Golden Experience

After a report that came in through one of Queen Beetle’s subordinates reached Azalea, she leaped off the balcony.

The report stated that individuals had emerged alive from a residence where four low-level vampires were hiding, in a short period. Or so it seemed.

The details were unclear to Blanc. Deas translated for her.

“If they emerged alive in a short time, it means they defeated the four low-level vampires in a short time. Judging from other intruders, the odds in a battle against the same number of low-level vampires would be even. If they managed to overcome that with fewer forces in a short time, they undoubtedly possess a certain level of combat power. Moreover, there were no noticeable injuries or signs of exhaustion on those people. If that’s the case, caution is necessary”, Deas explained.

With Deas saying so, there was no choice but to send someone to confirm for caution.

Deas is officially under Blancright now, but he is only staying at Blanc’s place thanks to Rare’s favor. Rare has instructed him to prioritize Blanc, but it doesn’t mean Deas always follows Blanc’s orders. If anything, his top priority is Blanc’s safety, and he would prioritize his judgment over Blanc’s when it comes to matters related to it.

The same can be said for Weiss.

Although they come from different organizations, their situation is similar.

“It’s as Deas-sama says, indeed. If I may add, if they seem to have high combat power, we should not hesitate to attack decisively from the start to cut them off quickly. If they are confident in their skills, they might come again. Even if they ask for accurate combat power information, it is not something we absolutely must do without any information at all”, Weiss continued Deas’ words, and Deas nodded in agreement.

Hearing this, Azalea decided to go herself.

Azalea, with her ability, can easily seal the deal by casting magic from above, and in the worst case, she can transform into a giant. Becoming a giant would result in losing magical power, but also in gaining significant bonuses in defense and LP. Relying on that, she can endure and send reinforcements.

If Azalea were to lose against such an enemy, Deas is probably the only one who could handle it somehow.

The people in front of Azalea seemed to have taken quite a bit of damage from her unleashed [Lightning Shower].

Azalea, Magenta and Carmine are built with a focus on magical attacks, according to the policy of their lord, Blanc. This seems to work particularly well against individuals who have not taken any precautions to fight against magic.

While Azalea intended to turn them into ashes with a single blow, not only did they maintain their original form, but it seems that two of them managed to survive. They possess abilities that are entirely different from those Azalea has encountered so far. However, Azalea’s pride didn’t allow her to show surprise openly.

“It seems like you’re not a big deal. This much with just one shot?”

Upon closer inspection, the man’s full-body armor showed no signs of soot. This implies that Azalea’s magic passed through the armor, dealing damage internally, and only managed to cause harm because it ignored the armor’s defense.

If that’s the case, attacks other than Thunder Magic may be less effective, as they could be deflected by the armor. The other man standing alone seems to be wearing armor with scales of metal attached to it, but it, too, has suffered no damage. If that metal is the same as the one on the first man, caution is needed when attacking the second man.

Lightning Shower is in cooldown. It might be enough to defeat them if used continuously, but it cannot be cast consecutively. Trying another spell would only delay the cooldown of Lightning Shower if its effect is weak.

While waiting for the cooldown, it is necessary to restrain the opponent’s actions through means other than magic.

Suddenly, a red skeleton from the lord’s mansion was seen flying towards them from the sky. It was a Dragontooth, a peer who serves the same lord. That face is probably Crimson’s.

Crimson and the other Dragontooth members are kouhai to Azalea and the girls in terms of hierarchy. Although their combat abilities are not definitively compared, in a one-on-one fight, Azalea would undoubtedly lose.

As a magic user, Azalea would defeat her enemies by attacking them unilaterally from beyond their reach in one-on-one combat. However, if she couldn’t finish them off before they got close, she would lose in close combat. This remains the case even if recast overlaps and she runs out of options. This would be likely to happen against Crimson.

However, if Crimson is an ally, there couldn’t be a better combination in terms of compatibility. Crimson would deal with enemies in close combat, while Azalea attacks from a distance with magic.

A Dragontooth excels in close combat, and due to its light weight, it is particularly fast. Also, with a name like Dragontooth, its claws and fangs boast attack power derived from dragons, demonstrating considerable sharpness. For the same reasons, its durability is excellent. Being bone, it is weak to striking attributes but resistant to cutting and piercing.

Although skeletons are originally weak to fire attribute damage, for some reason, since the time of Spartoi, they possess Fire Resistance independently. Perhaps it’s because of the red color. No, that color should be the color of their lord’s blood. Fire has nothing to do with it.

Anyway, such a reliable kouhai is lurking behind the enemy party. This is as good as winning. It’s okay to be a little more confident.

“Well, for boldly setting foot in this town without knowing your place, I’ll give you that as a compliment. Take that as a souvenir to the afterlife.”

Whether heard or not, Crimson skillfully shrugged in mid-air.

Rather than aiming at the people in front of her, Azalea impulsively cast magic in response to Crimson’s attitude.

“[Hellflame]!”

