episode_0018

“Hey! Little brother! You’re here.”

“Good morning, Victor.”

Victor, the first to notice my arrival, approached me with a cheerful smile.

“These are my party comrades! Everyone, say hello!”

Victor pointed to his comrades and spoke.

A male wizard in his early thirties whom I had seen at the adventurer’s guild yesterday.

A female archer in her mid-twenties… with a truly generous heart. Hm.

And finally…, a male swordsman in his mid-twenties who appeared to be a warrior.

A composition entirely made up of humans.

I greeted them as politely as one would in social settings and smiled as I said,

“I’m Cyan. I’m a swordsman.”

Upon hearing this, the male wizard I had seen at the adventurer’s guild yesterday replied to me.

“Oh, nice to meet you. I’m Andrei.”

The female archer also smiled brightly and replied,

“Ah~ You must be the one Victor mentioned. Handsome~ We’ll rely on your protection! I’m Monaka.”

However, the remaining male did not respond.

“……”

Frowning eyebrows.

Mouth corners turned downward.

For some reason, he glared at me disapprovingly, then reluctantly opened his mouth as if unable to resist the atmosphere.

“…Tsk. A kid.”

He clicked his tongue as he spoke.

…At that moment, I had a rough idea.

He doesn’t like me.

I understand.

It’s because an unknown youngster like me has joined a C-rank party.

After all, a place like this should be filled with people who can be trusted to guard the rear of the party.

In such a setting, it’s natural for someone like me, unproven in skill and looking young and weak, to be unwelcome.

The party members who had welcomed me warmly earlier must have been kind-hearted.

I’ll have to prove myself gradually.

I approached the man named Zeke with a bright smile, extended my hand, and said,

“What a great name you have. Nice to meet you, Zeke. Although I may be lacking, I look forward to working well together in the future.”

“……”

But once again, he didn’t respond.

My hand awkwardly hung in the air.

‘…How awkward.’

While feeling this way, Zeke sighed and said to me,

Of course, without accepting the handshake.

“Phew, don’t become a hindrance.”

With a grumble, he turned around and walked away towards the carriage.

“Why did Victor pick up another kid like this again… Tsk, not to my liking.”

I scratched my head.

Has Victor ever brought someone else besides me?

Regardless of how that person behaved back then, I have no intention of being a hindrance.

And certainly no intention of freeloading.

“Don’t worry about it. He’s another one who came through Victor recently, but he’s a bit touchy.”

As I was thinking this, Monaka came to my side and offered similar comforting words.

“No, it’s not that. I probably look young, and my skills haven’t been tested yet, so it’s understandable that you might feel uneasy since I suddenly joined the party. If I do well from now on, things will look different.”

“Oh~ What a great mindset. Cyan is straightforward, isn’t he?! Impressive!”

“Ugh!”

I was taken aback.

Monica suddenly grabbed my face with one hand and pressed her body against mine.

As a result, her broad mind slightly touched my face.

“Nice to meet you again! Take care of Andrei well! How’s Cyan doing?”

“…I’m at 3 stars.”

I hesitated to answer, embarrassed.

To be honest, I’m not exactly sure if it’s 3 stars.

A few weeks ago, during the Gryphon battle, I used the Aura Sword… so it’s definitely above 3 stars.

Since my power hasn’t been objectively quantified properly yet, I couldn’t accurately gauge where I stand.

For now, saying it’s around 3 stars should be enough for a C-rank party.

“3 stars-?! No way! Cyan looks so young… Oh, by any chance, how old are you?”

“Fifteen.”

“Gasp!”

Monaka quickly took a step back from me.

“You almost became a criminal! Fifteen years old…”

“Am I very nearsighted?”

“No way~ He looks young, but handsomely mature. I never knew he was this young.”

Are the people in this world equipped with automatic lip service?

I was grateful for her kind words that spared me unnecessary hurt.

“Still, being a 3-star makes me feel secure! Should we start heading towards the carriage too? Since Andrei and Victor seem to have taken the carriage as well.”

“Yes.”

And so, Monaka and I boarded the carriage.

Victor, upon confirming everyone was present, sat on the coachman’s seat and addressed the coachman.

“Hey! We’re all here! Let’s depart now! Let’s go!”

“Yes.”

Upon which, the coachman pulled the reins, setting the carriage in motion.

I kept my eyes fixed on the swiftly passing scenery outside, not letting go of my tension.

*

There was no need for an escort for the carriage.

As the carriage entered the territory where wild horses roamed, sporadic appearances of these creatures were either sniped by Monaka’s arrows or magically chased away by Andrei.

Those that didn’t flee were quickly dealt with by Victor and Zeke, who leaped off the carriage and swiftly dispatched them.

Thanks to them, I never had to step into action.

While my body was at ease, my mind was uneasy.

Unable to prove myself… it was frustrating.

“Ugh, stuck in the carriage without being able to help. Brat.”

