Chapter 15: The Guardian of Humanity (6)
Arche clenched and unclenched her fist.
The motion had no real meaning — it was simply a habit, much like how she often toyed with her Sage's Rosary. Somehow, it calmed her.
People called her an Adamantite-class adventurer now.
The youngest in history.
The only one to operate completely solo.
The guild, nobles, and even other adventurers all held her in high regard for those reasons.
But Arche herself felt no pride in it.
She was still within the realm of humanity.
She hadn't reached the domain of heroes — let alone the level of monsters or transcendent beings.
If not for the Sage's Rosary, she probably wouldn't even be Adamantite.
Her true ability? Somewhere between Mithril and Orichalcum, at best.
And the reason she didn't grow arrogant was simple:
She knew that this world held monsters capable of killing her without effort.
Even among humans, there were those she could never match.
Someone like Gazef Stronoff — the strongest warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom — served as a perfect reminder of that fact.
Tock, tock.
Arche tapped her staff lightly, checking its balance as her eyes swept over the rest of the group — the remaining members of Foresight.
Originally, they were supposed to have another magic caster. But after some recent tension in the team, that member had left.
Arche didn't mind.
In fact, it was better this way.
A smaller, familiar team was far more reliable than fighting beside an untested stranger.
Teamwork mattered more than raw numbers.
"Arche, you ready?"
"I'm always ready. If everyone's set, we can go."
Imina smiled faintly — an uncharacteristic gesture for her.
Normally, the half-elf was the cool, sharp one of the group.
If Arche was calm and detached, Imina was precise and cutting.
That's why seeing her smile so freely was unusual.
She hadn't been with Arche long, but she'd grown fond of her — like a proud older sister watching a younger sibling grow.
To think that this girl, who once looked so frail and hopeless, was now an Adamantite adventurer… it was almost absurdly touching.
Imina's pointed ears twitched beneath her hair — not as long as a pure elf's, only about half that length.
A half-elf.
In the Empire, pure elves could legally be enslaved.
Only someone with mixed blood like Imina could work freely as a Worker.
Her build was slender, almost delicate — enough that people sometimes mistook her for a young man.
That mistake had once started a fight or two.
"That's a rosary, isn't it, Arche?"
"Roberdyck? Yeah. Why, you interested?"
"Not exactly. I just don't remember you having one before. It doesn't look like a special magic item."
That, in fact, was the Sage's Rosary's greatest trait — its ordinary appearance.
It didn't look rare.
It didn't radiate magic.
To anyone else, it was a cheap trinket.
That was what made it perfect.
Unless one possessed an extremely sharp sense for mana, they'd never notice the power sealed within.
Arche had worn it for years, and not once had anyone realized what it truly was.
"All right," Hekkeran said, turning to the group. "Listen up while we move. Our mission's to check a cave west of here. Supposedly, the Red Scorpion Bandits have a hideout there."
"If we can take them, do we?" Imina asked.
Hekkeran shook his head.
"Preferably just reconnaissance. Of course, with an Adamantite adventurer like Arche with us, I'm not too worried."
He smiled warmly at her — a quiet, confident kind of trust.
Arche only offered a slight, ambiguous smile in return.
They didn't yet know what awaited them, and she didn't like to make promises.
If it was an ordinary bandit gang, even Foresight without her could handle it.
They were far from weak.
"Still can't believe it," Imina said suddenly. "That half-dead kid we took in back then… now walking beside us as an Adamantite adventurer."
It was a simple confession — honest admiration.
When Imina had first met Arche, the girl had looked broken.
Empty eyes, but with a flicker of stubborn, desperate fire deep inside.
When asked why she'd become a Worker, her answer was blunt: 'I need money.'
Imina had worried at first, but Arche turned out to be diligent — almost painfully earnest.
Aside from her obsession with money, she was a reliable partner and an exceptionally skilled magic caster.
"I was surprised too," said Roberdyck. "I heard she even took down an Iron Golem alone."
"Those things are tough," Imina added. "Magic barely scratches them."
Iron Golems possessed high resistance to spells — not as much as a Skeleton Dragon, but close.
For a normal third-tier mage, it would've been impossible.
But Arche hadn't been "normal."
She'd used something else — something powerful, something rare.
The look on the guild officials' faces when she brought back the Golem's core was unforgettable.
That feat alone had cemented her promotion to Adamantite.
"I'm honestly looking forward to seeing how strong you've become," Hekkeran said.
"Don't get your hopes too high," Arche replied quietly.
"Among Adamantites, I'm… copper at best. I'm still weak."
"An Adamantite calling herself weak — that's not something you hear every day."
