Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: 2. I Got a Job at a General Store.
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“Ugh...! Damn it, fuck!”
Having grasped the situation, Claude quickly drew up his mana.
He circulated it through his entire body to maximize his physical abilities, then channeled the remaining mana into his sword, forging a sharp blade of magical energy.
Aura.
A realm dreamed of by all who wielded weapons, said to pierce and cleave through anything when cloaking one.
Claude, who had already mastered Aura in his early twenties and become proficient with it.
It was talent worth boasting about.
‘That fucking bitch...!’
Claude glared at Mary, who had gotten greedy and botched the whole situation.
He wanted to yell at her right then and there, but now wasn’t the time.
Twelve wyverns.
He’d rather avoid a head-on fight if possible.
It was obvious it’d be a tough slog.
But that didn’t mean he’d lose.
He just hated how exhausting and annoying it would be.
‘No helping it.’
With that, Claude swung his Aura-clad sword at an incoming wyvern.
Too far away.
A distance his sword could never reach.
Yet he grinned as if he’d already landed the hit.
“Kreeek!”
Swoosh─!
Incredibly, the Aura shot straight from his swung sword.
Sword Qi Release
Advanced technique of highly skilled swordsmen
Boom!
Thanks to that, one wyvern’s wing split wide open mid-flight, sending it crashing down.
“Kieeeek!”
“Get your heads in the game! Battle stations!”
Claude bellowed.
Arrogant and rude as he was, his battlefield charisma was every bit worthy of the Hero title.
Hearing his shout snapped Mary and Sophia out of their panic.
"Wall of flames, bar my foes! Flame Wall!"
"Goddess above, grant him the strength to battle his enemies. Strength!"
⟨ Buff Granted ⟩
Whoosh!
A massive wall of fire erupted, blocking the wyverns’ path, while a strength-boosting buff enveloped Claude.
Even a rotten A-Rank party knew how to snap into combat in an instant.
But.
“Kreeeek!”
“Kyaaak!”
Whoosh─!
“Argh, you fucking bastards! Get lost!”
There were just too many.
Each one an A-Rank monster.
Over ten of them? No way Claude could cover it all alone.
Naturally, some wyverns broke off toward the rear-guard mage and priest.
“Kreeck!”
“Kyaaaak...!!”
“G-get off...! Fire Lance!”
Bam bam bam!
The hastily conjured fire lance flew at the wyvern, but sadly, the rushed spell lacked the power to pierce its tough hide.
It singed a bit, but two wyverns charged undeterred at the pair.
“Shit...!!”
Wyverns diving at Mary and Sophia.
He had to stop them.
Somehow...!
Losing the rear guard meant no hope.
In that moment, Edin’s face suddenly flashed in Claude’s mind.
‘It’s sticky. Clings like crazy and expands when it hits air, getting super heavy. Most monsters can barely move once it hits.’
Why was that guy’s face popping up now, when he never thought of him otherwise?
Was he really thinking that if Edin were here right now...?
That toy of theirs, the Sticky Potion, could’ve bought them time... Was that it?
‘No way...!!’
Claude shook his head.
He didn’t need some kids’ toy like that—he could handle the crisis just fine.
That’s what he firmly believed.
“Raaah!”
Slash! Swoosh!
He hurriedly unleashed sword qi at the incoming wyverns.
“Keeek!”
One’s head flew off; another lost a wing and plummeted.
But the cost of turning his attention to the ones behind was steep.
Crunch!
“...!?”
Ultimately, a wyvern’s steel-rending fangs clamped down hard on his right shoulder.
“Arrrgh!”
A white-hot agony exploded from his shoulder and arm.
But the mana circulating through his body kept it from being severed clean off.
He could still hold out.
Claude switched his sword to his left hand and sliced open the wyvern’s throat as it bit down.
Splurt!
The wyvern’s head thudded to the ground from his shoulder.
Blood gushed out.
“Ngh...”
He shot Sophia a look that screamed heal me now.
But healing a wound that bad required advanced holy magic, and in this frantic chaos, she couldn’t manage it.
The wyverns, spotting his mangled shoulder, cunningly swarmed toward the vulnerable rear guard.
And in that instant.
Another unwanted face surfaced.
‘Claude, Healing Potions are crucial in emergencies. Always carry some in your pouch...’
