Chapter 44 – Tricky Judging – 3

He doesn’t have time to explain hypnosis to Karen, so he immediately puts them both into a trance.

It is not difficult to reveal Wavid’s true intentions, but we must hurry.
In the middle of the dungeon where Skeleton Warriors roam. If I am ambushed, the two in a trance are more dangerous than I am.
Fortunately, it was verified that Skeleton Warriors are more sensitive to light than sound, so they were able to hypnotize them boldly.

“Wavid. Please answer my question openly. What is your purpose for coming here?”

“To catch a criminal who was an adventurer…”

“A criminal? Why?”

“Because that’s my job…”

Wavid was no ordinary adventurer. Kind of like a bounty hunter?

“Am I the adventurer-turned-criminal?”

“I’m not sure. But I have my doubts.”

I see. I didn’t come across it by chance, I mean it was intentionally hovering around me until now.
He wasn’t suspicious enough to hypnotize me, but I was able to figure out what he was approaching.
Nice to see you walking.

I knew very well that another world needed more attention than the present.
There are so many people who approach me knowingly or unknowingly without going through public powers.
In order to protect my body, I also have to think.

Then there were footsteps in the next room. Are you another adventurer?

“Wavid. All attacks targeting Karen and I are prohibited.”

I put on the surest safety device and clapped my hands to wake him up.

“Hmm?”

Wavid frowned slightly as if feeling a sense of déjà vu.

“How long have you been talking?”

If Wavid is tracking down an adventurer-turned-criminal, it’s unnatural to hide our purpose.
It’s no secret that Karen and I are going through extra tests to be selected as heroes.

“We were talking about why we came to hunt liches. Our purpose is not gold.”

“I’ll ask you without any excuses. If you say it’s not gold, what is it?”

“Election of the candidate for the hero. I came because the judge’s additional test task was to deal with the lich.”

“Ah! There were rumors like that.”

Taking off Shichimi. It didn’t take hypnosis to figure out that he knew everything and asked.

“Does the woman next to you do the same?”

“Yes? Yes! Actually, it’s as if I brought my brother.”

“Didn’t the two of you move because they agreed?”

Wavid asked curiously.
Let’s leave Karen to talk for now. For some reason, it felt like things were going to work out.

“At first, I went to ask for help. I’m on an emergency mission, so please help me…”

“…I see. Gee, I wonder if I took up too much of my time holding on to the two busy people with the exam.”

“No. Thanks for your help.”

“Illesia’s blessings be with you two.”

Have your doubts about me been resolved?
Maybe Wavid thought that Karen or Isti might be under some kind of threat.
At about the same time, he was leading the best beauties in the village.
If it was another man, he would have been envious, and if it was Wavi, who was suspicious of the same adventurer, wouldn’t he have thought it suspicious?

“Brother. Do you know someone?”

After Wavid left, Karen said.

“We ran into each other a few times in the guild and even talked aloud. It seems like you and Iesti are acquainted.”

But, at the end… What was “Illesia’s blessing be with you”?

“Karen. What is Illesia’s blessing?”

“My brother lacks common sense. She’s the most famous Goddess of Light in Chengdu. The Kingdom of Daytun serves the Goddess of Light.”

“I heard it first.”

“Perhaps he is from the Saints. That’s what people from the Saints often say.”

“Esty doesn’t say anything.”

“Well, since ISTY is an elf… Wouldn’t the gods they serve be different?”

Ilesia…
Is it the goddess who governs this world?
The goddess who sent a legitimate hero to this world. You must be looking at me with an eye.

“Your brother is under the protection of Lady Belleira, right?”

“How did you know?”

“You think I’m an idiot? He knows she’s the goddess of fire. It’s Belleira.
As well as shooting her fire magic close to her body. She seemed to have been blessed by Lady Belleira.”

“Bella was also a pretty famous god.”

“…I don’t know why such a person is my brother’s slave. Is my brother a god, too?”

“I think so?”

She softly reached out and grabbed Karen’s breast.
Karen flinched and looked at me.

“It’s okay. Not at all…”

“The day will come when you’ll find out if you stay in my cockhouse.”

“I didn’t say it because I really wanted to know. I don’t care about any of that.”

It did. Karen is a pretty moderate personality.
All sorts of things happened in the Black Forest, but she didn’t even ask.

