Chapter 4
“ALL THAT’S LEFT NOW is the monster, right?”
Mira’s sudden change of subject caused the occupants of the underground room to grow gloomy once more. Who could blame them? Melissa’s life was saved for now…but when night fell, they would all certainly die.
The powerful monster was still watching over the fortress, waiting for the perfect chance to snap up its prey. Even if it stopped attacking the walls, Mira could tell that the hunters didn’t have enough food to last very long. Sooner or later, someone would have to leave to get something to eat, and that person would most likely end up becoming a meal instead of finding one.
But the most immediate issue was that the fortress’s durability had reached its limit. The walls would collapse long before reinforcements could arrive—assuming that the hunters’ messenger had even made it to town with their request.
“So, the monster watching the fortress… Anyone know where it is?” Mira asked the room. No one answered. The hunters, now awoken from their fleeting dream of salvation, were vividly reminded of the terrifying monster and trembled from fear of death.
“It ought to be patrolling the nearby forest at this time of day,” Dran said finally. He had left a female hunter to clean Melissa’s skin and now reached for his bow and arrows, which leaned against a nearby wall. “You’re going, aren’t you? Well, this old bag of bones can be your shield, bait, or whatever else.”
With that, he stood up straight. Though Mira hadn’t realized it before, the man was a giant. He seemed easily two meters tall.
“I’ll help as well.”
“Me too!”
Two more older hunters joined the cause. They were visibly weaker than Dran, but the resolve in their eyes burned just as strongly. The pair stood before Mira, a sword and an axe in their hands.
“Are you certain? We may not be able to win,” Mira lied, looking up at them and failing to conceal her smirk. Yet her words were not meant to test their determination.
“We’ve found an opportunity to try, and we’re going to take it. Can’t live a long life without some cunning,” said Dran, and the others spoke up in agreement.
“We all saw your summoning. It snapped us out of our funk.”
“How could we call ourselves hunters if we didn’t rally behind you now?”
The three turned to gaze silently upon the younger hunters. They had to show the youngsters their will to fight.
Now armed with a powerful trump card, they were going to battle a foe they hadn’t been able to stand up against before. Would they taste victory? Could they be any use to Mira at all? Would the hunters become the hunted? The questions hung in the air, unspoken.
I happen to like these silly, testosterone-filled developments.
As for Mira, she’d planned on handling the monster alone. However, she abandoned that thought as soon as the older hunters spoke up. If she fought the monster solo, she would be stealing away the hunters’ chance at justice and vengeance.
The hunters of the fortress were beaten down, terrified of the monster. If she killed it, they might be happy to be alive, but the experience would leave an eternal weight on their souls. When Mira considered their future, she realized that she should prioritize helping these men and women overcome their fear over showing off the glory of summoning.
The hunters desperately needed to regain confidence. Dran and the others had given them the opportunity; now, the young hunters simply needed to rally their courage.
“Hold on a second. We finally saved Melissa’s life. Instead of picking a fight we don’t know we can win, wouldn’t it be better to carry people out of here one by one?” The slender hunter stepped toward Mira and the others, offering the choice with the highest probability of survival.
His reasoning wasn’t wrong either. What good would come of the hunters dying here?
Then again, the slender man had never watched a properly trained summoner fight, so he failed to see the opportunity for victory that Mira brought. A summoner of her ability—as evidenced by her summoning Asclepius—had undoubtedly been in many battles against long odds and prevailed. Unfortunately, the other young hunters didn’t realize that either.
“Come on! We can win this!” Dran admonished him. “You saw Mira summon. The fact that it required an incantation means that she’s got high-level magic.”
“Yeah, I know. I did see it. But no matter how good at healing she is, that…thing can half kill you with a scrape. Direct hit, and you’re dead. We can’t stand up against that.”
Dran did not get through to the slender man—simply because he lacked understanding of all magic, not just summoning. While a skilled mage almost always had to be a skilled fighter to learn high-level spells, that didn’t necessarily apply to summoners. It was a difficult path to tread indeed.
“Healing isn’t the only thing a summoner can do. Isn’t that right, Mira?” Dran asked.
“But of course. Resourcefulness is the true value of summoning.” Mira puffed out her chest and grinned smugly.
She assumed she looked rather dashing, but it seemed the young hunters only saw her as a little girl trying to appear taller. Even Dran chuckled at the sight; it inspired little in the way of confidence. Still, it didn’t shake his trust in her.
