2. Deep Down
Elder was a city incomparably busier than Ruben.
El Search Party members couldn’t hide their amazement at Elder’s wide streets and its sheer amount
of people. Elsword who was the youngest was mind numbingly looking around. Eve was also
looking at the all the people with a very intrigued gaze.
Then Eve’s gaze met with Add’s…… Eve coldly ignored him. It could have been just Add’s
imagination but Eve seemed to be even more on guard towards him than before.
“Okay, then I’ll go talk with Mr.Hoffman so…..”
Hoffman was greatest merchant in Elder and was a close friend of Ruben’s chief. El Search Party
had the Ruben’s chief’s letter of recommendation so they were hoping to find Banthus’ whereabouts
with Hoffman’s help.
‘But everyone going to meet him together would be ineffective….’
Rena thought to herself while looking over the gang. Then she appointed Add.
“Add, keep an eye on the kids for me so they won’t get lost okay?”
“Why do I have to…..”
Add muttered but Rena’s helpless smile made him turn around to look at the other members.
Eve and Elsword were out of their minds, Ara’s eyes were also shining with amazement, her fists
clenched tightly.
“This is my first time seeing a street like this! So splendid!”
“……”
Raven was gone and if Rena was gone too, the person with the highest mental age in this group
was….Add.
Rena grinned when she saw Add sigh deeply.
“Don’t look so down. If you do a good job watching over the kids I’ll give you a reward later.”
“Kukuk, you’re treating me like a kid too…. It’s displeasing.”
Add openly expressed his reluctance but Rena made a mischievous smile then spoke abruptly.
“I know you want to be alone with Ara but you can’t be too hasty.”
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“…..Why would you say something so strange like that?”
“Then why did you two come back together yesterday~? From a dark forest, late at night~?”
Add frowned.
“I’m not like that with that girl. Don’t get any wrong ideas.”
“Alright, I know, I know, you’re at that complicated age in life. But big sis will scold you if you make
her cry got it?”
“That’s not it. What kind of misunderstanding do you have?”
Add denied repeatedly but Rena didn’t listen. She waved her hand as she left to meet Hoffman.
Add who was now the appointed leader(?) made a large sigh and glared at Ara. He got a needless
misunderstanding because he came back with her last night.
But noticing Add’s burning(?) gaze, Ara gave an embarra.s.sed smile then for some reason her face
became red.
“……Hmph.”
Add got a sour taste in his mouth as he remembered what happened last night.
“I’ll decline.”
There was no point in thinking about it. Add declared arrogantly while arranging the Dynamos
behind his back.
“I don’t need the help of some fox, wolf or whatever. I’ll obtain Eve by myself. I don’t plan on
getting help from a suspicious thing like you.”
“But amongst the Search Party members…. There won’t be anyone that will take boy’s side if boy
decides to reveal his true colors. Am I right?”
Add winced at Eun’s sharp deduction but shook his head.
“Kukuk, how am I supposed to trust someone that’s abruptly telling me they’ll help?”
“That is a sound deduction. Then do you plan on recruiting Ara? Are you planning to trick her by
saying something like Eve is actually an evil Nasod or that Eve was the one controlling
contaminated Nasods?”
“…….”
40
Can this thing completely see through people’s thoughts?! Add was extremely surprised because that
plan was one of the options he had pondered. Add still shook his head.
“I don’t have any reason to tell you the details of my plan in the first place ….”
Add couldn’t imagine how she found out about his intention to obtain Eve. Is it because she’s a
body possessing spectre that she can use weird tricks?
“Anyways, be gone. I won’t deal with you.”
“Fine, but tell me whenever you change your mind. I don’t come to surface normally but talking to
this child is same as talking to me.”
“Hmph……”
“Oh, I’ll tell you in case you might be worried. This child’s consciousness goes to sleep when I come
to the surface. So you don’t have to mind what happened before.”
“…..Get lost.”
Add winced as he turned his face around. He had forgotten completely. While it wasn’t on purpose,
he ended up seeing Ara’s naked body.
However, it does put him as ease if what Eun said was true.
“Such beautiful night….. But it is time to part.”
