Volume 1 Chapter 18 A-Rank Adventurers
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
TL-summary:
The A-Rank party of Housaka Mizuki, Akise Haruka, and Shishido Asumi defeat the boss Volca-Haze, but Asumi is critically injured by a cursed attack that defies healing magic. Separately, Hirose, Rindou Hibiki, Kushima Koharu, and Kirino enjoy a Christmas party until Mizuki calls in a desperate plea for Hirose’s help, which is revealed to be the only possible cure.
—
”—Now! Go, Mizuki!” Haruka, the gray-haired magic user in a white robe, commanded.
”You got it!” Mizuki affirmed, gripping her longsword.
The mage raised her staff, unleashing a lightning bolt at the immense, foul-smelling, and evil flame dragon, Volca-Haze, causing its massive body to seize up and creating a fleeting chance.
The silver-armored swordswoman, her golden hair streaming down her back, wasted no time, rushing the titanic creature’s neck. Utilizing the ‘Vacuum Slash’ Skill from her Gift, One-Thousand Blades (Bantō), she unleashed a cleave against Volca-Haze’s tough scales. Blood sprayed from the dragon’s neck, but the wound was still shallow—not nearly deep enough.
”—Mizuki, get back.”
”Understood!” Mizuki cried, immediately retreating.
The shift brought forth the black-robed girl, crowned with an oversized conical hat—Asumi, the black-haired magic user whose bangs were cut straight across her forehead. She held nothing in her hands but thrust them forward, instantly forging an enormous fire mass.
The vast magical energy swelled rapidly before her, and she unleashed it in a torrent. The fiery mass rocketed forward, destined for Volca-Haze’s face—or so it seemed. The dragon opened its colossal maw and simply swallowed the entire conflagration.
”What the—!?” Mizuki, the golden-haired swordswoman, was immediately jolted by shock.
”Mizuki’s slash is the only thing that’s been consistently effective…” Haruka explained, her voice steady.
”We’ll both keep covering you! Just whittle it down!” Asumi called out.
”Got it! I’m counting on you, Asumi! Haruka!”
Regrouping and coordinating their efforts, the three of them advanced once more upon Volca-Haze—their synchronized attack rhythmically pulling them through the fight.
* * *
—Approximately one hour passed since the start of the battle.
Volca-Haze’s massive tail had been severed, its left foreleg sliced clean off, and its right eyeball was crushed. Rivers of blood flowed from its massive form; anyone could see the beast was moments from being put down.
”Just one more push!” Mizuki shouted, her voice tight with strain.
…On this Christmas Day, the three A-Rank Adventurers belonging to the Tenchi Guild—Mizuki Housaka, Haruka Akise, and Asumi Shishido—were challenging the boss at the deepest part of a high-level B-Rank Dungeon that had manifested in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward.
Their combined strength could usually clear up to a mid-A-Rank Dungeon without issue. However, today’s high-level B-Rank boss felt fundamentally different.
Asumi Shishido’s formidable fire magic from her Gift, Flame Lord (Engō), was proving almost useless, meaning the fight was being shouldered by the other two. Still, she managed to cancel out the flames Volca-Haze spat, making her an indispensable defensive bulwark. Despite the struggle, Mizuki and her team had pushed Volca-Haze to the brink of defeat.
”Haruka!”
”—Here goes!” Haruka declared, raising her staff to the sky.
Lightning from her Gift, Heaven’s Thunder (Tenrai), rained down directly onto Volca-Haze’s head. Already exhausted and dismembered, the dragon couldn’t even flinch, taking the full brunt of the strike.
It was their established pattern, an attack designed to deal reliable damage: as the lightning paralyzed the monster, Mizuki seized the opening to deliver the finishing blow, aiming for the massive, scarred neck.
”Hyaaaaah—!!”
Mizuki activated Vacuum Slash. The cleave tore through the air and plunged into Volca-Haze’s neck. And then—
She didn’t cut it completely in half, but she severed the neck by more than half its width. A torrent of blood erupted, and Volca-Haze’s colossal frame crashed to the ground with a deafening thud. It didn’t twitch; it simply fell silent.
”Hah… Hah… We did it…!” Mizuki panted, the relief visible on her face.
”You nailed it, Mizuki!” Haruka cheered.
