“… Jeanne is a decent expeditionary member. She’s the second highest level after me. It’s nothing to worry about in the Black Knights.”
Fabian replied as if Ginia had interfered too much.
Behind Fabian, Jeanne bowed her head as if avoiding the gaze behind Fabian.
Jeanne was such a quiet girl that even when I played the game, most of her lines consisted of “……”.
It bothered me more because I knew that she was a girl who didn’t express herself much even when she didn’t like something.
But if Fabian, the expedition leader, told us not to worry about it, we, the other expedition members, had no right to talk about it anymore.
Fabian hid Jeanne behind his back to avoid our gaze. It was as if we were staring at Jeanne.
I watched Fabian’s back as he disappeared in a hurry with Jeanne, but Ginia whispered quietly as she followed her horse towards me.
“…Will it be okay?”
“Well, the Commander is coming with us, so it won’t be a big deal.”
I tried to be calm and answered.
However, in the dungeon, a momentary mistake takes one’s life.
Meyer may guarantee the extinction of the demons, but he could not guarantee perfect safety in the dungeon.
And Ginia learned that fact, too.
“That’s true, but…”
The end of Ginia’s words was full of anxiety.
Perhaps it was because she was the shield keeper who had been in charge of the front of the team, she was especially concerned about the children in the back.
“I’m sure they have their own ideas.”
I murmured, glancing at Fabian and his expedition.
Did he feel our eyes? Fabian tried to raise his voice as if he were friendly.
However, it didn’t seem to be able to dispel all the worry and anxiety deep in the hearts of the expedition members who had to take on the challenge of a high-level dungeon.
At that moment, my eyes met April’s, who was standing there blankly.
As soon as she saw me, April’s face hardened, and she immediately turned her head away, pretending not to know me and avoiding the attention of others.
‘The bait has been thrown in moderation…’
There was nothing for me to do now.
Just faithfully conquer the dungeon… All that was left was to watch Fabian walk into a pit of ruin on his own.
I smiled contentedly in early celebration.
The dungeon in the Minor Forest proceeded exactly as I knew it would.
In short, it was extremely complicated.
‘Maybe it’s because it’s a bonus stage we don’t have to open, but the difficulty just went up significantly.’
If it’s a bonus, you’ll be able to eat it raw, but this damn game called [1]Holy Demon War was used to stimulate gamers’ desire for a challenge.
Still, it seems that it had a conscience and set it up with attributes that were weak against the flame magic of the main character, Fabian…
‘It’s really terrible from the perspective of not being a flame wizard.’
As soon as I thought so, a tree stem wrapped around my ankle.
“Oh, seriously!”
I stomped my feet in anger.
You never knew when or where a tree stem would pop up and stick to you relentlessly.
Moreover, the tree stem’s power was stronger and more defensive than I had expected. I couldn’t even get free with ordinary strength.
Fortunately, as soon as I shouted, Meyer, who was far away, came running before anyone else and cut off the branch.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. It wasn’t a big deal.”
I replied under my breath. I said I was okay, but I didn’t sound very trustworthy.
I wondered where the numerous tree branches that had been running towards me had gone, but as soon as Meyer approached, my surroundings immediately became more comfortable. Looking at the people they were covering, it was clear that there were even eyes on the tree trunk.
After taking a breath for a while, I pushed Meyer back.
“You can go back.”
“Don’t you need me?”
“I’ll call you again if I need you.”
I said that, but honestly, I didn’t think Meyer would back down easily.
“… Okay.”
However, his head of consent fell more gently than expected.
Although he glanced at me with a worried look, he calmly returned to his place.
‘I thought he’d insist on being by my side…’
It felt like he had read me.
I let out a small laugh at the thought. Why would Meyer be reading my mind?
Well, I’m glad I didn’t waste my time and energy trying to convince him.
With Meyer gone, I once again surveyed the battlefield with nervous eyes.
The tree branches were not particularly deadly, but they were annoying to go around people if they were not careful for a while.
While I was struggling in isolation to use support magic while avoiding tree branches like that, Axion was floating around and burning tree demons like a pile of firewood.
“Hahahahaha!”
Axion laughed out loud as he watched the burning fire. He seemed to be excited to relieve stress after a long time.
