Chapter 37: You Are Merely Mortals Born into an Era Without Me! (Please Keep Reading) (Patreon)

Predators always go for the weakest prey first — that's simply how it's always been.

Tension crackled in the air.

The moment this group of Soma Familia Adventurers showed themselves, Rozz already understood how today's clash would end — simply enough.

Either kill every last one of them, or be killed.

Rozz definitely preferred the former. His right hand gripped his Adventurer's Shortsword in a reverse hold as his eyes swept the battlefield in an instant.

One against four.

If Yuta Okkotsu could take on four alone back in Sendai, there was no reason Rozz couldn't speed-clear a handful of roadside Adventurers in the Dungeon!

...

No tactics needed here — just pure muscle.

He dropped his center of gravity, gathering every ounce of core strength into his legs just as Nwankwo was still winding up to run his mouth.

In that instant, Rozz's body shot forward like a cannonball, aimed straight at the tall, thin man who hadn't even braced himself.

After several rounds of stat growth, Rozz's base numbers had already surpassed most of Orario's Level 1 Adventurers — and that wasn't even counting his live-combat training.

The gap between them, once nearly ten meters, closed in the span of a single breath. He was already in front of the tall, thin man, his reverse-gripped Adventurer's Shortsword sweeping across the man's throat.

Shhk!

The blade sliced clean through his throat, and blood sprayed out instantly.

As the man realized he couldn't breathe, warmth pooling endlessly from his chest, his reckless grin curdled into raw terror.

But it was obvious — even an Adventurer couldn't fight through adrenaline alone with his throat cut open.

Bam!

By the time Nwankwo registered that the fight had begun, years of Adventurer instinct took over, and he swung his battle-axe down at Rozz.

But along with the ringing clang of colliding steel, all he felt was the brutal recoil surging up the axe's handle into the meat of his palm, sending him stumbling back.

What kind of body was this!?

Nwankwo felt it with total certainty now — in raw strength, Rozz was leagues beyond him.

And it wasn't only strength.

His eyes went wide, cold dread crawling up his spine. No rookie — at least not the kind of rookie Nwankwo knew — could possibly reach this level.

Strength, speed, both outmatched his own...

Not to mention the kid's technique was rock solid. He remembered what Lili had told him before — you call this a rookie?

...

Could he still talk his way out of this?

He noticed the black-haired boy's arms trembling faintly, his face drained pale — clearly the state of someone who had just killed for the first time.

Nwankwo figured he still had a chance.

Years of fighting together in the Dungeon had built an understanding between them that needed no words. He shot a glance sideways at his lackey.

The man caught his meaning instantly.

"Lucas!"

...

The Adventurer known as "Lucas" immediately fell back to a safe distance, drew the crossbow bolts from behind his back, and took aim in a flash.

The bolt was leveled at Rozz.

It cut through the air with a piercing whistle, an ambush struck from hiding, aimed dead center at his target's chest.

Fwip!

Only — the one whose heart the bolt punched through was the Adventurer called "Lucas" himself. He crumpled to the ground, blood pooling beneath him.

The girl responsible carried no bulky Supporter's pack on her back.

As if sensing Nwankwo's gaze, Lili swiftly reloaded the dwarven hand-crossbow in her grip, no longer bothering to stay hidden in his blind spot.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you to keep your focus in a fight?"

...

Rozz's casual reminder drifted into his ears, and the middle-aged Adventurer finally snapped out of the shock of losing two comrades.

Just moments ago, the last man he could have counted on had already been dealt with by the black-haired boy — now he fought alone.

Against Rozz's brutally sharp speed-assault style, Nwankwo could barely keep pace even on defense, and fear kept building with every passing second.

...

Bam!

Until — the force of an upward strike wrenched the battle-axe from his grip, and the middle-aged Adventurer, crushed through the entire fight, finally broke.

Nwankwo kept stumbling backward, until he tripped over his companion's corpse.

He scrambled away on hands and feet, staring at the black-haired boy closing in, and in that moment fear took on a fully physical shape.

"A monster..."

"There's no way you're only Level 1 — how could you possibly be this strong? I— I've been an Adventurer in Orario for over a decade."

"I've never seen anyone like you..."

"You— you can't really be a rookie, can you?"

What right did his decade of experience give him to dismiss days of my effort?

As the old saying goes: when you cut the weeds, pull the roots too.

Rozz looked down at the middle-aged Adventurer now sprawled before him like a dying dog. He felt no hesitation at all — if he hadn't won this fight, the only outcome waiting for him would have been death.

Nwankwo tried to stall with words, but all he got back was Rozz's flat, murderous stare.

"I was wrong."

"I shouldn't have— I shouldn't have had any ideas about you. Please, spare me — I swear I won't breathe a word about today!"

...

"You just know you're about to be killed by me."

Recalling what Nwankwo had just said, Rozz swung his Adventurer's Shortsword decisively at the man's neck, his tone light. "Over a decade of seniority?"

"To put it plainly..."

"you're all just ordinary people born before my time!"

Hm...

Her job in the Dungeon today had been to guard Rozz's safety through this Adventurer conflict, right?

But having watched the fight with her own eyes, Tsubaki felt a flicker of self-doubt creep in. If she had to describe it, "a feast for the eyes" was probably the only phrase that fit.

This kid, seriously...

Neither his strength, his speed, nor the speed-assault style he fought with looked anything like what a brand-new Adventurer should have.

Absurd!

What kind of rookie Adventurer fights like this?

...

Maybe it was exactly this kind of talent that had made the goddess Hestia ask her own goddess to send Tsubaki along.

Tsubaki gradually pieced together the reasoning.

She had to admit — talent like Rozz's would absolutely be marked for priority cultivation in any Familia in Orario, if only to keep it from being snuffed out before it could grow.

"Looking at it that way, with someone like Rozz appearing out of nowhere, I can't even imagine how wild Orario's going to get from here... Now I'm actually looking forward to it!"

Just as she turned to leave, Rozz — having finished collecting the loot ahead — suddenly spun around. Tsubaki knew instantly: he'd noticed her.

"Monster."

...