“If you put it like that, isn’t that judge the exact opposite of you? I think he’ll guess how many skeleton warriors we caught.
Even compulsion is an art.”

“Puha…! Oppa. You can’t imitate the judges. You don’t know where to look.”

After laughing out loud in the dark dungeon, I felt much better.

“Shall we go on?”

“Yeah. Let’s catch Richie!”

“Give me the lantern. It will be easier to fight if you leave your hands empty.”

I put Karen’s lantern in my personal stash and used 〈 Shroud of Concealment 〉 to cover the two of us.
Even though I just met Wavid, meeting someone else in a dungeon is an atmosphere I can’t imagine.
The stone chamber had a lonely, lonely, and somewhat cold impression.

We carefully checked the location of the Skeleton Warriors and discussed the strategy in a quiet voice.

“One in the front, two on the right. Oppa. What should I do?”

“I’ll take two. You block the one in front.”

“Huh.”

Karen opened and closed the handle of her blunt, short sword, waiting for the sparks to rise.

“Fireball!”

The Skeleton Warrior reacts. Light, not sound.
Shoots fireballs at the two warriors who are rushing like moths.
As expected. The fireball has a wide range of damage, so the two people who were attached were hit by my magic at the same time and pulverized.

“Karen!”

Karen was struggling with the other one. She parries the Warrior’s fierce attack and counterattacks with her sword, knocking her back.
I didn’t miss the chance.

“Fire Arrow!”

Since Fire Arrow has the maximum proficiency, it is relatively much faster to cast.
Thanks to that, I was able to block the Skeleton Warrior’s movements just in time.

“Huh!”

Karen swung her sword as hard as she could while the warrior stopped moving and broke the skull bones of the skeleton.

(Level has risen)
(Level has risen)

“Good!”

When everything went according to the plan and succeeded, there was a thrill.
We held hands and shared the joy of success.

“Your level has gone up tremendously. Is that the case with you too?”

“Uh. I’m still climbing.”

Karen’s level was about 30 to 40 lower than mine, right? Then the uptrend would be great.

“I want to level up like this and become incredibly strong.”

It’s not like I didn’t think of that either, but…
As an adventurer, I don’t know if I’ll be able to continue to pursue danger and live forever.

“Brother!”

I thought about something else for a second, but that was a mistake.
The Skeleton Warrior was closer than I thought, and he jumped as if he sensed a vibration as we got closer without light.
Karen noticed right away and stood in my way, but we were slow to respond because we were in the dark.

“Ugh!”

Karen is pushed and falls.

“Fire Arrow!”

I shot a fire arrow to save Karen, but the Skeleton Warrior endured and came in and swung her sword at Karen.

“Karen!”

“Gwa, it’s okay. Oppa!”

The Skeleton Warrior was swinging his sword in the air as if he hadn’t grasped our exact location.
Even though Karen is collapsed right in front of her… Ah!
Because of 〈 Shroud of Concealment 〉.

I hadn’t even thought about how the eyeless one looked at us in the first place, but now it seems like 〈Shield of Concealment〉 keeps the downed Karen from taking extra damage.
Karen, who got up and balanced herself, immediately pushed the Skeleton Warrior away.

“Fire Arrow!”

I blew an overcharged fire arrow and crushed the Skeleton Warrior.

“Heh, heh…”

“Are you hurt?”

“Yeah. I was a little surprised. I thought I was going to be cut by a knife…”

“I’m sorry for glancing at you.”

I honestly apologized to Karen.

“It’s my job to protect my brother when he’s in danger. Never mind.”

I feel relieved at Karen’s consideration.
But I was also angry with myself.

“As expected, monsters of this level are dangerous. It seems that there are not a few cases where you get injured while leveling up and retire…”

“It can’t go on like this.”

“Brother?”

A little like this should be easy to handle.
Now is the time to cross the line I have drawn.
There is no way you can develop if you always save your spare energy and keep your distance.

“Let’s go.”

I used the veil of concealment again and walked forward.
Karen follows me.

There were four Skeleton Warriors in the next room. Just right.

“Brother. This time?”

“Leave this room to me.”

“Brother alone? That’s dangerous.”

“We’re going to deal with a strong enemy that even uses magic. There’s something I want to do now. I’ll use 〈 Space Leap 〉 when I need it.”