”Good work, Mizuki,” Asumi added, her voice quiet but relieved.
Haruka and Asumi approached the exhausted Mizuki, who had dealt the final blow. They exchanged high-fives, their minds already jumping ahead to the Christmas victory party they’d planned.
They turned back to collect the materials that should have been left behind by Volca-Haze as it dissolved into magical residue… but immediately noticed something horrifying.
”…It’s not vanishing,” Mizuki whispered, her gaze fixed on the corpse.
Normally, when a monster in a Dungeon is defeated, its body dissipates into a magical remnant that floats into the air, and its corresponding materials pop into existence for collection. Yet, the Volca-Haze, which should have been instantly killed and dissolving, remained motionless but fully intact.
”—No way!?” Haruka gasped.
”Mizuki?” Asumi questioned, sensing the panic.
Mizuki instantly activated her Skill, ‘Magic Vision.’ The Gift allowed her to see the magic coating an opponent, follow the flow of its energy, and even pinpoint weaknesses. It was also an excellent tool for predicting incoming attacks. Right now, Mizuki’s eyes showed a vast, swelling mass of magical energy gathering right at the mouth of the downed Volca-Haze.
”Danger! Everyone get ba—”
”—Get out of the way!“
Asumi, who rarely raised her voice, shoved herself in front of the other two. Her fire magic was the only thing that had blocked the dragon’s flames before. Although Mizuki had screamed for them to evade, Asumi acted on the instinct that she could block it with her fire once more.
”No, Asumi! The sheer volume of magic—!!”
But Mizuki could see it: an unbelievable surge of magic, far beyond what the beast had previously used, as if it were pouring its very last life essence into a final, desperate attack.
”Wall of Flame—!”
Asumi slammed her hands down, conjuring a massive pillar of fire from the ground. It was at that precise second that Volca-Haze opened its mouth and spat out a pitch-black, devastating torrent of fire, far more powerful than anything they had witnessed before.
”—GHH!!“
Gritting her teeth, Asumi strained against Volca-Haze’s deadly flame. She poured all her A-Rank Adventurer resolve and every drop of her remaining magic into the towering fire pillar to hold it back.
But then—
”GUWAAAHHHH!!!”
Overwhelmed by the dragon’s power, her fire pillar vanished, and Asumi’s body was instantly engulfed in the terrifying, black-red flame.
””ASUMIIII—!!””
In the final moment before the pillar was extinguished, Asumi’s only action had been to protect the two behind her. She took one step forward, shielding her friends, and absorbed the entirety of the inferno with her own body.
* * *
”Asumi… Asumi…” Mizuki murmured, tears streaming down her face.
Hours after the battle with Volca-Haze, it was nine o’clock at night, and the area was plunged into darkness. Mizuki and Haruka were now at the government-operated hospital specifically for adventurers.
Asumi lay unconscious on the bed before them, kept alive only by an IV drip. Her entire body was swaddled in bandages, but her left side—from her face down to her foot—was a mass of gruesome, black-red burns. The wounds were tragically exposed, radiating such an intense heat that touching them bare-handed felt like it would cause a burn on contact.
”How… how could this happen…” Mizuki whispered, choked by tears.
”Mizuki…” Haruka gently stroked Mizuki’s back in an attempt to comfort her.
Volca-Haze had expired and vanished into dust after unleashing its final breath of fire. Asumi, thanks to her sacrifice, had saved Mizuki and Haruka, but the force of the blast had incinerated her hat and robe, leaving her semi-naked and critically wounded.
They had rushed her to the hospital and called in a high-ranking healer they knew to cast healing magic. The horrific revelation: while the burns on her right side had been perfectly restored, the black-red wounds on her left side had not healed at all.
For Adventurers, it was common knowledge that most injuries, even severe burns, could be cured by a healing Gift; while gifts to restore lost limbs were still unconfirmed globally, curing wounds was standard practice. Yet, Asumi’s left-side burns defied all known healing magic.
”—Let me see her!”
The hospital room door burst open, and a single woman rushed in.
”F-Fuyutsuki-san!” Mizuki exclaimed.
It was Saori Fuyutsuki, a Guild staff member who possessed the Gift of ‘Appraisal.’
