CH 95

Episode 95 – Rival Declaration

Since we started descending the mountain as the sun was coming up, we got back to Grezesta just before noon. That third Angry Wolf attack had cut the last day short, but I had already managed to collect a massive quantity of plants before then, and we also had the monster materials from the Angry Wolf I killed. Purely looking at the results, I felt that this gathering quest commission was a huge success.

“We made it back safely! We had another incident in the end, but it’s great that no one got injured!” (Lyra)

“It’s certainly good that we’re all safe. But…considering the fact that we were attacked twice in a row, it seems like we won’t be able to go gathering at Mount Cornello for a while.” (Porta)

“…No. If only we were stronger, there wouldn’t have been any problem, right? We were all celebrating having made it to E-rank, but we all felt our own powerlessness in this last attack by the Angry Wolves. The client, who we were supposed to be guarding, was the one who protected us in the end.” (Byrne)

“That’s right. Just standing there in the back and watching… I don’t want to experience that ever again. Let’s all become strong enough to at least be able to deal with a pack of Angry Wolves on our own!” (Lyra)

“…Lewin. We’ll definitely get stronger… so if you don’t mind, we’d be glad if you could continue to request us in the future,” Nina turned towards me and said with a deep bow. The other three followed suit, lowering their heads.

“Of course I will, so raise your heads! Come on now, the guards are all looking at us funny.” (Lewin)

“Lewin, thank you so much! Just watch us. We definitely won’t lose out to you, we’ll become stronger too!” (Nina)

“That’s right. We’ll definitely make sure to repay you for your kindness in forgiving us for these failures.” (Porta)

“Well, Lewin is growing at a faster rate than us, so there’s a good chance he’ll overtake us.” (Porta)

“Porta! You shouldn’t say that out loud! We’re going to train even harder so we won’t lose to Lewin! He already managed to defeat an Angry Wolf in one swing after all…” (Lyra)

“…..That’s true. Being able to defeat an Angry Wolf in one hit is usually something that only an A-rank adventurer is able to do,” Nina said as she glanced at me furtively.

“I said this many times, but that was purely luck! I would never be able to do something like that again at my current level.” (Lewin)

“I’ve never heard of anyone being able to slaughter an Angry Wolf in a single blow by accident, ya know? The changes in your physique were incredible, so if we wanted to get stronger without losing to Lewin, it would be pretty tough…” (Byrne)

After enthusiastically exchanging a handshake with Lyra, I parted ways with [Iron Gear] at the entrance gate to Grezesta. I wanted to spend all my time training while I still had this budding excitement in my heart, but first… I had to go back to the inn and get some sleep.

Because that attack happened at night, we walked back to Grezesta without sleeping afterwards. I was feeling incredibly drowsy and fatigued, so, in this state, I couldn’t hope to get great results out of training right now. I still had to report to the Adventurer’s Guild and stuff, but I decided to leave that all for tomorrow. With that in mind, I returned to the inn and promptly fell asleep.

★　　　★　　　★

About one week had passed after that attack on Mount Cornello. The day after returning from Mount Cornello, I went to the Adventurer’s Guild to report the incident, then went to Elf’s Tears to sell plants and request for more potions to be brewed. But the rest of that day, after training for a bit I decided to stop and check my current strength. Since I was able to kill that Angry Wolf in one hit, I thought there was a chance that maybe I just hadn’t realized my own strength and had actually gotten much stronger, but… the result was that I was still weak in the end.

Well, it would be slightly misleading to say that I was weak, since I was able to defeat Kobolds in a one-on-one battle. But even after an entire week, I still hadn’t been able to deliver a single blow like the one that slaughtered the Angry Wolf. From this last week, I came to terms with the fact that that one strike was probably something I was only able to pull off under extreme duress.

…It really sent a shiver down my spine when I realized that if those two Angry Wolves hadn’t been scared, I could have easily been killed right then and there. However, thanks to the experience I got from this time, I now had a clear vision in mind. I wanted to train to the point where I would be able to consciously replicate that one strike I had managed to pull off that time. Since I managed to perform that strike with my current physique, I knew that it should be possible to replicate it as I was now.

All of this was so I wouldn’t lose to [Iron Gear]. And in order to catch up to [Azure Alliance], I vowed in my heart that I would do my best in my daily training.