"Lefiya, get up quickly, we need to move."
"Ah… yes!"
By the edge of a water basin, after Anakitty effortlessly neutralized the threat from the Striker Fish, even Lefiya, who'd been scared enough to fall on her butt, hurried to her feet and immediately started running forward with her three teammates.
Everyone knew well that with Anakitty's Level 4 strength, she could have easily sliced that one-meter-long fish monster into several pieces just now.
But the squad's job was to serve as both scouts and decoys.
So, they couldn't let the smell of blood spread here.
(Note: Though Dungeon monsters turn to ash upon death, the blood spilled before that does not disappear.)
And beyond, just tens of meters ahead, was the supply convoy.
Since this spot lay right on the convoy's route, attracting more monsters here was the last thing they wanted.
If Anakitty had recklessly killed the Striker Fish earlier, it would have been counterproductive.
So now,
"Lefiya, get ready to cast, fire an Arc Ray into the water over there."
"Make sure to aim at the area where the water flow is abnormal."
As the four ran, Anakitty pointed to a fork to the left and reminded them.
"Yes."
This time, Lefiya bit her lip, forcing herself to stay calm. But she didn't start chanting yet.
Because she couldn't.
Casting while moving, called parallel casting, was a high-level skill every mage wanted to master, and it had become Lefiya's recent must-learn.
Unfortunately, even without the scare, she could only cast standing still.
This was a common weakness among Orario's mages.
Those who had mastered parallel casting, like Riveria, or the last surviving member of the Astraea Familia, "Gale" Ryuu Lion, were renowned figures.
Though Ryuu's Blessing Level was stuck at 4 after five years without upgrades, her parallel casting skill still surpassed Riveria's, ranking her as Orario's best.
If one had to describe the difficulty:
"It's like singing a high note perfectly while sprinting 100 meters without messing up rhythm or pitch."
That was Aether's personal analogy.
Right now, Anakitty clearly knew Lefiya couldn't parallel cast yet, so the plan was to run a safe distance first, then let Lefiya cast.
But then,
"Stop."
Just as the group reached the fork, and only a few steps past, Aether and Lumine simultaneously halted their pace.
Not only that, they blocked Anakitty and Lefiya from advancing further.
Seeing this,
"What's wrong?"
Maybe because of yesterday's success, Anakitty trusted the Twin Stars' judgment.
Even as leader, she didn't push forward.
Lefiya, meanwhile, was totally compliant, too nervous to argue.
In this tense atmosphere,
"There's an ambush ahead."
Aether stayed silent, but Lumine, who was closer to Anakitty and Lefiya, pointed at the narrow path's edge.
"That cluster of crystals is a disguised Crystal Giant Turtle."
Anakitty frowned and without hesitation raised her left hand,
Whoosh~
Her small round shield flew through the air.
On closer inspection, a thin rope was tied to the shield's grip.
Bam~
A Level 4 adventurer's strength wasn't weak.
Even more so for Anakitty, a high-stat Level 4.
The team heard a muffled crash as the shield smashed into the crystal mass, warping it badly.
Lumine's warning was spot on.
But that wasn't all,
"There are also three Metal Blue Crabs hiding nearby. Since this is a fork, Lefiya, just blast them with magic."
Aether suggested.
"Okay."
Anakitty agreed, though curious,
"How did you spot them from so far away?"
She tugged the rope, and the shield flew back into her hand.
Seriously!
Aether smiled quietly,
"The red arrows you see in our vision? They're too obvious."
"It's one of my skills."
Aether shrugged.
Meanwhile, Lefiya began chanting quickly:
"[Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree.].
"[You are an expert of the bow. Shoot, sniper of the fairies. Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy].
"[Arcs Ray]!"
She reacted swiftly this time, but the chant still took fifteen seconds.
Considering it was a long incantation, she had already passed the mage average.
Suddenly, a golden beam shot from the top of Lefiya's staff, Forest's Teardrop, piercing toward the monsters' hiding spot.
The Arc Ray was one of Lefiya's three mastered magics, an auto-tracking, piercing single-target spell.
To Aether, it looked like a bent, weaker version of Kamehameha,
But because she had the Fairy Pursuit skill, Lefiya doubled the magic's power. At Level 3, her output matched a Level 5 spell.
If it hit a person, it could incinerate the pierced part instantly.
Used on monsters, it was highly effective.
Whishh whishh whishh~
Under Lefiya's mental control, the Arc Ray twisted and slithered like a hungry serpent, weaving through all the disguised enemies Aether pointed out.
It easily pierced each one, burning flesh around the entry points to ash.
The sounds of fading flames echoed.
The commotion did not go unnoticed by Finn's team.
The supply convoy stopped briefly.
Only after Anakitty gave the 'all clear' signal did they resume forward.
Right now,
"Lefiya, your magic's really handy."
Aether knew that in moments like these, those with fragile hearts needed some encouragement.
So he left it to Lumine to cheer her on.
For a moment,
"Well, it's nothing. I just caused trouble earlier, sorry."
Lefiya lowered her head shyly, yet smiled happily and humbly.
"I still have a long way to go. If Riveria-sama was here... I heard her magic could destroy an entire district of Orario city in one blow..."
"Uh, "
Anakitty twitched at the corner of her mouth.
"Lefiya, I get it, but why do you have to compare yourself to Orario?"
Seeing the cat-eared girl's expression say 'What do you even think about normally?',
"Eh?"
The elf's face froze.
"You really are scary, you know that?" Anakitty stepped back unconsciously.
Emmmm~
Lefiya's pointed ears slowly drooped.
"I'm sorry"
=============
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