Luka’s words caused a commotion to gradually erupt.

“500 Dallies!?” “People with medium contributions will receive 300 dallies, right!? That means, the less people, the more reward we will get!”

The surroundings grew contagiously noisy.

The less people there were, the more the reward per individual would increase—but, it would also become more difficult to defeat the Aliuster.

Considering the current atmosphere, perhaps it was best to not say that out loud.

The squad regained its vitality slightly. Finally, we stepped into the mountains.

I stared at Luka. As usual, I was unsure to what he was thinking, but I thought he was surely trying to stop the transmission of fear.

Luka said nothing but offensive words, but it seemed that he didn’t hate this kind of place. Rather, he seemed to prefer it.

I walked next to Luka—the mountain path felt slightly familiar.

Eventually, we reached the lake where the Aliuster slept.

However, the situation was strange.

“Leader! The color of the lake is…!”

Yes, the lake should have been blue, however, it was a pinkish color at the moment.

It was abnormal.

I also stared at the leader in a hurry.

At that moment, I heard the resounding roar of a beast.

It was as if the surrounding trees were shaking, even the ground I was standing on trembled.

Reflexively, I stabbed my rapier to the ground as a mean to hold myself upright.

It seemed that in shock, some of the members had fallen down.

Many bubbles emerged from the lake.

Everyone anticipated the appearance of the Aliuster—

—as expected, the monster called Aliuster appeared, causing a great rupture of water.

Its body was covered with green scales, while its eyes were slightly yellow. The sharp corners of its eyes were also large. It seemed like a single swing from that creature would destroy a house.

The Aliuster was huge.

It was stated in the documents that it was about five meters tall, but it wasn’t possible to know its exact height through visual inspection alone.

Well, none of that mattered.

I tightly gripped my rapier.

“γη(earth)!”

A robed woman casted a spell.

According to the plan, the first movement was to use earth magic to build a scaffolding around the creature as a means to attack it.

From the other side, another swordsman casted ice magic, encircling the neck of the Aliuster.

However, it turned out to be futile. When the Aliuster shook its neck, the binds broke.

The crackling sound of ice smashing could be heard—then, torrents of ice rained upon us.

A different swordsman deflected the ice using wind magic.

Alright, the situation hadn’t gotten out of hands, yet.

A knight woman used the scaffolding to land a blow on the Aliuster’s neck, but only managed to graze it…!

Because of the woman’s strike, the Aliuster turned violent and knocked her away. The fallen swordswoman was then supported by the wind magic of another swordsman.

I also used my ice magic to not only strengthen my footing, but also shoot its eyes—the Aliuster’s weakness.

When my icicles hit their target, the Aliuster roared and the earth shook.

At that moment, when the opportunity to strike was before our eyes, the leader aimed for its neck.

But, precisely at that time—

—one more Aliuster appeared from the bottom of the lake.

Two Aliuster!?

I almost let go of my rapier.

I didn’t know this would happen…?!

The other members were shocked as well.

“S-shouldn’t there be only one Aliuster?”

“No way!? Two Aliuster!?”

“There’s no way we can win! At this rate, we’re all going to die!!”

The guild members screamed. While listening to their panic, the previous conversation I had with Luka replayed in my mind—

—what would I do if there are two Aliuster?

I wondered why that flashback returned at that moment.

I immediately stared back at Luka and he stared back at me, seemingly wondering about the same thing.

When our eyes met, he shook his head.

“This is bad! The lake contains ‘Vinier’s Vase’! Basically, an aphrodisiac that acts as bait for Aliuster! At this rate, more Aliuster will come!”

…It seemed that we weren’t thinking of the same thing.

But Luka’s words were shocking—more Aliusters?!

Everyone’s face turned blue. I also paled.

I could only think of two words—total annihilation.

Many of the guild members were staggered by the revelation.

It seemed that Luka regretted having said that out loud. Everyone became flustered due to that.

The strategy we had originally came up with had been destroyed immediately.

The most important thing now was to become flexible.

The leader ordered everyone to maintain their calm, but the order was obstructed by the roar of the Aliuster.

The second Aliuster leaped at us from a tree—

—Luka and I managed to avoid it, but the formation was destroyed. The leader’s command was clearly not heard.

