I Was Banished From the Hero Party I Raised

24. Trial of Regular Champions (5)

– I apologize for what I said earlier.

said Vivian, looking down at Vera.

The cynical voice and gaze showed no emotion whatsoever.

That’s why it was more contrasted with the appearance he had just been struggling with.

Apart from the shaking of Vera’s eyes as if frightened.

“Vivian! Vivian!”

“This is a wizard! This is the cutie who got it right!”

“Vivian noona-!”

The onlookers who looked in the mirror at number 1 were in a festive mood.

“Wow, what is that magic… ? King slime is worth killing in one shot… .”

“But didn’t you hear the sound of casting?”

“Is that important now?!”

From the side, Marie poked my side with her elbow.

“Oh~ Ian~”

“What is that nasty reaction?”

“I guess Vivian likes you a lot?”

“… … .”

I looked at the screen again without answering.

In the meantime, Kati was wagging her tail wildly.

-ah… .

Vera let out a low moan.

It wasn’t just Vivian.

Helena, who was beside her, also had a ferocious look, as if she were angry.

Lucia looked down at Vera with a disdainful sneer.

– I’m sorry, I’m sorry… .

As Vera bowed her head, her companions also bowed.

– That’s not it.

Helena shook her head.

-You should apologize to Ian, not to us.

Applause broke out among the onlookers.

“Oh~”

Marie smirked again.

Mercy nodded and said.

“Mum. Helena is right.”

I don’t know how I became the center of that scene.

I’m a bit embarrassed… .

-ah… .

Vera felt awkward having to apologize to someone who wasn’t there.

me too.

It feels like watching someone say something behind my back in a place where I’m not there and apologize again in a place where I’m not there.

But even Vera must have known that her image was being communicated to the outside world.

Vera bowed her head to my party and apologized to me.

-Ian. My thoughts were short and I spit out a foolish thought. sorry… .

“… … .”

-You shouldn’t forget to go out and apologize to yourself.

Lucia said as if warning.

Before long, the ice wall blocking the retreat collapsed, as if Vivian had canceled the magic.

Vivian didn’t even say permission to go.

I let them go on their own.

-That, well, that’s it… .

After Vera staggered to her feet, she and the others shuddered and disappeared across the forest.

Helena glared at them all the way.

When they finally disappeared, Vivian let out a deep breath.

– Haaa… . I’m glad it worked out… .”

-Thanks to Vivian!

-Nue? I didn’t do anything… .

Did you build a wall out of ice and do nothing?

-I don’t speak well, and I can’t even speak… .

To say that the brutal pressure with short words was because the words didn’t come out well.

what is this… .

– Rather than me! I was reassured that Lucia spoke well, too.

– Uhm… . To be honest, I don’t think I did anything. It’s a skill exercise. The two of you did it splendidly.

A warm atmosphere was created by sharing achievements with each other.

I’m glad they won’t fall apart.

I’m satisfied if I can get along well without quarreling while subtly checking each other like the first party in the past.

A pleasant laugh broke out among the onlookers.

Somehow, it was a satisfied smile, as if seeing cute animals getting along well with each other.

After kicking out the uninvited guests, they set up a temporary base again and discussed the direction of the search.

*

After a brief discussion, it’s time to take a break from searching.

Vivian, who was leaning against a tree, suddenly exhaled.

– I want to see Ian.

-Phehe!

Helena, who was drinking the water, spat out funnyly.

-Yes, yes… ?!

-Nue? Oh, oh, can’t you say something like this? People will be watching… . Hehe.

Vivian scratched her head in embarrassment.

As if a fan club was formed that fell in love with Vivien’s fierce charms, sharp eyes flew in.

“Ian is in big trouble now.”

Marie messed around again.

“You must be careful on the road at night.”

Behind my self-deprecating joke came Lucia’s voice.

– How are you? Our manager wants to see us.

Aren’t you kidding me with this?

You know what you hear.

You know I’m watching too.

– No, that’s right! I want to see it in that sense too!

Helena hastily agreed.

Lucia also nodded.

-It is. What should I say, empty? If you think about it, just because you go into a dungeon with Ian doesn’t mean Ian will fight for you, right? When we were doing well, there were times when we just followed and watched without saying anything. I guess I didn’t think much of it at the time… .