”…I will use Appraisal!” Fuyutsuki stated, her voice sharp with urgency.
”P-Please! Tell us what state Asumi is in!” Mizuki pleaded. She had contacted Fuyutsuki at the Guild, who, despite being busy, had rushed over as quickly as possible.
”—Skill: Appraisal,” Fuyutsuki murmured, her gaze fixing on Asumi lying in the bed.
She stared intently, then closed her eyes before turning back to Mizuki and Haruka.
”Fuyutsuki-san… what about Asumi’s condition!?” Mizuki demanded.
”I will explain. Shishido-san’s condition is—a Curse.”
Mizuki and Haruka both felt their own hearts violently constrict in their chests.
”—Huh?”
Stunned, the two girls stared blankly. Fuyutsuki calmly began her explanation.
”The Curse is a type of Skill. It has adhered to and is ingrained in her skin, and it will not peel away. This cannot be healed by healing magic. Also, though she is currently unconscious, she must be experiencing unimaginable pain.”
”T-Then, that means—”
”This pain is dangerous. Unless we deal with it immediately, she is at risk of going into shock and dying.”
”N-No way…” Mizuki despaired, her face etched with hopelessness. Haruka covered her mouth, tears welling in her eyes.
”—AAAAAAAAHHH!?”
Just then, Asumi, who had been lying still, suddenly woke up, screaming and writhing in agony.
”Asumi! Asumi! What—what can we do…!” Mizuki cried, frantic.
”Let’s call the doctor, now!” Haruka insisted, already moving.
* * *
A few minutes later, the doctor administered an anesthetic, and Asumi fell back into a pain-free sleep. But the atmosphere in the room was bad.
”It’s not unheard of for a monster to lay a Curse. However, there are only a handful of individuals in the world with a Gift capable of completely removing a Curse, and as far as I know, none of them are currently nearby,” Fuyutsuki explained, her face grim.
”W-Where is that person now—!” Mizuki pressed.
”In England.”
”Ah…” A dry, hollow sound escaped Mizuki’s lips.
”…Is there truly no hope for Asumi? Is there nothing that can be done…?” Mizuki clenched her fists so hard her clothes threatened to tear.
”……Just wait a moment,” Fuyutsuki murmured.
Amidst the despair, a single thought flashed through Fuyutsuki’s professional mind.
”Let me take another look at Shishido-san’s condition.”
”W-What are you doing?” Haruka questioned.
Fuyutsuki once again activated her Appraisal Skill, examining Asumi’s body in meticulous detail.
”I’ll get right to the result. There might be a slight chance for her to recover.”
”What!? What kind of chance…!” Mizuki’s voice was instantly filled with a rush of frantic hope.
”Upon closer inspection, the Curse on her burns only seems to be on the surface layer. If it had penetrated deeper—into her organs—the possibility would have been zero. However—”
Fuyutsuki pulled a tablet from her bag and began searching for something.
”—If it’s only the surface… there is a high probability that someone could heal it.”
Mizuki immediately jumped to her feet, moving toward Fuyutsuki.
”So what is it!? How can we treat Asumi!?” That was the one question she needed answered.
”Please! We—we can’t lose her…!” Haruka rose as well, rushing to Fuyutsuki to join Mizuki’s desperate plea.
”…If I reveal a civilian’s personal information, I’ll be disciplined by the Guild. But seeing someone on the verge of death right in front of me… I am prepared to happily accept that punishment. Though, I do apologize to him in advance…” Fuyutsuki spoke with resolute professionalism.
She turned the tablet, which displayed the search results, toward Mizuki and Haruka.
”If my prediction is correct, he might be able to cure Shishido-san’s Curse.”
”Ah… ah…” Mizuki’s voice trembled as she stared at the information displayed on the screen.
And Fuyutsuki revealed the name.
”The name of the individual with the Gift who might be able to heal Shishido-san’s Curse is—Hirose.”
* * *
”—Hirose! You gotta go easier on me, come ooon!”
”I’m not one to hold back in a game,” Hirose replied, not even flinching.
It was December 25th, and Hibiki was spending Christmas Day at Hirose’s house. The two were currently in the middle of a fighting game tournament in his room.
”Hirose-kun gave you a handicap, so you’re just too weak, Hibiki-chan,” Koharu noted, a light tease in her voice.