With a murmur Ara’s hair turned black. The blood red eyes also returned to normal and the 9 tails
disappeared without a trace.
Add was watching this change grudgingly then Ara’s body leaned forwards as if she was about to fall
over. Add instinctively reached out to support her. But then Ara opened her eyes widely and
scurried backwards.
b.u.mp!
Ara backed off too fast and hit back of her head against tree. The impact was large enough to leave a
b.u.mp on Ara’s head. She held her head in pain for a while.
“Owowowow.”
Ara, while wrapped up in pain carefully raised her head to look up. She looked startled.
“M, Mr Add?”
“…..Um”
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One had to inevitably get close to a person to support them. Add had tried to do it out without any
particular thought but the two of them were about to come very close to each other in middle of a
dark forest.
If Eun’s words were to be trusted, their memories shouldn’t be shared…. Just where should he start
explaining?
While Add was frowning thinking about what to say, Ara asked with a worried look.
“Could it be that you met with Lord Eun?”
“She was unpleasant……”
It felt like Eun could easily see through other people’s thoughts and Add didn’t like it. But Ara
smiled slightly and told him.
“She’s mischievous but she’s actually a good person.”
“You’re foolish to trust something like a spectre.”
“Lord Eun is not a spectre! She’s a Celestial Spirit!”
Ara protested but Add didn’t give ear and turned around. He was tired because so many unexpected
events happened at once.
“I’m heading back. Follow me.”
“Huh? To where?”
“…..You’ll no doubt get lost if I let you head back by yourself.”
Add didn’t explain more and started to head back standing on his levitating Dynamos. Ara was taken
aback but followed.
Add didn’t care if Ara got lost or not…. But he did do something inexcusable while she was
unconscious and you never know what might happen in the future so it was good to get on her
favorable side.
“Hmph….”
Add recalled Eun’s abrupt proposal about how she’d lend him her strength. He didn’t plan to readily
accept such a fishy proposal. But there could be a way he could use this to his favor if he thought it
through enough.
“Kukukukuk….”
The day when he’ll be able to obtain Eve could come much faster. Add laughed in high spirits while
bathing in the night wind.
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“Mr.Add~ Please wait. Hiii! I, I’m scared.”
But the tear-filled voice coming from behind him ruined his good mood.
But when he got back he had to receive Rena’s misinterpretation and Eve’s cold stare as a bonus.
Never mind Rena, but why was Eve?
Add moved his gaze away from Ara to look at Eve but was surprised to see that she was not beside
him anymore. Where could she have gone while he was thinking about last night? As a bonus,
Elsword was gone too.
“…..Where did Eve go?”
“Huh? Did Ms.Eve go somewhere?”
Ara was too busy looking at all the people moving about in the streets that she was only now
beginning to figure out her party members were missing. Let’s not expect anything from her.
Add’s Dynamos couldn’t help in this situation either. Dynamos had the feature to scan the
surrounding terrain and detect life forms but they didn’t have the feature to distinguish each of
those life forms.
It was impossible for him to locate a specific individual in a place with so many people.
“Tch, I should add it next time.”
The main issue was how to find Eve. Should he scan from the air on his Dynamos? Add pondered
for a moment then asked Ara who still had her eyes wide open in confusion.
“Ask that fox. Did she see anything?”
“Lord Eun? She said they walked off holding hands.”
“….Hands, feet who cares?! Where did they go?”
“She said even their footsteps were in sync….. Mr.Add you look scary.”
Add took a calm breath after seeing Ara make a terrified face. Let’s calm down, Elsword wouldn’t
run away with Eve.
Why was he so uneasy?
“She said they went towards the drinks merchant.”
“….Where? Lead me.”
43
Ara nodded then went forwards moving through the crowd. Add suppressed his beating heart and
followed Ara.
Strange. Why was his heart beating so fast just because Eve disappeared from his sight? Did
something abnormal happen to him?
‘I should do a health checkup later…..’
No abnormally was detected so far from his health examinations after ‘flying to this age’. But other
abnormities could appear later on. Since Add had probably done ‘something that had never been
done before in history’, it wouldn’t be strange if something strange happened to his body as side
effect.
