Following the advice of Masek, the guide hired by the Information Guild [Lamp], I bought a sandwich and some bread and stuffed them into my Spatial Pocket.
And thus, the journey began.
Step by step.
“Just one night of camping should be enough. It’s not that far.”
Masek confidently led Yuma’s party with his skilled movements, clearly different from his initially clumsy impression.
The Gelpiel Forest, being mostly a rainforest area, looked no different from a regular forest at first glance.
It seemed like Masek, much like Hestia, disliked silence. He kept chatting as they wandered through the woods.
“The biggest way to distinguish Gelpiel Forest from the nearby Manu Forest is the color of the trees at the entrance, which is closer to red. I don’t know why, but the trees here tend to be a vividly brighter red than the typical reddish-brown ones.”
Hestia’s eyes went wide.
“Wow, that’s really unusual!”
“Right?”
“Yep!”
Having been a guide since his mid-teens for the last twenty years, Masek had encountered all kinds of troublemakers and oddities, so he didn’t mind that the younger Hestia spoke informally. After all, she hadn’t been outright rude.
‘…Cat-Folk are a bit peculiar, though.’
Even though he had only seen them a couple of times, the Cat-Folk with swords at their waists had terrifying skills, making Masek naturally inclined to be polite.
“By the way, Masek.”
Suddenly, the Cat-Folk swordswoman Hestia stopped dead in her tracks.
“Y-Yes?”
Masek, shocked by Hestia calling his name, turned around. Hestia’s scarlet ears perked up.
“Can you fight at all?”
Masek’s brown hair shook violently.
“No… I’ve worked hard to improve my competitiveness as a guide, but I haven’t gotten any better at all. Why do you ask…?”
Hestia flashed a grin.
“Well, I think you should step back for now. Three Lizardmen are approaching. They’re still quite far away, but they’re sneaky and fast.”
Hestia’s ears were still perked up.
“Yikes!”
As the leading guide, Masek quickly stepped back in panic. Hestia squeezed up close to Yuma.
“I can definitely see three! They look a bit bigger than the usual Lizardmen. They probably figured it out faster than I did!”
“You probably noticed faster than me!”
“How would I notice? It’s not like it’s visible.”
Yuma silently drew out Aksion.
“Get ready.”
Then he looked at Cloney beside him.
“Yes.”
Cloney nodded vigorously.
Swish—
The sound of ominous presence cutting through the dark forest finally reached Yuma’s ears.
A monster with the gigantic head of a lizard, the [Lizardman], appeared.
Grrr…
In the darkness, three pairs—six golden eyes in total—gleamed.
Those were the eyes of a reptile, and ironically, they clearly resembled the eyes of a hunter.
Yuma checked the levels above their heads.
[Lv.69] [Lv.72] [Lv.71]
All three had levels equivalent to intermediate Sword Experts.
Yuma gazed at Hestia.
She was at the same intermediate Sword Expert level as before, but her level had surged to 74—seven steps higher.
Next, he looked at Cloney.
Cloney’s level was 48.
An impressive figure. She was just 38 levels the first time he saw her. Achieving a ten-level leap in about a month was something else.
She had moved from 3rd Circle to 4th Circle.
‘A magician’s level matters relatively less in classes.’
At least that was the case in [Loop Blood].
Unlike the swordsman or warrior classes, determined by total strength and aura, the magician’s level varied greatly based on their casting control and efficiency with different elemental spells, even at a lower circle.
‘At this rate, she’ll soon reach the 6th Circle.’
After all, she had the innate trait of [Magic Prodigy].
As proof, the girl who was merely at 3rd Circle a month ago had now reached 4th Circle, on the cusp of 5th Circle.
In [Loop Blood], the barrier for magician classes began at 6th Circle. The starting point for 6th Circle was level 60, but for 7th Circle, it was a whopping 100 levels.
The limits of humanity.
The level commonly considered the limit for humans in [Loop Blood] was 8th Circle.
And from the previous conversation with Eldrie, the 7th Circle magician and Red Tower Master associated with the Empire, he learned that even those celebrated as geniuses from a young age rarely overcame the 7th Circle.
The fact that there were only three individuals throughout history who had reached the 8th Circle suggested that the realm of magic in this world was quite similar to that of [Loop Blood].
It resembled that.