”Ten losses in a row is kinda… Hibiki-chan, I think it’s time to swap,” Kirino declared, a hint of amused bluntness in her tone.
Koharu and Kirino were also at Hirose’s house, enjoying a casual four-person Christmas party. They had spent the day out, but the evening had brought them back to his house for games and relaxing.
Hirose’s parents were home, and his mother, Honoka, who had met Hibiki before, was still utterly flustered that her son had brought home three beautiful girls.
Right now, the four were thoroughly enjoying their Christmas gathering.
”Ughhhhh. Next time, the winner has to take off a piece of clothing!” Hibiki pouted, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
”What is that!?” Hirose sputtered.
”Strip game!” Hibiki declared.
”Why does the winner have to take something off!?”
”Well, if you lost on purpose, then I would take off my clothes, right?” Hibiki winked slyly.
”No… wait… and you’d be happy if I lost on purpose!? Are you okay with that, Hibiki!?” Hirose questioned, baffled.
”Ah, you hesitated just now. You totally imagined it, didn’t you? You perv, Hirose… hnnng“
If they kept going, it might lead to something more. But with Hirose’s parents right downstairs, even Hibiki wouldn’t try to push that far. She was just messing with him.
”Ah… but it’s past nine. I should probably head home soon…” Koharu noted, checking the time.
”Yeah, me too,” Hibiki sighed regretfully, pausing the game. But Kirino, who was dead set on staying, interjected.
”Then can I just stay the night here?” she asked, a hopeful, blunt look on her face.
”Absolutely not!” Hibiki shot back immediately.
”If Hibiki-chan is saying so…” Kirino reluctantly agreed.
”It’s just not fair for one person to get to sleep over on Christmas! Besides, I went home yesterday, on Christmas Eve.”
”Why didn’t you just stay over yesterday?” Koharu asked, amused.
”No… it’s too embarrassing to stay over, I mean… our parents are in the house no matter which place we go to.”
”Ah, I should have mentioned my house. If I give my people a heads-up, no one will come near the room, and you can indulge in a long, leisurely tryst.” Kirino stated this as matter-of-factly as if suggesting a cup of tea. When Hirose had visited Kirino’s house before, she had walked from her room to the bath and back completely nude, and though Kirino had been loud, no one in the house had ever said a word.
”Seriously…!? But Kirino, you’d be there.”
”I would, yes.”
”Then we wouldn’t be alone!?”
”It’s fine. I’d only watch.”
”You’d definitely jump in halfway through, wouldn’t you!?” Hibiki accused, pointing a finger at her.
(Even if there was a separate guest room, Kirino would absolutely use a master key to barge in.)
”Honestly, Kirino, you’re too much…” Hibiki groaned.
”Hehe, thank you,” Kirino beamed, taking it as a compliment.
”I wasn’t complimenting you at all!?” Hibiki protested.
Lately, Hibiki had been forced into the straight-man (tsukkomi) role because of Kirino’s slightly off-kilter nature.
”Oh well… I guess we have to call it a night for now—”
Hibiki stood up, preparing to leave. Just then, her smartphone vibrated.
”Huh… it’s Mizuki-nee.”
Wondering what her cousin wanted on Christmas Day, Hibiki pressed the call button.
”Mizuki-nee, Merry Christmas!” Hibiki greeted her immediately, cheerfully.
But the answer she got back wasn’t a holiday greeting.
‘H-Hibiki! I’ll do anything! Please, you have to help us right now!!’
”Huh?” Hibiki was thrown by the sheer desperation in the voice.
‘Asumi… Asumi has collapsed! She might actually die if we don’t do something quick!’
”Asumi… you mean the Asumi-chan in your party, Mizuki-nee?”
‘Yes! Please! You know, right!? The contact info for—for Hirose-kun!!’
At the mention of his name, Hibiki’s eyes immediately snapped to Hirose’s face. He looked at her, confused by the sudden change in her demeanor.
”I know him… I mean, he’s right here in front of me…”
‘!! I’m so sorry… it’s Christmas, and I’m not close enough to Hirose-kun to ask this… and I know the last time we met didn’t go well. But… please… I’m begging you… help us right now! I’ll do anything, anything at all…!’