Suppressing his uneasy heart Add followed Ara and eventually found Elsword who was making a
ruckus in front of the drinks merchant.
And Eve was beside him.
“…..Phew.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Add noticed the situation and let out a scornful laugh. That kid Elsword
must have whined about wanting to go buy drinks so Eve must have come with him.
What a kid….
“Buying two apple juices is cheaper!!”
“You can’t because I want to drink lemonade. Lemonade is also cheaper if you buy two.”
“I let you have what you wanted last time! It’s your turn!”
“This is my first leisure time in a while; I’m just making a logical choice.”
…..Two of them were squabbling over which drink to buy. At a loss for words, Add walked towards
them. Elsword and Eve noticed Add approaching and stopped arguing.
Both of them didn’t say anything and gave a guarded look towards Add. Well, both of them
shouldn’t have very good impression of Add.
“Kukuk, fine. I’ll buy this time. Drink whatever you guys want.”
“…..Really?”
Elsword’s expression brightened. Eve quietly stared at Add then spoke.
“Keep this a secret from Rena. She worries that having too much is bad for your teeth.”
“Umm, umm, are you buying for me as well?”
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“Kukuk, do as you like.”
Ara carefully chimed in as Add nodded. To shut kids up (although Ara was older than Add) it was
best to keep some treat in their mouths. The drinks were unusually expensive but Add bore with it.
After benefitting from Add’s inclusion, Elsword, Eve and Ara merrily sipped on their juices. Add
also drank a cherry aid while looking for a chance to talk to Eve.
To do that it would be best if Elsword wasn’t nearby…..
While Add was busy thinking of a way to talk to Eve, Ara who had drunk half of her juice suddenly
grabbed her spear and spoke to Elsword.
“Mr.Elsword, I have something to talk to you about. Would you come with me?”
“It’s bothersome. Can’t you say it here?”
“It’s bit important.”
Elsword got up while scratching his head. He turned around towards Eve and told her.
“Don’t go anywhere and stay here. You’ll get lost again if you move around by yourself.”
“I was never lost.”
“Don’t make me look for you later.”
Elsword followed Ara and left with his great sword leaning on his shoulder. Add hadn’t intended it
but now he was all alone with Eve.
Okay, they were by themselves. Now to use this chance and steal her Core! ……No.
Eve was also exceptionally skilled and even Add couldn’t insure victory against her. Not only that,
Add was very reluctant about attempting such thing midday in a place with so many people.
Add kept silent to prevent any conversation from starting. He needed to buy time while he thought
of what to say. He stared at the people pa.s.sing by. Sure it had larger traffic than Ruben…..
‘It’s strange.’
Why couldn’t he see a single young girl amongst so many people? Add squinted as tried to observe
closely. Then he heard a cold voice.
“If you have something to say, I’d like you to speak quickly.”
“Kukuk…..”
45
Add made a low laugh when Eve broke the silence. ……He laughed for now. His thoughts weren’t
organized yet.
“If you don’t have anything to say I’ll go to Elsword now.”
“Wait.”
Add stopped her. Eve halted her steps but didn’t change her expression. Well Nasods didn’t change
expressions in the first place…. But was it just his imagination? Her stare towards him was colder.
Ever since last night.
“Ara Haan is a bit slow but is a good person. Be good to her.”
“I told you to wait.”
Add suppressed his heart as he tried to buy more time. The rapid heartbeat that he got from before
when he had realized Eve was gone returned.
“There’s nothing between Ara and me. You’re mistaken about us coming back together last night.
She was just lost and I showed her the way.”
“Is that so? I understand.”
Alright, the rapid heartbeat stopped. After finally getting some room to think, Add asked her the
question that’s been on his mind.
“What relationship do you have with Elsword?”
“We’re travel companions.”
Add smiled leisurely at Eve’s rigid response. a.n.a.lysis on how this machine lied if she needed to was
already long complete.
“You two don’t look like simple travel companions to me.”
“Why do you want to confirm that?”
Eve’s gaze turned very sharp but Add didn’t care. It was interesting to see Eve give various reactions;
it was admirable as a researcher.
