∗ ∗ ∗
There stood a notoriously powerful monster: an honest-to-goodness skeleton king. Unlike with normal skeletons, the bones that composed its body were dark-colored, and it radiated a shadowy aura. Blazing, pale blue hellfire glittered within its all-consuming eye sockets. In its hand was a weapon which looked to be a renowned blade. It was clad in hefty black iron armor which closely matched its body color, and its head was adorned with a crown of sharp bladelike horns.
This was more imposing than even a standard skeleton king. I could plainly tell that this was Glydel’s ace in the hole.
“Stand back, you two. That thing’s dangerous.” I stood in front of Katarina and Greg to protect them.
Glydel seemed to notice something, and called out to us. “Dear me, I had thought there was a puny little rat snooping around, but... Well, well. If it isn’t the daughter of Marquess Trahn. What brings you to this vacant ghost town?”
Katarina’s anger flared at his suddenly unctuous tone, but Greg lightly patted her shoulder to calm her down. Upon regaining a modicum of composure, Katarina spoke back to Glydel. “That is exactly what I wish to ask you, guild leader Glydel. There is no business that would bring you here. Unless, of course, it’s something unsavory?”
As I listened, I thought to myself, Now there’s a noblewoman for you. So far, Katarina had been far removed from the noblewomen of Oraculum, exhibiting none of their snideness. But now I knew that she was quite capable of making such remarks. I don’t mean that in a patronizing or demeaning way; on the contrary, being able to act was a crucial skill in noble society. Those who couldn’t bluff well would be knocked down. I had been worried that Katarina was one of those types, but my concerns were all dispelled in this moment.
Glydel responded to Katarina with a smile and an unfalteringly tranquil attitude. “Goodness, no. After hearing what you had to say at the council meeting, I simply came to verify the strange goings-on in this ghost town for myself. As I was doing so, I sensed an unusual presence...”
Katarina acquiesced and made an unexpected statement. “I see. Very well then, if you say so. It would appear we are not especially needed here, so we’ll take our leave.”
True enough, it might have been best to leave without fighting. He’d already found us spying on him, so we’d need to rethink our strategy.
I couldn’t tell whether he had read her intent or not. Glydel replied politely, “Is that so? Please feel free. I’ll continue to investigate the area a little longer.”
Katarina nodded. “Well then, if you’ll excuse us. Greg, Noah, and the rest of you, let’s be on our way,” she said, turning on her heel and preparing to walk away.
However...
“Ah yes, but you did see this. I suppose that’s enough of the charade, then. It’ll be simpler if you just die now,” Glydel spat. The aura exuding from the skeleton king standing next to him changed palpably. It had already been vastly imposing, but now it had been given direction, unleashing its bloodlust at us.
Clannng! came a sound as a powerful shock wave reverberated into my hands. Before my eyes was the skeleton king, which had closed the distance between us in an instant and swung its sword down at me. I had just barely caught it with my own sword. Aht’s training was definitely paying off. As much as she’d pledged her allegiance to me, she was a lunatic who’d come at me with real bloodlust during training. Well, it hardly would’ve prepared me for something like this otherwise. The old me would have been knocked off my feet just by being around this much bloodlust.
“But now...!”
Vwoosh! With a momentous swing of my sword, I shook off the skeleton king. It was pretty heavy, but not so much that I couldn’t deal with it. Now that I knew, I became more rational and held my sword at the ready. I called out to everyone, ordering them to surround the skeleton king. “Cath, Mataza, Liber! Let’s do this!”
Taking it down alone seemed feasible, but it would still have been tough. With the four of us, though...
“Have you forgotten that I’m a mage?” came a voice. Mana concentrated behind the skeleton and erupted, sending huge orbs of fire streaking toward us. This was the fire magic, Grand Fireball. They’d hit us directly if we stayed still, so we were forced to step back. They struck the ground, scattering flames everywhere. The sheer spectacle of their impacts spoke volumes of how powerful they were.
The mage’s guild leader and the skeleton king—the most frustrating part was, they made a well-balanced team of rear guard and front line. Even so, we couldn’t lose this battle.
“We’re gonna bring them down,” I said. We once more faced toward our enemies.
“Glidedance Blade!”
I gave it everything I had from the get-go and unleashed the most powerful skill I was currently capable of. There was no time to test the waters. As I swung my sword, numerous invisible blades shot out of its arc and launched at the skeleton king.
I just hope this’ll do the trick, I thought.
Buh-buh-buh-buh-bam!
The echoing sound let me know that my attacks had hit their target. The impact made a haze rise from the ground, obscuring my vision.
Did I beat it, or only damage it? I gripped my sword warily, observing the situation.
However...
“Damn!” As soon as the haze cleared, a giant body twice the size of a normal skeleton sprang out like a cannonball.
Its target...is me. I’m glad it’s not going after the other three. I can take its attack. It’ll swing its sword down like before, and...
But looking again, I saw that the sword’s surface was glossed with a thin layer of mana.
Better not let this one hit me.
I managed to dodge the strike, and the black skeleton’s blade plunged into the ground. The spot instantaneously froze over, making crystalline blossoms of ice.
“It’s a magic sword!”
These weapons were a type of magic tool that could unleash special attacks by channeling mana into them. It was widely known that even the weaker ones were twice as expensive as regular weapons. And this skeleton’s magic sword seemed like a remarkably powerful one.
If I’d blocked, I’d probably have frozen over. That was a close call.
But it seemed that someone didn’t intend to give me a moment’s rest.
“Your back’s wide open!” Glydel called out.
He must have been sure that he had the upper hand, or he was simply trying to startle me. I wasn’t sure which, but even without turning around, I could sense a clod of mana headed straight for me. I took evasive action as soon as I found solid footing, watching a fireball pass through where I’d just been. This was unmistakably the magic of the mage’s guild leader.
The way things are going, we might get backed into a corner. Foreseeing this, I signaled to Cath with my gaze. I could’ve done it with Mataza or Liber too, but she knew me best after all the time we’d been together. As expected, she immediately understood my intention. She approached Glydel, her presence masked by her small size.
“Ho ho, let’s see how long you can last!” Glydel gloated, unaware of the small monster which had come up from behind him.
“Meow!”
Cath stretched out her front paw and forcefully smacked Glydel’s neck—a kitty punch from her <Catfight> skill.