Yo,  Here at last.  2 incoming and 4 more in the queue ~~~ Jun just wants a bit more time with 2-5, so it’ll be along some time with chapter 36 at 1-2 weeks after that.  No promises, just that things are always moving forward ~~ ^.^

 

~~Enjoy!

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Tl: SpecterZe

ED: Elsten bum ~~

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Elsten’s last edit as they’ve gotten a second job.  Yay life.

Anyone interested in editing a chapter every other week on average,  pop by.  In the mean time it’s prob every other week as it’ll be on Jun till.   He’s picked up the TL on the other series here on the site currently, it’d be rude to demand anymore of his time ^.^

https://discord.gg/HFrAUmD

 

o/

 

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Companion Chapter 2 Cloud’s adventurer (3/5)

 

After Cougar-san and the guild leader’s friendly exchange ends, we decide to leave immediately.

We decide to borrow a carriage from the guild. It would have been fine to use master’s carriage, but Cougar-san is also coming with us, and with Iris’ mentality, we can’t let it get damaged [ED: i.e. Iris would go nuts if it got damaged], so we have to borrow one.

[Well, you guys should be fine since you can use <Fire Magic> and <Lightning Magic>. The Metal Turtle shouldn’t pose much of a threat at all.]

Cougar-san tells us while inside the carriage. By the way, Coco is the driver. Of all things, horse riding is the most important skill for knights. Coco thinks it is the best way to show her loyalty to Master, so she is studying to become a knight. Good thing that Lusia-san is a former knight.

[Yeah, but we can’t be careless at all. Even if it is really slow, its weight means that its offensive power is very high……]

[Well, despite how young still are, you are strong and not overconfident, so I don’t think you will fail.]

I don’t know why, but the evaluation of us from the people around us is very high. We can’t be conceited, especially with Master next to us…any illusion of us being strong is easily shattered when having a mock battle against Master’s main party.

Mio-senpai can easily deal with us with a single wooden knife, and no matter how much we attack, we can’t get Dora-sama to move a single step. Not to mention, we can’t even get close to Master at all.

After some time, we decide to make camp for the day. Since we have experienced it many times before, we are accustomed to it.

[Err, that’s strange……]

Cougar-san says while making a bitter face.

[What’s wrong~?]

[Why does your camp have a gorgeous meal like this?!]

Is that strange? We have our food in “Storage” and all the girls know how to cook, so we prepared our food here…… Ah, the boys are preparing the tents.

[Although this is just the first day, this stew is really delicious, bread is high quality as well, and there is even a fresh salad and dining table too!]

[We put table in “Storage”, why?]

[That’s not the point! Although, storing the table is really strange too!]

I don’t really understand what Cougar-san is saying. Everyone else is similarly scratching their heads in confusion.

[Cougar-san, what part of us is strange?]

Yuria asks.

[Yeah, first, camp is often made with a minimum amount of food. I can’t believe we’re having a gorgeous meal out here like this.]

[We can store and transport ingredients easily with <Space Magic>……]

As Roro said, since all 8 of us have <Storage>, we can just about anything. Just in case, we distributed the equipment and food among each of us …

[In the first place, it’s strange that all 8 of you can use <Space Magic> …]

[All it takes is remembering it…]

Adel says as an excuse. Well, we can’t say that it was given to us by Master……

[If the meal smells this good, won’t it attract monsters?]

[Since we came to hunt monsters, it would be convenient for us if they came.]

Master told us to kill as many monsters as possible. As an order from Master, we cannot compromise on this one point. We have to kill them even if they appear while we are eating.

[Our policy is “we will not compromise on delicious meals”. Our mast-…acquaintance travels with a king-sized bed in his “Inventory”, and we think that’s just normal as well.

[Even a bed… is it a noble!? I don’t even know any S-rank adventurers like that.]

Cougar has no words in response to Coco’s explanation. Err, calling Master a noble is NG. Yuria asked him once and ended up extremely scared. That was terrible. Even the usually calm Yuria was crying for hour…

Yuria is blushing a little. She might have recalled that. Coincidentally, Iris was nearby at that moment; she also wet herself and cried uncontrollably. For that reason, Iris is blushing too.

