by Funa
Previously
When Adele von Ascham, the eldest daughter of Viscount Ascham, was ten years old, she was struck with a terrible headache and, just like that, remembered everything.
She remembered how, in her previous life, she was an eighteen-year-old Japanese girl named Kurihara Misato who died while trying to save a young girl, and that she met God…
Misato had exceptional abilities, and the expectations of those around her were high. As a result, she could never live her life the way she wanted. So when she met God, she made an impassioned plea:
“In my next life, please make my abilities average!”
Yet somehow, it all went awry.
In her new life, she can talk to nanomachines, and although her magical powers are technically average, it is the average between a human’s and an elder dragon’s…6,800 times that of a sorcerer!
At the first academy she attended, she made friends and rescued a little boy as well as a princess.
She registered at the Hunters’ Prep School under the name of Mile and formed a party with her classmates. The Crimsom Vow made a grand debut, but one problem after another came hurtling their way—from golems, invading foreign soldiers, and doting fathers to elder dragons, the strongest creatures in the world!
Suddenly, the empire to the south launched an invasion of Mile’s old homeland, but using their wit and battle prowess, the Crimson Vow managed to beat back the 5,000 men of the Albarnian imperial army to save the town of Mafan!
And now, while visiting a village of dwarves, they’ve come face-to-face with a horde of orcs, blessed with peculiar strength…
Chapter 68:
Stronger Monsters
Seriously though, why were those orcs so high level? I’m pretty sure they aren’t high orcs! High orcs, high oc—oh! Maybe they ate some high-octane food, and it gave them greater fuel efficiency…
Mile let her mind wander as she walked, her search magic activated. It was time to proceed with the monster extermination, and since the dwarves were the primary agents here, the Crimson Vow were to serve as little more than extra reinforcements. It had been up to the dwarves to decide when and where they would act. However, at the time that the decision to proceed was made, Mile made several firm suggestions, to which the leader of the dwarves acquiesced.
First, if they were to encounter a group of ogres, the twenty-eight dwarves were to split up into four units of seven dwarves each, with each unit taking on just one ogre.
Second, the members of the Crimson Vow were to be free to station themselves as they pleased during both travel and any battle. Moreover, their combat style and order of operations were not to be interfered with. If the dwarves had something to say about any of that, they could say it when the battle was through.
Third, the dwarves were to never breathe a word to anyone about the Crimson Vow’s combat ability or special skills.
Mile’s first provision was reasonable, especially after the egregious loss the dwarves had already suffered at the hands of the orcs. There was no telling how many orcs the Crimson Vow would be able to take on themselves if they were beset by several at once, but the previous battle had clearly shown the dwarves that the girls’ power was orders of magnitude greater than theirs. As for the rest, the dwarves were well aware of the hunter taboo of spilling secrets about others’ abilities and knew better than to tread on that land mine. They also knew that the hunters’ team-based tactics differed from the direct, head-on approach that the dwarves employed, and had no intention of interfering with the party in battle.
As they proceeded once more in search of the monsters, their spirits restored, Mile stopped the group with a signal.
“There’s a big group of monsters ahead. I’m getting a different reaction than from the orcs, so there’s a chance that they might be ogres. There are eleven of them!”
“Wha—?!” the dwarves all cried.
If the dwarves took on four, that would leave seven for the four members of the Crimson Vow. They would be leaving seven ogres of above-average strength to attack four little girls younger than their own children and grandchildren—maybe even their great-grandchildren.
“This is no good. We should retreat…”
“Let’s go, everyone!”
“All right!!!”
The combat leader’s directions were drowned out by the Crimson Vow’s battle cry.
“Ice Bullet!”
The moment they locked eyes with the horde of ogres, Reina struck them with an ice spell she had incanted ahead of time. A swarm of icy bullets came raining down on the ogres, who stopped in their tracks, trying to shield their faces with their arms.
Given that they were in a forest, Reina had to fall back on ice magic, which was not her forte. Then again, this only meant that she wasn’t as good at ice magic as she was at fire magic, her personal specialty. Compared to an attack from a normal mage, this spell was still plenty powerful. However, because this was an area attack, the firing power of each tiny bullet was not much. They would have been able to take out something like a kobold, perhaps, but unless they struck one in the eye, they would not do very much damage to an ogre.
That said, the ogres had stopped moving, and they were obstructing their own vision by covering their eyes. Reina’s goal had been sufficiently achieved.
The moment that the ogres realized that the icy attack was over, they lowered their arms, but it was already too late. Mavis and Mile plunged into the horde together, swords swinging.
However, as they swung those swords, they found…
“Guh! They’re tough!”
Mile managed to cut into the side of one of the ogres, but Mavis’s sword barely left a scratch on the hide of the ogre she had attacked. Seeing this, Mile yelled, “I knew it! These ogres are… Hey everyone, get your butts in here!”
