To make matters worse, despite that incredible speed, the red-haired fighter is skillfully unleashing attacks with precision. This is starting to look troublesome. Did I underestimate this? Maybe I should've had the blue-haired one face off against Miba-san. With her Crescent Moon Slash in that mode, she could hold her own.
But there's no time for regrets now.
"Trinity!"
At my command, Trinity throws the rope she has at her waist.
"You're really pushing me!
—Rope Bind!"
Even while facing the green-haired opponent, Trinity expertly casts an unaligned binding spell aimed at the blue-haired fighter. Since he is moving at high speed, the rope barely catches him, merely tangling his form. Even if it's imperfect, if we can disrupt his movements, that's more than enough.
"Blade Princess One-Sword Style: Instant Slash!"
The footwork of the Blade Princess One-Sword Style resembles that of the Gale Thunder style closely. It relies on circular movement for evasion and instant closing of distance—these are its primary features.
In that moment, the technique known as Shundō is the same as the secret art of Shun, which means Shundō equals Shun. Although I cannot yet use the full technique of Shun, I can employ a basic form of its footwork. The Kenhime Ittō-ryū technique, Shunha, strikes down with the momentum of Shundō, delivering a blow with the entire body behind the sword. As mentioned earlier, speed is directly linked to attack power, and the force of a sword strike delivered with Shundō is beyond measure.
Since I can't use Shundō, I must rely on a pseudo-Shundō to execute the technique, but even so, its power is more than adequate. My Shunha cleanly severed the blue-haired arm tangled in the rope. The severed right arm shattered, scattering fragments resembling blue jewels in every direction. Yet, immediately after executing the technique, I found myself exposed to the red-haired fighter's punch.
—Uh-oh! I barely managed to use Unicorn as a shield, but the red-haired one unceremoniously slammed their weapon down toward me.
"Ugh!" I was sent flying several meters before tumbling to the ground.
"Ruby, Emerald, pursue! Sapphire, go after the girl!"
Following the blonde's command, the green-haired one closed in on me, while the blue-haired one faced off against Trinity.
"Rabbit Power!"
The red-haired fighter joined the fray, leaping high into the air with powerful legs to land directly over my head.
"Bare Power!"
Without hesitation, they drew back their fist, preparing to unleash a devastating strike.
"Infinity Ava Blade!"
At that moment, Ava's support arrived—a flurry of icy blades shot toward me. Despite engaging in a magical duel with the purple-haired opponent, she skillfully found an opening to unleash the special abilities of the blessed weapon, the Infinity Ava Blade, disrupting the attacks from the green-haired and red-haired assailants.
"Material Petit Shield!"
But the silver-haired defender wouldn't allow it. While facing off against Mihira, she deployed multiple small shields of light to intercept the icy blades. The Material Shield can block any physical attack for just an instant, but with a lengthy cooldown of thirty minutes, it is typically used only once as a trump card. However, the silver-haired fighter seemed to have a faster-cooling version, as she brought forth a series of fist-sized shields to counter the blades.
Even so, Ava's icy blades managed to slip through two or three of those light shields and were about to strike me, pushing back the red-haired and green-haired attackers. In that brief moment, I quickly sprang to my feet, reached into the leather pouch at my waist, and drank a potion in one gulp.
The red-haired foe had undoubtedly inflicted severe damage to my body; I might have even cracked several ribs. The potion wouldn't heal my wounds, but it would restore just enough stamina to keep me moving.
"Third Gear!"
The blue-haired fighter picks up speed again, leaving Trinity struggling to keep up. There are moments when it seems precarious, but Trinity narrowly dodges each attack. That speed surpasses even mine; I can't imagine catching that figure. How does he even anticipate attacks coming from behind?
"Miss Kiba! I need your support for Trinity!"
Ava unleashes a flurry of ice blades, pinning the silver-haired opponent in place. Kiba nods at Ava's command and heads toward the blue-haired combatant. The ice blades raining down on the silver-haired foe could only be described as a torrential downpour. Only that area seems to be contorted, and on top of that, Ava is intercepting purple-haired magic while engaging the silver-haired opponent.
