Chapter 22 : Rating (1)

The Armonia Spirit Academy has a grading system based on teams.

It is divided from S-rank to F-rank, and the assigned missions differ according to the rank.

S-rank includes missions comparable to those of Spirit Masters active on the front lines, and as the rank decreases, the missions become easier but less related to combat.

Naturally, Yuri’s team in the novel was S-rank.

“Carne, can I talk to you for a moment?”

I had something to discuss with just Carne.

“..You’re also thinking of getting an S-rank, right?”

“The higher, the better. The more difficult the mission, the higher the success rate.”

I didn’t really want to go along with any murder plans, but I wanted to stick to the plot written in the novel as much as possible to avoid increasing Chaos. In terms of goals, Carne was of the same mind.

Until the grade is finalized, we are, in any case, temporary allies.

“Everyone, gather around. I have an idea.”

I gathered the three of them and explained the plan.

“Yuri and Carne, you two focus on hunting Sarkas. Both of you can handle Osteons, so there won’t be a shortage of manpower.”

“Saya, what about us?”

Luna asked.

“..You and I, we’re going to target people.”

“…Huh?”

If there’s one thing everyone is overlooking, it’s that they didn’t say there were restrictions on how to collect the bloodstones. So, whether you steal bloodstones obtained by others or earn them diligently, the method is free.

“Wouldn’t they get hurt in the process of taking it?”

“That’s why you’re the right person for the job. Knights are the best at effectively subduing people.”

Even if the act of taking itself isn’t considered a crime, causing serious injury to other Spirit Masters is another matter. Therefore, we needed someone who could efficiently subdue the opponents.

“If we had a fire-type Spirit Master on our team, we could burn all the other teams’ bags.”

It was Yuri’s idea. Unfortunately, we don’t have a fire-type on our team, but it’s an idea that would make even Satan cry.

“If this many Spirit Masters are active, the Sarkas population will quickly decrease. Let’s get as many as we can.”

And so, we split into hunting and looting teams.

Hiding in the tall grass that was higher than my height, Luna and I waited for someone to pass by.

“Saya, by the way, this child is so cute. It’s really like a puppy.”

Luna was rubbing her face against Daengdaengi. She’s the first person I’ve seen who calls a 2-meter-tall armored wolf cute.

I couldn’t leave Daengdaengi behind, so I brought it along, but since silence is vital for an ambush, it would be a problem if this guy made any noise.

“Isn’t there a way to utilize it? It would be great if it could understand commands.”

It’s driving me crazy because it bites my hand when I offer it, and it runs away when I tell it to come.

“Don’t puppies like playing with balls? Even if it can’t understand your words, Saya, it might be able to chase a ball, right?”

Luna, who had somehow laid Daengdaengi down and was stroking its belly, said.

‘A ball?’

There’s nothing around here that I can throw like a ball, but I could think of one thing right away.

“Daengdaengi. Look at this.”

I created a small Dark Bullet in my hand and floated it in the air. The launched Dark Bullet soared high into the air, fell on my head, and dissipated with smoke.

“Woof! Woof!”

As soon as the Dark Bullet hit my head, Daengdaengi rushed at me like crazy and started digging through my hair.

“Agh! Get off! My hair is all going to be pulled out..!”

“I told you it’s a puppy!”

Luna clapped her hands happily, watching this scene.

Although Daengdaengi’s body is heavy, I couldn’t easily escape because of the weight of the armor.

I lost some hair, but I think I’ve found a way to use Daengdaengi.

Before the actual crime… I mean, operation, there was something to keep in mind.

“Luna, keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them.”

“Keep them closed?”

“Keep them closed until I tell you to open them.”

I was planning to seal the opponent’s vision by spreading a dark curtain, but since the caster is not immune to the darkness within the range of the curtain, someone was needed to act as a guide.

I told Luna to close her eyes, and after waiting a few more minutes, I sensed another team approaching. It was a mixed team of two women and two men.

‘Huh..?’

But I see a familiar face.

The knight with broad shoulders and carrying a claymore is the same knight who confessed to me the day before.

Honestly, I don’t want to meet him again.

“Who’s there?”

“..Luna, I think it’s better to wait for the next opportunity..”

“What are you talking about, Saya! We’ve prepared this much. Let’s steal!”

Luna, who initially said she felt guilty, was now more excited than I was.

From between the grass, I calmly examined the members.

A fire-type Spirit Master with red pigtails led the way, followed by a male water-type Spirit Master and a female nature-type Spirit Master. The knight was walking at the very back.

Including Daengdaengi, it’s three against four, but considering that the other side can summon their Osteons at any time, it’s actually a three-against-seven fight.

Therefore, as much as possible, we need to steal without engaging in a fight.

‘Who has the bag…?’

Looking closely, there wasn’t just one bag. The pigtail-haired woman walking in the lead was carrying a small bag, and the knight walking at the very back was carrying a large bag.

“Luna. I’ll hold your hand and run. When I give the signal, open your eyes and charge.”

She nodded.

First, I concentrated on my fingertips and created a dark sphere.

‘Dark Bullet!’

The Dark Bullet, with its power adjusted, fluttered its opaque form and hit the pigtails in the face.

“Kyaak, what..!?.”

“Woof! Woof!”

As soon as the Dark Bullet hit, Daengdaengi darted out and started rubbing its face against the woman.

“Kyaaak! What is this, get it off! Get it off..!”

“Ah, Angelica..!”

The male water-type Spirit Master called out the woman’s name and rushed over in a hurry.

I aimed the crossbow I had loaded and hit the bag the woman was holding. Since I had removed the arrowhead in advance and tied a stone to it, there was almost no risk of injury.

The bag fell to the ground, and herbs and potions spilled out of it.