‘So, Grand Master level is 8th Circle, huh.’
Still, Yuma had no doubt that Cloney would eventually become an 8th Circle.
Even the highly respected Scarlet Magic Tower Master, Eldrie, didn’t possess the trait of a magical genius.
“Take the front.”
“Okay!”
Hestia gripped the longsword [Crescent Keyseteria] that Yuma had given her and moved forward without hesitation.
She’d figure it out without needing more instructions.
Yuma stood before the highest level Lizardman at level 72.
It looked to be at least 3 meters tall, a muscular Lizardman.
The Lizardman utilized its physical superiority, using its long arms to impale opponents with its spear—a trait of its race.
CRACK!
Its feet resembled those of a dinosaur pounding the ground.
The spear’s blade cut viciously through the air.
A spinning spear.
The spearhead was enveloped in the Lizardman’s distinctive black aura.
Yuma swung [Aksion].
WHOOOOM!
A golden circular impact spread out.
<Absolute Counter>
The black slash severed the Lizardman’s collarbone entirely.
BOOM!
The Lizardman’s body toppled backward, headless and helpless.
Having cut off one life in an instant, Yuma glanced to the side.
Cloney was facing a [Lv.69] Lizardman.
Casting ice magic from her left hand.
The frost flowing from her staff bound the Lizardman’s feet.
Cloney’s right hand moved expertly.
A dark blue magic circle materialized on her palm.
ZZZING─!
<Chain Lightning> ensnared the Lizardman’s entire body.
The essence of Chain Lightning is to paralyze and immobilize the opponent, but what Cloney mainly focused on this time was completely blocking the Lizardman’s line of sight with lightning.
With the staff in her left hand, she drew another magic circle.
From the cyan circle emerged huge shards of ice.
She swung the staff vertically.
Under Cloney’s command and will, three ice crystals struck down.
THUD─!
One pierced through the Lizardman’s left eye, all the way to the brain.
GRRRR!
As if in disbelief, the Lizardman backpedaled as the crystal lodged deep into its left chest.
A crystal was thrust into the left chest of the Lizardman.
And then, a lightning bolt aimed for the final critical strike fell right on the center of the Lizardman’s head.
The Lizardman’s body crumbled.
With a series of dense and continuous spell casting, the nearly 20-level gap was overturned.
Duke Yuma approached Cloney.
Cold sweat was beading on her forehead.
She must have overexerted herself. But he had no intention of scolding her. Yuma knew best that Cloney had defeated the opponent far beyond her limits.
Yuma took out a handkerchief and wiped Cloney’s forehead.
“You did well. Good job.”
Swoosh—
At Yuma’s words and actions, Cloney’s golden eyes widened in surprise.
Cloney then broke into a shy smile.
“Thank you.”
It felt as if the accumulated fatigue had instantly lifted away.
‘…Praise.’
I want to hear that again.
Cloney thought as she looked at Yuma walking ahead regally.
“Hiyaah!”
Slash!
Hestia struck the Lizardman at an angle, sending it crashing to the ground.
After surveying the situation, Yuma spoke up.
“Let’s get going again, Masek.”
The guide, Masek, with brown hair, nodded continuously, his face pale.
“Yes!”
*
A direct knight appeared before Princess Brigitte.
The blonde knight, Michael, approached Brigitte, who was sitting in a chair carrying out her duties.
He had heard the news yesterday that Yuma had defeated King Kament of the Barbarian Nation Pineon, bringing an end to the war.
Not only had he defeated the Conqueror King, but he had also swept away the enemies with an overwhelming strike, completely demoralizing them.
And now, what came from Michael’s mouth was a follow-up report regarding that.
“We’ve received information that Lord Yuma has passed through the border defenses of Pineon.”
“Really?”
Brigitte felt a strong certainty that the [Swordsman with Blue Hair], foretold in the Holy Maiden’s prophecy, would soon appear before her.
Yuma had never failed at anything until now.
Her steadfast faith showed no signs of wavering.
“We need to prepare.”
Half of the high-ranking nobles had already sided with her.
When Yuma brought the [Swordsman with Blue Hair], she needed to make sure that the majority of the nobility and elder council were on her side.
‘Yuma, you will make it happen.’
There was no way Yuma would not succeed, so she had to play her part.
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