Lucia’s voice, which had been speaking calmly, became fainter the further it went.

She looked down at the floor and sighed softly.

-I realize today that that alone was very, very reassuring.

… embarrassing why

If anyone hears it, they’ll know that I’m dead.

I’m alive and watching, here and now… .

Silence fell between the group for a moment.

There was silence and commotion on this side at the same time.

Anyway, it’s not a very good situation for me.

I feel like I’m going to get stabbed in the eyes

“You really have to be careful on the road at night, right?”

Even Marie muttered quite seriously.

“… haha.”

what though

Thank you.

I wonder if there was someone other than Mercy and Kati who said this… .

Lucia suddenly smiled.

-Ian Are you feeling embarrassed while listening to this? Yes? Or are you happy? both?

“Kuhm!”

-… ah! Come to think of it, Ian must be listening to this too!

Vivian murmured belatedly.

did you realize that now?

Vivian’s face revealed in the video mirror instantly turned red.

-Ugh… . It’s eerie… .

– Sister, did you know that now?

-That, that’s… . just what… . I don’t know… .

– Maybe Helena too?

Instead of answering, Helena put on the helmet she had taken off and took the lead.

– The break is over! We must move on!

His voice trembled seriously.

Helena must have forgotten too.

Lucia followed, laughing as if it was absurd.

Vivian also brushed her ass and got up to follow.

Lucia made fun of the embarrassing Vivian and Helena, and the three resumed their search.

*

time is at night.

It’s been quite a while since the test started.

Maybe that’s why the onlookers weren’t as enthusiastic about each action as before.

There was still exclamation every time I encountered a monster, and cheers erupted every time I defeated it.

less than in the beginning.

people rather increased.

Originally, there were the most people in front of mirror number 1, but it grew even more.

If this is a lot to see, there are many.

Needless to say, Vivian’s magic is splendid.

Helena’s defense had a size and resilience that I had never experienced before, and Lucia’s fierce technique was also formidable.

As party 3 announced its abandonment, more than half of the scattered people came in front of mirror 1, so I’m worried that the person in the back row will be able to see properly.

For reference, party number 3 is Vera’s party.

It seems that the reason for the dropout was that Vera was injured after being thrown by Helena earlier.

Anyway.

My party was constantly on the move.

I didn’t get very tired thanks to the proper repetition of moving and resting and arranging my stamina.

He encountered monsters in the middle, but never posed a threat.

No monster could penetrate Helena’s protection, and could not withstand Vivian’s firepower and Lucia’s precision attack.

It was easy without any crisis, but I couldn’t see it as good as it was.

‘Because it means nothing if I can’t kill the core boss monster.’

Starting with the C-class dungeon, the quality of the boss monsters is not too bad.

Rather than encountering monsters, it is most efficient to randomly encounter and kill boss monsters.

It’s a big deal if you encounter a boss monster after losing your health.

‘I don’t think I’m lacking in stamina yet… . It’s a test that started today. There is no guarantee that it will continue to be as stable as today.’

In the middle of such thoughts.

“When you are eating, focus only on what you eat. Don’t do anything else.”

Marie exhaled nervously.

Me, Mercy, and Kati were eating with Marie and the warriors she brought.

It’s not just us eating.

There were quite a few onlookers who had prepared meals to avoid leaving their seats.

And while the warriors of Mari were eating, they were constantly staring at the video mirror, contemplating something or taking notes.

“Then what are you going to do if you pretend?”

Mari’s warriors didn’t know her feelings either, so she smiled awkwardly and raised the spoon again.

Among them, Rachel murmured.

“Helen… . awesome… . You’ve grown incredibly… .”

Rachel was constantly admiring Helena’s growth.

Helena’s change seemed surprising as they had been best friends before they were at Magdalen Monastery.

but.

No matter how talented Helena was, she never showed her full potential because of Salome and other factors.

It’s unbelievable that he has grown so much in just a few months.

“Does it have to be at this level to pass the official exam… .”

Marie wasn’t just concentrating on eating.

She, too, will one day envision a future in which her warriors will challenge the official exam.

“The passage has not yet been confirmed.”

“a. You are very humble.”

That was half right.

Monsters that could be dealt with by working together, our party was dealing with almost one by one.

‘But what about the boss monster… .’

