Volume 1 Chapter 20 The Dangers Of Precocity
Rain Great Forest.
Originally, it was one of the resources owned by a great eastern nation.
It was a place where precious timber could be gathered abundantly, but now it has turned into the 'invasion zone' of the Forest King's Army.
Across the continent, there are areas ruled by various Demon Lords, and they are gradually expanding their territories with the aim of dominating the continent.
The places where humans have been driven out and taken over are called 'invasion zones,' and the humans are fighting against the Demon Lord armies to reclaim these zones.
Newly formed invasion zones often become conflict areas between the two territories, and Rain Great Forest was no exception, becoming a battlefield.
The stage for the battle between the eastern hero Dahlia's 'Peace Sign' and one of the Demon Lord armies, the Forest King's Army.
"Haah... haah... haah...!"
But the battle had become overwhelmingly one-sided.
Sword Saint Dahlia checked the situation with a feeling of despair.
In front of her was a horde of soldiers from the Forest King's Army.
To her left was the battered holy knight Jostum.
To her right were the fallen saint Iris and the sage Grisine, both collapsing.
The situation was already on the brink.
(This wasn't supposed to happen...!)
Dahlia, known as the eastern hero, had imagined a completely different future.
With their job class levels maxed out, the hero party had reached the limits of humanity.
They were supposed to defeat any monster without losing, easily annihilating even the feared Demon Lord armies.
And eventually, they would wipe out all the Demon Lord armies and be celebrated as heroes.
...or so it was supposed to be, but they were unable to defeat the Forest King's Army, one of the Demon Lord armies.
Moreover, one particular fact was intensifying Dahlia's sense of despair.
(Why can't we even defeat these mere subordinates...!)
The opponent was not the leader of the Forest King's Army, Forest King Gálu...
It was just the monster subordinates.
Yet, they were struggling to even take down such monsters.
While glancing at the fallen Saint Iris and Sage Grisine, she secretly clicked her tongue when a wolf-faced monster from the Forest King's Army stepped forward.
"Are you really the rumored hero, Dahlia?"
"W-What did you say...!"
Feeling provoked, Dahlia's forehead throbbed with anger.
The wolf monster, unfazed by her fury, continued calmly.
"Your friends are already in bad shape. You're so worn out you can barely fight. I heard that hero Dahlia is one of the top adventurers, but seeing you in person is a letdown."
"...!"
Dahlia gritted her teeth in anger but couldn't retort.
Everything he said was true.
Her friends were too exhausted to continue fighting.
Iris and Grisine were completely unconscious.
And she herself was completely drained.
Seeing her state, the other monsters laughed mockingly.
"You came to take the head of my leader, but with that level of skill, you won't even make it out of this forest."
"Yeah. How did you even manage to enter this forest with such weak abilities?"
At that, the surrounding monsters burst into laughter.
She thought she could fight better than this.
She had the highest job class and had reached the maximum level.
She had even jumped to the top rank in the adventurer guild at a young age and received the title of 'Hero' from the guild headquarters.
So why couldn't she even defeat a member of the Forest King's Army?
"Hah! You're like a spoiled swordsman who thinks they're strong just because they were handed a fancy sword without ever learning proper swordsmanship."
"W-What... What are you trying to say...?"
The wolf monster taunted Dahlia.
"You've got a good job class and your level is maxed out, but that just means you're 'only that much'."
"Only that much...?"
"There's no skill or strategy in this fight. You're just uselessly swinging the power you've been given. I guess that's enough if all you're doing is hunting low-level monsters, but it won't cut it for you all in the Forest King's Army."
"..."
No skill or strategy.
Just swinging the power she has been given.
She had a feeling during the fight, but could it be that she couldn't even use the full potential of her job class properly?
Was she simply unable to fully unleash the power of the 'Sword Saint' at level 50?
If that's the case, it's no wonder she can't win against those guys.
With the power of a level 50 Sword Saint, there's no way she should be losing to these guys.
So why can't she handle the power of her job class to the fullest?
"How the heck did you guys even reach that level? It's like you just inherited a job class that someone else grew."
"T-This job class is definitely ours! The gods granted it to us, and we grew it ourselves..."
── grew this power?
She was about to say that, but suddenly she cut herself off.
No.
This isn't a power they grew themselves. Their job class has grown this much because of that guy's power.
As she thought this, the words of someone else flashed through her mind.
'Just a heads up. I see you're planning to head into the Forest King's Army's territory, but you might want to hold off on that for now.'
