Chapter 79

"Hey... Hey... Say something."

Yu was getting frustrated. The reason was—

"Don't walk next to me if you have nothing to say. Your face just pisses me off."

Joseph was walking next to Yu. Normally, Joseph would go on and on with pointless chatter, but today he was silent, pouting and seemed lost in thought.

Ever since breakfast, he had been like this, and Yu couldn't hide his frustration, becoming increasingly rude.

No matter what Yu said, Joseph continued to walk next to him, his gaze unfocused, as if the wind was blowing past him.

"Damn, this is so troublesome."

"What should I do..."

"I don't know!"

"Well, Mr. Yu, can you at least help me out here—"

"Why?"

"Why? Just look at this situation."

From a distance of several meters away, a huge object whizzed past Lality's head, who was calling out to Joseph for help.

"Close call! Eckart, keep it up!"

"It's impossible... Don't make me do this. It's hard enough to provoke this many with 'Taunt,' and I might die."

Yu and Joseph were walking as if they were on a stroll, but Lality and the others were surrounded by monsters.

The monsters might not be recognized as such by some, because the ones Lality and the others were fighting were trees, Trolls, about 4 to 5 meters tall. Their massive bodies made Eckart, who was 2.5 meters tall, look like a child.

Eckart was now using his massive body to swing branches down at his head. Eckart blocked them with his shield, but his feet sank into the ground.

"Mauran, I'll keep them distracted, so cut the branches! Memet, use any attack magic except fire!"

"Leave it to me!"

"Got it. Layers of water overlap, forming a blade, a sharp blade of water to cut down my enemy—"

Ari used the skill 'Taunt' to draw the enemies' attention, Mauran cut in, and Memet delivered the final blow. They fell into their usual winning pattern.

Ari deflected the Trolls' attacks, and Mauran cut down the branches, while Memet's second-tier black magic 'Water Sword' completed just as Mauran moved away, slicing through the Troll.

"Hehe, when we get our hands on it, it's like this. But are the others okay?"

Mauran looked over to Sham and the others, who were surrounded by five Trolls, with Sham fighting alone.

"Hang in there! The Trolls' massive bodies and strength are intimidating, but if you stay calm, they're not that tough."

"Damn it, even a kid can take them down! Dog, let's go!"

"O-Okay."

Sham dodged the Trolls' attacks and slashed at them with his magic sword. The Trolls, hit by the sword enveloped in flames, let out strange cries and swung their massive bodies around.

When the Trolls' swinging branches hit Dog, he flew away as if he were a pebble being thrown.

"Ugh..."

"Dog!"

It seemed Dog's internal organs were damaged, as he spat blood and left a red stain on the ground.

Sham tried to rush to Dog's side, but the surrounding Trolls wouldn't allow it. One of the Trolls approached the immobilized Dog.

"Shit! Dog, run!"

Samoha shouted, but Dog didn't respond. He remained crouched, seemingly unaware of the approaching Troll.

A small shadow fell on Dog's face as he crouched.

"Ugh... W-Who...?"

"...Troublesome."

Lena muttered, but still cast a heal on Dog. Gradually, the pale color returned to Dog's face due to the heal's effect.

"Sorry... I'm saved—behind you."

Dog noticed the Troll approaching from behind Lena, but it was already too late. The Troll was swinging its branch down at Lena.

The moment the branch made contact with Lena, Dog closed his eyes, imagining the worst.

The next moment, a dull sound was heard, and Dog cautiously opened his eyes. Lena was standing as if nothing had happened, continuing to heal.

The Troll looked at its broken branch for a moment, then attacked Lena again with its remaining branches, but all of them were deflected by Lena's barrier.

"You... You're casting a heal on me while maintaining a barrier and deflecting the Trolls' attacks!?"

"...You're healed. Take care of the rest yourself."

Once Dog's injuries were fully healed, Lena seemed to lose interest and turned to face the Troll.

