Early the next day, after a light meal, Matthias and Manna went directly to the guild in full gear. Both of them brought their prized weapons. Just in case, he wrapped the scabbard of his new sword in a black cloth to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Word should have already spread that a noble had registered as an adventurer, since he didn’t plan to hide it anyway, but being seen as a brat using money as leverage for equipment was something he’d rather not have on his shoulders. That was why he didn’t wear any fancy armor.
Despite it still being rather dark out, the guild was already bustling with activity. For these people, who worked almost entirely off of commissions, their days needed to start early. This was another point that made nobles want to avoid that kind of life, since most of them would rather sleep in without a care. Of course, that didn’t apply to the more serious, hardworking types.
Soleil was already there when they arrived; waiting at the counter with the same receptionist they talked with the day before. She greeted them with a big smile.
“Good morning. You’re here early,” she said as she extended her hand. Matthias took it with little hesitation and grasped it firmly.
Looking at her face, it looked clean and fresh. Her hair, finally free of dried mud and debris, was done in the same high ponytail she had before, which gave her a lively and youthful appearance. The subtle smell of road dirt was also gone, and was instead replaced by... well, nothing really. But, although she did have a clean cloak on, upon closer look it was the same battered and weathered one she wore the day before. He smiled wryly at the contrast.
“Couldn’t get a wink of sleep.”
After she shook hands with Manna, the receptionist presented a document to them made of thick parchment set on leather, which listed their names. The guild logo was burned at the upper-right side, while a list of clauses, an acknowledgement, and a few other statements filled the empty spaces. The only thing missing was the party name, which they hadn’t decided at that point yet.
Regardless, after they had signed their names, they had officially become a party.
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Because Matthias wanted to avoid rushing headlong into danger, he, the “elected” party leader, decided to take an easy material-gathering quest first. By “elected”, it only really involved Manna voting for him and Soleil surrendering the responsibility. According to the latter, having a stranger be the party leader wasn’t efficient, and since she was the one who was the odd one out, she felt it was natural to give the position up.
“Even the worst demon lords know when it is best to follow someone else’s words,” she said.
Their quest needed them to travel through the small, wooded area to the north. The destination was past that area in a small cave where something known as “glowstones” could be found.
These stones had a unique property. They could either glow dimly or brightly, or heat up to an alarming degree, depending on what was done to it. Despite being relatively uncommon, they lasted for a very long time, which explained their low price. Still, there was a demand for them for applications such as industrial lighting, heating, cooking, and others.
As they arrived at the border of the forest, they decided to stop for a while to discuss their formation. They hadn’t done so yet because in their excitement, mostly Matthias’, they immediately set off right after signing the necessary documentation.
“Since Manna is an archer, she will naturally hold the rear, while I’ll be on the front. What about...”
He hesitated mentioning the words “demon lord” to Soleil, as he still found it a weird title to say the least. But the person in question completely ignored his discomfort and answered despite his inability to ask straight.
“I fight on the front as well,” she declared proudly. “A demon lord’s role is to lead the charge and set an example. They don’t stay in the rear and perform cowardly tricks.”
He suddenly recalled something. “Wasn’t the last demon lord a powerful mage?” Matthias suddenly felt kind of sorry for the late demon lord who just got insulted by a rookie adventurer.
To his side, Manna had an awkward, twitchy smile on her face. While she was an archer, her specific job could be referred to as a “hunter”. Not only was she good with the bow, she was also proficient with traps. And according to Soleil, she qualified as someone who stayed in the rear and who performed “cowardly tricks”.
He patted her shoulder to console her from the emotional damage she sustained.
“So, you’re also a frontliner?” Matthias’ hope that she was a support like a cleric crumbled. “Where’s your uhh... weapon?”
At a glance, beside a small sack she carried, Soleil wasn’t carrying any weapons. There was no sword on her hips or back, no axes, and definitely no spears. Perhaps she had daggers hidden underneath her cloak, but as far as he could determine, no such protrusions hinted at her possessing such weapons.
She stared at him with a fire in her eyes before she explained.
“I fight with my body!”
With a flourish, she threw her cloak off to reveal her gear.
The first thing that caught his eye, of course, was the tattered leather piece that resembled a sports bra, which was the only thing that protected her chest. Then, it was the pair of short, red hotpants held up by a wide black leather belt.
Her hands were protected by a pair of red fingerless gloves, which looked quite worn. On her right arm she had on a tight black sleeve, while her left arm was wrapped in a layer of fresh white bandages.
The boots she wore looked like any other leather ones often seen on commoners, however, it had armor plating on the soles. Lastly, her legs were covered by some sort of stockings that reached her thighs.
… Why did she look like a mixed martial arts practitioner?
“My fists are clubs, and my legs are knives. There is no other means of fighting more suitable for demon lords to enforce their justice with than physical persuasion. Don’t you agree?”
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Her body looked very toned and flexible, and he didn’t doubt that she was a skilled striker. However, what about her power? She didn’t look to have that much muscle on her. And what was that about demon lords enforcing justice?
“Uhh... I guess?”
All he could do was nod his head.
After that, they held a sort of ability test a few hundred meters away from where they were to avoid being seen. It was so they could be introduced with each other’s abilities visually, which was vastly better than just hearing about it. Manna, excited to show off, volunteered to go first.
She, an archer, specialized in using bows and arrows. While she could also use a dagger and a short sword to some extent, she would much rather just use her bow as a blunt weapon and escape amidst the confusion her enemies would be in after getting hit by it. She possessed two bows; a small composite bow which used normal arrows, and her own specially-made bow which was taller than her and used arrows that were twice the regular length.