Though the dwarves had been following behind the Crimson Vow as the party advanced, they had yet to jump into the battle, standing dumbly behind the hunters instead. As Reina was currently engaged in incanting her next attack spell, it fell upon Mile to be the one to scream at them. The dwarves, accustomed to much politer speech from Mile, were momentarily startled, but when they realized how stupid they looked standing around staring while their allies took on powerful enemies, they returned to their senses and hurriedly jumped into the battle.
“Split up into four teams as planned! Don’t think too hard about it!” Mile reminded.
Reina was finished with her next spell in the blink of an eye. Now that her allies were in the fray, the attack she launched was a simple ice javelin instead of an area spell. Pauline, meanwhile, did not immediately attack. Instead, she held a simple spell, ready to launch the moment it seemed an ally was about to come under attack, her eyes on the whole battlefield.
A battle was not merely about engaging the enemy directly, nor about matching an enemy’s numbers one-to-one. Fighting as a party meant keeping the right people in the right places, ready at the right times.
And Mavis was…
“O beautiful blade of mine, show us your true form!”
…incanting a strange spell for some reason?
I’m pretty sure my backup dagger responded to my feelings in the battle against the elder dragons. I don’t see any reason why this sword, my primary blade, shouldn’t do the same!
OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD NOW’S OUR CHANCE!!!
The poor nanomachines in Mavis’s short sword had been forced to sit and watch, squirming and seething with jealousy during the battle with the elder dragons, while the nanomachines in her dagger hogged all the glory.
But now, finally! Finally! Their opportunity was finally here!
Unlike her dagger, the short sword didn’t have any gimmicks like a deadly cutting edge that was normally kept hidden. It was merely a sturdy, unassuming blade. There was nothing unusual about it.
BUT THAT’S NO PROBLEM FOR US!
Indeed, for these nanomachines, now riding high, such matters were nothing more than a technicality.
SHARPEN IT! SHARPEN IT! SHARPEN IIIT!!!
MITHRIL COATING!
MONOMOLECULAR BLADE FORMATION! LET’S GOOO!!!
SPECIAL EFFECTS, FULL THROTTLE! WE GOTTA MAKE THIS LOOK COOL!!!
The sword began to glow with a golden sheen.
“All right!!!”
This time, as Mavis swung her short sword, it cut through the ogres’ bodies like butter.
“What the heck is that?!?!” The sword suddenly had functions and abilities that Mile did not recall imbuing it with. She stared, wide-eyed, but there was no time to sit around.
No matter how strong these ogres were, Mile could match them in strength, speed, and endurance. The same could not be said for the others, who could be killed in a single blow. All the wheels in Mile’s head were turning as she tried to keep a close eye on both her party members and opponents at once. Technically, that duty had already been entrusted to Pauline, but Mile felt uneasy leaving Pauline to shoulder the responsibility alone. What she wasn’t sure of was whether this was a wise course of action or whether it showed a lack of faith in their ability to work as a team.
As some of the ogres turned toward the dwarves, Reina launched an ice javelin that bypassed four of the enemies but plunged straight into the fifth. It was a blow that would have done in any ogre under normal circumstances, but while this one was deeply wounded, it was still able to fight, and it turned its rage toward Reina.
Reina fell back slightly and began her next spell. Pauline then fired a second ice javelin into the ogre approaching Reina. Once she was sure that Reina was safe, she turned back to surveying the battlefield, quickly preparing her next spell.
“Mavis, on your right!”
“Got it!”
The Crimson Vow kept their ogres in check so that the enemies would not turn their attention to the dwarves. Landing one injury after another, they opened up enough of a gap to land more fatal blows.
By the time they had finished felling seven of the ogres, the dwarves were still in combat. Even fighters as hearty as the dwarves had difficulty cutting through the thick hide and muscle of the ogres while dodging the monsters’ swinging clubs.
Understanding that it would be a blow to the dwarves’ pride if they stepped in to swiftly clean things up, the Crimson Vow waited, taking up positions to intervene if things got particularly dangerous. Soon, however, the dwarves managed to slip past the ogres’ clubs and rush in, and as they landed one decisive jab after another, the ogres all fell to the ground.
***
“This should do it.”
Once all the dwarves’ wounds were magically healed and the fallen ogres put away into storage, the first stage of the reclamation team’s mission was finally complete.
Mile was as easy-breezy as ever, but in stark contrast, Mavis could not seem to calm down.
For…obvious reasons.
From the moment that the fight with the ogres had concluded, the dwarves could not seem to take their eyes off of Mavis, and she could feel their searing gaze on her.
Or not upon her, but rather, upon the short sword at her waist.
Ah, so that’s what it is… thought the other three. This was only inevitable. They averted their gazes from Mavis and her awkward fidgeting.
I need to know! All the dwarves had the same thought, but none of them could bring themselves to ask Mavis. To inquire about a hunter’s past, question her abilities, or to share information about her was taboo—verboten. Especially not when they were working together on such a dangerous mission, carrying out such an important task.
Even so…
I need to knooooooooow!!!!!!
There was no way that a group of blacksmithing dwarves, undying in their devotion to their craft, could look upon a sword like Mavis’s and think nothing of it.
