The hero of the next generation, skillfully using hero abilities.
"Hero Magic, Holy Sword Morganel Fay!" the young man's sword gleamed as he effortlessly struck down the oncoming magical beasts.
"Gyaaahhh...nggh..."
A dragon, twice the size of the young man, split in half. From the wound, black particles floated and vanished.
It was an A-rank magical beast—Golden Wolf Dragon Goldrath. A type of evil dragon rapidly spreading its territory recently. Originally, it shouldn't be in the human world; it should reside deep in the forest caves as a dragon—
"Magical beasts appearing in a rural village like this is unusual. Maybe Master Reese was right; the demon lord revival might be near...?"
Sheathing his sword, the young man turned to his new companions who were waving.
"Jin! We've exterminated all the magical beasts as instructed... any injuries? Oh no, any injuries!? Ah, we spilled all the healing potions on the way here, and we have none left...! Uh, bandages! Bandages, maybe!"
Beside Jin, a girl was flustered at the sight of injuries. And—
"The remnants on this side have been taken care of by me and Vritra. You should have Lady Lahab heal your injuries. Right, Lady Lahab?"
"If you have acorns, I can heal you."
"Ah, always looking down at my feet... Well, how about Vritra? Can't we figure something out? We're out of healing potions, you know?"
"Nuh? I'm skilled at healing by roasting."
"Why is our party always like this!? We're a team, you know!?"
In the background, there was a noisy young man, a lively trio of elves, and a small-sized dragon.
"Don't worry, Raidon. These wounds will heal soon enough. But more importantly, let's move on to the next place. Even at our level, there must be something we can contribute. Now then—?"
"Good grief... The next request is for the border area with the demon territory, the Kukule Fortress. It seems that magical beasts are currently rampant like never before. Lord Galleus, our lord, is leading the defense, but it's uncertain if it'll hold for a week... They received a personal request from our lord himself while on an expedition. They must be in quite a bind."
"Understood, thanks Raidon. I'm glad no one else got injured. Kukule Fortress has been quite helpful to Master Reese, so let's head there immediately."
"As impatient as ever, our leader. Still, we managed to become an A-rank party in just two years thanks to that. Let's go, Jin. I know you're a man who gets things done when it's time."
Raidon Alter, an earth attribute magic user, was not only the most senior member of the adventurer party "Hopeful Travelers Lagridge," formed two years ago, but also a man who had faced life-threatening situations alongside Jin during this time.
Their encounter happened when Jin tried to take on a certain mission.
—Unfortunately, you cannot take on guild missions alone.
—What!? Even though I count as one person!?
—I'm sorry, but pets don't count as one. Besides, especially if they can't use magic...
Jin was attempting an F-rank mission—the subjugation of the Horn Rabbit, a task typically considered the lowest-tier within the guild, all alone (or perhaps with a small dragon by his side?).
Even the little dragon fluttering around his shoulders seemed unrecognized by the guild.
Despite the small dragon hissing and threatening, there was no indication anyone would acknowledge it.
Several onlookers murmured as they observed them.
"That guy, wasn't he the baggage-carrying porter for 'Crosenar'? There were rumors he was left for dead, but he's alive. Even though he was abandoned deep in the forest, he must've had good luck."
"'Crosenar'? Oh, that party of fools banned from the adventurer guild permanently for infighting. If that's the case, this guy is—"
"I feel sorry for him, but you really can't afford to carry around someone who can't use magic..."
The adventurer guild was quick with rumors.
Perhaps because it was already well-known that Jin couldn't use magic, no one had approached him to join them on a mission.
In the guild, accepting missions required at least two people, making it impossible to take on solo tasks.
At that moment, a young man appeared before him.
"Hey, I'm going solo too. How about teaming up for a party? Handling Horn Rabbits might be doable even without magic. I can take care of them all for you. Just follow along, and you'll be fine."
With pride in his shoulder, Raidon, who had just come from a rural town, didn't hesitate to invite Jin, who was struggling with solo missions.
"Just team up with anyone and handle numerous missions. I've never lost when using my earth attribute magic. Since I came to the city to become famous, as long as I stand out, it's not a problem." That's how he casually thought when offering his invitation.
However, in just a few hours, Raidon's perception would change.
Jin Fritz, the man he invited, couldn't use magic. Not being able to use magic meant he couldn't sense magical power or see waves. Raidon believed it would be challenging to even find, let alone defeat, Horn Rabbits that used magic to hide and escape on the flow of magical energy.
"Hey, you... Aren't you can't use magic.....?"
Thirty minutes into the mission, Raidon returned to Jin with five Horn Rabbits.
"Yup, not being able to use magic is inconvenient and tough, as I've realized again. I still have a lot of training to do, to get closer to Master Reese. I need to work even harder."
In front of him were dozens of defeated Horn Rabbits.
"This makes it the 50th!"
Jin, who could keenly sense magical output and waves, gracefully swung his sword without unnecessary movements. His swordsmanship was far more elegant than those who used magic carelessly.
"Did I just partner with someone incredibly strong...?"
For Raidon, who considered himself the top earth attribute magic user in town, meeting Jin had been quite a shock.
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