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🕑 Added 2025-04-12 05:10:05 +0000 UTCEP.33 [First Mercenary Quest After Receiving Sister's Prayer Boost]2
'There was a definite reason Jeanne accepted this quest even knowing it should be done by a Black Stone scale mercenary group. Beyond tactical reasons.'
When Eugene realized the elf archer Priscilla's awakening ability was Expert level,
He stuck out his tongue quite a bit.
Expert level is one step above User level awakening ability,
But the actual difference is not just one step.
Many ordinary mana awakeners end at Walker level.
One reason is they don't put in as much effort.
If we make an excuse for them,
It's largely because systematic training methods aren't widely available.
Anyway, theoretically if mana awakening occurs,
User level is an area that can be reached through so-called effort.
However, there is considerable variation in the time to reach it.
On the other hand, Expert is not an area that can be broken through with effort.
Breaking through the Expert limit is an ability achieved only by those chosen among mana awakeners.
So breaking through the Expert level is sometimes described as achieving second awakening.
In other words, the elf archer Priscilla
Has achieved second awakening.
'Though she's an archer not specialized in one-on-one, she's even more amazing for quests.'
Though the classification levels are similar,
The combat influence differs due to class characteristics.
For archers whose main stat is ranged support,
Their synergy is maximized in group battles rather than one-on-one duels.
Especially in a situation like now where they have to fight in a forest,
That can be seen as the main battlefield for elf archer Priscilla.
'I thought that rare elf race wandering the Pedon continent alone must be strong, but to be Expert level or higher. Her chic attitude from the first impression wasn't just because she's an elf.'
Eugene stuck out his tongue slightly as he looked at the top of Priscilla's head, which only reached about his chest level.
Even if not specialized in duels, an Expert level archer is untouchable at the level of ordinary mercenaries.
So Eugene very clearly understood Priscilla's attitude up to now, which went beyond prickliness to seeming relaxed.
"Now let's go to sleep for tomorrow's decisive battle! I hope those standing guard will work hard for the safety of their comrades!"
"Good night to you too, Ivan!"
"Looking forward to tomorrow as well!"
Night fell and it became midnight.
Then Ivan loudly said goodnight to his Red Fox Mercenary Group comrades at the base camp before entering his tent.
It's something he does routinely the night before battle.
Clatter...! Clatter...! Clatter...!
Thus the Red Fox Mercenary Group's base camp became filled with silence as most of the mercenaries started to go to sleep.
And that silence was filled by the faint crackling sounds of the bonfire.
"....."
Eugene, who volunteered for guard duty, stuck his greatsword beside him
And sat down, silently watching the quiet flames of the bonfire.
"They say it's good to sleep well the night before your first quest. Even if you're nervous, just lie down and sleep."
A nonchalant voice was heard from behind him.
It was none other than the voice of Jeanne, his sister and captain of the Red Fox Mercenary Group.
"I'm not standing guard because I'm nervous."
"Yeah right."
Eugene, who had noticed Jeanne approaching from her footsteps heard earlier, retorted coolly.
Jeanne also showed her vibe as an older sister by one year.
"Last night seemed more tense. I'm not that nervous the night before."
Smile...!
Eugene smiled slightly,
With a nuance that he roughly understood why Jeanne, who hadn't spoken to him since their first encounter today, was now approaching to talk like a snake crossing a wall.
"Then is it because of the Sophists talked about during the day that you can't sleep?"
Thud!
"Haha! I can't say that's not true at all."
Jeanne, who had come right next to Eugene,
Sat on a wooden box beside him.
She mentioned the mystical order Sophists, which Jeanne herself had first brought up during the final briefing,
And which Ivan, Thomas and others had discussed in depth afterwards.
Though Jeanne asked as if worried whether Eugene couldn't sleep because of thoughts about the Sophists,
In fact, she herself was so concerned about it that she approached Eugene, putting aside the aftermath of the crazy inn room incident from a few days ago.
Jeanne wants to be with Eugene, who must be in a troubled mental state.
"Listening to Ivan and Thomas's stories reminded me of childhood memories. Memories from before entering the Orléans family."
Eugene calmly expressed his current state of mind, which Jeanne seemed to want to hear, with a composed expression and tone.
When people are put in situations they can't handle, defense mechanisms activate.
Among them are cases of distorting or deleting memories as if sealing them, beyond rationalization.
That was the case for Eugene, who experienced hell
At the age of nine when his father became a murderous demon
And was killed as a result.
At the age of nine when no defensive logic could be deployed,
Eugene Schneider's subconscious had no choice but to endure by erasing memories of his father.
But has his mental state clearly improved since that time as time passed?
Through the story of the Sophists heard again today,
Rather than activating defense mechanisms to not hear it,
It made long-forgotten memories resurface in Eugene's mind.
"It was when I was eight years old. I told my father I wanted to learn the sword too. Father walking the path of the sword while receiving respect from the Sophist uncles looked really cool to me."
Eventually Eugene told Jeanne the fragments of recovered memory as they were.
"But unlike when he usually sparred with wooden swords kindly and playfully, when he heard my words about wanting to become a formal swordsman, he firmly dissuaded me. I think it was the first time I saw that kind of expression on father's face."
"The next year after that incident, father lost his life being called a sword demon and murderous demon by people."
A being revered as a sword saint in the philosophical realm
Beyond swordmaster in the technical realm of swordsmanship.
That's why Eugene Schneider also greatly respected and wanted to emulate his father Ulysses Schneider.
But his downfall was too miserable
And as a result, his only son Eugene experienced an indescribable shock.