He wanted to see various sides of her by talking to her more.
“By the way…. I didn’t have the chance to speak to you about yesterday. I could have handled it
fine by myself without you intervening.”
Eve was talking about how Add had protected her yesterday from the Nasod miners’ attack.
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“Kukuk. That’s a shame.”
Well if you thought about it, it could have been a great chance to see the extent of Eve’s skills. At
the time, Nasods had appeared so suddenly and he couldn’t think about it.
But Eve must have thought Add had responded sarcastically because she made an offended
expression. However, this only made Add even more joyous.
“But since it turned out like that, I’ll have to thank you.”
“Kukuk, you don’t have to. I accidentally got in your way. I’ll watch out next time.”
“……”
Eve must have thought Add was making fun of her because her face turned slightly red. ……Was
she embarra.s.sed? Add was entranced by his but Eve quickly stiffened her face and changed the
subject.
“I a.n.a.lyzed the Nasods from yesterday. They were contaminated.”
“Contaminated? By who?”
“I’m not sure. It was method unknown to me.”
It wasn’t formally explained to him but he could tell with a single glance that Eve was a high cla.s.s
Nasod. No, judging by her battle and judgmental capabilities and her ability to express emotions….
She was amongst the highest tier of Nasods in all of history.
“I see. Then…. Just what’s going on? A mere bandit managed to contaminate the Nasods and is
using them as his p.a.w.ns? You got to be kidding me.”
“I’d like to know as well.”
“We’ll have to ask the person directly. Kukuk.”
Add’s spirit lifted after seeing Eve give a silent nod to his suggestion about capturing Banthus and
interrogating him. He held out his hand towards Eve.
“I’ll cooperate with you in capturing that guy and making him spit out the truth.”
“……”
“I’m also very curious about what he did. Kukuk.”
Eve didn’t look too pleased but grabbed Add’s hand. Eve acknowledged that although she didn’t
know of Add’s intentions, he was exceptionally skilled and couldn’t be taken lightly. Not only was
Add able to quickly read situations, but he was knowledgeable about Nasods as well.
47
Eve wanted to know why Nasods followed Banthus’ orders and attacked them. It was an obvious
choice for her to cooperate with Add.
But Add’s mind currently was elsewhere because he was too mesmerized with his handshake with
Eve.
His first skin contact with the ultimate Nasod. Her fingers beyond the glove were long and smooth.
While Add repeatedly admired and confirmed various facts, Eve tried to pull out her hand now that
their handshake was done. Add instinctively continued to grab onto her hand. Eve spoke stiffly.
“The handshake is over.”
“Wait, give me more time.”
“I can’t a.n.a.lyze what you mean.”
“Let me just measure the temperature. 3 minutes should suffice. Ah, I would have also liked to do a
biopsy.”
“…..I can’t understand even more.”
Eve cringed as Add who was still out of his mind made an entranced smile. She didn’t know why
Add was acting like this but it was really creepy.
“Let go.”
“Wait. There’s still 2 minutes and 21 seconds left.”
The wrangling of Eve trying to pull out her hand and Add trying not to let go continued. Eve
frowned as she manipulated her gears; Add also activated his Dynamos as a response.
Add hadn’t intended on going this far but he couldn’t suppress his curiosity anymore after
personally making contact with Eve.
Just when Eve had enough and was about to launch her gears toward Add, a voice came from
behind two of them.
“Hmmhmm, I’m sorry. I must have arrived in a wrong time. Should I go back?”
“………”
Just when did she appear? Shocked, Add looked back. Rena stopped her fake cough and smiled
brightly. Eve used this chance to quickly pull out her hand. But Eve also looked slightly surprised as
she hastily retracted her gears.
“It was nothing, Rena.”
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“Oh, okay. So should I come back later?”
Eve closed her mouth after making a sigh. Rena smiled mischievously.
“I won’t tell Elsword and Ara about this. Would that be fine?”
“Rena, I’m not like that with him.”
“It’s okay; I’ll keep it a secret.”
Rena smiled brightly and Eve made a demoralizing sigh but Add wasn’t in any state to join in on
their conversation. He was looking down at his hand.
