Combat requires a price to be paid.
Especially when facing the encirclement of numerous adventurers from the Apollo Familia, they were ultimately not mindless monsters that only knew how to charge blindly. After their brief astonishment—
As one of Orario's mid-tier Familia.
The combat discipline displayed by these adventurers was by no means poor. Even after Stanley completely lost his ability to fight, they did not scatter like birds and beasts because of it.
Instead, following the exploration experience of the Dungeon, they formed up in squads.
The vanguard held heavy shields and knight swords, maintaining a sufficient safety distance. However, the long-range methods they guarded consisted only of bows and crossbows.
After all—
"Magic" in the eyes of lower-tier adventurers was an absolute rarity!
"..."
The situation Ron had worried about was indeed exactly this.
The surprise attack had failed to produce the effect of startling a flock of birds. Instead, the members of the Apollo Familia quickly formed an encirclement. His gaze swept across the crowd before him.
The advantage of possessing two Character Save Slots lay precisely here.
'Tarnished.'
'Almost forgot…'
'I suppose I can barely count as a magic swordsman.'
He sheathed the rapier, locking his target onto the adventurers who had raised their bows and crossbows, as well as the heavy-shield warriors standing firmly in front, prepared for battle.
Magic that required no chant.
This provided Ron with more than enough methods to break the deadlock.
To avoid being treated as a live target, he stepped forward in a sudden dash. This time, his target was the unfamiliar warrior holding the heavy shield. As his mind drew upon it—
The magic power within his body gathered toward his left hand, azure light continuously condensing in Ron's palm.
Seeing that Ron intended to break through, the Lv2 adventurer wielding the heavy shield showed no retreat whatsoever. Only his gaze could not help but be covered with solemnity.
"Trying to get past…"
"At the very least, you'll have to ask me first, kid!"
The unfamiliar adventurer smashed the heavy shield onto the ground, producing a solid, muffled thud. He was fully aware that Ron's strength was absolutely not something he could confront head-on.
Therefore, he focused entirely on defense, leaving the offense to his Familia companions.
However, Ron had no intention of engaging in an attack-and-defense struggle against rotten meat. Looking at the heavy shield taller than a man, he tapped the floor with the tip of his foot, stepping onto the shield's surface and leaping upward.
Meanwhile, the magic continuously condensing in his left hand was about to reach the limit of its charge.
Magic power constructed snowflake-like crystals devoid of any temperature. Their gleaming radiance was extremely dazzling. With a swing of his hand, Ron sent them shooting straight toward the crowd.
[Ash of War: Shattering Crystal.]
The azure brilliance carved a dazzling streak of light across the overcast sky.
"Wah—!"
The sudden magic directly caught the Apollo Familia adventurers present completely off guard. Just as its name implied, it was a large-scale crystallization attack that burst apart explosively.
Against mutated monsters, its effect might be limited. But when used on adventurers whose strength was below his, it was an extremely lethal area-of-effect method!
The magic that exploded outward into countless filaments—even if one wore a full set of defensive gear—was unable to withstand this all-pervasive, penetrative strike.
"..."
Without paying attention to the wails spreading across the ground behind him, Ron once again cast his gaze toward the remaining adventurers. His eyes swept calmly over them, yet on their bodies he sensed the emotion known as fear.
He suddenly laughed, offering what could be considered the most benevolent reminder: "You can choose to knock yourselves out now. If I make a move... I won't be able to guarantee I'll hold back."
"..."
Noticing the magic once again condensing in Ron's hand—requiring no chant whatsoever—and their Familia companions, who looked like shattered porcelain bottles, their bodies continuously pouring out blood in a miserable sight—
When facing this adventurer from the Hestia Familia, they exchanged glances, fully aware that if they continued fighting, they absolutely would not escape this outcome.
They had joined the Apollo Familia because the Familia's overall strength was decent, and the god Apollo was willing to invest resources. But after the emergence of Hyakinthos, it had already been a long time since they had lost the god's attention...
To put it bluntly, their monthly Valis salary was only that much—who would risk their life for this? Not to mention that this War Game had already developed to this point...
So many adventurers had failed to stop Ron.
'Can we really win?'
This thought surged into their minds. If the War Game were lost, the Apollo Familia was destined to be disbanded. In such circumstances, why bring suffering upon themselves?
Most crucially, the gap in strength was laid out plainly here—defeat was an irreversible outcome!
Crack—
The one who first broke the atmosphere was a young adventurer who tore off the emblem at his arm symbolizing the "Apollo" Familia, then left without looking back.
Seeing this, Ron ceased the mobilization of his magic power. Compared to dealing with miscellaneous underlings, the adventurers stationed within the Apollo Familia were the ones he truly needed to pay attention to.
That would be the real hard battle.
The core members cultivated as confidants, sworn to serve the god Apollo unto death!
He fastened the greatsword "Great Fortune" to his back and once again advanced toward the direction of the Apollo Familia. Only when he reached the bustling street district—
Looking out across the area, this stretch of street was gathered with quite a few adventurers from various Familia factions. It seemed they had noticed Ron's gaze, as well as that crushing battle.
The noisy discussions instantly fell silent.
Many of them had participated in the betting pool for this War Game, so the looks they cast toward Ron were somewhat complicated. One after another, they consciously stepped aside to make way.
Yet one figure stood out as particularly out of place.
Dressed in a leaf-colored maid uniform, the foolish catgirl squeezed out from the crowd with a long spear in hand. Her eyes quickly locked onto Ron. In yesterday's instruction session, he could barely be counted as her half-day disciple.
Anya had wanted to join in the excitement, but was sternly refused by Ryuu. No matter what, she wanted some sense of participation, letting Ron use her own weapon to take part in the battle.
That could also count as a kind of participation.
The foolish girl's face carried a bright, energetic smile. Without caring whether he knew how to use it, she threw the long spear toward the boy on her own initiative.
"I'll lend you my weapon!"
"Do your best, meow!"
"..."
The foolish catgirl was just like that—but she was indeed very cute.
Ron understood—behind this War Game, not only were countless adventurers watching, even the gods of Orario were no exception.
Since that was the case, if it could not be concealed, then why not fight to his heart's content!
Facing the long spear Anya had thrown over, he reached out and caught it. Relying on "Weapon Mastery," he dispelled the force of the weapon's downward momentum.
With one hand, Ron playfully traced a magnificent flourish of the spear.
The spear tip lightly pressed against the ground. As he advanced, it left a clear scratch across the stone pavement, along with a sharp sound that seemed capable of piercing into everyone's hearts.
Silence filled the scene.
Deep within the boy's heart, the hot-blooded fervor that had been sealed away after being tempered by the realities of his previous life now gradually surged forth. In his eyes, there was only composure.
Even if, in this War Game, aside from those familiar friends, no one believed that the Hestia Familia could win, then now Ron only wished to prove it to everyone.
"Then…"
"Allow me to present the Apollo Familia with its destined end!"
"..."
Even though he stood alone.
The boy's figure—advancing without hesitation, spirited and resolute—left upon the hearts of the many adventurers present a memory that would be impossible to erase for the rest of their lives.
If one truly had to describe it, it would probably be—
"The youth still borrows a long spear, to flaunt his flair."
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