Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Volume 4 Chapter 23   Asuka: Encountering a Formidable Enemy

“What’s the reaction?”

“So far, nothing.”

Asuka and her team had been walking through the forest for about fifteen minutes. However, this time they were moving at a significantly slower pace than usual, as the magic users were using magic for scouting purposes.

But it was necessary to do so in order to find their opponents.

Normally, they would search for the magical energy emitted while defending their treasures. In fact, they had successfully located the previous two teams using this method.

However, that was only because their opponents’ magic was still inexperienced.

A skilled mage could minimize the detectable magical energy that leaked externally. If that happened, Asuka wouldn’t be able to sense it due to the difference in magical power.

The perception of magical energy from the opponent’s magic depended on the disparity between their own magical power and that of the opponent. It could become easier or more difficult to sense depending on the difference.

In simpler terms, the greater the difference, the less Asuka would be able to perceive their magical energy.

If the leakage of magical energy was minimized, Asuka, who possessed considerable magical power as a high-ranked mage, would have an even harder time sensing it.

However, if they still wanted to find their opponents, they could use a low-ranked mage with minimal magical power, as their presence would be detectable.

However, in terms of combat capabilities, they would be inferior, so no one would generally make that choice. After all, being a low-ranked mage meant being weaker. It was just unusual for Igami, who could contend with high-ranked mages, to be an exception.

Therefore, as a compromise, they used magic to sense the reaction of magical energy. However, since this was still magic, they couldn’t discern fine differences and were prone to picking up irrelevant signals, such as decoys.

The previous successful find was simply because Igami and his team deliberately positioned themselves in an easily detectable open area.

“Yes. Report immediately if there’s any reaction.”

“Understood!”

The young mage who accompanied Asuka as part of the scouting team replied in an instant.

“Ah!”

“Asuka-san! I sense a surge of magical energy!”

“Defensive positions!”

Even before receiving the report, it was evident that a powerful presence of magical energy had suddenly appeared a little distance away from where Asuka and the others were.

The healing mage, startled by the unexpected reaction, urged caution to the young mage, while the warrior girl, unable to sense the magical energy, stepped forward to shield the mages.

However, before the three of them could prompt her, Asuka had already taken action.

And then, a fireball with a diameter of about two meters, blazing through the forest, and lightning descending from the sky, struck Asuka and her team.

“Guh!”

In that instant, Asuka sensed the surge of powerful magical energy and immediately prepared for defense. The healing mage, slightly delayed but still in time, erected a barrier that allowed Asuka and her team to withstand the attack that would have turned them into charcoal.

“Status report!”

“No injuries!”

“No signs of enemies!”

It was a clear attack.

Having endured it, Asuka promptly assessed the situation, but there was no damage.

The current attack clearly indicated that their location was known. Even if the enemy had detection abilities, it was strange that they didn’t trigger their own detection measures. Questions arose about how their location was revealed.

However, Asuka didn’t have the luxury of pondering such matters. She focused on a single point, without showing any signs of distraction.

After the thunderous sound, light, and flames had swept through the area, three girls appeared from a spot slightly removed from the burned path created by the flames. It was Mizuki and her team.

“I guess we can’t defeat them after all.”

“They were pretty serious.”

“Me too. But if we can win with this level of effort, it means we didn’t set the bar high enough from the beginning.”

“Well, in any case, we still have to defeat them, right?”

Asuka, already poised with her spear, and Mizuki and her team, who had also readied their weapons, assumed a combat stance.

However, Mizuki and her team didn’t immediately launch an attack. They seemed somewhat relaxed as they engaged in conversation.

“Hey there! It’s quite a coincidence to meet within just thirty minutes of starting, huh?”

Normally, they wouldn’t engage in conversation on the battlefield, and they weren’t particularly close either. It was especially strange for Kana to initiate the conversation. Mizuki might do so, but Asuka and Kana didn’t get along well—in fact, one could say they had a bad relationship.

However, Kana was talking to Asuka, and Mizuki and the others didn’t try to stop her.

“…I thought I had neutralized any traps or tricks?”

While feeling a sense of unease from being approached, Asuka sensed a slight ease from Kana’s initiation, knowing that Mizuki and the others wouldn’t suddenly attack.

With a bit of leeway to assess the situation, Asuka asked the question that had been on her mind while remaining vigilant and scanning the surroundings for hidden enemies and their movements.

“It seems so. But you know, he says you’re ‘too straightforward’ in your actions. Like, after passing through the gate, if you had gone even a bit further, you would have known the direction. Well, that’s just what he says.”

“He, you say… There doesn’t seem to be anyone referred to as ‘he’ here. Is he the one guarding the treasure?”

Asuka glanced around, but ‘he,’ referring to Igami, was not present in the vicinity.

“Do you think I’ll tell you? Well, even if I say, ‘Yes, he is,’ would you believe it so easily?”

“No.”

“Well, exactly. So there’s no need to say it then.”

