Chapter 92: Recommendations for adventurers part 1

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Translator: Soafp

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On the next Dark Day after meeting El’s friends,

I’m supposed to learn adventurer know-how from Joe.

When El told Gaius about it, he asked if we could also participate.

So, we hurriedly asked Joe through Naga-san, and we got his approval yesterday.

Now, we’re about to have our first meeting in front of the guild.

“Everyone, this is Joeguna-san, who will be our teacher today.”

“I’m Joeguna. Just call me Joe.”

“”””””Yes, nice to meet you.””””””

Joe looks at everyone and then gives me a glare.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking, if only these guys were a bit cuter…”

I just shrug, indicating my willingness.

“Well, whatever. Since it’s hard to call you by nicknames, just tell me your names. Except for you and Elphus, since I already know you.”

“I’m Lewis.”

“I’m Nero.”

“I’m Gaius. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Tifa. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Mark. Nice to meet you.”

“Lewis and Nero, we’ve met before at the training grounds.”

“”Yes””

After Joe looks at everyone once, he starts speaking.

“Today, I’m supposed to be the teacher, but I’m not that kind of person. I don’t intend to teach you gently or hold your hand through it. If you have any flaws, I’ll point them out, so fix them. If you still don’t get it after multiple explanations, I’ll even resort to physical means, so be prepared.”

“””””””……”””””””

“What’s your answer?!”

“”””””””Yes!””””””””

“Also, Aldo and Elphus, you two are supposed to assist me. Frankly, I don’t trust myself to ensure safety alone with five people. The basic rule is to stick close to the five of them. Don’t engage in combat unless it’s deemed truly dangerous. I’ll make the judgment. Got it?”

“”Yes” “

“Aldo, who among them is suitable to be the leader?”

“Right… I think Lewis is suitable.”

“Why is that?”

“While he still has some weaknesses, his situational judgment is accurate. He always ensures a safety margin, so we rarely get into trouble. And most importantly, he can make the call to retreat.”

“That’s high praise.”

“Whenever me, Nii-sama, Lewis and Nero go hunting, Lewis is the leader.”

“Why not you or Aldo?”

“I’m not good at commanding people, and Nii-sama tends to do things himself. Usually, we follow Lewis’s instructions.”

“Seriously… you guys are scary, using each other like that.”

Joe stares at Lewis with eyes that seem to see something terrifying.

“Well, it’s fine… The mission we’ll take on is herb gathering, and the hunting ground is Scarlet Forest. It would be great if we could find even just one Wyvern claw.”

Under Joe’s instructions, Lewis accepted the mission. Lewis shows Gaiaus and the others some materials explaining the colors, shapes, and areas where the herbs grow. Then, he explains some simple formations: “Cluster,” where everyone stands back-to-back and focuses on attacking the enemies in front of them, and “Scatter,” where everyone disperses. It’s effective for situations like surrounding enemies.

“One-point Breakthrough”: For example, Aldo leads the charge at the forefront, attacking while advancing.

That’s the basic formation we’ll be using.

After observing, Joe comments on Lewis’s performance.

“He’s good, that guy. Hard to believe he’s still an F-ranker.”

After Lewis and the others finish their meeting, everyone stands in front of Joe.

“Is everyone ready? Let’s go, rookies.”

“Yes.”

Leading the group is Lewis. Lewis sets the pace of the walk and determines the route.

During the journey, Lewis inquires about the equipment, belongings, and individual abilities of Gaius and the others.

It appears that there are no issues with the equipment, but Gaius seems unable to produce water with magic.

Lewis promptly buys two water flasks from a nearby shop.

“Just in case we get separated. Hold onto these.”

“Got it… So, three water flasks, huh?”

Gaius already had one water flask, so now he has a total of three.

Listening to the conversation between Lewis and Gaius, their combat styles become evident.

All three of them are knights, equipped with one-handed swords and shields, and their physical enhancements seem decent.

As a test, Nero and Mark have a 100-meter race. Nero wins by a landslide with a gap of about 10 meters. It was enough to prevent them from being slowed down in their escape.

Their magic skills are pretty much evident from the moment they start chanting… magic cannot be relied on.

In terms of swordsmanship, it’s Gaius > Tifa > Mark. Well, it is said that the three of them could not beat El, who had his body enhanced to the same level. It’s pretty much as expected.

When most of the information is gathered, Lewis proposes to Gaius.

How about forming pairs based on Tifa and Gaius, and Mark and Lewis as the basic setup?

Nero, being the quickest in scouting among them, will be the skirmisher.

The three who have respected Lewis since the first meeting easily agree to this.

With this settled, they walk lively towards their destination, including self-introductions along the way.

After about an hour of leaving the city gate, they arrive at the Scarlet Forest.

There is a place nearby where a wyvern was roughly dismantled, but there is no trace of it now.

