Volume 2 Chapter 46 The Rune Trial
After defeating the Wyvern, even Sandra felt relieved.
"Ah... I'm tired. I might need Wade to give me a hug. I just want to go straight to bed."
"...As expected of Silver grade. Taking down a dragon and being so carefree, that's amazing."
Ice approached Sandra and praised her, surprising her. Sandra blinked in response.
"Surprising praise. I thought you disliked me, Ice"
"...I only dislike one person, you know? Sandra-san, you're not that person, right?"
"Right. So, there is someone you dislike?"
"An old friend. Haven't seen her in a while."
With a hint of something unsaid, Ice looked away. Sandra continued, saying, "Anyway..."
"For now, there will definitely be a softening of your attitude. Did you acknowledge me as a comrade in this battle?"
"Ah, I see. Yeah, I've been acknowledging Sandra-san since before this battle. You're strong and can see things we can't. I thought it would benefit Wade-kun."
"As expected, a woman who boldly declares 'I love you'. Unwavering."
"Um, it's embarrassing, so please don't say it too much...!"
Ice blushed slightly. Sandra found it amusing. Despite being so composed, she could return to her usual self when not in an emergency.
"Now then, let's move on to the aftermath. Clay and Toxy seem quite out of it. We'll have to leave it to Wade to handle the Wyvern, and we need to ensure a safe place for the two of them."
"Y-yeah... Then, I'll bring Toxy-chan to Clay-kun's location, okay?"
Saying that, Ice ran off. With thunderspeed, Sandra was probably a bit faster, but if she's willing to do it, let's leave it to her.
"Good job, Sandra-san! You must be tired."
Clay said as he sat down near the wyvern. Sandra shrugged her shoulders.
"Clay, you were amazing. I've never seen anyone physically expand a magic seal during combat before. You probably won't be able to use that magic again once you wipe the blood off. You should go see a skilled tattoo artist."
"Yeah, you're right... For now, the fact that I haven't been struck by divine punishment means I've managed to slip past the law's watchful eye. Sandra, do you happen to know a good tattoo artist?"
"My old hag has knowledge of various types of magic, including Transformation Magic in this area. But since you did what you did, I'm sure you'll get scolded severely."
"Haha! That's good to hear. I won't do something like this again. I'll make sure to be scolded properly to ensure I don't repeat it."
Clay touches a magic seal made of blood on his arm. Whether it was because it was formed as a magic seal or not, the blood had already dried. Normally, a wound like that would still be bleeding, but it wasn't.
"But Wade-kun is slow. It doesn't seem like he's been fighting as long as we struggled."
"I feel like worrying is just a waste."
He's exceptional for hunting an earth dragon as Wyvern bait. The Wyvern should be fine too.
"Haha. That's true. Wade often finds himself in a tight spot, but he always manages to turn the tables and win in the end. There's no problem at all."
"I understand."
As they chat, Ice returns carrying Toxy, who is leaning on him weakly.
"Are you okay, Toxy-san? You seemed pretty rough during the battle."
"...I'm... fine. I'm back to my senses now."
In a weak voice that seemed to be at his limit, Toxy weakly raised her thumb.
Sandra and the others looked worriedly at each other, but Toxy was the most knowledgeable about medicine. If she said everything was okay, they had no choice but to believe her.
"So, Wade-kun, right...?"
It seemed Ice had been listening to Sandra and the others and spoke up.
"Out of the three doses I lent, Wade-kun has one that hasn't been used yet... So, by looking at that, I should be able to tell. ...But, I thought he had already defeated the Wyvern."
"Already?"
"Yeah. By the time we were calling out to defeat the other wyvern."
Wade had achieved victory in the first half of the battle, even without Ice's assistance. Considering the strength of the Wyvern they had just defeated, his prowess stood out even more.
"So, now..."
"Um, wait a bit, okay?"
Stammering, Ice closed her eyes. Then, she furrowed her brow.
"Maybe it's still inside his adventurer's pouch, I guess. But, there's an incredible sound of wind... and screams? What could that be? He definitely defeated the wyvern, though."
"Ice-san, what on earth is that?"
When Clay said that, a tremendous roar echoed in the distant sky.
""""―――――!""""
Everyone reacted at once, turning towards that direction. There was something like a bright red bird there. However, considering the distance and shape, that must be―――
"...a Fire Dragon...?"
One step above a wyvern. The most famous species among dragons. The epitome of dragons. It was a Fire dragon.
"Uh-oh. This is beyond our league even if we unleash our full potential."
As Sandra widened her eyes and said that, everyone trembled. Even without this, each of them was already heavily injured. They didn't want to encounter a normal monster right now, let alone this.
"...But if we have no choice, we'll just have to do it."
While stumbling, Clay stands up. Sandra, with a pained expression, gets ready. But Toxy seems to have no energy left, just lying on her back watching the Firedragon.
Then, the Firedragon crash-lands. Hurriedly, it races towards the members, scraping the ground.
"Everyone, get ready!"
Called by Clay, Sandra sends electricity crackling around her. The intermittent light sounds of "crack, crack" indicate the depletion of her magic power. Sandra bites her lower lip, thinking, "I can't believe it's come to this."
