My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 23

“Lord Ariel.”

Not long after Praus entered Brih Forest, Dex called out to Ariel.

“What is it?”

“What is Lord Praus doing? Is he going to kill monsters?”

“Kill monsters? Him?”

Ariel sneered, recalling Praus’s physical abilities, which were not much different from an ordinary villager.

“I think Lord Praus could easily slice a Wolf Monster or two.”

‘Hmm. Why do the kids think Praus is strong? Sure, he carries himself with confidence, but… if they sparred even once with swords, they would know he’s weak.’

“…That might be true. It’s the first time I’ve met someone who treats a Spirit King so casually after living for hundreds of years.”

Ariel concluded that it would be more entertaining to let them think Praus was strong.

‘Well, let’s see what you plan to do.’

*

Even though I had gone quite deep into the forest, I felt no signs of monsters.

Despite lighting a torch, it seemed the monsters hadn’t detected me yet.

Thanks to the Purification Stone, I could endure a long exposure to magic without issues, but I didn’t want to linger in such a dreary forest.

“Then there’s only one method.”

I closed my eyes and then opened them, tightening the muscles around them.

[Activating skill “Killing Intent.”]

I scanned my surroundings while maintaining my Killing Intent.

Monsters are creatures that act on instinct—they wouldn’t be able to ignore it.

Just as I relaxed my eyelids and prepared to move again—

Grrrrr—!

Sounds of beasts echoed from all directions. Fortunately, it seemed they had indeed sensed my Killing Intent.

At that moment, a wave of hostility bore down upon me from numerous sources.

If they were ordinary animals, they would have fled under my Killing Intent, but monsters don’t choose to run away.

They were creatures that only thought about killing and devouring.

I began to step back cautiously. The lurking monsters were starting to recognize me as prey.

Upon examining the silhouettes, each one was at least 2 meters tall. I could roughly count ten.

It was a larger group than I had expected.

“Whoa, that’s a lot.”

I gasped in surprise and swallowed hard.

Grrrrr!

The beast sounds grew closer. I could hear rustling behind me as well, suggesting they were trying to encircle me.

“Do you think you can catch me?”

They probably could. Yeah.

Thanks to High-Speed Movement, I was confident I wouldn’t get caught, but if I tripped on a rock or a tree root, I was as good as dead.

Though I was familiar with the path I’d taken, I couldn’t remember every little detail on the ground.

Still, if I wanted to survive, there was no choice.

[Activating skill “High-Speed Movement.”]

I swiftly turned and ran. No matter how much of a Wolf Monster it was, there was no way they could easily catch up with High-Speed Movement.

I barely managed to discern where to place my feet as the ground rushed by beneath me.

It was then that I saw a wolf right next to me, mouth gaping wide.

“Gah!”

I swung my torch at the wolf’s mouth.

Crunch!

At the moment of impact, the torch head flew off, plunging the forest into darkness.

Thud! Thud!

I heard heavy footsteps pounding behind me. The other wolves were closing in.

If I didn’t pick up the pace, I would be caught. But traversing the dark path wasn’t easy.

Every step felt like I was blind, and my anxiety surged with each movement.

Boom!

As expected, I stumbled and fell to the ground.

“Gaaah!”

Rolling down the slope, I felt a pain as if something had broken inside me. My head spun.

But I had to endure. I had to hold on.

The light from the campfire peeked through the trees. I was almost there.

If I died, what would be the point of the heroes awakening?

I pushed myself out, grateful it wasn’t my legs that got hurt.

“I brought monsters!”

“Hey! What’s going on?!”

“Didn’t Lord Praus say not to touch the monsters?”

“I only said not to kill them. Besides, if they’re inside the barrier set by Ariel, they won’t take any damage.”

I wiped the dirt off my face with the back of my hand.

Wolf monsters began to emerge from the forest—there were surely around twenty.

I’d thought there were only ten…

Taking a deep breath, I readied my sword against the pack of wolves.

“Tina, Iris, Maria.”

They didn’t respond.

I understood they must be startled by the sudden turn of events, but I wished they would at least realize they needed to reply.

I couldn’t afford to take my eyes off the wolves for even a moment; it was clear I had to maintain this standoff.

