Chapter 206

RMSBS – Episode 206 . Under their Noses (5)

There were still twenty-five chimeras remaining .

Even though they had defeated a fair amount of them, it had taken a large toll on Desir’s mana to do that much .

If Desir was a Third-Circle magician, then he would have already consumed all of his mana and found himself in a critical situation . That was just how intense this fight was .

*Vruuummmm*

Desir started to invoke a spell again .

A powerful spear of thunder struck down and turned several chimeras in front of him into piles of ashes .

Even though each of his spells killed several chimeras simultaneously, Desir’s spells seemed weaker than before . Despite their dire situation, Desir had no other choice .

The chimeras had completely closed the gap between them and the two humans . Desir’s spell choice was extremely limited; taking even a second longer to calculate could be the difference between life and death . If he was able to cast a wide area of effect spell, he would be able to end the fight, but he would kill himself and Pram in the process . As a result, his only option was to carry out an inefficient battle, hoping it would be enough .

To magicians, this was an absurdly disadvantageous battlefield .

“Agh!”

While Desir was lost in his thoughts, Pram’s scream could be heard behind him .

Pram stepped back with a shoulder freshly sliced open by a chimera’s horn . He was not severely injured, but the Clothes Line now sounded an alarm .

[-Warning . Less than 20% of Clothes Line mana remaining . Defensive function is declining rapidly . ]

Pram straightened himself . As much as he wanted to counterattack immediately, he was not able to do so .

*C-Claaang*

He was not fighting just one enemy . Since he couldn’t know where the dozens of chimera were targeting, he wasn’t able to penetrate their formation easily .

Due to the consecutive battles, extreme fatigue had accumulated .

Pram exhaled heavily .

“Haa… Haa… ”

A chimera’s attack seemed to have grazed his head at some point, as blood oozed down his face, hindering his vision .

His arms did not move as he wanted them to and he braced himself as his knees buckled .

It wasn’t just the Clothes Line reaching the limit of durability; his strength was declining too .

‘Aura as well… Similar situation here . ’

The sparkle surrounding the sword was evidently dimmer than before .

It was slowly coming to an end because in order to face the powerful chimeras, he had to maintain a constant use of aura .

He went well over the aura consumption limit that an ordinary Rook Class swordsman could handle . Even Pram, who possessed far more aura than any other Rook Class swordsmen, obtained through intensive training, could clearly feel his limit .

He was only able to endure this long due to his precise control over his aura output . That alone was praiseworthy .

It would not be strange if Pram fainted right now .

“Pram, are you all right?”

Desir, even while arranging spells relentlessly, checked Pram’s condition frequently .

“Don’t mind me!”

Every time he was asked, Pram swung around his sword, shouting with a forced, cheerful voice .

He could feel fatigue draining every limb in his body, threatening to take even his consciousness, but he battled against it with all his might .

His rapier never stopped moving . No, he could not afford to stop .

‘If I faint here, Desir will have to manage my share of the fight . ’

Pram straightened his weak legs . Legs that were on the verge of collapsing .

He read the trajectory of the incoming attacks that were arriving like a flood without losing focus .

He gathered his remaining aura and swung his rapier around like a madman .

More and more injuries accumulated .

Before anyone realized, his Clothes Line had lost all functionality and were no longer able to fulfil their role as Pram’s final defense . From now on, Pram remained just one blow away from a fatal injury .

Still, he continued to battle . It wasn’t a fear of death . It wasn’t because he had never fought with his life on the line; he had done so numerous times while battling alongside Desir .

But this battle was different . Pram realized he was the only one who could protect Desir, and that was what let him exert himself far beyond his limit .

Block it, then cut .

Pram’s spirit endured through his pure determination to protect Desir .

*C-C-Clang*

Pram, who held onto a clear reason not to faint, did not collapse .

He had long reached his limit, but rather than falter, his rapier’s trajectory became more fierce instead .

“Kraaaarghh!”

The chimeras, instinctively feeling some kind of danger welling up from Pram, stormed towards him .

As Pram watched the chimeras running towards him, he inhaled calmly . At the same time, aura welled up in his rapier and started to emit a bright glow once again .

He then took a step forward and struck out .

This time, his stab was different to the previous ones .

Condensed aura on his sword burst out and an aura filled with powerful force flooded towards the chimera .

The light extended out in all directions throughout the dark forest .

This was the stage reached by Pram in Desir’s past life . He had honed the technique known as stabbing to an impossible perfection .

Aura Drive .

*P-P-Pop!*

Five chimeras were swept by the aura’s ferocity and torn asunder without any chance to shriek .

“Huff… Huff… !”

Pram was astonished . He felt like a third party, watching the spectacle unfolding before him, even though it was of his own doing .

‘This is the… ’

He had reached the Bishop Class . He was able to release aura and not just wrap it around his body and sword .

Even while experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime emotion that warranted celebration, Pram did not lose himself in the moment . He checked his surroundings to ensure there was no imminent threat to Desir or himself .

Fifteen chimeras remained . It was still not the time to lower his guard .

Pram had taken in the situation and began to dash towards the next chimera, but the strength in his legs completely gave out .

“Hargh!”

Pram fell down with a short groan .

He had already long reached his limit, but still managed to pull out an attack that killed five chimeras in the one blow .

He no longer had the strength left to even lift a finger .

