Ch.3736. Rachel Ignite (3)
by fnovelpia
# 36. Rachel Ignite (3)
“Hello, Albert. And to you, Imperial Princess.”
Upon hearing those words, she looked at me with a bewildered expression.
I quickly made an excuse that wasn’t really an excuse.
“I didn’t tell her anything.”
“Then…?”
When she turned that gaze toward Rachel, Rachel smiled and said:
“He didn’t tell me anything. I just made an educated guess. Besides, isn’t it too obvious?”
Rachel explained how she had figured out her identity.
“Your voice is identical, and you use the same magic as before. Plus, you’re still with Albert, just like back then. How could I not figure it out? I bet everyone at the academy knows too. You’d have to be an idiot not to notice…”
“Please don’t tell anyone else for now.”
Rachel nodded.
Then she added:
“In exchange, let me join your training sessions. Albert doesn’t mind, right?”
After hearing that, she glared at me.
“It’s up to the Imperial Princess. I don’t particularly mind.”
Although building a friendship with Rachel would benefit me, there was something more important.
For me, she came before anything else.
When I left the choice to her, she thought for a while before responding in a tone that suggested she had no choice:
“Fine. But be warned, my training is quite intense. Feel free to say so if you want to quit.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Rachel was surprisingly passionate.
“Then let’s start right away. How about you two fight first? I need to gauge the princess’s skill level.”
“Sounds good.”
Rachel displayed quite a confident attitude.
Her confidence somewhat wounded my pride.
I activated two of my unique skills that I had kept deactivated.
Rachel seemed taken aback by my red hair and the overwhelming pressure that suddenly enveloped her.
“That’s quite an overpowered unique skill.”
Nevertheless, Rachel smiled as she raised her staff.
The staff, different from ordinary ones, surprised me.
‘That looks insanely expensive.’
The price of a staff is determined by the size of its magic stone, the main component. The larger the magic stone, the better the performance, so when evaluating a staff, one looks at the price, the size of the magic stone, and any additional effects.
‘Why is that magic stone so huge?’
The magic stone attached to Rachel’s staff appeared to be about 40cm in diameter.
Seeing that flashy staff made my confidence waver a bit.
“Your weapon seems like cheating.”
“Equipment is part of skill too.”
Rachel made this shameless remark as she pointed her staff at me.
-Whoosh!-
The fireball summoned from Rachel’s staff rushed toward me at a monstrous speed.
I was startled by its velocity but managed to dodge it just barely.
‘Why is it so fast?’
Rachel’s [Fire Magic] was as agile as Aelin’s spells.
I charged toward Rachel in a tense state.
I swung my [Obsidian Blade] to block Rachel’s magic, but as expected, her spells couldn’t be stopped by the sword.
‘No choice then.’
I utilized my high agility to dodge Rachel’s spells while advancing forward.
Rachel continued using the same magic until I got right in front of her.
When I approached her closely, Rachel cast [Fire Magic] at me.
-Whoosh!-
As the red flames approached me, they immediately transformed into a blue fireball.
[Blue Flame]
This was Rachel’s unique skill and trademark.
The blue flame, which seemed hot enough to melt my body on contact, threatened me.
I hurriedly swung my [Obsidian Blade] wildly.
-Swish! Swish! Whoosh!-
Fortunately, the skill seemed to be of a lower rank, as it was blocked by my [Obsidian Blade].
Rachel was surprised that her unique skill had been blocked.
“Looks like [Blue Flame] is a bit low-ranked.”
With those words, I thrust my sword at Rachel.
She tried to block my sword with her staff.
-Clang.-
The expensive staff was indeed different—it didn’t get a single scratch despite clashing with my sword.
But naturally, there was a limit to how much that staff could withstand my attacks.
I struck the staff hard, and it flew away beautifully.
As soon as her staff disappeared, Rachel immediately declared surrender.
“I surrender. I lost.”
After saying that, Rachel picked up her staff that had flown away.
The staff still didn’t have a single scratch on it.
Such items would typically be exclusive to heroes’ spirit weapons or elven arcane weapons.
Rachel casually put the staff into her pocket.
She spoke in an accusatory tone:
“Isn’t this cheating?”
“Cheating?”
