Seeker 347

 Test

Chapter 347. The Veteran Adventurer And The Owlbear (2)

 

──Side: Reguld──

“Take this, [Double Slash]!”

The warrior Reguld, of the Tigerfolk, swung his massive greatsword with both hands, the afterglow of his skill trailing behind.

A diagonal slash, immediately followed by a left upward cut. Two consecutive strikes, too fast to follow.

“Hooaaaahhhh!”

On the other side, the Owlbear swung down its powerful right arm, sharp claws extended.

The Owlbear, despite its massive size, moved with surprising speed, making its attacks difficult to evade.

A clash.

In the next moment, blood sprayed from Reguld's chest, while black smoke oozed from the Owlbear’s torso.

“Guh...!”

Though lightly blown back by the impact, Reguld somehow managed to hold his ground.

He could tell he had inflicted considerable damage on the Owlbear as well.

The result was a mutual exchange of pain.

(Damn it, that attack power is still incredible. Take three direct hits, and I might be done for.)

A sharp pain ran through Reguld’s chest, as though it had been deeply gouged.

He felt as though about 30% of his HP had been taken with a single blow.

Though Reguld wasn’t equipped with heavy armor, he was confident in his toughness.

For him to sustain this much damage, the Owlbear’s attack power had to be significant.

On the other hand, Emilia, who was also in the front lines with Reguld, was somewhat less resilient than him.

It was conceivable that she might be unable to fight after just two direct hits, let alone three.

With Kevin providing support through healing magic, Emilia shouldn’t be taken down easily.

But that meant Reguld had to manage without any healing.

(Heh, it's thrilling to fight something nearly as strong as me.)

Reguld also possessed the [Monster Appraisal] skill.

In his vision, the Owlbear’s HP was now displayed as 134/270.

Reguld’s [Double Slash] had carved away about half of its HP.

Reguld was quite confident in his strength as a warrior.

This confidence wasn’t baseless; it was rooted in his actual abilities.

Typically, all adventurers stop growing at level 25.

Veteran adventurers who have been active for several years usually reach level 25.

However, even at the same level 25, the strength of all veteran adventurers isn’t equal.

Skillfulness in combat plays a role, but strength also varies greatly depending on the skills and stats they’ve acquired.

Reguld took pride in his well-endowed skills and stats.

He boasted powerful close-combat skills like [Greatsword Attack Boost], [Zweihander], which greatly enhances the attack power of two-handed weapons, and [Double Slash], which delivers two slashes in an instant.

In addition, he had close-combat-oriented stats excelling in strength and endurance.

He couldn't use magic at all, but as a warrior specializing in weapon-based close combat, few could match him.

Spear-user Emilia wasn’t weak by any means, but even she would openly admit, “I can’t compete with Reguld.”

Yet, the Owlbear, a monstrous creature, had nearly equal combat power in a one-on-one fight against Reguld.

For an average A-rank adventurer party, facing two Owlbears would be quite challenging.

Though total annihilation was rare, they often struggled, and it wasn’t unusual for one or two members to be incapacitated.

“But if it’s me, I can do it! Let’s brawl—[Double Slash]!”

Once more, Reguld kicked off the ground and charged at the Owlbear.

The Owlbear, also enraged, roared furiously and rushed towards Reguld, slashing down with its claws.

Blood splattered from Reguld’s body once more.

The Tigerfolk warrior, losing a significant amount of HP from the second direct hit, almost collapsed but somehow managed to stay upright.

Meanwhile, the Owlbear in front of him turned into black smoke and vanished.

A magic stone fell to the ground.

Reguld’s second skill attack had drained the last of the monster’s HP.

“...Whew, as terrifyingly strong as ever. That really had me on edge.”

Picking up the magic stone from the defeated Owlbear, Reguld checked the other battlefield.

Just then, the other Owlbear had also been defeated.

His three companions had secured victory through precise teamwork, without any apparent danger.

Confirming the end of the battle, Reguld opened his status to check his condition.

His current HP was displayed as 64/168.

Few adventurers could win a one-on-one fight against an Owlbear.

Even he might lose one or two out of ten battles.

As he responded to his companions’ cheers with a raised hand, Reguld thought of other adventurers.

“Can three people really handle this? The guild’s standards are too lax. I hope those guys aren’t dead by now.”

Reguld’s concern was for the young adventurers of Daichi's Spear.

They had accepted the quest, so it was their responsibility—that much was true, but Reguld was too compassionate to completely write them off.

Moreover, it would be a problem if a party got wiped out halfway through the escort mission.

After receiving healing magic from his companions and having his wounds healed, Reguld led them back toward the road where the carriage was waiting.

If the young trio was struggling, he planned to offer assistance.

But when Reguld rushed back to the carriage, he was met with an unexpected sight.

“What...? Why are you guys here?”

For some reason, the three adventurers of Daichi's Spear were waiting there, seemingly unscathed.

The feathered pet perched on the hat of the mage girl among them chirped happily, “Cupi, Cupii!”

Reguld was confused.

He couldn’t understand why Daichi's Spear was here.

It hadn’t even been a minute since Reguld and his team left the carriage to enter the forest.

He distinctly remembered the black-clad female adventurer reporting, “Two monsters are approaching from the depths of the forest on both the right and left.”

If two Owlbears were approaching from the left side as well, it didn’t make sense for Daichi's Spear to be here now, after heading off to deal with them.

Could they have defeated the two Owlbears faster than Reguld’s team and returned to this spot...?

That’s impossible, Reguld’s common sense argued.

Even for the four of them, those were formidable foes.

Could the black-clad female adventurer have tricked them?

Did she claim there were presences on both sides when there were only presences on the right, making Reguld’s team deal with it while they did nothing and returned?

No, that didn’t add up either.

It was Reguld himself who declared they would handle the right after Daichi's Spear hesitated over which side to take.

“What does this mean? Were the ones from the left not Owlbears?”

When Reguld posed the question, the boy leader of Daichi's Spear replied, “No, both were Owlbears,” and showed him two magic stones.

They were the same size and shape as the one Reguld had just obtained.

They were indeed Owlbear magic stones.

“No way...! What’s going on...?”

Reguld was utterly bewildered, unable to make sense of the situation.