Zeke, having another drink, warned me not to step forward again.

I was anxious about whether the rewards for the mission would be fairly distributed.

As this uncomfortable time dragged on, about three hours had passed.

“Coachman! Well done! Here’s a tip. See you later for dinner!”

“Oh, thank you. Take care of yourself!”

Before I knew it, we had arrived at our destination.

Bidding farewell to the cheerful coachman, we alighted from the carriage and gazed at the entrance to the ant colony maze.

The entrance took the form of a cave. The surrounding environment was a desolate desert, a region I had never known existed slightly away from the Liana Empire.

Or rather, perhaps I just hadn’t been interested.

In the game, since I only hunted high-level monsters, I never felt the need to explore these mid-level leveling areas.

“As usual, I’ll take the lead! Andrei, be ready to support with magic spells at any time! Zeke, stand by my side for assistance! Monaka and Cyan, guard Andrei from the rear and handle the small fry!”

Victor commanded with authority, his tactics showing his veteran experience in battle.

And thus, we ventured into the entrance.

Immediately met by small bat monsters, Victor swiftly cut them down with his sword and pressed forward.

“Haha! Easy, too easy! If we keep advancing like this, we’ll soon reach the hiding place of the Queen Ant Giant Ent!”

Despite his casual demeanor, his swordsmanship was skilled.

Precisely targeting the bats’ vital points, he swiftly dispatched them, decapitating those already incapacitated.

His coordination with Zeke was excellent. When Victor was occupied, Zeke covered his blind spots.

I thought we made quite a stable party.

After about 30 minutes of witnessing Victor’s massacre of the monsters, something unexpected happened.

“Hmm?!”

Due to the vibrations caused by the swarm of bat monsters flying towards us, a small rock fell from the cave-like labyrinth ceiling into Victor’s eye as he swung his sword confidently.

This distraction caused Victor to falter for a moment while trying to fend off a bat monster.

“Keek! Keek!”

“You-!”

Zeke urgently swung his longsword.

However, the bat monster agilely dodged his attack and swiftly flew towards us in the rear.

“Keek! Keek!”

In a split second turn of events.

“Cyan!”

In that moment of chaos, Victor signaled me.

I knew what to do.

I maintained the rear properly.

I raised the power of Danjeon.

“Ssuheup….”

In a brief moment, I hold my breath.

The blood in my body begins to boil.

“Kiiiiiiik!”

“…Haaaah!”

-Swiftly.

Diagonal slash.

“Kii….”

An attack aimed at speed and precision rather than strength.

With that strike, I precisely cleaved the body of the bat demon into two pieces.

Due to the accelerating speed, the fragmented body of the bat demon flew past our rear guard and fell with a thud, thock.

“Oh….”

For some reason, Andrey, who was watching from the side, seemed impressed.

…Did they think I was that weak?

Just because I defeated a single bat demon.

The reactions around me were filled with amazement.

“Sian…! How did you do that just now? You effortlessly sliced through that tough guy in one strike, body and all?!”

Monaka rushes towards me as if amazed, showering me with compliments.

“So being a 3-star wasn’t a lie?! I didn’t even see the sword just now!”

Seems like they’re exaggerating a bit.

Not seeing the sword is something you say after seeing Iris’s sword.

I believe I still have a long way to go before reaching that level.

“Thank you for your praise. It was nothing special.”

“Are you hurt, Sian?”

Victor also approaches me, examining my body.

“No. I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief. …Is your swordsmanship always so delicate? You clearly don’t have muscles… It’s fascinating!”

What does muscle have to do with being delicate?

Anyway, this atmosphere made me slightly uncomfortable.

I feel like I swung similarly to Victor earlier.

Maybe because I spent too much time playing around in the high-gravity zone before merging, everything seems quite similar now.

“I needed money, but I thought my skills weren’t enough to join a party, so I was planning to take on the Great Totters alone! But now it seems your sword skills are quite good? Truly my brother, haha!”

“Haha, it’s nothing special.”

Victor pats my back heartily, causing me great pain.

Geez, he’s like a man made entirely of muscles.

Monaka, once again, marvels in front of me.

Amidst this, I felt a gaze from somewhere.

I turned my head towards the sensed direction.

“……”

“……”

Zeke was staring at me.

Perhaps it’s just my imagination.

A deeply furrowed expression.

It felt like he was glaring at me intensely.

“Tsk….”

“……?”

Soon, Zeke clicked his tongue and averted his gaze from me.

I harbored doubts.

Why is he acting like that?

I’ve shown clearly that I won’t be a burden. Yet, why such a reaction?

Honestly, I felt uneasy and uncomfortable.

“Alright then, let’s ride this momentum and move forward again!”

“Yes~.”

Before I could finish my thoughts, the party began advancing deeper into the ant nest maze.

Even as we moved forward, I couldn’t shake off the discomfort and unease about it.