completely negate damage, but for levels like Borbs and Josh, it would only leave them with minor scratches.
Besides, with such a weak attack, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the Mist Stalkers. It was pure luck that they hadn’t been attacked.
“Tch, that blonde brat!”
“Are you talking about Roel? Calling her a brat? You’re the one acting like a child, landlady. By the way, how come you haven’t been attacked by the Mist Stalkers?”
“Anyone who can handle those things doesn’t have what it takes to rise to A rank! When I tossed the corpse of that Adventurer, they all swarmed it! Hahaha!”
The moment I heard those words, something snapped inside me. Before I knew it, I had grabbed Marilyn by the face, squeezing hard enough that I could almost hear the bones creaking.
“Ugh! Ahhh, it hurts, it hurts! Let go, let go, please!”
“Should I kill the landlady and feed her to the Mist Stalkers?”
“Don’t say such ridiculous things! It hurts, stop it!”
Of course, I wouldn’t actually do that. No matter how annoying she was, she was still human. The same went for Kank, who was lurking in the shadows, shooting arrows. I needed to teach her that such actions were pointless.
“Don’t let your guard down, Rua! That guy over there… I thought I recognized him, and now I remember! He’s Kank, an assassin specializing in hitting vital points with 100% accuracy! I’ve heard rumors he transitioned from being an assassin to an Adventurer. We need to find him quickly!”
“I’m fine, Josh. I knew from the start.”
An arrow flew toward me, aimed precisely to hit my head, and it did. But just like the spear from Driodon’s minion hadn’t pierced me, this arrow also fell harmlessly to the ground.
Earlier, Roel had accidentally hit me in the head with a pen when she tripped, and it had felt just like this—a slight sting. No, it might have even been more of an itch. Seeing me like this, Marilyn’s eyes were welling up with tears. Or maybe it was just because I was squeezing her head that she was feeling pain.
“I-I definitely hit you that time… Kank! Aim properly! I’m the one taking the hits here, you fool!”
“Kank aimed just fine.”
In reality, hitting me accurately from that distance was impressive. If I hadn’t dodged, he wouldn’t have missed even once. Josh had said he was an assassin specialist, and that seemed to be true. But that was all there was to it. Simply relying on the power of his arrows wouldn’t be enough to pierce through a person, and against monsters, it was even more unreliable. He hadn’t shown any skills that would indicate he was trained in anything else, so it seemed Kank had focused solely on that.
Compared to Bloom, the artillery at Kizel Inn, he was lacking in every way. I wanted to see him demonstrate enough power to create a wind hole in the ground like that guy.
“Kank! If you don’t come out soon, this landlady’s head is going to crack open!”
“It hurts! It hurts! Please, just let me go!”
Despite Marilyn’s cries, there was no sign of Kank coming out. Did he not care what happened to his partner, or had he figured out that I had no intention of killing this landlady? For now, I decided to let her go.
But the moment I showed a hint of weakness, she lunged at me with her sword. Fueled by anger, her strikes were far too wild compared to before. I caught the slender blade with my bare hand, and with a firm grip, it shattered easily. I knew the price of weapons well, and breaking one felt wrong, but if I didn’t do something, this landlady would keep rampaging.
Marilyn stared at the broken sword, her face pale, and she stopped screaming altogether. Perhaps she finally understood the difference in our strengths, as her body began to tremble slightly. It’s crucial to gauge the gap in power between opponents, but she was far too slow to realize it.
“A monster… you’re not human…”
“Kank, you need to come out now. Just stay still, landlady.”
Ignoring the dazed Marilyn, I turned my sword toward the depths of the forest. I leveled my sword, preparing it like a bow and arrow. I had devised this technique to silence my opponent without killing them.
“Sonic Spear!”
Rua unleashed Sonic Spear!
The horizontal slash of the Sonic Ripper was far broader, but my attack was thin like a spear. While the range of the Sonic Ripper was overwhelming, my attack had penetration power. Of course, I wasn’t going all out. I only aimed to pierce Kank’s right shoulder, disabling him from using his bow.
I couldn’t afford to cause serious injury, but a minor wound was acceptable. If it came to that, Roel could heal him.
The spear-like strike hit Kank, who was lurking deeper in the forest. Though the Mist obscured my vision, I knew I had hit him. I even heard a yelp followed by the sound of him falling from a tree. A shadow crumpled to the ground, groaning.
“Now both of you can’t do anything.”