“…Okay. I’ll leave it to you.
But if my brother’s life is in danger, I’ll jump no matter what.”

“Okay. It’ll be hot, so go back a little longer.”

I caught my breath while maintaining the veil of concealment, walked to the center of the room, and attempted the spear.

“Fireball.”

Immediately after the brief recitation, the room is brightly lit with colorful fireworks.
It attracted the attention of four warriors at the same time. They jump at me from all sides without hesitation.
Being surrounded is the end. If it’s a normal situation.

I overcharged the fireballs by pouring all my MP into them to ensure that all four of them were on fire.

“Brother. It’s dangerous if you don’t use magic…!”

Karen shouted, but I waited until the Warrior got close enough.
Then, I took a few steps back and avoided the Warrior’s attack.
It wasn’t difficult to focus. They can’t see me properly because of 〈 Shroud of Concealment 〉. Even in brightly lit environments.

The Skeleton Warriors were aggressive, but they didn’t think and move like humans.

When I moved while casting Fireball, they followed me and made a swing, and I only thought about running in a straight line after seeing the same goal, so they got tangled up and couldn’t properly pursue me.
Even so, the fact that the four monsters wielding weapons are threatening remains unchanged.

I couldn’t shake it off completely by just walking backwards, so I ended up being surrounded. You can avoid attacks close to swinging, but as promised, the dangerous moment has arrived.

Are you okay. Have you already practiced? It’s a tight situation indoors, but outside, it’s my spirit that even blocked the Sin Wolf’s attack.
I hit the shield with the wind spirit and let the Skeleton Warrior’s attack trajectory flow.

A dangerous attack that cannot be avoided is blocked by the spirit instead, and an attack that can be countered is avoided with concentration.
Buying time like this, overcharging to a sufficient level.

“I’m sorry…!”

Karen took a step back, covering her face with her arm, as if sensing her suffocating heat.
The size of the fireball increased beyond recognition while I waited. To the extent that if it was a human rather than a monster, he would have thought about running away long ago.
As soon as the 〈 Overcharged Fireball 〉, whose power increased beyond control, was ready, it was inserted into the body of the Skeleton Warrior.

Bang!
With an impact that shook the dungeon, everything in the room was engulfed in flames.

(Goddess protection protects you)
(Level has risen)

When the flames dissipated, I was the only one standing.
On the floor, fragments of finely chopped bones are burning with the power of fireballs.
The power of the 〈 Overcharged Fireball 〉, which killed the Thin Wolf with three direct hits, remained intact.

And even though I was hit with the aftermath all over my body, I was safe. The flames attached to the clothes could be easily shaken off like dust by scratching with the shield created by the wind spirit.
Because it is immune to heat and does not receive fire damage due to protection, it is actually a method of use that I have been thinking about since I used Fire Arrow.
But I never wrote it like that because I thought it was stupid to take risks on purpose.

“Brother…!!”

Karen ran this way.

“Oh, are you okay? There was such an explosion…”

“Thanks to Gaho, it was fine.”

Karen knows that I am protected, so she has nothing to hide.

“Your oppa, you’re completely different from the oppas I’ve seen so far.”

“Was it cool?”

“…Hmm. I was nervous, but it was amazing.”

Said Karen, deeply relieved.
It wasn’t that I was bluffing because I just wanted to show off my cool side.
How to manage risk in another world? That thinking is gradually changing.
Shortly after she transferred, she thought it best to keep a safe distance—even though fighting the goblins in melee—couldn’t be helped—and clear things up one by one from afar.

However, if she persists in that way, she becomes a completely unhelpful wizard when the time comes.
So I decided to actively use the spirits to ward off the enemy’s melee attacks, and willingly use my magic to launch wide-area attacks.
The result was successful.

What will you do once you level up?
‘A Skeleton Warrior is no big deal.’ In order to do that, you need to be able to deal with the wind spirit and use more than 100% of your magic.

“It’s the stairs to the second basement floor.”

Right in front of the room I cleared, there were stairs.

“Can I do it like my brother? Spiritual magic to block enemy attacks… I want to try it too!”

Ah, Karen never defended herself with spirits, right?
It seems that the fight I showed gave a good inspiration to Karen.

“Why can’t we? It would have been easier outside. Let’s do it together.”

“Huh!”

Together we proceeded to the second basement floor.