“Tina! Iris! Maria!”

I raised my voice for the first time at them when they still didn’t answer.

“Yes, yes!”

“Did you call?”

“Yeah!”

The three heroes finally responded, albeit a bit late.

Fortunately, they seemed to be focusing on the situation.

“Prove your worth!”

Crackle.

I could hear the wood crackling as it burned in the campfire.

“Prove to me why I should keep you all around! I won’t attack the wolves until you step up!”

Please, you can’t be afraid of monsters.

Just have courage. Show me your intent to take them down.

The quality of a hero is to fight and win even against those stronger than themselves.

They just needed to show a hint of that willingness to fight. That would be enough for them to awaken.

But they showed no reaction to my words.

It was then that I realized again that this world isn’t a game world.

Yeah. This is reality.

Just because the scenario is going smoothly doesn’t guarantee that the protagonists will rise to the occasion.

Since they have their own personalities, countless variables could arise.

Even as the wolves slowly approached me, no voice came from behind.

I bit my lower lip, gripping the sword tightly.

“I!!”

The wolves flinched at my voice. It echoed throughout the forest like a booming echo.

[Temporarily deactivating skill “Expression Management.”]

A hologram appeared before me.

“I believe you can kill these wolves! Be brave! You can do it! You’re the ones I personally brought here!”

A glance at the girls showed their expressions were pure bewilderment.

They looked as though they didn’t know what to do.

Perhaps I had asked too much of ten-year-olds.

Maybe I had been trying to awaken them too soon.

“Grrrr…!”

Thump.

One of the wolves took a step closer. But I wouldn’t back down any further.

It felt like death was staggering before me. I felt nauseated.

But I couldn’t back down. I had to show my determination to get them to show something in return.

“GRAAAAH!!”

With a fierce cry, a wolf lunged at me with its mouth wide open.

Damn it, is this where it ends?

Just as I squeezed my eyes shut to flick my fingers—

“[Absolute Defense]!”

Clang!

A sound of collision rang out right in front of me.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw a lush, white-haired fox tail wriggling in front of me.

“Lord Praus, I will prove my worth!”

*

“I believe you can kill these wolves! Be brave! You can do it! You’re the ones I personally brought here!”

Praus’s desperate voice echoed in the air.

The three heroes bit their lower lips, feeling the lingering power of his vanished voice.

‘Even if he says that, how could we possibly kill something that big…?’

‘Prove my worth? How could I, who has never even killed a human, take down a monster…’

‘You want me to kill that? How? I have no magic… Even using a magic scroll, I can’t win against something like that…’

As they finished their thoughts and looked back at Praus, the three heroes could only feel panic.

He was looking at them with an expression that projected a sense of trust for the first time.

The first to waver under such a gaze was Iris.

‘If I want to prove my worth… if I don’t want to be abandoned by Lord Praus, I have no choice but to defeat a monster. He’s the only one who has treated me as an equal until now.’

Recalling the two weeks they had spent together, Iris steeled her resolve.

“I will prove it.”

The moment that thought formed, an unknown power began to surging throughout Iris’s body.

It was the potential that only the protagonist could obtain in a game.

Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise as she noticed it.

‘What’s happening to that girl…?’

Having lived for centuries, Spirit King Ariel was able to recognize that power penetrating through Iris’s being.

‘That’s the power the First Hero possessed.’

When the Demon Tribe first emerged, a similar figure had appeared within the Empire.

The ones who were the hope of the Physis Continent—the heroes.

Since Spirit Kings had also helped the heroes to defeat the Demon King, she could not mistake it.

‘Could it be that Lord Praus knew they would awaken as heroes from the very start and brought them here?’

She thought it was a bluff.

Ariel had regarded Praus as a frivolous human whose words meant little.

But seeing Iris awakened as a hero made her understand why he said that killing her wouldn’t lead to the Demon King’s defeat.

Meanwhile, Iris was flustered yet realizing the gravity of her situation.

‘So this is what Lord Praus intended. It feels like my power is overflowing. If this continues, I can prove my worth. If I prove my worth, he surely won’t abandon me!’

The Paladin, the defender of the heroes.