In the end, we were able to explain what we considered to be normal. Although, he looked like he was still unsatisfied at the end …

 

The next day, at the location where we expected to find the Metal Turtle, we realized that there was an abnormal situation occurring.

[Isn’t that a Bright Falcon…?]

Cougar-san gulps. There is a huge bird flying in our direction. It is shining so it can be seen even from a distance.

[Bright Falcon. An A-rank monster that needs roughly 10 A-rank adventurers to subjugate, right?]

The knowledge from the book came out again.

Yeah, that’s right. Plus, it’s a flying monster; even with 10 people, we still can’t win if we don’t have the means to attack it.

Cougar-san can’t use magic. It would be possible to win if we could hit the Bright Falcon with an attack, but even if you could jump that high, it is very difficult to hit anything by swinging around a greatsword while in midair. His “Finishing Attack” hits from various angles, but is not a long range attack …

[The Metal Turtle aside, having to deal with the Bright Falcon is troublesome. If it were to reach the capital, it would cause a mass panic.]

Is that so? But I have a feeling master would kill it in the end, if it came to that.

[We can’t leave it like this after all. Since I’m alone, could you lend me a hand?]

[Err, Cougar-san. Could you leave the Bright Falcon to us? We have magic, and we should be able to fight well enough even in midair]

[Are you crazy? You guys might have defeated A-rank adventurers, but wasn’t that just a mock battle? Aren’t you being a bit overconfident?]

He looks around at everyone as he asks this, but everyone else is also thinking the same thing that I am, and their eyes are burning with motivation.

[I can see that you really think that “we can do it.” Fine, I will simply watch for now. But if it looks like it’s getting dangerouse, I’m going to jump in, okay?]

[Yes. Thank you very much.]

I feel bad for Cougar-san, but we want to subjugate the Bright Falcon. Why? Of course, as an offering for Master. If the killing blow isn’t landed by one of us, Master won’t be able to take its abilities.

Cougar-san’s offensive ability is so high, if we fight together, he will very likely get the killing blow. That was what caused me to worry a bit.

We start to move closer to the Bright Falcon. We have to temporarily leave the carriage behind as the horses are scared. Because it is a borrowed item, we will have to recover it later.

As we get closer, we realize that the Bright Falcon is attacking the Metal Turtle. The Metal Turtle is hiding in its shell, but even that has become quite damaged. It looks like the Bright Falcon’s attacking power is quite high.

[I will be watching from here, but immediately call me if situation becomes too dangerous.]

[Yes, please.]

Cougar-san is watching us from a distance.

Let’s go defeat the Bright Falcon by ourselves.

The Bright Falcon notices us approaching. As we are an easier target than the Metal Turtle, it switches its focus to us. It starts to approach us to attack.

[Kigya~!]

I take a stance and ready my shield in front of me. Iris and I are the shields who will take its first strike. The Bright Falcon dives down from the sky at a tremendous speed.

[Ugh~!]
[Kya~!]

Both Iris and I were blown away by that attack. It feels like it rammed us with the weight of its whole body. On top of that, the wind surrounding the Bright Falcon added to the impact and blew us further away.

[Direct attacks are dangerous! Focus on evading rather than defending!]

[Roger!] x7

I shout. Tanking isn’t going to be effective against flying monsters. We should have focused on evading it from the start.

After that first attack, the Bright Falcon is circling around to have a look at us. It sees that we are still alright, and approaches to attack again.

By the way, the Bright Falcon has two attacks: Charge and Light Ray. Charge is what you just saw. Light Ray is absorbing sunlight and firing an atack similar to <Light Magic>.

[First up is Roro. “Ice Bullet” !]

Saying that, Roro casts the level 1 <Ice Magic> spell “Ice Bullet”. It hits the approaching Bright Falcon. However, it is not a direct impact due to the wind surrounding it.

[Kigya!?]

Although the spell didn’t deal any damage, it still surprised the Bright Falcon, making it stop its approach and return to the sky.

