37 Of Course, I Have Several Tricks Left (8.2)

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Evade blow, detect magic, duck and allow Lance to destroy tendril. Five current enemies. Two at back. Three at front. Buildings to sides. Two enemies at full combat ability. Remaining three currently maimed. Coming assault from two at front. Parry primary blows with main branch. Utilize secondary branches for remaining attacks.

Alf and I took on the horde of plant monsters, making sure to keep them off Lefiya and Tiona. Under normal circumstances, I'm sure that a normal Level 2 would be paste even when fighting alongside her, but my Continuous Haste and ability to cast on the move allowed me to evade the many, many blows of the monsters. Given that we were both Mages that used magic on the move, albeit I focused on a more personal method of using magic, our methods of fighting were similar enough that we worked very well with one another. Though the streets and buildings around us suffered, due to the fact both of us were throwing around very powerful magic, we were able to handle the constant tide of the monsters despite the fact we weren't capable of killing them quickly.

One more enemy entering at ally's end of the street. Wounded. Sporting fire damage and cut limbs. Immense strength and powerful weapon required to cut. Mage and Warrior. Monster is fleeing. Flash of silver and gold. Monster is cut completely in half. Figure stands atop it. Aiz Wallenstein. Level 6. Second figure present. Hand outstretched with glittering sparks. A cry. Firebolt. Cranel. Lance of white energy. Destroys entire group. Focus on remaining foe. Work in tandem with current partner. Enemy destroyed. No other monsters. Relax and focus on calming down-.

I barely managed to stop myself from recoiling as Cranel reached me with a few, bounding steps.

"Sensei, you're alright!" Cranel tackled me by the midsection. Covered in soot and sporting a few scrapes and bruises, I was surprised that he had the strength to grasp me so tightly. Despite the fact I had my Restraint off, I couldn't help but grunt as his maximized stats warred against my A-Ranks. Truly, Realis Phrase was ridiculously strong when combined with Mentor. He'll probably start Level 3 at C-Class, despite never stepping past Under Resort. Really, isn't that a bit overpowered? "Aiz said that these monsters went after people with large amounts of Magic, so we started looking for you when they appeared!"

No sound of coming enemies. Need to rescue other allies. Street unsafe. Roofs safer.

"I'm fine, Brat." I pushed him off lightly, turning my gaze towards Wallenstein. As expected, the Sword Princess was completely pristine despite fighting opponents that Hiryute's blows couldn't slay. Even the weakest Level 6 is more powerful than any Level 5 below S-Rank. Augh, I still have too much of my mind dedicated to fighting to properly think about other people without considering their strengths. It didn't help that I was in serious danger of dying the last hour. I made sure that he noticed my glances towards his various, minor injuries. "Though, you're not. Care to explain why you tried to fight against these things?"

Leader-Ally in close proximity. No fatigue. Offer healing. Request movement to reinforce ally or relocate.

"I couldn't leave Aiz to deal with all of them, especially when she could protect me while I took them out in one shot, Sensei." Cranel shook his head, no sign of regret in his actions. Good, reasoned argument as well, I can't fault him easily for it. Still, seeing his stubbornness gave me something else to focus my mind on. Running through a list of other things he could've done, such as simply evading combat altogether, I found the portion of my consciousness dedicated to battle slowly returning to manageable sizes. Manageable because I was sure that I wasn't done using it yet. "Besides, you said that sticking to someone strong in a dangerous situation is the best way to survive, and Aiz is definitely strong!"

"I also felt it would be safer for him to stay by my side, Hikigaya-san." Wallenstein spoke softly, giving a small tilt of her head. There was even a bit of red on her cheeks, almost as though she was embarrassed by admitting such a small thing. Alf gave me a slight nudge in my ribs, meeting my inquiring gaze with a raised brow. There was some sort of question in the raised eyebrow, but I wasn't the most social of people. I could only offer a shrug in response. "In fact, I had asked him to stay with me rather than allowing him to go looking for you immediately."

"Needless of the circumstances." Alf cleared her throat and settled back into her 'leader' state. Though the differences were only slight, straightened shoulders along with the slightest upturn of her slight shin, Wallenstein immediately stood at attention. Cranel followed a moment after his crush, though he cast a quizzical look in my direction before doing so. Don't worry, Brat, this is just me delegating a more difficult job to someone else. "With the two of you we shall be able to deal with any and all monsters that currently remain. Hikigaya-kun, tell them of the situation. Aiz, please relay what information you have gathered to him. It is imperative that we know how many of the monsters remain."

With that, Alf took off and we followed. However, before Aiz could start speaking, Cranel turned to me with a look of curiosity in his wide, scarlet eyes.

"Hikigaya-kun?" Cranel tilted his head as he spoke, lips slightly pursing. His hair was pushed back as he followed us into the air. W-what the hell? Why are you referring to me like that, you Brat?! I'm your Sensei! Such relationships are unacceptable, you need to graduate- No. This isn't what I meant to think. Totsuka is the only one for me. Forgive me, Totsuka, I am but a mortal man who is led into temptation. Cranel is but a false idol! Wait, I think I went into the wrong direction in this. "Since when did Alf-sama call you Hikigaya-kun, Sensei?"

