Volume 1 Chapter 58 Leanne's Regret
After Ark's party left, Leanne was standing alone in shock on the lower layer of Aquaflow Cavern.
"Uh, ugh... oh..."
Near her, the party members were groaning as they lay on the ground.
Even Dorothea, the magician, who shouldn't have been hit by any of Ark's attacks, was lying on the ground like Ellis and Fiione, visibly struggling to breathe.
At first, Leanne was overcome with fear and a strange sense of fatigue, but now she has recovered and no longer feels dizzy.
The reason for this is that Ark's ability, 'Insanity', was activated towards Allen and the others within range.
Leanne shifted her gaze to a wall a little further away. Reflected in her blue eyes was Allen, lying on the ground.
Allen, who had been struck by Ark's mithril sword, was violently slammed into the wall of the lower layer and knocked unconscious.
Although there was a large mark left on his unblemished armor, as if it had been cut diagonally across the torso, it did not reach his body. It was his armor that saved his life.
"..."
In the face of this terrible incident, the only question that came to Leanne's mind was, "Why?"
Ark, her childhood friend who was supposed to be the weakest adventurer as Level Cap 1.
When Leanne visited Voltana with Ark to become adventurers, she vaguely thought, "I guess I'll just be with him like this."
Leanne didn't dislike Ark or anything, and if he said something, she would have accepted it obediently.
However, those feelings changed when they had their Ability Appraisal at the Adventurer's Guild.
Leanne is Level Cap 80 now. And she possesses three excellent skills.
In this world, if someone exceed Level Cap 70, they are considered a Hero (Eiyuu). With Leanne's maximum level of 80, becoming an S-Rank adventurer, the most admired and strongest, is not just a dream.
In contrast, Ark's Level Cap is only 1. It's lower than the usual standards of 20 or 30. In fact, it's not just low, it's the lowest. Furthermore, the only skill he possesses is considered an outlier, [Instant Death Magic].
For adventurers, the Level Cap and skills are absolute.
That's why Leanne thought that there is no place for a weakling like Ark in an adventurer party.
It was at that time that Allen, who had already become an S-Rank adventurer, appeared.
Upon hearing Leanne's level, Allen immediately invited her to join his party.
At that moment, Leanne remembered the adventure story she had read with Ark before.
It was a story about a young villager who became an adventurer and defeated an evil dragon to become a Hero.
It was as if she had a delusion that she had become the hero of that story.
And so, Leanne joined Allen's party.
Soon after, she was given equipment and they went to the dungeon to level up. They were then told about a request from King Cretia.
Furthermore, if they could collect three keys, they would be promoted to nobility.
For Leanne, who had always been an ordinary villager, this was like a dream come true.
However, Leanne's smooth-sailing life started to become strange after an incident at the Voltana Adventurer's Guild.
It was said that Ark, whom she had abandoned, defeated a brutal monster that attacked Voltana.
Of course, not only Leanne but also none of Allen's party members believed that Ark, a Level Cap 1, had done such a thing.
And yet, for some reason, the adventurers completely believed it and even a beast girl with a Level Cap higher than Allen's appeared and formed a party with Ark.
Ever since that incident, Allen's party has been looked at with suspicion in Voltana, so they reluctantly moved to Trasverum.
Upon arriving in Trasverum, Allen eagerly suggested diving into the lower layer, where Dolthos from the Wiol Merchant Guild appeared just in time and formed a contract with him.
The battles in the lower layer were intense. A number of A-Rank monsters appeared, something Allen and the others had never encountered before.
Nevertheless, they managed to gradually reduce the number of monsters in the lower layer and became more capable of dealing with them. It was during this time that they encountered Ark's party, and that brings them to the present.
To make matters worse, this time, not only adventurers but even the princess of the Cretia Kingdom was with him. Coming to the lower layer means they must also be after the key, just like them.
Ark was so strong that even Allen and the others, who were S-Rank adventurers, thought it was abnormal.
Leanne thought he wasn't human, but more like a monster.
He easily dodged the thief Fiione's attacks aimed at vital spots and Dorothea's magic, and launched powerful attacks that made Ellis step back. He even demonstrated suspicious abilities.
Moreover, he effortlessly avoided Allen's sword skills, which Leanne had never seen fail against a monster.
She had been impressed by Allen's S-Rank adventurer skills, but since Ark dodged them, although she didn't say it out loud, all the party members were amazed. It felt like there was no way to win anymore.
Leanne gazed into the darkness where Ark and the others had gone.
(If only I hadn't abandoned Ark at that time...)
If I had been there next to him, it wouldn't have been that girl from the beastgirl, but me.
She thought like that.
"Huff... huff... What on earth is this?"
After a while, Ellis managed to stand up on her own. The effect of 'Insanity' must have worn off.
Fiione and Dorothea, who were slashed by Ark, also stood up.
And Allen slowly got up too, starting to walk with unsteady steps while looking down.
"Unbelievable... That I would lose..."
Allen stood muttering to himself, but soon he raised his head. And then──
"No, I haven't lost yet. As long as I can get the key, that's all that matters..."
Saying that, Allen looked towards where his party members were and twisted his mouth.
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