Episode 163. The Witch of the Night (4)

The mentoring class party that was formed like that.

Our party’s destination was a monster-infested area located south of Valhalla City.

For heroes, the direction “south” carries many negative meanings.

The city of the Mains, Gehenna City, is located in the south, and it’s also a place notorious for its high danger level, densely packed with ruins. Additionally, the southern region is the front line where various monsters swarm.

The reason why Mains and monsters gather so densely in the south is simple.

The Empire is in the west of the continent, the Republic in the east, and the Holy Kingdom in the north.

And finally, in the central region, there’s the Reynaldo Hero School and Valhalla City.

After the Devil God was sealed, the Mains, whose power had diminished, had no choice but to settle in the rugged terrain and ruins-filled southern region. Naturally, the southern part of the continent became the most avoided demonic realm for humanity.

And now.

We were heading towards that southern part of the continent.

“Ah, Aaron. Are you really sure about this?”

Rios, following behind, spoke with a tense expression.

“The place we’re going to… it’s rated as Danger Level A by the Three Kingdoms Hero Alliance, right?”

Danger Level A is a high enough danger level that even confident active hero parties would hesitate to go.

To explore a Danger Level A area, you need at least a ranker… and among them, a fairly high-ranking one at that.

“Haha. No need to worry so much. At our party’s level, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Aaron shrugged his shoulders with a refreshing smile.

It wasn’t the usual cliché of being foolishly arrogant without knowing the subject.

In reality, Aaron had the skills of a decent high-ranking ranker.

Adding Bella and Rios to that, objectively speaking, our party was at a level where we could sufficiently explore a Danger Level A area.

Of course.

That’s if it were a ‘normal’ situation.

“But…”

Rios’s gaze turned towards me and Lanes, who were following at the very back of the party.

His expression twisted roughly.

“You’re not planning to take those burdens with us, are you?”

“Burdens? Watch your mouth, Rios. They’re fellow party members, aren’t they?”

Aaron frowned, clearly displeased.

Rios flinched under his gaze.

Aaron let out a short sigh and continued.

“In the worst-case scenario, I can use my ‘Blessings,’ so there’s no need to worry.”

“Umm… okay.”

Rios, who had been looking worried, immediately agreed upon hearing the word ‘Blessings.’

The one who reacted to that statement, however, was Bella Leonhart beside him.

“Aaron! You promised to use your Blessings with me, didn’t you?!”

“I told you, didn’t I? I’ll use it in the worst-case scenario. I don’t plan to use it unless absolutely necessary.”

Aaron chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

Bella scolded him for a while, asking why he always picks dangerous tasks, but in the end, she couldn’t break Aaron’s stubbornness.

“Anyway. The path ahead will be quite rough, so everyone, follow closely. If it gets tough, speak up anytime.”

Aaron said that and took the lead, quickening his pace.

Thud, thud.

As Aaron said, the path ahead wasn’t smooth.

In the dense jungle, we had to use Light Magic even during the day to illuminate our surroundings, and the swampy terrain that sucked in our ankles with every step drained our stamina rapidly.

Still, Aaron, Bella, and Rios, who had excellent skills, were managing somewhat well.

“Gasp, gasp!”

But Lanes, who was already struggling with her poor skills and carrying a heavy load on her back, looked like she could collapse at any moment.

Lanes was panting heavily but didn’t say a word about resting, desperately following the party.

“Senior Lanes.”

I couldn’t stand it anymore and approached her.

“Uh, yes?”

“Let me carry it for you.”

“No, no!”

Lanes shook her head, guarding the backpack on her back as if it were a treasure chest.

“The only role I can play in this party… is this much. I have to carry it.”

There was a sense of desperation in Lanes’s face as she said that.

“……”

Frowning, I watched her and then turned my head towards Aaron at the front.

“Senior Aaron.”

“Yes?”

“I’m about to die from exhaustion. Can we take a short break?”

“Ah, sorry. I forgot we have a junior with us.”

Aaron scratched his head and gave an awkward smile.

“Alright. Let’s take a short break around here.”

Aaron grabbed the spear on his back and swung it lightly.

A blue aura shot out from the spear, cutting down trees.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

In an instant, several trees fell, creating a comfortable-sized chair.

“How is it? Exciting to be outside the school, right?”

Aaron sat on the tree stump and asked.

I nodded and sat down beside him.

“Yes, it’s a bit thrilling.”

“Haha. I felt the same way when I first went outside the school to hunt monsters.”

Aaron, pleased with my response, started brewing a hot cup of ‘latte.’

“Even though I thought I had learned enough during lectures, nothing came to mind, and it felt like my brain was wiped clean.”

“……”

“But don’t worry. That’s how it always is the first time. You’ll get used to it soon enough…”

“Aaron!”