"There are people out there who could kill me — or any Adamantite — in a single strike. And they're human, too. That's the world we live in."
Hekkeran gave an impressed whistle.
He remembered when Arche had first joined Foresight — when she'd recklessly taken dangerous jobs just to earn money for her debts.
He'd scolded her once, and she'd finally realized how out of control she'd been.
Now she seemed… steadier.
Whether it was because she'd paid off her debts or because peace of mind had helped her earn enough to do so, he didn't know.
But there was no denying she felt more mature.
"Shh."
Just as Hekkeran opened his mouth again, Imina raised a finger to her lips.
Everyone immediately grasped the signal and gripped their weapons.
From beyond the trees came a low, guttural growl.
Then — movement.
One by one, the monsters emerged from the shadows.
"Three trolls… eight goblins… and a single warg."
"The warg's the one to watch," Roberdyck warned.
"Arche, stay behind and—wait… Arche?!"
But Arche was already walking forward.
Calmly, unhurriedly — as if she didn't sense danger at all.
For a brief instant, Hekkeran thought, She's being reckless again.
A mage taking the front line — it was the kind of reckless act only a fool or a legend like Fluder Paradyne might attempt.
Hekkeran's first thought was that Arche had lost her mind.
But then again… this was Arche.
She had always fought alone — against monsters far beyond what most adventurers could face.
To her, this wasn't foolish.
It was normal.
Natural, even.
Still, this was Foresight, a team mission.
Acting solo without coordination wasn't something he could just overlook.
Hekkeran opened his mouth, ready to speak — and then Arche whispered.
"Bud."
The word was soft, but it carried weight.
Her staff glowed crimson, and dozens of small red orbs materialized around her, floating like petals on the wind.
They drifted slowly, gracefully, toward the monsters ahead — a swarm of light.
Every one of the glowing spheres attached itself to a target — goblins, trolls, even the warg.
The creatures howled in confusion, clawing and thrashing to tear them off, but the lights clung tight.
Arche's staff pulsed again — a faint, deep red.
"Bloom."
A series of muffled thumps rippled through the clearing.
Not huge explosions — but many, rapid, simultaneous ones.
Each blast small, yet combined they were devastating.
When the dust cleared, the goblins and trolls lay scattered and motionless.
Only the warg, trembling and charred, somehow remained on its feet.
Arche sighed.
The technique was convenient — efficient, even — but its power was still lacking.
Even weakened monsters could endure it.
Despite all her progress, the gap between herself and the one she'd learned it from felt as wide as ever.
Lifting her staff, she spoke again.
"Lightning."
A sharp crack split the air, followed by a blinding flash.
The bolt struck the warg cleanly, the scent of scorched fur and ozone spreading through the clearing.
It collapsed instantly.
The others could only stare.
Those monsters — trolls, wargs, goblins — required at least a Mithril-class team to handle safely.
Foresight could have done it, but not without effort.
Yet Arche had dispatched them alone — and looked disappointed.
They were finally seeing firsthand why she was the youngest and only solo Adamantite adventurer in existence.
The first to recover was Hekkeran.
He let out a low whistle, his tone half awe, half disbelief.
"Th-that was incredible! What spell was that? I've never seen magic like it."
"I learned it," Arche said simply.
"Learned it? Oh, right — you were once a student of Fluder Paradyne, weren't you? Figures it's a master-tier spell. As expected from the great archmage himself."
"…The person who taught me that spell," she said quietly, "uses it far better than I ever could."
There was something about the way she said it — not just humility, but reverence.
Hekkeran caught it instantly.
She hadn't confirmed it was Fluder who taught her.
Meaning… someone else.
Someone even greater.
But he didn't press her.
If Arche wanted to keep it secret, he respected that.
Instead, he simply smiled — the kind of proud, older-brother smile he'd worn the day she'd first joined their team.
She's grown up, he thought. And grown strong.
Then a more practical thought crossed his mind:
If she can do that… maybe we really can take down the Red Scorpion bandits.
Their leader was rumored to be a powerful mage — that was what made the group dangerous in the first place.
But with Arche here, it might not even be a challenge.
"Arche," Hekkeran asked, scratching his chin, "if you fought the Red Scorpion leader — do you think you could win?"
"I don't go into fights expecting to lose," she replied plainly.
It was such a matter-of-fact answer that it almost startled him.
Her tone wasn't arrogance — just certainty.
"Haha… you've really changed," he said. "All right then — forget what I said earlier. If possible, let's finish this. We'll go for the extermination."
Arche gave a small nod — expression calm, eyes steady — and took the lead once more, the faint red glow of her staff reflecting in her golden hair.
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