“If you just block my finishing move with your sword, what am I supposed to do?”
“That’s skill too.”
Rachel spoke as if resigned:
“There must be conditions, right?”
“Of course. It can block magic that’s 3 ranks lower.”
The condition of blocking magic 3 ranks lower makes it quite overpowered.
If the rank of [Obsidian Blade] exceeds SS, it can block almost all magic.
Of course, SS rank isn’t low by any means.
It was a rank I hadn’t been able to achieve yet.
“What rank is yours?”
“B-.”
“That’s a shame. Mine was C-…”
Even if [Blue Flame] hadn’t been blocked, I wouldn’t have lost.
No matter how powerful Rachel’s [Blue Flame] was, I could have endured it for about 10 seconds.
Not only was [Blue Flame] low-ranked, but my magic defense had also increased significantly due to [Mortal’s End] and [Absolute Loyalty].
And 10 seconds would have been more than enough time.
“I would have won even if it hadn’t been blocked, right?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
I was a bit surprised by her clean admission.
Rachel maintained her confident expression and said:
“Still, I think I can be of help, right?”
Although she wasn’t as good as the princess in a duel, she could certainly provide high-level sparring, and above all, she would be tremendously helpful in dungeon raids.
Even if my stats were reduced due to [Mortal’s End], it wouldn’t matter much thanks to that staff.
“That’s true. What do you think, Imperial Princess?”
“You’re indeed skilled.”
Rachel was skilled enough to be acknowledged by the princess, who was known for her high standards.
Upon hearing those words, Rachel smiled genuinely and said:
“To be acknowledged by the Imperial Princess, I’m honored.”
Rachel’s genuine smile made my heart feel a bit warmer.
She was similar to fire in many ways.
Sometimes she was hot enough to melt one’s entire body, and other times she warmly embraced others.
The princess also seemed to soften a bit at that smile.
“Then let’s call it a day and go clear a dungeon, shall we?”
She was so enthusiastic that it was hard to believe she was the same person who had been refusing Rachel’s party membership until just a moment ago.
“You change your stance quite quickly.”
“Shut up.”
Ignoring my jab, she headed to the dungeon strategy room, and Rachel and I followed her.
As soon as we arrived, she applied for a B-rank dungeon and immediately prepared to enter.
I calmly prepared just like her, but Rachel seemed quite flustered and hurried.
“Is the tempo always this fast?”
“Don’t worry, she’s always like this.”
The princess and I were ready and waiting for Rachel.
“Just a moment…”
Rachel hurriedly finished her preparations, and we immediately entered the dungeon.
As we entered, a musty smell assaulted our noses.
Led by that smell I hadn’t encountered in a long time, I recalled a certain monster.
“Renil Scorpion.”
A giant scorpion with poison so potent that mere contact could lead to death—an A-rank monster.
It’s quite infamous among monsters, one of the top-tier A-rank monsters that appear in B-rank dungeons.
The princess heard my muttering and asked me:
“How did you know?”
“It’s quite famous, isn’t it?”
She seemed to have more to say about this but chose not to and instead said:
“Let’s go. Everyone be careful. It’s quite dangerous.”
Her serious tone made me tense up involuntarily.
I took a deep breath and summoned my [Obsidian Blade].
As we ventured deeper into the dungeon with our weapons drawn, tiny poisonous stingers flew at us from ahead.
-Whoosh! Clang! Swish!-
After we each blocked the stingers in our own way, their owners revealed themselves.
Countless scorpions appeared, causing Rachel to recoil in disgust.
“Ugh! So gross.”
As Rachel created a large fireball to sweep away all the scorpions at once, the princess stopped her.
When Rachel looked puzzled by her action, the princess turned to me and said:
“This time, we’ll just watch.”
She looked at me with a pleased smile, and in response, I activated [Mortal’s End].
“Thank you.”
I smiled at the experience points that would soon be mine.
The scorpions were startled by my sudden transformation and simultaneously crushed by the pressure I emitted.
I began to take them down one by one as I pushed toward the center of the swarm.
***
At that same time.
A brutal slaughter was unfolding in Eden.
The allied forces of Orion and Kainis were battling the warriors of Babylon to reclaim Eden.
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