‘Pfft, just don’t get hit. Besides, Sophia heals anyway. No point lugging around low-tier holy magic knockoffs.’
‘But...’
“Fuck...”
No.
Absolutely not.
He’d done fine without that crap all this time.
Edin was useless.
A mere errand boy tagging along with the Hero.
That’s all he was.
His choices had been right.
‘This is just a trial. No helping it.’
Trial and error on the path to the world’s pinnacle.
That’s how he saw it.
‘We die like this.’
The word “death” loomed in Claude’s mind.
This was a necessary trial.
So what mattered was surviving it.
Reflect on the failure, avoid repeating the mistake, and grow stronger.
That’s what Claude thought.
“M-Mary!! Get us out—run!”
He yelled at Mary, who was frantically casting fire spells.
She nodded hastily, grabbed Sophia, and cast Blink.
Blink took her to the badly wounded Claude.
A couple wyverns were here too, but only two.
"Wall of flames, bar my foes! Flame Wall!"
"Goddess above, shield us from our enemies. Holy Shield!"
⟨ Barrier Erected ⟩
Roar─! Hum─
Flame wall and defensive spells blocked their attacks. As soon as Blink’s cooldown ended, they fled the spot.
“Huff... huff...”
“Haa... haa...”
They’d teleported to near Clamp Village, where they’d preset coordinates for an easy return.
For a moment, they thought the distance would keep them safe.
“Kreeeeek─”
“...!!”
“?!”
A wyvern’s roar echoed from afar.
Mountain beasts fled in panic around them.
Dread began to creep in.
‘No way. They wouldn’t follow, right? Abandon their eggs?’
But he denied the unease.
No way they’d ditch their eggs to chase them.
And after coming this far, how could they track them?
That’s what they told themselves to calm down.
...If Edin were here, he’d have said:
‘Wyverns in a frenzy prioritize eliminating future threats over guarding eggs for breeding.’
Too late now.
They’d definitely come hunting.
‘To escape, stop the bleeding first. Wyverns have an insane sense of smell.’
Staunch the blood and mask the scent.
Only then could they flee.
‘Take the villagers too. Frenzied ones will hit the village—humans smell the same.’
Fleeing alone would doom the villagers.
Evacuate everyone, then call for other adventurers or imperial troops.
The nest was trashed; wyverns were enraged and coming for humans.
No turning back.
But no Edin here to break it down with his encyclopedic knowledge.
“Hurry and heal me. It fucking hurts.”
Claude pointed to his right shoulder.
Blood still poured from the gouged flesh.
He’d lost so much blood his vision blurred.
"Goddess above, bestow upon him mighty healing. Great Heal."
⟨ Restoration Underway ⟩
Shiiiine─
A soft glow poured from Sophia’s hands, slowly mending Claude’s shoulder.
“Ugh...! Can’t you go faster?”
“S-sorry... The wound’s too deep...”
She’d barely started, and Claude was already venting every frustration.
‘Fucking asshole...’
Sophia cursed inwardly at the sight.
“...Hey, Mary.”
As his condition stabilized, Claude’s eyes sharpened on her.
Yeah.
Her greed for one more egg had caused this mess.
“Are you insane? Fuck, stick to the plan! Greedy at a time like that? You bitch?!”
“W-what?! F-fu...? How dare a peasant from some backwater village curse at me, a noble?!”
Hero or not, how dare this commoner trash-talk a noble like her?
Mary seethed with humiliated rage.
Her fiery temper, matching her magic, flared as she opened her mouth to retort.
Whoosh─!
A sinister gust blew in from somewhere.
A fierce wind.
No mere forest breeze.
Like... the sharp gale from vast wings flapping.
“KeeEEK!”
The wyverns had followed the blood scent here.
“Ugh, you bastard!”
Claude snatched his sword and decapitated it.
Aura flared; the head split and it collapsed.
Splatter!
“Guh!”
But the recoil reopened his partially healed shoulder, blood spraying anew.
“Cl-Claude!”
“Mr. Claude!”
Mary and Sophia called out in alarm.
Then, huge shadows swept overhead.
Whoosh─ flap!
“...Ah.”
“Uh... uh...”
Clutching his bleeding shoulder, they looked skyward.
A flock of wyverns overlooked Clamp Village.