154-148 Another dimension of strength

The next day after we had a drinking session called a pep rally, I was about to drink Object X when Master Brod and Mr. Gruger stopped me.

''Luciel, let's be clear, it's not surprising that your level could go up all at once. These demons are that strong this time.

'Object X certainly works, but it's not that effective against Luciel, who kept drinking, is it?

''That's true, but I stopped going up after I killed the red dragon.

It would be easy to ignore their advice, but these two were worth listening to because they'd been through the road of stagnant level growth I was struggling with.

''Don't worry, your level will definitely increase. This time, whether it's the magic power or the amount of magic, we need Luciel to keep recovering from us.

It didn't tell me anything special, that's all it was, but for some reason I felt like it was going to raise the bar.

But at the same time, I can also read the thoughts.

I'm sorry. I am.

There was determination in Master Brod's eyes.

'I understand. Well, I'll ask you to subdue the enemy so that I don't become a target.

I'll take care of it.

We climbed into the wagon and set off with the other adventurers towards the missing mine border.

'Let's take Kefin and Master Brod in the front, Lionel in the second row, Ketty and I in the third row, and Esther, and Mr. Grugar in the back.

...do you have an agenda?

'Yes, sir. I don't think my master would be able to delay even if he's a fast demon, and Kefin can detect and disarm traps.

Lionel is a guard in front of me who is good at short and medium range attacks and has a solid defense.

With Keti, who is quick on her feet on either side of me, and Estia, who can search for enemies, I'll be able to follow Gruger-san even if they come from behind.

With Gruger-san in the rear, I can see the overall balance and I feel I am the safest.

The essence of it all will always be the same.

Master's cheek muscles twitched a bit.

I'd like to think that the reason there was no particular objection from those around him was because he'd already given up or thought he was in the best position.

'Master Brod, that's true. Because I don't want to die yet. Besides, this is the best line-up I can find that won't let anyone die.

Oh, wow. You're getting better.

Unlike earlier, he laughed and tapped me on the shoulder, something in his hand.

I had that feeling.

'I've been working out hard this past year instead of whirlwind.

Lionel assured him, but it was an obvious provocation.

''War demon, oh, I told you yesterday that I was the one who laid the foundation.

For some reason, they have been fighting over their disciples since yesterday.

They must be very close to each other.

I decided to think so.

It would take quite a while for this to be over, so I decided to ask them what I wanted to ask them.

''So there wasn't much talk about demons yesterday, but after all, if you defeat the demons that would have overflowed from that labyrinth, will they turn into demon stones?''

''The same. Of course, there will still be a corpse, so there's a magic stone, but you can think of it as a normal demon.

What does it take to get out of the labyrinth?

Or maybe the labyrinth was creating the demons in Galdardea's memory, I was becoming more and more unsure.

If it was something else that had been transferred or something else... I thought about it that much and sealed it away to myself.

I couldn't help but feel like I had a premonition that if I put it into words, it would really happen.

''........But if we were to defeat the demons outdoors, wouldn't the area become bloody and the demons would get excited and gather from a wider and wider area?''

''The only way to diffuse the smell.......or any other way to diffuse the smell is to burn the herbs of the Medicine Master's Guild.

Apparently, I had an idea.

Even so, I was wondering why the Mages Guild hadn't developed such magic.

Next, we'll treat the injured, and then we'll eradicate the enemy.......if they wait for us.

They were rocked by the carriage, hoping that no one would be injured or killed.

But there was no sign of them arriving.

'How long will it take, by the way?'

Yeah. At this pace, it's half a day.

I was high on the idea that we were closer than I thought when I saw the carriage running slowly, but I should have checked more in advance.

I tell him that I'm getting out of the carriage when I hear it.

'I was right to question and ask early. I'll change and go on at once.

All the carriages aren't that different.

'You'll understand if you switch. I don't want to go anywhere dangerous, but I also don't want to let you die in vain.

Master and Mr. Grugar looked confused by my words, but they soon agreed when they swapped carriages and got into our usual carriage.

After that, we left the other adventurers behind, but since human lives were at stake, we didn't have to compromise either.

Well, the destination should be the same, so there should be no problem.

''Didn't it take a lot of money to make something like this?''

My master and Mr. Grugar stared at me anxiously, but it would certainly be expensive if Doran took the order normally.

I imagine such a thing, but I decided to be honest with my mentor and Grugar-san, who are aware of it, who are concerned about it.

''It cost me a magic stone, but this was made by the Luciel Chamber of Commerce's Technology Development Department, so the only costs are the magic stone and the Trent Tree and such.

''You do a lot more than being a healer and the head of Yenis?''

Well, it's a combination of chance and luck.

I laughed and replied to my master, who gave me a surprised look.

I couldn't think of any other way to describe it.

It became possible to proceed at once, as if I had changed from each station to the rapid train, and in three hours we were approaching the mine in three hours instead of half a day.

