Kays Translations

Chapter 89: The Team’s Ability

A pack of kobolds and Mad Dogs had established a settlement in the forest near the client’s village about a month earlier.

They frequently descended on the village and ravaged its crops.

According to an adventurer from one of the E-rank teams who possessed [Scouting], the settlement contained forty-one kobolds and sixteen Mad Dogs—more than expected.

Kobolds resembled bipedal dogs. They weren’t large and were less intelligent than goblins, making them relatively easy to exterminate, but they rarely gathered in such numbers.

No higher species had appeared yet, but the pack leader might evolve if left alone. They needed to destroy the settlement before that happened.

Fortunately, the troublesome Mad Dogs were clustered together on the north side.

Tauro’s team would attack from the north, while the two E-rank teams approached from the south and east.

They deliberately left the western side open because it was upwind.

Kobolds and Mad Dogs had keen noses and would probably detect anyone approaching from that direction.

The extermination began.

“Let’s go, Rumeya!”

Tauro gave the signal.

“Right! Come at me, you mangy dogs!”

Rumeya activated [Taunt].

The Mad Dogs responded by barking and charged him all at once.

Their barking became the signal for the other teams to launch their surprise attacks.

“[Shield Bash]!”

Rumeya combined the strength of [Mighty Force] with his [Shield] technique and smashed the leaping Mad Dogs away with his large shield.

They flew backward with short yelps and dull impacts, dying instantly.

Shin and Tauro killed more from either side of Rumeya, but the battle belonged to the shield bearer.

Every Mad Dog that charged him was swiftly counterattacked, and the entire group was wiped out.

Tauro’s team immediately moved to support the two E-rank teams.

They struck the kobolds from behind with Aeris’s attack magic and Rumeya’s [Shield] technique [Charge], while Shin and Tauro delivered the finishing blows.

The hour-long battle ended in an overwhelming victory for the adventurers.

Even kobolds that lost their nerve and tried to flee were pulled back into the fighting by Rumeya’s [Taunt] and exterminated.

Several adventurers were wounded, but potions and healing magic treated their injuries.

Meanwhile, the reputation of Tauro’s F-rank team soared.

More specifically, both E-rank teams invited Rumeya and Aeris to join them.

Shin received no offer because both teams already had plenty of attacking vanguards.

Rumeya was also recruited as an attacker rather than a defender, probably because his unusual, spectacular performance had impressed everyone.

In any event, the invitations were fervent.

“Aeris, join us! Combine our firepower with your rear-guard magic and our team could climb the ranks immediately!”

“Rumeya, make that explosive power the heart of our offense! With your strength, our team will reach D rank in no time!”

Both refused.

Leaving their current team offered no advantage. More importantly, the recruiters cared only about advancing their own teams and showed no concern for Rumeya or Aeris.

The most important reason was simpler: both of them liked their present team.

Tauro had helped Rumeya find a future in the [Shield] skill, and his partnership with Shin felt natural. Coordinating with all four members, including Aeris, was enjoyable. He had no reason to abandon them.

Aeris felt much the same.

She had left her former team precisely because she sensed so much potential in this one.

The thought of discovering what would happen after she joined filled her with excitement.

She was also fascinated by Tauro’s unknown talents.

There was no possibility of her leaving before she witnessed them.

When the adventurers returned to report the quest’s completion, Rumeya and Aeris’s exploits—and the E-rank teams’ eager recruitment attempts—made the pair the center of attention at the Dansas branch.

Shin had actually achieved an impressive number of kills, but his work was overshadowed by the other two’s more spectacular performances.

Tauro’s numbers were unremarkable as well.

He had concentrated on support and drawn out the offensive power of the other three. The results proved that his approach worked, and Tauro was personally satisfied with the clear progress.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter