Chapter 76

"Annoying!"

Moran grumbled as she slashed through the goblin leader that had attacked her. Joseph and the others were almost at the Marma Forest, but they had already engaged in several battles with goblins, goblin leaders, poison toads, hobgoblins, murder snakes, and big boars along the way.

"Sure, goblins are one thing, but it's strange that big boars and murder snakes, which usually move around in the forest, are here."

Memet, while keeping an eye on the surroundings, approached the goblin corpse that Moran had killed and sniffed it.

"Hmm, there's nothing particularly unusual."

"Maybe a labyrinth has appeared in the Marma Forest, and they've fled from there. More importantly, Memet, can't you do something about that? It's not a pleasant sight to watch."

At the direction of Apli's gaze, Sham was cutting through the goblins with ease. Apli's discomfort was due to the excessive way he was killing them. Sham, with his magic sword, severed the goblins' limbs and then brought his sword down on their heads.

"I can't. I really don't like nobles."

The smell of the burned goblins reached Memet's nose, making him wrinkle his face.

"Marifa, did you see my magic sword? The one that gave me my nickname, the Explosive Flame Sword!"

Since learning Marifa's name, Sham had tried to talk to her several times, but she had ignored him every time. Marifa, as usual, gave no response and instructed Sukke and Koro to kill the goblins.

"Well, you guys are so capable, I can just relax."

Joseph was always in a good mood, patting Yui's back. Each time, Kuro's killing intent grew, but Joseph didn't seem to care.

"Indeed, Moran is young, but her sword skills are solid. Apli is also a capable shield user, and Memet's magic power and casting speed are both excellent."

The veteran Larit evaluated Apli and the others fairly, not treating them differently because they were women. He even judged that they had the strength to challenge C-rank at their young age.

"Y-Yeah, they have a solid foundation. Apli, as a woman, is even better at using a shield than I am."

As Yui pushed away Joseph's hand, Moran stood in front of him.

"You haven't done anything since we started. You know this is a C-rank test, right? Or do you only let the women in the party fight?"

"What a busybody. What's the point of giving advice to your competition?"

Yui's words made Moran's face turn red.

"I hate people who look down on women like you."

"Pointless... Whether they're men or women, adventurers are the same. When have I ever looked down on women?"

"Shut up, you talk too much! If you're an adventurer, fight with your sword, not your mouth."

Moran pointed her sword at Yui. Joseph, who was standing next to Yui, scratched his head, looking annoyed. However, Nina and the others were different. Nina gripped her daggers in both hands, Lena was ready to cast a spell with her staff pointed at Moran, and Kuro was poised with his battle axe, ready to move at any moment. Marifa had her bow drawn, aiming an arrow at Moran's head.

"Don't ignore me!"

"Moran, how many times do I have to tell you to stop this nonsense!"

"Haha, good! I don't like that guy either. How about we team up?"

Sham tried to join Moran and Yui's argument, but Moran shouted at him.

"Stay out of this, noble! I'll see if you can ignore me now!"

Moran charged at Yui, enveloped in a 'Combat Skill'. Yui signaled Nina and the others to hold back, then drew his sword. Moran's sword skills were at level 4, a level that would suffice for C-rank, but this time her opponent was not a good one. Yui blocked Moran's sword strike. This surprised not only Moran but also Apli and Memet. The reason was that Moran was using both hands to wield her sword, while Yui was using only one.

"No way. Blocking Moran's sword with one hand..."

Memet couldn't help but mutter.

"Hah! You boast about your strength, but how about this! 'Sword Pressure'"

Sword Skill Level 1 'Sword Pressure' was a skill that applied pressure in a sword lock to overpower the opponent, but Yui didn't budge.

"You're not a giant, so how strong are you?"

Moran, though flustered, made a quick decision. She took a step back from the sword lock and launched a series of attacks. The first strike was meant to stop just before hitting Yui if he couldn't react, but this time it was different.

"I can't lose to a D-rank male with the same sword skills!"

Yui easily dodged the successive sword strikes. The sight of this left Sham and his followers speechless. After all, Sham's sword skills were at level 2, and despite seeing that Moran's skills were clearly superior to his, Yui was handling her fierce attacks without breaking a sweat. It was no wonder they were surprised.

Moran's frustration grew as Yui handled her fierce attacks with one hand. She had intended to break his nose, but instead, her own nose was broken.

"This is ridiculous... I... I can't lose to a man! 'Steel Flash'"

Sword Skill Level 3 'Steel Flash' was Moran's best and most secret technique.

"Stupid! Are you really trying to kill him?"

Apli tried to stop Moran with Shield Skill Level 1 'Taunt', but she couldn't stop Moran once she had entered the skill activation state. A deadly blade, accompanied by a sound that cut through the air, was brought down on Yui, but at the moment the blade was about to touch his head, it passed by Yui's side and deeply pierced the ground.

"What... just happened?"

As a support role, Memet couldn't follow with his eyes why Moran's sword had passed by Yui as if avoiding him.

"That's the sword skill 'Willow'. I've never seen such a beautiful deflection of a sword's trajectory. Even magic words were used, which is quite impressive."

With Ekkart's explanation, Memet finally understood what had happened. Lena, like Memet, had hardly seen anything, but she was arching her back as if to say, "What do you think of that?" to Apli and Memet.

"Are you satisfied now?"

Yui sheathed his sword and walked past Moran, continuing down the path. He passed by Apli and Memet, who were still standing in shock. Nina and the others followed Yui, but as they passed, Lena whispered something to Memet, causing his expression to stiffen.

Despite the commotion, Yui and Joseph continued to lead the way. Moran, still in shock, was at the back, flanked by Apli and Memet.

