Chapter 111

August’s strong faith remained unshakable.

Indeed, he was like a fanatic who regarded asceticism as joy.

If that’s the case, then…

As soon as I felt awkward for a while at August’s confident answer, Axion suddenly jumped up from his position and shouted.

“Oh! There’s another demon there!”

As soon as we took a breather, Axion ran off, delighting in the demon.

Not looking back and forth, his eyes turned to the monsters, and he didn’t even know that the time had run out and the support magic had been lifted.

“Be careful!”

I rushed to double and triple the support spell. Then I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Anyway, all the flame wizards had fiery personalities. Of course, that didn’t mean that they were in harmony.

‘It’s like fire in that if the fire spreads even a little, it’s an easy point to burn. Don’t even look at the before and after.’

I shook my head as I watched Axion frolicking in the distance, killing tree monsters.

***

“It’s a monster…”

The Fabian Expeditionary Force looked at Axion with astonishment as he sprinted through the demons with great skill.

The demons that they had finally defeated were scattered into ashes by Axion’s hand.

Fabian could also use fire magic, but he was not a wizard, he was a swordsman.

His magical firepower was also second to Axion.

However, he had no choice but to use as much magic range as he was born with.

Instead, he had better styles like strength and agility than Axion, and he thought he could make up for it, but…

He was no match for the Axion who received buffs from Jun.

Grind. Fabian’s back teeth clashed and there was a bleak sound.

It was humiliating to see the difference between him and Axion so visibly.

If it weren’t for Jun’s support magic…

That’s right. Axion’s proper ability was not that. How could he show off with his exaggerated skills?

Originally, that support magic was mine.

Fabian’s heated gaze shifted to Jun.

Sweat was beading on Jun’s cheeks as she used her support magic behind Axion, safely behind the Black Knights.

The Black Knights were surrounding Jun as if to protect her.

Come to think of it, how was Jun in the first round?

Fabian recalled the memory.

At the back of the expedition. He couldn’t quite remember where Jun was, as he had given priority to April the healer and Jeanne the wizard.

In fact, Jun was not in a prominent place.

So Jun tried not to go against the mood of the expedition members, but the expedition members grumbled that she was only looking for safe places quickly.

Fabian, who remembered that far, tried to swallow memories of the past as if he didn’t know.

To him, the past was not a mirror of truth to make him regret it, but just another possibility to make him guess the future.

He couldn’t feel guilty for Jun because of the vague things in his memory that left no trace.

It was Fabian’s near-willfulness that kept him from admitting that Jun would not give him any more opportunities.

One of the members of the Fabian expedition, who misunderstood Fabian’s view of Jun and the rest of the Black Knights, shamelessly praised the Black Knights.

“Wow… There’s a reason why the Black Knights are the strongest. It’s hard for us to kill one, but over there, the flame wizard alone deals with several at a time.”

“In addition, the Black Knight hasn’t even come out yet.”

Words praising the Black Knights to the point where their mouths were dry bothered Fabian. Fabian, who was unfamiliar with the words, became angry.

“Aren’t you guys fast? What’s amazing about them!”

“What’s wrong, Fabian? Honestly, they’re much better than us.”

“It’s just a level difference. We can do that if our level goes up.”

Then Fabian fell silent. The members of the team noticed the unpleasantness of the expedition leader, which they could clearly feel.

To be honest, Fabian didn’t think there was much of a difference between him and the Black Knights.

To be a little more precise, he was close to not knowing how difficult this dungeon would be.

‘When the boss monster appears, will I really be able to strike the final blow?’

He hadn’t doubted it before, but he was finally starting to get worried.

He could feel the gap that could not be mixed between the two expeditions.

It was as if Fabian’s limit was here.

No. I can’t fall behind Meyer.

Even in the first round, when I had no memory, I finally beat Meyer Knox. It won’t change just because it’s the second round. I will beat Meyer again this time…

But he couldn’t help but be annoyed when he muttered to himself. Fabian rushed the expedition members.

“Let’s catch up quickly. If we do this, the Black Knights will catch more demons, and the more they do, the more experience we will miss out on.”

“But Fabian, it’s too much for our level to go deeper here. We can ask for help from the Black Knights…”

“What nonsense are you talking about! Then, how funny would we be to them over there!”

