Shujinkou Janai! - CH 31

[————–Verteran-san! There’s a problem!]

I was having a drink at a bar with my friend when a young Adventurer, whom I had often seen at the Guild, jumped in.

[Calm down. Take deep breaths. Gather your thoughts before you speak.]

[Y- Yes. Actually……]

According to the guy who rushed into the bar, Rex, a much-talked-about A-Rank Adventurer, came to the Guild with the newcomer party he was training.

He had the newcomers accept Quests for the <Seven-Colored Lava Cave>, and they went out of town.

[That idiot!!!]

I slammed my beer mug down on the table in exasperation.

[B- Boss!]

The Sorcerer, Juke, and the Thief, Ren, who were sitting next to me, rushed to stop me, but my anger was still uncontrollable.

I had feared that one day this would happen.

————-<Lone Wolf Adventurer>, Rex.

A bombastic name and career for an Adventurer who can be summed up as “a charlatan whose career doesn’t have any substance to it”.

For the past month, I have been assessing the man’s behavior in my own way.

Certainly, there was something to see in his escapade from the destruction of Ash City to his arrival here.

Suppressing his breath even when he’s mortally wounded, he struck down a Demon who let its guard down.

Although the matter with Ash City was unfortunate, hearing that anecdote, I was happy to see that an Adventurer with a spine had come to this town.

However, I was quickly proven wrong about my first impression.

He professed himself as an A-Rank Adventurer just like us, but not once did he take on a dungeon.

He just watched as he put the beginners through harsh training.

In a bid for popularity, he gave out a bunch of gold for Adventurers to gather trash items for him.

He even made the beginners wear those trash items while he laughed at them.

Because I knew the heroic name of the <Lone Wolf Adventurer, Rex>, I was very disappointed.

It would have been more plausible if I had been told that he had been replaced by someone else, with his appearance unchanged, but with a completely different person inside.

Moreover, when I actually met him, I could tell.

People who are top-notch, especially those who are at the peak, are always clad in their aspirations, a certain atmosphere around them referred to as aura.

However, this man called Rex had the atmosphere of an ordinary person.

He immediately shies away from my pressure, and there’s nothing to be seen in his grit either.

At the very least, he didn’t seem like a seasoned Adventurer who had crept through life and death many times.

(Thinking about it again, his career in itself was already strange.)

In the first place, adventures are done at a party.

A warrior, a magic-user, a thief, and a priest.

It’s only through the combined efforts of these comrades that a difficult task can be accomplished.

No matter how hard they try and what tricks they use, there’s no such thing as an Adventurer who can perform all of these roles by themself.

Unfortunately, it probably means that this Rex was a terrible con man before he came here.

(Quests for the Lava Cave aren’t very popular. I guess he thought he’d have a foil for himself if he somehow got them to accomplish this but……)

“”

Certainly, a layman might think that even if one doesn’t have the ability, they could accomplish Harvest Quests if they were lucky enough.

However, that dungeon isn’t such an easy place.

If things continue as they are, putting him aside, that party he’s leading there could be wiped out.

(It’s illegal to cross blades with a fellow Adventurer, but……)

The next thing I knew, I was sitting up with my beloved sword in my hand.

[Sorry, Ren, Juke. I will……]

However, the words I was about to utter were interrupted by my two comrades.

[Haahhh…… You’re as stand-offish as always.]

[Sorry, but I’ve already decided to follow you through hell and high water, Boss.]

[You two……]

They are about to try to forcibly stop someone who hasn’t clearly committed a crime.

A bad move might result in them getting demoted or even kicked from the Guild.

Even when that was the case, Ren and Juke willingly followed me without any hesitation at all.

————-I’ve been blessed with friends.

I always have been.

I may have been praised as the <Immortal Verteran>, <Guardian of Freria Town>, but I’ve always had the help of those around me.

I am “immortal” because of them.

That’s why……

[Let’s go! I’m going to borrow your power to the fullest this time too!]

And I will not let anyone die this time either!

※　※　※

I heard from the town’s gatekeeper that Rex and the others had already left for the Lava Cave.

But fortunately, it seems that not much time has passed since their departure.

We can still catch up with them.

