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 24  Asuka: Disgraceful way of fighting

This time, it was Mizuki who approached.

As Mizuki approached, she followed Asuka’s lead and thrust her sword.

However, for some reason, even though it was said that she had used up all the sand she had hidden, this thrust felt different, just like the previous attack.

It seems like she still has something planned.

But Asuka must also understand that sense of unease.

And following the flow until now, Asuka thinks that Mizuki is not simply using pure sword techniques, but aiming for something.

That something is probably the “eyes.”

Based on the two previous attempts to blind her, Asuka had concluded this.

With Asuka being so cautious, no matter how unconventional Mizuki’s movements were, Asuka would be able to handle them. After all, she had the ability to do so.

Indeed, Asuka slightly adjusted her posture to respond to Mizuki’s surprise attack.

However, Mizuki didn’t mind Asuka’s reaction.

No matter how cautious or prepared Asuka was, it didn’t matter to Mizuki.

That’s why Mizuki observed Asuka’s slight change in posture and smirked inwardly.

And as Mizuki thrust her sword towards Asuka, but suddenly changed the angle of the sword midway, Asuka’s expression changed to that of surprise. Despite still being outside the range of the sword, Asuka tilted her head as if avoiding something.

It was an obvious opening, but naturally, Asuka had a reason for doing such a thing.

In the hand holding the sword, Mizuki had a small sphere, which she flicked with her finger.

And it flew towards Asuka’s eyes, but Asuka managed to dodge it.

However, Asuka had also been wary of it. Although she created an opening by tilting her head, her posture didn’t collapse significantly. Her expression seemed to suggest that she had dealt with the strategy, as if saying, “I anticipated that.”

Now all she needed to do was return to her original position before Mizuki’s sword could reach her.

But it wasn’t over yet.

While Asuka was still tilted, Mizuki threw her sword at her from outside of the range.

“Kuu!?”

Asuka exclaimed in surprise, seemingly not expecting Mizuki to throw away her weapon, and exaggeratedly dodged it.

However, Mizuki’s attacks didn’t stop there.

Perhaps to continue her assault, she tightly clenched her right hand, which was now free from the weapon, and swung it forcefully.

“Eek!?”

But before Mizuki could swing her raised fist, Asuka let out a short scream.

Immediately after, taking advantage of the opening without delay, Mizuki closed the distance and threw her fist within reach.

Even though she didn’t have anything in her hand, that fist had enough destructive power to dent an iron lump if it landed directly.

Asuka, who let out a short scream, desperately twisted her body, but couldn’t completely avoid it and took the blow on her shoulder.

The impact forced her to retreat, but Mizuki was already approaching for a follow-up, drawing her spare sword and slashing at Asuka.

Realizing that she couldn’t afford to be hit by that sword, Asuka clumsily rolled on the ground to dodge and immediately jumped up, creating some distance between them.

However, that distance was shorter than before.

Now, let’s explain what happened in the current situation. Mizuki had taken out the dagger she had on her waist and threw it.

By repeatedly targeting Asuka’s eyes and impressing attacks on her upper body, she created an opening. Then, she focused her attention on her fist and threw the dagger, aiming for Asuka’s leg that was outside her attention.

Repeatedly aiming for the eyes, making the opponent memorize the patterns, and then suddenly breaking the pattern to create a slight opening.

It works especially well against opponents who are serious and focused.

Seriously observing the opponent, getting absorbed in their actions, predicting their next move, and then betraying that prediction.

It’s not a conventional or honorable fighting style by any means.

But that’s the fighting style of the man who is Mizuki and the others’ teacher, and they have been taught by such a man.

“…You’ve become quite adept at using such an unsightly fighting style.”

“Unsightly? Are you sure about that? If it’s necessary to survive and to have the desire to win, shouldn’t we do whatever it takes?”

Although both still have magic at their disposal, neither of them is using it.

Whether they believe that using magic first would lead to defeat, or they have some other intention, remains unclear.

In any case, Asuka and Mizuki are engaging in a battle using only their sword and spear. And this battle began with Mizuki’s victory.

“However, it’s not going to be easy. Retreat!”

Perhaps it has been about ten minutes since their blades clashed.

Personally, Mizuki would have liked to land an attack at least once during this time if possible. But it’s not a situation where she needs to push herself.

There’s no need to take unnecessary risks or insist on having her way. Just landing one hit is sufficient for now. It’s about time to retreat, she decided.

After shouting “retreat,” Mizuki shifted her gaze towards Kana and Haruka. However, they were also in a disadvantageous situation from the start, being outnumbered two to three, so they were being pushed back.

The reason they haven’t been overwhelmed is that they have trained in fighting against multiple opponents and one of the three opponents plays the role of a healer, not actively participating in the attacks.

However, one reason they are being pushed back is that Kana and the others are not giving it their all, despite taking the battle seriously.