While casting the heal on Dog, she had been preparing her third-tier black magic 'Thunderclap,' which was now converging on the tip of Mild's staff. The Trolls continued to swing their branches at Lena, but her barrier remained unscathed.

"...Persistent."

Lena's Thunderclap coursed through the Troll's body, smoke rising from various spots.

"A barrier that can withstand the Trolls' attacks and a magic powerful enough to take one down in one hit!?"

"Hey, why are you using a fire magic sword?"

While Sham was fighting the Trolls and marveling at Lena's combat prowess, Yu suddenly spoke to him.

"Do you realize we're in a forest? Why are you using a fire magic sword?"

"Now's not the time for this."

"This is the time. Your magic sword is needlessly spewing flames. If the embers fly and spread to the trees, what are you going to do?"

"Are you an idiot! Look around, can't you see we're surrounded by Trolls!?"

"You're the idiot. There are no Trolls around you and me."

Sham looked around and was astonished to see that not only Ari and Lality, but Nina and the others had also defeated the Trolls.

"Got it? Do whatever you want, but—"

Four Trolls suddenly attacked from behind Yu.

Without even turning around, Yu swung his left hand backward. As he did, dozens of first-tier black magic 'Stone Bullets' were deployed and fired. The stone bullets, no larger than pebbles, exploded upon contact with the Trolls, creating a chaotic scene.

The Trolls pressed their branches against the large holes in their bodies, seemingly still trying to understand what had happened. But they didn't have time to think. Dozens of Stone Bullets had been fired, and three of the Trolls, hit by a barrage of them, fell.

The remaining one was the largest, about 5 meters tall. Despite having numerous holes in its body, it still had the will to fight and swung its branch down at Yu.

Yu dodged the branch by jumping up. He jumped about 3 meters high, a height impossible for a human in armor.

"Idiot! That's—"

Sham's shout was understandable. What goes up must come down, even a child knows that.

Three meters was a height that practically invited a punch from the Trolls. The Trolls, seeing the opportunity, swung their branches horizontally with all their might.

The next moment—Yu jumped even higher. Everyone was surprised by his jump in mid-air, but Memet had figured out the trick.

The Trolls, having swung their branches with all their might, lost their balance, and Yu delivered a downward slash to their heads, killing the sturdy Trolls instantly.

"Who knew magic could be used like that."

"Memet, what do you mean? Was that some kind of skill?"

After defeating the Trolls, Ari asked Memet, but Memet was staring at Yu, muttering to himself.

"Can't hear you, Memet."

"Wait... I'll explain."

Memet had a habit of biting his nails when he was thinking. After a moment, he explained to Ari.

"That kid didn't use any skill to jump higher in mid-air.

Ari didn't notice, but I saw threads of magic at his feet when he jumped.

He must have poured more magic into them at that moment to make them strong enough to serve as a foothold.

I think he probably used the same threads to locate the parent and child yesterday. He might even know the location of the dungeon already."

"Memet, I understand the trick of jumping in mid-air, but finding the parent and child was a different skill, right? You know how far away they were. Even if the magic was so thin that I couldn't see it, it's hard to believe.

Besides, the threads of magic were so thin that even you didn't notice them until just now. It's hard to imagine someone controlling their magic like that all the time."

Memet, still unconvinced by Ari's counterargument, continued to stare at Yu. Mauran, unable to follow the explanation, looked bewildered.

"You... You took out that many Trolls in an instant."

Sham cautiously approached Yu. Yu glanced at Joseph, who was leaning against a tree trunk, snoring loudly.

"That guy... Don't let your guard down. There are still some around."

"What!?"

At those words, everyone except Lality and Nina readied their weapons again.

"They're coming from that direction!"

Lality pushed aside the vegetation, and a giant mushroom appeared.

It looked like a mushroom with arms and legs, giving it a somewhat comical appearance, but the expressions of Memet and the others became serious when they saw the monster.

