Chapter 85: You Have to Lay the Bait Before You Need It (2)

Thud! Thud! Thud—!

The troll, nearly four meters tall, walked up to where Aizel lay collapsed.

It was the reaction of a predator before its prey, now that the hunt was over.

“Grrrhhh…”

Drool dripped from the monster’s massive mouth, splattering onto the ground below.

Seeing that, Allen forced himself to stand.

The impact had been too great—his legs wouldn’t move properly.

“Over here! Come this way!”

He shouted to draw the troll’s attention.

But instead, the troll reached down with its massive hand and lifted Aizel up.

Even the slightest pressure could crush her like a sheet of paper.

“Let her go!”

Kraaaagh!

Aizel was about to be devoured by the troll.

“Aizel—!”

Howard, regaining his senses belatedly, ran toward them.

At that moment, a streak of brilliant white light shot between the troll’s head and body.

Shuak—!

To deal with a troll—whose regenerative power surpassed that of most monsters—one either had to burn it from within with mana or slice it with a sword imbued with aura.

Yet now, a crack appeared on the troll’s neck, split apart, and the head tumbled to the ground.

Thunk…

Deprived of its head, the troll’s bloated body couldn’t support its own weight and collapsed.

Thud—!

“H-How…?”

Beyond the fallen corpse stood a man with crimson hair, sword in hand.

It was none other than Raion.

“A troll here, huh? No wonder they call this place the Forest of Fallen Warriors.”

Trolls, ranked between C and B class, were highly valuable creatures—their blood alone fetched an enormous price due to its regenerative properties, and their hides were tough enough to sell for a fortune.

“Let’s treat you two first.”

Raion approached the pair and activated his ability.

“Restoration.”

Light flowed from his hand, mending their wounds.

Then, he turned to Aizel, who had suffered internal injuries from mana overuse.

“Looks like she forced herself to cast a spell after her mana was completely drained.”

He pried open the troll’s grip and pulled her out, then healed her internal injuries with Restoration before returning to the two men.

Allen and Howard stared at him in disbelief.

“Th-Thank you for saving us. But… you’re not a priest, are you?”

Raion was dressed in silver armor.

“Could you be a paladin of the Bachenan Holy Kingdom?”

After all, few could use both healing magic and aura—only paladins fit that description.

“Nope.”

“Then…”

If he were a paladin of Bachenan, his armor should have borne the golden twin-sun insignia.

But Raion’s armor had no crest at all.

Nor did he carry the large shield that symbolized paladins.

“Let’s just say… I’m an adventurer hopeful passing by.”

As Raion spoke, the forest parted—and Cayman emerged.

“Master! You shouldn’t go alone—huh?! A troll?”

Startled, Cayman stumbled back at the sight of the troll’s corpse.

“Took you long enough. Though you’re earlier than I expected.”

“Earlier? You call this fast?”

Raion had sensed their danger from roughly two kilometers away through Perception.

Using the True Martial Art technique Step of Severance: Shrinking Earth, he had dashed straight here.

Infusing mana into the technique had greatly boosted his speed, allowing him to arrive just in time.

“If you keep training diligently, you’ll be as fast as me someday.”

“Like you, Master? Not even in a hundred years. And that armor, it’s…”

Cayman started to speak but stopped when he noticed the others around them.

“The troll was attacking them, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. I barely made it in time.”

With that, Raion sheathed his sword.

“Let’s return to Praison Lord’s Castle. You’ll come along, right?”

“If you’ll have us, we’d be grateful.”

Though their wounds were healed, the three of them were still utterly exhausted.

“Then let’s move. Ah—wait a moment.”

Raion walked up to the troll’s corpse and opened his Storage, fitting the entire carcass inside.

Allen and Howard froze, dumbfounded once again.

“Y-You can use magic too?”

“Not exactly. It’s because of this pouch.”

Raion shook the small leather pouch tied to his belt.

“Ah… a magic tool imbued with spatial magic, then.”

“That’s right.”

Currently, Raion could wield aura as a Sword Master and even use healing magic.

If he also possessed true spellcasting abilities, he’d be an extraordinary being indeed.

He decided to keep that part hidden for now.

“Let’s go.”

Aizel was still unconscious, so Howard carried her on his back as they moved.

Praison Territory, like Marlen and Hasein, was located near the Clamen Mountains, and thus had far more mercenaries and adventurers than other lands.

Raion and Cayman entered the bustling area and glanced around.

“Wow… so this is the Praison Lord’s Castle. Kana—”

Thup—!

Raion clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Ah, sorry.”

Their departure from Kanas Territory was supposed to be a secret, after all.

Of course, Cayman hadn’t meant any harm.

He’d simply never left Kanas before and found everything new and fascinating.

“Thank you for accompanying us.”

Allen spoke from the front.

“You’re heading to the Adventurers’ Guild?”

“For now, yes.”

They walked through the city gates and soon arrived at the Praison Adventurers’ Guild, located near the eastern gate.

