We approached the thirteenth floor of Tale with caution, carefully scouting the area while we tested our limits. It wasn't that I particularly wanted to be attacked by thieves. While I wouldn't hesitate to cut them down at this point, I had no reason to go looking for trouble.
"There may indeed be a few more people here than elsewhere," Roxanne said as she guided us, her tone slightly ominous. "Even so, it's significantly less crowded than the eleventh floor of Quratar. Since I don't know the general congestion levels of this Labyrinth, it's hard to say for sure."
I wondered if thieves would hesitate to attack once they saw Roxanne in action. Still, I didn't want anyone to see me using magic, and even if they didn't attack, using Appraisal would instantly flag them as thieves anyway. It was a delicate problem.
If I waited for them to strike before counterattacking, we might sustain unnecessary damage. If Appraisal identified someone as a thief, the standard operating procedure should be a preemptive strike.
I couldn't exactly skip using magic when I wanted to test my newly equipped rod, either. I wouldn't be using Meteor Crash, so even if my standard spells were seen, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
I defeated the monsters on the thirteenth floor using ordinary magic and assessed the situation. Fighting with only standard spells wasn't exactly grueling, but it was certainly a lot of work. As we climbed to higher floors, the enemies would only get stronger; eventually, it would become quite a struggle.
Well, there was no point in worrying about the distant future. As my level increased, I’d likely be able to hold my own when the time came. Besides, my party members might increase by then, too. For now, this level of combat was manageable. I could handle myself from the twelfth floor upward.
I brought home some pork belly, a drop item from the Pig Hog. I didn't really care about the boards left by the Love Shrubs anymore, but the more pork belly I had, the better. It made for a delicious meal.
For dinner, I stir-fried the pork belly with vegetables, added water to bring it to a boil for soup, and then thickened it with Slime Starch. After seasoning it with salt and fish sauce, it became something akin to Happosai. It wasn't exactly the same, but it was close enough to be satisfying.
"It should taste something like this," I said.
"This is delicious. As expected of you, Master," Roxanne praised.
"It has a smooth texture and is very easy to eat," Sherry added.
It seemed to be a hit with both of them.
"I've never eaten a dish like this before."
"I have heard that there are places where they use Slime Starch to thicken food," Sherry noted.
So they did have it here. I suppose it wasn't that rare.
"Heh. But it really is tasty. What is this dish called?" Roxanne asked.
"A multitude of treasures," I replied.
Literally "Eight Treasures," so I wasn't technically wrong.
I received word about the Skill Crystals early the following evening, only a day after I had requested them. A note had been left at the entrance when we returned home.
"It seems he won the auction for the Skill Crystal: Caterpillar. It was four thousand four hundred Nahl," Roxanne announced after reading the note.
What? After all that anticipation, it wasn't the Goat or Kobold crystal?
"Last time it was four thousand three hundred. He might be raising the price by a hundred Nahl at a time to gauge our reaction," Sherry warned.
"Hmm. Would they really go that far?"
That was Sherry's harsh opinion of brokers. I had to take it with a grain of salt.
"Brokers are the type of people who will use any dirty trick without a second thought."
"That may be true, but..."
"The possibility is quite high. It is the most logical way to look at it. It must be so."
"When you put it that way, I'm starting to feel like that's the case."
When the logical Sherry told me something was logical, I started to believe it was. It was strange.
I headed to the Merchant Guild the following morning. Luke produced two Skill Crystals.
"Here is the Skill Crystal: Caterpillar. And, though I haven't sent word yet, a Skill Crystal: Goat was put up in yesterday's final auction."
Luke carefully placed the two crystals down separately. I didn't have to worry, though, since I had Appraisal. According to the skill, both were definitely the real deal.
"A Skill Crystal: Goat, huh?"
"I won the bid at five thousand four hundred Nahl."
Since I had told him my limit was five thousand four hundred, it seemed he had won it at exactly that amount. I was really starting to think Sherry was right. At the very least, it seemed brokers had no intention of getting things even slightly cheaper for their clients. Even if they said they were buying at auction, the bottom line was that I was buying it from a fellow broker. They probably tacked on profit until the very last second.
"That was fast."
"It almost turned into a bidding war, but I managed to secure it."
There was no guarantee that Luke or the selling broker hadn't prepared a shill for that "bidding war."
"The Skill Crystal: Goat isn't that urgent. From now on, please keep the winning bid to five thousand two hundred."