‘As expected, it was a decoy.’

Then, it was now clear who had the bloodstone bag.

“Luna! Let’s run!”

“Okay!”

Holding her hand and running, I rushed through the group confused by Daengdaengi and cast a spell.

‘Scotadi!’

Everyone was engulfed in a 5-meter diameter dark curtain when I used the Scotadi spell.

It’s barely possible to reach 7 meters at night, but I’m grateful for even this much in the sunlight.

“What..!? Is it an ambush..!”

The voices of the confused team members mixed together.

In a situation where I couldn’t see an inch ahead, I gave Luna a signal.

“Luna, open your eyes! The bag is with the knight!”

The maximum duration is about 30 seconds during the day and 1 minute at night. We need to steal it quickly before the curtain ends.

“I can’t see..! Angelica, fire spell..!”

“Kyaaak! This beast..! Where are you touching..!”

From the conversation, it seems that Daengdaengi is doing its job quite diligently.

The man desperately calls for the fire-type Spirit Master, but she is being tormented by Daengdaengi and can’t possibly use any spells.

The reason I targeted her from the beginning was because if she lit a fire, the dark curtain would become useless.

They can’t easily use attacks in the dark curtain because they might hurt their companions, and even if they go outside, they can’t see inside, so it won’t be easy for them to react flexibly to the situation.

In this chaos, the only one who can secure vision is Luna, who had already adapted her eyes to the darkness. When Luna tried to grab the bag, the knight swung his fist with amazing reaction speed.

“Is that you, you villains…!”

“Saya, the reaction is stronger than expected!”

A knight was a knight. He couldn’t see ahead, but according to Luna’s report of the situation, he was hugging the bag with all his might to prevent it from being taken.

“Luna, stick to that guy! I have an idea!”

I was able to quickly stick to him, led by Luna’s hand. The incoming punches were blocked by Luna, but no matter how much I pulled on what I presumed to be the bag, he wouldn’t let go.

“I swear on the name of this knight, Cedric, I won’t let you take this!”

‘The duration is about to end.. what do I do!’

If he were on our side, I would like to express my respect, but he was that steadfast. Even though he was being unilaterally beaten by Luna, he had no intention of letting go of the arm hugging the bag.

‘I swore to the heavens that I would never use this technique again..’

Today, that oath is likely to be broken.

I groped his body and found the location of the most vulnerable area that humans cannot train.

I apologized to all the men on this land and raised both fists high.

‘Twin-Sphere Crushing Fist Style Modified Technique, Gravitational Acceleration!’

My two fists, loaded with gravity, were driven into his vulnerable point, which was undefended because he was holding the bag.

“Ugh, Uooooot-!”

He stiffened greatly for a moment, but he endured with tremendous spirit. He endured, then…

‘Continuous Strikes!’

“Kraaaaak!”

After dozens of seconds of struggle, I was finally able to pull out the bag.

“Good, let’s go!”

Led by Luna’s hand, I escaped the curtain, and Daengdaengi also ran towards us, having finished its job.

I did something quite unpleasant, but the result was a great success.

“Huff… Huff.. We should have shaken them off by now, right?”

My heart felt like it was going to explode from running so much to shake off the enraged pursuers.

Luna checked the bloodstones heavily packed in the bag and exclaimed in admiration.

“Saya, that’s amazing! How did you make that giant give up?”

“..Luna, I’m probably going to hell.”

“…?”

It was such a chaotic situation that Luna probably didn’t see what I did.

“But, what’s that in Daengdaengi’s mouth?”

Luna pointed at Daengdaengi. Was something stuck in its mouth?

‘Guh..’

In Daengdaengi’s mouth was a pair of light blue panties of unknown origin. It was a fairly cute pair of panties, with a heart pattern and lace.

“Oh, my mind…”

Could it be, it ripped these off in that chaos?

I’ll apologize to the owner later when I return it.

When we joined Yuri’s group with the stolen bloodstones, we had secured two full bags of bloodstones.

Carne, looking into the stolen bag, said.

“Impressive. Did you come from robbing somewhere?”

“……”

“I’m joking, I’m joking.”

I was startled for a moment, thinking I had been found out.

‘Anyway, we collected a lot.’

Since we split up into two groups and brought this much, I think an S-rank will be guaranteed even if we return like this. I thought about going back, but Yuri’s expression was still not satisfied.

“They were all small fries. I was expecting a strong opponent..”

Seeing that her one-handed sword was very darkly stained, it’s clear that she wiped out the small Sarkas in this area like catching mice.

“This place isn’t that far from Semal, so I think it’ll be hard to find big ones.”

“For example.. are you talking about those things?”

Behind the stump of the tree she was looking at, a black mass was seen devouring something.

Judging by its considerable size and claws, it was definitely a bear-type Sarkas.

‘It should be a Sarkas that lives in the forest, why is it here..?’

Sarkas are strictly territorial creatures.

Something like a Sarkas that lives in the forest being found in the plains shouldn’t have happened originally.

I was going to suggest retreating due to the strange feeling, but Yuri Freesia was already drawing her sword and approaching.

“Yuri, something seems strange..!”

“I want to fight it.”

It seems like she can’t hear my words anymore.

“Gigantas!”

When she called its name, a 3-meter-tall armored giant appeared next to her.

Just as she was about to launch a surprise attack…

‘..?’

A huge shadow fell, and a shadow covered my vision.

“Is it an eclipse..?”

“No, this is..”

Thud-

The identity of what had blocked the sun revealed itself with a tremendous landing sound.

Simultaneously with the landing, the bear-type Sarkas was crushed like pulp.

“A wolf-type Sarkas..? No, this is..”

Everyone was frozen in front of the two-headed, abnormally large Sarkas.