"F-Fire Fungus! Mauran, Memet, you know what to do!"

Ari shouted, and the two quickly nodded and took a step back.

"You guys, it's a Rank 4 Fire Fungus! Take your distance immediately!"

Mauran shouted to Dog and Samoha, but they drew their swords and ran towards the Fire Fungus.

"You idiots."

"Leave them. Focus on not getting too close, Mauran."

"I was careless earlier, but I've taken down Rank 4 monsters many times!"

Dog slashed at the Fire Fungus, which let out a strange cry and shook its body. Red spores drifted from the cap of the shaking Fire Fungus.

"How's this! You monster—Aaaaaahh!!"

When the spores touched Dog's arm, it felt as if it had been set on fire.

Samoha, trying to help, got spores in his eyes. He rolled around, clutching his eyes in agony. The pain was so intense that he couldn't fight, dropping his sword and clutching his eyes. With each breath, spores entered his lungs, causing a burning sensation inside his body.

"Why is a Fire Fungus, which lives in the lowest level of 'Valotte's Garden,' here!?"

Sham tried to help the two but was prevented by the spores floating in the air, unable to get close.

The Fire Fungus, as if mocking Sham, swayed its body and approached the two.

Its spore-covered arm stretched out to grab Samoha's neck, but it was blown away.

"Ugh... This is too painful... I can't take it anymore..."

Eckart, with his shield, charged at the Fire Fungus, but his arms were already inflamed from the spores, and he winced in pain.

Memet's second-tier black magic 'Ice Lance' pierced the flying Fire Fungus.

The Fire Fungus pulled the Ice Lance out of its body and stood up. It seemed to have taken little damage, and it began to move, swaying its body.

"Don't get close to the Fire Fungus or hit it. You know what will happen."

Ari shouted at Yu and the others, but Yu spoke to Nina and Marifa, and they stepped forward.

"Nina, do you have a ranged attack?"

Marifa had a bow, so Ari knew she could help, but she didn't think the short-sword-wielding Nina would be much use.

"Um, Marifa and I are enough."

"What... are you saying? The Fire Fungus is one of the strongest Rank 4 monsters! The strategy is to attack from a distance—"

"Can you please be quiet? Master says this will be a good experience. Don't interfere."

Marifa's words left Ari speechless. She had been told to stand aside by a clearly lower-ranked adventurer.

"Then, Nina, let's go as planned."

"Sure thing."

Nina responded to Marifa. Ari, seeing their lack of tension, thought they didn't understand the situation and would suffer, but Nina had already started running.

"Didn't you see what happened to the others!?"

Ari couldn't help but shout.

"As long as we prevent the spores, it's just a moving mushroom."

Marifa's whisper caught Ari's attention. Marifa was casting first-tier elemental magic 'Water Ball.'

"That won't do any damage to the Fire Fungus, which has high magic resistance."

Marifa didn't aim the Water Balls at the Fire Fungus but at the sky. One after another, they were fired, and a heavy rain fell only around the Fire Fungus.

Once drenched, the Fire Fungus couldn't release any more spores.

"Sorry about that."

From behind the Fire Fungus, Nina's daggers were swung. The daggers, swung from both sides, cut off what appeared to be the head of the Fire Fungus, and it eventually stopped moving.

"No way... They took it down. So easily."

Ari, in a daze, watched as Lena healed Dog and Samoha, and Nina and the others collected the magic core.

"Eckart, you should have left those guys alone."

"Hehe, I don't know why, but my body moved on its own."

While casting a heal on Eckart's arms, Yu looked somewhat pleased, despite calling him a softie.

"Eckart, you're such a softie. From now on, you can call yourself 'Softie Eckart.'"

Lality, looking at the inflammation on Eckart's arms, let out a "Whoa."

"Only you, Lality, can call me that when I move on my own, got it?"

"Shut up!"

Yu couldn't help but smile. Lality, blushing, shouted at Eckart, but it was clearly out of embarrassment.