01x11 - Rank S Promotion Exam

[bunniefuu]

Right now, we're in southwest

Gaun, in the Crest Forest.

We've rushed here as fast as we could to

get to an elf village located in this forest.

It's strange

like I've been here before.

You're a half-elf, after all.

It might be your elf blood

making you think that.

You think so?

That's strange, though.

I was taught that elves only

lived on the Western Continent,

and that you couldn't find them here,

on the Eastern Continent.

Over a decade ago, some elves moved

from the Western Continent to here.

Now they seem to be under Gaun's protection.

As for why we're heading

to an elven village

Those assassins from Trycen

Until now, Trycen's been insisting they

had nothing to do with the Black Wind,

and are trying their best

to keep things quiet.

And now they're attacking you, huh?

Actually, every country on the

continent has been seeing activity

on their borders with Trycen.

Which means?

There've been small-scale skirmishes between

Trycen and its neighboring country of Gaun.

But nothing major.

They've been especially reluctant

to try anything with Parth,

a symbol of peace on the continent,

or Toraj, an important agricultural center.

And now

Force recon. Acquiring sl*ves.

Something may have changed in the

political situation in Trycen.

There's a chance they'll attempt

an invasion somewhere.

w*r, you mean?

That's simply my personal

opinion, of course.

But be careful.

If what your attackers said is true,

odds are Trycen will come for you again.

Oh, that's right.

I had a job for you.

A special job directly from the Guildmaster?

Or

It's from Leonhart Gaun,

the Beast King of Gaun.

He'll be meeting you personally.

Good luck with your Rank S promotion exam.

A Rank S promotion exam, offered by a King!

You're amazing, Brother Kel!

One of the conditions for becoming a Rank S adventurer is the approval of a ruler, right?

Yeah. I need at least two, actually.

Leo spoke to Queen Tsubaki

from Toraj, and she agreed.

And it sounds like King Leonhart

heard all the bragging she did.

What's King Leonhart like?

As is customary in his nation,

he left on a journey in his

teens to learn to fight.

He ended up a Rank S adventurer.

He sounds strong, right?

My King, you're not getting

any ideas, are you?

No I'm definitely not thinking about

how much fun it would be to fight him,

or to kick his a*s!

But if he's that strong, he could just

do whatever this job is himself.

Protect an elven village from an unknown

Rank S monster that came out of nowhere, huh?

From what we've seen so far, there's a

99% chance Trycen's somehow involved.

Well, no need to hold back!

We're going to give it our all!

Yeah!

Understood.

That's just like you, My Lord!

But you can't let your guard down

Yup. We might get attacked out of nowhere!

Those are

elves!

I have come at the order

of King Leonhart of Gaun!

I am Kelvin, the adventurer!

Please, listen to me!

King Leonhart?

Really?

That letter looks real

Kelvin the Adventurer

I apologize for our ignorance.

I am Nelras, the elder of the elf village.

He's the elder?

He looks so young.

Well, he is an elf.

King Leonhart has told me all about you.

Thank you for coming all this way

Lumil? How are you alive?

Lumil?

Black Summoner

Black Summoner

I'm so sorry about what

happened back there, Kelvin.

Before we discuss King Leonhart's request,

can we talk about something else?

You mean how I mistook Efil

there for Lumil, yes?

Yes.

She's a member of our party now,

but before that, she was afflicted

with the Fire Dragon King's curse,

and had been a sl*ve for as

long as she could remember.

How awful

Please, tell us about Lumil.

She may be a clue to where Efil came from.

Very well.

It was 20 years ago, or so

We lived in peace, deep in a

forest on the Western Continent.

And then one day, we were attacked

by the Fire Dragon King,

one of the kings of the great dragons.

He demanded we offer up the

elf who had humiliated him,

or he would burn our village to ash.

I still don't know what had angered him so,

since we'd had barely any

contact with him prior.

But his wrath was terrible,

and over half the village died

without even knowing the reason.

My leg was injured then, too.

But one of our number rose up.

That was Lumil.

Lumil

She stood before the

Fire Dragon King and said,

"Please, turn your wrath towards me,

and spare the others."