"Understood."
I lowered the price right then and there. If things went well, Luke might interpret this as me being annoyed. Even if that didn't get across, it was fine as long as I could lower the price. I had enough Goat crystals for the time being.
"How much is the total?"
"Let's see. Um... including the commission for next time, since you are a regular customer, ten thousand five hundred Nahl will be fine."
So, four thousand four hundred for one crystal and five thousand four hundred for the other, and with the commission for two items being a thousand Nahl, he gave me a thirty percent discount, bringing that part to seven hundred. He had paused for quite a while, so he must have been running the numbers. It seemed the thirty percent discount didn't apply to the auction price no matter what. In reality, he probably had already paid that amount.
I completed the payment with one gold coin and five silver coins.
After returning home, I had Sherry fuse the Caterpillar crystal. Since the Substitution Misanga was a useful piece of equipment, it was best to have it made immediately.
"Fusing Skill Crystals always makes me nervous," Sherry admitted.
"It's okay. If it fails, it's my fault too. Just relax."
"Yes."
I had already told Sherry that I could generally tell if a Skill Crystal could be fused to a piece of equipment. In other words, if it failed, it meant my assessment was wrong. If it really did fail, I wouldn't actually know why. I wondered if failures could happen even if there were empty Skill Slots.
"What skill does the Goat crystal become?"
"If attached to a weapon or accessory, it becomes an Intelligence Increase skill. If fused together with a Skill Crystal: Kobold, it becomes a 2x Intelligence skill."
After Sherry successfully fused the Caterpillar crystal, she gave me the explanation as expected. Since the performance improved when fused with a Kobold crystal, the basic Intelligence Increase probably didn't double the stat. Maybe it was a thirty or fifty percent increase?
"Can it be attached to accessories too?"
"Yes, it can."
"Then it might be better to put it on an accessory rather than the rod. It would be effective even when I'm holding a different weapon, and I could still use it even if I switch to a new staff in the future. Better yet, if I put 2x Intelligence on both an accessory and a staff for 4x Intelligence... that's impossible, right?"
"I am told that is not possible."
I had heard that putting the same offensive skill on multiple pieces of equipment wouldn't work. My dreams were being crushed.
"Then what about putting multiple of the same skill on one piece of equipment?"
"I haven't heard of anyone going so far as to test that."
If you failed while trying to add a second skill, the first skill would also disappear. Because of that, people rarely added multiple skills. I suppose no one had ever tested whether having multiple of the same skill on one weapon would be effective.
If it were me, I could add multiple skills without fear. Should I try it? But well, it would probably just fail. Thinking about it logically, I’d just quietly put the Goat crystal on the rod.
For an accessory, I already had the Substitution Misanga. Even though I had lowered the price, the request was still active, so I would probably get more Goat crystals later. I could put 2x Intelligence on other weapons, and if I had spare Caterpillar crystals, I could put them on an accessory together at that time.
For now, I would wait until I got a Kobold crystal and put it on the rod.
"In any case, we'll wait until the Kobold crystal arrives. Roxanne, you wear this Substitution Misanga."
"Um. Are you not going to sell it?"
Sherry held out the Substitution Misanga she had crafted, but Roxanne didn't take it immediately.
"Of course, I intend to sell any spares. But, uh... I'll need a backup in case my own Substitution Misanga breaks. If we're going to keep it anyway, you might as well equip it in the meantime."
She seemed hesitant. The Substitution Misanga probably wasn't a piece of equipment that just anyone wore.
"But if I take a hit and it breaks..."
I had come up with some random logic to make it easier for her to accept, but she had countered it. That was a failure.
"Sherry, a Substitution Misanga doesn't cost hundreds of thousands of Nahl, right?"
"No. It is about thirty thousand to forty thousand Nahl."
"Then it's fine. A Substitution Misanga is cheaper than you getting a serious injury. It would be a much bigger problem if you died, Roxanne. Besides, it probably won't break that easily anyway."
I couldn't really imagine Roxanne taking such a concentrated barrage of enemy fire that she'd need the Misanga. If we were pushed into such a situation, the whole party would likely be wiped out. A Caterpillar crystal was a bit over four thousand Nahl. Assuming one success in ten fusions, the price of forty thousand for a Substitution Misanga made sense. It was one of the most expensive items in my current equipment, but it was cheaper than Roxanne.
