Chapter 24

"Thank you so much for coming to help!"

At those words from Narsera, I, Laust, felt a wave of relief that almost made me collapse on the spot.

I had realized Narsera was in danger because of the commotion at the guild’s reception.

The usually immobile guild staff were arguing with many adventurers, and the noise had reached the back of the guild.

At first, I had only peeked out of curiosity.

...But when I understood that the people arguing with the guild staff were from the party that harbored animosity towards me, the Wolves of Calamity, I had a terrible premonition.

In that instant, I rushed out of the Adventurers' Guild and began to search for Narsera, spreading my magical detection ability over a wide area.

However, without the vast magical power of my master, I could only investigate an area of about 100 meters in radius.

And within such a limited range, I couldn't find Narsera easily, and I had gradually started to feel anxious.

"It's good... really good..."

That's why, when I saw Narsera, who seemed to have no serious injuries, I couldn't help but repeat those words over and over.

At that moment, I was clearly not calm.

My heart was moved by Narsera's safety, to the point where I could even recognize it myself.

Or rather, my heart was intensely shaken by the incident that had befallen Narsera.

Driven by that impulse, I reached out to embrace Narsera.

"Damn it!"

...But my action was interrupted by Mozellar, who stood up with a shout.

Mozellar's face was clearly agitated.

He had always thought of me as a lucky person who had been blessed with a good party despite being useless.

He couldn't hide his agitation at my physical abilities.

...But even in that state, Mozellar made a judgment and acted to get out of the situation.

In the next moment, Mozellar ran towards Narsera.

"..."

...From his actions, I instantly understood that Mozellar, having judged that he couldn't defeat me, was trying to take Narsera hostage.

Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't have been a bad judgment.

Aiming for a weakened opponent is a basic tactic.

"...Mozellar,"

However, in this case, Mozellar's judgment backfired.

The relief I had felt at Narsera's safety vanished in an instant.

The next moment, my mind was dominated by intense anger towards Mozellar.

Driven by that anger, I started running and clenched my fist.

"You alone, I won't forgive you,"

Just hitting him wouldn't be enough for my attack to have any effect on Mozellar.

No matter how much I trained my physical skills, I couldn't match someone with a skill.

But I had developed a technique over several years.

It was a different kind of technique from the magical and ki techniques of my master and Ronaldo, another top-tier warrior who had trained me.

The usage was simple: activate both magic and ki simultaneously to enhance the body.

With that, I, who could barely use magic or ki for body enhancement, could obtain physical abilities that could rival those with skills.

...But it was still just a simple technique.

Or rather, it might be too much to call it a technique, as it was created solely from experience and intuition without any knowledge or basis.

After all, the limitations and costs of this technique were too great to call it a technique.

Activating both magic and ki simultaneously would grant high physical abilities, but the body couldn't handle it.

Using magic or ki individually would strengthen the body from the foundation up, without such issues.

However, combining magic and ki was different from using either alone; the body couldn't withstand the enhancement.

Moreover, it was difficult to control the physical abilities, and even I couldn't defend properly in this state.

That's why I couldn't use this technique in normal situations unless the enemy showed a clear opening.

It took me a long time to be able to use this technique in combat.

I had struggled greatly to be able to attack in the enhanced state, and even a slight miscalculation in the distribution of magic and ki would push my body to its limits.

...But this time, I activated the body enhancement with a large amount of magic and ki, ignoring the damage to my body.

The next moment, a dull pain ran through my body, a characteristic of body enhancement.

The pain felt like a heavy impact, and a cold sensation ran down my back.

"I won't forgive you!"

"Aaaaah!"

But I ignored that sensation and punched Mozellar's face forcefully.

A strange scream rose, and my fist, which had been driven into Mozellar's face, shattered his cheekbone, reinforced by a skill to the level of steel, and slammed his body to the ground.

Moreover, the impact of Mozellar's body hitting the ground made the surrounding ground shake.

Even with his excellent physical skill, Mozellar was still alive, but he was clearly in a critical condition, rolling his eyes and convulsing.

"What... what is this..."

...And at Mozellar's state, the members of the Wolves of Calamity couldn't hide their shock.

They couldn't believe the strength of someone they had always considered a defect, like me.

After all, the Wolves of Calamity had been unable to progress in the dungeon as they wished for several years and had taken out their frustration on me.

It's not hard to imagine the strong shock they felt when they realized that the person they had oppressed was actually far stronger than they were.

But I didn't feel any sympathy for the Wolves of Calamity.

In fact, I felt a strong aversion to their reaction.

Therefore, I had no hesitation in taking advantage of the same opening in the Wolves of Calamity.

"Ugh!"

In the next moment, I applied a light body enhancement to my legs and rushed towards the warrior.

"What!"

Surprised by my sudden rush, the warrior and the mage of the Wolves of Calamity finally tried to get into a combat stance.

"You are also guilty."

"Aaaaah!"

...But their response was too late.

The warrior couldn't even get into a defensive stance against my rush and was knocked out by a punch from my opposite hand, slamming into the wall.

After confirming that, I glared at the remaining members of the Wolves of Calamity.

"...I didn't intend to do anything if you didn't attack first."

"Earth spirits!"

"Aaah!"

At my words, the mage started to chant desperately, and the healer ran past me to the severely injured Mozellar.

"High Heal! High Heal! Heal! Heal!"

...But the healer's healing magic couldn't fully heal Mozellar.

That left only the mage.

"Watch out for this one too!"

"Wha!?"

And the last remaining mage was not finished off by me.

Narsera, who was supposed to be bound, had somehow gotten up and skillfully knocked out the mage with her foot.

...The mage, who didn't have a physical enhancement skill, crumpled easily, and the battle was decided.

The Wolves of Calamity will continue.