55. Three Rookies and One Middle-Aged Woman
55. Three Rookies and One Middle-Aged Woman
Ever since we entered the forest where the Ripper Wolf lives, we were naturally wandering around inside.
Since the trees were quite tall, the forest was naturally gloomy and eerie.
Of course, it wasn't just quiet.
It was occasionally noisy due to ordinary wild animals and monsters.
"Phew...."
"Let's be careful and stay alert. Iris, keep scanning the surroundings with magic just like Noona told us."
"Okay...!"
The three of them were diligently wandering through the forest.
Although the little ones were all novices as adventurers, they had learned various things at the Academy.
They were doing better than I thought.
Actually, this was my first time seeing Noah and her friends out on a quest.
They were managing without any problems.
I watched from slowly behind, observing how they moved forward together without spreading out too much, paying attention to what I had warned them about.
"Anything in sight?"
"Nothing yet."
"Try harder with your magic. Shouldn't something show up?"
"...Just because a wand is long, do you think it's as simple as a spear? You have to concentrate really hard, you know?"
"Then at least concentrate."
"...Hmph."
At the same time, watching the girls chatting diligently in front was fun, but my job was to supervise these little ones.
It was about protecting them in case of an unforeseen situation so they wouldn't get into unnecessary danger.
I was also walking while scanning the surroundings.
Nothing was confirmed immediately, but... I was seeing traces of the Ripper Wolf around here from time to time.
"......Hmm."
I didn't tell the kids, but I started to become conscious of the surroundings.
Even though they learned various things at the Academy, they still lacked experience.
In the end, it was inevitable that they would focus on things that easily caught their eyes.
It would be hard to experience real combat like this inside the Academy.
They would have no choice but to be completely ignorant of the specific traces left by beast-type monsters.
It was truly unavoidable.
"Noah? There are footprints in front."
"The claw part in the center is unusually long, so it's definitely the monster we're tracking. Noah, what are you going to do?"
"Hmm.... Iris's magic hasn't picked anything up yet. Let's go deeper inside. Seeing as there are traces, it might pop out soon, so let's be careful."
"That makes sense, right?"
"I'll do as Noah says...!"
They found the footprints, but apart from that... they couldn't identify the various other traces left around the footprints.
They didn't know that a deer carcass remained in the nearby bushes.
They didn't know that the blood was still flowing because the corpse wasn't that old.
They didn't even notice the characteristic claw marks left on the trees....
It was inevitable that these young adventurers wouldn't know.
It's natural to focus on one thing when it catches your eye.
"Hmm...."
I was a bit more worried than I had expected.
But first, it was my priority to check if these little ones could do well.
If it became dangerous... then I would just have to step in.
At most, I could freeze the Ripper Wolf right before the kids were in danger.
"...But doesn't it feel like the forest has become quieter than when we first entered?"
That was Katrina's comment.
As a noble girl, she was basically a little more sensitive to gazes and such compared to the other commoner kids.
She realized the subtle change.
Indeed, the forest had become quiet a little while ago.
Even the animals that had been making a bit of noise were hiding their sounds completely, and they weren't coming out onto the path at all.
The only things around were three rookie adventurers and one 28-year-old auntie.
"I'll try the search magic again. Please be careful of your surroundings?"
"Okay."
The little ones were being more cautious, and Iris's search magic began to scan the surroundings again.
But the Ripper Wolf had already started moving a little while ago.
And the only ones who didn't know that were these little ones.
Naturally, something was caught by the search magic.
"......."
"......."
"......."
Something was caught by the search magic, and the three of them continued to look around with more serious expressions.
In fact, there had been a wolf watching them from here for a while now.
And so, it seemed the wolf was starting to prepare to approach its prey.
"Noah! Front!"
"...!"
Iris, who had been scanning the surroundings as much as possible, shouted loudly at Noah.
As soon as Noah turned her head back to the front, she made eye contact with the wolf staring at her.
A Ripper Wolf, a monster with weak defense but one that enjoys attacking by aiming for vital points.
Since I had already talked about it, the fact that everyone was paying as much attention as possible to the beast rushing at them was a passing grade.
Its black fur acted like camouflage in the dark forest, making it easy to miss the creature when it rushed in an instant... I was curious if the little ones could handle it well.