Fabian was furious.

Deca, who spoke out, looked awkward, but soon opened his mouth resolutely.

“It’s not bad for us either. After all, we’ll have the experience to share. We don’t have to dare to go back to the difficult path. If we’re not careful, we’ll be in real trouble. As the Vice Commander, I advise you.”

“…”

As he said this, Deca glanced at Jeanne. Jeanne’s complexion was pale as if she had been pushed too hard.

Jeanne was the highest level wizard in the Fabian expedition. So they brought her because she was not advantageous in terms of attributes, but she was not particularly disadvantageous either…

Here, higher levels of physical strength and agility were needed than expected. It was a difficult dungeon for ordinary wizards.

But it was not just the Fabian Expedition.

Surely Jun would have a hard time conquering this dungeon, as she didn’t remember it either.

That’s what Fabian thought until the beginning of the dungeon.

As if to mock Fabian, Jun and Axion were very active with her support magic.

On the other hand, Jeanne of the Fabian expedition was almost stranded.

Moreover, the other expedition members spent more time worrying about protecting Jeanne than Jeanne did firing support shots with her magic.

‘If this is kept up, we brought Jeanne for no reason.’

However, to admit so hurt his pride, as he had been so stubborn that he had no choice but to bring her here.

Just as Fabian’s heart was set on fire, Jun suddenly came to them.

Meanwhile, the Black Knights seemed to have swept the demons away again.

“May I cast a spell to support you?”

“…”

Her smile was unfamiliar as she approached with a plausible face. It was an expression he had never seen before, not once since the second round.

Her ulterior motives were plain to see. Supportive magic? She was going to try to act all high and mighty with the compliments of those who ignored her, wasn’t she?

Fabian, whose mouth was filled with anger, tried to grab the corner of his mouth and stared at Jun.

“It’s okay. We can do it ourselves.”

Still, he was able to respect the other members of the expedition by paying attention to their gazes. But that was the best Fabian could do.

“Well… If that’s the case.”

Jun smiled at Fabian and turned right back to the place where the Black Knights were.

The expedition members, who belatedly realized the situation, jumped and rebuked Fabian.

“Why did you reject it, Fabian!”

“It’s supportive magic.”

“But the Black Knights also receive supportive magic… Who are we to reject the magic? Are we in a position to pick and choose such things now?”

Deca rebuked Fabian as if he was frustrated. However, Fabian covered his ears and insisted.

“That’s all a trick to be parasitic on our workforce. She’s trying to delay our growth by siphoning off our experiences.”

“You say outrageous things. There’s no way someone who’s the vice leader of the Black Knights would do that. She could go in and gain as much experience as she wanted if she had to. And what is the reason for stalling our growth? There’s already a huge gap between us anyway.”

“…”

Fabian pressed down on his lips.

It was almost frustrating not to be able to say that Jun was holding a grudge against him, so he didn’t know what kind of tricks she would use against him.

Deca patted Fabian on the shoulder and said as if he were scolding him.

“I think you’re getting nervous lately, which is unlike you. Is it because of the results debriefing that you’ve become so competitive? But it was all an expected outcome, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. We decided to take a long look. If we raise our level step by step, we can catch up someday. Take it easy. There’s a saying that you have to step back in order to leap forward.”

The Fabian expedition’s shield highly praised them.

Fabian’s heart boiled with resentment towards Jun and inferiority towards Meyer and Axion.

But that didn’t mean that he was so unprincipled that he didn’t notice the buzz of public opinion within his expedition.

If he turned his blade on them again, it would only damage his reputation.

Realizing that it was time for him to “bend,” Fabian changed the color of his face with a small sigh.

“Sorry. I was sensitive. It’s already late this time, so I’ll talk to her then when the wave is over and the next break time comes.”

“Yeah. That’s a good idea. It might be advantageous to have a faster hunting speed, even if it costs a little more experience.”

Deca smiled broadly. Others also seemed relieved by Fabian’s permission.

As if receiving Jun’s support magic was a ray of hope.

As for Fabian, it was a reversal of his attire.

Seeing the Expedition, Fabian hid his misguided true feelings with a half-hearted smile.