Chapter 91

Chapter 91. A Common Occurrence (3)

“Haa.”

The gray smoke mixed with my exhale.

The explosive magic power I poured out in one go made my blood boil.

Looking at the severed tail of the monster, I twisted the corner of my mouth into a smirk.

A shiver ran down my spine.

It must feel like this when someone who’s been on a diet their whole life finally lets loose and binges for the first time.

A sense of exhilaration and thrilling pleasure spread throughout my body.

‘So this is how it feels.’

I stopped conserving my magic power out of habit and swung my sword with all my might, showing destructive power beyond what I had imagined.

‘It’s true that the magic power is draining ridiculously fast.’

If my body hadn’t recently been reconstructed into a “furnace,” increasing my magic power explosively, it would have been hard to handle.

‘But the power is definitely worth it.’

Even without using “Ignition,” this level of power is impressive.

If I had used “Ignition,” the power would have been more than twice as strong as it is now.

‘In the Ignition state, magic power recovers quickly, so the burden of magic power would be less.’

In many ways, this was the swordsmanship that “suited me.”

“Ha.”

A low chuckle escaped my lips.

Only after swinging my sword without worrying about the consumption of magic power did I begin to understand what Yurina had said.

‘Even after thousands of years of training, I couldn’t realize something like this on my own.’

No, to be precise, it was because I had trained for thousands of years that I couldn’t realize it on my own.

‘A new swordsmanship that suits me now.’

I thought it wouldn’t be fitting to call this swordsmanship “Sun Sword” like before.

Since the form of the swordsmanship I use has completely changed, having the same name would unconsciously remind me of my old habits.

‘Then.’

I looked down at the sword in my hand.

The flickering gray aura mixed with a burning ember.

From the unique color of the aura, which I had never seen in any hero in my past or present life, I could easily recall the name of the new swordsmanship.

“Kuaaaaah!!!”

The alligator monster, which had been in shock for a while looking at its severed tail, soon let out a rough roar and stomped its feet.

The several-ton giant, covered in steel-like scales, charged at a terrifying speed.

Toward the incarnation of destruction that would crush an ordinary person just by brushing past them.

I aimed my sword.

“Ssuup.”

I spread the magic power dwelling in the holy mark throughout my body.

I stomped my foot roughly and pulled up my magic power as if it were exploding.

Unlike the Sun Sword, which controlled magic power to the extreme and only put power into the exact moment it was needed, this strike burned every last bit of remaining magic power.

Ash Fire Sword.

First Form, Ash Extinction.

The swordsmanship created solely for “Dale Han” slashed through the body of the charging alligator monster.

Kuuuung!

With a heavy roar, the 5-meter-long body of the monster was split in two from the top of its head.

A pungent smell and thick gray smoke seeped out from the torn flesh.

“Phew.”

As I exhaled and withdrew my magic power, my body swayed slightly.

‘Did I use too much magic power in an instant?’

Using my sword as a cane to support myself, I examined the split corpse of the alligator monster.

‘Is there no magic stone?’

Well.

It was just that I had been extremely lucky before. Normally, it’s extremely rare for a magic stone to drop from a monster above the Palan grade.

As I turned my head, trying to soothe my disappointment.

“…What is this?”

I heard the astonished voice of Professor Elisha.

“Candidate Dale, how on earth did you…?”

She looked at me with trembling eyes, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Well.

She was the only witness who had seen me fighting the alligator monster during the midterm evaluation.

Not much time had passed since the midterm evaluation, and seeing me slice through the alligator monster, which I had barely managed to defeat back then, with just two sword strikes, it was no wonder she was shocked.

“Well, isn’t it the time for candidates to grow quickly?”

I shrugged and joked, causing Professor Elisha’s expression to twist.

“Are you saying that’s an excuse?”

It’s true that heroes grow the fastest during their candidate days, but there’s a limit to that.

To take down a Palan-grade monster, which even most professors would hesitate to face, as if it were some stray dog…

Isn’t this like a snake turning into a dragon overnight?

“Sigh… I knew Candidate Dale had hidden strength, but…”

Professor Elisha let out a deep sigh and shook her head repeatedly.

‘When I talked to Professor Lucas, he said that Candidate Dale would become a hero stronger than the “Five Great Heroes” in the future.’

Perhaps the “future” he mentioned was closer than I thought.

“By the way, how are the survivors?”

“…Fortunately, they seem to be unharmed.”

It was partly because I had protected them in advance to prevent them from being harmed by the aftermath of the battle, but more so because the battle ended so quickly that there was no chance for any “aftermath” to occur.

“Still, they’re quite weakened. Let’s move them to the village quickly.”

“Yes.”

And so, Professor Elisha and I moved the survivors to the village.

“Ru, Rumi! Rumi!!!”

As soon as we arrived at the village, a middle-aged woman waiting at the entrance hurriedly approached.

She looked at her daughter, who was in Professor Elisha’s arms, and burst into tears.