The <No Chant> skill allows the usage of magic below the skill’s level without chanting. Since our <No Chant> skill is only level 1, we can only use Ball-, Bullet-, and Wall-type spells without chanting. We cannot cast powerful Burst- or rapid-fire-type spells without chanting.

[It wasn’t very effective. But Ball-type magic is slow, and likely to be avoided……]

Yuria calmly analyzes the situation.

[Since it is of the light element, wouldn’t <Dark Magic> be more effective?]

[Although <Dark Magic> would certainly be more effective, but ball-type spells are so slow…… I suppose, could I ask you to try it once, Iris?]

[Got it. I will try it.]

We can only ask Iris, who is the only one in our group able to use <Dark Magic>. <Light Magic> and <Dark Magic> are different from the other attribute magics in that the projectile Ball-type spells are common, but there are no quick Bullet-type or Wall-type spells.

[“Dark Ball”!]

The level 1 spell “Dark Ball” is cast. A pitch black ball is flying towards the Bright Falcon.

[Oh, it was dodged.]

As Knot said, the Bright Falcon easily dodged the “Dark Ball”. However, the “Dark Ball” suddenly changes direction and hits the Bright Falcon.

[Oh, it hit.]

This is a guided projectile that is only possible with <Light Magic> and <Dark Magic>. After firing it, the direction of the projectile can be changed a little. Iris really likes this ability, and has been training hard to control it.

[Gya!?]

[ “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball” “Dark Ball”]

The Bright Falcon is caught unawares by the sudden damage and drops a bit in the air. As it recovers, Iris launches a swarm of “Dark Balls” at it. The “Dark Ball” is quite effective as it cannot be blocked by the wind surrounding the Bright Falcon.

[Gi-Gi-Gya……]

[Oh, it’s fleeing.]

The Bright Falcon regarded the “Dark Ball” as a threat, so it escaped to a safe distance. It then turns and approaches us again, but from a low altitude. Realizing that the open sky is unsafe, it will probably try to attack at close range instead.

[“Call Element” Wind!]

Yuria activates her <Spirit Art>. <Spirit Art> is a type of magic which summons a contracted spirit to aid in combat. A shining, green girl about 30cm tall appears. What was summoned is a wind spirit that we met during a previous purification request. As thanks for our help, she agreed to the contract.

<<Yuria-chan. Did you call me? What do you need me to do?>>

[Can you do something about the wind around that bird?]

<<Okay. Hmm……it is quite powerful, isn’t it. But a spirit like me will never lose to a bird when it comes to manipulating the wind!>>

The wind surrounding the Bright Falcon is dispersed as she is talking.

[Thank you! Now we can get closer to it!]

<<You can ask me for help anytime.>>

As she says that, the wind spirit disappears. Since the skill level is still low, the summoning time is very short, so I had explained earlier that I would use it strategically.

 

[“Enchant Dark”]

With those words, Iris wraps our weapons in a black aura. This is the <Dark Magic> level 2 enchant-type spell. By giving our weapons the Dark attribute, they should be more effective against the Bright Falcon.

[This is for everyone……]

[Thanks.]

[Let’s defeat it quickly. If we can’t even become A-rank, we’ll never be able to reach S-rank.]

Iris’s main motivation is the fear of Master, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about us, although she won’t admit it herself.

The evidence of that is the dark element enchantment on all of our weapons to increase their effectiveness.

While we are talking, the Bright Falcon has gotten pretty close. Since it is flying low, tanking tactics should now work. Iris and I move to the front.

[Gi-gyau!]

Unlike the last time the Bright Falcon used the Charge attack, this time we are able to stand our ground and stop its movement. This is due to the wind surrounding it no longer being there, as well as the Dark element enchantment on our shields.

[Take this!]

[Eh~~!]

Knot and Sicily attack it with a hammer and a spear. The hammer attack was aimed at its foot, while the spear was thrust towards its body. The attacks hit with a heavy impact on the Bright Falcon.

[Gyau!?]

[Don’t let it escape!]

[Of course!]

Coco throws a dagger at the Bright Falcon, which is trying to quickly escape. Yuria uses her whip to snare its leg and stop its escape.