“Now, rookies, first, try completing the request in your own way.”

“””””Yes”””””

“Aldo and Elphus, disperse and guard these guys. However, don’t take action until I give the signal.”

“Got it. What will be the signal?”

“Right… I’ll cast a light magic spell. That’ll be the signal.”

“Got it.”

“Understood.”

“Alright, scatter.”

El and I move by wall running and transition onto the trees.

After about 30 seconds, Joe’s voice echoes.

“What the hell is that?! Oi, oi, come down here immediately!!!”

Surprised by Joe’s sudden voice, El and I jump down from the tree.

Seeing El about to fall, Joe tries to catch him… That’s reckless.

El notices Joe’s action and uses Space Kick to move to a different location. Confirming that there’s no one below, we land on the ground.

“Joe, what’s wrong?”

“Wha… what the… did you guys just… fly?!”

“We can’t fly in the air.”

“But you were just flying!!!”

“That was using Space Kick to create footholds in empty space and walk on them.”

“Whatever! Can you guys… walk in the air?”

“Well, we can.”

Joe looked at me and El with a stupid look on his face. Behind him, Gaius, Tifa, and Mark are whispering to each other.

“I knew it would come to this…”

“Those two… they look normal, but they’re definitely weird.”

“I thought Elphus was the one with common sense…”

The words of the three were harsh.

After about 10 minutes, Joe seemed to have calmed down, and finally, his thoughts returned.

“I’ve had enough surprises for a lifetime. There can’t be any more, right?”

Joe asks, but I wonder… If I unleash Condense Ray, wouldn’t this guy go into shock?

Without answering, I avert my gaze.

“Oi! There’s still more? My common sense is completely gone!”

Since the Grand Magician of the Grano Mage Corps instructed me to keep Condense Ray as secret as possible, I decide to only show Wind Bullet… Although I don’t want to reveal my cards, I owe Joe a favor.

I hold two short swords… For anti-demon purposes, I deploy five Wind Bullets around me.

“I’ll get a little serious.”

I start running towards a large tree. Using magic, I change the short swords into a large sword and slash the large tree horizontally.

Watching the slowly falling tree, I use Space Kick backward to take off into the air.

I deploy five Wind Bullets around the large tree… “Go!”… At my command, the five Wind Bullets simultaneously create five large holes in the trunk of the tree.

Amidst the flying debris of the tree, I throw both short swords! Immediately, I equip spare knives in both hands and transform them into large swords.

Utilizing the behavior of the large swords that Joe taught me, I swing the dual large swords and tear apart the trunk of the tree.

As the fragments of the tree fall, I also land slowly on the ground.

“How’s that?”

As I turn around to ask, everyone except El widens their eyes… opens their mouths wide… and shows a “stupid face.” Especially Tifa, that’s a face a girl shouldn’t make. That’s for sure.

It took a bit of time for everyone to recover from their frozen state, but they all returned safely.

“Well, there’s only a little I haven’t shown yet.”

“What?!”

“……”

“I’ve had enough… I’m fed up…”

Joe rubs his temples and says tiredly.

“Let’s take a short break… I can’t take it anymore…”

Everyone sits down in their own spots and starts to take a break. Lewis and Nero come over and sit next to me, asking.

“Aldo, how much strength are you hiding?”

“The only thing I didn’t show you was the final use of the large sword, I guess?”

“Eh? Huh? Is that so?”

“You saw Wind Bullet, Space Kick, and weapon transformation, right? The only new thing was the large sword technique I learned from Joe.”

“Come to think of it… was that it?”

Lewis tilts his head and thinks.

“You guys can do something similar, can’t you?”

Lewis and Nero look at me seriously.

“You guys can probably do similar things, right?”

Lewis and Nero look surprised and turn to me.

“No… You taught us Wind Bullet the other day.”

“I was taught, but I still can’t enter standby mode…”

“I’ve been practicing mana manipulation every day since I was five, before going to bed. El, Ashera, and Marl too.”

“….”

Lewis and Nero look around at me and El with serious expressions.

“If you learn Space Kick, isn’t the difference in the technique you can use negligible?”

In their eyes, there’s clearly something burning.

“Aldo, don’t go provoking. There’s a world of difference between being able to use something and mastering it. Swinging a sword is something even a 5-year-old can do.”

“It’s all about hard work. You think about each practice swing before you swing, and you think about every magic shot before you shoot. After all, it’s just an extension of that.”

“…If everyone could do that.”

“…”

“You’re the type who… probably doesn’t have any special talent. But you’re a ‘genius at effort,’ huh?”

“A ‘genius at effort’… sounds pretty plain.”

“Haa, yet you seem oddly happy about it.”

As Joe said that, for some reason, I felt pleased. A talent for effort, huh… That wouldn’t be bad at all. If there really was such a talent, I’d definitely want it. I genuinely thought so from the bottom of my heart.