Chapter 18

On the third day since arriving in this country, Keena decided to go out after telling Ailene and the others that she would be away for a couple of days.

"Is it a request?"

"Yeah, a job to deliver supplies to the knights' defense line."

"I see. Well, I don't think you have anything to worry about, but please be careful."

"I reckon you'll be fine, but there's no harm in being cautious."

"Thank you, Ailene and Arbiter."

With everyone's cheerful send-off, Keena headed straight for the western gate of the capital. She had been told by Keirick to have a cart ready early in the morning.

Outside the western gate, there were several carriages of merchants passing through, guarded by the sentries. Since they couldn't go south, these were individual carriages that traded with small villages via the northern outer trade route.

Among them was a small, simple cart with a canopy, pulled by a donkey. It looked like a wheelbarrow. Beside it stood the young master of the merchant house, Keirick's son, Izuk. When their eyes met, he bowed deeply to welcome Keena.

"I'm sorry, Great-grandmother. I'm making you come out so early in the morning..."

"It's not that early. The sun is already up, and I thought I might be considered late."

It was around 7:00 AM by the position of the sun. If it were during a journey, everyone would have finished breakfast and the carriage would be on the move, so it was quite late.

"No, Father asked you to do this, so we should bow our heads. Thank you for taking on this request."

"There aren't many people who would take this job..."

"Indeed, who knows what might happen on the way. Many people are hesitant to get involved with the knights and the merchant house."

Seeing the young master's hard work, Keena couldn't help but pat his head. Izuk, who had only heard a brief overview of her from Keirick, shrank back in fear.

"Well, as an outsider, I shouldn't say much, but sometimes it's okay to fail. Just relax and do your job. After all, there's someone above you who can take responsibility, right?"

"Ah, yes... That's easier said than done."

With the sentry and Izuk seeing her off, Keena took the reins of the donkey and started down the hill visible from the capital. The well-trained donkey seemed to understand her intentions without the use of the "Beast Tamer" skill and followed at a walking pace, clopping along.

After about an hour, the road became winding to avoid wetlands and lakes. Looking back at the capital, it had become much smaller, though not as tiny as a bean.

"At this speed, it should take two days. They said we'd get stuck in the mud if we went off the road. It should be faster in a straight line."

Selecting a few of her skills in her mind, she released her power to find the best shortcut.

"Great-grandmother, I did hear from Keirick that you were bringing supplies and wanted to move freely. But why are you here before evening, when you left early this morning?"

A simple barricade extended to both slopes. On the north side, there was a makeshift headquarters made of logs and a few large tents for accommodation. The road here was convenient for building a defense line due to the cliffs on both sides.

Keena arrived at this knight's garrison around 3:00 PM on the day she left, which was about 28 hours earlier than expected. While Keirina, who had received prior notice from Keirick, was not surprised, the other knights who had been informed of the supply arrival were shocked to welcome Keena.

The knights took responsibility for unloading the cargo and the donkey's care. Keena, on the other hand, was taken to the makeshift headquarters for a brief interrogation. Standing before her were Keirina, the squadron leader, and her feline deputy.

"Ugh, I rushed here because the supplies were eagerly awaited, but this treatment is harsh."

"No, Great-grandmother, we're not blaming you..."

"Leader, do you know this adventurer?"

"Yes, she's my actual grandmother. But treat her normally."

"Huh... Huh!?"

The deputy, a young elf woman with a hint of innocence and a stern commander, looked back and forth between them. Keena thought, "Here we go again," but Keirina considered them like sisters, with herself as the older one. Feeling embarrassed, she coughed loudly to change the subject and placed her hands on her hips to question Keena.

With a wry smile, Keena admitted the truth of her journey.

"‘Floated’ and ‘pulled’!?"

"Exactly, that's the simplest way to describe it."

For Keena, as a player, it was nothing out of the ordinary, but the deputy's face contorted in disbelief at the unconventional method.

She cast "Levitation" on the donkey and cart, summoned a Veladancer (a crab-like creature about the size of a car with four pairs of legs and four pairs of pincers), and had it pull them. "Levitation" kept them at a constant height, and the crab could traverse roads, grasslands, rivers, and swamps, allowing her to travel almost in a straight line.

To avoid being labeled as a dangerous person, she claimed she had used "Flight" with "Enhancement" to pull them. Even that was an extraordinary method, but the deputy, with a skeptical look, reluctantly accepted it after a nod from Keirina.

"Still, I hope you'll be cautious about the freedom Keirick requested."