"Ye—yes. Thank you very much."
I finally managed to convince her to wear it. I went over to where Roxanne was sitting.
"I'll put it on for you. Roxanne, do you want it on your ankle or your wrist?"
"Th—then, um... could I ask for the ankle? It would be better if it isn't noticeable."
If you wore a misanga on your wrist, it was visible. Without Appraisal, you couldn't tell if it was a Substitution Misanga or just a regular one, though. The Duke and Cassia had both worn theirs on their wrists for all to see.
I wore mine on my ankle. If you wore it on your ankle under trousers, it wouldn't be visible from the outside. If someone tried to attack me, it might make them drop their guard. Wearing it on the wrist did have the merit of letting you know immediately if it broke. For someone of the Duke or Duchess's class, attackers would assume they had a Substitution Misanga anyway, so there wasn't much point in hiding it. Rather, showing it off was a way to flaunt their status.
Since wearing a Substitution Misanga could make people think you were rich and lead to being targeted or resented, the ankle was fine for Roxanne.
"Well then, could you roll up your pant leg?"
Roxanne took off her shoe, put her left foot on the chair, and rolled up her trousers. Her white, slender shin was revealed. Her skin looked sleek and smooth. She was so cute I almost wanted to rub my cheek against her leg. It felt like her skin was glowing in the sunlight. There was something different about catching a glimpse of skin through a gap in clothing in the middle of the day.
I almost reached out to stroke her leg and caught myself, checking Roxanne's expression. N—no. It was fine. I wasn't doing anything wrong. It wasn't like I was about to do anything. I mean, what was the big deal about just stroking a leg at this point?
Though I suppose luring her in to stroke her leg while pretending to put it on was a bit questionable. Oh well. I held back the urge to rub my cheek against her, kiss her, or lick her, and just tied the misanga on.
Dammit, tonight. Just wait until tonight. I won't let you get away with this.
"Thank you very much."
After I tied the Substitution Misanga, Roxanne offered her thanks. I wondered if she'd be able to say the same thing tonight.
The word that the Skill Crystal: Kobold had been acquired came a few days later. When we returned from the Labyrinth in the evening, a note was tucked into the entrance. Roxanne, who could read Brahim, immediately picked it up. Incidentally, I had been neglecting my study of Brahim characters.
"Master, it's a message from Mr. Luke. It says he won the bid for a Skill Crystal: Kobold at five thousand four hundred Nahl."
"I told him the limit was five thousand four hundred and he got it at exactly that price, huh?"
"Everyone knows that brokers exchange information with each other. They are filthy people."
I suppose it was an open secret. If they knew exactly how much someone would bid, the seller could prepare a shill to drive up the price to the limit. It was a dirty tactic, just as Sherry said, but it seemed to be common sense in the world of brokers. If every broker was like that, it would be hard to rebel. Even if one tried to be faithful to their client, they'd just be crushed. Anyway, there were other customers who would bid up to five thousand two hundred for a Kobold crystal. It was probably unavoidable.
"I want to fuse this Kobold crystal onto my rod along with the Goat crystal. It'll get tough once we move up to the twelfth floor."
"That would be for the best."
"Ye—yes. I will do my best."
I explained the plan. Sherry seemed nervous, probably because it was her first time using a Kobold crystal. Since it would be a loss of five thousand four hundred Nahl if it failed, the stakes were high.
"Well, you'll be fine, Sherry. Sorry for pushing Chant Interruption to later."
"No. Please don't worry about it."
"The monsters from the twelfth floor will be much stronger. Strengthening our combat power is essential. I also want to start thinking about bringing in a new party member."
I also mentioned expanding our strength. I had to keep reminding them about increasing our party size. A new party member was necessary to bolster our fighting power. No, that wasn't it. They were necessary to bolster our fighting power.
The next morning, I obtained the Kobold crystal from Luke and had Sherry fuse it. I placed a continued order for more Kobold crystals, though I lowered the price slightly. If he was going to win every bid at exactly the upper limit, I had to say that five thousand four hundred was too high.
When we returned home for the fusion, Sherry was still looking nervous.
"I... I did it."
"Oh! Amazing. As expected of you, Sherry."
"Th—thank you very much."
Sherry let out a long breath. She must have still been anxious about the fusion. Since we used two crystals this time, it couldn't be helped.
