Chapter 112

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

An Unwanted Encounter

「Who the fuck are you?!」the man asked .

「I should be the one asking you that . Get your filthy hands off of Paula . She’s mine . 」

Paula’s cheek flushed . 「Not out loud, Hikaru-sama! Ah, but I’m ready both mentally and physically!」

「Quiet . 」

「Hngh! A cold Hikaru-sama is just as lovely!」

Hikaru frowned at Paula who seemed to be pleased . Maybe I shouldn’t have tweaked her Soul Board after all… he thought . He glanced at a spot on the ground and stopped .

「You met Lavia?」

The man grinned and let out a chuckle .

「I see . So you’re a friend of the little lady . Or are you her boyfriend?」

「So what if I am?」

「She’s ours . 」the man replied, throwing back the same words to spite Hikaru .

「What do you mean?」

「Exactly what I said . We got the girl and we’re returning her to her rightful owner so you don’t have to worry about… any…」

The man mumbled the rest of his words . It can’t be! he thought as he watched the boy standing before him . The boy’s eyes narrowed, and the air seemed to freeze . He appeared to be getting bigger and bigger . A knife slowly reached the man’s throat .

The man let go of Paula and quickly jumped back . But there was nothing there in front of him . What he saw just now was an illusion brought on by fear . Yet the man denied it .

「No! I’m not scared of this brat!」

He was drenched in sweat . He felt unfathomable strength from the kid, but his common sense told him that it was impossible . If the boy was an Elf or a Man Gnome, then he could be a lot older than he looked . But his appearance clearly painted him as a human boy . Therefore he couldn’t have fought through countless battles before, nor could he be a seasoned warrior . The man’s Instinct provided him valuable information, but he himself denied it .

「Bring Lavia here . Now . 」

「Cut the bull—」

「If you bring her right away, I’ll let you off the hook . If you don’t, you’re dead . 」

「—shit!」

Taking a spare knife out of his pocket, the man started running towards Hikaru in a zigzag pattern . He was fast . An ordinary man would need to exert maximum effort just to follow him with the eyes .

The man ran up the wall of a house then jumped about three meters in the air . His opponent would surely panic . All he needed was an opening, even a split-second one . He could then take their life easily .

「Stupid brat . Die!」

The boy appeared to move ever so slightly . A peculiar step, and the air around him seemed to waver . Then he disappeared . At the same time, sharp pain assaulted the man . Three stones hit him, two in the eyes, and one smashed the thumb holding his knife .

The man let out a grunt as he dropped the knife . He crashed to the ground, unable to land properly .

「…What?」

Paula was clueless as to what just happened . It looked like Hikaru vanished, and then the man fell to the ground . After that Hikaru reappeared as though slipping out of a rift in space .

「Argh, damn it! It hurts!」

「Where’s Lavia?」

The man groaned .

「Answer me . 」Hikaru kicked him in the stomach .

「I-I don’t know… My friends are supposed to take her . I have no idea where she is . 」

「Hikaru-sama! He said something about a carriage earlier!」

「So you do know . 」The man yelped as Hikaru kicked him once again .

「P-Please stop! I’m sorry! I’ll tell you everything . 」

「Make it quick . 」

「You can check the plan in my back pocket . It’s faster that way…」

「Take it out yourself . 」

「I can’t move my hand . You broke my finger!」

Hikaru landed another kick to flip the man upside down . On his back was a pocket with a button . Hikaru stooped down and reached out his hand .

「Idiot!」The man suddenly took out a bag filled with powder — most likely poison — on his other uninjured hand and threw it at Hikaru .

「You’re the idiot . 」Hikaru had already backed away . He expected the man to try something . The bag hit nothing, scattering powder at an empty space . The man was probably immune to the poison, or perhaps he was simply that desperate . Hikaru didn’t know which .

「I-I didn’t mean to do that—」And those were his last words . A stone scored a direct hit on his forehead, rocking his brain, and he lost consciousness .

