Departure
Translated by GXYRU
Edited by GXYRU
“Hey, Arius… Let’s have a match! I’ll test your true strength. If you can defeat me, I’ll acknowledge you as a member of Gray and Serena’s party!”
No, Jessica. There’s no need for me to seek your acknowledgement.
“Alright! A duel!”
“Both of you, do your best!”
“Jessica is a B-rank, so I bet one silver coin on her!”
“I’ll bet two silver coins on Arius! If he’s a member of Gray and Serena’s party, his strength must be unquestionable!”
The surrounding adventurers are getting excited on their own. They’re clearly enjoying this as mere onlookers. Should I just ignore this foolishness and leave it alone?
But Jessica is serious. She’s looking at me with a determined gaze.
From her attitude, it’s clear that Jessica admires Gray and Serena. She must have worked hard to become a B-rank adventurer, aspiring to be like them.
However, instead of Jessica, they chose me, someone younger, as their party member. It’s their prerogative to choose whoever they want, but why me and not herself? To find that answer, Jessica wants to compete against me.
“Arius, just accept the challenge.”
“Yes, why not? It’s good to do something like this once in a while.”
Gray and Serena don’t seem to have any intention of stopping it either.
Well, if I had shown my strength from the beginning, Jessica wouldn’t have had any misunderstandings. I don’t have a hobby of showing off my power, but I guess there’s no other way.
“Alright, Jessica. If that’s what it takes to satisfy you, I’ll accept the challenge.”
By accepting the challenge, the excitement among the adventurers grows even more. No, I’m not doing this to please all of you.
To make it official, we head to the training grounds in the underground of the Adventurers’ Guild, ignoring the adventurers who are getting excited on their own.
Jessica, who can wield either a one-handed or two-handed bastard sword, and I, who wield dual longswords, confront each other.
I chose dual wielding to increase my chances, as I have mostly fought solo. Now I can use my left sword almost as well as my right.
I won’t hold back, as it would be disrespectful to Jessica. The match was over in an instant.
I closed the distance before Jessica could move and broke her sword with a single strike.
Jessica, who lost her weapon without even having a chance to react, is dumbfounded, but she admits her defeat without complaint.
I thought people would complain if the development didn’t get them excited, but the reaction of the surrounding adventurers was unexpected.
“Hey, did you see that just now?”
“No… I didn’t see anything…”
“That was incredible! As expected of the person chosen by Gray and Serena!”
Murmurs and words of praise. No, that’s not why I did it, to please all of you. I don’t need that kind of response.
After the match, Jessica completely changed her attitude towards me.
Well, maybe I’m exaggerating. She still maintains her superiority as the older one.
“It’s a promise, and I’ll acknowledge your strength, Arius. But compared to Gray and Serena, you’re still weak, right? So, don’t hold them back and do your best.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. I know you’re doing your best, but I mean even more. And if you have free time… I don’t mind being your sparring partner again.”
What’s with this condescending attitude? But I don’t sense any ill intentions. She started talking to me more frequently, and it became a bit annoying.
Well, I can tolerate sparring with her. Ignoring her childishness, I don’t dislike Jessica because she’s working hard. But every time I go to the Adventurers’ Guild, I have to deal with her…
And it’s quietly annoying that Gray and Serena look at me with lukewarm eyes. No, it’s because I have a mental age of 35, so I’m not interested in a 15-year-old girl.
If anything, Serena is more in my strike zone… but there’s no way she would be interested in a 10-year-old child.
“Hey, Arius. I’ll become strong too and someday earn recognition from Gray and Serena.”
“Yeah, do your best. I’ll also work hard to stand beside them in the truest sense.”
The interaction with Jessica, who looks closer to my age, ended after a few months.
We completed the conquest of the “Gynei Great Labyrinth” and were about to leave the city of Kernel.
“Arius… Register me as your ‘message partner’ too.”
“『Message』 is a magic that allows registered individuals to send text to each other regardless of distance.”
“I don’t really care. There’s no need for me to contact you, right?”
“Well, just do it… Register me already!”
In the end, I was forced to register her, but the reason behind it remains a mystery even now.
***
After severing the neck of the 25-meter colossal red dragon, the dragon disappeared in a burst of effects, leaving behind a massive magic stone and dropped items.
“For now, I guess that’s it. It was quite underwhelming, huh?”
“That just shows how strong Arius has become. You can be proud of yourself for today.”
“Yes, indeed. If you continue training seriously from tomorrow, I won’t mind.”
This place is called the “Dragon’s Palace,” known as the highest difficulty high-class dungeon. Over the past year, we have conquered all the high-difficulty high-class dungeons that were even more challenging.
Coming this far, I finally feel like I can stand shoulder to shoulder with Gray and Serena in the truest sense. Of course, they are still stronger than me.
And now, we are about to challenge the top-class dungeon, the ultimate difficulty.
There are only seven of these ultimate difficulty dungeons in the world, and they are fundamentally different from other dungeons.
One reason is that incredibly powerful monsters, surpassing even the final boss of the “Dragon’s Palace,” appear from the first floor.
But that is just a small taste of the threats posed by the ultimate difficulty dungeon.
“Hey, just how many of them are there?”
“I don’t know. If you have time to count, just focus on defeating them.”
“If I can lure them in a bit more, I’ll unleash an area-of-effect magic spell. You’ll have to fight smartly, using the gaps in their formations.”
Approaching from the vast expanse of space are hordes of monster creatures in the form of giant angels wearing full plate armor.
The number of monsters detected by my “Detection” skill exceeds 1,000. Each of them emits magical power that is undoubtedly stronger than the final boss of the “Dragon’s Palace.”
The floors of the ultimate difficulty dungeon are vast spaces without walls. There is no place to hide, and the monsters on each floor will come at us all at once. The battle will not end until we defeat all the monsters on the floor.
Clusters of compressed magical energy, resembling white meteors, rain down from the high ceiling onto the giant angels. The Level 10 magic spells released simultaneously by Serena and me signal the start of the battle.
A momentary lapse in focus can cost us our lives, and mistiming our retreat will lead to a complete wipeout. Amidst such tension, we continue to fight.
***
Arius Gilbert, 11 years old
Level: 658
HP: 6,788
MP: 10,247
Sponsored Content
