Volume 3 Chapter 18 (1/2)

Volume 3 Chapter 18

Merrick III [All the RPG stories I heard are flags][1]

{General POV}

Crane Fafnir is the Child of the G.o.d of Light. The Kamiko of Light.

A boy who lived as the son of a farmer in the Southern countryside of the Professor Country. Two years ago he suddenly inherited the blessing of the G.o.d of Light, and was raised as the trump card of his country. It's been a while since he went on a journey. After all this time he had returned to his homeland chasing a girl named Justa, and he had learned a lot of new things.

Many strong people appeared before Crane. Because of that, his current motivation to quickly catch up to those strong people had drastically increased.

First there was ”Braument” who they had encountered on the Wagonless Road. Although Crane was unable to grasp the full movements of his steel threads, he was seriously thinking of how to defeat the demon next time. With [Explosive Rod] it was possible to repel the steel threads. The remaining issue was how to damage the main body.

Then there was someone who seemed to be his overwhelmingly stronger superior, Veloce Vie Atmosphere. She was called ”Imperator” and was supposedly higher than even the Four Heavenly Demon Lords. A ridiculous girl who truly showed how far they had to go before the defeat of the Demon King was in the realm of possibility, and the difference between her and the Four Heavenly Demon Lords was clear.

However, Yatano Fuso ArcLight who fought against her seemed to be more than her equal. The 3rd Seat of the Imperial Magic Librarians, she was leagues above the previously defeated Grendel. She had the kind of power that he had no idea how to defeat, but if she is ranked third, then there must be a victory somewhere.

There was also the enigmatic Shuten who simply appeared in the middle of the battle with Braument. An overwhelmingly strong man that could counter an Ancient Spell simply by swinging that giant axe. In addition to his unfathomable power, there were frightening rumors about him being a unique variant of Oni that was ”One step higher” that made his existence even scarier.[2] However, to Crane, his existence was like that of a cheerful older brother, despite them being different races.

Shuten's companion Hiragi was also quite strong as a supporting role and contributed to the protection of the group. Even against her, Crane was not sure if he could win as he was now.

And he could not forget one other person. He possessed an aura that was equal to or possibly stronger than Shuten, but hid it while visiting the Professor Country. It was a young man who had a fierce rivalry with Shuten, who was the subject of his hatred, and who he would ”absolutely slaughter.” Their antagonism is deep-rooted, but they seem to acknowledge each other's strength.

There are many different kinds of strong people in the world. Among them, Crane is the strongest of the Professor Country…however, it is unknown how much training is needed until he can become one of the strongest in the world just like his predecessor of the Kamiko of Light.

However, he was not going to give up.

He also wanted to be in that place where only the strong can stand. Beyond that, he also had his mission to defeat the Demon King, who could not be defeated without enough ability. So, he could not lose. Those were his feelings as he trained that morning.

Lowering his center of gravity, he polished the weight of the blow towards perfection. By doing so, he can deal with most attacks, and even counter attack his opponent's intricate spell with a single movement. He visualized Shuten's single swing of his great axe, breaking the steel threads attacking from all directions. That was what Crane was aiming for.

”…Sigh.” (Crane)

”Don't sigh like that so early in the morning.” (Rudius)

The voice caused Crane to pause the movements of his staff he was practicing in the courtyard of the inn.

”Good Morning Rudy” (Crane)

”Yeah” (Rudius)

Looking over, he saw Rudius was carrying a brand new sword, rather than his previously broken blade.

”What sword is this?” (Crane)

“I borrowed it as a subst.i.tute while my own is being reforged.” (Rudius)

”I see” (Crane)

Rudius was Rudius, and he soon joined in the light exercises to practice his own discipline. While hardly convinced that Crane had been struggling with his training before, he eventually tore his eyes away from Crane's techniques.

”By the way did you talk to Justa, Rudy?” (Crane)

”A little bit…She said she would accompany us for a little while, so I'm not too worried.” (Rudius)

”Well, that's good, because you did wake up late.” (Crane)

When Justa eventually woke up she was calmer than Crane thought she would be, as he didn't know how she would react if she thought she had been captured. She then finally explained her circ.u.mstances and told them that she was part of a group wanting the ”rescue of the Republic,” but it seemed that now she did not know what to do. She had decided to accompany the party for a while, as long as they did not report her to the officials of the Adventurers a.s.sociation who were looking for her.

Rudius had briefly awakened from the group talking quietly, and with an exhausted expression, he told Justa that he would ”listen to the details tomorrow” and had quickly fallen back unconscious. So, they had not been able to have a proper conversation with each other at the time.

“This morning, by the time I woke up, you were gone. Where did you go?” (Crane)

”I was talking to Shuten.” (Rudius)

”With Mr. Shuten?”

While shaking his blade, Rudius nods. ”…we can still become stronger.”

”Oh….Yeah, if we do our best, we can also meet Shuten's expectations!” (Crane)

”…What expectations?” (Rudius)

”Surely Shuten also lived while being oppressed by the Demon King's Army even though he is a demon. There must be a reason why he cannot fight with the Demon King even though he has become strong. So, he is relying on us. We will just have to work even harder!” (Crane)

”That's a setting that is jumping to some ridiculous conclusions.” (Rudius)

”Is it wrong?” (Crane)

”I have no idea.” Rudius sighed at Crane's blank look.

Sometimes, this was just the way he was.