I can't help but wonder about Ava's extraordinary capabilities, but there's no time to dwell on that. I pivot back to face the approaching red-haired and green-haired fighters, evading their strikes with the graceful steps of the Sword Princess style. Compared to the blue-haired's speedy attacks, these are manageable.
"Leon Power!"
"Weapon Change: Spear Technique, Five Penetrating Phoenix Flowers!"
The red-haired fighter shifts from straightforward attacks to a series of fluid, powerful strikes, his fists transforming into claw-like offensives. Just then, the green-haired warrior switches to a spear, launching a technique that unleashes five glimmering thrusts aimed directly at me.
The spear technique was by default, with five thrusts slicing through the air in a neat line. While I could use the "Imagery Effect Theory" to change the positions of those thrusts at will, the fragment of 'The Apostle of Gems'—being a mere doll—wasn't capable of such sophistication.
I backflipped to dodge the spear strikes, then deflected the incoming hooks from the red-haired attacker with my Unicorn. Of course, I wasn't just standing still either; I deftly avoided their attacks while chaining spells onto my magical blade sheathed at my side.
Now, I was ready.
"Spear Technique: Whirlwind Cross Slash!"
I narrowly evaded the green-haired assailant's sweeping thrust and sheathed my Unicorn before diving into close range, unsheathing my blade in one fluid motion.
"Master Strike of the Sword Princess: Seamless Divine Garment!!"
I infused my blade with the basic elemental spells of fire, water, wind, earth, ice, lightning, and void. The instant I sheathed it, the magical sword transferred its energy into my Unicorn. In that moment, the blade, now wrapped in seven elemental powers, cut through the green-haired figure.
BANG!!!
That strike severed the green-haired attacker, and in an instant, their fragment dissolved into shards of gemstone.
"One down!"
With a swift follow-up, I pierced the red-haired one's shoulder, halting their movements, then crushed their right leg with an ice-element spell: Ava Split.
As their mobility was restrained, I swiftly cast my final spell with the magical blade.
"Stone Split Slash!"
A magical sword wrapped in earth-element bullets sliced through the red-haired figure, the bullets piercing its body. Of course, like the ice bullets, the stone bullets were enhanced with rifling that made them spin. The red-haired figure, struck by the magical sword, shattered into fragments of gemstones and vanished.
"That's two down!"
At that moment, the leader of the doppelgangers, the blonde, sprang into action.
"Hmm, you've defeated two of my minions. Now it's my turn to make a move."
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
AIWOn Adventurers' Guild Thread 21
335: Adventurer Anonymous: 2057/09/30 (Sun) 00:31:12 ID: Mgk162Not
"I finally became a D-rank adventurer~ > <ノ"
336: Adventurer Anonymous: 2057/09/30 (Sun) 00:32:52 ID: pu4pu4pu4
"Congratulations!"
337: Adventurer Anonymous: 2057/09/30 (Sun) 00:34:36 ID: ExpL49Ff10
"Congrats!! ヽ(〃∀〃)ノ"
338: Adventurer Anonymous: 2057/09/30 (Sun) 00:35:40 ID: HNP9Oi414
"Good job!"
339: Adventurer Anonymous: 2057/09/30 (Sun) 00:37:09 ID: AYa20Kwii
"Can someone help me with the Stanbeat Boar quest in the Southern Zaus Forest?"
340: Adventurer Anonymous: 2057/09/30 (Sun) 00:38:24 ID: TKMNNN48
By the way, I just wondered how the adventurer rank advancement works.
**341:** Anonymous adventurer, 2057/09/30 00:39:41 ID: aL10Nigh10
To go from E rank to D rank, you need to successfully complete 10 quests and defeat one monster, right?
**342:** Anonymous adventurer, 2057/09/30 00:40:36 ID: ExpL49Ff10
That single monster defeat is basically the promotion exam from the adventurer guild.
**343:** Ikari Hando, 2057/09/30 00:41:14 ID: EVA2014Zero
>>340 I can help with that!
**344:** Anonymous adventurer, 2057/09/30 00:42:52 ID: Mgk162Not
Oh! Right, I fought a monster to earn my D rank!
**345:** Anonymous adventurer, 2057/09/30 00:43:09 ID: AYa20Kwii
>>343 Thanks! I'll be waiting at the south gate!