Asuka thought that was true, but despite her words, she was almost certain within herself that Igami was guarding the treasure. In previous matches, it was Yuzu who guarded it, but for some reason, Asuka had a strong conviction that it would be different this time. Asuka held Igami in high regard.

After a moment of silence, they locked eyes, but Asuka tightly grasped the spear in her hand and signaled to her teammates.

“As for this time, we will win.”

However, Mizuki stepped forward with a sword in what could be called an unarmed manner and confidently declared, “Unfortunately, it will be us who will win.”

Asuka felt a sense of frustration as she intended to take the offensive, but she couldn’t ignore Mizuki’s words.

Asuka readjusted her grip on her weapon, and simultaneously, she and Mizuki started running.

Without any signal to begin, Asuka stepped forward with her right foot and rushed towards Mizuki.

Her speed was extraordinary, surpassing the capabilities of ordinary people and even those in an awakened state would struggle to keep up with her.

In the blink of an eye, Asuka disappeared from their original positions, only to reappear in front of Mizuki moments later.

For magic users like Haruka and the others watching, all they saw was Asuka thrusting her spear, and Mizuki deflecting it, in that split-second “after” moment.

However, that sight lasted only for a moment.

Having her first strike deflected, Asuka immediately transitioned to her next move and swung her spear towards Mizuki.

Mizuki deflected the spear again, but Asuka had already anticipated this, smoothly flowing into her next strike.

The movement of the spear was indeed too fast for an ordinary person to perceive, but for the individuals involved, it was still just the beginning.

When Asuka thrust her spear, Mizuki would strike the shaft of the spear to deflect it, while also slightly moving her body to avoid the spear entirely.

The sword Mizuki used to deflect the spear continued its fluid motion, swiftly approaching Asuka.

However, Asuka deflected the evaded spear with a rotation resembling a baton twirl, using the butt of her spear to deflect Mizuki’s sword. Taking advantage of the rotation, Asuka then swiftly lifted her spear from below.

Mizuki evaded the attack by leaning her upper body backward and executed a backflip, kicking up dirt toward Asuka’s face.

The kicked-up dirt flew straight toward Asuka’s face like bullets.

However, it seemed Mizuki didn’t expect her opponent to take a direct hit. After landing, she immediately prepared to launch another attack, taking a step forward. But by the time she took that step, Asuka had already moved backward.

They paused for a moment, reassessing the situation. The two of them once again distanced themselves from each other, just as they did at the beginning.

However, as Mizuki readjusted her weapon, something overflowed from her hand.

It was sand.

It seemed Mizuki had grabbed the sand from the ground during her previous backflip and was planning to throw it.

Mizuki’s fighting style was not a fair and honorable knightly approach like in a fairy tale, but that was to be expected.

After all, her fighting style was taught by Igami, who considered nothing unfair in battle.

Asuka noticed the sand Mizuki had thrown. She frowned from a distance.

However, she quickly changed her expression and once again approached Mizuki.

And once again, their clash began with a thrust.

Naturally, Mizuki deflected it, leading to another close-range exchange of slashes and strikes.

Asuka’s spear had the advantage in reach, so for Mizuki to attack Asuka, she had to move within the range of her sword.

Therefore, Asuka skillfully moved her position while swinging her spear to prevent Mizuki from getting closer.

However, Mizuki gradually closed the distance, and just as Asuka braced herself for possible injuries, Miyano took a step forward, prompting Asuka to jump backward.

Yet, just when it seemed Asuka would create more distance, she didn’t retreat and instead thrust her spear forward.

It seemed she wanted to maintain the perfect distance for her thrust.

Mizuki, able to see the spear despite its unexpected nature and lightning-fast release, managed to avoid it skillfully.

…However, Mizuki’s evasive movements after dodging Asuka’s spear seemed somewhat exaggerated.

However, Mizuki’s evasive movement slightly threw off her balance, and her actions seemed more exaggerated than before.

Asuka couldn’t help but sense this and momentarily paused her movement.

During that brief moment, Mizuki closed in and swung her sword, but even that attack seemed somewhat subtle.

It could be described as a feint, and it was undeniably peculiar.

Yet, Asuka couldn’t understand why things had taken such a strange turn. Faced with Mizuki’s obviously odd behavior, she decided to create some distance by shifting her weight backward.

That’s when Mizuki’s left hand moved. She released her grip on the sword she held with both hands and moved her hand as if scattering something.

It was sand.

Sand scattered from Mizuki’s swinging left hand, flying towards Asuka’s face.

In truth, Mizuki’s movements had been slightly off since earlier, and this was the reason.

While it appeared that Mizuki had discarded the sand she had held before the second close encounter, it was actually a deception.

She hadn’t thrown away all the sand in her hand; she had kept a small amount hidden.

And now she used that sand.

Without waiting to witness the result, Mizuki swung her sword after scattering the sand, aiming to strike Asuka.

However, Asuka had already assumed a defensive posture, and she easily evaded Mizuki’s attack.

Once again, the distance between them widened, and for the third time, they faced each other, weapons at the ready.