Rod of Himorogi Staff Skill: 2x Intelligence / Empty / Empty
The Rod of Himorogi was complete. By fusing the Goat and Kobold crystals, it gained 2x Intelligence, and two empty skill slots remained as they should.
I immediately went to the Halber Labyrinth to test it out. The first group to appear was two NEET Ants and one Mino. I blasted them with Water Storm. The ants, who were weak to water magic, died instantly. They were wiped out before they even reached us. I couldn't kill the Mino before it closed in, but after Roxanne effortlessly dodged its attack, it collapsed easily when I hit it with a Fireball from the side.
The group of monsters was annihilated in an instant. It seemed my attack power had increased now that it was the Rod of Himorogi. However, even though it was "2x Intelligence," it didn't mean the damage dealt was doubled. The battle time didn't drop to half of what it was before. Still, it was shorter, which made things easier. Even if the twelfth-floor monsters were twice as strong, I should be able to fight them well enough with this.
On the eleventh floor, there were no problems at all. We hunted efficiently. We progressed so smoothly that we arrived at the Boss Room before long. When I opened the door, it led to a room with another door at the far end. The waiting room.
"It looks like we can even manage to test the twelfth floor today."
I drew Durandal and entered the Boss Room. I beat down the eleventh-floor boss, Hachinosu, with Durandal. It seemed to try and chant skills a few times, but I cancelled them all. The boss fight was a breeze since I just had to keep Roxanne in front and slash from the side. I was a bit worried if the enemies on the twelfth floor were twice as strong, but it probably wouldn't be a huge problem.
After the boss battle, we stepped onto the twelfth floor.
"The monster on the twelfth floor of the Halber Labyrinth is the Grass Bee," Sherry explained. "It uses long-range attacks by firing needles. The needles are poisonous, so you may be poisoned if hit."
Long-range poison attacks, huh? Are you serious?
"The monsters from the twelfth floor really do seem strong."
"The saving grace is that they do not have any magical attribute resistances. Their weakness is wind attribute magic. It seems that monsters that fly with wings are weak to wind magic, not just the Grass Bee."
After receiving Sherry's explanation, I followed Roxanne's guidance to where the Grass Bees were. A single large bee was flying there. It was like a bee version of the NEET Ant. It had warning colors—a black body and yellow legs.
I fired a Breeze Storm from a distance. Since there was still distance, there was a risk of a single-target spell being dodged. I could have waited until I was closer, but since it was a new enemy, it was better to go all out from the start.
When Breeze Storm activated, the bee wobbled violently up, down, left, and right. It looked effective. If that were a human, their brain would be rattling. Though maybe it wasn't a big deal for a bee.
From the second shot, I switched to Breeze Ball. Until we got close, the Grass Bee ended up not using its long-range attack. As we approached, the ominous buzzing of wings echoed clearly. Roxanne stepped to the front and parried the bee's charge with her sword. Sherry thrust her spear in. From beside Roxanne, I also hammered it with a Breeze Ball.
The sound stopped, and the Grass Bee plummeted. It fell abruptly from where it had been hovering. Its yellow legs lay still on the cave floor. It went down pretty easily. Maybe because I used its weakness, wind magic.
I wouldn't know until other monsters were mixed in, but as long as the Grass Bee was the only opponent, I just had to use wind magic. It seemed I could fight on the twelfth floor of Halber. The Grass Bee eventually vanished into smoke, leaving behind some beeswax.
"So beeswax is the drop. Do people make candles or something with it?"
"If you sell it to the Guild, craftsmen will process it into candles," Sherry informed me. "Since it isn't a particularly rare material, it seems people outside the Guild don't buy it much."
There didn't seem to be a skill for making candles from beeswax ourselves. It would be nice if there were.
"It can also be used for maintaining leather equipment. If you don't mind, could I use one?"
"Sure."
"Thank you very much."
So they used it as a straight-up wax too. I could give it to Roxanne after we got home. I shoved the beeswax into my item box, which was starting to run low on capacity.
"Is that enough for today? Other than that, we could go to the thirteenth floor of Tale."
"We should definitely go," Roxanne urged.
"We'll likely be going to the Quratar Labyrinth early tomorrow morning," Sherry added. "It will be a busy day, so I think it's better to go to the Tale Labyrinth today."
I had thought about calling it a day since we confirmed we could fight well enough, but both of them opposed me. Roxanne aside, Sherry's reasoning made sense. We had things to do in the morning, like delivering the mirror. I could understand the logic of doing it today. Let's get it over with.