I walked over to where Kank lay. Blood was oozing from his hand as he pressed it against his shoulder, and if left unattended, he would bleed out. It was a sad situation, but in truth, it was his own doing. I hoped he could endure this much.
Mist Village – Exit
“Hey, hurry up and walk.”
“Tch… today is the worst.”
Borbs kicked Kank, whose hands were bound behind his back, forcing him to move. As long as I was here, there was no way these two could escape, but just to be safe, we had tied him up with the rope Josh had. I had broken their weapons, so they shouldn’t have any means to resist now.
“So, what are you planning to do with us, little lady? I can’t believe you’re actually thinking of turning us over to the kingdom, right? If that’s the case, it’s pointless. There’s no conclusive evidence, and besides, this is just an exam. Just like the first test, there are no specific prohibitions. And that Shinbu never said anything about killing being off-limits. In other words, it’s fair game. Just as expected from an assassin, heh!”
He seemed to be reveling in his own cleverness, but I could tell he hadn’t thought it through completely. For one, they didn’t have any collection items, so they were definitely failing. Besides, I couldn’t imagine Shinbu would recognize someone brought out in this state as passing.
“We finally made it out! Does this mean we passed?”
As we reached the edge of the open forest, the mist had completely vanished. Looking back, I could see the gloomy woods shrouded in mist. No one in their right mind would venture into such a place unless they were an Adventurer. At the exit, a massive Gigas Horse-drawn carriage awaited us. To my surprise, there were already a few people there ahead of us. Had they been recognized as passing? A Royal Knight in armor sat quietly on a rock, meditating. Unlike the others, he didn’t seem to be part of a party, so perhaps he had made it through alone.
“Huh, you guys were surprisingly slow. I thought for sure you’d be the first ones out.”
Shinbu pointed at us with his usual nonchalance, swaggering around us with a twist of his hips. After circling us as if sizing us up, he ordered us to present our collection items.
“The shell of a Mist Stalker and the fangs of a Swamp Snake… this stuff is hardly impressive. Lua, Roel, Borbs, Josh—congratulations, you passed. This was an easy test for you muscle-brained girls, wasn’t it?”
“What do you mean, muscle-brained?”
“And what about those two?”
Shinbu’s gaze landed on Marilyn and Kank. With their hands bound behind their backs, it was Roel, not me, who explained their situation. I knew I wouldn’t be able to articulate it well and would just end up stumbling over my words. It was better to leave this to Roel.
“I see, in that case, we’ll be taking them in.”
“Hey, are you really going to trust what that kid says?”
“Either way, you two are making a spectacle of yourselves, coming out of the dungeon all tied up. Plus, there are plenty of ways to investigate.”
“Oh, like what?”
“Well, the remaining examinees are…”
The expressions on their faces tightened. I was curious about how they would investigate, but if they found out, those two would likely face punishment. Speaking of which, I wondered what had happened to Grundom, the one we captured before. I couldn’t imagine he was killed, but perhaps he was locked away in a cell.
“You’ll be sitting quietly in the carriage. Mugen is on guard duty, so any thoughts of escape are futile.”
“That savior monk Mugen…?”
“Now, start walking.”
Resigned, the two of them hung their heads as they were surrounded by several soldiers and led away. In the midst of it all, Kank suddenly stopped. The soldiers urged him to move, but he showed no signs of complying. Then, he turned to me with a grin that was downright unsettling.
“You’re scared of the Phantom, huh?”
The weather was calm, with not even a rustle in the leaves, yet a strong wind suddenly blew through. The trees in the forest leading to Mist Village swayed left and right, as if whispering secrets. The moment he mentioned the Phantom, Kank’s back seemed to be laughing. It was as if something incredibly funny had happened, and he continued to chuckle. I silently watched his eerie silhouette fade away. The Phantom—was that the name of a monster? But something felt off about it. What did it mean for me to be scared of the Phantom? Was it just a bitter aftertaste of defeat?
“Alright, sunset is the time limit. Anyone who doesn’t return by then will fail. We’ll at least search for the missing candidates.”
The fact that they hadn’t returned from Mist Village meant that possibility existed. I should want to help them, but the word “Phantom” clung to my mind. Borbs and Josh showed no signs of questioning Kank’s statement. They had gone from fighting to celebrating their passing like best friends. Only Roel was watching Kank, who was laughing so hard he looked like he might fall over. He kept laughing until he was out of sight.
“What does it all mean, Lua-chan?”
“You’re scared of the Phantom, huh?”
Who’s scared?