CH 85

Chapter 85: The Invasion of the Ogres

It was the last day of the Designated Request from the Guild.

Yuto met with Dannan and Eliz in front of the Temple Square.

They planned to meet up with Thames at the South Gate.

Though she made some critical errors on day 1, since then, Thames has shown significant progress as a Shield Warrior.

Her shield techniques were so impressive that it was hard to believe that she mostly acted as a Swordsman since becoming an Adventurer.

Yuto hoped that maybe she would join their Party officially, but Thames didn’t seem to have any interest, and Eliz would have protested the decision immediately.

As he thought about these things, the three walked to the southern gate.

ーー<ーING, DーING, DーING, DーING!!>

The sound of the emergency bell rang throughout the air around Yuto’s group.

Yuto: “Hm? What happened?”

Dannan: “Maybe a fire?” With Dannan’s words, Yuto looks up above the rooftops.

In Kronos’ skies, they do not see any black smoke that would indicate a fire at a building.

Yuto: “Looks like it’s not a fire.” Dannan: “Yeah, you’re right……….then……...I wonder what happened?”

Yuto and the other two stop in their steps and tilt their heads to think.

Yuto’s Party is not the only one who is wondering about the bell sounds. The Adventurers and general public all stopped in their place to listen to the sounds of the clear ringing.

It was after they heard the bell for a while that it happened.

ーー＜ZUUUUUUUNNNNN!!!> (sfx)

From somewhere inside of town, there was an earthshaking rumble that now echoed over the bell.

And with that, the general public screamed in panic.

Yuto: “Mr. Dannan!”

Dannan: “...........it’s that way!”

Yuto: “Eliz!” Eliz: “Yes, yes!!” Just by calling their names, Yuto’s Party immediately began coordinating their movements.

Dannan began using his [Presence Detection] to scan the area and identified the direction where the sound originated from.

Eliz took Pino from her arms and placed him on top of her head and began running in that direction.

They dodged and weaved through the panicking crowds, and Yuto and his Party ran at full speed towards the source of the sound.

When they arrived, Yuto drew his blade instinctively faster than he could think.

His skin tingled with sharp needle-like pricks of something dangerous up ahead.

Yuto: (It’s the presence of a Monster. And……….it’s strong.)

Yuto began preparing his breathing and surveyed his surroundings carefully.

The sound came from a building collapsing.

A stone building was partially crushed and collapsed.

The two-story building was now a single-story.

The dust cloud washed into the air and was pushed around by the wind.

From inside the building, Yuto saw a shadow.

The next moment….

ーー<ーーIIINNNNNNN!!> (sfx)

He braced his Katana instinctively and something hard hit it making the metal shrill.

A large crimson nail braced against the blade.

The owner of the nails had a humanoid look similar to a human being.

But they wore nothing on their upper body and only wrapped their lower body with a ragged cloth.

At a glance, you would immediately notice the two horns growing atop its head ー something a human would not have.

Yuto: “ーーan Ogre?!”

Yuto presumed that from the matching descriptions, he was facing a B-Rank Monster ー an Ogre.

Yuto: (So that’s why the bells were ringing!)

Yuto connected the past events quickly together in his mind.

But Yuto doesn’t know why an Ogre suddenly appeared here.

The Ogre continues to push his claws against the Katana, and Yuto shifts his weight and lets the claws slide down the length of his blade.

With that, the Ogre lost his balance and fell forward.

And Yuto immediately kicked his stomach upwards.

“ーーGA!!!”

The Ogre’s body bent in a perfect 90 degree angle.

And with the Ogre’s movements paused, Yuto brought down his Katana.

The Ogre kicked the stone tiles on the ground and jumped backwards.

Yuto’s Katana just missed him at the last second.

As Yuto was observing for any weaknesses, he heard Dannan’s voice whisper into his ear.

Dannan: “Sorry. I tried hitting him with my needles, but they didn’t pierce that thing’s skinー”

Yuto: “Understood. Please continue to try and attack its weakest points of its body.”

Dannan: “Roger that.” Dannan’s presence disappears as if it melted into the air.

Yuto lets out a deep exhale once.

This Ogre is the same B-Rank as the Chaos Slime that appeared in Kronos before.

Though they struggled against the Slime, it was because it deflected physical attacks against it.

This Ogre is vulnerable to the Katana.

Yuto: (So we should be okay. I just need to do what I trained to do.)

Yuto begins to gather his focus.

His consciousness is now solely focused on the Ogre alone.

Every second slows noticeably.

But Yuto’s thoughts on the other hand, began accelerating.

And now, he reaches the pinnacle of his concentration.

But this time, he easily broke through and exceeded his previous limits.

ーーSpecialty・【FOCUS】. Single Point Penetration.

Yuto: “ーーFUH!!” (sfx exhale)

Yuto steps forward with all his might.

The stone tiles below him were crushed by the pressure of his foot and splintered into webs of cracks.

It must have sensed the attack.

The Ogre instinctively raised his arms to defend.

But….

“ーーGA!!”

Yuto cut off the Ogre’s head along with its defenses.

Yuto remained in place with his sword still in position and let the moment pass.

Behind him, a splattering sound came as the Ogre’s body fell to the floor.

With that sound, Yuto flung the blood off his Katana and put it back in its sheath.

Yuto: “.........fwew…….UGH?!”

As soon as he relaxed his body, an immense fatigue overcame him.

He almost fell to one knee, but he managed to keep standing.

Yuto: (I tried using [Focus], but the repercussions are more than I imagined…..just using it for a few seconds, and it’s this bad……….)

Yuto was able to take out the Ogre in one strike due to his Specialty【FOCUS】which increased his Physical Abilities temporarily.

But using that strength, Yuto was able to easily behead the Ogre.

If he didn’t, Yuto was certain that the Ogre’s block would have stopped his Katana.

Yuto: (And even with [Focus], the Ogre was still able to respond to my attack……)

From Yuto’s senses, he felt his strength go up about 1.5 times above the norm.

But even so, the Ogre was still able to take a defensive stance establishing why it’s a B-Rank Monster.

As Yuto analyzed the previous fight, he felt something warm come over his back.

The warm sensations circulated around his whole body, and the fatigue that was eating away at him was erased.

Eliz: “Mr. Yuto, good work, yes.” Yuto: “Thank you, Eliz. You’re a life-saver…..”

Eliz: “You looked really tired all of a sudden, yes?” Yuto: “Yeah, I tried using a new Skill, but it took more out of me than I expected……..” Yuto was extremely grateful for Eliz’ {Stamina Charge}.

Without this, he would not have been able to move for quite some time.

With the {Stamina Charge} complete, Yuto barely felt any fatigue, and he began searching through the wreckage of the building.

Yuto: “Is there anyone aliveー?!”

Dannan: “Anyone there?!”

Eliz: “If you are, please call out to us, yes!!”

As they expanded their [Presence Detection], they go around each room looking for survivors.

Then….

“.......ーー......ー....!!”

From the ground, they heard a person’s voice.

And they also heard the sound of thudding as someone was hitting something.

Yuto: “We’ll be right there!! Hang on!!”