Chapter 103
Wow, seriously tough as nails.
I inwardly marveled at watching Lana Gromadin right after what I'd thought would be a decisive strike.
Though pushed back, Lana hadn't loosened either hand.
Both lance and shield remained firmly gripped in her hands.
She'd even immediately recovered her stance, standing steady on both legs.
A direct Smite hit plus double-stacked Exhaustion.
The Smite I just fired had twice the mana buildup of the first shot.
Even the Smite that took down Sentinel in one hit was weaker than this.
Pure aura armor defense stronger than Sentinel's.
Though it might be the effect of some artifact I didn't know about, it was terrifying either way.
What is she, a tank?
It felt like facing a rhinoceros that could shrug off point-blank slugs.
Is this what Expert-rank Explorers are like?
Like with Bong-sik, and sorry to say this, but maybe I've been underestimating the Expert rank since Frontier's Expert duo seemed weaker than expected.
Still, I didn't feel any crisis about losing.
I've hit her twice after all.
Though I wasn’t sure how many more stacks of Exhaustion she could endure, there would definitely come a point when she would break.
"Shall we continue?"
Lana Gromadin, who had been silently radiating wariness toward me, slowly lowered her weapons.
"No. This is sufficient. Continuing would just be my stubbornness."
Even a temple dog could recite poetry after three years.
It was a reaction so familiar now that I didn't even need to read what she was thinking.
She probably thought it would be rude to continue forcing a duel since each spell must be burdensome for a Devil Sorcerer.
I can do this all day, you know.
My Patron Devils are the best.
[Why did my pact-bearer watch movies well enough but never opera?]
Opera is expensive, you know…?
And honestly, I find it boring.
[My pact-bearer! What nonsense...]
[He's right though.]
[Movies? Opera? What's all this talk? A Devil should properly enjoy human life itself.]
Whew, now with three Patron Devils, it got noisy even when they each took turns to speak.
Anyway, if Lana wanted to stop here, I had no need to push her for more.
I stopped Axis' operation and closed the pact seals one by one.
Opening all three pact seals simultaneously and using four Devil spells had become quite familiar now.
Though I hadn't used it in actual combat yet, this duel provided some practical data.
Two Devil spells could be used simultaneously.
However, with good switching, it was possible to rotate through four in one tempo.
Though Tag was essentially a set with Exhaustion, so that needed careful consideration.
She must also be reviewing the duel, as Lana, lost in thought for a moment, shifted her gaze sideways and spoke.
"...Are those two similar?"
"Hm?"
"Though perhaps not spatial magic, if people like you have been teammates since training center days, surely those two must have something comparable to you?"
She seemed to have noticed, but that was still confidential for now.
"How about we learn that gradually?"
"...Yes, indeed. Time will resolve that matter."
Her affirmative response to my question was essentially passing approval.
She was the dispatch worker Conquerors was sending to our guild.
She'd naturally learn while working with us.
Though I didn't know how long that would take.
"When you leave the training room, the twins will guide you to a rest area. Please mention if you have any injuries. Our main guild has healers."
Though there were no visible injuries, Lana didn't know what my price was.
I had heard some offer organ injuries as payment.
There were even crazy Devil Sorcerers who sacrificed parts of their organs to cast great magic.
Originally, offering internal organs was common in ancient primitive religions, so it wasn’t strange in Devil Magic either.
Maybe use one of those god-given emergency funds known as kidneys?
Or maybe the liver, which supposedly regenerated somewhat even if cut...
"Hey, Roman."
"Yeah?"
"You've gotten stronger? I believed you'd win, but it was easier than expected."
"Right. Multi-casting, wasn't it? How many at once? Looked like 2, but maybe 3..."
Leaf asked in a lowered voice while carefully watching Lana ahead.
Though Leaf tried her best to lower her voice, it seemed the Expert-level combat specialist still heard.
It wasn't just my imagination that Lana's ears seemed to twitch ever so slightly.
Lana Gromadin subtly reduced her pace to avoid detection.
Might as well reveal this much.
They'd find out through experience anyway.
"Two. The rest was switching."
"Wow... really fast switching."
Since I dealt with traffic control for my Patron Devils daily, switching Devil Magic wasn't difficult.