From the other end of the line, Mizuki’s voice was broken by suppressed sobs.
”—Okay. Mizuki-nee… I’ll convince Hirose. Just text me where we need to go.”
‘Hibiki… thank you…!’
This was the first time Hibiki had ever heard her stylish, cool, strong, and slightly annoying cousin speak with such despair. They had grown up together, practically like sisters.
It was true Mizuki had crashed in on them when they were being affectionate, which was annoying, but it hadn’t ruined Hibiki’s relationship with Hirose. That was all water under the bridge now.
Hibiki hung up and turned back to face Hirose.
”—Hirose… I need you to help. I’ll even apologize to your parents for you… please,” Hibiki urged.
Whenever she asked for something, she usually used a calculated, flirty, and adorable expression. But this time, her face was deadly serious, and her tone was genuine and solemn.
”Hibiki… I’m always on your side. I’ll give you my full strength, anytime—so go ahead and use me.”
Without needing to be told everything, Hirose responded calmly, his words meaning ‘Of course I will.’ His loyalty to her was absolute.
Notes:
• Housaka Mizuki – A famous, admired model and A-rank adventurer (F, 18yo, 162cm, long blonde hair, E-cup). With intimidating skills and high appeal, Mizuki complicates Hirose’s situation, representing the broader implications of beauty and strength in-universe.
• Kushima Koharu – A reserved, literature-loving girl (F, 156cm, G-cup, black braid) who struggles with family problems, including bruises and emotional stress. She experiences dramatic physical and emotional improvements after Hirose’s skill use, revealing a hidden wild side during explicit nighttime encounters.
• Shishido Asumi – Calm, beautiful fire mage and model (F, 18yo, 163cm, long straight black hair, F-cup). Suffering burns in the past, Asumi is healed by Hirose, symbolizing the skill’s healing and beautifying powers. She’s mature and quietly supportive.
• Rindou Hibiki – Hirose’s cheerful, bold classmate who is the first to request his Beauty skill. Hibiki (F, pink bob hair, 158cm, F-cup) is outgoing, expressive about her interests, and quickly becomes Hirose’s girlfriend after an explicitly intimate scene. Her reactions help set the adult tone of the story.
• Akise Haruka – Thunder mage caught between energetic allies (F, 18yo, 157cm, short gray hair, C-cup). A background party member using a staff, Haruka adds depth to the magical world and shows the variety of personalities and powers in Hirose’s orbit.
• Volca-Haze – A formidable high-level B-Rank boss monster encountered in a Tokyo dungeon. It is an immense, foul-smelling flame dragon with tough scales and devastating fire attacks. Its unique trait is that it does not dissipate upon defeat like normal monsters, and it possesses a final, cursed breath attack that inflicts unhealable burns resistant to magical healing. It is ultimately defeated by the A-Rank party but critically injures Asumi with its curse.
• Kirino – Strikingly beautiful with blue long hair (F, 168cm), Kirino is gifted with ice magic and feels isolated because of her appearance. Hirose’s Beauty skill helps her improve her self-image and social comfort, directly affecting Kirino’s relationship with her family and classmates.
• One-Thousand Blades – The Gift possessed by Mizuki Housaka. It grants her enhanced swordsmanship abilities and access to skills like Vacuum Slash, making her the primary physical damage dealer in her A-Rank adventurer party.
• Vacuum Slash – A skill used by Mizuki Housaka from her Gift ‘One-Thousand Blades’. It creates a powerful cleave of compressed air, effective against tough opponents like Volca-Haze, though it requires an opening to be fully effective.
• Flame Lord – The Gift possessed by Asumi Shishido. It allows her to generate and control powerful fire magic, though it proved largely ineffective offensively against the flame-resistant Volca-Haze, serving better as a defensive countermeasure.
• Heaven’s Thunder – The Gift possessed by Haruka Akise. It allows her to summon and control lightning magic, which she uses to paralyze targets like Volca-Haze, creating openings for Mizuki’s Vacuum Slash to land critical hits.
• Wall of Flame – A defensive fire spell cast by Asumi Shishido using her Flame Lord Gift. She conjures a massive pillar of fire to block incoming attacks, which she used in a final, desperate attempt to shield her party from Volca-Haze’s cursed breath.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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