Chapter 30

　　It wasn’t called a ‘recruitment story’ for nothing.

　　Cadel stared blankly at the pillar of fire piercing the Armor Ogre. Van stood frozen, unmoving despite the heat radiating from the massive flames. His grip on his greatsword tightened, veins bulging on the back of his hand.

　　Beyond the blazing pillar, Cadel’s figure appeared, limping toward Van. As soon as Van spotted him, he rushed over.

　　“Mage!”

　　“My head is pounding. Don’t yell.”

　　“Why did you come out here? If you had just stayed hidden—!”

　　“Shut up!”

　　Whether his head truly hurt or he just didn’t want to hear Van speak, Cadel pressed a hand to his forehead, panting. When he slowly lifted his head, his eyes burned with a terrifyingly fierce glare.

　　His face was a gruesome mess of blood and wounds, his original skin tone completely unrecognizable. The sheer intimidation radiating from his eyes, the only part of him left intact, was beyond imagination. Van faltered under that gaze. Cadel spoke in a low voice.

　　“I have no intention of dying here. And I have no intention of letting you die here, either. So cut the chit-chat and help me.”

　　“Help you…? But the pillar of fire already…”

　　“I just bound its movements for a moment. If its armor could be broken by something like that, I would have killed it already.”

　　Cadel was in even worse shape than he looked. He forced strength into his battered body, looking as though he might collapse at any second. He pointed a finger at the Armor Ogre trapped in the flames.

　　“I’ll pierce that armor. Then you shove your greatsword into the opening I make. Once the armor cracks, it won’t be as tough as it was at first, so smash it like your life depends on it. Got it?”

　　“How are you going to break the armor—”

　　“No matter what I look like, do not interfere. Unless double suicide is your hobby, that is.”

　　Cadel clearly had no intention of answering Van’s questions. Without even waiting for a reply, he limped straight toward the pillar of fire.

　　Van didn’t stop him. Or rather, he couldn’t.

　　“Just what…”

　　Van’s body trembled slightly. Whether from pain or a thrill, it was impossible to tell. His gaze remained fixed on Cadel’s ragged back.

　　A moment later, a monstrous roar tore through the air.

　　Where the pillar of fire vanished, the Armor Ogre remained, thrashing about in a blind rage. And there was Cadel, having climbed up its leg to reach its abdomen.

　　He clung desperately to the wildly shaking monster. Beneath the hand pressed against its abdomen, mana condensed and embers sparked. Watching this scene unfold, the present Cadel doubted his own eyes.

　　Is he seriously going to use fire magic at point-blank range? Sure, doing that means he can focus his fire without worrying about missing, but…

　　Why was magic considered a ranged attack? Because there was a risk of being swept up in one’s own spell. With the exception of a few specific spells, magic had to be used from a distance. This was especially true for fire magic.

　　Its scorching heat and explosive power would never protect the caster. No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than the utterly reckless protagonist of the game, Cadel Lytos, launched his attack.

　　Heavy explosions boomed and crashed relentlessly. Focused on a single point, Cadel’s fire attack never missed. The blasts erupting from his hand generated thick smoke, further enraging the Armor Ogre. Feeling the tremors of the explosions, the monster swung its arms to crush the source, but it couldn’t easily shake off Cadel’s small frame. Cadel’s body slipped right through the monster’s fingers.

　　Not getting crushed by the Armor Ogre’s palm was pure luck.

　　Watching his perilous struggle, Van twitched as if he wanted to sprint forward at any second, while the present Cadel, observing through Van’s perspective, was engulfed in shock.

　　He formed a barrier on his arm. It’s not a simultaneous cast. He deployed the barrier the exact moment the explosion went off. But even so, that wouldn’t completely negate the impact…

　　It was reckless. So much so that he wondered if this was truly the strategy of someone who didn’t want to die.

　　Yet, he couldn’t think of any better method, either. Unless he chose to abandon one of them, he had no choice but to take a gamble that risked both their lives.

　　If I were in the exact same situation… could I have made the same choice? Risking my life to save a life, could I really do that? An inexplicable emotion swelled within him at the thought.

　　What Van wants is a captain like that.

　　The captain he had known, Cadel Lytos, was that kind of person. Because he was that kind of person, Van willingly joined the mercenary group, willingly threw his life away for his captain, and willingly pledged his loyalty.

　　And I…

　　He lacked confidence. The confidence to be the kind of captain Van thought he was, the kind Van wanted. Along with his plummeting self-esteem, a cracked shout rang out from the Armor Ogre’s direction.

　　“Now!”

　　Through the dissipating smoke, Cadel plummeted toward the ground, the Armor Ogre’s long arm swiping after him.

　　But instead of rushing to catch Cadel, Van charged straight at the monster. His thigh muscles bulged as he pushed his speed to the limit, concentrating all his weight in his lower body to swiftly scale the Armor Ogre’s leg.

　　His silver hair fluttered freely as he burst through the grayish-white smoke. His eyes darted intensely, like a beast hunting its prey.

　　He was searching for a single, tiny opening.

　　Inhaling deeply of the air thick with the stench of burning flesh, Van’s gaze locked onto the small crack Cadel had created. Swung without hesitation, his greatsword wedged itself into the gap, forcing its blade deep.