[Listen here, you two. Our goal is to tear off Rex’s mask and wake up those chicks. If possible, don’t hurt them.]

[I know. Getting those chicks caught up when we wanna deal with that b*stard Rex is like putting the cart before the horse. We’re only going after the b*stard……]

[That’s wrong! When I say don’t hurt them, that includes Rex!]

Killing or being killed, if we go that far, will only start a cycle of hatred.

Even if one of them gets injured, a deep grudge will be all that remains.

……However.

It may be a greenhorn-like idea, but Adventurers are simple beings.

I believe that if we hit each other with all our might, we can be friends.

[I don’t believe that strength is justice. However, Adventurers are stupid creatures who yearn for the strong no matter what……]

He may have lost his way now, but he’s an Adventurer too.

If we could get him to surrender unharmed with overwhelming force……

(We might even be able to convince him to return to the right path!)

[However……]

[I know.]

That’s easier said than done.

It’s much more difficult to do away with an opponent unscathed than it is to simply knock him down.

Even if that guy doesn’t have the skills of an A-Rank, it doesn’t mean he’s incompetent as an Adventurer.

It would be suicidal to take it easy on an opponent who was probably going to try to kill us.

[————-However, that’s exactly what A-Rank Adventurer does!]

The Adventurer I once admired, the Adventurer I once aspired to be, would be someone that makes the impossible possible.

I looked at them with determined eyes, and my two dependable companions chuckled.

[Well, I knew you would say that.]

[Hehe. Well, that’s how it is after all.]

Saying “Don’t make fun of me” in response, we ran like arrows across the field.

It was in a place near the town, a place where there were no monsters.

Naturally, Rex and the others were easy to spot.

However……

[That b*stard……!]

The moment I saw their outfits, my vision turned red with anger.

I’ve already seen the equipment worn by the chicks Rex is taking with him.

They’re trash equipment they wore when they were training.

All of them were inferior equipment that would impede one’s movement just by wearing it.

It’s true that if you train wearing such things, you will feel like you have trained even if you do a little exercise.

But even if it were possible to use those for training, those aren’t something you should wear in a dungeon!

I could feel the reason within me tearing away.

Before I knew it, I found myself whispering instructions to Juke.

[Juke! Aim at their feet! Hit them hard and knock them out cold!]

※　※　※

[Sorry, but this is the end of the road. I’m well aware of how illogical we’re acting. However, we can’t just stand by and watch youngsters die in vain because of some egotistical misunderstanding b*stard.]

After Juke had used his <Freeze Rain> magic to rain ice arrows down on them and slow them down, we stood in front of Rex and the others.

Each of their reactions was quite different.

But no matter how they reacted, there was only one woman among the chicks who couldn’t hide her inner fear and confusion, and she was shooting at us with a gaze as sharp as a piercing arrow.

(She is “strong”.)

Not simply because of her ability, but because of her heart.

Unlike the others, I could feel the aura from her.

She steps forward to defend Rex like a mother cat protecting her kitten, only to be stopped by Rex himself.

(What the……?)

Highly strung, the main culprit of this matter, Rex, the Adventurer clad in all-black, looked at us, rubbing his right hand with his left.

I thought he was too scared to even speak, but there was something around him that felt strange.

[Verteran, Ren and Juke huh. As I thought, I really don’t know who the other two are.]

Even though he said he doesn’t know those two, he still clearly identified them by names.

I felt an indescribable sense of eeriness at this moment.

[The one who used that magic earlier was this Juke. Hmph, a guy who was in a Scout-line that Class Changed to a Wizard huh.]

[Wha?]

I was so surprised that I couldn’t help but gasp.

Indeed, when Juke was starting out, his Class was of the Scout-line.

When Ren, a specialized Thief, joined our group, he Changed class to Wizard, but how did Rex know that?

[You’ve got quite the AGI in you. As for your FOC, considering your level, it’s passable. However……]

Thereupon, he looked at the ice arrows that Juke had released, which were about to disappear in front of them with the passage of time, and sneered.

[————-Your MGC isn’t sufficient at all.]

The fear I felt at that moment wasn’t one I could really describe.

