Ch.254254. Competent Madman

Peter honestly felt somewhat uneasy about that vampire knight.

The female vampire knight who called herself Isabelle was problematic enough just for being undead, but setting aside all prejudice and judging by objective standards, she clearly wasn’t in her right mind.

Her claiming to be an honorable mage knight, and moreover, declaring herself a member of the long-fallen Rom Empire, was just the tip of the iceberg.

Looking a bit closer, this self-proclaimed knight Isabelle not only failed to recognize that she was a vampire, but she was completely immersed in her delusion of being an honorable knight, viewing her surroundings through a distorted lens.

What’s more, the current vampire Isabelle certainly appeared human in form, and didn’t even emit the characteristic eerie aura of the undead…

“(Layla?)”

“(Yes, she’s still undead. Her appearance… is probably just a disguise.)”

Layla, who had a particularly developed ability to detect “evil” races compared to other priests, easily saw through Isabelle’s disguise—she was merely an undead masquerading as human.

“Miss Isabelle… you’re a mage knight, right? So, what magic are you specialized in?”

“Personally, I excel at defensive magic! Though I’m quite proficient in other magics as well.”

Peter had planned to make some small talk and then politely decline her offer to join them, but…

“Oh, so honor ultimately depends on time and circumstance?”

“Indeed! How could forcing innocent commoners onto the battlefield be considered honorable?”

Unexpectedly, as they conversed, Peter found this female vampire quite appealing as a potential companion.

Though trapped in her own thoughts, she wasn’t completely detached from reality.

It seemed that before Isabelle went mad, she had been an idealist whose principles had been twisted by her madness.

After a brief conversation, Peter discovered that she wasn’t a hopeless idealist with her head in the clouds—she simply pursued ideals. Despite the harsh reality, she was more like a typical good-aligned knight who valued honor as a worthy pursuit.

She wasn’t a lunatic who charged headlong into battle while spouting about honor and knightly virtue; rather, she was a model knight of this era who could accurately discern time and circumstance.

Even in her madness, her judgment in combat situations remained sound.

She possessed enough flexibility to willingly follow Peter’s suggestions when they were better than her own.

Thus, Isabelle was clearly a good person with a good-aligned mindset, and this certainly didn’t diminish her combat prowess.

In terms of pure weapon handling, Isabelle had reached a higher level than Peter himself, and as an aura user, her technique had reached heights Peter couldn’t even fathom.

As evidenced by her use of a weapon like a halberd—much taller than herself—as her main weapon, Isabelle could control her aura at will to manipulate its form, meaning she had reached the realm of Grade 5.

With overwhelming technique that suggested centuries of training, combined with a vampire’s supernatural strength, her aura handling didn’t seem any less impressive despite her actual grade (Grade 4).

Additionally, she had reached an impressive level as a magic user, being a Level 3 magic user.

Of course, since she was a hybrid class combining warrior and mage rather than a full-time mage, her level as a spellcaster was only equivalent to a Grade 6 mid-level mage who had just reached that tier.

The number of spells she could use was woefully inadequate compared to a dedicated mage, and despite her vampire enhancements, her mana capacity barely reached average levels.

Nevertheless, she could still fulfill her role as a mage adequately.

Though she knew fewer spells, she could use all the essential ones without issue, and if one considered her magical abilities as supplementary rather than primary, she was quite superior in terms of utility.

When combined with her basic necromancy and several special abilities as a vampire, she possessed a broad range of situational adaptability that a pure warrior could never achieve.

Moreover, vampire Isabelle was clearly stronger than them, yet she volunteered to join Peter’s party.

Setting aside the fact that she was undead, the offer from such a powerful individual who seemed willing to help with the manticore subjugation was extremely appealing.

“…Peter? Are you thinking of accepting that vampire as a companion?”

“Yeah. …Is that not okay?”

Of course, Layla, being a priest who opposed the undead both by doctrine and natural opposition, was somewhat reluctant, but after much deliberation, she decided to postpone her judgment with a few conditions.

“…Sigh. For now, she doesn’t seem like a bad vampire… or person, so I’ll reserve judgment.”

“Really? Is that okay?”

“We can go on a few quests together and then decide. …That much should be fine.”

The Church of Betuna, goddess of life and healing, pursued universal good with a neutral-good alignment, reflecting the value that one should not judge others based on their origins as long as they weren’t demons.

※ ※ ※

And so, they tested their compatibility over several quests…

“Wow… this vampire is incredibly strong! Peter, let’s definitely keep her if possible, okay?”

“Hahaha… Alright, Layla.”

Vampire Isabelle’s combat prowess was so shockingly powerful that even Layla, who inevitably harbored aversion toward the undead despite being a tolerant priest of Betuna, suggested keeping her.

“—Hup!!”

Clang! Chang! Clang! —Clangclangclangclang!!!!

Her excellent technique utilized the characteristics of her long polearm to push enemies back, strike them down, deflect attacks, and counter. She also impressively batted away arrows shot by wild goblins with remarkable ease.

“《Sight of Horror》! Now, priest girl! Warrior boy!”

“—《Holy Javelin》!!”

Slash———!!

Moreover, whether through her undead abilities or separate acquisition, she could use various support spells.

Most of these were definitely helpful when facing enemies.

From inducing fear in opponents who met her gaze to cause them to flee, to driving enemies into a frenzy to fight each other—these abilities were extremely advantageous when subjugating numerous minions.

Thud—thud—thud———!!

“…Ugh! It’s tough!!”

“Boy, raise your sword! 《Blade Wind》!!”

“Thank you, hup—”

—Slash!

Isabelle had also mastered various warrior support spells quite well, with the most notable being magic that was originally offensive but could be applied as support.

From imbuing swords with sharp wind blades to easily cut through an armored bear’s carapace, to heightening senses to easily counter an enemy’s off-beat attacks or ambushes.

Isabelle, with her considerable skill in both close combat and support, was the epitome of a “successful all-rounder party member” with no weaknesses in any aspect of the party.

While such all-rounders typically receive criticism for being mediocre, what differentiated Isabelle from other hybrid class holders was:

“Ahahahaha———!! Evil creatures, receive my strike! 《Eldritch Smite》!!”

BOOM—CRASH—AAAA—AANG————!!!

Her finishing move capability.

Her strike, with her large halberd wrapped in close-combat magic and aura, could deal damage ranking quite high even among Grade 4 opponents.

Perhaps this chance encounter truly became the best opportunity.

Thanks to her, Peter’s party built up their reputation and achievements rapidly, achieving significant growth.

“So this is dwarven full plate armor… What kind of armor have I been wearing until now…?”

In Peter’s case, while focusing on personal training, he was able to completely replace his equipment with money he had diligently saved.

“Heh heh, comparing to flimsy human crafts would be an insult! Dwarven armaments never fall behind those shoddy tools!”

Especially after he once rescued a dwarf blacksmith surrounded by a pack of Night Wolves.

The blacksmith made all of Peter’s equipment at a bargain price, barely charging more than the cost of materials.

It was equipment so well-balanced that despite being heavy armor, it didn’t feel cumbersome at all—Peter didn’t regret a single coin spent on its creation.

Layla had recently mastered Level 3 holy magic, successfully reaching the intermediate realm.

This was essentially like giving Isabelle high area-of-effect firepower, bringing the party’s stability to its absolute peak—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say so.

And as for Isabelle… if we skip her since she was already powerful enough without growth, they were now as prepared as they could be.

Prepared for the subjugation of the terrible monster that had attacked their hometown and massacred their families—the manticore.