As he had thought, Eve was much too desirable. To the point where he might go insane.
“Actually I saw Elsword and Ara on my way back. They were having a serious conversation so I
didn’t speak out to them.”
“I’ll go get them after.”
“From what I heard from Mr.Hoffman…. Bandits are using this one cave as their base. Banthus
must have run off that way. We should probably confirm he’s there while defeating all of the bandits
there. Let’s rest for today and head there tomorrow.”
“Cave? What about the forest?”
Add asked abruptly. Rena started at him strangely but Add continued to speak as if nothing was
wrong.
“Wasn’t there a rampaging Ent in the Shadow Forest? Angered forest spirits should be causing a
ruckus right now. Shouldn’t we prioritize in resolving that first?”
“What are you saying all of a sudden? Ent is the gentle guardian of the forest. Mr.Hoffman didn’t
mention anything about that.”
Add had spoken as if it was obvious. Add blinked as Rena stared at him strangely. It felt like he just
awoke from a dream.
“Kukuk…. I said something strange.”
Before, his heart was beating fast and now this. Something strange must be happening to his body.
He should perform an exam soon as possible.
“Alright, let’s rest well today and head out tomorrow morning.”
Add and Eve nodded as Rena spoke.
49
At the entrance to the bandits’ cave, El Search Party stood in a formation as they moved in.
“Uuu, I don’t like dark places…..”
“Don’t lag behind. Stay in formation Ara Haan.”
“Kukuk, for mere bandits they chose a nice place.”
“Hey guys don’t get too excited. Be cautious.”
Rena stood in front of the formation. Multiple bandits dropped on the floor every time she fired an
arrow.
“Strange, it looks like there’s only one path in this cave.”
“What do you mean? Kukuk.”
“Even rabbits leave alternate holes to get away right? Why would bandits use this disadvantageous
place as their base?”
“That man didn’t look like he had too much intelligence.”
Add agreed with Eve in his mind. No matter how you saw it Banthus was just a big weakling. He
couldn’t even beat their party’s weakest member Elsword and ran away.
Although Add still couldn’t figure out how such a weakling had control over the Nasods.
“Kuku, I’ll figure that out by asking the person….. What are you doing?”
“Hii! B, Bugs!”
With her face pale, Ara clung to Add’s back and pointed at the cave’s wall. Just like she said the wall
was swarming with spiders and other multiple legged bugs.
“That’s normal for a cave…. Now get off of me.”
Ara’s soft part was touching his back and it was troubling.
Add didn’t let his troubles show and tried to shake Ara off. But that made her dive her face into
Add’s hood even more.
“Honestly…..”
Annoyed, Add was about to bring out his Dynamos to take care of the bugs. But then Eve used an
Electronball to cleanly burn all the bugs away. Rather than the skill itself, Add was more impressed
by how she had precisely controlled the output to only get rid of the bugs while leaving the cave wall
intact.
50
“There’s no more. Ara Haan.”
“R, Really?”
“So stay in formation. This is the bandits’ base.”
Ara finally nodded and moved away from Add. Eve stared at Add and asked.
“Scout for hidden enemies with that.”
“Kukuk, not ‘that’ it’s called Dynamo.”
Add let fly his Dynamos frontwards just as Eve requested.
Rena was already defeating all the bandits by herself and there were only small fry bandits here. But
Add did so anyways because Eve had requested him.
“But….”
Add looked at Elsword who hadn’t said anything since they’ve entered the cave. He was strangely
quiet and it was bothering him.
“Well it’s better than him being loud….”
Just what did he talk about with Ara?
If you thought about it, since Eun knew Add was after Eve, Ara could also hear about Add’s plan
from Eun.
Ara could potentially know about Add’s plan.
Add stared at Ara coldly but she was in the middle of flailing her arms widely and falling over after
tripping on a rock.
“Phew, I almost fell again.”
That clumsy Ara wouldn’t be acting so carefree like this if she knew that Add was after Eve.
For some reason Eun was keeping Add’s plan a secret for now.
“Rena.”
Elsword held up his head and called Rena who was in front of the formation. Rena looked back
after defeating the twentieth bandit.
