CHAPTER 60 – THE JADE-EYED BLOND ADVENTURER
“We’re running!”
Totoara screamed, her hand resting on Merc’s shoulder. When Merc turned to face Totoara, she found that Totoara was only gazing at the Guran approaching them.
“Running? Do you really think we can run from that?”
“At the very least, we’ll have a better chance of survival than if we fight it. So come on! Hurry!”
Totoara screamed and threw a knife forward and penetrated the Dolm Gurin in front of them. The Dolm Gurin suddenly lost its balance and crashed to the ground.
Of course, that alone was not enough to finish it off.
However, the Guran suddenly caught up to the Dolm Gurin and swallowed it whole, not showing any mercy to its prey. It all happened in an instant, but that instant was all they needed.
The instant in which the Guran shifted its attention away from Merc and Totoara was the perfect time for them to flee.
“Zal sure did a splendid job this time! Merc, let’s go!”
Totoara, a seasoned adventurer, would not pass up this opportunity. She promptly grabbed Merc’s hand and was about to pull her away. Merc, on the other hand, immediately cemented herself to the ground and resisted Totoara’s pull.
“Merc?”
“Not yet. My exam is not yet over.”
“HUH?!”
Totoara gasped, absolutely taken aback by what Merc had said.
“W-What are you saying?! Do you understand what’s going on? You were supposed to fight a Dolm Gurin. And that Dolm Gurin has now become snake food. Not even the Guild would be so unreasonable to force an examinee to fight Guran!”
“I’m aware. However, I can’t accept it. If I turn my back on a Yellow Grade now, I have no future as an adventurer.”
“Don’t be stupid! You’re saying that despite knowing that it’s a Yellow Grade?! Look at its size! It wouldn’t be strange even if that thing were as strong as an Orange Grade! If they aren’t cautious, even a group of Grade 3 Adventurers will be wiped out?!”
“I know…”
Despite the fact that this generation’s adventurers were more capable, the Guild’s Danger Ranking remained unchanged.
Which was fortunate for Merc because it was still simple to grasp, but it also meant that a Guran was still a bothersome opponent.
“KYUUUUUU!”
“C-COME ON! IT’S COMING!”
After hearing the Guran’s high-pitched screech, Totoara grabbed Merc’s arm, as if she was prepared to flee at any minute. However, Merc still didn’t budge.
“Don’t mind me and just run away alone.”
“You idiot! Like I can do that! If you’re staying, then I’m staying as well!”
Merc couldn’t tell if Totoara was saying it because she was an examiner or because she was voicing her true feelings as a result of their time together, much like how Merc had spoken frankly with her before.
“Haha.”
“W-What is it?!”
Totoara gripped the Changing Sword with trembling hands as she faced the oncoming Guran. She had apparently made up her mind.
Merc, on the other hand, just giggled as she watched Totoara’s adorable, terrified figure. Totoara glared at her as a result of this.
“Don’t mind. I just thought that you’re a fine woman.”
“Huh? W-What are you saying right now? You sound like an old man.”
Totoara replied, her enthusiasm having been dampened by Merc’s remarks. Merc merely smiled as she watched the woman at her side.
“Fufu. That’s a rude thing to say. That aside, you said that you wouldn’t move from here, right?”
“Huh? W-Well yea.”
“Then stay here and wait for me. I’ll be right back.”
“Huh? What do you…”
Even before Totoara could complete her sentence, Merc discharged Mana from the bottom of her feet and dashed out. Both Merc and the Guran quickly moved towards one another. Their meeting drew nearer and nearer.
“KYUUUUUU!”
When Merc saw the Guran up close for the first time in a long time, she felt the name ‘dragon’ was inappropriate given that it resembled a snake. It had little, unnoticeable limbs hidden behind its lengthy body. Its whole body was covered in brown scales, but unlike the dragons it didn’t have wings.
Despite this, it was powerful enough to acquire the title of the most powerful species, the dragons. There was no doubt that it was strong.
“Eat this!”
As soon as Merc made contact with the Guran, she raised her wooden stick and swung it down, striking first. Naturally her weapon was also covered with hardened Mana.
“Gyoe?!”
The Guran shrieked an idiotic cry, overlooking the fact that an attack like that would come from Merc’s tiny body.
“HAA!”
The Guran was knocked to the ground. Merc landed on top of it and stabbed it in the back of the head. Sadly, her strike barely managed to scratch the Guran’s scales.
It’s tough. I guess a proper sword would have done the job, but there’s no point regretting that now.
Even though it was covered in Mana, a wooden stick was still a wooden stick. It wasn’t suited for cutting or stabbing.
It was something Merc had known from the beginning, but the fact that she hadn’t expected a situation like this just demonstrated that she was still immature in certain respects.
“Huh?”
Even if Merc’s strike didn’t cut through, that didn’t mean it wasn’t effective. Because of the pain, the Guran moved rapidly and buried itself in the ground.
“So that’s your move… Come to think of it, this is what made them annoying…”
The Guran (Earth Dragon) was able to bury itself in the earth, much like his name suggested. When inside the ground it was hard to predict where or when it would attack and it also made it hard to strike at it, so one had to always be on guard.
