Ossan Saikyō Chapter 14 Part 14
After the battle ended, I told the assembled adventurers everything I knew about the Devils and the『Gate to Another World』.
There was a possibility that more might appear in the future, and it was important to know the enemy’s characteristics beforehand. In particular, I warned them never to approach a『Gate to Another World』.
If they were accidentally sucked into the otherworld, ordinary adventurers would likely have a hard time making it back alive.
When we returned to the Marquis’ residence, Marquis Raghantz herself came out to greet us. Since Arslin would be giving the report, I wiped myself down and rested in my room before joining them for dinner, which also served as a meeting.
“I hear you were quite impressive today. I’ve never seen Arslin speak so passionately about something before.”
Once we were seated at the table, the Marquis opened the conversation with an amused expression.
“I’ve probably fought Devils more than anyone else. I’m just glad the city didn't incur any damage this time.”
“It seems we have you to thank for that as well, Soushi-dono. Arslin said that if you hadn’t been there, there would likely have been casualties among the adventurers.”
“I also informed the adventurers about the Devils this time, so dealing with them should become easier in the future. After all, fighting something unknown is the most frightening thing.”
“Indeed, I agree. However, these Devils seem to be more terrifying monsters than I expected. If such things have begun appearing, this is hardly the time for humans to be fighting among themselves.”
The Marquis said that with a self-deprecating smile, then wore a troubled expression.
From my perspective, she was still a young lady. Even so, I couldn’t help but feel that the responsibilities resting on her shoulders were far too heavy, even for a noble.
“I’ve heard that Vermilion has begun gathering up its higher-ranked adventurers.”
“I imagine so. Have they approached you as well, Soushi-dono?”
“Not yet. That said, many members of my party have circumstances of their own, so even if they did approach us, I have no intention of joining any faction.”
“I would like to see your party for myself someday. Once everything is over, would you visit Mekalinan again?”
“I intend to visit as many dungeons as possible, so there’s a good chance I’ll return with my party.”
“When you do, please come see me as well. I’d love to hear all sorts of stories from everyone in your party.”
It seemed that Ryūsha was interested in female adventurers. Well, I could understand the feeling.
I answered that I understood, but if Ryūsha became the King of this country, visiting him would probably become a political matter in its own right.
“By the way, Soushi-dono, you appear to be about the same age as me. How long have you been active as an adventurer? Arslin said that you must have been through an extraordinary number of life-or-death situations.”
“I haven’t even been an adventurer for a year yet. However, I’ve gained a great deal of experience from various situations, and as a result, I’ve received several skills.”
“You acquired strength surpassing that of an A-Rank adventurer in less than a year? That sounds like something out of the tales of an Ancient Hero. Hmm, come to think of it, Arslin said something interesting.
…
He said that during today’s battle, he felt as though more strength than usual was welling up inside his body. If I recall correctly, I’ve heard that an Ancient Hero possessed a similar power.”
As she said that, the Marquis cast a sharp gaze at me. Across from her, Ryūsha’s eyes began to sparkle.
“No, I’m afraid I don’t know anything about that…”
I answered that, but the Marquis had probably realized that I was lying.
I couldn’t believe she had deduced the existence of the【Marshal's Bearing】skill from so little information. As expected, capable people were frightening.
Still, I hadn’t anticipated that【Marshal's Bearing】would have an effect from merely giving a few commands.
And if it could affect people who weren’t even members of my party, then perhaps, just as Mariane had said, it really was a skill that could work on the scale of an army.
The Marquis stared into my eyes for a while, but then her expression suddenly softened.
“Hehe. I imagine what happened then was simply the result of everyone being inspired by Soushi-dono’s heroic efforts.
…
However, the fact that your fighting raises morale cannot be ignored. It seems that, as you said, you should indeed stand at the front of the battlefield.”
Apparently, she had understood my circumstances and decided to pretend she hadn’t noticed the skill. In exchange, though, she was basically asking me to make use of it in the war.
However, judging by the way the Marquis had put it, I felt as though I was being treated as someone who knew the effects of his skill but was deliberately hiding them while secretly using its power to support the Marquis’ army.
In fact, I had simply completely forgotten about the skill, so being mistaken for such a discreet and thoughtful person was rather… unfortunate.
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The next morning passed without incident. As usual, I headed to the Adventurer Guild, then decided to spend a little time in the B-Rank dungeon near the city.
The B-Rank dungeon in Raghantz territory had 20 floors. It was the type of dungeon where you descended through a huge tomb, and it was primarily inhabited by undead monsters.
Apparently, the Boss on the 5th floor was a physical-type Boss called a Bone Dragon, so it shouldn’t be much of a problem.
There was also a spiritual monster called a Baron Phantom among the weaker monsters on the 5th floor, making it a perfect opportunity to test the effect of『Water Damage』『+3』.
On the 1st and 2nd floors, 2-3 of the familiar(?) Headless Soldiers would appear at a time, but they were no problem at all.
On the 3rd and 4th floors, blue-skinned ogres called Throwing Ghouls appeared.
They threw magical projectiles that exploded like grenades when they hit, which was troublesome, but I could simply charge into them while blocking with《Indomitable Bastion》and defeat them through the impact alone.
Then came the 5th floor, the one I was interested in.
The Baron Phantom was a ghost dressed like a noble. As expected, it specialized in magic, and its area-of-effect spells in particular were troublesome.
Flames could suddenly whirl up from beneath my feet, for example.
The countermeasure was to keep moving constantly. I ran around while swinging my mace and firing【Shockwave】over and over.
Physical attacks normally had difficulty affecting spiritual monsters, but the effect of『Water Damage』『+3』was the real deal. I could blow them all away in a single hit, and once I got used to it, I could finish them with my opening attack.
Now for the Boss room.
A skeleton dragon called a Bone Dragon was supposed to appear, but what emerged from the black mist was a huge dragon made of bright red bones. It was around 20 meters long, perhaps.
It only had a skeleton, but it still had wings, giving it a rather intimidating presence. By the look of the red bones, it was probably a Rare Boss.
“Ga-gak!” (E/N: Clattering noises!)
As I watched it, it fired blood-colored spears in place of a breath attack. They seemed to be a weaker version of the «Blood Spears» shot by Lylanora, the Boss of the『Wandering Labyrinth』.
I advanced while taking the attacks with《Indomitable Bastion》, only for it to swing its tail sideways at me. The instant I took the blow, I pushed my shield forward.
Perhaps it had acted as a counter, because the dragon’s tail shattered.
“Ga-guh!?”
The Red Bone Dragon seemed momentarily bewildered, but this time it came down from above and tried to bite me.
Its movements were fast, and the teeth lining its open jaws looked sharp enough to tear through plate armor in a single bite. But naturally, against me, that was a completely disastrous move.
My《Abberant Mace》slammed into it like a counterattack, and the red dragon’s skull shattered into pieces.
What appeared afterwards, was a silver treasure chest. When I opened it, a beautiful silver staff nearly as tall as I was appeared inside.
It was decorated with the figure of a praying angel, and I knew at a glance that it was meant for Freynil.
Freynil must be having a pretty hard time being unable to see me, so I hoped this would make a fitting souvenir for her.
Thinking that, I decided to leave the dungeon for the day.
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E/N:
Freynil might as well jump Ossan's bones, to say nothing about other members 🤣 🤣 🤣 Bones! 🤣
Stay tuned!
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