'You can make this carriage for me later,'

Of course. But it's a walk from here.

We saw a flying object approaching from afar.

We immediately dismounted, retrieved the carriage and put the horses into the hermit's stables, much to the surprise of both Master and Mr. Gruger.

'Is that a hermit series?

"You're lucky to have already found one thing that we've only found in all our years of adventure," he said.

Well, you're in luck.

Luck then you can keep this one.

It was an old-fashioned key.

'Master, what's this?'

I'm surprised when I grab the key and put it in front of my master, and he tells me the name of the key.

'It's the coffin of a hermit from the hermit series.

Firewood? Coffin?

What kind of a haunting name is that?

Mmm-hmm. Well, yeah. Only unconscious people get in here, you know.

Because it's a coffin?

'Unconsciousness? Then what if you were asleep?

I can let you in. It's just that when you regain consciousness, no matter what's going on out there, the lock will be unlocked and you'll be able to get out.

Is that an item that makes you brain dead, paralyzed, and then makes you suddenly appear in a fight with a boss?

But then would time stop when you put it in a magic bag?

No, I'm not afraid to put the hidden stables in a magic bag, so I'm going to have to examine what happens.

''........Have you ever used it before?''

"Well there is one time. It's just that I don't know how to make the most of this. That's why I'm leaving it to you, Luciel. I have a feeling you'll be able to get the hang of it. I have a feeling.

I had a feeling Master was treating me like I didn't see the key, but I didn't know why.

''Well I understand. I will respectfully use it.

Yeah. Well then, let's shoot that flying demon down.

Yes, sir.

When I saw the flying lions approaching in front of me, I immediately set up an area barrier and each of us moved in unison.

"Luciel-sama, give me a spear to throw.

In response to Lionel's words, I threw the holy silver spear and handed it to him, and he grabbed it and in almost no time, Lionel threw it at the flying lion.

For a moment, the figure of the master is visible and immediately disappears, and when Lionel swings the great sword of fire, all at once a whirlwind of flames hits the fallen lion, and in the next moment, the flames disappear with the blast and the lion's neck and body are separated.

'Well, this is how it should be. It looks like you can defeat a demon quite well, war demon.''

'Your speed and swordsmanship don't seem to be rusty either, Whirlwind.

Both of them showed different levels of strength, but there was something that bothered me.

''Lionel, you're getting too strong all of a sudden. You weren't that strong when you were a red dragon or when you were a demon race, were you?

''I wasn't in my element with the red dragon and there was a risk of my equipment being destroyed. The other day, if we gave it our all, we could have destroyed the village, but this time, we were in the middle of nowhere.

Are you experiencing any physical pain?

No, sir.

The reason he was able to move so much was because his brain, which had been restricting his movements, which had been afraid of injury, was off because he didn't want to lose to Master Brod.

Maybe that's about it.

It was just like a sore loser awakening.

''Luciel, don't you have something for me?''

''I've already certified my master as an outsider. But what was the enemy that injured such a strong master?

It wasn't Master Brod who answered my question, but Mr. Grugar.

'There were three chimairas out there, stronger than that manticore lying around. As expected of Brod, he was protecting the adventurers, so he couldn't fight them as hard as he could.

Grugar, you took a chance on the wall all those years ago to save the adventurers, and you almost died because of it, so what are you talking about?

I guess it wasn't fun to be ramped up by me, but they started talking about their flaws like a child's fight.

These two apparently had been injured so much because they protected the adventurer rather than the strength of the enemy.

But still, wouldn't they have let the adventurers drink object X these days?

'Both Master Brod and Mr. Gruger used to drink Object X, didn't they?

The air in the room froze at my statement.

Then, for some reason, an exchange of eye contact began between the two of them, and since I could tell they wanted to digress, I had no choice but to ask something simple.

''........I think it could have been solved immediately if the two of you had defeated it and a high-ranked adventurer had supported it, but wasn't that wrong?''

''Well chimera are cunning, they go after the weakest ones. And it would have been nice if the demons were just that, but since we only found out about them a little later, there were quite a few demons that caused the state of affairs. It took a bunch of adventurers to keep that in check.

I honestly thought that if it was such a dangerous scene, it was better to go quickly and get to safety.

As far as I know, there is no enemy that the strongest master and his rival, the awakened Lionel, can't defeat.

That was simply what I thought.

''Then let's hurry up.''

I couldn't stop myself from flinching, so I tucked my manticore into my magic bag and started running.

But everyone's legs were faster than mine, so they quickly lined up and formed the line I had instructed them to form.

I laughed at it and kept running.

Ten minutes later we reached the entrance to the mine, only to find that it had disappeared, as if the ground had subsided.

As I got closer and closer, I realized that it wasn't a demon that was waiting for me, but that big sealed gate.