And the Fire Dragon King said,

"You are not the elf I seek.

But if you will be my bride, I shall

forget the insult I suffered."

Lumil agreed, and

The Fire Dragon King took her away.

She's so courageous!

Yes. She was strong, and kind.

But if the Fire Dragon King left,

then the threat was gone.

And yet you fled the Western Continent

Correct.

You see, years later, Lumil's body

was found in the forest.

We don't know what happened.

But with Lumil dead, we feared

the Fire Dragon King's return,

and fled the Western

Continent for this land.

If you look so similar that

Nelras mistook you for her,

does that mean Lumil is your mother?

Then perhaps Efil is Lumil and

the Fire Dragon King's

No, that's impossible.

Half-elves are always born

of a human and an elf.

A dragon's blood would be too strong.

But it's still possible

that Lumil's her mother.

I'm sorry, Efil.

I don't know anything else

No, thank you, Nelras.

I have no memories of my mother or father.

They've been gone for as

long as I can remember.

But no matter what happened

in my past, I'm fine.

I've got my comrades, and my master.

I'm with a family that I love!

It seems you've met comrades

you can trust, then.

Yes!

Efil!

S-Sera?

I'm here for you too, okay, Sister Efil?

We'll never leave you!

You have very lively friends.

I'm here for you, too!

Yeah.

Thank you!

Now, let's get to the main subject.

Yes.

King Leonhart had said that a new type

of monster, along with its servants,

has been kidnapping elves.

Yes.

We have a powerful barrier in the forest

that disrupts one's sense of direction.

But the monsters seemed to know

exactly where the village was.

There are skills that can

nullify barriers, after all.

We made it past the thing, for instance.

It's come two or three times.

It looked less like an all-out attack,

and more like an attempt to kidnap us elves.

Monsters don't usually have

that level of organization.

Of course, we fought back.

But we weren't strong enough

And the soldiers from Gaun failed, too

Elder, don't worry!

We're here to stop that!

Yes, we'll protect you!

I'll do my best, too!

Yes, I'll help in any way I can.

Of course.

Thank you so much, everyone

Actually, Elder, I'd like permission

to renovate this village a little.

"Renovate" it?

Yes. If you'll give me permission,

I can promise the monsters won't

be able to lay a finger on you.

Very well. I'll let you do

what you feel you must.

Thank you!

It's gotta be more than a simple trap.

I feel some sympathy for our foes.

Time to get busy

Name: Efil

Level: 93 Title: Perfect Maid

HP 744/744

MP 1415/1415

Age: 16 | Strength 375

Race: Half-elf | Endurance 372

Sex: Female | Agility 1424

Class: Armed Maid | Magic 918

Luck 187

Skills:

Archery (S) | Red Magic (A) | Far Seeing (B)

Stealth (A) | Service (A) | Cooking (S) Sewing (S) Ultra-Agile (S)

Boost Magic (B) | Double Growth Rate | Double Skill Points

Assist Effects:

Fire Dragon King's Curse | Concealment (S)

Black Summoner

Don't stop. Keep going.

Commander, it looks like the Gaun

cowards are nowhere to be found.

They probably got scared of

the Mixed Demon Beast Army.

We're making an awful lot of noise.

I'm sure they noticed, but

They're cowards! Watch out for ambushes!

We give Gaun plenty of information, and then

take out whoever they send to stop us.

General Tristan's plan is ready

for its most important stage!

Where do you suppose General Tristan

got that collar, though?

It's a special type that works

even on S Ranks, they say!

The rumors say he got it from a merchant

that's been visiting the castle lately.

With this kind of firepower, even the

Beast King and his men themselves couldn't

What happened?

I don't know! He just collapsed!

What's going on?

He was hit by something

that looked like an arrow!

That's impossible!

I didn't hear anything at all!

And the elf village is a long ways away!

But he just got hit by something—

Enemy attack! Enemy attack!

Protect yourselves with the monster!

They're using some kind of invisible attack!

Impossible!

What's going on here?!

Next, hit the one hiding behind the troll.

Yeah, leave the one that looks

like he's higher-ranked till later.

We'll catch him and interrogate him.