“Kreeughh!”

Seeing this as an opportunity, the chimeras started to leap towards the now helpless swordsman lying down on the ground .

[Parie Arund]

Desir’s spell swept away the pouncing chimeras in a single strike .

Desir seized this opportunity to relocate himself next to Pram .

“Don’t leave my side . ”

He wrapped his arm around Pram’s waist and helped him stand up .

“I’m sorry, Desir . I couldn’t endure it after all… ”

“That’s all right, Pram . ”

Desir arranged a spell while holding Pram up .

“You’ve done your part well . ”

[Fire Storm]

Intense flames washed over many chimeras .

“B-But… ”

In Pram’s eyes, Desir’s spell power has noticeably dropped in comparison to the beginning . Desir’s mana must also be on the brink of running out .

“It’s all right . We can rest now . ”

A chimera with the head of a snake sprung out, piercing through the flames .

However, it could not reach Desir .

*Pop*

Something flew in from somewhere and the chimera’s entire upper body disappeared in a fountain of gore .

A wind spell flew in at warp speed . The aftermath of that spell, which hinted at the power behind the spell, blew in and washed over Desir and Pram .

It was not a spell that Desir had invoked .

[Ice Empress]

The moment Pram felt the chilly air that smothered all life, he knew . He knew that the other Starling Party members had arrived .

When Adjest, Romantica, and Ronde joined them, the chimeras were handled easily .

[Kyprosa’s Grief]

A current of air, sharp as a blade, sliced through numerous chimera .

The wind bullet penetrated the chimera accurately even in the dark forest . There was no chimera that could block against Romantica’s attacks: the attacks of a magician who had reached the Fourth-Circle . Her wind magic had skyrocketed and was now a force to be reckoned with .

The chimeras were picked off one by one by the attacks flying in from the hidden enemy .

[Frozen Palace]

Adjest invoked Frozen Palace to contain the chimera so that they could not approach Desir and Pram . She then stepped forward and cut down the chimera one by one .

After Adjest widened the distance between the chimera and the party members, Ronde was able to arrange artillery style spells freely .

Their military strength as a group was overwhelming and dominating .

Desir alone handled more than half of the battle before they arrived . The result was evident .

When the battle ended, Desir stopped the spell that he had been arranging and retrieved Runel . At the same time, he flopped down next to Pram .

“Are you all right, brother?”

Ronde hastily approached him and took out medical supplies from his Clothes Line’s dimensional pocket .

Desir nodded and pointed at Pram .

“I just have a few scratches . Treat Pram first . ”

“I’ll take care of Pram . ”

Romantica approached and examined Pram’s injuries .

Pram, who continued to fight from the front line, even after his Clothes Line broke, was full of injuries . There were clear traces of blood from his shoulder and head .

Romantica disinfected his injuries, applied medicine, and dressed his wounds .

“None of his injuries were fatal . Luckily, there wasn’t any poison either, so there shouldn’t be any problems . ”

“What a relief… ”

Desir sighed with relief and looked at Pram .

“Pram . ”

Seeing Desir’s glance, Pram couldn’t help but be nervous .

“Hiding your own condition to the party leader could worsen a situation . This time, things went well, but it could’ve been very serious . ”

“S-Sorry, Desir . ”

“You need to be honest next time . ”

Receiving a reprimand from Desir, Pram hung his head low like a puppy that had been scolded .

At that moment, Desir stroked his head .

Pram looked up at Desir with a puzzled expression .

“However, because you reached the Bishop Class in that situation, we were able to endure long enough for the others to arrive . You did very well, Pram . ”

“Hehehehe . ”

Pram’s downcast face brightened in an instant .

“Did you say Pram reached the Bishop Class?”

As the atmosphere loosened, Ronde cut in and asked with a voice dripping in envy .

“If you reached the Bishop Class, that means you’re one of the few hundred people who are extremely talented! That’s incredible!”

A Bishop Class swordsman was at a level where he or she could lay claim to the head position in almost every knightly order .

“You’ve earned it, Pram . ”

Adjest put away her sword and strode over towards the party .

Finally gathered together, they started to share information on the current situation .

The fact that the chimera had been living here for the last few years .

Desir’s speculation that the chimeras were protecting something important here .

And the possibility that this was connected to the Outsiders, specifically Skull Mask .

The party members agreed in silence, as if anticipating the same conclusion .

Only Ronde, who had never faced the Outsiders before, turned deadly pale .

“The mastermind of the Outsiders? Is-Isn’t that extremely dangerous, brother?”

Desir nodded .

“That’s right . If the Outsiders are connected to this, it wouldn’t be a matter that we could solve on our own . ”

Skull Mask, a mysterious figure behind the collapse of the Holy Kingdom of Artemis as well as the mastermind that manipulated the Magical Kingdom from the shadows under the guise of the Prophet . If it was a scheme that he devised several years ago, it was definitely something that should concern the Starling Party and the Hebrion Empire .

“We just have to do what we can right now . First of all, we need to find out what the chimeras were guarding . ”

“We just need to trace where they came from, right?”

Romantica understood her role well . She arranged a detection spell right away .

She quickly found where the chimeras had been nesting .

They would be able to discover what the chimera were protecting once they arrived there .

—-

Chapter brought to you by The Patrons .

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ED: Purplemen101

TLC: N/A

QC: Dr Lock