Volume 4 Chapter 5-2 The Level of the Hero
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
’Don’t go that way! There’s something at your feet!’
’So what direction is that… AAAAH!!’
A boy screams, ignoring the scout’s warning.
Right at his feet, a monster bares its fangs.
The monster lurking in the ground is the Angler Grass.
This fish-like creature hides underground, sensing the vibe around it and waiting for prey to pass by.
Its large mouth snaps shut like a bear trap on whatever wanders too close.
It’s a terrifying predator that could swallow a human whole if it were large enough, but the one that showed up this time was small.
Thankfully, the boy wasn’t eaten.
Still, its sharp fangs clamped down deeply on his leg, not letting go.
’Hey, are you okay!’
The others hurried over, swinging their weapons to attack the Angler Grass.
Several slashes and spells hit, and the Angler Grass sank into the ground in pain.
Finally, the boy freed his leg and collapsed onto the ground.
’That hurts, it hurts so much…’
’The potion! Hurry!’
’Got it!’
One of his friends quickly pulled out a potion and poured it on the injured boy’s leg.
The deep wound started closing up fast.
But just because his wound healed doesn’t mean everything is fine.
The hurt boy sat on the ground, slumped over and exhausted.
His face was etched with fear and fatigue, and the shock of the battle wouldn’t fade easily.
’I can’t take this anymore… let’s go home.’
The others shared a quick glance at his small voice.
They probably felt they were pushing too hard, too.
It was like the boy’s words pulled the hidden anxiety from their hearts.
’Yeah, you’re right.’
The leader boy reluctantly agreed.
Then the boys managed to drive off the remaining monster.
After that, they disappeared to the 2nd Floor as if they were fleeing.
* * *
”What did you think?”
I turned off the display and asked Lifia and Kéa, who had been watching with me.
”I thought they’d be stronger since they’re heroes, but… I don’t know, they were a lot…”
Lifia replied, carefully choosing her words in a modest tone.
”You’re weak little trash!”
Without a pause, Kéa cut in sharp and clear.
Her blunt words made me involuntarily smirk.
Lifia also nodded softly, grimacing at how honestly Kéa spoke.
You could tell from Kéa’s words that she hated them.
But even just looking outside emotions, they were weak.
I don’t have combat skills myself, but even I could see how unready they were.
Of course, I’ve got some advantages over them.
Been leveling up in the dungeon’s deep floors, equipped with magic tools that boost body ability.
Even considering those, still──
Even if I had to fight them one on one, I might just barely manage.
That’s how weak they felt to me.
With Lifia and Kéa’s strength, beating those guys wouldn’t be hard.
Kéa could crush them head-on with speed and power, and Lifia’s Spirit Magic could wipe them out in one go.
”Well, they still got room to grow. Can’t let my guard down.”
Even as I said that, I felt a certain relief inside.
Sure, they might gain experience and grow stronger.
But even if they do get to where we are now, by then, we’ll be far ahead.
Dealing with them as heroes was annoying, but in the end, it was good info collection.
* * *
Later, after finishing our dungeon run, we were relaxing in a Love Hotel.
As we enjoyed the comfy room, Tifi appeared.
”Oh, good. You’re back then.”
Usually calm, she hurriedly entered the room, looking a bit flustered.
Normally, she’d still be on guild duty, so what’s going on?
”Something happen?”
I stood up and stared at her face closely.
Could it be an emergency?
”No, not something urgent, exactly, but I thought Mr. Taro should know too.”
Tifi said softly, then gave us a slight urging gesture.
She opens the door to the Love Hotel.
It’s the meeting room of the Adventurers Guild.
”It’s over in the Guild lobby.”
Tifi gently nudges the door open, motioning for me to look inside the guild hall.
I peeked through the gap in the door.
There’s the usual adventurers guild hall spread out before me, but something’s off.
The scene is different from normal.
Standing in the middle are the heroes we met the other day in the dungeon.
Facing them is the Gold Rank adventurer party, “Star of the Dawn.”
The leader, Gaedaf, has his arms crossed and is responding to the heroes’ complaints.
But honestly, it’s more of a one-sided shouting match than real talking.
The young leader of the heroes, probably the main guy, is yelling and snapping at Gaedaf.
”We’re heroes! Let us do what we want! Don’t butt in our business!”
”Yeah! We can figure things out ourselves!”
”We don’t need to be told what to do every step of the way!”
His friends start shouting in agreement, but Gaedaf doesn’t even flick.
You can feel his presence, and maybe that’s making the heroes hesitate just for a sec.
But then they shout again, loud as ever.
They went exploring freely, probably got hurt and ran back last time…
Do they even remember that?
Meanwhile, Gaedaf stays calm, opening his mouth to speak again.
”The point is, we tell you what to do so you don’t die uselessly in the dungeon. Rookie idiots rushing in recklessly is just asking for death.”
His voice carries weight, full of gravity and reason.
But the heroes don’t look like they buy it easily.
”We won’t die for nothing! We got skills too!”
”Just cuz you’re Gold Rank doesn’t mean you get to boss us around!”
The arguing keeps going around in circles.
The heroes keep pushing their freedom, Gaedaf warns them of the dangers.
The debate gets heated now, everyone’s getting more into it.
The other adventurers in the guild stop and watch, curious.
”Fine. That’s enough!”
The young hero leader yells out, face all red and furious.
”Star of the Dawn, you guys…”
The boy paused for a moment before spitting it out.
”You’re banned!”
Huh?
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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