Chapter 22: Partial examination (3)

I hadn’t felt seasick in a long time.

Even when I randomly boarded a fishing boat, I enjoyed a refreshing trip on the water, feeling the salty sea breeze. Even the sailors clicked their tongues in surprise.

Perhaps that’s why, out of all of us, I was the only one who seemed fine after teleporting to Scopuli Island through the gate.

Chloe and Speed Weapon were each leaning against a tree, throwing up, and even Rachel was stumbling, her face pale as she clutched her forehead.

I looked at Leon, who was beside me. He looked a little pale, but he seemed to be holding up through sheer willpower.

“…Geom-Ma, you seem fine.”

“I usually don’t get dizzy easily.”

“…Haha, I don’t think this is just a seasickness issue.”

As my teammates calmed their stomachs, I took a look around.

In front of us, an endless, clear blue horizon stretched out. Birds chirped, and the salty sea breeze felt refreshing.

Scattered around us were a few tropical trees and stone statues that resembled moai, giving the place an air of mystery.

After taking in our surroundings for about five minutes, the group seemed to have recovered and gathered around our leader, Leon. He brushed his golden hair back and calmly explained the plan.

“As we decided in the previous meeting, Chloe should go scout first at one o’clock. If there’s a group of tritons, find out where they are and report back to me.”

Chloe gave a slight nod. Leon turned his gaze to Rachel and continued explaining.

“Rachel, you’ll take the lead, alright? Since your weapon is a spear, you’re our strongest lich. Don’t push yourself too hard. I’ll back you up depending on the situation.”

Rachel raised her spear, which she held like a staff on her shoulder, and gave an OK sign with her fingers. It looked like she was feeling better.

“Speed Weapon, try to focus your support blessings on Rachel. And Geom-Ma, you’ll watch the rear in case of any unexpected enemies.”

Speed Weapon, still dizzy, nodded silently as he covered his mouth; his pale face gave him a pitiful look.

I glanced at Leon.

He played the role of commander so well that it was hard to believe he was his age.

The sense of déjà vu I felt seeing him embody the character of the protagonist, Leon himself.

“Alright, then let’s get started!”

After hearing Leon’s words, the team gathered their weapons and began to move in earnest. Chloe, our vanguard, sprinted ahead at high speed, disappearing from sight almost immediately.

‘She seems even faster than before.’

We followed along the path. Being a tropical area, the air was hot and humid. My clothes were soon drenched in sweat, so I loosened my tie around my neck.

Speed Weapon also seemed affected by the heat, panting like a tired dog, while Rachel was fanning herself energetically, clearly annoyed.

Leon, on the other hand, walked steadily, one hand resting on his sword hilt. I asked him,

“Aren’t you hot?”

“Of course it’s hot.”

Leon responded with a smile.

“But I have to be prepared for anything. At the very least, a leader can’t afford to drop his guard.”

“…I see.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say in response to his words and actions, which so perfectly fit the protagonist role. It was extremely reassuring but, honestly, not entertaining. I sighed briefly and looked ahead again.

The rainforest, which had previously been sparse, was now so dense it blocked our view on both sides.

The ground felt damper, a sign that a swamp was nearby. As we walked, our footprints sank into the muddy ground.

A sense of unease began to grow. Instinctively, I put my hand on my waist. Feeling the cold of my knife sheath, I felt a bit more at ease.

***

After a while, I saw Chloe approaching us from the distance, leaping between branches like a ninja from a comic.

When she reached us, she took a deep breath, paused to catch her breath, and then spoke.

“There’s a group of about 50 tritons around a large watering hole about 500 meters ahead.”

“Fifty… that’s more than I expected.”

Leon looked thoughtful, stroking his chin. Though tritons were Rank D creatures, their numbers posed a slight problem.

With our team members, sure, fifty or even a hundred of these demonic beasts wouldn’t be a huge challenge, but there was always some risk.

Normally, when clearing out groups of demonic beasts, we’d use a hit-and-run tactic to avoid possible ambushes by any others hiding around.

However, if we took them all out at once, we’d have a guaranteed lead. Leon was clearly weighing whether to take the risk or proceed cautiously.

Should he take the risk or play it safe? The decision was his responsibility as leader.

As if he’d finished weighing his options, Leon’s expression hardened, and he turned to Rachel.

“Rachel, can you handle it?”

“Of course! Those fish-heads wouldn’t scare me even if a hundred of them came at me!”

With her shoulders back, she pounded her chest with her fist, exuding absolute confidence. Chloe, meanwhile, cast a somewhat disdainful look her way.

Satisfied with Rachel’s response, Leon smiled, then turned to Speed Weapon.

“Support Rachel and Chloe with all the reinforcing and healing magic you have. I’ll be fine.”

He then looked at me and said,

“Geom-Ma, stay in the rear and be on the lookout for any possible ambushes, just as we planned.”

I nodded without hesitation. This was too good to be true. Though there had been moments when I’d regretted joining Leon’s team, now, seeing him hold things together like a firm anchor, I was glad to be here.

