Up north in a remote region of the Kingdom of Emelia was Garlaige, a fortified city surrounded by monster-infested territories. One such territory had an infamous reputation even in this age when monsters controlled far more land than humans did. Not only was this massive forest one of the five largest in the world, it was so dangerous that it had yet to be unsealed.
A party of adventurers was currently in the very heart of this forest, forming a perimeter around the towering form of the territory’s boss. Not only did the Great Demonic Basilisk possess teeth and fangs that could tear through shields and armor, plus a formidable bulk that could easily send someone flying, but it also had Evil Eye, an attack that could petrify an entire army with a glare. This boss’s power was the biggest reason this expansive area remained free of human influence.
Once, in the past, the kingdom had dispatched a force of elite soldiers blessed with talents useful for fighting monsters. Despite suffering heavy casualties, the force had failed to kill the Great Demonic Basilisk. The moss-covered statues littering the depths of the forest were all that remained to bear witness to the tyrant’s century-long reign.
In spite of everything, the party currently facing this menace only had five members. These five were not fools who had unwittingly wandered into the forest and, with shock and despair, found themselves under assault. Instead, they had sought the boss out on their own initiative, filled with confidence that they could slaughter the beast that had bested even an army. That was why they had taken on the Rank A promotion mission that called for the unsealing of the territory.
This was Black Tiger, a Rank B adventurer party registered with the Garlaige branch of the Adventurer’s Guild. Its five members were childhood friends from the same village.
Everyone in this world received a talent upon turning twelve, but only one in a thousand received a battle-related one that was useful for fighting monsters. Such talents were so rare that those people were referred to as “those that God has smiled on.” And yet five of them had appeared in the same cohort five years earlier in Ros Village, a small settlement with fewer than a hundred inhabitants. As a result, the location was now also known by a different name: Miracle Village.
Unbeknownst to the world, however, this miracle was a lie. God had smiled on—no, beamed at—only one child that year. He had bestowed Player—a remarkable talent that had not been seen for over a thousand years—on that boy, granting him the nearly godlike power to designate others as his companions and grant them stats and skills. It wasn’t a stretch to say that this boy was loved by God. He had then proceeded to use Player on the other four, who had in truth only received run-of-the-mill talents. That was how they had come to possess the incredible gifts that allowed them to go toe to toe with monsters.
The name of this young man from Ros Village was Sol Rock. He sported glossy black hair swept back in a natural look and had black eyes that shone with the force of his will. There was still a hint of childishness in his otherwise shapely features, and his well-toned muscles gave him the air of a veteran adventurer.
But contrary to appearances, Sol was the weakest member of Black Tiger. Player allowed him to grant other people stats and skills, but he couldn’t use it on himself. He had kept the specific details of Player secret during his three years at the Royal Academy, graduating at fifteen without incident. He and his friends had then made their start as adventurers. Two years had passed, and they were now on the threshold of reaching the top rung of the ladder.
This was the true backstory of Sol Rock, the adventurer loved by God. A story that he had yet to fully divulge to anyone else.
“All right, Mark and Alan are in position,” Sol confirmed. He then asked the two girls next to him, “Reen and Julia, you good to go?”
One of the skills that Player gave Sol was Mapping, which created a window that only he could see at the edge of his vision, showing him the positions of both friends and foes. According to the display, two members of his party, Mark and Alan, had successfully circled around the basilisk.
“Waiting on your signal,” Julia replied.
Reen nodded. “Sure thing.”
This area of the forest was so dense that Sol’s line of sight was greatly obstructed, but he somehow had a firm grasp on the positions of not only their party members but their enemy as well. Many of the things that Sol said would draw questioning looks from a normal person, but Reen and Julia had been with him so long that they had learned to take these facts in stride. The pair had also learned through experience that Sol never got lost in dungeons, no matter how complicated the layout was. That was simply what his talent did—it enabled him to support the rest of his party in a multitude of effective and substantial ways. Or at least, that was the explanation he had given everyone.
“All right. Ready...go!”
The moment Sol gave the order, the young girl known as Reen stepped out from behind a large tree right in front of the basilisk, catching its attention. Fulfilling her role as the party’s tank, she activated Intimidate, an exceptional skill that forcibly drew aggro from enemies and dulled all their movements for a time. The flashy visual effect from the skill enveloped her, creating a breathtakingly beautiful composition from the sight of her dainty form carrying a massive shield and giant greatsword far beyond her own weight class.
This was Reen “Iron Wall” Faukner, a warrior to whom Sol had imparted the abilities of a tank. She was a beautiful girl with eyes that shone gold, a well-proportioned body that radiated health, and shoulder-length blonde hair that streamed in the wind as she charged in.
Upon noticing its challenger’s approach, the basilisk turned in her direction as if drawn by her beauty, bringing its massive bulk to bear. When the two clashed, despite their overwhelming difference in size, Reen easily held her ground by bracing with her shield. Immediately afterward, she effortlessly pulled off a shoulder throw and flipped the huge lizard onto its back.
Reen had made it look easy, but she had not gotten off entirely unscathed from the exchange. Even with the shield, clashing with the basilisk head-on had shaved off points from an invisible wall around her that normally only monsters possessed. To ensure that this wall called “HP” did not reach zero, Julia promptly cast Restoration on Reen per Sol’s instructions.
Julia “Saint of Healing” Miller was a healer who had mastery over all existing healing spells. She had hair and eyes the color of cherry blossoms and a voluptuous figure that was almost excessive in its allure. Thanks to the skills that Sol had granted her, she could heal even injuries severe enough to make an adventurer hang up his boots. This had made her so famous that not only did she receive work from both the Adventurer’s Guild and the Church, but even nobles sought her out to make personal requests. More than once, however, the disparity between the image invoked by her nickname and her natural sensuousness had made someone do a double take.
Sol and Julia had revealed themselves to the basilisk knowing full well that they could not take hits from it without the protection of Reen’s shield. They pushed down the fear welling up within and paid close attention to their positioning, making sure that they were always keeping Reen between the monster and themselves. Stepping out from behind the figure staving off the majority of their enemy’s attacks was nothing short of foolish; in fights, the zone behind Reen’s back was much safer than behind any boulder or large tree. There was no advantage in the party’s commander and healer abandoning the protection of the tank.
In contrast, Mark and Alan, the two guys in charge of dealing damage, had no business staying in the tank’s shadow, save for the instances when enemies unleashed large-scale area-of-effect attacks.
Thanks to Reen, the basilisk was now on its back. As the monster fought to get to its feet, struggling due to its large form, countless projectiles rained down with flashy effects. Magic Orbs formed with pure mana of no particular element and Elemental Orbs of earth, water, fire, and wind slammed into it, staggered in intervals that gave away how long it took to cast each spell.
The caster named Alan “Grand Magus” Lewis was the party’s magic DPS, as Sol had given him the ability to cast a large array of spells. This young man had ice-blue hair and eyes that were always calm and collected. He was often called “cold” by those of the fairer sex who were around his age, but even he was now excited in the heat of battle. Still, he was making a constant, conscious effort to keep his head cool.
“Alan!” Sol shouted. “Wind is the most effective! Focus on dealing wind-based attacks!”
“I disagree!” Alan shouted back. “This monster isn’t nullifying any specific element! It should go down faster if I throw all the elements at it, recasting spells immediately when they’re available!”
Sol paused, then said, “Okay, go for it.” He had display windows constantly showing him accurate battle data that the others could not see. That was how he knew for sure that wind was the basilisk’s weakness.