At my answer without detailed explanation, Leaf, who faced similar issues as a Spirit Summoner, voiced her complaints.
And another mutter from slightly ahead.
"That was switching...? Looked like multi-casting..."
She doesn't use honorifics when talking to herself, huh?
As soon as we left the door, three rose-gold tails that seemed to have been waiting bounced over.
This isn’t a riddle, but what has two heads and three tails?
One tail, Margie Burnet went to nearby Lana first.
Two tails, Angie Burnet calmly took a few more steps toward us.
"Lana, did you win? How was it?"
"...Ask them that, I'm busy needing to report."
Lana pushed away the rushing Margie and went her way.
Since greetings were already done when leaving the training room, Lana left without hesitation.
Left behind were us three, and the curiosity-filled twins... plus others.
"I'll guide you to the lounge."
“This is going to be troublesome,” all three of us thought simultaneously.
§
Leaving the question-hungry guild members and Roman's group behind, Lana arrived at the Vice Guild Master's office.
As if waiting for her arrival, there were no prior visitors.
As soon as Lana arrived, Ref spoke matter-of-factly, "17 minutes. Short."
"It was sufficient time."
Ref trusted his daughter.
Though she hadn't broken through to Master despite having the best teacher, he knew her efforts to overcome that.
The universally acknowledged hard worker of Conquerors.
Lana had willingly cut into her own body to implant artifacts for strength and thoroughly studied all manner of ancient books seeking even slight growth.
Her effort was so sincere that if she gave up following her master's path and attempted the Head-type Master examination, her chances of passing would be considered high.
Being such a person, her evaluation would be precise and objective.
"So. Finished confirming?"
"Yes."
"Was it worth it?"
Worth?
An obvious question.
Spatial magic alone proved that worth.
Plus illusion magic complemented the still-simple spatial magic.
Magic bullets fired with no-delay casting, and there seemed to be a charged version that could even stagger Lana given enough time.
Roman was already complete.
Ability, experience, wisdom—none of it was lacking as an Explorer.
Of course, it wasn’t enough to guarantee victory in one-on-one against an Expert.
Like Lana herself, they wear multiple Abyss artifacts to eliminate weaknesses and maximize strengths.
Though they might fall short compared to spatial magic, they, too, possess extraordinary trump cards.
Roman, with just one artifact and a barely-used grimoire, was already at an equipment disadvantage.
But if Roman properly equipped artifacts?
Though he absolutely couldn't beat a Master, possibilities might open up to somehow defeat Experts.
"It's sufficient."
"Such a quick answer."
"There's no room for doubt."
"I see..."
It didn’t seem to be an entirely unexpected answer.
Despite connections, Ref had already leaned toward a positive reception when Frontier accepted them.
But Lana's unwavering, unhesitating answer was somewhat surprising.
"That's unfortunate."
"...Is there a problem?"
"No. I’m just curious about that secret is all."
Why has he been regretting his decisions so much lately?
First with sending Grant, and now with those who brought Grant back.
"Call them in. We need to formally complete the contract."
"Yes."
After briefly answering, Lana turned and grabbed the door handle.
Holding the door that would open with just a pull, Lana spoke shyly, "...Thank you. For giving me the opportunity."
Just as Ref knew and trusted Lana, Lana knew Ref.
His insight and intuition.
Information about Roman's group.
Analysis and deduction combining these.
Sullivan Evans didn't appoint Ref as Vice Guild Master and acting Guild Master for nothing.
Such a Ref, her father, must have recognized Roman's extraordinariness immediately.
And specifically naming her as a dispatch worker meant he judged being with them would be an opportunity.
An opportunity for growth.
An opportunity to elevate her who had somehow stagnated.
"Opportunity? I just passed on work."
"...Yes. I'll mind my words. Then."
Click.
Lana opened the door and left.
Ref was briefly grateful to Roman.
And during their next conversation, that gratitude decreased in real-time.
"I'll send Lana to your guild house tomorrow."
"Ah, about that..."
"Don't tell me... you don't even have a guild house yet?"
"Hahaha, we were in a bit of a hurry coming here."
No full member count, no guild house—though it seemed questionable, it could be understood if they missed timing due to rushing to our invitation.
But how should he take the next words?
"So I was wondering, do you happen to have any spare villa?"
"...Didn't you say joint investment?"