With the former, she could shoot quickly and accurately. But, as expected of a cheap weapon that could pass as training equipment, its power wasn’t special. Still, she could reliably hit targets as far as two hundred paces, which showcased her proficiency.
In contrast, her second bow was an extremely long and thin weapon, and was custom-built over the span of over a couple of years. It used rare enchanted metals and woven monster string as materials, which she funded by spending almost all of her waking hours hunting for bigger game than everybody else. Relatively speaking, it wasn’t that expensive, as she was still limited by the amount she could earn by herself. She had also refused Matthias’ money. But he did provide the technology, by secretly hiring a royal blacksmith from the capital to replace their local one for a few weeks.
The bow’s main feature was that it had an extremely heavy draw weight. The only way to lighten it was to inject magic into the bow. Then, by releasing the supply of magic at the moment of firing, the string would stretch taut in an instant and eject the projectile with exceptional speed and power. It was a method of creating bows that hadn’t yet appeared for some reason in that world yet, but the blacksmith who made it managed to quickly understand the concept after Matthias had explained it.
Soon enough, there would be many bows made in such a way, he thought. But at least until that day Manna’s weapon would be unique.
Manna drew the bow slowly until more than half of the arrow’s length was within her arms. When she released it, there a harsh sound of friction that rang out before they heard a large bang. In the distance, at almost a thousand paces from where they stood, the arrow had hit and half-destroyed a boulder.
There were two main problems with her weapon. Firstly, because of how unwieldy it was, and the difference between its weight before and after firing, she needed to stand completely still when using it. Secondly, because of the force of the string, most arrows couldn’t survive being pushed by it from behind as it grinded against the grip. The only way they knew how to address the issue was to use metallic arrows. So, it was heavy.
But to Matthias, those problems were worth facing in order to have what was essentially portable artillery in that world.
Other than bows, Manna could also use traps. But since it was the kind of skill that they couldn’t test without wasting some time, she simply explained the specifics and ended her turn.
Next was Soleil’s.
... or so it should have been, but Manna egged him to go next instead.
“If you beat her after her turn, it won’t make much of an impact,” she whispered. “Show off now and assert your dominance!”
Since when had this become a competition? Exasperated, he stepped forward and drew his sword.
Unlike Manna, who could only inject magical power into her bow, Matthias could actually utilize it for other applications, such as offense and defense. He was what one could call a magic swordsman.
At first, he brought out his main weapon, which was a cheap steel sword that he bought a couple of years ago. Different from Manna’s composite bow, which looked like a training weapon, his sword was one. Nevertheless, it could still perform its role, which was to contain his magic.
When he learned that the world had magic, he wanted to be able to use fire. After all, most heroes in the stories he read used it. Fire was passionate, and intense, which was exactly how he wanted to live his glory days. But unfortunately, not only did he learn that the element an individual could use was fixed upon birth, he also eventually discovered that despite being able to use three out of the four basic elements, which was already extremely rare and showed his talent for magic, he still couldn’t use fire. Yes, the one in four odds struck gold on him with his misfortune.
He wanted to complain to god.
He cycled around the three basic elements with his sword. Among many things, Water could allow his blade to grow longer using the surrounding vapor, Wind could make his blade become invisible, while Earth could make his strikes heavy. Each element had its own uses, and while it wasn’t as impressive to watch as Manna breaking a boulder with an arrow, his ability had far more utility.
Besides enchanting weapons, he could also use magic without a staff. Unlike normal mages, he didn’t face any troubles controlling his magic power without it. However, in that regard, he was only slightly more talented than most people. At that time, he could cast magic that required two names several times a day while other people at his age would struggle with being able to cast a couple. Yet, that was it.
It appeared that despite having the blessings of a god, nobody can ever be dealt a perfect hand.
Still, he was quite powerful for that world. Other people were forced to choose one profession in order to maximize their potential, which was why generalists such as magic swordsmen or combat mages were weaker in each of the arts. But Matthias was slightly better than a committed mage, and was slightly stronger than a dedicated warrior. The difference was small, but it was something. According to Manna, it was a talent rare enough that there was no doubt that he would become a hero if he continued his hard work.
But perhaps, there wouldn’t be a need to. He sighed as he brought out his second weapon. It was the heirloom sword, the weapon his father lent him before he left home.
Despite being the first time he had personally held the sword, he knew exactly how to use it. His older brother used to teach him how to use a sword before he went away to study in another country. During one night when their parents held a banquet, they sneakily “borrowed” the sword from the study and used it in the backyard.
However, because of what the sword did, everybody immediately found them out and they were beaten for it.
Matthias injected his magic into the sword. It took a lot of energy to get a response, but soon he felt the handle heat up. A bright light shone on the surface of the blade.
He looked ahead. There was a target in the distance; a fruit that had Manna’s bite mark on it. But that wasn’t the important thing. In that general direction also stood Soleil, who watched the sword with interest.
He swallowed a mouthful of saliva. His hands felt disgusting as his palms became covered in sweat. Anxiety shook his will. The shirt on his back stuck to his skin. But he had to make sure. This was his best chance. Steeling himself, he pushed even more of his magic into the sword, which caused the light to swell up even larger. He just had to think of a way to explain everything to Manna, he thought.
With a short yell, he swung his sword towards the target.
The sword was called the Demon Culling. When activated, it would release a wave of light that cleansed miasma in its way. Demons heavily depended on miasma to live. In short, it was fatal against any defenseless demon. On the other hand, it had no effect whatsoever against targets that didn’t use miasma.
The ray of light erupted from the sword and cascaded towards the area where the target was.
Soleil yelled in pain.