“I want to ask something of you. I want to try fighting Banthus by myself.”
“Oh? Sure, go ahead.”
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Rena answered instantly without much thought. This startled Elsword who had made the request
“Can I really?”
“You asked because you want to right? Then try your best. I’ll be watching over you.”
“But… It was because of me that Banthus got away…..”
Elsword spoke with a dark expression on his face. Rena lowered her bow and shook her head.
“If you didn’t do well last time, you just have to do well this time. If you don’t do well this time, you
just have to do well the next time.”
“…..Okay, I got it! I’ll catch him for sure this time!”
He hadn’t mentioned explicitly but Elsword must have been thinking that Banthus got away because
he wasn’t good enough.
Now he was getting riled up to make up for that mistake.
‘Too soft….’
Elsword was rather skilled for his age. His strength to wield a huge sword bigger than his height and
his magic capabilities were way above average kids his age.
Still he was the weakest amongst the Search Party members. Add could defeat him within 5 seconds
if he wanted to.
Elsword who was getting riled up so he could make up for his mistake, and Rena who allowed him
to do so,
“I’ll cheer you on Mr.Elsword!”
And Ara who smiled brightly,
“…..”
And Eve who didn’t say anything but looked strangely satisfied. They were all too soft.
Add put on his hood and sighed deeply. He couldn’t agree with this atmosphere where everyone was
warmly cheering for Elsword
‘……What the heck?’
He didn’t care an inch about Elsword.
Capture Banthus, find out how he was able to control the Nasods, then use that information as a
bait to capture Eve.
52
It was a perfect 3 step plan.
“Kukukuk…..”
Add’s low laugh rang across the cave.
Because of Rena’s efforts, El Search Party was able to get past all the bandits plus the swarm of bats
without a scratch and reached the bandits’ main hideout.
“No way! You guys are still alive?! And how did you find me here?”
Banthus was haughtily sitting in his chair that was surrounded by treasures. Surprised, he stood up
hastily. His bandits were also glaring at the party with weapons in their hands.
“So Mr.Banthus you were here after all. Quietly put down your weapon!”
“There’s nowhere to run. Surrender or get hurt.”
“Face me Banthus!”
“….But what about the Phoru?”
Every party member that’s been each saying a line towards Banthus all turned their gaze towards
Add when he murmured this. Their gaze seemed to say ‘what the heck are you saying’. Add
explained as if it was obvious.
“Red Giant Phoru was supposed to show up…..”
“What, you liked Phorus?”
“I didn’t know you had such unusual hobby.”
“Phorus are cute! I like them too.”
“Ah-hah, So Add actually liked Phorus huh? That’s so cute~”
Add’s face heated up at everyone’s lukewarm reaction. Why was he being treated like someone who
blurted out nonsense?
“Don’t kid with me! On the way here…..”
“We didn’t encounter any Phorus on our way here.”
Add covered his eye patch with his hand after listening to Eve’s cold words. Why did he suddenly
say that?
53
He didn’t understand it himself. Could it be that side effect of the ‘jump’ is affecting his body and
mind strangely?
“….Forget about what I just said.”
“Phorus are soft and it feels really nice when you hug them! I know what you mean!”
“Then he could go hug them now.”
“I didn’t think you were that kind of person…. Strange.”
“Guys, don’t be like that. I like Phorus too. B, But I didn’t expect that A, Add was hiding that kind
of hobby. Pffft.”
“…….I said forget it!!”
With his face red, Add shouted loudly and this got everyone to stop talking.
But Ara was still staring at him with a gaze that said ‘I understand how you feel’, Elsword was
staring at him as if he just saw a rare creature and Rena was trying to suppress her laughter…… It
felt insulting.
…..He was glad that at least Eve didn’t show any change in her expression. Then Eve spoke.
“If you’d like, we can look for Phorus on the way back.”
“Ah, that sounds good. I want to play with Phorus too!”
“I told you to stop…..”
Add felt like he was getting bullied and was about to snap. Then a shout came from the other side of
the cavern.
“How dare you! Are you guys making fun of me!? You better not be thinking you’d be able to get
away safely after intruding into my base!”