"At the height of the aftermath regarding father, I heard words like this. That it was a catastrophe created by the blood of these cursed continentals."
The people who had revered Ulysses
Turned coldly away as if they had never done so, cursed him,
And began to devalue his past deeds as well.
What stuck in Eugene's ears and heart was something more fundamental,
The words that it was the blood of cursed continentals who disappeared after receiving divine wrath.
"That's just a rumor. There's no remaining evidence that Jedi Ulysses was from Atlantis. It's just that because he pioneered a different path from the existing one, people connected him to the lost civilization that had been considered mysterious since ancient times."
Jeanne, who had been silently listening to Eugene's words,
Immediately intervened when the talk of the lost continent Atlantis came up.
Jeanne's appearance of listing the knowledge she knew in a confident tone,
Though she usually never talked about Ulysses in front of Eugene,
She was very interested and had studied quite a bit from adolescence until preparing to become a mercenary.
It is said that across the eastern sea is the elf island of Symphonia where the World Tree grows.
However, until 250 years ago, in the southern sea as well
There was a mysterious continent called Atlantis.
The size of the continent was about the size of part of the Pedon continent,
But it is said the state of civilization development was so advanced that even the Elysium Empire was no match.
Thus, all races of the Pedon continent at the time called Atlantis a divine nation or holy nation.
However, the end of such an advanced civilization Atlantis came in an instant.
It sank to the bottom of the sea overnight due to a tremendous natural disaster.
The people of Pedon described this greatest event in civilization history as
The goddess Aphrodite, enraged by Atlantis' arrogance in challenging divine authority, casting an extreme curse to destroy them.
"Even if Ulysses were still alive today, he'd be 54 years old. That's nearly 200 years difference from Atlantis' destruction. The hypothesis that he's a descendant of Atlantis survivors who survived the catastrophe has no realism at that point."
Jeanne made a very active argument.
She felt what Eugene was thinking.
Sword Expert, evaluated as a superhuman level of awakening ability,
Sword Seeker, a level that surpasses even that,
And finally the brilliant realm of Sword Master, the extreme of swordsmanship, exist.
But such powerful strength does not only contain bright light.
Because in Pedon continent history, there exists the realm of berserkers who lost balance of power and went berserk.
The cause of these controversial berserkers being created is still unclear.
Historically, those evaluated as berserkers are also
As rare as Sword Masters.
While there's no disagreement that Ulysses was called a sword demon or murderous demon in his later years,
There was much controversy over whether he entered the berserker realm.
However, those arguing he was a berserker
Made the logic that it was a berserk situation created because he was a descendant of the cursed Atlantis people.
In other words, Eugene, who inherited half of Ulysses' blood, considers whether he might also be in that extension.
So perhaps his father, who sensed abnormalities in his own body condition even before the tragedy occurred,
Based on that, firmly dissuaded his son's hope of becoming a swordsman.
"I'll say it again, but it's too far-fetched. So don't have such strange thoughts either."
But Jeanne, who made passionate arguments that it made no sense, drove the point home once again.
'But I have demon blood mixed in too.'
In fact, that was Jeanne's defense directed at Eugene.
And Eugene silently listened to Jeanne's grateful words of defense.
However, Eugene's current complicated feelings
Are not just what Jeanne is anticipating.
The half of the blood other than father Ulysses,
It's his mother's demon blood.
But since Jeanne was talking so passionately,
Eugene couldn't bring himself to reveal that as well.
"You're right Jeanne~ Thinking like this based just on that seems a bit too much. It's also kind of funny to think I'm some specially chosen person in a negative sense. I heard our father was already an Expert at seventeen."
Thud!
Eugene joked as he lay down on the grass.
Though he didn't reveal the demon blood,
Jeanne's efforts were somewhat comforting to Eugene.
Perhaps that's why the extreme difference in talent between himself and his father additionally came to mind.
Jedi Ulysses, leader of the Sophists in the days of the Sword Order,
Was officially the youngest Sword Expert in the Imperium Empire.
He later broke the records for youngest Sword Seeker and Sword Master as well.
"And if anything happens to you, this sister who dragged you into this path will take responsibility. By any means necessary."
Jeanne made a quite serious declaration.
Judging by her expression, it didn't seem like she was just comforting Eugene or paying lip service,
But felt like she was truly determined to do so if that situation arose.
"How? Are you thinking of offering your soul instead to a berserker who sold his soul to a demon god?"
Grin!
Eugene responded with a mischievous smile.
But he was secretly pleased.
When the first trial of his life came,
There was no one to directly protect him.
But over 12 years, he gained another family.
That family is pledging not to let go of him in any crisis.
"The soul is a bit much, but hmm... I'll consider it."
"Hahaha!"
As a Light Goddess religion believer in her own way, Jeanne showed difficulty with soul-related matters.
Eugene looked up at that sight while lying on the grass, held his stomach and burst into laughter.
"As you all know, the goblins have made a cave maze and are nested there. And the Dark Forest has difficult terrain. Just because goblins have poor general combat ability doesn't mean entering the maze won't result in unnecessary sacrifices."
The day of the decisive battle dawned.
The Red Fox Mercenary Group's 26 combat personnel all arrived fully armed right in front of the Dark Forest.
In front of them, Jeanne was confirming the current situation and strategy one last time.
"According to Priscilla, it will rain within three days. So we will set fires at the entrances all over to draw them out and finish them off today, or tomorrow morning at the latest."
The key keyword for the Red Fox Mercenary Group against the goblins is fire tactics.
