Chapter 126 There'S No Need To Worry
The 10 members of 'Dark Crow', led by ≪Extreme Sword≫ Aaron Gale, proceed through the Snowfield Floor.
Their route wasn't the shortest one, which would take them through the forest inhabited by numerous monsters and the lair of the Frost Dragon.
Aaron used his exceptional [magical energy sense] to avoid monsters and chose a safer route, even if it meant taking a detour.
Sometimes, this route was even longer than the regular one.
"Hey, Lord of Extreme Sword."
The leader raised his voice, noticing that Aaron had deliberately chosen this route.
They knew that ≪Extreme Sword≫ had repeatedly cleared the Snowfield Floor, even making a wooden sword using the 'Ice Elemental Treant's core wood'.
In other words, Aaron was familiar with this floor.
"Don't you know a more time-efficient route, Lord of Extreme Sword? Why are we taking this detour?"
Aaron's response was brief.
"I'm choosing the safest route with the fewest monster encounters."
It was the expected answer. But those words were not what the captain and his team wanted to hear.
It seemed like they were being told that they were just a hindrance.
"...It's true that we're not much help in battle. However, if you're worried about us, please don't bother. We'll try not to get in the way of your fight, Lord of Extreme Sword."
The captain said this with a hint of frustration.
But Aaron just chuckled, like an adult teasing a child.
"...!?"
For a moment, it felt like he saw right through them.
"There's no need to worry. Let's take it slow and easy. There's no point in pushing ourselves too hard."
"...Okay."
There was no way to respond to that. The captain wasn't fully convinced, but they kept their doubts to themselves.
A hint of unease.
Can the current Extreme Sword really fight?
The captain thought that would be clear once the battle started.
And then――
"...Hmm? This is bad."
After a few hours, the moment finally arrived.
Aaron stopped in his tracks, looking vigilant, and gazed into the distance.
"Lord of Extreme Sword, what's wrong?"
"It seems like we've been detected by the Frost Dragon... It'll be here soon."
The moment they heard that, they felt a thrill of excitement, despite themselves.
Now they could finally see Extreme Sword in action.
And if he wasn't up for the fight, they'd decide to retreat and come back another day.
"...It's here. Lord of Extreme Sword, give us orders."
Before long, the Frost Dragon's figure came into view, flying towards them through the sky.
When they asked for orders, Aaron nodded without hesitation.
"Everyone, stay hidden and don't move from here."
"――What?"
But his orders were different from what they expected.
They understood the part about staying hidden, but not moving from here seemed dangerous. They were about to voice their doubts when Aaron activated his skill—no, technique—before the Frost Dragon even got close.
Imitation Scout Technique――[Mirage].
It's a skill that releases a thin aura outside the body, randomly refracting light to create a shimmering effect like a mirage.
The aura itself emits light, and the randomly refracted light makes it difficult to visually track the area affected by [Mirage].
Usually, one envelops their entire body with it, or deploys it between myself and the enemy, making it impossible for them to visually track my movements. Or, if they're skilled enough, they can limit it to specific parts like their arms or legs during combat, making it hard for the opponent to read their attack trajectory or distance, or even detect their movements or intentions.
But Aaron's [Mirage] was different from anything the captains knew.
"――――!?"
The aura bursts out.
The aura manifested by [Mirage] isn't aggressive, but the enormous amount of aura made the captains instinctively go on guard.
The aura released by Aaron didn't just envelop himself, but also the captains, and spread even further beyond that.
It's an excessively wide-range [Mirage].
This skill, which far exceeded the allowed range, was already a completely different entity from the [Mirage] the captains knew.
(What's going on...!! I can't see anything!!)
It's not that the surroundings turned dark; everything visible was severely distorted, and the outlines of all objects were collapsing.
Just opening their eyes made them feel sick. If someone had a weak sense of balance, they wouldn't even be able to walk properly. And that was the case even for the captains.
Since their vision was unreliable, moving carelessly was dangerous.
(It's not just that. Is this also interfering with our perception of magical energy and auras?)
Furthermore, the thin aura scattered around the area was making it difficult to perceive magical energy and auras.
In other words, this was interfering with 3 senses: vision, magical energy, and auras. It's likely that the Frost Dragon, which was approaching them, lost its accurate sense of where they were.
(All I can sense is that the [Mirage] is deployed up to several dozen meters ahead...)
By carefully observing the restricted range of perception, the captain was able to grasp the situation to some extent.
(But what's the plan from here? Frost Dragon is probably on high alert in all areas where [Mirage] is deployed... The effect of a surprise attack is limited.)
If they don't move, they'll just get caught in a single blast from above.
Even if they attack Frost Dragon, there's no need to deliberately spread [Mirage] over a wide range.
So, if they're going to attack...
Imitation Scout Technique――[Subtitution]
Immediately after, the captain felt multiple auras emanating from Aaron's body, rushing in 3 different directions.