Positionally, Crimson might be grazed by it, but it doesn’t matter. He has Fire Resistance. It won’t cause much damage anyway, and if needed, healing can be applied later.

At that moment, as if to demonstrate the attitude towards her senior──

“Aggh!”

Lowering her gaze at the scream, she saw the mage who should have been finished off by the initial Lightning Shower impaled by Crimson’s claws, turning into light and disappearing.

“…?”

Understanding what happened was beyond her. The mage, who was supposed to have been defeated by Crimson, was in a different location than where he supposedly died. No, he wasn’t dead. He wasn’t killed by Lightning Shower. And now, trying to move to avoid Hellflame, he was pierced by Crimson.

“Wayne! Menta!”

And it seems the man wearing scale armor also perished in the current flames.

The lone survivor in full-body armor is shouting the names of the two, ‘Wayne’ and ‘Menta’, it seems.

The performance of this man’s armor is formidable.

Despite the compatibility, Lightning Shower was able to pass through and deal damage, but the current Hellflame doesn’t seem to have caused much harm.

As there were many areas on the man’s scale armor not covered in metal, it seems the fire penetrated sufficiently.

His face was especially charred, turning into light and disappearing.

The surviving man’s armor, shield, sword, all of them are dangerous. Caution is necessary.

However, he is ultimately a melee physical class. He cannot effectively strike Azalea, who is hovering in the air.

So, what about that mage?

He was in the same party as this metal-armored man.

If he was a mage with a threat level comparable to equipment like these armors and swords, it’s not certain if he couldn’t make a fatal attack on Azalea above.

Perhaps that was the plan, and that’s why he feigned death.

If that’s the case, it’s not entirely wrong to say that Crimson saved her. Azalea is not so petty as to not acknowledge her junior’s achievements.

Considering those achievements, it might be acceptable to teach the senior a lesson regarding her attitude.

The man in metal armor is trying to strike at Crimson, who appeared suddenly. Perhaps because he defeated the mage.

For that man, Azalea, who dealt damage to everyone, and Crimson, who defeated the scale-armored individual, might both be unforgivable. However, Azalea can’t intervene while she’s airborne.

It seems that even with Crimson’s claws, damage doesn’t pass through the man’s full-body armor.

However, the man’s skill level is not enough to decisively strike Crimson with his sword. Crimson’s movements are faster than the man’s sword speed.

While Crimson plays with the man on the ground, Azalea waits for the cooldown in midair.

Once the cooldown is ready, she casts a single-target thunder magic at the man.

Each time, the man glares at Azalea in the sky, but that doesn’t change anything for him. He only creates a useless opening, getting hit by Crimson.

Crimson abandons slashing with claws and attacks with kicks and palm strikes to deliver striking damage.

The impact seems to penetrate, but it doesn’t seem to be very effective.

The only effective damage is still Azalea’s Thunder Magic.

Why she couldn’t completely kill the mage earlier is unknown, but she is properly damaging both the man and the scale-armored one.

“Wasted time unnecessarily. It’s probably about to end.”

Crimson ascends to the sky, distancing himself from the man.

It’s as if he’s saying that being involved would be unbearable.

After confirming that, Azalea unleashes all the cooled-down Thunder Magic consecutively onto the man in metal armor.

His LP seems to have been running low, and before he could fire all the shots, the man turned into light.

“Ah, you’re back. How did it go?”

“It wasn’t anything significant.”

“If it wasn’t anything significant, then there was no need to take this much time, was there? Bringing Crimson-dono along.”

Azalea glares at Weiss, pointing out the issue.

Deas interjects, “It’s not like anyone doubts your work. However, it would be better to report accurately. Even if they were temporarily defeated, they won’t truly die. They will definitely reappear. If the information isn’t accurately conveyed, there’s no guarantee your lord will be safe the next time they appear. I believe that’s what Lord Weiss is trying to say.”

“S-Sorry for the inconvenience!”

According to Azalea’s account, the three players she fought seem to be considerably stronger than other players.

They might be a tier or two above. Even with Azalea and Crimson, it’s surprising that it took this long.

They have become significantly stronger due to their second reincarnation. According to Deas, they are on a similar level to the Queen Beetle borrowed from Rare.

If their attacks could withstand Azalea and Crimson, it’s due to the armor they were equipped with.

Azalea’s estimate is that only a certain level of Thunder Magic would be effective against them.

“Only a certain level of Thunder Magic is effective… Hm. It seems like Yoroizaka-sama.”

“Yoroizaka…? Ah, you mean Yoroi the Castle!? Eh? That armor that was durable and robot-like? That’s a formidable guy!”

However, they managed to defeat them this time.

With the experience points reduced by the death penalty, and even if they come back for a rematch, it will be a little later.

Before that, they have to earn experience points, make preparations, and be ready for a rematch.

“But players with equipment on the same level as Rare’s… If we meet them again, I’ll teach them a lesson!”

T/N: Yoroi the Castle references how Blanc misheard that as Yoroizaka’s name when she and Rare met in c101.