"Hey, hey…"
It was then that the blonde warrior, Helanke, finally noticed the little girl in front of him, dressed in a way that didn't resemble a magic caster at all. An inexplicable pressure seemed to emanate from her.
Just now, she looked like a harmless, cute little girl, but now, seeing her incredibly serious expression and her cold, heterochromatic eyes, it felt as if she could take his life at any moment.
"Helanke… it feels like… something." Imina's drunkenness was completely sobered by the serious Iri.
"…" Even the kind priest, Robatiku, lowered his hand and tightened his grip on his weapon.
That was natural, as Iri had already activated Level 1 Despair Aura. To weaken the fear effect, Iri could only expand its range as much as possible, causing everyone nearby to be enveloped by a chill and an inexplicable fear that arose from their hearts.
"The fastest way to prove my strength… is through actual combat, right? So… do you want to try?" Iri looked coldly at the three, who were tense from the effects of her Despair Aura.
… …
"Let me state this first… little girl, this is not child's play. Are you really going to do this?" Helanke actually wanted to give up. Back at the tavern, all three of them had felt the invisible pressure and chill emanating from this strange little girl, which was enough to prove that she wasn't just kidding around.
Perhaps she could truly cast a Sixth-Tier magic. However, Iri had no intention of letting them off; she insisted on proving her strength.
So, after settling the bill, they took Iri out of the city.
Originally, they planned to just borrow a spot in the arena, but Iri insisted on going outside the city, claiming that she couldn't move freely in a confined space and was afraid of damaging things.
"This is the quickest way to prove myself. Don't worry! I'll go easy on you." Iri said with a smile. At this moment, Iri no longer had that terrifying oppressive look she had just moments ago.
"Helanke… be careful. If you make her cry, I won't forgive you!" Imina said from the side. It seemed she had great confidence in her boyfriend, believing that Helanke wouldn't lose to this inexplicable little girl.
"Huh? Aren't you all coming together?" Iri asked curiously, taking off something from her back that looked like a staff but also didn't quite feel like one.
Although she took it off, it was just for show. Iri didn't intend to let them see the true form of the hammer, so it remained wrapped in white cloth.
"Together… Hey, hey, little girl, there's a limit to looking down on people!" Helanke seemed a bit displeased, after all, he was being underestimated by this little girl in front of his lover, Imina.
"Oh! My apologies! I didn't notice." Iri glanced at the elf behind the blonde warrior. Having read the script, Iri naturally knew their relationship. Should she make that blonde warrior lose face in front of his girlfriend?
Uh… she still had to join them, and making things too awkward didn't seem like a good idea.
"Martial Arts… Body Enhancement! Little girl! Here I come!" The blonde captain said to Iri, who was still daydreaming, as he raised his two swords.
Iri was now thinking about how to save enough face for this blonde man while also proving her ability to cast Sixth-Tier magic. This was indeed a challenge.
Uh… this will do.
"Anytime." Iri said.
As soon as Iri finished speaking, the blonde warrior lowered his stance and charged forward in a single stride. Closing the distance with a magic caster was indeed the best approach, but the premise was… that his opponent was a true "magic caster."
"Dual Sword Slash!!" The blonde warrior immediately used his two swords to directly unleash a martial art on Iri… probably aiming to end the fight in one blow!
Seeing Iri standing still, unmoving, and showing no intention of casting magic, Helanke silently assumed he had won.
"Divine Protection!" Iri shouted, though in her mind, she was silently chanting Unclean Impact Shield.
The blonde warrior's two swords seemed to strike an invisible transparent wall in front of the little girl. The moment the swords touched the "wall," a shockwave, clearly stronger than the blonde warrior's previous Dual Sword Slash martial art, directly blew him away.
However, since it was a reskinned move and Iri was holding back, not fully unleashing its power, it didn't have much force. The blonde warrior was also startled, and after being blown back, he agilely performed a beautiful backflip in mid-air to land on his feet.
Iri, having already decided on her strategy, naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip away so easily. Iri, holding her hammer disguised as a staff (wrapped in white cloth), made a show of lightly thrusting the tip of the "staff" into the ground.