Smack!

Bella, sitting next to Aaron, frowned and slapped his back.

“Ouch!”

“Can’t you stop being such a know-it-all for a second?”

“K-know-it-all? I’m just trying to help the junior adapt according to the mentoring class’s purpose…”

“Talking non-stop about how things were back in your day while the kid is trying to rest won’t help them adapt. Let them rest in peace.”

“Ugh.”

Aaron swallowed his complaints under the barrage of scolding.

Even Rios was looking at him with a jealous gaze.

‘The party’s dynamics are quite something.’

I sighed and turned my gaze towards Lanes.

“Haah, haah… Phew.”

Lanes, finally catching her breath, sat on the stump.

“……”

As I looked at her with a complicated gaze.

Rustle, thud!

Heavy footsteps echoed through the jungle.

Not just one, but multiple footsteps.

“Combat preparation.”

Aaron quickly stood up, holding his spear.

He pointed the spear in the direction of the footsteps and sharply scanned the surroundings.

“Grrrrr.”

“Keeek!”

Emerging from the jungle was a lizard monster with a snake’s head and a human head.

It looked like a smaller version of the alligator monster we had encountered during the mid-term evaluation.

“…Seven-Eyed monster.”

Aaron quickly counted the number of eyes on the lizard monster and turned his head.

There were five Seven-Eyed monsters surrounding us.

As expected of a Danger Level A area, the level of monsters appearing was quite high.

“I’ll take the lead. Everyone, provide backup.”

After giving instructions to Bella and Rios, Aaron dashed forward.

“Hahp!”

Aaron’s blue aura flashed, turning into a streak of meteor as it shot forward.

Crash!

“Kyaaaaak!”

The blue meteor pierced through the lizard monster’s tough scales.

The lizard monster let out a horrific scream and thrashed around.

The wound was large enough to pierce its body, but a Seven-Eyed monster wouldn’t die from just that.

“Grrrr!”

The lizard monster let out a rough breath and wrapped its long tail around the spear shaft.

Just as it was about to yank the spear out of Aaron’s hand.

“Blink.”

Whoosh.

Aaron’s body disappeared into thin air and reappeared behind the lizard monster.

It wasn’t like he warped through space.

He just moved ‘so fast that he became invisible’ to the monster’s back.

Crash!

The spear tip pierced through the monster’s head.

“Keeek!”

One of the lizard monsters surrounding us charged at Aaron.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Bella stepped forward, blocking the lizard monster’s path.

Her eyes glowed with a red light.

“Chaat!”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

A terrifyingly fast series of slashes began with a short shout.

The lizard monster’s body was instantly torn to shreds.

“Grrr!”

“Kyahak!”

The remaining three monsters exchanged glances and charged towards the rear of the party.

But where they arrived.

“Pathetic lizard brats, where do you think you’re going?!”

Rios Ryu blocked their path.

“Thunder, come forth!”

Rumble!

A loud noise accompanied by a massive wall of lightning surrounded Rios’s body.

“Keeeeeek!”

One of the charging lizard monsters couldn’t control its speed and crashed into the lightning wall, letting out a horrific scream.

‘Hoo.’

A low exclamation escaped my lips as I watched the seniors’ combat, fitting the ‘mentoring class’ purpose.

‘Quite impressive.’

Indeed, the skills of Aaron, Bella, and Rios were beyond expectations, worthy of being called ‘the best batch in history.’

‘Especially Aaron Baek.’

The explosive acceleration he showed was so incredible that it naturally drew admiration.

As expected.

I was inwardly impressed, remembering how he was called ‘Yuren’s rival’ in his past life.

Crash!

Aaron, having dealt with another lizard monster, turned towards me.

“How is it?”

He pointed the spear tip at the last remaining lizard monster and asked.

“Do you want to take on the last one, our junior?”

“……”

His gaze was like that of someone appraising whether a picked-up stone was a gemstone or just a common pebble.

Only then did I realize why Aaron had taken the risk to bring me here.

‘Aha, so now…’

It’s not unusual for a mentoring class to give juniors a chance to participate in combat.

But bringing a bottom-ranked candidate to a Danger Level A area to face a Seven-Eyed monster wasn’t just about ‘giving the junior a chance.’

There was only one reason Aaron was looking at me with such gleaming eyes.

‘You want to test me?’

He probably wanted to see for himself the skills he had only heard rumors about.

“How about it? Ah, no pressure. It’s okay to refuse if you’re scared.”

Aaron looked at me with a faint smile.

I let out a hollow laugh at the obvious provocation in his eyes.

‘So this was your plan all along, huh?’

I chuckled and stood up from my seat.

Holding the sword hilt, I walked leisurely towards the monster.

A test.

A test, huh?

‘How petty.’

You little brat.