Is it possible to capture it with only the cooperation of the three?

Or should I cooperate with other parties?

It was hard to be sure.

-Ugh… . The atmosphere here is kind of strange… .

Vivian murmured, shivering as if feeling chills.

The group climbed a low hill.

There were no complaints around.

Even though Vivian’s light magic illuminated the surroundings, there were only endless fields.

‘That’s… .’

– It’s a spooky place… .

Helena felt the same way as Vivian.

– There’s nothing to see, so move quickly… .

The moment Lucia speaks.

-bang!

Lightning bolts exploded on the floor.

It was the magic fired by the ‘automatic interception magical body’ summoned from Vivian’s artifact.

It is the magical body that Vivian calls ‘cloud’ these days.

-uh?

The fact that the cloud reacted meant that there was an enemy on the floor.

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Just as expected.

Something white rose from the ground through the grass.

it was a hand

A human hand, but without skin and flesh.

“bone?”

someone muttered.

hooked! hooked! With a groan, the bones of the hands swelled from all sides.

It was a bone without a single piece of skin on the ground.

‘Skeleton.’

The skeleton that appeared was armed, albeit crudely.

With a sword, a spear, or a shield.

The eyes of the black skull, which had nothing there, glared directly at the party.

– Hee!

Vivian shuddered, as if displeased with the sight.

The group was quickly surrounded.

The skeleton troops rushed at them all at once, making unpleasant noises like cracks, cracks, and bones colliding with each other.

– Everyone gather around me!

Helena shouted, and Vivian and Lucia quickly joined Helena’s side.

The hemispherical protection completely covered the party.

-thud!

Skeletons rushing in from all directions and brandishing weapons knocked on the protection.

Unable to overcome the anti-elasticity, several skeletons exploded in all directions as their bodies disintegrated.

– First of all, the situation… .

I would have tried to watch it, but the C-class dungeon was not so easy.

-bang!

Vivian’s cloud hit the floor again with a lightning bolt.

The skeleton’s hand, which was about to reach out and jump out of there, was charred and shattered.

– Do you want to get out first?

Lucia said while holding the halberd.

-All right.

-Vivian unnie clears the way.

-yes! I’ll try!

Around the time when several skeletons that knocked on the defense once again retreated.

Immediately after the protection was lifted, Cloudy’s lightning bolt intercepted a nearby skeleton.

Vivian fired a series of flame strikes at an area with a low density of skeletons.

Lucia and Helena followed Vivian on the other side.

“Oooh!”

Spectators squinted their eyes at the dazzling flames that filled the screen and shouted cheers.

‘But it won’t be easy.’

There was a skeleton that withstood Vivian’s flame strike.

Vivian projected the next spell without stopping.

A lightning bolt that falls vertically from the top of a skeleton’s head.

And, the ice spear swept horizontally from end to end of the procession.

Two spells crisscrossed one side of the encirclement.

‘… Is it a little easier?’

I slightly corrected my thoughts.

– It’s sorted out!

With Vivian’s cry, the group ran towards the open encirclement.

Even while they ran away, the clouds continued to fire magic, but the direction was mainly below the ground.

After escaping the encirclement, Vivian said as she saw the group of skeletons running towards her.

-Why is he doing this… ?

– Isn’t there something down here?

Helena pointed out.

In fact, nothing came out, but the cloud fired magic at the ground.

– I think it’s worth checking out.

Lucia agreed.

-Then let’s organize it quickly!

Vivian exclaimed boldly.

After escaping the encirclement, it was only a matter of time to organize the group of skeletons.

While Vivian’s magic fire was engulfed, Lucia moved swiftly between them to finish.

Helena guarded Vivian in the center, and when the numbers were reduced, she and Lucia finished off the skeleton with scorching fire and mace.

“Wow… . Why do you fit so well? How many years do you think we’ve been together?”

Marie admired from the side.

The onlookers were also surprised by the flexible connection of the three.

– I made sure it was over.

Lucia cut off the last skeleton’s spine with a halberd and said.

-Then now… .

The party moved to the place where the skeletons had sprung up and started digging.

Cloudy didn’t calm down, so Vivian deactivated the artifact for a while.

how much did it dig

A deep burrow turned downward.

It stretched gently and looked like it could be descended on foot.

I was taken aback when I saw that.