I was at lost over what to do, but Luka firmly shook my shoulder.

“Kyaa—!?”

Suddenly, my waist was pulled by him.

In the place I once, there was a deep crater caused by the Aliuster’s claw.

Had I still been there, I would surely be dead now. That fact incited more terror in me.

However, I mustn’t. The situation was already dire enough.

I stood up, gripping my weapon tightly and stared at the Aliuster.

The Aliuster was already on the offensive.

Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw a third Aliuster climbing onto land.

Are you kidding me!?

It seemed that Luka wasn’t just joking back then.

At that time, a tornado appeared. It seemed that someone had used magic—at the same time, another resounding scream could be heard. The place was thrown into absolute confusion.

“Tch! There’s no choice but to withdraw!”

Luka spat out those words—

—withdraw!?

I called out on Luka.

“What would happen if we withdraw now!? These Aliuster are on the loose!”

“The kingdom will dispatch its knights. Even if they are knights, it might prove difficult to slay the Aliuster, but there is a large number of knights.”

His words made my mind blank.

…a large number of people?

That was the key! With a large number of people, we might land a few hits and win!

I inadvertently called out—“—Luka!”

But Luka was already rushing towards the leader.

Certainly, at this rate, the guild would be eliminated.

But, the moment we withdraw, the Aliuster would surely charge towards the town!

Meanwhile most of the townspeople had no magic or swordsmanship skill!

But didn’t Luka say something more important?

Before I could recall it, however, the roar of an Aliuster broke my train of thought.

“—!”

My skin quivered. If I started looking around, I wondered if I would escape immediately.

Everyone was almost gone. The only ones remaining there were me, and the pair of man and woman I saw in the cafeteria yesterday.

“Is it okay to not use this chance to escape!?”

A young, dark-haired woman called out to me.

I could be saying the same here! But before I could do anything, lightning flashed.

“Withdraw! Withdraw!”

The leader was shouting such.

Right now, an Aliuster was about to shoot a blast of magical power from its mouth.

I couldn’t withdraw from that place.

My attribute was ice. The Aliuster had dark attributes which could be offset by light attribute.

But it was unlikely for one of the remaining two swordsmen to have light attribute.

“Can you offset it!?”

“That’s impossible! Neither of us can use magic!”

“!”

I was slightly disappointed by the already expected answer.

Soon, I started looking for something else.

It was said that an Aliuster’s dark magic caused mental imbalance.

The effects varied, you could forget important things, have a significantly reduced IQ, or outrightly go crazy.

In short, people would be deprived of their human dignity.

Moreover, its range was wide.

It was certain we would be engulfed by its magical power—along with the town.

What do I do now?! What should I do!?

Should I try to offset it…?

No, the magical power of an Aliuster was huge.

I couldn’t offset it. My attribute was different too, it was unlikely I could graze its magic. The most I could do was probably block it to some extent.

A swordsman with a higher magical power and better mastery of it…

…no, if only there was a light attributed swordsman!

My frustration built up gradually.

The roar of the Aliuster wouldn’t stop.

The members around me were no more—they probably fled.

It was difficult, but they probably made the right decision.

This wasn’t their battle. If they didn’t withdraw, the guild would surely collapse. Their lives were also important.

But, if they withdraw, the town will be threatened!

The only thing that mattered was what I could do and how could I stop the Aliuster from causing damage.

“Hyaaaaaa—!”

A man rushed towards an Aliuster, but there were just too many of them.

The Aliuster was also considered a magical creature. There was only a small chance of victory.

Probably because no one else were around, the Aliuster targeted me and the pair of woman and man. They were struggling, but they were obviously trying their best.

While thinking, the Aliuster attacked me, and I deflected its claws using my rapier.

I wanted to slay it within that very moment, but I was just too weak—

—there was a small noise—pakin.

No! My rapier is breaking!

When I thought so, I heard a familiar voice, but hadn’t heard in a long time.

---

***T/N: SO LUKA’S JOKE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A FORESHADOWING FOR THIS… THIS… PLOT TWIST?!?!??!?!!

OH HELL NO!!!!!