“Thank you! Thank you so much, heroes!”

“Save the thanks for later. Some are in critical condition, so quickly lay them down and make some porridge to feed them.”

“Yes, yes! Understood!”

Perhaps the middle-aged woman’s cries reached the other villagers.

The villagers who had been hiding in their houses came pouring out, cheering.

“Hey, the heroes have defeated the monsters!”

“We’re saved now!”

“Waaaah!”

“Thank you! Thank you, heroes!”

“May the blessings of the seven gods be with you!”

The villagers expressed their joy with tears.

Of course, among them were those who shed tears for a different reason.

“Um… hero. Did you happen to see my husband?”

“Where is my mother…!”

“Oh no! Philip! Philiiiip!”

Out of the seven kidnapped by the monsters, only four survived.

In other words, there were those who did not return alive.

“……”

Professor Elisha turned her head away from the wailing villagers with a bitter expression.

“Are you okay?”

“…Hmph. Who’s worried about whom?”

“There’s no rule that a candidate can’t worry about a professor, right?”

“Shut up.”

Despite her cold reply, the darkness on Professor Elisha’s face slightly lifted.

“Let’s continue the investigation tomorrow and rest for today.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

I had used quite a bit of magic power while using the “Ash Fire Sword,” so I needed rest.

Professor Elisha and I went into a nearby empty house to rest for a while.

Knock knock.

Then came a cautious knock.

“Are the heroes inside?”

The voice of Chief Oliver came from beyond the door.

Professor Elisha got up and opened the door.

“What is it?”

“As a token of gratitude for defeating the monsters this time… though it’s not enough, the villagers have decided to hold a small festival tonight.”

“A festival?”

“Yes. To bless those who returned and to console those who left. We would be honored if you heroes could attend and grace the occasion.”

“Not interested.”

Professor Elisha shook her head with a firm expression.

Chief Oliver, looking troubled, continued.

“The villagers really want you to attend. We also have our village’s specialty, apple wine, that we’d love to offer you. Couldn’t you please attend?”

“Hmm.”

Professor Elisha swallowed her words at Chief Oliver’s earnest request.

She seemed hesitant, as if receiving such hospitality from the villagers was too burdensome.

‘Being too nice can be a problem.’

I stifled a laugh and whispered to her.

“I’ll ask the Helios family to send relief supplies to this village later, so feel free to attend.”

“…The Helios family?”

Her eyes filled with doubt.

“I have some connections with the head of the Helios family.”

“Candidate Dale, you have connections with Rozanna Helios?”

Seeing Professor Elisha blinking in disbelief, I shrugged.

“Sigh… The more I learn about Candidate Dale, the more questions I have.”

Professor Elisha sighed and shook her head repeatedly.

“Fine. I’ll attend.”

“Thank you, heroes!”

Chief Oliver bowed repeatedly with a bright expression.

“I’ll come get you when the festival preparations are complete!”

Chief Oliver closed the door and left.

After resting for a few hours with Professor Elisha, a noisy sound started to seep in from outside.

“The festival preparations are complete, heroes!”

At Chief Oliver’s call, Professor Elisha and I went outside.

Outside, a large bonfire was visible.

The enticing smell of meat and the sweet aroma of fruit wine filled the small village.

“Waaaah! The heroes are here!”

“Thank you for saving our village!”

“For the heroes! For the seven gods!”

Some of the villagers were already quite drunk.

“Um… hero. Here’s a cup.”

A little girl approached us as we sat down.

“You are…?”

“Hehe. My name is Rumi!”

The girl with orange hair and freckles smiled brightly.

“Already recovered?”

“Yes! It’s all thanks to you heroes!”

Perhaps because she hadn’t been kidnapped by the monsters for long.

The girl’s condition looked much better than I had worried.

“…That’s a relief.”

Professor Elisha smiled faintly and took the cup of sweet apple wine from the girl.

“Now that the heroes are here, let’s officially start the festival!”

Chief Oliver stood in front of the bonfire and raised his cup high.

“For the heroes who protected our village!”

“For the seven gods!”

The villagers cheered and drank their cups of apple wine.

“Everyone’s quite lively.”

“Well, from the villagers’ perspective, it’s like they’ve come back from the dead.”

I stifled a laugh and raised my cup to Professor Elisha.

Clink.

The cups made a clear sound as they touched.

“Apple wine… the aroma is certainly good.”

Professor Elisha took a sip of the shimmering apple wine.

And then.

“Pfft!”

Professor Elisha spat out the apple wine in her mouth.

“Professor?”

“Candidate Dale! Don’t drink the wine!”

Professor Elisha hastily knocked the cup out of my hand.

Clang.

The cup shattered, spilling the apple wine on the ground.

“You…!”

Professor Elisha stood up and approached Chief Oliver with a twisted expression.

“What did you put in the wine?”

Professor Elisha roughly grabbed Chief Oliver’s collar, her chest heaving with anger.