CH 81

Chapter 81: Thames’ Blunder

Yuto: “Understood Mr. Dannan. Miss Thames…” Thames: “On it!” With Yuto’s request, Thames rushes forward with crazed enthusiasm.

From the forest, D-Rank Dark Hobbits appeared. It was a group of soldiers and a chief.

Thames rushed forward and swung her sword at the Monsters.

Thames: “Fang Sword Style ‘Stubborn Bite’!!”

The Fang Sword Style that Thames learned since she was little allowed her to move the sword exactly as she wanted and struck the Dark Hobbit's neck.

But Thames’ sword bit into the Dark Hobbit's neck and stopped.

Thames: “WHAーー?!”

It wasn’t because the blade of her sword was dull that she couldn’t cut off the head.

It was because her attack lacked the power needed.

Before now, Thames’ could have taken out a Dark Hobbit easily with a single strike.

But now, her lack of attack power stemmed from her occupation.

Just the other day, she was assigned as a Shield Warrior for her occupation.

With this, Thames’ ability changed drastically.

<<<<>>>>

Thames (19)

Level: 25

Occupation: Shield Warrior

SKILL

Fundamentals

├Strength Lv 3

├Stamina Lv 2 (＋)

└Agility Lv 2

TECHNIQUE

├Swordsmanship Lv 3 (－)

├Shield Skills Lv 1 (＋)

├Parry Lv 1 (＋)

└Presence Detection Lv 1

SPECIALTY

【Fang Skills】【Mid-air Mobility】【Iron Body】

<<<<>>>>

Her most adept Swordsmanship Skill now had a minus sign disadvantage assigned to it.

Currently, her Swordsmanship is Level 3, but with the minus sign, the actual ability output is now lowered down to Level 2.

This was the reason why she was unable to strike the Dark Hobbit down with one strike.

Since becoming a Shield Warrior, Thames felt the decrease in her Swordsmanship Skills.

But even so, she didn’t realize that her blade would be halted because of her obsession to beat Yuto.

As she stood there in shock, the Dark Hobbit's Chief sent an order to the Soldiers.

With the Soldiers free, they immediately charged towards the most vulnerable target - Eliz.

Thames: “No!”

Thames hurriedly draws back her sword, and pours power into her shield.

But it’s too late to perform the Shield Skill “Taunt”.

The Soldiers are already right in front of Eliz.

Thames: “Dammitーー”

An image of Eliz getting cut down flashed before Thames’ eyes, and a sudden chill ran down her spine.

The next instant…

“SH!!” The two Soldiers’ head fell off at the same time.

Next to the soldiers was Yuto with his sword drawn.

It was from that end scene that Thames understood that it was Yuto who beheaded the soldiers' heads.

Thames: (I couldn't see any of it……)

And Thames was unable to track Yuto’s attacks at all with her own eyes.

In that one moment during the battle, Thames was splashed with the cold truth of reality.

Thames: (I’m…...really not a Swordsman anymore……..)

Up until now, Thames was aiming to become one of the best Swordsmen in Kronos.

A Swordsman that would be able to take down any Monster that faced her.

But in that moment, Thames finally felt the door of that possibility close shut.

Thames: (Then…….what was the point of all my efforts…..? My resolve…….?)

A heart-wrenching feeling of loss grips her chest.

It was then……

Yuto: “Miss Thames, behind you!!”

Thames: “ーー!”

With Yuto’s warning, Thames’ attention is redirected back to the fight.

The Chief is still alive.

As she turns around, Thames thrusts out her shield forward.

ーーShield Bash.

Her shield repels the Chief’s attack.

But not only does it repel the attack, the Chief’s body was thrown back as well.

Thames saw that several needles protruded from the Chief’s eyes.

ーーIt was Dannan’s attack.

The needles must have reached its brain.

The Chief’s body convulsed for a time and then completely laid motionless.

Yuto: “Miss Thames, are you okay?” Thames: “YーYeah…..” Thames could only absently nod her head to Yuto’s words.

The Shield Bash she just performed was a Skill she learned from her father long ago.