It was like he was in another world.
I clucked my tongue in admiration.
Just then, Axion shouted in the distance.
“Jun, could you possibly do a support spell that would increase agility? There’s something I want to try!”
“… Okay!”
I started the skill right away.
As soon as he received the skill, Axion jumped in between the wooden monsters as if he wasn’t afraid. It was a quick gesture that was unbelievable for a wizard.
The tree demons reflexively covered Axion not knowing that he was a bomb that had entered their mouths.
At that moment, with the sound of an explosion, the residue of the branches scattered everywhere.
“Phew, one shot, two kills!”
Just before the tree demon covered him, in a fluttering moment, Axion slipped out at the same time as the magic chant, smiled briskly, and sweat poured down his forehead.
He looked like a child who had just skated on a pair of skates given to him as a gift for the first time.
“Unit Commander, it’s dangerous!”
Ginia, who was in front, grumbled, hitting a tree branch. It was a voice that could be clearly felt that she was not worried about Axion.
Whether or not, Axion only smiled.
“It would have been a big problem if you didn’t raise his agility.”
“It would have been a big problem if I raised his agility.”
I answered back, clicking my tongue. However, it didn’t seem to touch Axion’s heart much. He only said what he had to say.
“It’s unusual to use magic while moving like this. It’s quite thrilling. Perhaps you could superimpose more?”
“We’re not here to have fun.”
I complained, but I walked with an open mind and superimposed my skills.
Due to the nature of a wizard, he always used magic from the rear, but it looked different when he stepped up and attacked.
It was that ambition that seemed to have chosen the expedition team to be a presence stronger than the expedition leader.
In addition, I didn’t know when I could go back to the dungeon after this.
Since I didn’t know how Meyer would interfere, I could use this opportunity to my advantage.
As Axion ran wild like that, most of the monsters in the primary area were soon organized.
“It’s tough because the wooden monsters don’t have a fixed direction of attack. They attack from all sides, including the ground, so they are very square-shaped.”
Ginia grumbled and leaned on her shield. Then, she murmured with concern, glancing in the direction of the Fabian expedition remaining.
“We’ve been struggling so much, will they be okay?”
“Well, thanks to the fact that we brought most of the demons with us, there are only a few demons over there, so I think they’ll be fine…”
Began clicked his tongue and slurred his words. Began and Tragula also took small breaths and cleared their throats, while I, needless to say, remained positioned on the ground.
However, there were three people who were in decent spirits.
Axion, because he’s having a dopey day today, so let’s say that’s true, and Meyer, because he’s the one who has a much harder time getting tired…
Why does August look fine?
‘I thought he had the strength and power style to compete with average tankers…’
I felt it when we went around the dungeon bang for six months together, but with the elite and similar level of Tragula by my side, it was even more comparable.
I exhaled and said.
“Speaking of which, I have a question for Priest August…”
“What is it?”
“Why do you have to do so many strength exercises all the time? Actually, priests don’t need to do that much. You already have enough ability, but it’s overflowing.”
August usually spent most of his time, except for the time he spent praying to St. Marianne or preaching at the monastery, on strength and physical exercises.
Nova was also more thorough than the average defender.
If you were already that strong and your original occupation was a priest, you didn’t have to do that.
Moreover, August made it the best virtue to devote time to St. Marianne.
It was surprising that he took time to train steadily.
However, August replied as if my question was strange.
“What is sufficient to hone the talents that St. Marianne has bestowed upon me?”
“… That talent is muscle strength and stamina?”
“Right.”
August nodded resolutely. Then he calmly continued his words.
“And isn’t the priest a job that has to live until the last minute? That way, the possibility of attacking the dungeon increases. To do that, simply being protected by others is not enough.”
It seems to be enough to eat active defenders beyond being protected…
It was true that you had to be that strong to survive to the end of Meyer’s party.
Began, who was listening to the story, added, sticking out his tongue as if it was ridiculous.
“Usually they are not as extreme as Priest August. As long as you get the treatment right, that’s all that matters.”
“A weak mind comes from a weak body. In order to have unshakable faith in St. Marianne, you need a strong mind, so it is natural to grind and polish the body, right?”
“Holy Masquerade” will be changed to “Holy Demon War.” For accuracy.
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