It hadn't easily revealed its opportunity until it encountered them, though.
In the end, what mattered was when they fought.
"Hmm...."
I was curious.
Since I'd been with those kids including Noah until now, I had never seen their level firsthand.
I decided to watch it quietly from a distance.
"Grrr...."
"Katrina, don't step forward until that wolf in front rushes at us."
"I know."
"Noah, shall we try to keep it in check?"
"Okay."
First, Iris used low-level wind magic to try a light check, but since the opponent was basically very fast, it naturally didn't lead to an effective hit.
But starting with that check, the real fight began.
Noah was protecting the girls behind her in the front line, Iris was in charge of long-range suppression, and Katrina was preparing for the approach with her spear.
To attack the party, the wolf was showing signs of quietly moving to the side, looking for a gap to pounce.
"...They said we just need to be careful of it pouncing and land accurate attacks. Let's aim for that."
That was why Noah was slowly turning her body in time with the wolf's movements, and the party members behind her were also turning in sync with Noah's movements.
The sight of the wolf and the little ones all spinning around a single point.
It was a bit funny... but at that level, that's how it always was.
I actually thought they were doing well.
While they were facing off, spinning round and round like that, the one who moved first was the violent, ill-tempered wolf.
"Kuhk...!"
"It pulled back again. The next attack is coming right away!"
"Okay!"
Noah blocked the beast's claws once with her buckler, but she had to prepare for the defense against the next attack immediately.
A monster with such a fast and aggressive nature.
When dealing with such a creature, there was no time to be distracted.
"Defend again!"
"Keuhp...!"
The buckler was small, but since they had bought one with decent basic performance, she deflected the claws, and Katrina and Iris began a check that was a bit lacking to call a counterattack against the monster that had approached them.
But the creature wasn't stupid either, so it immediately pulled back to prepare for the next attack.
It wasn't a monster of the same level... but for the current level of these little ones, it was a very fitting opponent.
It could truly be called a proper real-world experience.
Even though the buckler Noah was holding was starting to become difficult to endure.
Thanks to Noah's friends working hard to counterattack, damage was accumulating little by little.
The Ripper Wolf started to overexert itself.
"Noah, you know the Ripper Wolf's speed is slowing down little by little, right?"
"I know."
"I'll block the next attack with my spear and seal its movement for a moment. At that time, you attack."
"Can you do it?"
"I think I can at least block the claws with my spear once. It's slowing down, and the monster must be expecting you to just keep blocking its attacks."
And the sight of the kids systematically taking down such a monster was quite heartwarming.
Because they were just little kids.
Even if Noah had a level a bit higher than 1st grade, considering the average... it was just a party of 1st-grade adventurers.
It was quite fun for an old person like me to see such kids working hard and cheering each other on like that.
On the other hand, they were like newbies in the industry, right?
I think it was even more so because I was someone who had done most of the things an adventurer could do.
"Katrina...! I've finished preparing the protection magic...!"
"...It's coming! Use it right away!"
"Okay!!"
They were showing much more teamwork than I thought.
While watching such a sight of the little ones, I watched the Ripper Wolf pounce again.
The Ripper Wolf rushed in to swing its claws at Noah again this time, and Noah dodged to the side when the enemy rushed in, and Katrina immediately filled that spot....
-Kagagak...!
"......!"
"Now!"
Katrina, who had become sturdier with the protection magic, blocked the claws, and the Ripper Wolf was flustered by the sudden appearance.
It tried to pull back, but Noah had already slipped out to the side.
Although Noah had not attacked even once during the battle and had only continued to defend using the buckler.
She had already thrown the buckler away, and with her side sword gripped tightly, she had finished preparing for the first attack of this battle.
"Hmm...."
Something I had seen often in the past.
The same swordsmanship as her master, Morgan, followed.
Although she hadn't reached the level her master showed yet, it was a sword that would kill a Ripper Wolf in an instant.
"It's much better than I thought."
I said, watching Noah's sword from a slightly distant spot alone.
Because it was a better level than I had expected.
It was the first time I had seen actual combat, but it was beyond my expectations.
The reason Morgan took her as a disciple, and the reason the association staff said she could immediately be at the same level... it was a level I could fully understand.
It was also quite cool in its own way.
To the point where it was natural for the girls with her to like her.