After deciding to become a Swordsman, she never used it once, and she thought she completely forgot the Skill altogether.

But her body remembered all her training and efforts.

Of course, it wasn’t just because of her training as a child that she was able to use the Skill.

The reason why she was able to push back the Chief completely was because of the plus sign advantage assigned by her occupation, and it made all the difference.

This was not an ability she gained from her experience as an Adventurer.

But in this situation, she was being poked and prodded to realize something.

<<<<>>>>

When the Dark Hobbits got past Thames and headed straight for Eliz, Yuto immediately kicked the ground with all his might.

And doing so, he was able to accelerate faster than any time before.

His shoes gripped the ground firmly, and he was able to transition all of his strength into the acceleration in one smooth motion.

Because of that, he was able to slay the Dark Hobbits without letting them lay a finger on Eliz.

Although it was close, no one got hurt in the end.

But with this one incident, Eliz was enraged and protested firmly.

Eliz: “It’s wrong for a Shield Warrior to be distracted with attacking! Because of that, that was really dangerous just now!!”

And no one blames Eliz for getting angry. She was the one that was placed under the most risk.

The Shield Warrior’s main job is to protect the rearguard.

If the Shield Warrior abandons this role and is only focused on attacking the Monsters, then Yuto would have hired a Shield Warrior for nothing.

Yuto did not hire a Shield Warrior so they can increase their Party’s attack power.

It was so that they could be protected in a wide open field where they can be attacked by enemies from all sides.

As Yuto tries to calm Eliz who is still throwing a fit, he turns around to Thames.

Yuto: “Miss Thames, let’s go with standard tactics moving forward. Even if Monsters get passed you, Mr. Dannan and I will make sure to follow up on them, so please do not worry.” Yuto did not point out any general flaws and just left it at that.

Yuto has been on many kinds of Parties.

And not all members in the Parties got along with each other.

Among those, there were Parties where members were at each other’s throats, and a slight miscommunication during a fight against the Monsters led to the Party completely disbanding.

For those who have racked up experience as an Adventurer, they will also carry an equal amount of pride.

Yelling out or snidely criticizing them could damage their pride, but it won’t necessarily lead to improving the situation.

Thames: “Y……….yeah, understood……..” But with this incident, maybe Thames reconsidered and reflected on her actions or Yuto’s words reached her.

From that point on, she shifted and began moving as a standard Shield Warrior would.

As they encountered Monsters, she would “Taunt” and draw their attention and keep them fixated on her.

As she seals in their attacks, she makes openings for the attackers in the Party to strike.

It’s a simple job and role, but it also takes courage to take on all the Monster’s attacks and without this, the formation would crumble instantly.

If the formation crumbles, the Party would be in danger, so the Shield Warrior position is critical.

After the encounter with the Dark Hobbits, Thames began to perform her role as a Shield Warrior flawlessly.

It was an astonishing change. So much so that you could mistake her for a different person altogether.

Eliz: “Hmph. If she was capable of this, she could have done so from the beginning.”

Even Eliz, who doesn’t care much for Thames, could not find any faults in her movements.

That was how much Thames perfectly performed her role.

Yuto: (It’s almost as if she was a Shield Warrior from the very beginningー)

Yuto was also equally impressed with the change.

With the day ending, Yuto’s party defeated 50 or more Monsters.

In the Dungeon, all the Monsters are concentrated together in one place, but the forest is different.

So they were able to defeat this many Monsters in part due to Dannan’s scouting abilities.

Even so…

Yuto: “That was more Monsters than I would have expected.” Dannan: “True. There’s no way we could have found so many with my scouting abilities alone.”

Just as the Guild suspected, there were more Monsters now in the forest than before.

At this rate, a Stampede could occur.

Yuto and his Party are doing their best to prevent that from happening, but if a Stampede occurs in that one in a million chance, even Kronos, surrounded by its tall city walls, would not be left in one piece.

This is a crucial job to prevent a Stampede and protect Kronos.

Realizing the magnitude of the situation, a slight tremble runs through Yuto’s body.