Got it!

Okay, hit.

Looks like the bow's working well.

Yes. This Shadow Bow Merciless you made for me

Shadow Bow Merciless (Rank S)

Empowering the bow with magic creates arrows

that can be fired without making a sound.

Arrows that hit will disappear.

can reach anywhere as

long as I put magic into it.

It makes no noise, either!

I built this watchtower

with Adamantine Rampart.

And Mel's blue magic spell False Fog makes it

invisible outside the walls of the elf village.

I've also made those walls

massively stronger.

And the water in the moats is now

enhanced by Sera's black magic.

Even if the enemy gets close,

they won't make it inside.

I'm remaining on defense this time, right?

Have fun, everyone.

Roger!

You won't have anything

to do, so go take a nap.

Sera, don't go too hard, okay?

Yup! Sister Mel is right!

We're capturing the

important-looking person, right?

If we can.

Our main goal is to protect the village.

Don't do anything that would cause too

much damage to the forest, either.

Okay, let's get started!

Vice-Commander!

Huge trouble!

Calm down! What's happened?

We almost made it to the elf village when

we were attacked by an unknown enemy!

Unit 4 was wiped out and the

Battalion Commander taken!

They aren't Gaun soldiers!

What? If they're not Gaun, then where

are they from? Toraj? Deramis?

They're not soldiers.

They appear to be an adventuring party.

What?!

We don't know who they are,

but we've confirmed three

women and one Shadow Wolf!

They're all incredibly powerful,

and Rank B monsters can't stop them!

We cannot continue the advance!

What?

Unit 5 is engaging them now, but it won't

be long before they reach our camp!

We'll have to use our secret weapon, then.

It will be our main tactic

we use to defeat the enemy.

Are you listening?

Vice-Commander!

Oh, there he is!

That's the enemy commander,

right, Sister Mel?

Thank you for guiding us here.

Thanks to you, we didn't get lost.

Don't tell me that they're

Hey!

Wake up, Gigant Lord!

We need you!

Don't let your guard down for a second!

Look at that! That giant's gigantic!

Like it's out of a manga!

Rion, you and Alex go defeat it.

Just the two of us?

Yes. If you can do it, that means

you're a full-fledged adventurer.

It's probably equivalent to a Rank S monster.

Can you handle it?

Grandpa Gerard and Brother Kel

have been teaching me swordsmanship

and magic from dawn to dusk every day.

I can do it!

I can't be the little sister

that everyone protects forever!

I want to protect everyone myself!

We can do it, right, Alex?

Okay!

You'll be fine.

If you can use your full power,

I'm sure you'll be fine.

She went alone!

They underestimate us!

Gigant Lord!

Let's go, Alex!

Hah! That worthless blade

can't hurt a Rank S!

Then

That's what you get!

Got her!

This isn't good

If it gets one clean hit on me,

I'm as good as dead.

But

If you can do it, that means you're

a full-fledged adventurer.

Clotho, back me up! You, too, Alex!

Time to get serious, Mr. Giant!

Dual Wielding? Only a hero can use that!

Really? It was on my skill list with

the other stuff, so I didn't know!

Brother Kel made me the Magic Sword

Caladbolg and the False Holy Sword Wil.

And for Alex, the Raging Blade Lethal!

We don't use two swords.

Wolf and girl, together we use three!

Generate Edge!

Impossible!

A little kid slew our giant?

We did it!

Gigant Lord!

Transform! Now!

Oh, so that's its true form.

Lucky. I want to fight it, too!

Master

Rion will be fine.

Yeah.

Go, Gigant Furnace!

Burn her with purgatorial flames!

Well, it doesn't actually change anything.

Because

Those flames look a lot

weaker than Sister Efil's!

Here we go, one more time!

Generate Edge!

A single kid wiped out the

Mixed Demon Beast Army

Wiped out Trycen's army?

Sister Mel, I did it!

Great work!

You did a great job.

Brother Kel will be happy, too, right?

Rion won, didn't she?

Yeah, she's become really

strong in such a short time.

Efil!

Oh? I thought I had you.

But you aren't dead, are you?

Master

He's