Volume 4 Chapter 7-2 Pick-up Party
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
In this world, it’s custom for pregnant women to wear earrings to ease their labor pains, which is why he’s getting such odd looks from these people──it’s news to him.
As a Treasure Hunter, his abilities are pretty standard.
That means, in terms of raw strength, he’s not exactly a powerhouse.
Can’t even spot a Stealthed Lameia, so he’s barely any use as a Thief either.
* * *
The Priest Sergeant is level 45.
Priests might be a lower-tier job, but in the priestly line of work, they’re considered a top-tier, high-performance class.
Experts in healing magic, they’re also pretty good at both offense and defense, making them decent combatants.
He’s a Hispanic American who got summoned 2 years ago, a rarity with his background as a Navy aircraft mechanic deployed to Iwakuni.
He was just visiting Tokyo on vacation when he got caught up in the summoning──a guy with some seriously bad luck.
A hardcore gamer, Sergeant believes he’ll get home someday, so he’s making the most of his life in this other world.
Since a lot of parties want a Priest, he doesn’t hasn’t much trouble finding companions as a loner.
He usually have a few semi-regular parties, but during the Wyvern Festival, everyone’s off on their own, so he was taking a break in the capital.
Knight Justice strong-armed him into joining, but he’s not used to this kind of hate-filled battle without his usual companions, and it’s making him hold back.
”Guess we’re just not high enough level. If our average was 50, we could handle the whole dungeon, right?”
Aoki speaks up a little louder this time, making sure Justice can hear him──intentionally, of course.
”You’re not helping, you know! You’re the one with the lowest level here.”
It wasn’t Justice who got in Aoki’s face after that remark, but Musashi.
Despite the age gap, Musashi and Justice get along well, often teaming up.
Between them, they’ve got a clear division of labor: Musashi threatens the other party, then Justice steps in to mediate.
Musashi flicked out a dagger so quick it fluttered in front of Aoki’s eyes, the blade gleaming as he licked the tip with a sly grin.
He probably was pretending to be some rogue, but the way he hesitated, almost nervously licking his blade so he wouldn’t cut his tongue──it looked downright comical.
”Sure, I’m the lowest level──I get that. But right now, I’m dealing the most damage, don’t I?”
Aoki met Musashi’s intimidating stance head-on, unfazed and quick to reply.
If you’re dueling a treasure hunter and a magic swordsman face-to-face, the magic swordsman’s got the advantage──he can even turn the tide with just a 2-level gap.
It’s clear: in a one-on-one fight, the magic swordsman is always a threat.
He’s decent with a sword, sure──plus, he’s got enough MP to fire 3-digit volleys of magic arrows.
Novice-level magic arrows are simple attack spells, but once you level up enough, even thieves can use them.
They might not pack huge raw power, but with one-beat cast times and no cooldowns, they can be spammed fast.
And with their high accuracy, many mistakenly believe they’re hits that *can’t* miss.
Fighting with sword and magic combined──that’s a lounge-only skill the true magicians won’t master.
Sure, you can’t cast long-charging, brute-strength magic spells, but Aoki only wields magic arrows──so it’s no problem.
Mixing sword strikes with magic attacks is a nightmare for opponents.
While they’re distracted by the blade, the magic slips in; if they’re wary of magic, the sword strikes.
Nothing about that combo plays by the usual rules, hitting where it hurts without warning.
Honestly, it was Musashi who hesitated, unnerved by Aoki’s unexpectedly gutsy attitude.
He looked over to Justice, as if asking for help.
”Hey, cut the brawl. We’re not beaten yet.”
Justice, the knight, stepped in like a true leader to mediate the chaos.
”We’ll win next time. If you’d just push a little harder, we’d have knocked down Naga already.”
Justice subtly hints that the reason they’re falling back isn’t just level gaps──Aoki had been saving his magic arrows for the right moment.
But Aoki isn’t about to stay silent.
”What are you even saying? It’s ’cause you never use your Provocation skill, that’s why!”
Provocation skill is a crucial one for knight jobs──it draws the enemy’s attention right to you.
The process of hate management isn’t too different from what you’d see in a typical MMO.
In a nutshell, the tank lures the enemy’s attacks with Provocation, while the damage dealer ditches defense and goes all-out to take down the enemy.
At first glance, the tank knight seems to be in the most danger, but in reality, it’s the attacker who drops their guard and fights that’s at the greatest risk.
Screw up the hate management, and you might even take a counter hit for massive damage.
If you’ve managed the enemy’s hate properly, even a Priest casting healing magic wouldn’t get targeted.
But Justice here is famous for not using Provocation skill at all.
He insists it’s a loss for him to be the only one targeted, and he won’t budge an inch, despite the criticism around him.
In a pickup party, it’s common to see the tank abandoned during a focused attack while the other members run for their lives, so he’s not entirely without a point.
It’s a matter of life and death──nobody wants to die.
But being the last one standing, and withdrawing safely through the enemy’s fierce assault──that’s the mark of a skilled knight.
Not many can pull it off on a real battlefield, but if you can’t, you shouldn’t be picking fights you can’t win in the first place.
If Justice the knight won’t use Provocation, the rest of the team has no choice but to hold back their attacks and adjust the hate.
Against weaker foes, sure, but this time we’re almost evenly matched.
With the enemy monster using vanguard and rearguard tactics, we’ll need to divide our roles properly if we want a shot at winning.
”Alright then, let’s do this: whoever takes down the enemy gets a special bonus. Show me your bravery, and make sure you earn it!”
Justice gives Aoki a firm pat on the shoulder.
Aoki’s anger flashes past, and the blood rushes to his head.
He realized the man in front of him truly doesn’t understand what the problem is.
A coward who puts on an act is a hundred times better than someone who’s just incompetent.
He has run into plenty of players in online games who, for all their level, are useless at skill.
But he never thought he’d end up with such a dud in another world.
Just thinking about how much damage this spineless, incompetent bastard has caused our party… it’s gnawing at him.
Maybe someone’s already lost everything because of this clown tripping us up.
Sure, wild-party teams are always a gamble ── but this guy’s a ticking landmine.
They should’ve stayed clear.
Still, Aoki’s own fault for not digging up enough info beforehand.
As Aoki’s face falls, Sergeant meets his gaze and shrugs casually.
Yep, he’s definitely American.
His gesture got that natural swagger──like he’s born for this.
Even so, knowing there’s at least one guy here who reads the room a little… it’s a small comfort.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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