“It went up again.”
『Yeah. Let’s check it later.』
The spell I cast tore through a goblins and Fran’s Sword Technique tore another apart.
But their numbers still hadn’t decreased at all.
At first, we hunted multiple goblin mobs for their experience points. But their numbers continued to increase the farther we went until there were eventually over a hundred of them.
We definitely didn’t want to fight so many of them. But maybe this was a matter of pride, or maybe they were hungering for our experience points, but they were chasing us to an almost excessive degree.
The reason why their numbers swelled so much was likely because we were near their cave. There were also high rank ones among them, so they had a chain of command.
『Here they come again!』
“Un!”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoos.h.!.+
Countless stones flew between the trees towards Fran. There were also chunks of wood thrown at us.
The goblins surrounded us and threw those object simultaneously.
There was no way we could dodge those stones when they were coming at us from all directions.
“Master!”
『Yeah, leave it to me. Fire Wall!』
Fire Wall surrounded Fran’s body and protected her from the stones.
But their attack didn’t end there.
『They’re coming!』
“Un!”
Fran got into a combat stance as she held me.
And when the wall of flames disappeared——.
“Gruaah!”
“Gyogyoga!”
“Gyaar!”
Ten goblins ran at Fran.
One of them ran too fast. It collided into the Fire Wall and was engulfed in flames.
“Heavy Slas.h.!.+”
Fran dodged the goblins’ attacks and weaved in between them while wielding me.
She immediately mowed down five of them.
“Gyaha!”
“Kugh…”
“Gisaha!”
“Agh!”
Fran wasn’t able to avoid all their attacks and red blood flew from her small body.
But Fran endured that terrible pain and swung her sword without a hint of fear.
I suggested that we set Dull Pain, but that skill also dulled her senses so it was also dangerous to equip.
“Hyaap!”
The normally composed Fran yelled loudly as she ran at the goblins.
She defeated ten more of them.
This battle repeated itself multiple times until there were nearly forty goblin corpses strewn around her.
But it didn’t look as though Fran had made a dent in the goblins’ numbers.
『Middle Heal!』
“Huff huff…”
『Hey, Fran! Are you okay?』
“…I’m fine.”
『Let’s run away. There’re tons of more efficient ways to get experience points.』
We underestimated them.
Both the goblins and this fight.
With this body, I couldn’t feel pain or fatigue, and even if I got destroyed, I could restore myself immediately.
For better or worse, I had never struggled against anything except strong demonic beasts.
That’s why I was careless. Though I did think of telling Fran that it was dangerous or that it was too soon for her, I truly thought that she’d be okay as long as I was with her.
As a result, we were struggling against all these goblins.
But now it was too late to regret that decision.
Fran had automatic HP recovery and we could heal Fran’s wounds with healing magic to keep her from dying. This way, we could win as long as Fran kept fighting.
But how much pain would Fran have to suffer and how much blood would she have to lose until then?
Fran must not have been prepared for this.
We needed to retreat before Fran became terrified or got traumatized.
『They’re coming again! We still have time to run away!』
By using Buoyancy and Aerial Jump, we could escape.
“I’m not running away.”
『Wha-What are you saying?! There’s no point in feeling any more pain than this! We can get more experience points from hunting bigger demonic beasts!』
Is she being stubborn?
“There is a point.”
Fran curtly mumbled this and held me up in a combat stance.
I could see from her face that there was strong resolve welling up inside her.
“If Master is here, then I won’t die. I won’t die and I can handle the pain. I can get used to the fight. And I can gain experience points.”
『Fran…』
“I thought earlier that I need more dangerous fights to get stronger. This is the perfect battleground.”
She said that and smiled a smile overflowing with malice.
Hm, I was underestimating Fran. Fran had already prepared herself for this.
It was me and me alone who wasn’t prepared.
Not prepared to watch Fran get hurt.
I was going to make her stronger? Of course she would get stronger if I set the boss monster on fire.
But is that true strength?
Experience and willpower. If she doesn’t endure injuries or pain from real battles, wouldn’t it be meaningless if only her level went up?
Fran already knew that well.
“Master, help me.”