"Well then, let's head to the thirteenth floor of Tale just to test how the rod feels."
"Yes."
"That would be for the best."
I warped to the thirteenth floor of Tale. Since we hadn't done any real exploring, we were in the small entrance room. When we arrived, Roxanne began walking in silence. Since Roxanne was the guide, I followed her.
"Forgive me. It seems someone is following us," Roxanne whispered in a small voice along the way.
"Someone? Behind us?" I replied in a low voice without turning around.
"Yes. It was a mistake to come at this hour. We should have come in the morning."
"Isn't it possible they're just heading in the same direction by chance?"
"They were by the side of the first small room and have been following us ever since."
"So they're tailing us."
If that was the case, it likely wasn't a coincidence.
"If they were watching the entrance room, we should assume they are thieves," Sherry added, seemingly of the same mind.
Thieves, huh? I took a sharp breath.
"W—well, if they're thieves, the morning wouldn't be much different. They'd probably be more active when there are fewer people. Right now, they might not attack because there are other eyes around."
"Hmm. It doesn't look like there are any other parties around here," Roxanne shot me down.
"In that case, what should we do?"
"If we turn the next corner to the left, there will be monsters. I thought it might be better not to use magic since someone is behind us, but if they are thieves, it might be fine even if they see it, as long as we deal with them."
"I believe we should clear out the trash," Roxanne added.
Both of them were remarkably aggressive. If even Sherry was saying it, this way of thinking must be the standard in this world.
"There's a chance they aren't thieves, though."
"The moment someone follows another person around in a labyrinth, they are finished as an explorer," Sherry cut me off.
It was certainly logical to think that way. It's not like they were trying to return a dropped earring.
"Then let's turn right at the next corner. If they still follow us, we'll turn around and intercept them. I'll attack first. Until I do, or until they attack us, neither of you lay a hand on them."
"Understood."
"Roger."
There were no objections; they agreed quite simply. I should at least get ready. I drew Durandal. With Durandal's sharpness, I could probably take down one or two while the enemy was bewildered, giving us the upper hand in the fight.
I took a deep breath. I was surprisingly calm. It was nothing new. I had no problem dealing with thieves. If I had any hesitation, it was about Roxanne and Sherry. Even in a world like this, I didn't want them to get their hands dirty. I'd take them down alone if possible. To do that, I'd have to rely on Durandal.
We turned right at the corner and walked for a bit.
"They're still following."
"Got it. We turn back here."
We turned around and retraced our steps. Soon, several men appeared from the other side of the cave. Three thieves and one explorer. The highest level among them was a Thief Lv 40. The other two thieves were nearly ten levels lower. The explorer was even lower, at Explorer Lv 25.
Still, none of them were in the single digits or teens. For a thief brigade, I suppose this made them mid-tier. As for the Lv 40, his level was higher than any of my own individual jobs. However, since I had multiple jobs, I wasn't necessarily inferior. It was four against three, but we should be able to fight just fine.
"Tch. They noticed and came back, huh? Fine. Let's do this," the leader sneered.
"Yeah!"
At the Thief Lv 40's command, the four of them took up battle positions. Three of them lined up in front of the leader. I suppose having a high level naturally made him the leader.
"Make sure to keep those two beauties alive if you can."
"Heh. This'll be a treat."
"Well, after me, anyway."
"I'll be waitin' for my turn, boss."
They were having a disgusting conversation, but even hearing that, the Thief Lv 40 was clearly in charge. Being high-level meant he had a lot of experience. What a nasty career.
"Hey, if you've got any money in your item box, I'll take it off your hands as a memento," the explorer said from a weirdly high-and-mighty perspective. I ignored him and visualized the skill.
The bonus spell I had selected: Equivalent Exchange.
I selected the lowest-level target, the Explorer Lv 25. In truth, I should probably have used it on the highest-level Thief Lv 40, but the Thief Lv 40 was scary. Equivalent Exchange was quite a struggle when I used it on a Thief Lv 3 before, even though my level was higher back then. This time, the Thief's level was 40, making it higher than mine. Even with multiple jobs, wouldn't it be a bit dangerous?
Simply put, he might have a lot of HP because of his high level. Or maybe thieves just had high HP. Equivalent Exchange was a skill that first swapped my MP for an equal amount of the target's HP to reduce it, and if the target still had HP left, it then reduced my HP by an amount equal to their remaining HP. At least, that was how I had analyzed it.