"Moran, I understand you're shocked, but you need to stop this. I know why you dislike men, but what just happened was completely your fault."

"Just leave me alone for a while."

"Ugh! You're usually so strong, but once you get depressed, you become such a hassle. Anyway, Memet, you smelled them when we passed by, right? Let's share the information now."

"Alright. First, Joseph: Passive 9, Active 8, Unique 2. Larit: Passive 10, Active 8, Unique 1. Giant: Passive 5, Active 3, Unique 0. Noble: Passive 4, Active 8, Unique 0."

Memet had a unique skill called 'Odor Analysis', which allowed him to determine the number of passive skills, active skills, unique skills, and status effects by smelling the target.

"Hmm, I didn't need to check Joseph, but Larit, as a veteran, has a lot of skills and is quite troublesome. And that Yui, who broke Moran's nose... Memet, why do you look so pale?"

"Apli, promise me that during this quest, we won't engage in any hostile actions against Yui's party."

"Of course. We're sharing information to pass our C-rank test. I have no intention of getting into conflicts with other parties."

Memet, still pale, looked at Apli, took a deep breath twice, and then began to speak.

"Passive 28, Active 28, Unique 7. These are Yui's skill numbers."

"No way. I've never heard of such ridiculous skill numbers."

Memet's statement made even the depressed Moran look up and argue.

"Haha, come on, Memet, you must be joking to surprise Moran. Tell us the truth."

"It's not a joke. To be honest, that kid is a monster. We absolutely cannot make him our enemy."

Seeing Memet's serious expression, Apli finally realized it was the truth and broke out in a sweat.

"This is bad... No, it's worse than bad... A total of 63 skills? I've never heard of such a thing. We have to compete with such a monster for C-rank...

Moran, do you understand? From now on, we will not engage in any conflicts with Yui's party. Instead, we will try to build a cooperative relationship. This is an order as the leader."

"...I understand. I won't bother Yui anymore."

"Another thing that concerns me is the status effect he had."

"Maybe he was using 'Brave Heart' from 'Combat Skill'? It's standard for human front-line roles to use mental enhancement skills during battles."

"Hmm. Also, Lena, who is a support role, might have a similar unique skill to mine. When we passed by, she warned me that she wouldn't forgive me if I smelled her again."

"Did she use 'Analysis'?"

"If she did, I would have noticed the magic power activation."

"That's true..."

Lena was just annoyed that Memet had smelled Yui, but Apli and the others interpreted it differently, leading them to be wary of Yui in a different way, which Lena hadn't anticipated.

Status of the Three Girls of Kingetsuka

Name: Apli Cott

Race: Human

Job: Warrior, Heavy Knight

Level: 28

HP: 1435

MP: 148

Strength: 398

Agility: 120

Vitality: 419

Intelligence: 79

Magic: 63

Luck: 34

Passive Skills:

Hammer Mastery Level 3

Shield Mastery Level 3

Physical Enhancement Level 1

Poison/Paralysis Resistance Level 2

Mental Unity Level 1

Active Skills:

Hammer Techniques Level 3

Shield Techniques Level 3

Combat Skills Level 2

Combat Techniques Level 1

Unique Skills:

None

Equipment:

Weapon: Obsidian Warhammer (Level 5): Increases Strength

Armor: Flame Beast Bandana (Level 5): Enhances Fire Resistance

Obsidian Armor (Level 5): Increases Defense

Tower Shield (Level 5): None

Steel Gauntlets (Level 6): None

Ogre Boots (Level 6): Increases Magic Resistance

Accessories: Merm's Earring (Level 6): Increases Luck

Sariet's Hair Ornament: Increases Vitality

Name: Moran Bibiera

Race: Human

Job: Warrior, Heavy Swordsman

Level: 28

HP: 1242

MP: 133

Strength: 387

Agility: 157

Vitality: 388

Intelligence: 46

Magic: 38

Luck: 19

Passive Skills:

Sword Mastery Level 4

Shield Mastery Level 2

Strength Increase Level 3

Physical Enhancement Level 3

Mental Resistance Level 1

Active Skills:

Sword Techniques Level 3

Shield Techniques Level 1

Combat Skills Level 2

Combat Techniques Level 1

Unique Skills:

Passion Fluctuation

Equipment:

Weapon: Obsidian Greatsword (Level 5): Increases Strength

Armor: Obsidian Brigandine (Level 5): Increases Agility

Ogre Gauntlets (Level 6): Increases Magic Resistance

Hard Leather Boots (Level 6): None

Accessories: Arest Ring (Level 6): Increases Poison Resistance

Parara Bracelet (Level 6): Increases Paralysis Resistance

Name: Memet Kobyl

Race: Human

Job: Mage, Witch

Level: 30

HP: 376

MP: 1148

Strength: 62

Agility: 87

Vitality: 89

Intelligence: 318

Magic: 371

Luck: 23

Passive Skills:

Casting Speed Increase Level 4

MP Recovery Speed Increase Level 4

Magic Power Increase Level 3

MP Consumption Reduction Level 3

Staff Mastery Level 3

Active Skills:

Black Magic Level 4

Barrier Level 4

Magic Awakening Level 3

Analysis Level 3

Unique Skills:

Odor Analysis Level 2

Equipment:

Weapon: Staff of Life (Level 5): Heals when used

Armor: Apprentice Witch's Hat (Level 6): Increases Magic Power

Witch's Robe (Level 5): Increases Magic Power

Witch's Shoes (Level 5): Increases MP Recovery Speed

Accessories: Arest Ring (Level 6): Increases Poison Resistance

Laeren's Earring (Level 5): Increases Casting Speed