Meanwhile, the younger hunters began to change their minds. Latry turned from Melissa and stood up.
“I’ll go,” he declared, fire in his eyes, and walked over to Dran. In his heart burned one emotion: pride.
“Listen to reason, Latry! We saved Melissa, and we can escape! We don’t have to fight or stay here anymore.” The slender man drew close to Latry, pleading his case. Desperately, he argued that fleeing into the sky while they could was a far better choice than recklessly throwing themselves into battle with the unknown.
“Mira saved Melissa’s life. If she says she can defeat the monster, then I’m going to follow her. If the going gets rough, I’ll buy her time,” Latry replied, his mind made up. “She has a way to fly, if nothing else. If we have to flee, I’ll circle back to you guys, and we’ll run as far as we can.”
No matter what happened, Latry wouldn’t let Mira die—even if it meant sacrificing himself. He was resolute in his decision. His words and the fire in his eyes silenced the slender hunter.
“Besides, we have a chance. And I don’t plan on dying—Melissa’s all right, and there’s plenty of fun I want to have,” Latry laughed, banishing the heavy air in the room. “Honestly, I don’t know a thing about summoning. I just know that Mira’s magic is incredible. Someone once said that all veteran mages are strong, no matter their discipline, and Mira has to be really damn strong.”
His words sent a ripple through the other young hunters as they all reflected on the person he was talking about: Mira. Latry was the strongest person at the fortress, and the young hunters only knew of one other stronger than him—not counting Mira, who they considered a wildcard. Slowly, hope took root where only despair had existed before.
“Can you…beat that thing?” the thin man finally asked Mira. The other young hunters focused directly on her and waited to hear her answer.
“That depends on how much effort you’re willing to put in,” she replied, simultaneously summoning a Holy Knight next to her. Over the sudden clamor of surprise, she added, “My summon can guard against the monster’s attacks—as you can see, he specializes in defense. But whether the monster goes down is up to your attacks. What do you say? Do any of you have the courage to try?”
Mira laid a hand upon the knight’s tower shield and looked at the young men appraisingly. This was all for show, of course; even if the Holy Knight wasn’t as strong as her offense-oriented Dark Knight, it was up to the task. There were very few enemies it couldn’t overpower.
However, her goal was to let the hunters regain their courage through their own deeds. Easily defeating the monster in just a few moments would fail to achieve that. If she tanked for them, on the other hand…
Gazing upon the imposing Holy Knight—which was larger than Dran, with sturdy armor and an enormous shield—planted the seeds of courage in the younger hunters.
“I’ll give it a try,” one piped up. “We’ll never get a chance like this again.”
“I’m a real hunter,” another added. “With that thing on our side, I’ve got no reason to run.”
Fear still gnawed at them, but hope had kindled small fires of bravery within. The fires spread as those two voiced their willingness to fight, and more people stepped up to volunteer. Soon, the underground room was full of life as the hunters checked their weapons and made ready. Asclepius treated those who needed healing one after another.
That’s right. This is how young people should act! Mira plopped down and watched them in satisfaction.
“Your assistance is much appreciated,” Dran said quietly as he sat next to the grinning young woman. The other two older hunters who had stood alongside him bowed their heads in gratitude simultaneously.
At first, Dran had considered using himself as bait to give the hunters an opportunity for an all-out attack on the monster. He knew a veteran summoner like Mira ought to deal serious damage to the creature if given the chance, if not kill it outright. If she crippled it, the young hunters would be likelier to move in and finish it off. His two partners seemed to have felt the same way—if Dran fell in battle, they’d been willing to act as bait to give Mira two more shots.
The moment they beheld the Holy Knight, however, the three hunters realized that Mira was far more powerful than they’d thought. It wasn’t lost on them that she was rallying their younger companions to restore their broken spirits, either.
“Really? Don’t mention it.” Mira shrugged with a tilt of her head. She never knew the desperate measures the three elders had been willing to go to, although they had been able to read her plan to goad the younger hunters into action.
Choosing to save the hunters would have been the right thing for Mira to do. But standing them up and making them walk on their own feet was even more important. A sheltered sprout could not grow into a great tree, but neither could a sprout bent to the breaking point.
Mira admired the hunters’ philosophy, informed by their meaningful experiences. It wasn’t something that could be easily replicated. She smiled and committed the scene of the remotivated hunters to memory.
***
As the chamber bustled with people preparing for battle, a group appeared before Dran.