She’s amazing. Her resolve was completely different from a privileged, white picket fence raised person like me.
Great. I should prepare myself, too. I’m ready! I won’t hesitate any more. I need to get rid of my carefree att.i.tude.
She isn’t some defenseless kitten unable to do anything without my protection. She’s a little predator.
『Leave healing to me!』
“Un! Here I go!”
Fran took off. She charged like that at the goblin mob.
“Haaaa!”
“Gyogyaoh!”
And she swung her sword with all her might.
Fran’s swing, powered all the strength in her arms, sliced through armor and a helmet and the goblin inside like they were made of bamboo.
Fran hardly noticed the goblin’s minute reaction to getting stabbed through the heart by a sword traveling at breakneck speed.
She tore through the armed goblins as if she was testing out all her techniques.
This wasn’t a fight to simply defeat her enemies; she was trying to find her own limit and gain experience points.
Stronger, faster. And better.
To get even one step closer to the ideal self imprinted in her mind, she swung her sword countless times and sliced apart goblins.
Every now and then, a counterattack connected.
While Fran was stopped momentarily by the pain, a goblin’s spear pierced through her shoulder and a dagger stabbed her leg.
There were even times when the goblins, fully prepared to die, would bite Fran or pick up the equipment of their fallen comrades.
But Fran never succ.u.mbed to fear.
Because she absorbed this situation into her blood and bones, until fighting became perfectly natural.
Fran never stopped moving, even when she got cut by a knife or hit by a rock, to stop the same attacking from connecting a second time.
I was shocked as I saw Fran’s resolve while I fought along side her.
I supported her as much as I could to help her gain real combat experience.
As I watched over Fran, I could clearly see her start to change.
“Hah! Yah!”
Didn’t she just move incredibly fast? She didn’t activate Sword Techniques, but it just looked like she used Triple Slash.
Same with just now. It looked like she used Double Slash——no, she surpa.s.sed Double Slash.
I thought she had mastered Sword Wielding, but…
The truth was, she had failed to use it at all.
No, isn’t that to be expected?
Even if she suddenly gained advanced Sword Wielding, there’s no way her body or her brain could adapt to that so easily. This wasn’t a problem because until now, she’d only fought small fries where the battle would end in an instant.
The gap between her body and her skills was beginning to narrow while in such a dangerous fight.
The nimble sword skills she used until now only had speed. Even her attacks that I thought were diverse were actually monotonous and easy to read.
But now that was different.
She was able to dodge more of the goblins’ attacks, and the accuracy of her attacks increased greatly.
She adapted to her own attacks and movements, ridding herself of any unnecessary actions.
In other words, she became one with the sword.
Fran’s mind, body, and ability all showed immense growth in an incredibly short time.
Two hours later.
“Haa…haa…”
『Fran, good job!』
“Un…!”
The goblins’ corpses were scattered across the ground, and blood and bodily fluids coated the earth. In other words, we were in a h.e.l.lish landscape.
Fran was barely able to keep herself upright by using me as a cane.
She was uninjured thanks to healing magic.
But her stamina was utterly drained, so she was breathing heavily.
Her body was covered in her own blood, goblin blood, and mud so no part of her was clean.
Her armor was dyed a dark red. Her dress armor was especially damaged so it needed repairs.
If I had attacked the goblins as well, she wouldn’t have struggled so much.
But this struggle was necessary.
Her level may have only gone up by 8, but Fran’s growth exceeded that.
Because while was killing the goblins, she made sure to cut apart their magic crystals as well. Even during the battle, Fran accurately aimed at the goblins’ weak points despite their erratic movements.
『——Stamina Heal.』
I repeatedly used a spell that restored stamina. But it did nothing to restore mental exhaustion.
『I’ll keep an eye out for danger so you rest.』
Maybe I should check what loot’s available and absorb some magic crystals.
“I’ll help.”
『H-Hey wait. Are you okay?』
“We can finish up here then go.”
『Yeah…since the King didn’t show up. I guess it’d be best to get everything we need here.』
“Un.”
『Then I’ll leave the weapons and horns to you. I’ll focus on absorbing their magic crystals.』
“Okay.”