"Wait, wait, what the hell is going on!" At this moment, the continuously ignored Keita couldn't help but shout.
"Everyone understands, right? Anyway, to understand the mission details, how about we first go to Cortonel?" Hearing Keita's words, the short black-haired boy directly ignored him.
"He seems to not understand yet. Should we explain it again more clearly? Also, it might be good for everyone to get to know each other first," the long golden-haired girl, Shindo Iu, said hesitantly.
"Using Fast Travel again requires a twenty-four-hour cooldown. Instead of wasting time here, moving first is more efficient. Compared to one person's pressure, time is more important."
"What? You bastard, your tone really pisses me off!" Hearing Yotsuya Yusuke, Keita grabbed his collar angrily.
"Stop, Keita. I'll say this one last time, so listen carefully. This is another world. We are heroes. If we don't complete the mission, we die. That's it." Seeing Keita about to lay hands on Yusuke, Iu forcefully stopped him.
As for Takeru, Mio, and Hachiman, they remained silent throughout, observing the group.
With too little information and everyone sharing the same goal, following their lead for now was the best course.
"Iu, your explanation was easy to handle!" Hearing Iu's words, the nearby Hakozaki Kusue couldn't help but remark.
"Alright, I don't really get it, but I understand!" At that moment, Keita unexpectedly spoke loudly, completely surprising everyone.
"I dropped out of middle school, so complicated stuff is totally beyond me!" Under everyone's astonished expressions, Keita said this with a face full of pride.
This even drew a slight smile from Takeru. After this brief interaction, Takeru felt this type wasn't difficult to get along with.
"Hey you, duel me!" At this moment, Keita directly pointed at Yusuke and said.
…
Soon, everyone moved to an empty plain. Keita and Yusuke faced each other. As dust rose, their battle was about to begin.
"Here I go!" Compared to Keita's aggressive momentum, Yusuke only felt extremely troublesome.
Takeru and the others directly sat on the grass nearby, watching the two fight.
Curious about their strength, Takeru watched their duel with interest, wondering just how powerful they were and whether they posed any threat.
Although Takeru and his group had used Observation Haki to observe the four people's life force and found it very weak, this might be an illusion, or perhaps they possessed some terrifying, powerful skill.
"Sorry, Yusuke. He insists on doing this, otherwise, he won't use Fast Travel," Iu beside them said with an air of enjoying the spectacle.
"By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Shindo Iu. Please take care of me!" Iu, speaking, suddenly realized she hadn't yet introduced herself to Takeru and the others.
"Hello. You should already know our names, right?" Hearing her words, Takeru smiled and nodded at her. Looking at Iu, Takeru instinctively thought of Miura Yumiko from the main world, except Iu's personality didn't seem like she would bully others.
"Yes," Upon hearing this, Iu quickly nodded.
"Hello, I'm Hakozaki Kusue. Like Hachiman-san, I'm a Swordsman!" Kusue beside her said, somewhat timidly.
"Hello," Hearing this, Takeru smiled at her.
"Also, that one over there is Yotsuya Yusuke. His class was Farmer first, then Cook, and now he's a mage (Creature)," Iu then pointed at Yusuke, who was reluctantly dueling.
"Is that so," Hearing her words, Takeru calmly nodded.
While Takeru and the others were briefly getting acquainted, Keita was provoking Yusuke.
"Use that thing, the one that makes people stop moving!" Keita shouted loudly at Yusuke.
"Are you both ready? Begin!" Seeing Yusuke had prepared gloves, Iu raised her right hand and called out.
"Hah!" As Iu announced the start, Keita aggressively charged at Yusuke.
"Kneel!" However, looking at Keita, Yusuke commanded him using his right hand along with his words.
With Yusuke's command, Keita felt his consciousness grow hazy. He instinctively stopped moving and unconsciously wanted to kneel.
Takeru, sensing the magic involved, revealed an understanding expression. The magic Yusuke used was somewhat similar to word magic, using mana to amplify his speech and compel obedience.
However, it was completely ineffective against those with strong willpower.
As for Takeru, achieving something like this was also very easy. Using Nen to enhance the persuasiveness of his words worked on the same principle.
The only thing that surprised Takeru was the power of Yusuke's magic. It was simply too weak.
Miu, who had only recently learned magic, could probably defeat him with pure magic.
In fact, based on Takeru's estimation, it was likely on par with the power of the magic Renge could currently use with her mana control and the spells Takeru had bestowed upon her...
As for Keita, affected by the magic, he painfully knelt. His hands slowly touched the ground, his forehead about to bow down.
"Easy win!" With a smug smile, Yusuke took the initiative to attack.
But at that very moment, as Yusuke's magic dispersed, Keita instantly regained his senses. With an agile backflip, he narrowly dodged Yusuke's kick and immediately counterattacked, kicking Yusuke flying.
Seeing this, Iu, Kusue, and the others showed surprised expressions.
As for Yusuke, he was completely downed by Keita's kick, feeling intense pain and immediately losing combat effectiveness.
Watching the battle end so quickly, Hachiman and Mio revealed shocked expressions. The main issue was that the battle itself was simply indescribable.
For a moment, they wondered if this mission was a bonus type.
People who had already experienced several missions possessed only this much power and combat sense. Yet they still managed to complete their missions. So, this mission shouldn't be difficult, right...
As for Takeru, he was even more convinced. Forget about themselves, even Renge alone could probably wipe the floor with them.
Considering they could revive in fifty seconds and would need to be completely eliminated within that revival time, Renge alone wouldn't be enough, but any one of Hinata or the others should suffice.
"I win!" With a smug smile, Keita kicked Yusuke again in the stomach as he lay on the ground, infuriating the downed Yusuke.
With the farce over, everyone began to depart. Selecting the ability on their panels, a special light enveloped the eight of them.
In moments, Takeru and the others were transported to another plain.
Before them stood thick city walls and a town...
"We're really in Cortonel!" Iu said, her expression surprised.
"Fast Travel, simple and practical," Kusue said with emotion.
"Kahabell should be here. Let's go see her," Yusuke said, taking the lead.
Iu and the others nodded. Takeru and his group didn't object either. It seemed Yusuke had a source of information. They just needed to observe.
If these people could carry them to victory, Takeru would be quite happy.
"Who is Kahabell?" At this moment, Mio curiously looked at Iu.
"We were indebted to her during our last mission. Also, she's very strong. For instance, when we were captured by bandits, we couldn't actively attack the humans of this world. She saved us. Later on, she also helped us a lot." Hearing Mio's inquiry, Iu didn't conceal anything and simply explained the situation.
'So they rely on this world's humans. Perhaps there really are strong ones.' Hearing her words, Hachiman became cautious again.
Kusue, however, looked at the greatly changed town, feeling somewhat depressed. She worried that perhaps much time had passed in this world...
As for Takeru, he observed this world with interest, 'It seemed this world was also at a medieval level of technology. Magic didn't seem to have too great an impact on this world.'
"Heroes!" As they walked along the street, a voice filled with pleasant surprise reached Takeru and the others' ears.
"Kahabell-san!" Hearing her call, Yusuke, Iu, and the four exclaimed joyfully.
However, Takeru noticed that Kahabell looked at Yusuke and the others with initial delight, then with regret and disappointment, before quickly adjusting her composure.