"Original Magic! Ground Freeze!" Iri shouted again, very loudly, as if afraid they wouldn't hear her clearly. However, in her mind, Iri was silently chanting: Ice Aura Level 2, Area Freeze.
As soon as Iri's words fell, a visible blast of freezing air shot out from under Iri's feet, spreading along the ground directly towards the blonde warrior. Everything in its path froze. The blonde warrior had never seen such magic before and quickly retreated, trying to regain his stance.
"What is that?" Imina and Robatiku, who were watching, had also never seen magic that could instantly freeze the ground. They were all stunned.
Of course… Iri didn't intend to freeze the entire area, although Iri certainly could. It was merely to scare the blonde warrior.
Helanke, startled by the "magic" he had never seen before, realized that the little girl in front of him was not an opponent he could defeat by playing around. So, he became serious.
But the current situation was very unfavorable for him. If he got close, he would be blocked by that strange "Divine Protection," and the original magic that little girl just shouted seemed to be able to freeze the nearby ground, which was very disadvantageous for close combat.
"Not coming over? Then it's my turn to attack!" Iri still raised the "staff" in her hand, making a show of it.
"Original Magic! Gravity Crush!" Iri shouted, then silently chanted in her mind, "That guy… that blonde over there, you kneel for this lady."
As expected, the blonde warrior immediately knelt on the spot.
"This… what is this… I… I can't move." Helanke knelt on both knees, his body completely unresponsive to his commands. After the little girl cast "magic" on him, his body felt as if an invisible force was pressing him down to kneel.
Not only that, other parts of his body were also unable to move. His current state, to that little girl, was practically no different from a living target.
"Finally! Let me show you my Sixth-Tier Original Magic!" Iri raised her right hand high, and at the same time, a beam-like object gathered in her right hand.
"Little girl!! Please stop!!!" Robatiku shouted immediately upon seeing this, but it was already too late. Iri simply flicked her hand.
The beam, just as seen, instantly shot towards Helanke, who was kneeling on the ground, completely unable to move.
"Helanke!!" Imina was so scared she closed her eyes.
However, the beam merely grazed past Helanke and did not hit him.
Iri still had her limits. She intended to save them, so what kind of act would it be to directly kill their leader!
Imina and Robatiku, who were standing by, saw that Helanke was not hit by the beam and knew that the little girl in front of them had shown mercy. They both let out a sigh of relief.
"Can this prove my strength now?" Iri also dispelled the effect of Ruling Spell.
"I… I thought I was going to die. The little girl is really amazing." Helanke, finding he could move, plopped down onto the ground. Then he heard a rather loud commotion from the forest far behind him.
Imina and Robatiku also noticed this commotion and looked in that direction.
Then they saw that in the forest in the distance, along the path where the little girl had just thrown that beam, many trees had toppled over haphazardly. This showed just how strong the penetration power of the little girl's "magic" had been.
"Ah! I didn't control the range again." Iri scratched her head, looking rather embarrassed, and said.
"That… little girl, if the original Sixth-Tier magic you just used… I mean if…" Helanke broke out in a cold sweat. That magic was aimed at him just now. What if it really had gone astray?
"What if… it went out of control?" Helanke asked nervously.
"Uh, if it went out of control? Then it would open up a big hole in the mountain behind us again." Iri replied, a bit awkwardly.
"Again…" Helanke, Imina, and Robatiku immediately recalled the rumors they had heard two days ago:
It was said that a very powerful magic caster, while hunting a Giant Stone Poison Lizard, used a spell that destroyed a large section of forest and also created a large hole in a mountain.
Arshe had said at the time that the rumor must be false, that even a Sixth-Tier magic couldn't have such absurd destructive power.
With Arshe's explanation, they naturally scoffed at the rumor, but now… it was very possible that the creator of that rumor was standing right in front of them.
"So, can I join you now?" Iri felt it was about time, so she asked.
"Welcome, welcome!! Welcome, little girl, to our Four Strategists Squad!" Helanke immediately sprang up from the ground and said to Iri with a fawning expression.
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