The swords that they carried had all been forged in the village, and the ones swinging them were strong and sturdy dwarves with bodies honed by long years of hard work. And yet, in the battle against the ogres, they had been shown to be lacking. Was it because their swords had fallen short? Or was it because they lacked the strength to draw out the swords’ full potential?
This frail, gangly human girl had slashed through the ogres like it was nothing. There was no way that her muscles could possibly be stronger than theirs.
The sword?
Was it the sword?
Could it be that sword?!?!
Their collective gaze followed Mavis like a laser beam.
Meanwhile, no one seemed to take much interest in Mile, although she, too, had cut through the ogres with comparable ease. Why was that?
“Little miss, what is your lineage?”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Well, miss, I was wondering if you’re a half-dwarf? I mean you’re powerful, short, flat as a board, and tiny. Clearly you’ve got some dwarf in there—”
“How rude!!!”
Mile reached her boiling point quickly when it came to this particular topic. The dwarf, of course, had been complimenting Mile’s physique, so he was completely in the dark as to why she would get so angry.
…Dwarves, apparently, had very different standards of beauty.
That’s it! All this had given Mile an idea. If I just eradicate the dwarves, then all of their measurements will be eliminated from my physical data set, and my height will…
THAT’S NOT HOW THIS WORKS!
Mile didn’t actually have the slightest intention of going on a dwarf-slaughtering spree, but the nanomachines, riddled with fear at this uncharacteristically wicked thought, immediately jumped in to deny her.
I wasn’t being serious!
Though the nanomachines were able to converse with Mile by reading her mind, even they could not tell whether or not she was joking.
At any rate, there was Mavis, the obviously pure-blooded human, and her sword, which had begun to shine with golden light. And then there were the bodies of the ogres, which the sword had sliced through like a hot knife through butter. This was enough for the dwarves to completely ignore Mile and focus all their attention on Mavis’s sword.
“Grnnh, I can’t die in a place like this…”
“Not until I find out how that sword was crafted and from what…”
“I’ve gotta make it home alive! If I can just make it home alive, then once their contract is finished, we can just sit and chat, and…”
“What are you all doing? Let’s go! We still aren’t done taking all the monsters out!” Reina shouted hurriedly.
According to what the dwarves had told them, there should still be a number of orcs and ogres around. Plus, they still had yet to actually reach the ogres’ lair, which the initial expedition had been unable to find. They had undertaken grave injuries and were forced to retreat before they could determine the precise location.
“According to our investigation, the ogres have settled close to the entrances of the tunnels. The orcs live a short distance away in the forest; they don’t like to come near there. Other monsters are around too, but they aren’t anything significant.”
For some reason, it seemed that the orcs had settled not terribly far from the ogres, who were natural predators of theirs. It was a bit suspicious, but there was no point in dwelling on it.
The other monsters, such as goblins, kobolds, or jackalopes, would not pose much of a problem. Even several times stronger than usual, they would still pale in comparison to a single normal orc. Besides, according to the dwarves’ report, it was only the orcs and ogres that were abnormally strong.
Why the heck would that be?
For everything, there was a reason. For every effect, a cause.
Mile thought deeply.
Is this evolution? Like how Pikachu turns into Raichu? No. If that were the case, the orcs would turn into orc warriors or high orcs or something. And then maybe orc kings… The ogres would likewise evolve into ogre warriors, then high ogres, then ogre kings. But as far as I could tell, they were all normal orcs and ogres…
Even if this was evolution at work, it would only impact those individuals of sufficient strength to be candidates for leveling up. There were no cases of an entire group evolving all at the same time. That would be evidence of the birth of a whole new, superior type of monster. And if that happened…
It wouldn’t be a big deal for a superior class of jackalope—a “high jackalope”—to appear. However, if a new class of “high ogres” began to emerge, weaponizing their superior battle strength and impenetrable flesh to spread throughout the continent…
A terrifying thought floated through Mile’s head.
It would be the death of humanity.
The reclamation team proceeded on toward the tunnels, finally stopping just short of their destination.
“Can the tunnels withstand attack spells?” Mile asked suddenly.
The leader was a bit taken aback at first, but as he pondered her question, he supposed it was an obvious one, considering that they were about to do battle near the tunnel’s entrance.
“Yeah, the tunnels don’t actually go that deep. They’re just deep enough that you couldn’t call this open-pit mining. They shouldn’t crumble easily, and even if they do, we can easily dig them back out. Compared to actually mining the bedrock, clearing out a little bit of rock or sand is nothing. Plus, we could probably just dig a new one somewhere else… It’s no big deal if we lose ’em.”
What he said sounded about right. This was not like a gold mine, which could stretch for tens of kilometers underground. There was no reason for anyone mining iron ore to go to such lengths—and besides, the dwarves didn’t have the technological ability to do so.
The ogres, who were only using the tunnels to shelter themselves from the wind and rain, were probably camped out relatively near the entrances. If they went too far in, there would be no water or prey or light. Additionally, fighting within the narrow tunnels, where it would be difficult to swing a sword, put the recovery team at a disadvantage. They were better off starting the battle out here.