「H-Hikaru-sama…?」

「This man did not hesitate to kill . Even with both his eyes crushed, he still prioritized killing his enemy . He’s trained . There’s no way he’ll give us information . 」

Paula looked down on the motionless man, her face still pale . It might’ve been too much for her . Hikaru, too, squeezed his fingers that trembled ever so slightly . One wrong move, and he could’ve killed the guy .

I have to stay focused . Hikaru turned his attention towards Paula .

「Paula . 」

「Y-Yes?」

「Which way did they take Lavia?」

「Th-That way!」

「When?」

「A few minutes ago . 」

A few minutes ago… Where would they go?

Hikaru recalled the map of the area . If they were to escape using a carriage, they should be in a place where they could park one . And since they would surely wait for their friend, he should be able to catch up .

【Soul Board】Hikaru

Age: 15 Rank: 42

5

【Vitality】

【Magical Power】

【Physical Strength】

. . 【Strength】1

. . 【Weapon Mastery】

… . 【Throwing】10 (MAX)

……【Heaven Shot】0

【Agility】

. . 【Power Burst】2

. . 【Stealth】

… . 【Life Obfuscation】4

… . 【Mana Obfuscation】4

… . 【Imperceptibility】5 (MAX)

……【Assassination】3 (MAX)

…… . . 【Snipe】3

……【Group Obfuscation】4

【Intuition】

. . 【Instinct】1

. . 【Detection】

… . 【Life Detection】1

… . 【Mana Detection】3

……【Detection Expansion】1→3 (MAX)

Without thinking twice, Hikaru maxed out his Detection Expansion . He then activated his Mana Detection .

Whoa! The range was incredibly wide; he could see in a one-kilometer radius . But everything was compressed into information that streamed directly into his brain . With normal vision, things in the distance appeared small, and boundaries became blurry . But not in this case . Things both near and far were processed as the same information . And it quickly consumed his brain’s resources .

He dropped to his knees, and Paula came running over .

「Hikaru-sama!」

「I’m fine . Just a little dizzy . 」

「But…」

「I found Lavia . 」

He had checked Lavia’s mana with Mana Detection countless times before . He immediately found her exact location . I can make it .

「You should leave this place, Pau—」

「Did you kill this man?」

A voice came all of a sudden . Selyse warily drew closer, sword drawn . By her side were Sarah and Selica ready for a fight to break out .

Ah, crap . What a pain . Hikaru knew there were people coming with his Detection, but he didn’t expect it to be them . He had no time to deal with the Four Stars of the East right now .

「You better talk . I’m calling the guards, so don’t move . 」

「Wait a sec, Selyse!」

Sarah stopped her party leader and studied Hikaru from top to bottom . Hikaru’s Stealth was deactivated at the moment . Then Sarah realized that this was the same boy who might’ve seen through her Stealth back in the outskirts of Pond . Shen then recalled the Earth Dragon fight, the chill that went down her spine . The same feeling she got from this boy . Everything seemed to suggest that it was the boy who defeated the Earth Dragon .

「A-Are you…」

「Let’s talk later . 」Hikaru’s Instinct told him that Sarah must’ve realized the truth . But he didn’t have time right now .

「This man’s friend kidnapped my partner . So I knocked him out . I’m going after my partner now . 」

「We don’t know if you’re lying or—」

「Paula . 」Hikaru said, ignoring Selyse . 「Stay somewhere safe . 」

「O-Okay . 」

And Hikaru ran at full speed .

「Wait! Damn, he’s fast!」

「Wow, he’s gone . Amazing . Not as fast as my full speed, though . 」

「Go after him, Sarah . 」

「I don’t really want to, but okay . 」

Sarah started running after Hikaru, leaving Selyse, Paula, and Selica behind .

「Now then… Your name is Paula, correct? I want to ask you a few questions . 」

「………」

「What’s wrong, Selica?」

Selica was unusually quiet . 「He was probably telling the truth about his friend getting kidnapped . 」

「Why do you think so?」

「The female Mage was here moments ago, someone worth kidnapping . And she fired a distress signal . 」

「I see . 」

Selica recalled Hikaru’s face . 「I wonder… if he’s Japanese . 」she muttered under her breath .