CH 201

Episode 201 – First Party Battle

TL Note: Sponsored chapter (2/3).

After we finished our business at the Adventurer’s Guild reception desk, we immediately descended into the Dungeon. Compared to the times when I went alone, I felt much more secure. Even still, no matter how many times I came back, it felt like a completely different place each time.

“Now then, I’ll be on the vanguard first. Our formation will basically be one vanguard and two rear guards. And we’ll also switch out the vanguard after each fight.” (Lewin)

“G-Got it.” (Rosalie)

“Okay.” (Aruna)

“We’ll have the rear guard provide support in case the front is in a pinch. I look forward to working with you both.” (Lewin)

After clearly defining our individual roles, I proceeded into the Dungeon, leading the way.

It was the 1st layer still, so we pretty much only ran into other adventurer parties along the way… But about 10 minutes in, we finally ran into a Goblin. I felt like it was kind of a disappointment, since the purpose of this time’s venture into the Dungeon was to gauge each other’s strength. Since it was pretty weak and this was the first battle, I decided not to pull any punches and just slaughter it in one strike.

Focusing on the Goblin in front of me, I decided on a plan of attack and immediately set forth. I drew my sword in a swift movement and moved forward to unleash an all-out downward slash that I thought would surely fell it in one blow… But before my slash could reach it, the Goblin’s head was blown off and it fell backward to the ground.

For a second, I braced myself, thinking that a new monster that was capable of slaughtering a Goblin, and its own ally, nonetheless, in one blow was about to appear… But when I remembered the direction the Goblin had looked the moment before it died, I turned and checked behind me.

―Yup, figures.

The one who defeated the Goblin wasn’t a new monster or anything like that, it was just Aruna. From her stance, it was clear that she had just fired her bow, and her mouth was stretched into a wide yawn that made her boredom quite obvious.

“Support. Wasn’t it perfect?” Aruna asked me with a slightly smug expression on her face after I walked over to the rear guard to speak with them momentarily.

Sure, the support was perfect, but I was hoping you wouldn’t interfere there, you know?

“Umm…. It was perfect, but today we want to measure each other’s strength. So as I told you earlier, could you only provide support if the front gets into a pinch?” (Lewin)

“Hm, okay.” (Aruna)

“Okay, then I’ll be in the vanguard once more. Next time, please don’t interfere unless I’m in a pinch, and please do your best to get a good idea of my abilities, Aruna-san.” (Lewin)

……Hmmm. Judging by her reaction, Aruna probably wasn’t listening to what I was saying at all.

This kind of thing made me feel uneasy in some ways, but I knew that her skills in combat were so outstanding that such worries were trivial. That shot against the Goblin just now possessed great power, and it had hit the Goblin right in the head.

I knew that she was strong in melee range from that time we fought at Araku Village, but this time I discovered that she was also talented in long range combat as well. I felt my doubts growing somewhat, wondering why someone this strong didn’t join any other parties and decided to join mine instead.

For now, I won’t tell her off unless a big mistake happens.

After thinking such thoughts about Aruna, I regained my composure and proceeded through the Dungeon, slaughtering the pack of Kobolds that we encountered with ease. I was able to put on a perfect showing, and, for now, I think I managed to secure some trust from that battle just now.

“Thanks for your hard work. Let’s switch out our vanguard. Which one of you wants to go?” (Lewin)

“I’m going.” (Aruna)

“O-Okay. Aruna is f-first,” Rosalie replied while stuttering as usual. I switched places with Aruna and went to the rear guard with Rosalie. Well, it was called the rear guard, but all the rear guard really had to do was watch out for enemies from behind. In the shallow layers, it was more or less synonymous with taking a break. There would be more plants and minerals after the 7th layer, and the monsters would get stronger too, so there would probably be more things to do later on.

As I followed after Aruna, I made sure to place a potion in my belt holder and remained on standby to use [Plant Master] right away just in case anything unexpected happened.

…That said, it’s pretty awkward being alone with Rosalie.

She kept on glancing over at me intermittently, as if she was hesitating to speak to me. If she was too nervous to speak up, it could even affect Rosalie’s ability to communicate as a vanguard.

Hmm… Well, even if she’s like this, we’ll still be able to cover for her, so maybe I’ll try to talk to her so we can get to know each other.

“Um, are you okay?” (Lewin)

“Y-Yes!? W-What is it?” (Rosalie)

“You seem pretty nervous, so I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go to the vanguard.” (Lewin)

“O-Okay.” (Rosalie)

“Alright! That’s a relief. I was a little worried it would be asking too much of a Guild employee.” (Lewin)

“….N-not at all.” (Rosalie)

While I was desperately trying to come up with an exciting conversation topic, Aruna seemed to have detected monsters― Behind us, I could see a pack of Killer Bees and an Ogre further behind them.

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“Rosalie-san. For now, be ready to provide support!” (Lewin)

I felt like since it was Aruna, she would be fine, but in the shallow layers that way of thinking was the worst trap to fall into. I pulled the potion out of the holder so I could be ready to support just in case something happened, while keeping an eye on Aruna.

“I think it’ll be fine.” (Rosalie)

As if in response to Rosalie’s response, Aruna shot all of the monsters to death in an instant. Her archery skills were even more impressive to behold from behind. She was able to land every shot on the Killer Bees who were moving erratically at high speeds and, in the same fashion, shot the Ogre to death with a single shot.

The accuracy of her marksmanship, and the sheer power. I involuntarily shuddered at her tremendous display of skill.

“Amazing, Aruna-san. I’m starting to have a little fun myself,” Rosalie said without a single stutter after watching Aruna’s battle with a serious look in her eyes. As Rosalie stepped up to the vanguard to take Aruna’s place, the small of her back suddenly seemed so much bigger and more reliable to me.