"After Lefiya did." I answered simply, truthfully, and without a chance for misinterpretation before giving my student a glare. While I'm glad that I managed to avoid a subplot that I didn't have time for, I wasn't going to give my student any slack. We're currently fighting against monsters that can kill us if we make a single mistake. Even if we had several powerful allies on our side, that didn't mean we could talk casually heading into combat. Your appeal goes only so far Cranel, asking such inane questions in combat can get you killed! "Now, less talking, and more fighting, Brat."

"H-hai, Sensei!" Cranel gave a cry of assent before giving me a beaming smile and a thumbs up. "You're amazing, Sensei! I hope to follow in your footsteps one day!"

Damn right you are! I won't allow any student of mine to ever underestimate the battlefield!

…

Side-quests are a pain. I'll have to admit that they're useful, and that doing them all makes the 'real' game easier, but when the grinding mechanics give more money, and have easy exploits, they're just a pain. There's a reason why I never did any of the Quests posted on the guild. While they could've allowed me to make a 'good' reputation with various people and companies, the money made from them was lower than the amount I could gain by just going into the Dungeon and training while farming. It's a regular occurrence for one side-quest to lead into another, leading to a 'character development' decision or romance, before altering the ending of the game. If this world was actually a videogame instead of a Light Novel, its side-quests would've needed to contribute greatly to the plot, or one of its many endings, to consider doing because of how much better grinding was in comparison.

Needless to say, side quests are essentially underpaid, voluntary work that had vague rewards. The same as taking an unpaid internship for a 'work experience,' carrying bags for a girl for a chance for 'affection,' and picking up trash on the side of a mountain to 'value your culture.' All things that I didn't do, unless I had sufficient reason (read: forced) to do it. Understandably, I've been avoiding them because they were useless, I had no interest in relationships built off of hard work by me, and I appreciated my culture enough without having to clean up the countryside during my vacations!

However, much to my irritation, I was now neck-deep in one while I was going along with the main plot! Oi, what sort of shitty VN, Light Novel, or Videogame is this!? This is a serious branching off of the current arc, you know!? First there was the attack by monsters, which was fine because it had some foreshadowing, but suddenly introducing a long-haired, special, elf character that just screams potential love-interest right in the middle is strange no matter how you look into it! Whoever's editing this pile of crap needs to be fired!

"…and so, Dionysus-sama is currently alone in the city, as I made myself bait to save him." Filvis Challia finished her lengthy story and exposition. In twenty words or less, her story was: 'Most of my Familia was killed, my god and I investigated, we found suspicious stones and these monsters. Please help.' Yep, exactly twenty words. Didn't need the monologue, cutscene, or whatever just happened while we all stared at her for five minutes. That could have been five minutes spent killing the monsters threatening the city, you know!? "I must humbly request this of you, Princess of the Forest, aid me in saving my Kami-sama!"

"Raise your head, Challia-san, in Orario I am but a mere adventurer." Alf, our timely leader, took to the lengthy explanation longer than I did. As much as I mocked her upraising and schooling, I couldn't help but be impressed at how easily she made speaking to others seem. Usually, I'd just force someone to tell me what they wanted. I most certainly wouldn't have gotten a grateful smile or a sigh of relief by doing so, but I have Cranel to do all that stuff for me. His Harem Protagonist powers shall serve me well! "We shall aid you in finding your Kami-sama, Challia-san, but please understand that we cannot simply let these fiends run loose, we are of the few who are effective in fighting against them."

"I understand, Alf-sama." Challia gave a curtsey as Alf lowered her head slightly in acknowledgement. I focused on using Nourish and Mend on the rest of the party. Though only Cranel needed Mend, due to bruises and scratches, Nourish was useful for everyone. Given the fact that I had an Amplify Stave and had my Mage Skill, the effect of Nourish practically wiped away every ounce of tiredness that built up across the day. When I used it on myself, I felt as though I'd just woken up from a long nap and just ate a refreshing, energizing meal at the same time. "Two people will be sufficient in ensuring Dionysus-sama's safety as we travel to meet with you again." The black-haired, elf paused before turning towards me. "However, I must request that your Healer accompany me, as I am afraid that Dionysus-sama might be injured."

"With Aiz with us, myself and Tiona will be more than capable of taking on the monsters while you search for your Kami-sama." Alf gave a sharp nod as she gave Challia more than she had asked for. However, I saw the strategy behind the plan. A Level 5 and a pair of Level 6s are far more effective when not worrying about two pairs of Level 2s and 3s. We also had enough magic between the four of us to take on the enemy cautiously. Overall, it was a plan I couldn't find faults in. "Hikigaya-kun, you're in charge, bring yourselves and Dionysus-sama back safely. Meet us at Twilight House."

With that the three left, leaving the four of us to our own devices.

The city was in complete chaos with monsters running amok, all four of us could be killed with a single, lucky blow from a tentacle monster straight out of an eroge, and we needed to find a god whose general location was specified as 'that way.' Honestly, I didn't know whether to be angry at being handed the responsibility of managing this mess or be pleased that Alf thought I would be able to do it.

Eh, who am I kidding?

I've been pissed off at less.

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