Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Party
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-Clang! Clang!!
"Hoo... That's it for today."
"Good work."
The fifth morning dawning in Phalos.
As Karen had mentioned before, I'd been continuing sword training with her every morning, and now I set down my wooden sword, drenched in sweat.
It was only a moment to catch my breath and review the sparring session. Karen, wiping her sweat with slow movements, approached and offered some praise.
"You've gotten pretty good at handling situations like tripping you up or attacking with a secondary weapon here and there."
"Thanks to you, Master."
I added a bit of gilding to Karen's face as she praised my growth, then hurried out of the makeshift training ground as soon as my body had cooled a little.
I had other plans after this.
"Off to the guild again?"
"Yeah. Like I said, I've temporarily partied up with someone..."
"Hm. Good habit. Sword training's great, but you need real combat experience to keep your edge sharp. Especially syncing up with others—that's something I can't teach you alone."
I bowed my head to Karen with a nod, finished my greeting, then quickly donned the gear enchanted with a cleaning spell that I'd bought earlier and dashed to the guild.
By the time I arrived, the beautiful woman with familiar purple hair was waiting for me, arms crossed.
"Right on time."
"Yeah. You always get here super early, Laila."
After a short greeting with Laila, who had been waiting, I confirmed that the request form I'd eyed yesterday before parting was still at the guild and headed to the counter.
"Yes. Orc subjugation request... same number of people as yesterday?"
"Yes. Two people."
"Got it. Bring back their noses in this pouch. Base is twenty, but the pay increases the more you take down."
I accepted a request from the guild that a freshly promoted D-rank adventurer probably couldn't have taken solo, then went over to the waiting Laila.
She stared at me, still looking like she couldn't quite believe it.
"This is really all you want? Just partying up and doing requests together?"
"Yeah. It's way more profitable than me going solo, so I make money. You get to earn like you normally do. Win-win, right?"
"...Win... what? You've been using these weird expressions lately. Whatever. If it lets me pay off my debt."
Laila, who claimed she owed me and insisted on repaying it.
I'd suggested partying up with her, and since then, the two of us had been temporarily partying and taking on various guild requests.
From D-rank onward, you could take requests as a party. I was D-rank, Laila was C-rank, but since we split frontliner and backliner roles, we could officially register as a party and accept requests.
Surprisingly, there were rules allowing higher-rank adventurers to party with porters or guides and such.
Registering me as the frontline protector for the mage Laila made it surprisingly easy to form a party.
In truth, partying with higher ranks usually involved more procedures, but Laila handled all the paperwork and stuff herself.
'That was just a half-baked idea at the time, but it turned out to be pretty good.'
The guild doesn't just hand out requests to any adventurer who wants them.
They evaluate based on the adventurer's reported achievements, position, rank, and party size before assigning requests.
A newbie D-rank like me, with zero activity record at this branch, would've only gotten crappy requests if I'd tried solo in Phalos.
But just by partying with Laila, I could take on requests I couldn't have alone.
That was the first reason I'd proposed partying with her to repay the debt.
"Orc subjugation again?"
"Yeah. They're the most common monsters around here."
Laila glanced at the request form I'd brought and reacted with a hint of boredom, but I brushed it off casually and headed to the plains west of Phalos's outskirts.
"Krrrk!!"
True to their reputation as monsters even more common than goblins around Phalos, it didn't take long walking the plains before I spotted four fat green-skinned monsters shambling along together.
Bodies bigger and stronger than an adult man's. Crude but heavy clubs carved from wood. Tough hides that swords don't cut easily. Orcs.
A typical fresh D-rank adventurer would be committing suicide charging those alone.
But...
"Same as yesterday, please."
"Hmph."
I made a quick request to Laila, drew my black iron sword from my waist, and boldly advanced on the orc pack solo.
"Krrk? Krrrk!!"
The green monsters spotted me, snorted, hefted their clubs, and charged.
I took a light breath to build some tension, then kicked off the ground and lunged at the orc pack.
-Slash!!
I swung at the first approaching orc's arm, severing it.
Then I kicked its belly fat to knock it down while stepping back to dodge the club swinging at my head.
-Whoosh!!
"Krrk!!"
The orc swung its club wildly at empty air again and closed in. I calmly read its arm trajectory.
'Dodging after seeing it is too slow. Predict the action. Especially the shoulder. Watch the shoulder, and you can anticipate most attacks.'
Recalling Karen's teachings, I darted into the orc's guard the instant its shoulder moved.
-Whoosh!!
The vicious club swing grazed my shoulder by a hair, and my black sword pierced green skin. Red blood—mismatching the hue—gushed out, filling the air with its stench.
'Too shallow.'
"Krrrk!!"
Unlike goblins that sliced easily, the blade caught on the orc's tough bone. I clicked my tongue, yanked the sword free, and ducked my head sharply.
-Thwack!!
"Grk!!"
The orc behind me swung at my head and missed, its club cracking its hapless comrade's skull instead.
"Oops. Not on good terms even usually?"
"Krrk!!"
I mocked the flustered orc that had clubbed its ally, thrust my sword back into the staggering one's nape, and finished it.
Blood sprayed like a fountain, soaking my blade and splattering a few drops on my face.
"Ugh."
"Krrrrk!!"
A brief moment, vision obscured.
The other two orcs saw my motion halt and pounced from both sides, clubs raised to crush me.
I hastily raised my sword to block, but the heavy impact shoved my body back hard.
-Clang!!
"Ngh...!!"
Good thing I didn't drop the sword, but my wrist throbbed, making it wobble as I tried to raise it again.