Merc had previously fought it as Estert, with the support of the rest of the Gust of Wind members.
They had been able to predict where the Guran would arrive thanks to Astard’s assistance and had been able to plan a combination strike. As a result of this, they had been able to easily vanquish numerous Gurans.
However, what about now? If Estert alone were to fight one, he’d definitely struggle.
Merc couldn’t even control Mana at the time, let alone detect it. A Guran would have been a difficult opponent for her to face on her own. However, now it was different. This time she wasn’t fighting as Estert, but as Merc, a young elf.
And this time, her Mana Manipulation was superior, allowing her to pinpoint the Guran’s location with ease.
“So that’s your move. I can see you, you mole1 bastard!”
By following the Guran’s Mana, Merc was able to determine that it was going towards Totoara. It had most likely concluded that Merc would be a difficult opponent and had instead chosen Totoara as its target.
However, there was no way Merc would let it do that.
“Come here, you bastard!”
Merc pushed Mana from the soles of her feet once more and charged straight towards Totoara, rendering her speechless. Totoara, thankfully, was able to figure out Merc’s plan in a flash and moved away.
The Guran appeared in the location where Totoara had just been as Totoara moved away.
“Lightning Ball!”
“KYUUUU?!”
Merc’s lightning ball struck the Guran directly, electrocuting it and rendering it vulnerable.
“Eat this!”
Merc once again swung down at the convulsing Guran.
The sensation of the Guran’s scales and its skull fracturing were vividly felt by her hands. This was, without a doubt, its final battle.
“Kyu… Kyu…”
As the Guran shook on the ground and eventually fell, air spilled out of its mouth. It was unlikely that it would move ever again.
“Y-You beat it?”
“I guess. If it’s still alive after this, I’m going to lose faith in myself.”
Totoara approached the Guran with caution, its tongue protruding from its mouth and the whites of its eyes visible. She was prepared to flee instantly if it even twitched.
“To think that you were able to take down a Guran alone. And you even performed that powerful spell without chanting…”
“What? Haha. Go ahead, worship me more.”
Merc attempted to joyfully tease Totoara, who had a strange expression on her face. Totoara, on the other hand, dropped her shoulders back and said,
“That’s it. I won’t get ahead of myself anymore. It’s exactly as you said, Merc. I would have been Guran food by now if I had stayed.”
“No, that’s… I never thought it would head towards you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. You saved me in the end, didn’t you? Let’s just forget about it and carry on.”
Totoara tried to get away swiftly, but her sight remained fixed on the Guran. Merc, on the other hand, quickly stopped her.
“We can’t just leave this here. If we leave such a huge carcass here, another Magic Beast might be drawn to it.”
It was undoubtedly unusual to come across a Guran a day’s journey from a human village, but if the carcass was left as it is, another unpleasant Magic Beast could arrive. When Totoara heard Merc’s concern, she just chuckled.
“You don’t need to worry. The examiner that caused all of this will take care of it, won’t you Zal?”
Totoara said towards the Magic Stone.
“Of course!”
Zal’s dull voice could be heard from it. It seemed like he would take care of it somehow.
“Cause all of this huh… Come to think of it, didn’t you also make a mistake by revealing your identity to me? I suppose it’s not as bad as what Zal did, but don’t you think the Guild will penalize you for it?”
Merc asked.
“No, it’s fine. In any case, the Guild isn’t paying us much to do this. If you like, you might think of it as a volunteer effort. No one would want to be an examiner if they were penalized for making a mistake, would they2?”
“Really? Even if you put the examinees’ lives in danger?”
“That is why you agree to the section that you will not object even if your life is put in danger throughout the application process. Even if an examinee dies as a result of the examiner’s actions, the examiner will not be penalized. Although he’ll probably feel bad about it.”
“So that’s how it is.”
“That’s how it is. This is the true nature of the exam that everyone who wants to be an adventurer must pass.”
Totoara abruptly stopped and turned back to smile at Merc after they had walked a good distance away from the Guran.
“Merc, congratulations. Welcome to the world of adventurers.”
Totoara said, putting forth her right hand. Merc smiled wryly as she put her hand forward reflexively.
“Don’t you think it’s a bit early for this?”
“No. Now that you’ve passed the exam all that’s left is to wait to get your Adventurer License at Logholt. I don’t think it’s early at all. Without a doubt, you’re already a true adventurer.”
“That’s…”
Merc was left speechless at Totoara’s remark. That didn’t last long, though, and Merc soon smiled.
“Haha. It’s quite strange. For some reason it sounds really convincing when you say it, Totoara.”
“Fufu, I know right!”
As they firmly held one other’s hands, Merc and Totoara both laughed.
The jade-eyed blond adventurer was born beneath the clear afternoon sky, whilst the sun gently poured its rays towards the ground3.
TL/N: The Guran’s name uses these two kanji 土竜 These two can either mean Earth Dragon or mole respectively. Which is why Merc refers to the Guran as a mole here. Robinxen: I feel like this goes against the guilds insane quality standards! Robinxen: And so it ends. Until !
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