‘… Are you looking for this already?’

Skeleton.

Among them, the ‘subterranean skeleton’ lives under the ground.

If an enemy passes over the residence, it springs out by surprise and surrounds it to hunt.

Most of the time, they get caught up in a siege and don’t survive.

Even if they escape the siege, they don’t want to go back.

Even if you go back and organize the skeletons, it’s hard to guess what’s under the ground.

The land where the skeleton protruded would be quickly restored.

However, my group found it right away.

‘Thanks to that cloud that kept attacking the floor… .’

The guild expected the test to take one to two days.

However, my party found a way to the ‘boss monster’ in this dungeon in less than half a day.

-This is… .

– Since it’s openly suspicious, you should go in, right?

while I’m dumbfounded

The party agreed to enter the cave.

***

“Huh… .”

Vivian groaned as she descended the dark tunnel.

No enemies came out, but it was a terrible place.

The gentle path was walkable, but there were trails on the floor.

That’s not all.

The walls and ceiling of the cave were imprinted with human hand bones.

Her intense light magic was shining, but beyond the end where light couldn’t reach, it was so dark that it was hard to know the depth.

It was a bit colder than outside, and the air was heavy, probably because it was underground.

Wasn’t he even surrounded by skeleton soldiers before he entered?

It was the perfect environment for all sorts of frightening imaginations to emerge.

“Ears and ghosts won’t come out… ?”

Vivian asked.

Lucia, who was walking behind me, replied calmly.

“I do not know. Do you really want something like that? I’ve never heard of monsters having ghosts.”

Helena, who was walking with her shield in front, spoke boldly.

“Do not worry! If a ghost appears, I will make you a Buddha!”

“Ugh… .”

It made me feel ashamed to think that someone outside would be watching my timid side.

It wasn’t until I became a hero, what should I do if I’m so cowardly?

It’s something you might get beaten up for.

‘Ian must be watching too… . But Ian wouldn’t say anything.’

When I remembered Ian’s gaze, my heart calmed down.

then at some point.

-Cheek… . Chi profit… .

A sound like sweeping the floor came from the front.

All three stopped at the same time.

Helena gripped the shield she held out even tighter.

“Um, what are you talking about… ?”

“Something seems to be coming… .”

Lucia quickly checked her back.

“There is nothing behind.”

– Jeobeok, Jeobuck.

I also started to hear footsteps.

Before long, something emerged from the darkness in front of Helena.

A skeleton walking towards you with a sword and shield.

And, there was one more grotesque skeleton that was attached to the ceiling and crawled on the floor with its slender hand bones.

The rattling jawbone made it look like a skeleton laughing.

“Hyaaa!”

Vivian let out a shrill scream.

“Calm down! If Vivian-sama uses magic, the den might collapse!”

Helena took a step ahead.

“I’ll take care of it myself!”

“yes… . Careful!”

Instead of Helena, Lucia stuck close to Vivian, guarding her surroundings.

Putting up a shield, Helena calmly grasped her opponent.

A skeleton standing on two legs is a warrior holding a sword and shield.

And that one that is flat on the ceiling has no weapon in its hand.

‘But I can’t be careless.’

Helena remembered what Ian had once said.

-When confronting an enemy, they try to figure you out as much as you want to figure them out.

She recalled Ian’s voice every battle.

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Just as a believer ruminates on the gospel.

Helena was a bit different from Vivian and Lucia.

The two of them are geniuses with intuition, and they just did a good job ‘on their own’.

No matter what, Helena didn’t become that.

At first, that was unsettling.

I was afraid that Ian would not be satisfied.

However, it is different now.

I realized that it wasn’t a talent gap.

It’s just that Helena reacts differently to the situation.

‘I have to thoroughly base what I’ve learned from Ian.’

Now, I liked that characteristic of myself.

It’s because I’ve been able to listen to Ian’s voice more than anyone else and focus on it.

Like a believer concentrating on an oracle.

– Combat is not simply a strength fight. In essence, it’s more of a ‘number fight’.

Helena turned off the protection and calmly waited.

The lower part of the skeleton attached to the ceiling opened.

Suddenly, something white quickly jumped out of that black darkness.

-Pak!

It was bone that bounced off Helena’s shield.

‘Spine bones?’