The orcs lunged without missing the opening—then a clear voice rang across the field.
"Freeze Bind."
-Crackle!!
"Krrk?!"
With the voice, frigid chill swirled, freezing one orc's ankle and rooting its foot.
The gap in their pincer let me force open my blood-smeared eyes, easily dodge the solo-swinging orc's attack, and thrust at its heart.
-Stab!!!
"Krrrk......"
I ignored the orc's death rattle and approached the one still frozen at the ankle, slicing off its head.
"Hoo..."
Battle over, I felt my overheated body cool and turned to Laila with thanks.
"Thanks for that just now, Laila."
"...What the hell have you been up to lately?"
Laila, who'd already partied with me for three days doing requests, stared at the scene I'd wrought, still looking unadjusted.
Tough skin, brute strength—even D-rankers usually struggled against orcs, yet I'd butchered them almost solo.
"Weren't you E-rank for sure? And this skill..."
Having glimpsed my ability briefly fighting Evil God followers in the underground ruins before, Laila trailed off, baffled by my growth.
"I told you. Met a great master."
I answered dryly, like it was nothing, wiping blood from my face while reviewing the fight.
'Thrust direction was off. Against bigger foes, stabbing that high lets blood spray into my eyes. Gotta watch it.'
I noted improvements from real combat, closed my eyes, and pondered better ways next time.
Laila waited without interrupting my review.
This had been our pattern these past few days partying together.
Laila rarely jumped in directly, just supported me. Like saving me from unexpected crises, as just now.
That was the second reason I'd proposed partying with her.
'Thanks to her, I can unleash my swordsmanship freely in real battles.'
Solo, I wouldn't have dreamed of charging four orcs alone like that.
I wanted to test my sword arts in combat, face stronger foes—but not at needless risk.
But with Laila as backup, I could discard hesitation, push my swordsmanship to the limit in perilous fights, and evolve it.
'Like I realized fighting that undead horde, my talents from my body's changes shine brightest in combat.'
My beast-like senses and gifts awakened sharper in crises, opening new horizons.
Forcing myself into situations with multiple close calls like that? My growth felt explosive even to me.
That was the second reason for partying with Laila. And the last, third reason...
"Krrrk!!"
"Hm."
"No need. I'll sit this one out."
More orcs drawn by their comrades' blood scent rushed in. Laila let me rest post-fight and began chanting.
Blue mana bloomed from her body, geometric patterns etched in the air—air heated instantly, fireballs spawning and blasting the orcs.
"Flame Swarm."
-KABOOM!!!
"Krrrk!!"
And done.
Laila's single spell swept the orcs away. The plains filled with the savory scent of roasting flesh.
I watched her up close, etching the sight of her casting magic, hair whipping in the wind, deep into my retinas.
"Hoo..."
"Let's rest a bit."
Pretending to support the slightly fatigued Laila after her spell, I sat her on a rock and slyly pocketed a strand of her hair.
'Nice. One more.'
The third reason for partying with Laila.
To raise my understanding of her—and snag hairs from her clothes now and then.
'Right after casting is perfect timing. The mana flow makes her hair move, so strands fall occasionally like this.'
Duplicating living beings requires a medium like blood or hair.
I'd duplicated Laila before using her hair, even enjoyed her copies' breasts and mouth.
But those hairs were long gone. So I'd been stealthily collecting more when she wasn't looking.
'Tested on goblins, checked Karen's case—more material invested means higher duplicate quality. The more, the better.'
Since reuniting with Laila and hearing her offer "anything" in return, I'd been steadily building my lust for her.
And that lust? I'd vowed not to vent on Karen's duplicate or whores—but on Laila.
'Precisely, on Laila's duplicate.'
...I'd thought it before, but wasn't my libido getting out of hand lately?
This wasn't middle school first-time jerking off...
Anyway, for that, I'd been diligently raising my understanding of Laila.
Not just looks or scent, but her personal quirks.
Like with Karen, the comprehension needed for Duplication wasn't limited to physical traits.
"Me? They spotted my talent at ten and raised me in the Magic Tower..."
"Mana? What're you talking about. Who learns mana from childhood? Circuits get wrecked as the body grows... You start mana after physical growth finishes, obviously."
"I met my master at eighteen. She'd just become the Magic Tower's youngest elder by recreating ancient lost portal magic, and she took me as her disciple...!"
Questions I'd tossed at Laila during breaks.
She found them annoying but surprisingly answered every one earnestly.
Her childhood? What led to her current power? Her relationship with her master...
"...Why are you so curious about all that?"
She sometimes reacted irritably,
"Your master's the youngest elder mage, right?"
"Yeah! Master earned elder status by recreating a portal lost to antiquity...!"
But bringing up her master calmed her quick.
Her master seemed to cherish Laila plenty, and Laila revered her like a parent.
'That portal was her master's doing, huh.'
Worth the elder title. Portals in a world without planes or trains. Wow.
'Wonder what my master's up to.'
Hearing Laila gush about her master made me think of mine. Karen.
She came to Phalos for business, looked busy... Hope it's going well.
At that moment. Phalos Magic Tower branch.
"So... it's not just Phalos or Riville?"
A beauty in skimpy clothes, black hair tied back, spoke gravely to someone.
Before her.
A woman with dazzling silver hair, slightly pointed ears peeking through, sipped tea as they talked.
"Right. Evil God followers are stirring across the entire continent. King of All Sins, Crooked Life, Lord of Ten Thousand Demons... All their followers moving simultaneously."
The Magic Tower's youngest elder mage, restorer of ancient lost portal magic.
Erna.
Mention of Evil God followers between her and Karen darkened the mood further.