"Ah, I thought so?"

Receiving the expected response, Keena understood that bureaucracy was the same everywhere. Just as she was about to break through by force, the outside became noisy.

The sound of gravel being trampled and loud conversations, followed by the rough opening of the door and a knight rushing in. He placed his hand on his chest in a knightly salute and reported clearly.

"Report! We are under attack, nine units. The enemy is believed to be Rock Golems!"

"What! Prepare for defense!"

The deputy, with her blue cloak fluttering, hurried outside. The knight who brought the report followed, and as Keirina was about to leave, she turned and pointed at Keena.

"Great-grandmother, please stay here quietly. Understand?"

"Sure, sure."

With a cheeky smile, Keena replied, "I won't be responsible if you get hurt," and Keirina left.

Leaning on the back of the chair, Keena reviewed the information she had gathered with a "Search" when she arrived. Keirina was the only one who could be considered a proper combatant. The deputy was slightly weaker than Arbiter, and the other knights were not even close.

There was a way to break through the defense line during the attack, but since they were already injured, it might be better to do a favor. Feeling a sense of nostalgia from the war-like atmosphere, Keena stood up.

As the sun set, nine shadows moved slowly toward the defense line on the red grass. Far behind them were a few mounted figures.

Seven were Rock Golems, roughly human-sized and made of rough rock, but the other two were slightly larger. Keirina, analyzing the situation calmly, clicked her tongue.

The long swords provided by the knights were at a disadvantage. Only impact weapons like maces could deal significant damage. Still, as a knight serving the country, she couldn't retreat just because the situation was unfavorable. Despite the frustration of seeing her subordinates injured, she gave the order.

"Draw your swords! Do not let them advance any further!"

The sound of swords being drawn echoed through the ranks, and the knights, urged by the deputy, charged at the rock figures.

The first sound on the battlefield was the high-pitched clang of metal against metal. Thrusting and slashing only produced sparks, but did not penetrate. The slow-moving fists of the golems missed, and neither side could deal significant damage.

However, the knights were at a disadvantage, as they needed to stop the golems from advancing. The golems, though not taking damage, continued to close the distance to the defense line.

A panicked knight lunged at a glowing red eye, but the sword got stuck, and the golem, unaffected by the attack, struck the knight's helmet with a powerful blow, knocking him to the ground.

Before he could scream, he was unconscious. Another knight was kicked into the air and landed over ten meters away, his armor crushed.

Colleagues called out his name, but he did not move.

"Damn it!?"

The knights, now panicking, had lost their earlier bravery.

Keirina and the deputy managed to bring down one of the larger golems, but two more knights were sent flying.

Another large golem moved to attack the fallen knights, but Keirina, ignoring the deputy's warnings, charged forward, infusing her sword with magic. Amid the knights' astonished cries, Keirina swung her sword, which glowed with red magic, and released her power.

[Weapon Skill: Fire Impact]

A semicircular red slash cut through the air and pierced the chest of the large Rock Golem. It exploded, flipping backward and causing a loud crash and a cloud of dust. The knights cheered, but Keirina, breathing heavily and sweating, supported herself with her sword and knee.

"Leader!"

"No, I'm fine. But it's too much..."

As the fallen large Rock Golem slowly rose, Keirina and the deputy watched in shock. Just as Keirina was considering a retreat, a voice interrupted.

"Very impressive, to reach this level on your own. But I can do better."

A bolt of lightning streaked past, and the threat in front of them was cut diagonally. The large Rock Golem shattered and fell to the ground. Keena, standing a short distance away, kicked a rock on the ground.

She carried a one-handed greatsword longer than her height, which glowed yellow and emitted a slight electrical discharge. The knights, who had been fighting the smaller golems, stepped back and focused on Keena.

"Good training, but you can't do much while casting, and you'll run out of magic power. Not a good strategy."

"I'm ashamed."

Keena, summarizing Keirina's ultimate skill, was met with a look of astonishment from the deputy. Not only had she used a skill far beyond Keirina's, but the ability to use high-density magic casually was unheard of.

Without much concern, Keena swung her greatsword to clear the remaining discharge and sheathed it. The greatsword disappeared, and she glanced at the stunned deputy before approaching Keirina.

"Let this be your victory. Or do you want to report that a lone girl saved your nearly defeated knight squadron?"

"Damn... What do you want?"

"Then, as planned, I'll pass through here. I'll come back for the donkey and cart, so take care of them, okay?"

"...Do as you please. But thank you for helping my subordinates."