If Haruka were fighting at full power, this area would already be a scorched battlefield, and if Kana were giving it her all, the ground should have split apart.

They are likely conserving their strength since the battle has just begun.

However, even in this slightly disadvantageous situation, Kana and the others responded firmly with their agreement.

“Are you planning to run away?”

“Yes, what just happened was just a test. The match has only just begun. There’s no need to rush, right?”

“Indeed, it has only just started. However, don’t you think it’s possible to settle things here?”

While the encounter began with the opponent’s advantage, Asuka didn’t intend to let the opportunity slip away just because of that. She stopped stubbornly asserting herself and ended the battle with just her weapon, starting to use magic.

“Don’t underestimate me!”

Mizuki avoided and deflected the invisible magic, wind, unleashed by Asuka, dealing with it without getting injured.

This was possible because of the training with blindfolds that Koosuke had given them to handle situations where they couldn’t see.

However, perhaps Asuka hadn’t anticipated that her unseen attacks would be effortlessly dealt with without any injuries. She momentarily paused in her movements.

As Mizuki smiled faintly at Asuka casting magic, she created a flash of light with her magic during that brief moment of vulnerability, causing disorientation, and activated a smoke bomb to obstruct Asuka and her companions’ field of vision.

Then, Mizuki and her two companions fled from the scene. However, as expected, the smoke was quickly dispersed by Asuka’s magic.

While Mizuki and the others managed to distance themselves from Asuka during the time it took for the smoke to clear, Asuka and the young mage’s magic attacked their backs.

Since they are in the forest, the trees obstruct their view, but they are still not too far apart, so their lines of sight are clear.

Although the lines of sight are clear, the obstructions are indeed a hindrance, requiring considerable skill to land an attack. Nevertheless, the unleashed magic approached Mizuki and the others, grazing Kana’s back and hitting her.

“Ah!”

“Kana!? Fall back!”

As Mizuki and the others were running, Kana suddenly shouted in a panicked manner and stopped in her tracks.

The magic that was targeting them grazed her body, causing the hint paper she had attached to her waist to fall off.

To make matters worse, due to the impact upon landing, the hint paper ended up falling away from Kana.

“Wait! The hint!”

Kana attempted to turn back and retrieve it, but if she were to turn back, they would have to fight again.

They had created an opening earlier by using flashes and smoke, but it’s unlikely they would fall for it a second time.

“No! Retreat!”

Assessing the situation, Mizuki chose to abandon the hint paper and retreat.

Kana showed a momentary sign of hesitation, but immediately wore a frustrated expression and followed Mizuki’s words, fleeing.

In the process, she forcefully struck and snapped a nearby tree, leaving it as an obstacle and a nuisance behind.

“Shall we pursue them?”

Due to the fallen tree obstructing their line of sight, they were unable to land any more magic attacks, and their targets were getting further away.

The warrior girl, concerned about this, asked whether they should chase after them, but Asuka hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

“…No. They seem too compliant.”

Although being too compliant was a phrase mentioned by Kana earlier, precisely because it was a recent comment, Asuka quickly arrived at that thought.

Certainly, when observed closely, their timing to retreat seemed too perfect. It was as if they had planned to retreat from the beginning.

“First, this.”

Asuka retrieved the hint paper that Kana had dropped, and after briefly glancing towards the direction Mizuki and the others had fled, she immediately focused her attention on the hint in her hand.

“The direction they ran matches.”

Examining the characters written on the paper, she once again directed her gaze towards the direction Mizuki and the others had escaped. Indeed, both their actions and the hint were consistent.

…However, there was still a sense of unease.

Could it really be this easy? Could everything go so smoothly?

This hint paper wasn’t obtained by defeating Kana; it was more like something they stumbled upon by accident.

Therefore, while it couldn’t be said it was completely unreasonable, Asuka wasn’t fully convinced within herself.

To be more specific, she wondered if the hint paper had been intentionally dropped.

“…Is this the real thing?”

“Huh?”

It is recognized as a tactic to create and scatter counterfeit papers.

So, this paper could be one of those.

Asuka made that judgment and used magic to confirm whether it was genuine or not. The magic indicated that there was a genuine item in front of her.

“Well… It seems to be the real thing.”

Having confirmed that reaction, although she still had some lingering doubts, Asuka decided to accept it, thinking that perhaps she was overthinking the situation since magic doesn’t lie.

“In that case, Miyano-san and the others fled to their base. …No, deliberately fleeing and trying to trap us?”

Dropping the hint could have been intentional or it could have been an accident.

However, either way, Asuka thought that they might be intending to trap them as they pursued Mizuki and the others.

If that were the case, it would explain the sense of unease that Asuka felt.

Therefore, Asuka came to terms with her own thoughts and decided to proceed in the direction Mizuki and the others had fled. She had made up her mind.

“Everyone, from here on, let’s proceed with caution.”

And so, Asuka and the others moved forward, unaware that it was a trap set by “that person.”