As Helena finished her grasp, a skeleton with a sword rushed in and the skeleton on the ceiling opened its mouth again.

The vertebrae fired again.

It wasn’t one this time.

It was bigger, sharper, and harder than before.

‘come!’

Only then did Helena spread the protection widely.

-Paba Park!

The vertebrae that collided with the protection bounced in all directions.

One of them pierced the face of the skeleton attached to the ceiling.

The guy from the ceiling fell.

Helena rushed in without waiting and used her shield to slash the swordsman’s skeleton.

At the same time that her arm bones were pulled out, her mace cut her back.

-Baggagak!

Trampling and crushing the fallen skeleton’s neck bone, he crushed the skeleton’s head that had fallen from the ceiling with his mace.

– Fast!

“Whoa… . That’s it!”

Vivian and Lucia approached and looked down at the skeleton that had fallen from the ceiling.

“What did you shoot out of your mouth…” ?”

“It was the vertebrae.”

“The vertebrae… . It uses unusual abilities.”

It was something that made me nervous.

The monsters he had faced so far hadn’t been like this.

They did not encircle them in groups.

Not particularly armed with human tools.

He did not hide any strange abilities.

‘This is a C-class dungeon, the danger you must overcome to become a regular warrior… .’

The three of them raised their tension once again at the level of difficulty that had changed.

“Let’s go inside.”

I couldn’t back down.

At Lucia’s words, the three entered the depths of the cave again.

*

“OMG… .”

Vivian’s complexion turned white.

What appeared at the end of the cave was a huge cavity.

The space itself was familiar, having seen it in previous dungeons.

However, it was a landscape I could not get used to.

There were ashes all over the place.

It was difficult to guess how many there were.

It seemed like a field of skeletons, with bones that didn’t even match.

But that is not the only reason why this landscape is terrifying.

They looked up at the source of the sense of incongruity that weighed down the entire space.

The cylinder platform, which should have risen only after killing all the monsters, was already rising high.

and in place.

“… … .”

A skeleton was sitting.

Sitting on the podium, a large skeleton like the skeleton of a giant was hugging the magic stone as if it were a precious baby.

“What is this… .”

Helena stuttered.

The giant skeleton stared intently at the visitor.

Before long, it raised one hand.

With one hand holding the magic stone, the other hand moved slowly and flamboyantly, as if dancing fingers.

Thin, bony bones bent along the joints.

A golden ring was worn on his hand.

By the time it was shining under Vivian’s light, it left a golden afterimage in the air.

– Right, tdadak… .

Skeletons scattered on the floor began to form their bodies in search of a mate.

“Ugh… !”

An army of skeletons filling the cavity was being created.

“Get behind me first!”

Helena hurriedly prepared her defenses.

When the skeleton army finally stood up.

“… … .”

The skeleton sitting on the podium slowly extended his index finger and pointed at the three.

-Tadadadadak!

The skeleton army rushed in unison.

*

“what should we do… .”

“Can you handle it with only those three?”

“No way-!”

Meanwhile. The outside became a mess due to the giant skeletons and their legions that appeared out of nowhere.

There were people who were looking forward to it, but there were more people who were worried.

Ian was also a little nervous.

‘I was good at arranging my stamina, but I didn’t even take a proper rest and found the boss monster recklessly.’

It’s good that you found it in less than a day when it should have taken two days.

It was difficult to reassure.

‘We’ve reached the point where we divide C-class dungeons and less.’

Monsters from F to D dungeons have no reason.

It’s very simple and straight forward.

‘So the king slime that divides and controls the slime is a very peculiar one.’

However, from C-class dungeons, monsters with rationality appear.

They know how to think, judge, step back and reconsider the situation if they fail.

It means an enemy equipped with reason and strategy.

Occasionally, a commander entity exists who commands all of them.

That was the case with this dungeon.

Ian glared at the giant skeleton sitting on the podium.

‘Skeleton leader, mage type. How well will you do… .’

Although he was a little nervous, Ian was well aware that it was his bias.

It’s not like you haven’t been training for this kind of situation.

This is just like a parent sending a child who has lived with them all their lives to school for the first time.

‘… He’s not my child, but he’s probably similar.’

The skeleton army, which cast a deep shadow on Vivian’s light magic, rushed towards Ian’s warriors.