NOVEL NEXT Ch. 10
Thomas, Winnie, Kate, and Chris stood around the unconscious Rozelite, trading uneasy looks.
“So, Captain,” Kate asked lazily, “what do we do in this situation?”
“What do we do… Even if you ask me…”
Thomas rubbed his temple in frustration.
As adventurers, they were an experienced S-rank party, with hundreds of monster hunts under their belts.
But this situation was… tricky.
Leaving a kid here was obviously out of the question. Adventurers weren’t murderers. Abandoning a little girl in the middle of a monster-filled forest was basically a death sentence. No bones left by morning. No way they could ignore her.
“Why don’t we just bring her along while we handle the quest?” Kate suggested offhand.
“No!” ×3
The other three shouted so loudly in unison that Kate’s eardrums nearly burst.
He rolled his eyes.
“Relax, I was joking.”
“This isn’t something to joke about,” Thomas said flatly, crossing his arms.
“Even if we could protect her mid-battle, she’d never agree to it. Our work isn’t supposed to involve civilians—it’d be bad for both sides.”
“Then what, abandon the quest and escort her back to town first?”
Kate asked with a sigh.
“…That would be… problematic.”
Thomas stroked his chin.
Splitting the hunt into two stages was already going to eat up time. If they kept delaying, the nobles back in the capital would accuse them of slacking off.
Winnie had complained the whole way north, but reputation mattered in this line of work. Whining was one thing—but when it came to actually fulfilling contracts, no adventurer worth their salt would cut corners.
Safe and efficient—that was how professionals worked.
Thomas glanced at the dimming sky. After a moment of thought, he said:
“In any case, we’ll wait until the girl wakes up before deciding. For now… let’s eat.”
…
…
As the sun set, the group divided tasks with practiced ease.
As expected of seasoned adventurers, their camping gear was top-notch. Within ten minutes, a simple but efficient camp was set up, and preparations for dinner were already underway.
Meanwhile, Russell had finished gathering his own intel on them.
【Name: Thomas】
【Race: Human】
【Level: 43】
【HP: 1250/1250】
【MP: 900/900】
【Status: None】
【Skills: One-Handed Sword Mastery Lv. 7, Greatsword Mastery Lv. 7, Colossal Blade Mastery Lv. 7, Close Combat Lv. 6, Mana Reinforcement Lv. 6, Whirlwind Slash Lv. 6, Charge Lv. 5, Battle Cry Lv. 5】
A textbook warrior build. Compared to Chris earlier, both HP and MP were higher, and the skills were hard-hitting. No wonder he was the captain.
【Name: Kate】
【Race: Human】
【Level: 41】
【HP: 850/850】
【MP: 1200/1200】
【Status: None】
【Skills: Weak Point Targeting Lv. 7, Sniping Lv. 6, Quick Movement Lv. 5, Multi-Shot Lv. 5, Hawk Eye Lv. 5, Night Vision Lv. 5, Mana Reinforcement Lv. 5, Keen Hearing Lv. 5, Nature Affinity Lv. 3, Presence Concealment Lv. 3, Wind Magic Lv. 2】
Compared to Thomas and Chris, Kate’s MP was strong. His kit leaned toward long-range support, overlapping somewhat with the rogue’s niche, but mostly complementary.
Still…
Human?
Russell noticed his ears—longer and sharper than normal humans, with a leaner build.
At first glance, Russell thought he was an elf.
Looked exactly like one.
But the panel wouldn’t lie.
This was his golden cheat screen. If even that glitched, he might as well quit now.
Half-blood? Mutation? Or maybe elves were considered a branch of humanity here?
Russell shelved the thought.
Finally, the swordswoman.
【Name: Winnie Charlotte】
【Race: Human】
【Level: 42】
【HP: 1100/1100】
【MP: 1000/1000】
【Status: None】
【Skills: One-Handed Sword Mastery Lv. 9, Godspeed Slash Lv. 9, Sword Saint’s Blessing Lv. 8, Mana Reinforcement Lv. 6, Quick Movement Lv. 6, Insight Lv. 6】
Compared to the others, she had fewer skills—but their levels were much higher.
And Sword Saint’s Blessing?
The hell was that supposed to be?
No clue. But she was clearly dangerous. No wonder they sent her forward alone earlier.
Could she actually be some hidden big-shot, slumming it in disguise?
From their chatter, Russell pieced together the picture:
These four were members of the S-rank adventurer party Blue Falcon, one of the strongest teams in the kingdom. Normally, they operated near the capital.
This time, they’d come north to deal with the S-rank monster reportedly haunting Dieppe Forest.
An S-rank monster…
Russell recalled the bear from yesterday. He’d one-shotted it, but its level wasn’t low. In the labyrinth, it would’ve been at least a mid-tier boss. Yet Rozelite had said it was just B-rank outside.
The gap between B-rank and S-rank had to be enormous.
Good thing he’d stayed cautious.
After all, these people could slay even S-rank monsters.
“Tsk tsk… this world really has no shortage of heroes, huh…”
Just then, Russell felt Rozelite stirring. She’d only fainted from lack of oxygen, after all.
He thought quickly, then spoke through Mental Link.
“Don’t open your eyes! Don’t open them! Don’t you dare!”
“…”
Her lashes trembled. But she kept them shut.
“When you do wake up, say nothing.”
He pressed on.
“No matter what they ask—where you’re from, your name, why you’re here—say you don’t remember. You’ve lost your memory. You just woke up in this forest, picked a direction, and stumbled across them.”
“They won’t suspect much, and they’ll escort you to the nearest town.”
“I know you’re desperate to reveal your identity and ask for help. But these people can’t be trusted completely. I don’t know what adventurers are like in this world—if they hear who you really are and get greedy, that would be a disaster.”
“So, no matter what, get to town first.”