The first to awaken was Iris.

Iris sensed the dormant power hidden within the weapon in her hands.

Using the newfound strength flooding through her body, she charged forward, positioned between Praus and the wolves.

“[Absolute Defense]!”

Clang!

She blocked the teeth of the wolf lunging at Praus.

“Lord Praus, I will prove my worth!”

“Iris…”

Tina and Maria were stunned at Iris’s sudden awakening.

‘Iris stood in front of the wolf. What did Praus do?’

‘Is there something to it? That Praus brought out the monsters in the forest for us? Could it be… is there hidden potential within me too?’

Maria racked her brain, running through possibilities.

Gathering three children of completely different races with no matching traits—you could find no other commonality aside from being ten years old.

Maria figured Praus wouldn’t have brought them together for no reason.

‘To top it off, he paid 1,300 gold—an astronomical sum—just for me. That’s…’

The moment she thought that, she glanced down at her staff.

‘Could it be that I possess a talent for being a magician? Did Lord Praus perceive that I have the strength to defeat the Demon Tribe? If that’s the case… then I…’

Maria’s atmosphere shifted.

Her body began to absorb all the mana swirling in the air.

It felt as natural as breathing. As she filled her entire being with mana, she began to exude an aura reminiscent of an Archmage.

The gem on the staff she was holding glimmered, cycling through four colors.

Red, blue, green, brown.

Fire, water, wind, earth.

She was exhibiting a powerful connection to the four elemental attributes.

‘Master of all attributes…’

Elemental Master, the one who commands the elements.

Second to awaken was Maria.

‘This is an astonishing amount of mana! So this was it! This is what Lord Praus was after. I definitely need to become his disciple!’

“[Fireball].”

Maria conjured a spell she had once seen in a book.

She felt her previously blocked mind accelerating as she hurled a fierce flame at the wolf.

Boom!

Although Fireball was one of the basic fire spells, now that Maria was using it, it showcased a power tenfold that of an ordinary magician.

‘What the heck is that…?’

Seeing the two girls awaken, Tina finally figured out what she needed to do.

‘It’s all about whether I can kill the Demon Tribe… that’s it.’

“Praus!”

“Uh, what?”

“Will you feed me lots of food?!”

Praus was taken aback by Tina’s request in such a serious situation but then called out cheerfully.

“I’ll feed you well for life!”

“Good!”

Tina dashed forward, holding onto her unwavering desire for revenge.

As her movements quickened, Tina felt the strength surging through her body, and she realized Lord Praus’s intentions just in time, stomping on the ground.

In the blink of an eye, she closed the gap and cleanly decapitated the wolf in front of Iris.

It was a flawless strike.

The onlookers gasped in awe, their eyes wide open.

She wielded a sword larger than herself with ease and executed the wolf in a single blow, leaving them stunned.

At ten years old, Tina had transformed from an ordinary child into a hero who had slain the first Demon King.

[This is indeed surprising. Such outstanding potential! Praus, my dear friend, did you know that showing these monsters would awaken these children?]

Those words from Pasma would never reach Praus’s ears.

“Alright.”

The Sword Hero; the one who wields the sword.

Third to awaken was Tina.

‘With the Paladin and Elemental Master awakened, now the Sword Hero… What in the world did Praus gather here?’

Ariel was left in sheer disbelief.

As Tina casually shook off the blood from her sword, her gaze locked onto the approaching wolves.

“Whoa, they look ugly.”

At Tina’s blunt remark, the wolves started growling menacingly.

“Lord Praus.”

Maria approached Praus.

“What’s wrong?”

Praus’s tone had returned.

After all, it was only a temporary lapse in his Expression Management Skill; he needed to keep his cool.

“If I handle all of those wolves, will you accept me as a disciple?”

Tina and Iris quickly interjected.

“What? Maria, those wolves have to sacrifice themselves for my meal.”

“No. I must use this to prove my worth to Lord Praus.”

As the three girls quarreled by drawing their gazes toward the wolves, they simultaneously spoke.

“Whichever one catches it first gets it!”

Tina and Iris charged in tandem, while Maria prepared to cast her spell.

No trace of fear remained in them.