I just found myself turning around and shouting at the other two.

[Ren! Juke! He’s up to something……]

[The point is, I just need to show my power, right?]

However, my warning came too late.

Rex slowly held up his right hand, and just as those three rings on his fingers dimly glowed……

[————-<Freeze Rain>.]

With his chant, ice “spears” rained down from the sky.

We just watched in amazement as the ice spears, which were so large and fast, violently pierced everything around us one after another.

[That’s impossible. Without a rod, unleashing such……]

I could hear Juke’s voice shakingly mutter.

The magic he used should have been the same <Freeze Rain> Juke chanted, “a magic that makes countless ice arrows fall”.

Just with the difference of casters, to bring about this much difference in power……

[D*mn it! He’s a freaking magic-user! We didn’t hear any information about this!]

Throwing out curses, my other comrade, Ren, quickly moved.

It was instantly apparent that this movement was a signal for him to unleash his signature move.

[Ren!!!]

[No can do, Boss! It would be dangerous if we don’t kill him!]

At the words said by Ren, who has survived many difficult situations up to now, my movements dulled down.

On the other hand……

[Ren huh. You’re pretty fast, but you’ve leveled AGI too much. You can’t even open any treasure chests or locks like that, can you?]

The Adventurer in all-black, our target, was gently stroking his golden ring and carefreely stating a lecture.

Perhaps, that was the final push he needed, Ren finally decided to strike.

[I’m not gonna hold back! Eat this!]

[Stupid! Attacking from behind is……]

I hurriedly tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

Ren’s right hand flashed.

————-<Knife Shot>!

Ren, a Thief with pinnacle skills, can throw two knives in a single motion.

With a god-like technique that only a veteran Adventurer could use, those certain-kill knives were thrown at exactly the same time……

[————-<Knife Shot>.]

——-but it was easily repelled by four knives thrown by the Adventurer in all-black.

Ren, who had just thrown the knives and was unable to dodge it, had no way to avoid the knives heading towards them……

[Ren!]

———and before my eyes, Ren was thrown back by the four knives unleashed towards him.

I hurriedly rushed to help him, but all four knives had pierced Ren’s clothes and shadow without actually his body, rendering him incapable of moving.

This should be…… a technique only a Thief could use, <Shadow Stitch>.

(You’ve gotta be kidding me. To even think that far in that spur-of-the-moment situation……)

And in such a moment when I stood still, an opening reflexively opened in my guard.

[Boss! Behind you!]

Ren’s warning jolted me back to reality.

When I turned around, there he was.

[————-<Gale Strike>]

The man in all-black instantly closed the distance of several meters between us.

With a flash of his sword, the ring on his right hand glowed red.

At that moment, I was prepared to die.

However, Rex’s attack cut through empty air and cleaved a spot about a meter in front of me ineffectually.

I wonder if he misjudged the distance between us……

“”

[————-<Over-Arts>.]

But the moment I heard that murmur, an extremely severe chill ran down my back.

The other party is an all-rounder Adventurer with a one-handed sword.

I’m a Warrior with a two-handed sword, someone who had devoted all my time solely in melee battle.

My rationality screamed at me to just smash through him with my overwhelming advantage in power.

My instincts, however, were screaming at me to use my sword as a shield to protect my life.

[D*mn it!]

In the end, I found myself being overwhelmed and stepping back, I held my great sword in front of me as a shield.

————-<Greatsword Revolt>.

This sword, which I had found by chance three years ago, has been my partner ever since.

When I was surrounded by countless demons, when I had a one-on-one fight to the death with a sub-dragon, time and time again, I’ve broken through difficult situations with just my sword.

(————-I won’t lose!)

No matter what kind of attack comes, I will receive it and overwhelm this battle with my power.

Even if I can’t match him in speed, I’m sure I have the edge in simple brute strength.

Finishing my calculations in an instant, I prepared myself to receive Rex’s slash and prepare for the impact.

However……

The impact I had imagined didn’t even exist.

Because what was waiting for me at the end of the flash of his sword……

It was the Adventurer in all-black, staring at me with a very calm look in his eyes……

[……Huh?]

———and my greatsword, its blade cut from the base.