The number of auras was extremely high, and with [Mirage] interfering with their senses, the captain couldn't grasp the exact number, but it was equivalent to 33 people.
The 33 auras split into 3 groups of 11 each, rushing off in different directions.
There's no way a scout wouldn't be able to detect the meaning behind this.
Distract the enemy, create chaos. There's more than one role to expect, but if they don't move, they'll likely lure the enemy in the wrong direction――that's the goal.
(But is it possible?)
The captain doubted it because, originally, [Subtitution] isn't a skill that can be moved over long distances.
By releasing a thin aura cluster and moving it, [Subtitution] deceives one's own aura and movement. In other words, it's a decoy made of aura.
However, naturally, the farther away it is, the harder it becomes to operate and maintain the decoy. Even for an expert, maintaining it over 100 meters (≈ 328 feet) is an extremely difficult task.
Moreover, Aaron didn't release just one decoy.
And even if they're caught up in the movement of the auras, if they see [Subtitution] itself, they'll easily realize it's just a decoy. After all, what they see is just a cluster of aura, so it's only a matter of seconds before they become suspicious.
(It's impossible...)
The captain couldn't think of a way for Aaron's plan to succeed.
But...
"Good. It seems like it was a success."
After [Mirage] was dispelled and their vision returned to normal, Aaron turned around with a calm smile and said so.
"No way...!!"
"Really...?"
"It's a lie...!?"
Looking up at the sky, the captain and their members could barely see the Frost Dragon flying away in the distance, its back turned towards them.
It was an unbelievable sight, especially for those who were well-versed in reconnaissance skills.
"What in the world did you do...? ."
"Ah, it's..."
The captain's eyes widened in shock as he asked, and Aaron explained it away nonchalantly.
According to Aaron's explanation, the captain and the others understood up to the point where he deployed [Mirage]. However, there was a secret to making the Frost Dragon mistake the decoy for the real deal.
"It's like this: I made it snow while speeding up, and then took in some snow inside the decoy to make it hard to tell it apart from the real thing."
He said, demonstrating it right in front of the captain's eyes.
Aaron easily created a decoy and made it speed away, creating a trail of snow behind it. A streak of snow smoke rose up into the air, probably to make the enemy think the decoy was real.
At the same time, he took in some of the snow into the decoy, dyeing it white and making it look like a person.
From a distance, it looked like a person was speeding away, using the snow to hide their figure. Moreover, he released multiple decoys in different directions from the wide-range [Mirage], making it seem like there were multiple people escaping. The enemy would likely think that one of the groups was the real deal and chase after it.
"After that, I just had to disable 2 of the decoy groups at a certain point, and make the remaining one escape as far away as possible, leading the Frost Dragon on a wild goose chase... that's about it."
It sounded simple, but of course, it wasn't.
Maintaining a decoy over a long distance while making it speed away was no easy feat.
"What... the...!!"
The captain's eyes shook in astonishment.
No, it wasn't just the captain. Every member of 'Dark Crow' was shocked and amazed by the incredibly advanced technique that had just been demonstrated before their eyes.
Aaron didn't fight. However, without fighting, he showed them enough power to take them to the 46th floor. His physical condition looks bad, but the impact might be minimal.
(Maybe, because his physical condition is bad, he's being stubborn about avoiding combat?)
Anyway, it means he has a good grasp of his own condition. And since he declared that there's no problem with this exploration, the captain thought that there's nothing to worry about.
(And, by doing it that way, he deceived the Frost Dragon... Maybe he's trying to teach us something?)
The captain spread his imaginative wings and flew into a world of fantasy.
From the investigation of ≪Extreme Sword≫ and the investigation of the clan ≪Wooden Sword Way≫, they already knew that Aaron could imitate various Jobs' skills.
But they never expected him to be proficient in scouting skills as well.
The captain made a guess. Perhaps Aaron isn't a pure scout, but rather, he's someone who usually fights and wants to teach them about new possibilities of scouting skills. That's why he's avoiding combat and acting like a scout.
([Mirage]'s cast area, [Subtitution]'s application... It's difficult to copy them exactly, but there are several techniques we can use...)
There are techniques that can be influenced by the environment, such as using snow as a decoy to deceive, but it's enough to open the door to new possibilities and overturn fixed ideas.
"Well, shall we proceed then?"
"...Yeah, let's do that, Lord of Extreme Sword."
The group, having removed the threat of the Frost Dragon, began to move forward again.
But the expressions of the 'Dark Crow' members, who were gazing at Aaron's back as he led the way, were clearly varied.
There's no more anxiety. Rather, from now on, they're excited to see what he'll show them.
They were being charmed by the unknown abilities of ≪Extreme Sword≫――.
――No.
Let's put it another way.
Their eyes, before Aaron's extraordinary abilities, had begun to cloud over....
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