THIS BAS****, THIS d*CKING BAS****, HAS CONSIDERED THE POSSIBILITY OF THERE BEING MORE THAN ONE ALIUSTER–BUT DID HE BRING IT UP DURING THE GUILD MEETING? NAH, NOPE, NONE, NADA. IS THERE AN INKLING THAT THE GUILD EVEN CONSIDERED SUCH POSSIBILITY!? ALSO NAH, NOPE, NONE, NADA.

OOOOH LET ME GUESS WHY, AS SOMEONE WHO HAS SOME GRASP ON THE AUTHOR’S THOUGHT PATTERN, LET ME GUESS WHY!!!!!

…BECAUSE HE DOESN’T WANT TO SCARE THEM, AND HE’S NOT SAYING SUCH A VITAL INFORMATION/ POSSIBILITY SO THE GUILD WOULDN’T BE SCARED!!!!! IF THEY ARE SCARED, THEY WONT MARCH HERE AND SLAY THE ENEMY, AMIRITE?!?!! WHAT A CONSIDERATE MAN HE IS!!!!!!

—EXCEPT NOT!!!!! WHAT IS THIS AUTHOR’S PROBLEM WITH COMMUNICATION!? DOES SHE HAS A GRUDGE AGAINST IT!?!?! IS WITTHOLDING SOMETHING FROM EACH OTHER AND NOT SAYING SOMETHING IMPORTANT HER DEFINITION OF ‘COMMUNICATING’!?!?!?

YEAH DUDE, WITHHOLDING SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO YOURSELF SO THEIR FIGHTING SPIRIT WON’T BREAK–WOULD IT BE BETTER FOR YOU TO WITNESS THESE CLUELESS IGNORANT PEOPLE MARCH TO THEIR DEATH INSTEAD?! IS IT?! NO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION!!! AND BOOOOI I LOVE THIS VETERAN GUILD, NOBODY THOUGHT OF BACK UP PLAN, OR POSSIBILITY OF BATTLE GOING AWRY, NO NOTHING–THEY CAN’T EVEN d*CKING STICK TO THEIR ORIGINAL STRATEGY–IF THERE IS–FOR MORE THAN 5 MINUTES AFTER THE BATTLE HAD STARTED BEFORE SCAMPERING AWAY LIKE ANTS!!!!

it hurts, it Hurts, IT HURTS SO MUCH TRANSLATING THIS CHAPTER IT du**ING HURTS, ***K, MY BRAIN CELLS ARE SAYING GOODBYE, THEY ARE DOING LAPSES INSIDE THAT PINK LAKE.

I couldn’t withdraw from that place.

WHY!?!?!??!

The only thing that mattered was what I could do and how could I stop the Aliuster from causing damage.

WHAT HAVE YOU ACCOMPLISHED OTHER THAN THROWING SOME ICE TO THE ENEMY AND OVERTHINKING!?!?!!? WHY DO YOU THINK YOUR PRESENCE IN THIS BATTLE IS SOME KIND OF KEY ROLE WHEN YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING OTHER THAN BEING SURPRISED??!?!?!??!!? IN FACT, WHY AREN’T YOU DEAD YET!? WHY DID THE ALIUSTER LET YOU OVERTHINK LIKE THIS WHEN THE OTHERS ARE CLEARLY RUNNING AWAY, LEAVING ONLY YOU AND A FEW OTHER BEHIND!?

This is so not natural you guys!!! She just joined like, a month ago, and now she has a mental so strong, she can stand against a mythological creature she has never seen before without the slightest fear?!

The effects varied, you could forget important things, have a significantly reduced IQ, or outrightly go crazy.

WELL THEN YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, YOU FORGET IMPORTANT THINGS SUCH AS FERN’S DEATH AND MANY MORE IN A YAWN, YOU HAVE NO IQ TO BE REDUCED OF, YOU ARE THE VERY DEFINITION OF CONCEITED–IN SHORT, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE, CHARGE, WOMAN, CHARGE!!!

AND WHO IS THAT PAIR OF MAN AND WOMAN YOU AND THE AUTHOR KEEP GIVING SPOTLIGHT TO?!?!!? DON’T THEY DESERVE NAMES?!?

AND WHO COULD THAT VOICE BELONG TO…? DOES IT MATTER?!?!?!

Also, did Luka die offscreen or something? I swear, not one but TWO unnamed characters got more highlight in the entire battle rather than him.

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