**346:** Anonymous adventurer, 2057/09/30 00:44:24 ID: TKMNNN48
So, is the promotion from D rank to C rank about defeating multiple monsters?
**347:** Anonymous adventurer, 2057/09/30 00:45:36 ID: ExpL49Ff10
Yeah. After successfully completing several D rank quests, you'll have to defeat a C rank monster for the promotion exam.
348: Anonymous Adventurer: 2027/09/30 (Sun) 00:46:52 ID: pu4pu4pu4
How many successful D-rank quests does it take?
349: Anonymous Adventurer: 2027/09/30 (Sun) 00:48:36 ID: ExpL49Ff10
Well, that depends on the Adventurers' Guild. If the previous D-rank quests were relatively easy, you might have to complete quite a few.
350: Anonymous Adventurer: 2027/09/30 (Sun) 00:49:40 ID: HNP9Oi414
Is it possible to skip to C-rank by hunting a lot of C-rank monsters?
351: Anonymous Adventurer: 2027/09/30 (Sun) 00:50:24 ID: TKMNNN48
They'll assess whether you have the necessary skills.
352: Anonymous Adventurer: 2027/09/30 (Sun) 00:51:36 ID: ExpL49Ff10
Yeah, exactly. Skilled individuals can jump straight to C-rank or even B-rank. But in that case, you'd need to defeat monsters directly without going through the guild's quests.
353: Anonymous Adventurer: 2027/09/30 (Sun) 00:53:41 ID: aL10Nigh10
Ah, right, at the Adventurers' Guild, you can only take quests of your rank.
354: Anonymous Adventurer: 2027/09/30 (Sun) 00:54:36 ID: ExpL49Ff10
The rest is straightforward: by completing Angel Quests, your rank will automatically rise.
355: Adventurer Anonymous: 2057/09/30 (Sun) 00:56:52 ID: Mgk162Not
"Wait, really?"
356: Adventurer Anonymous: 2057/09/30 (Sun) 00:57:36 ID: ExpL49Ff10
"Once you complete one Angel Quest, you automatically reach D rank. Then, after completing 10 quests, you move up to C rank, 20 gets you to B rank, and 23 lands you at A rank... if I remember correctly?"
355: Adventurer Anonymous: 2057/09/30 (Sun) 00:59:52 ID: Mgk162Not
"So, you can rank up from Angel Quests without even taking the promotion exam?!"
356: Adventurer Anonymous: 2057/09/30 (Sun) 01:01:41 ID: aL10Nigh10
"No, no, no! We're talking about dragons here, come on! Haha!"
"Miha-san!"
At my signal, Miha-san charges toward the clone of the 'Apostle of Jewels'—a stunning blonde beauty.
In an instant, Miha-san closes the distance, and the blonde draws her sword from her waist to confront her. Miha-san responds by swinging her blade, deflecting the blonde's attack.
As they exchange blows, the blonde fires spells while Miha-san parries them with her sword. When Miha-san unleashes a sword technique, the blonde uses the special ability "Weapon Change" from her green-haired clone to counter it effectively.
It unfolds at a speed that is nearly imperceptible. The battle there feels like it belongs to another world entirely. I turned my attention to the blue-haired fighter, who was struggling to fill the gap left by Mihane-san. Having lost his right arm, he seemed to lack balance, causing a slight lag in his movements.
"One strike!"
Even so, as expected from a fighter focused on speed, landing a hit was no easy task. My sword technique was easily dodged. I wanted to rely on Trinity's support, but after using the ropes for that earlier non-elemental binding spell, it would be difficult to restrain the blue-haired fighter's movements.
"Forth Gear!"
His speed surged even higher. With his near-top gear pace, we struggled to keep up. However, dodging wasn't impossible. At first, I was caught off guard by his speed, but after careful observation, I realized I could indeed evade his attacks. His rapid movements were linear, meaning he struggled to change direction; he had to pause at least once.
Once I acclimated my eyes to his tempo, I could see his approach and, if I was quick enough to catch his movements, I could dodge him. I recalled my lessons from Yuki's father, who taught me the Gale and Thunder style. He mentioned that while the ultimate technique, Shun, offered remarkable speed, its very nature made it hard to control. If I wasn't careful, I could expose myself to the opponent's attacks.