Vol 3 Chapter 1 (1/2)

LEVEL 3: Even the Best Laid Plans go Awry, but Such is This World

Chapter 1: Myself, Natural Talent, and Bittersweetness

PART 1 of 2

“Ranta! Don’t get too separated from us!” Haruhiro warned as he circled behind the kobold fore to exploit

Not that it was hard to find There! Again now! The elder kobold’s defense was full of holes He could easily take it down Haruhiro watched as the elder’s tail swiftly swished all around, but he had grasped the pattern of its movements now

If Mogzo attacked in ‘A’ way, then it would react with ‘B’, then do ‘C’ next And if not ‘C’, then it would do ‘D’ for sure Haruhiro was able to predict its movements He was confident he could finish it quickly with either [BACKSTAB] or [WIDOW MAKER]

But he didn’t close in He didn’t want to finish it Sioal

He wanted the line to appear for hilowed like fire He wanted to be able to see it Master Barbara of the Thieves Guild had once told him, “The line that you see—feel, perhaps is a better way to describe it—appears once or twice to anyone who’s accuh experience”

She had also said, “It’s not like we can will it to appear by concentrating hard or anything” And though she told hin,” she also warned hi special”

It appears once or twice to anyone who’s accuh experience But it had appeared more than once or twice for Haruhiro And it had appeared for hiht and distinct when he killed Deathpatch If the line hadn’t appeared, there was no way Haruhiro would have been able to kill the kobold boss

Deathpatch would have left Haruhiro behind and gone after everyone else; maybe even killed them How many would have died? Theline had saved Haruhiro—had saved them all

But it appeared by coincidence It just happened to appear for him And if that was the case, then it had been pure luck; Haruhiro had just gotten lucky If fortune hadn’t been with hiht have died

Haruhiro didn’t want to believe that they had been saved by nothing but fortune He didn’t really understand his own reasoning, but he did know for certain that he wanted to see the line He wanted to be able to see it at will If he could make it appear whenever he wanted, then he would be… invincible?

Not that he had any a, but he did want to be strong He wanted the strength to turn the tide of battle when it mattered

“THANK—!” ca blow

Line… c’onally down Mogzo’s sword cazo’s terrible physical strength in a single crushi+ng blow

Mogzo’s sword cut a good twenty inches down into the elder kobold’s shoulder, rending the chainth was unbelievable It wasn’t all h, it was also his neord: The Chopper

Everyone had given suggestions for the naestion “The Chopper” was adopted The sas of average length at about four feet long, but its blade was incredibly thick And though it had a cross guard, its overall appearance was that of a giant meat cleaver

It was the sword previously owned by Deathpatch, but Mogzo was alsovery effective use of it He kicked the kobold foreht the blade down onto its head, cracking its skull open like an egg

“NEXT!” Mogzo shouted

daht

“Haru!” Mary called, while he was being awed by Mogzo’s prowess

“Er… y-yeah!?” Haruhiro yelled back

“What the hell are you doing!?” Ranta railed

Ranta was the last person Haruhiro wanted to hear that from, but he had to admit he’d been a little spaced out just now

Lately, they had been hunting elder kobolds in the residential-like third stratuh prices at the market, and after they eliminated Deathpatch, the third stratu The incoarnered here was very stable

That wasn’t to say that the danger was zero, however This was still enemy territory and they would pay a price if they let thezo had taken out the fore only two kobold workers Ranta worked on Kobold A while Yume and Mary teamed up to take on Kobold B

But just then another elder leading three little piggies—er, workers charged towards theht the rehest of the bunch was down, the world went and threrench in their plans

“Six of thezo yelled “THANK YOU!” and crushed Mary and Yume’s opponent, Kobold B

“Uh, make that five!” Haruhiro amended

“Take this!” Ranta locked blades with Kobold A and shoved in hard

It was his new Dread Knight skill, [EXPEL FRENZY], where he’d press in with his sword to hold back an opponent who had gotten in too close before leaping back and putting more distance between them It wasn’t supposed to be a flashy technique, but Ranta had a way of over-exaggerating anything he did

Haruhiro had to adh, that [EXPEL FRENZY] did have the potential to combine ith other techniques

“[ANGER THRUST]!”

