Volume 2 - CH 171

Yesterday I went back to the inn alone,…… and when I woke up in the morning, the three of them had not returned yet …….

I’m a little worried about them being on their own…… I wonder if they’ll be okay.

Especially Alena.

I’m sure that either Uchikage or Reizen are with her, but I’m still worried that she’s not within sight of them.

This is just a guess, but I think Alena and Uchikage are probably working together and Reien is working alone.

Maybe Alena and Uchikage are in some kind of situation where they can’t come back because of some kind of trouble.

And Reizen is just lost.

If not, one of them would come back.

Still, I think there is no need to worry about Reizen.

In fact, he’s so tough that he won’t go down so easily.

The problem is with the other two. …… I wish there was some way to contact them at a time like this.

I know about communication crystals, but they are for military use and not for civilians.

Carrying it would only be a hindrance, and adventurers would have no need for it. (In general point of view)

If nobody comes back for another day, I will go out to search for them.

For the time being, I will finish what I have to do today.

Today is the day I have to take a promotion exam at the Adventurers’ Guild.

I don’t think I have to worry too much about it since it’s a practical test, but at least I’ll be prepared for it …….

The only thing I have to do is to buy some recovery medicine from the old man’s store.

◆

When I arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild, I was almost stoned by the number of people there.

I was a little puzzled as to why there were so many people there, but since I had no business at the reception desk today, I decided to just grab one of the staff members and ask them about the promotion exam.

“Excuse me, where are the promotion exams held?”

“Oh! Yes! This way!”

I felt bad for interrupting them as they were carrying papers, but I don’t want to stay here too long right now, so I force my way through.

I went through the staff corridor of the guild and arrived at the place where I had a mock battle with Yurie yesterday.

No one was there, probably because it was morning, and the staff seemed to have returned to their work quickly after telling me to wait here.

I wondered what had happened to the place where Yurie’s battle-axe had been blown away yesterday.

A 70 kg (154.3 lb) piece of iron flew through the air, so it must have been severely crushed. 

I looked for the damaged spot and found that it was still there.

I wondered if I should fix it, but I thought it would be a bad idea to use MP before the practical exam, so I decided to leave it as it was.

But how in the world does Yurie manage to lift a 70 kg (154.3 lb) battle-axe?

Maybe some skill is assisting it, but …… that might be one of the automatic skills.

I mean, it’s strange for me to blow that  battleaxe away with a single blow to the hil……, but why did it blow away like that?

I admit that I didn’t holding back as much as I should have since I knew it was going to be bad if I didn’t deflect the trajectory, but I didn’t think it will blown off that far.

No way this is the …… KageOrochi’s ability …….

It could be my high attack power.

Even if I say so, it’s still only 700~.

“Hmmh?”

Something was caught in the haze manipulation that was constantly being activated.

Since it is in human form, I think that someone is probably approaching this way in a stealthy manner, but …….

Why the hell are they showing up here so brazenly?

Be a little more stealthy.

However, I know where they are, but I can’t see them.

This must be some kind of skill, but it’s a completely meaningless skill because I can figure out where they are even if I can’t see them.

I was staring at the spot where the other person was, and he finally realized that he was being watched, flinched a little, and started to move to the side to see if I could really see him.

Of course, I follow along and move my eyes toward it.

“What the hell are you looking at?”

“You’re being so loud.”

The too-loud young voice echoed throughout the room.

The voice echoed even louder because there was no one in the room except for us.

Still, there might not be just one of them, so I deployed my haze to search the entire room, and I found two more hiding in the room.

In this situation, it would be best to restrain them, but since my restrain skills are of the trap type, I cannot use them here.

Therefore, I decided to use the skill I use most often, infinite water manipulation, to create water and restrain them.

“You first.”

“Nuwah!? W-What is this! Water!?”

The guy in front of me was the closest, so I restrained him first.

Then I restrained the two people who were far away from me by shooting water at them.

“Whoaaa!?”

“Kyaa!”

“Yeah, yeah, come here, come here. It’s time for your sermon.”

I manipulated the infinite water manipulation and lined up the three people I had restrained in front of me.

I almost laughed at these three people, but I managed to hold it in and prepared to give a sermon.

But why do I still not see them?

Perhaps they have not yet mastered their skills.

“Come on, show me your face. Or I’ll raise the water pressure.”

“Water pressure?? What are you talking about?”

“This is what I mean.”

Hearing one of them in pain, the other two released their transparency without hesitation.

The man who had been afflicted also seemed to be unable to resist, but this seemed to be an automatic release.

All three were young and looked like they appeared to be only partially human.

(Idk if they are demi-humans or their invisibility half revealed) 

They were well equipped with armor, but it was all leather, and seemed to be armor that emphasized ease of movement.

“So? What are you guys?”

“T-The examiner! I was hired by the guildmaster to ambush you!”

“So this is what the exam is about, I guess…… You’re awfully lenient with me…….”

Well, maybe it’s a surprise attack that you wouldn’t normally notice. …… Too bad it’s me who’s up against…….

I can’t see anything, and I have my trusty detection skill called haze manipulation.

Speaking of which, I don’t really fully understand what this frost mist manipulation is after all. (One form of haze manipulation)

Perhaps I just haven’t used it. …… No, I couldn’t use it before, even if I wanted to.

I guess I’ll have to wait until the cold season to do this.

Well, …… it’s already getting chilly, and I might be able to use it, but I don’t want to use these guys as a test subject right now because I feel sorry for them.

Now, the main culprit this time is the guild master, but …… where in the world is he hiding?

I don’t think he’s here because he doesn’t respond after using the haze manipulation. ……

“Oh, well. So, do I pass?”

“Y- you’ll need to ask the guildmaster about that. ……”

“Ah, okay. Then I think you guys can go home.”

With that said, I released the three people I had restrained.

All of them were soaking wet, but it was inevitable since they were attacked.

After wringing out as much water as they could, the three of them took a fighting stance.

“…… what are you doing? I said you can leave. ……”

“I’m sorry, but we’re getting paid to do this. ……”

“Oh, yeah, I see what you mean. What can I do?”

“I’d appreciate it if you could show me what you’re capable of.”

“Roger that.”

Then, let’s seriously try to defeat these guys.

But since my skills might kill them, I will fight them with my 【Reamed Water Spear】.

“【Reamed Water Spear】 …… I hope you guys just fainted.”

I deployed ten …… 【Reamed Water Spear】 for each person, thirty in total, and had them ready with the hilt facing the opponents.

Three of them seemed to be backing away with their mouths open, but unfortunately, the accuracy of these 【Reamed Water Spear】 is still not very good, so I can’t go easy on them.

I just hope that they will be knocked out.

I lowered my hand toward them and launched the spears.

It took less than a minute for the three of them to be knocked out, but their injuries were minor, so I called it a blessing in disguise.

For now I’m going to put a heal potion next to them.

I’m sure they are all covered with bruises.

Now, what should I do?

A strange silence took over the place, but there was no sign of the …… guildmaster coming out at all.

Well, I don’t think I should leave here without knowing the outcome, so I’ll just have to see how badly these guys are injured for now.

I can’t use my skills, but I should at least give them some light treatment.