“Hey, is it true that we’re gonna fight that monster?” questioned a man who had been working on the outer wall. Curious, Mira looked up and noticed that the whole repair crew was there.
“That’s the plan.” Dran nodded and stared them down, his gaze firm.
For a moment they gaped in disbelief. “B-but…that’s not gonna work. We were fixing the wall because we knew an assault would be suicide. We gotta hold out and wait for reinforcements—th-that was the plan!” The man stammered a bit as he made his case. His caution was only natural; this moment was pivotal.
“What if I told you we now have a chance? Would you fight then?” Dran asked them after glancing at Mira and the Holy Knight standing silently beside her.
“We’ve heard all about it,” the speaker for the crew replied. “That white thing is our key to victory, right? But I just don’t get it. I mean, it looks cool, but I don’t know jack about summoning. There’s just no way it can stand up to that monster.”
Despite the Holy Knight’s intimidating air, the fear of facing the monster again was still strong among those who hadn’t witnessed Dran’s offer to volunteer. The work crew were battling with their emotions, torn between a desire to fight like real hunters and to do the prudent thing and wait for reinforcements.
If only they were certain they could win, they would take up arms. Even if they weren’t, they would struggle to the last. But their fatigue from the nightly attacks had yet to abate, and the monster was an enormous threat.
Unfortunately, Dran and his fellows weren’t quite up to the task of convincing these hunters. They needed one last push.
Then, a man stepped forward. He wore a leather apron, gloves, and black coveralls—the very picture of a craftsman, with fine features to boot. Mira recalled that he was the one who had been using his incredible techniques to work the lumber.
He looked up at the Holy Knight and then down at Mira before saying confidently, “I think we can bet our hopes on this girl. Then again, I’m not much of a fighter. I’ll be leaving that to everyone else.”
“You think so?” the leader of the repair crew asked. “Hmm. If Tomoki says so, then she must be the real deal.”
The carpenter’s friends seemed to trust him. Almost instantly, his words alone had ignited their fighting spirit.
But what evidence did he have to determine Mira’s strength?
Tomoki was a very Japanese-sounding name. Mira paused and focused her attention on the carpenter, rather than his now-lively companions. The two locked eyes, confirming Mira’s suspicions.
Tomoki approached Mira and whispered in her ear with a smile. “You’re a former player, aren’t you? I leave everyone in your hands.” He threw in a meaningful wink.
A normal woman might’ve blushed at the act, but this was Mira. She simply curled her lip and spoke with confidence. “You can count on me.”
Tomoki was also a former player. Just as he’d realized that they were two of a kind, he’d also surmised Mira’s strength.
When this world was a game, there had been no true death for players. They could fight recklessly without a care, crossing the line between life and death multiple times. Thus, they had easily reached levels of skill that the world’s normal people could never hope to match. Although there were differences between them, most if not all former players were strong in battle, and Tomoki had judged that Mira was capable of felling the monster.
Mira made her own estimation of him. If he can’t fight the monster himself, he must specialize in crafting. That explained the miraculous woodwork. It wasn’t unheard of for a person who loved crafting—or metalwork, or some other trade—to ignore combat completely in the game. Hence, in AEO, a number of people could hardly fight at all.
Some player craftsmen could even create items equal to those of legendary rank. Mira thought about all the legendary items she’d left with Cleos to rebuild the Department of Evocation at the academy.
She could imagine that Tomoki was quite a woodworker—and surely his skills and experience far outstripped his strength. His presence also spoke well of his companions, the hunters. First-rate craftsmen were also first-rate judges of character.
***
Soon, the hunters finished preparing for battle. They lined up in front of Mira, and their strategy meeting began.
The planning wasn’t particularly complex. They discussed simple yet necessary things: where they would fight, that they would travel there in single file, how they would react to emergencies, how to assign roles based on skills and weapons, and so on.
As she concluded the meeting, Mira gave the hunters one major warning: whatever happened, no one should hide behind the Holy Knight. She would protect them no matter what, but this battle was meant to restore the hunters’ dignity. They would have to face the monster head-on.
In response, the hunters all replied in unison, “Yes, ma’am!”
Tomoki’s directions were to remain in the fortress and watch over Melissa. With a bowed head and a solemn word of thanks, Latry expressed his gratitude to the carpenter. Finally, Dran and the other elders rallied the young folk, their energized voices shaking the chamber.
They charged out of the fortress, renewed and revitalized by Mira’s presence.
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