And the Fire dragon approaches. 10m (30ft) away. About to collide to them. As Clay try to raise his spirits――――
"Everyone, this is different."
A beat after Ice's voice, the Fire dragon's head flies off.
"...Huh?"
"Evacuate! Evacuate!"
Clay instinctively lifts Toxy, pulling everyone away to prevent them from being caught in the dead body of the Firedragon that lost its head.
However, at that moment, Sandra felt something strange. This was because the direction the Firedragon's carcass was moving suddenly changed.
It was as if it was showing concern without even needing to evacuate.
"Hey! Is everyone okay!?"
Appearing there was Wade. After making sure everyone was okay, he sighed in relief, saying, "Good, no one got caught up in it."
After that, even Sandra, looking puzzled, asked,
"Um, Wade? That Firedragon..."
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was chasing after it because it was running this way, didn't expect it to be where everyone was fighting."
"No, not that. Um, what? ...Wade, did you defeat the Firedragon?"
"Yeah."
"...Why?"
Not understanding at all, Sandra asked. Wade then nodded and said, "Yeah."
"The wyvern hunt ended quite easily, but as soon as I tried to regroup, the 'trial' rune started glowing. Then I saw this dragon charging straight at me."
"Huh...?"
"Is this the rumored crisis detection?! I panicked and fought back, then two more joined in. Their carcasses are up on the mountain."
"Wait. Wade, we should wait for a moment."
"Oh, okay."
Sandra, looking puzzled, silenced Wade for a moment. Then, she organized her thoughts and spoke.
"So, Wade, you defeated the wyvern safely, but then you took on and defeated three fire dragons that attacked afterwards, all by yourself."
"Ah, yeah. It was fun but surprising, and I was worried too — But, hey! Is everyone okay? The wyverns? Oh, sorry, if only I had defeated them sooner."
Wade hung his head in deep regret. However, Sandra reassured him with a "No, it's okay."
"Still, it's amazing. Or rather, more than amazing work. If even one Fire Dragon had come over here, we would have definitely been wiped out. In fact, how could one person handle 3 Fire dragons..."
"Oh, you have no idea what aerial combat is like from the first Wyvern. I was just messing around with gravity in the air, flying around and cutting off the dragons' heads."
"This is the last one," Wade looks at the rolling Firedragon's head.
"...But, I'm really sorry. Maybe it was tougher than I thought for the Wyvern? Sandra is indeed a Silver Rank, but the three of you..."
Clay said to Wade, who had a furrowed brow.
"No, no need to worry. Rather, if it's just this level, we can handle it ourselves. It was a battle that included growth."
"But..."
"It's not 'but.' We made a vow to catch up to you and fought together. Stop sympathizing. It's insulting beyond this point."
Wade fell silent, while Clay continued.
"So, be happy. Even without you, we can still hunt down Wyverns. If you keep leading us with your amazing talent and straightforwardness, we'll become stronger on our own, just by looking up to you."
Seeing Clay laugh without a care, Wade finally relaxed his attitude.
"Yeah, that's right. I need to trust you more. Good job, everyone. Taking down Wyverns is no joke. Everyone's awesome."
"Oh yeah, it's truly amazing. So, give me a break, will you?"
Clay let go of his strength and lay down on the ground. He relaxed his whole body and let out a relieved breath.
However, it's not just Sandra who feels the sense of impatience.
It exceeded their expectations. Wade is growing much faster and stronger than Sandra anticipated, even more than the early prediction line of his growth speed.
To achieve that, just a makeover like this won't cut it. They need to become stronger, much stronger. Otherwise, everyone, including Sandra, will surely fall behind Wade.
Ice had a slight tense smile as she looked at Wade. Clay was still lying on his back. Toxy finally managed to sit up. And Sandra herself bit her lower lip.
"Well then, make sure to gather the dragons in a way that's easy to transport."
With a light-hearted tone, Wade jumped up and flew straight into the sky. What number magic was that? Surely, everyone except Wade was thinking the same.
"I want to become stronger."
Everyone nodded at Ice's words.
"It's still not enough. At this rate, we'll be left far behind by Wade-kun."
"What should we do? ...Wade is too strong, and his talent is overwhelming."
"We have no choice but to work hard. We need to go above and beyond. The kind of effort that surpasses ordinary people, just to catch up to geniuses."
Even Sandra, once hailed as a genius, has already fallen behind Wade. When she was working as a bodyguard, she might have been slightly ahead. But now, it's different. She's fallen far behind.
For an ordinary person to catch up to a genius...
The four of them exchange glances. The madness in their eyes from earlier hasn't faded.
Simple effort won't be enough. It will require extraordinary effort. But surely, Wade embraces that extraordinary effort with joy. Even if Sandra and the others collapse, Wade will continue with enthusiasm.
Therefore, what Sandra and the others must do is go beyond. Extraordinary effort is not enough. They need radical, fundamental efforts that deny common sense from its roots.
Ice speaks up.
"To make Wade-kun happy,"
Clay continues after Ice's words.
"To become heroes on par with Wade-kun,"
Following Clay's words, Toxy speaks up.
"To stay together with Wade, we will go on adventures forever."
Sandra continues Toxy's words.
"To die in the same place as Wade."
The four of them seek madness. More madness to become even stronger.
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