Ranta had executed the technique outside of range, but took a step forward to make up for it and drove his sword into the base of Kobold A’s throat It was instant death for the kobold and Haruhiro reluctantly admitted that Ranta looked kind of cool for a split-second there

It wasn’t just his fighting techniques that had improved; Ranta was also equipped with a new helm The bucket-shaped heled beyond repair, so he’d bought a new bascinet helm, complete with a pull-down visor It was used, but painted black and Ranta had said so hiht should

Well, Haruhiro had to concede to that a little now, because Ranta did seeht-like in that split-second of a moment

“Uh… four an to call out orders again He was the leader, after all “Mogzo, you’ve got the elder! Ranta, take one of the workers and take it down fast! Me and Yume will take the other two!”

Mogzo engaged the elder with a shout When they locked blades, Mogzo executed [SPRIAL SLASH] and pressed the attack, forcing the foreman back

“[HATRED’S CUT]!” Ranta leapt at Kobold C His initial attack was deflected but Ranta kept pressing forward, unleashi+ng an offensive flurry

Yume attacked Kobold D head-on, and when it countered with a swing of its shovel she performed a low somersault to avoid it; her new skill, [FOX VAULT] It was actually considered to be a kukri-based technique, although Haruhiro didn’t see why; the weapon was never used directly Yuain on the surprised Kobold D and executed her [SWEEPING SLASH] and [CROSS CUT] co it to retreat

“Whoa!” Haruhiro shouted, though he wasn’t trying to

Dueling a single opponent wasn’t really a Thief Class forte Kobold E swung its shovel at Haruhiro multiple times while Haruhiro deflected its attacks with [SWAT] The shovels were used for , but made with metal from handle to tip, so they were also effective as weapons

[SWAT] was mostly a defensive skill, but if the opportunity arose, Haruhiro could also use it to create an opening in his opponent’s defenses

He did so now as Kobold E brought its shovel down in a wide arc Haruhiro dodged rather than deflecting with [SWAT] Kobold E realized the danger and quickly drew its weapon back in It attacked again, but this ti more for speed than power

Now! Haruhiro thought and deflected Kobold E’s shovel with [SWAT] It wasn’t the usual [SWAT], though Haruhiro put strength behind the technique to force the kobold’s shovel off to the side and away from its body The kobold was noide open

Haruhiro stepped in towards it, using his left hand and right forearht arm Kobold E yelped when its elbow became immobilized, even as Haruhiro swept its feet out froround

It was the new technique that Master Barbara taught, or rather, pounded into him: [ARREST] And while it felt nice when he executed it perfectly, it wasn’t really a flashy technique

While Kobold E was still on the ground, Haruhiro stamped his foot hard on its jaw A kobold’s head was shaped like a dog’s; their bite was powerful but the bone structure was delicate The way their jaere built made them especially vulnerable to attacks froh

“Oom rel eckt pram das!” cried shi+horu

A fuzzy, black seaweed-like shadow eleh the air in a tight spiral

“Yume, watch out!” shi+horu warned

Yume ducked with a yelp as the shadow elemental flew past where her head had been It hit Kobold D straight in the face and began to seep into its body through its ears, mouth, and nose Kobold D’slike a wooden board

shi+horu’s new technique, [SHADOW COMPLEX], was a spell that literally got into the heads of enemies to bewilder them She had picked up this particular spell because she wanted more offensive abilities and, indeed, unlike [PHANTOM SLEEP], it would work even on alert and strong-willed enemies The spell choice suited shi+horu very much and was incredibly useful in combat too

Even as Yu incredibly confused Yu with a shout By the tiained its senses, it was too late Yume had shredded up its body so badly that there would be no counterattack

“ARGH!” Ranta finished off Kobold C with the [EXPEL FRENZY]-[ANGER THRUST] combo he had been so enamored with lately

PART 2 of 2

Mogzo’s grunt ca up a tough fight No, that’s not the case,Haruhiro realized The elder see its sword down on Mogzo’s left ar it

Mogzo was now equipped with a steel fauld that protected his waist and steel vaht used, but had been refitted by an ar technique to complement his heavy armor

The elder forelanced off It wasn’t sih; it was the [STEEL GUARD] technique He didn’t belong to the Warrior’s Guild, so Haruhiro didn’t really know the details behind it, but it was so one’s ary so that all the enemy’s attacks would bounce off