"Actually, I just saved my grandson, so don't worry about it."

Keena turned and walked south. Keirina, who had been watching silently, stood up and patted the stunned deputy on the shoulder.

"Who... Who was that adventurer?"

"Probably the strongest person on the continent. Keep this a secret, and inform the others. If word of her gets out, it could cause trouble, especially for Helshper."

"But that's ridiculous..."

"Also, send a messenger for reinforcements and to advance the defense line. This is a good opportunity to prove my words. Observe carefully to see if anything remains after she passes."

The deputy, despite the legendary tone in Keirina's voice, ran around the camp to carry out the orders. Keirina's words were soon proven true.

As the camp returned to its usual quietness at sunset, a pillar of light rose in the southern sky, and a semicircular red gradient illuminated the evening grassland like daytime.

The knights, in a frenzy, felt the ground tremble and heard a loud boom.

"Great-grandmother must have gone all out since no one was around..."

Keena remembered her mother's words, "The old lady's one hit can destroy a city." This must have been a similar spell.

"Can... Can a human cause such a phenomenon?"

The deputy, standing beside her, nodded heavily. Keirina wondered if it was even more powerful than that.

During the attack, Keena had been curious about the mounted figures in the rear. She sent a "Wind Spirit Summon" to follow them. They found a makeshift camp not far from the knight's garrison, which surprised her.

Finding it too troublesome to deal with them directly, she used a high-level fire spell to burn them, but changed the additional effect to "Stun." The thieves were unconscious and would remain so for half a day.

She then summoned three Earth Dragons to patrol the night and summoned Light Spirits to illuminate the path.

As she walked, she thought about the Rock Golems.

"Hmm, the level of those golems was off... Key?"

'7 are 43 LV, 1 is 86 LV, and 1 is 129 LV.'

"So, with the summoning level limit, 1, 2, 3, totaling 12. That's right... So a player must have survived?"

'According to official settings, it could be a dwarf, elf, demon, or high elf.'

There are certain rules for summoning. For the same race, up to nine can be summoned, with a total summoning level of 12. Each monster or animal has attributes, and summoning earth monsters prevents summoning wind monsters, water monsters must be a level lower than earth monsters, and fire monsters are the same level.

In a diagram, it would be: First summon earth: 'Fire = Earth ≥ Water × Wind.'

At least, this proves the presence of a player. This means a mid-level player exists among the bandit leaders, estimated at around 430 levels.

"That's why they're tough. Even Skullgoes can't handle them."

This explained why the knights were easily defeated.

The more puzzling question was how a player could infiltrate a world where the operators had withdrawn. It seemed unlikely that an accident like Keena's could happen so easily.

"Either way, without information, I can only ask if I meet them."

Judging by their behavior, they were likely fortifying a stronghold, making the chance of meeting them low.

As night fell, she recalled the Earth Dragons for defense and decided to camp in the open. The dragons would guard her while she slept.

However, expectations are often betrayed.

Prepared for any eventuality, Keena wore a silver mail over the fairy king's feather cloak, with additional parts to protect her chest and arms. She arrived near the "Crescent Moon Castle" as the sun rose. From the lakeshore, she watched bandits land on the small island where the castle stood.

A figure in a blue, spiky-decorated full-body armor stood on the lakeshore, watching them.

Using "Search," she confirmed the level at 432. The large sword and full-body armor with a cape made her sigh.

"An enthusiast for themed equipment... A tough opponent..."

Without any attempt to hide or sneak, Keena approached and was easily discovered by the bandit leader's lackeys.

"Boss! There's an enemy!"

"Idiot, call me Sir!"

Dramatically turning, he flipped his cloak and faced her. Every movement was theatrical. Of course, Keena found it ridiculous.

Their eyes met, and the red eyes in the helmet, which had a blue dragon wing design, confirmed her suspicions. The black horns extending from the helmet added to her frustration.

"What are you doing here? My subordinates should have stopped you."

"I burned them all."

"What! Are you even human!?"

(What?)

Keena tilted her head at the contradictory behavior. This was different from what she had heard. He seemed to value the lives of his bandits, but not those of the knights.

"You sent Rock Golems to the knight's garrison."

"Oh, those. It's fine. I didn't do it myself."

"...What?"

He meant the golems did the damage, not him. Keena was skeptical. Was he still treating this like a game?

"This is Riedale."

"Of course, there are no GMs, so I can do as I please. My level is soaring."

His childish behavior made Keena realize he was a young man with a poor sense of ethics. She had planned to play along and escape, but now that was out of the question