Trainer Aroze.
The owner of the 'Trainer' job class, skilled at helping others grow.
Thanks to that guy's Trainer ability, they were able to grow so rapidly.
No, because their levels shot up so fast, their power and skills are out of balance.
Since the level of a job class and a person's combat skills should rise together, if the level grows too quickly, there's no way to fully unleash that power.
(Did he know it would turn out like this?)
The drawbacks of reaching the level cap with little combat experience.
Because they lack combat skills, they can't even win against opponents who are weaker than them.
That's just how "abnormal" that guy's power as a Trainer is.
With their skills still at a beginner level, he managed to push them to the limit with his incredible training ability.
It wasn't just about boosting growth rates with skills.
They had efficient hunting methods, a wealth of knowledge about acquiring divine growth points, and versatile, rare support magic.
By using all of that, they reached a level that would normally take about 20 years in just 3 years.
It's no wonder their combat skills are lacking.
Not knowing that, Dahlia overestimated her own power...
"Uraaaah!!!"
Suddenly, the holy knight Jostum, who was standing to the left, shouted loudly and slammed his big spear into the ground.
Right after that, he swung it up, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Tch, don't struggle like that!"
The dust temporarily blinded the Forest King's Army, and he turned to Dahlia while carrying the fallen Iris and Grisine.
"We're escaping, Dahlia!"
"Huh!? There's no way we can just run away after being beaten like this!"
"Stop talking nonsense! Iris and Grisine are down! If we keep stubbornly fighting, we'll all die!"
"...!"
With a pained decision, Dahlia swallowed her pride and turned her back to escape from the monsters.
Stumbling with her battered body, she made her way out of the Rain Great Forest.
After running for a while across the plains, they finally reached the mountain range that marked the boundary of the invasion.
Finding a cave in the rocky mountains that led to a human town, they decided to rush in and take a break there.
As she gritted her teeth in frustration that she still couldn't shake off, Jostum, who was lighting a torch, let out a regretful voice.
"I never thought there would be such a gap between job class power and combat skills. I realized it for the first time when fighting those Demon Lord troops."
"..."
Dahlia was thinking the same thing, but she chose to stay silent.
If she said it out loud, it would mean acknowledging his power.
The gap between their job class power and combat skills means they've gotten too strong too fast.
"At our current level, we still can't take them on. We should pull back for now and prepare properly..."
"If we do that, it'll be just like what they said...! Plus, if everyone finds out we ran away from here, the hero party's reputation will be ruined."
Unlike Dahlia, who was filled with frustration, Jostum calmly looked at their fallen comrades and spoke up.
"If we stubbornly push forward, this time we'll all get killed. And from what I saw, there were members of the Spirit King's Army mixed in with the Forest King's Army."
"Spirit King's Army?"
"I've heard there are no curse-using monsters in the Forest King's Army. And if the one who put Iris and Grisine into a deep sleep is a magician, it's definitely someone from the Spirit King's Army. Probably a high-ranking member too. They might have teamed up with the Forest King's Army."
"..."
If that's the case, rushing in without thinking is definitely not a good idea.
They could end up getting hit with some kind of special curse ourselves.
And if the Forest King's Army and the Spirit King's Army really have joined forces, they must be the largest monster group around.
It's impossible to handle this on their own.
If they run away now, it'll be just like they said, but they really should retreat...
"I found you!"
""──What!?""
A creepy voice echoed through the cave, and Dahlia and Jostum jumped to their feet.
At the cave entrance, the pursuers from the Forest King's Army had appeared without them noticing.
One of them, a skeleton monster dressed in a top hat and jacket, let out a strange laugh, "Kakaka.".
"Too bad for you. I can track the location of those cursed, so hiding is pointless."
"Damn it...!"
Jostum wobbles but readies his spear.
Out of the corner of her eye, Dahlia draws her sword and stands in front of Jostum.
"Jostum, you need to take those 2 back to town."
"Huh? What about you, Dahlia?"
"I'm going to hold them off here."
Carrying the two who are unconscious and escaping from these guys is going to be tough.
So, someone needs to stay here and hold them back.
At the same time, they have to break the curse on Iris and Grisine.
The curse can only be broken by defeating the spellcaster, so they have to take down that monster who cursed them.
That's why she's staying here.
This way, she can maintain the hero's honor, and besides...
(There's no way I'm going to do what he said!)
She'll prove that she's the "real hero" by winning here.
What drives hero Dahlia is just that foolish pride.
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