If by some miracle the Thief Lv 40's HP was more than the sum of my HP and MP, I would be the one whose HP hit zero. In that case, I would die. I couldn't take that kind of risk. The Explorer Lv 25 was significantly lower level than me, so there shouldn't be any problem.
I had filled my MP in the Halber Labyrinth. I had used some to warp here, but it shouldn't be fatal. I had no hesitation about targeting an explorer instead of a thief. Even if he was an explorer, as long as he was pointing a sword at me, he was completely an ally of the thief brigade.
The next instant, that explorer vanished.
Rather than "bursting," it was as if he was simply erased. Where the explorer had been, there was now a gaping hole. If there hadn't been a slight sound, it could have been processed as if no one had ever been there in the first place. It was that natural.
My MP hadn't even decreased that much. I'd say I had a bit less than half left. The sharp, painful drop I had been wary of didn't hit me. I was fine. I could still fight. As expected of Equivalent Exchange.
The explorer's HP and my MP must have been exchanged and vanished in equal amounts. Since my MP was significantly higher, a lot remained. Was it because his level was low? Or did explorers have low HP? Or maybe my MP increased because I had obtained the Mage job. The Mage job was one that consumed massive amounts of MP, so its MP capacity was likely high as well. This time, it seemed my MP remained because it was meant to.
To not have realized that... am I really incompetent?
The thieves were stunned that one of their own had suddenly disappeared. We were the same. No one was able to move. But that wasn't right. I was the only one who should have expected what would happen. I was the one who should have moved. A stunned thief is an easy target. I should have been aiming for that. To think even I would stop moving... how pathetic. I'm an idiot. A fool. Useless.
N—no. This is bad. It seemed my MP had decreased quite a bit after all. My thoughts were becoming negative. That wasn't it. There was still time.
I took a large stride forward and swung Durandal. I decapitated the thief who was frozen in shock after his companion had suddenly been erased. Next, another one. The second one managed to move his arm to try and clash blades, but I cut him down regardless. The swords hit slightly, but I effortlessly knocked his blade away.
As expected of Durandal. This sword was incredibly strong. If someone tried to block it with a mediocre sword, it felt like it would just snap it in half.
Thief Lv 40 hurriedly regained his composure and leveled his sword. He sent a sharp, vigilant gaze toward me. Since I had been dawdling, I had given him time to recover. Or perhaps I should have targeted Thief Lv 40 with Equivalent Exchange first. Well, that was just hindsight.
It wasn't clear how far Equivalent Exchange would work. I didn't know I could defeat an Explorer Lv 25 so easily. Though I should have assumed my MP would increase since I had added Mage to my jobs. I had taken care of three of the vanguard, so I should be satisfied.
I judged the situation calmly. Having killed two of them, my MP must have recovered; I was able to judge things correctly. It was enough. The strongest one was left, but if I used Durandal, I should be able to manage.
Thief Lv 40 swung his sword down in silence. The movement was relatively slow. It wasn't so sharp that the tip was invisible. It was fine. I could track this perfectly. The Thief's slow movements reminded me—if it came down to it, I still had Overwhelming. Forgetting that was likely another side effect of my reduced MP. How troublesome.
I parried the Thief's sword using Durandal. He pushed with strength, but I pushed back. Our power was about equal. The Thief then used his foot. The pressure on the sword suddenly weakened, and his right leg moved. He was trying to kick me with the sole of his foot.
I knocked his sword away and backed off. When I feinted with Durandal, the Thief pulled his leg back. He even used leg techniques; he was a troublesome opponent. I wondered if I could win. I held Durandal vigilantly and stared the Thief down. If there was a chance, I'd use Overwhelming to press the attack all at once.
The Thief's gaze shifted to the right. Roxanne must have moved behind me. I could feel her presence. That's right. This battle was three against one. It wasn't a one-on-one between me and the Thief.
"Hah!"
With a shout, Sherry's spear thrust forward. A spear had a long reach. Just as the Thief's gaze shifted to the right, the spear thrust in from the left. Thief Lv 40 blocked the spear with his sword. He was more composed than I expected.
However, an opening was created there. Because he had blocked the spear by parrying it outward, the other half of his body was wide open. It was now or never. I thrust Durandal into that gap.