The guild in Praison also served as an inn.

Howard carried Aizel on his back and headed upstairs.

Meanwhile, Raion walked up to the front desk of the Adventurers’ Guild.

“I’d like to sell a monster corpse.”

At his inquiry, the clerk—a green-haired woman with a short bob—smiled brightly.

“Please show me your certified adventurer badge first.”

“Ah, I haven’t made one yet. Can I do that now? Cayman, you should make one too.”

“Me as well?”

Hearing their conversation, the clerk—whose name tag read Serna—explained the procedure.

“Adventurer badges are issued after passing a test. The test is always being held at the training grounds behind the guild.”

At this, Allen stepped forward.

“Serna, these men are Sword—”

Before he could finish, Raion scratched his head and interrupted.

“No, it’s fine. We’ll take the test.”

“But…”

Raion was a Sword Master.

If he merely revealed his aura, he would pass immediately—his first badge would even bear an S-rank mark.

Still, he chose not to skip the process.

“We can’t ignore procedure. It’s a bit of a hassle, but let’s go. Cayman.”

“Yes, Master.”

As the two of them started walking, Allen followed beside them.

“You’re coming too?”

“I’d like to see how you take the test.”

At that response, the surrounding adventurers and mercenaries began to murmur.

“Did the Wolf Butcher Allen just speak politely?”

“I saw the Iron Wall Howard carrying White Spear Aizel upstairs earlier. Did they get help from those guys?”

“No way… Who here in the guild could possibly help them?”

Raion kept walking and asked quietly,

“‘Wolf Butcher’? Is that a nickname?”

“Haha… I earned it once while overdoing a hunt. I can’t manage that kind of fight anymore.”

Allen, Howard, and Aizel were all B-rank adventurers.

In fact, the three were well-known in the Praison Adventurers’ Guild for their considerable skill.

“You didn’t seem that weak to me.”

“Compared to you, we’re nothing.”

Allen recalled the image of the troll’s head flying off with just a single slash.

“Raion.”

“Yes?”

“My name’s Raion Dragonia, not just Raion.”

“Oh! My apologies. You saved our lives, and I didn’t even introduce myself properly. I’m Allen, and my comrades are Howard and Aizel.”

Raion already knew their names vaguely from when they had shouted during the troll fight.

“I’m Cayman! Master’s knight and bodyguard—though, admittedly, not a very useful one right now.”

Cayman interjected lightheartedly, grinning.

As they chatted, they arrived at the training grounds.

There, a few adventurer hopefuls were sparring as part of their test.

“So, I just fight one of them?”

“That man is Guildmaster Jonathan of the Praison Adventurers’ Guild. Unlike other territories where they give quest-based tests, here the Guildmaster personally oversees a duel for evaluation.”

It was a unique tradition in Praison’s guild.

“Guildmaster?”

Hearing that, Raion quietly activated one of his abilities to inspect the man.

“Specific Analysis.”

Ding—!

A familiar chime rang out, and a translucent blue window appeared before him.

[Target Information]

Name: Jonathan Todd

Age: 52

Occupation: Praison Adventurers’ Guildmaster / Swordsman

Life: 999 / 999

Stamina: 1,320 / 1,580

Mana: 670 / 670

Abilities:

Swordsmanship Level 10

Horsemanship Level 10

Archery Level 2

Judging by his stats, he was nearly on par with Jade.

From the way he fought, Raion guessed he was close to reaching the Sword Master level, though not quite there yet.

“So the Guildmaster’s that skilled…”

“You can gauge his ability, sir?”

“Roughly, yeah.”

After defeating the troll earlier, Raion had also checked Allen’s stats—Allen was weaker than Jonathan, but still far stronger than Cayman.

Of course, their techniques and swordsmanship styles were bound to differ.

“Next!”

One by one, the duels concluded, and soon it was Cayman’s turn.

Naturally, Raion had sent Cayman first to properly gauge his ability.

“Master, I’ll go now.”

“Do your best.”

Cayman approached Jonathan and drew his sword.

“Which noble house’s knight are you?”

Jonathan asked, noticing Cayman’s silver-plated armor engraved with a crest.

“I serve as a knight of the Dragonia Family.”

Even knights could register as adventurers or mercenaries, and the reverse was also true—many adventurers or mercenaries entered the service of noble families as knights or mages.

“Then I’ll expect something impressive.”

Jonathan lifted the greatsword resting at his side and swung it.

It was as tall as he was, with a broad blade—and despite its heavy appearance, it sliced through the air with astonishing speed.

Whooong—!

Clang! Shaaaak!

Cayman blocked the sweeping strike from the side but was pushed backward from the impact.

The real duel began at that moment.

Feeling the tremendous weight and force of the weapon, Cayman erased his nervous grin and charged in.

As Jonathan’s greatsword came sweeping down to fill the space between them, Cayman moved in close for melee combat.

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