　　A squelching sensation traveled up his arms as he carved into the yielding flesh. Beneath the armor lay surprisingly soft hide.

　　The Armor Ogre let out twisted roars and stopped chasing Cadel. Startled by the pain, it unleashed a flurry of indiscriminate punches aimed at Van. Instead of retreating, Van narrowly twisted his body to dodge the beast’s fists.

　　A grazing blow left a shallow gash on his cheek. In an instant, a red aura began to surge across his entire body.

　　The overflow of intense aura, like erupting blood, meant only one thing. The awakening of the Blood Stream Sword.

　　“I will kill you.”

　　A thick aura seeped down his hand gripping the greatsword. As he applied force, lifting the blade that had dug deep into the monster’s flesh, cracks began to spread in all directions with a sickening crunch.

　　“Once the armor cracks, it won’t be as tough as it was at first, so smash it like your life depends on it.”

　　Those words were true. The armor that had withstood every attack was slowly but surely breaking apart.

　　With a vicious shout, Van’s greatsword cleaved through the armor and abdomen entirely, drawing a curve as it tore free. The red sword energy generated along the blade’s trajectory left a straight afterimage across the monster’s chest and face.

　　A massive amount of blood erupted from the monster’s split body. The blood sprayed forward, pouring down with the fierce momentum of a rainstorm. Amidst the scattering fragments and showering droplets of blood, Van rode atop the monster’s collapsing body and landed on the ground.

　　And before the Armor Ogre’s massive body slammed into the earth, he snatched up Cadel from the ground and leapt away.

　　This was their victory. There was nothing more to see.

* * *

　　From then on, the perspective shifted to that of an observer. Cadel could move freely, watching the two of them as if he were a camera filming them.

　　“We saved each other’s lives!”

　　They were descending the mountain toward the civilian houses visible below. Both of them were in a state beyond terrible, bordering on gruesome, but even while being supported by Van, Cadel’s voice was full of life.

　　“I don’t remember saving you.”

　　“Well, I do. Twice, even.”

　　“…Shut up.”

　　Finding Van’s evasiveness amusing, Cadel moved the arm draped over his shoulder to pinch Van’s cheek. He paid no mind to Van’s irritable reaction.

　　“You promised to speak nicely if we survived! Come on, act sweet, Van.”

　　Van just glared at him in silence.

　　“Oh, so you’re just not going to speak at all?”

　　“Don’t waste your energy on useless things.”

　　His face was a mess of wounds, but it was easy to tell that Van had turned bright red. The louder Cadel laughed, the more sullen his expression became. After laughing cluelessly for quite some time, Cadel clutched his throbbing abdomen and suddenly spoke.

　　“Hey, do you want to travel with me?”

　　“…Travel?”

　　“Let’s travel! Yeah?”

　　It was a reckless proposal thrust upon him without any warning. He beamed like a child right at Van’s dumbfounded face.

　　“If you travel with me, good things will definitely happen.”

　　“Tiring things will happen, more likely.”

　　“No! I’m a genius mage who will one day bring the whole world under my sword! I’m not joking, it’s absolutely going to happen. So… you’d be my precious companion taking that glorious first step with me.”

　　Certainly, those words were no joke. The Cadel Lytos of the distant future would truly become a famous hero revered by the world.

　　Though calling him a companion or whatever feels a bit much.

　　No wonder Van’s affection was at 70 right from the start.

　　Clicking his tongue at the loose-lipped protagonist, Cadel focused on Van’s reaction. Van was looking back at Cadel with a subtle expression that made his inner thoughts hard to read.

　　A brief silence flowed between Cadel and Van, who had stopped walking and stood completely still. Van parted his lips slightly before speaking in an unimpressed tone.

　　“What kind of mage brings the world under their sword? You should have said staff instead.”

　　“A staff isn’t cool! And aren’t you going to speak nicely? If we travel together, I’m the captain, so you better use proper respect.”

　　“I thought you said we were companions.”

　　“Even between companions, there’s a hierarchy.”

　　The two of them bickered over ridiculous nitpicks. At some point, Cadel realized his vision was no longer moving with them. He was rooted to the spot, watching the two figures grow further and further away. It wasn’t by his own will.

　　As their backs shrank in the distance, the fading sounds of their conversation lingered in his ears.

　　“You’re coming with me, right? Yeah?”

　　“…I’ll think about it.”

　　“Got it. Tell me in one minute. I’ll be waiting.”

　　“Do you want me to think about it or not?”

　　“Don’t think, just come. I told you I’ll treat you well.”

　　After thinking for one minute, Van would eventually choose to travel with Cadel. They would overcome many things together, and during that time, he must have learned how to speak respectfully, too.

　　Having spent such a long time together, he became the Van Herdos of today.

　　Watching his vision gradually turn white, Cadel took a deep breath. The Van Herdos he would see from now on was his own. He might not be able to become the captain Van had known, but he swore he would at least not be someone who made Van regret his loyalty.

　　As the system windows popped up, Cadel made his resolve.

　　[Van Herdos’s Memories – Starting Member Exclusive Story viewing complete.]

　　[Fatigue recovery reduced by 50%. Please be mindful of physical fatigue.]