[Gya Gya!?

[Phew!]

The dagger pierces the Bright Falcon, getting stuck deep in its body and making it scream. Following that, Adel thrusts his spear at its head.

[Gi-Gya~!?]

The spear pierces its eye, making it scream even louder. Immediately after that, the Bright Falcon starts to emit an intense light.

[This is bad! It’s the Light Ray!]

As I yell the warning, Iris and I get in front of everyone and set our shields together. Just as we get set, a tremendous impact hits our shields.

[Ugh!]
[Agh!]

Since we are the shieldbearers, we cannot let this attack get behind us. How long has it been? It feels like the attack could have lasted either 10 seconds or as long as 10 minutes, but the torrent of light eventually fades.

[Ugh……]
[Ahh……]

Both Iris and I collapse on the spot.

[[“High Heal”!]]

Yuria-san and Sicily’s “High Heal” gradually lessens our pain. Since both of them have level 2 <Recovery Magic>, they are able to use “High Heal”. Thanks to that, we can somehow manage.

[Oh, it’s escaping again!]

Knot shouts. That attack was its last resort. The Bright Falcon gives up on us and tries to escape. Adel, who was the closest to it, was blown away by the Light Ray attack, so he can’t attack right now. Instead, the person with the best chance to hit it now … is me!

[Uooo!]

Even if I use a spell with <No Chant>, it will not be able to stop the Bright Falcon. The only way to end it is to directly attack it with a weapon. I will chase after the Bright Falcon which is about to fly away.

I won’t make it in time. I will have to use … “that”. But my success rate so far is only once in every ten tries; still, I have to make it work.

[Here I go! <Flash Step>!]

In that instant, what I see suddenly shifts, and I now see the surprised face of the Bright Falcon in front of me.

[Eat this!]

I attack with all my might. My slash cuts deep into the Bright Falcon’s neck, instantly killing it.

[It’s over……]

I mutter as I collapse again.

Well, somehow the <Flash Step> I have been earnestly training managed to succeed at the last moment. The others head towards me.

[Good job. You did it after all. Isn’t that the <Flash Step> that Maria-senpai uses? Is that a skill you got from Jin-sama?]

[No, I just really wanted it by any means, so I secretly trained and somehow managed to do it.]

[Amazing…… But didn’t Maria-senpai get <Flash Step> from Jin-sama? Isn’t it amazing that you managed to learn it yourself?]

Coco praises me openly, but Maria-senpai isn’t that simple.

[…Maria-senpai also learned it by herself through self-training before getting the skill. She also taught me how to train to try and learn it by myself…]

[That person isn’t normal after all……]

Coco sighs. If Jin-sama is an abnormal person who can do anything ordinary people find impossible, then Maria-senpai is the one that can do anything ordinary people can do.

I wanted to learn <Flash Step> in order to become a little closer to Maria-senpai and Master’s level. At first, I was practicing alone and was not doing very well, but Maria-senpai noticed and gave me some advice. For some reason, she had gone to get permission from Master before advising me … Master thought for a bit and said “OK, since the basic living foundation is stable”. What does that mean, I wonder?

Anyway, with the advice from Maria-senpai and my desperate training, I recently became able to use it a little. It wasn’t consistent enough to be included in our battle tactics, but this time it somehow went well.

As we are talking, Cougar-san who was watching from a distance approaches us.

[Wow~ aren’t you amazing. You guys as a team completely defeated the Bright Falcon. Isn’t it fine to just call yourselves A-rank?]

[We are still lacking in experience.]

I am not trying to be humble; I really think so. We have been fighting for less than a month, so we are completely beginners…

[In other words, it’s only about the lack of experience. Then, go defeat the Metal Turtle and let’s complete this request quickly.]

Being told that, we are reminded of our original test requirement, which is to defeat the Metal Turtle.

Looking at the Metal Turtle, there is no sign of it coming out of its shell. Since we couldn’t just leave it alone, we safely defeated it with members who were able to attack with <Fire Magic> and <Lightning Magic>. During this time, there was no resistance at all.

In a way, we could say that we passed our B-rank practical exam safely.