Banthus was angry because El Search Party members were talking amongst themselves merrily in
front of him as if they came out on a picnic.
Situation might be different if Banthus was by himself. But right now he had 30 of his elite bandits
with him.
“Sorry, I’d like to have you surrender quietly right now. But I made a promise.”
“What a lowly creature. Not being able to judge the difference in our battle strength.”
“Anyone is fine, come at me!”
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“Hm, shall we start!?”
“……I’m in an extremely bad mood right now. You better shut up!”
El Search Party showed no fear towards the enraged bandits in front of them.
“How dare you! Everyone! Attack! Show them how scary the Banthus bandits are!”
“Yaaaaaaaah!!”
30 bandits all shouted at once and charged at the El Search Party.
“Uwaaah!”
“Waaah!”
“Kwaagh!”
Then 30 screams rang out across the cavern as all the bandits fell on the floor. When Eve swung her
whip, Add fired shockwave from his Dynamos, Rena fired her arrows and finally Ara lightly swung
her spear, the cavern was clear of bandits.
It was 5 versus 30 but it didn’t even take 5 seconds for the situation to conclude.
“…….Ugh?”
Banthus panicked and looked around. But this was a cavern with one path. There was nowhere to
run.
Capturing Banthus now would be easier than flipping over a page of a book….. But Rena looked
back at Elsword.
“Ok, Elsword. I promised right? Go ahead and fight.”
“Alright!”
Elsword shouted as he grabbed his sword and headed alone towards Banthus.
With all his men defeated, Banthus was too immersed with figuring out a way to escape. He saw
Elsword coming at him alone and frowned.
“You are going to fight me by yourself again? You’re taking me too lightly!”
“It doesn’t matter who I face. I don’t have time to waste staying weak.”
Elsword calmly lowered his stance.
“Bring it on old guy. It will be different this time.”
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“Hmph, looks like you haven’t been taught a lesson on how harsh the world is.”
Banthus hesitated although he talked big. Even if he somehow beat Elsword, the remaining four
were fearfully skilled.
He absolutely couldn’t find a way out of this.
“We’ll let you go if you beat Elsword,”
Eve abruptly suggested towards the hesitating Banthus. He couldn’t believe what he just heard and
asked for confirmation.
“You better not be lying.”
“Nasods don’t lie.”
“Kahahaha!! Alright. You better keep your promise when I beat this brat!”
Banthus spoke confidently as he held up his sword. But he hesitated again when he saw Elsword.
Elsword in his low stance was glaring at Banthus with an unwavering gaze.
As if he wasn’t interested in anything other than this fight, it was an enormous concentration.
“Ugh….”
Add who was watching from afar asked Eve while Banthus was groaning in hesitation.
“Why did you give that useless condition? What if he loses?”
“Well, if would be troublesome if Banthus couldn’t focus on the fight. Elsword is trying to fight
seriously and it would be bad if his opponent’s mind was all over the place right?”
Rena explained to Add instead. Eve nodded in acknowledgement. Eve’s gaze was solely focused on
Elsword.
Add could get over Eve’s reaction since they’ve known each other……but. Add suppressed his
displeasure and asked Rena.
“…..I don’t understand. Why do you all favor Elsword so much?”
“Hmm? He’s hard working? It’s admirable to see him work towards becoming stronger.”
“Mr.Elsword wants to become stronger! And he’ll be able to soon!”
Even Ara joined in and Add made a tired sigh.
It’s true that Elsword’s achievements were impressive compared to his age. But Add couldn’t see
why he was evaluated so highly.
56
“I still don’t get it….”
“Elsword will become stronger than anyone.”
Eve spoke while still staring at Elsword. Eve added as a certainty as Add frowned in displeasure.
“Certainly.”
“Hmph….”
Banthus and Elsword were standing off as the party were talking. No one risked making the first
move.
‘….This brat. Is he really the same kid from before?’
Sweat ran down Banthus’s head as he glared at Elsword. Elsword was still in his low stance staring at
him as if he’d jump at him at any moment. Boy’s concentration did not waver.
Banthus didn’t want to make any reckless moves but he was at a disadvantage if the time went on.