The entire time, a slight shiver had run through my body. The sharp, needling sensation on my skin persisted, unsettling me.

Maybe I was the only one feeling it, but none of the others in the group showed any signs of tension or anxiety. Even Leon’s expression didn’t change, as if he felt nothing.

I swallowed and followed the others.

Soon, we reached our target, and about twenty meters ahead, we saw tritons gathered around a pool.

‘Ugh, fuck’.

The sight of them made my stomach flip. The fact that they were fish with legs was gross enough, but to top it off, their heads looked like the salmon I’d had for breakfast. Just looking at them made me feel queasy.

Leon gave Rachel a signal with a nod. She looked at me and winked before launching herself at the group of tritons, her blonde hair tied in two pigtails waving behind her.

Crack!

With a huge leap, Rachel struck the ground so hard she left an imprint in the mud. With a fierce cry, she swung her spear with incredible power.

A sickening crunch sounded as the spear blade hit bone, and three tritons were horizontally split at once.

Realizing our presence, the rest of the tritons turned to us, gasping like fish as they charged.

The feeling was entirely new to me, but my teammates seemed used to it and followed Rachel without hesitation.

Speed Weapon lifted his flute and began playing a tune. I’m no music expert, but it didn’t sound particularly good; in fact, it reminded me of that out-of-tune Titanic cover I’d once heard.

As he played, Rachel smiled and, with even more strength, began mowing down the tritons with her halberd.

Crack.

Each time the air whistled, triton heads flew through it.

‘Incredible.’

The blood covering her weapon blade splattered with each swing.

I stood there, open-mouthed, watching Rachel’s dance. At the end of her movement, the tritons parted in two, clearing the way.

Chloe was beside Rachel, her katana thrust directly into the gills of three tritons.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The color in the fish eyes shifted dramatically.

Meanwhile, Chloe’s swordplay was faster and sharper than before. She jumped around, pulling her sword and launching aerial attacks, drenching the area around her in blood.

The two girls decimated the tritons as if it were a competition. Every time their gazes crossed, it was like sparks flew.

Leon, watching the situation, started to draw his sword, but he sheathed it again, shrugging. He simply had no chance to jump in.

“…Impressive.”

“Yes, this was easier than I thought. I guess I was worried for nothing.”

When I muttered this, Leon smiled and replied.

At some point, he and I, arms crossed, found ourselves silently watching the dismemberment show.

Looking at Speed Weapon, who was playing the flute with closed eyes and intense focus, I couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

I knew it wasn’t right to laugh when someone was giving it their all, but it was irresistibly funny.

A few minutes later, the numerous tritons had become piles of foul-smelling dead fish.

Blood flowed from their cold bodies, forming a stream running toward the pool.

The sight was so unsettling I couldn’t help but shudder a bit. I looked away from the bodies and stared ahead.

Rachel wiped the sweat from her forehead with a satisfied expression, while Chloe gathered the triton fins, which were necessary for our exam points.

Even Speed Weapon looked satisfied.

Leon, who was also helping Chloe collect fins, seemed in a good mood.

Honestly, I hadn’t done anything. Feeling disappointed, I clicked my tongue briefly.

After wrapping up the capture in record time, the group gathered. The number of tritons we’d killed was 48. Even if it wasn’t at this level, it was an accomplishment that would definitely place us in the top three. Leon said this after carefully counting the fins.

“We just need to take down a few more on the way back, and that should be enough.”

We were about to walk away when, suddenly, a presence behind us made me shiver.

The moment I turned my head, I heard the sound of something slicing.

Fresh blood splattered before my eyes. Leon’s side was slashed open, and he collapsed forward, blood gushing from his mouth. The eyes of everyone in the group widened at the sudden situation.

““““!””””

A faint buzzing rang in my ears. Instinctively, my eyes followed the source of the sound.

“What the hell is that?!”

Speed Weapon was trembling in terror.

A figure appeared over the pool where we had been standing a moment ago.

Its skeletal frame was vaguely human, but it was covered in scales, with eyes slit like a serpent’s and webbed fingers.

A siren demon—a demon, standing there, atop the pool stained red.

I couldn’t believe it. That unsettling sense of danger had come from a demon, something that had never happened in the game. Of course, in the game, I’d never have joined Leon’s team in the first place.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Before the shock had faded, the ground rumbled with a deafening sound, and a group of about a hundred tritons appeared, blocking our retreat.

Speed Weapon collapsed to the ground, Rachel and Chloe froze, and Leon was gasping for air, coughing up blood.

I was the only one still calm.

‘Damn it.’

I shook Chloe’s shoulders to snap her out of her trance.

“Chloe, first, you have to somehow find another nearby group and get help quickly.”

Chloe trembled and nodded numbly.

I immediately looked at Rachel and Speed Weapon and spoke in the calmest voice I could muster.

“Speed Weapon, heal him with all the healing magic you’ve got. Rachel, make sure those fish don’t get to Leon. At any cost.”

After saying that, I turned and moved toward the pool.

“Leave the big one to me.”

“G-Geom-Ma, are you…?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Big fish are my specialty.”

Sliiing-