Humans needed a lot of patience to maintain tension, especially during battle.
“Uwoooo!!”
Banthus couldn’t take the pressure anymore and charged as he swung his sword. His sword dropped
down with a force that’d crush a boulder. But Elsword’s expression didn’t change as he dodged
calmly by moving backwards.
Judging by the risky distance Elsword dodged it by, it seemed he’d read the movement of Banthus’
sword. But Banthus had plans of his own as well.
“Kahahaha!”
Banthus wasn’t taken aback and thrust with his sword again. It was a combo attack taking into
account that Elsword would dodge the first attack.
He was defeated last time because his downward strike had missed unexpectedly but the same thing
won’t happen this time. Banthus haughtily thrust his sword but didn’t let his guard down. You could
never be too careful so here’s a third attack!!
When Banthus felt that his second attack had connected, he didn’t bother to check as he launched
another attack. With this 3 hit combo that brat won’t stand a chance……
“Are you done attacking?”
Chill went down Banthus’ spine when he heard this. Elsword had narrowly dodged his second attack,
lowered his stance even more and had approached closer to Banthus.
“How….!?”
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“Mega Slash!!”
Elsword didn’t answer him as he swung his sword widely. Banthus wasn’t able to dodge the attack
and was. .h.i.t directly. He fell on the ground even before he got a chance to scream.
Banthus went down with just a single strike.
“You were so slow that I could see all your moves.”
Elsword finally answered Banthus’s question after defeating him. But Banthus wasn’t conscious to
hear it.
Eve approached Elsword as he was loosening his stance and shaking the dust off his sword.
“For you that was rather impressive.”
“This is nothing. Ah, I’m hungry.”
Elsword rubbed his stomach. Ara came to congratulate him as well.
“That was amazing Mr.Elsword! You’re showing the results of training with me!”
“…..I learned well from you Ara but I don’t want to ever again.”
“Eh? Why?!”
“You’re scary when your hair turns white….”
Rena watched the three of them talk then looked back towards Add.
“How was that? It turned out fine right?”
“…..I could have done that much with my eyes closed.”
Add answered bluntly and examined the area. He had suspected there could be hidden Nasods like
the last time but he couldn’t find anything else.
“El they stole from Ruben isn’t here as well…”
“Did he hide it somewhere beforehand?”
“Not likely judging by how surprised he was when we entered.”
Add and Rena conversed but two of them were thinking of different matters.
‘Did he obtain Nasods from before just by chance?’
It wasn’t a compelling hypothesis…. But Add will be able to question Banthus when he wakes up. If
Banthus tried to hide information, he’ll just show him what true fear is.
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“Why don’t you say something to congratulate Elsword too?”
“Hmph, why do I have to say something like that? That was just kid’s play.”
“Elsword will become stronger quickly. Kids with purpose are strong.”
Rena spoke calmly. Add wanted to protest but stopped. It was because she was correct.
Also Add didn’t want to admit it…. Elsword was currently at a much higher level than he was back
in Ruben. Although Add wasn’t sure how Elsword achieved such a progress in such a short time, it
seemed he had trained with Ara and whatever they did proved very effective.
“So 1 turned into 5. There’s not much difference…..”
“He’ll soon become 100, and 10000 soon enough. If you don’t hurry he might catch up to you Add.”
“….Don’t make me laugh.”
Rena smiled brightly when Add’s lowered his voice.
“Ah, sorry. That was rude of me just now. I know that Add also works hard towards his goal.”
“Hmph…. You don’t need to apologize.”
If you said people became stronger because they had a goal to work towards, that didn’t only apply
to Elsword. It’s not like Add acquired his current strength without any goals or purpose.
That’s right everything was for….
Add’s gaze turned towards Eve. She was. .h.i.tting Elsword. He must have said something she didn’t
like during their conversation. Elsword was also raising his voice as he was getting beat. Ara was
flabbergasted trying to stop the two of them.
No matter how much Add looked at her, Eve didn’t look back.
“Hmph…..”
Add put on his hood and turned back.
“You’ll become mine in the end anyways.”
It didn’t matter now.
If she didn’t look.
He’ll just have to make her look.