Chapter 133: Daphne Awakens 1

Stone Armor was a Level Six Earth-element defensive spell.

Among intermediate defensive magic, its protective power ranked among the very best.

Worse still, magical beasts did not cast spells the same way human mages did.

Most of their magic came from innate abilities.

That meant they could often activate it instantly.

Kent’s face went slightly pale.

But there was no backing down now.

He could not outrun the creature at this distance.

And even if he somehow managed to escape...

Daphne was still behind him.

They had already gone through too much together for him to simply abandon her.

There was no one else here to save her.

If Kent fled, the enraged Earth Lizards would almost certainly tear her apart.

His conscience would never allow it.

Kent gritted his teeth.

Then he leaned his entire body forward, shifting his center of gravity toward the charging beast in an attempt to reduce the impact.

The boots on his feet had already split apart from the force he had been exerting.

His bare feet were now sunk deep into the stone beneath him.

Sweat covered his forehead.

Not from exhaustion.

From tension.

Earth Lizards were normally low-level magical beasts.

How was Kent supposed to know that the leader of this particular pack was actually Level Six?

If he had known beforehand, he would have left long ago.

His palms were slick with sweat.

Fortunately, the dragon lance had been designed with an excellent grip, preventing it from slipping.

Until now, Kent had been wielding it with one hand.

This time, he wrapped both hands firmly around the shaft.

His arms were not particularly thick, but veins now stood out sharply beneath his skin.

The muscles along his forearms and shoulders swelled visibly as he tightened his grip.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

The rapid pounding of the Earth Lizard leader’s footsteps echoed throughout the cavern.

It charged toward Kent with overwhelming momentum.

Compared with its enormous body, Kent looked almost pitifully small.

Yet he did not move.

Not even a single step.

It almost looked as though he were deliberately looking down on the creature.

That only enraged the Earth Lizard leader further.

Its subordinates were watching.

Its mates were watching.

How could it possibly tolerate being humiliated in front of them?

Its speed increased yet again.

The distance vanished rapidly.

Kent could already see the creature’s enormous eyes rushing toward him.

For several heartbeats, he remained perfectly still.

Then excitement suddenly flashed across his face.

“Magic Breaker.”

Kent whispered the words.

Kent’s boots had long since split apart under the pressure.

His bare feet had sunk deeply into the stone beneath him, and sweat covered his forehead.

It was not from exhaustion.

It was from nerves.

Earth Lizards were normally only low-level magical beasts.

How was Kent supposed to know that the leader of this particular pack was actually Level Six?

If he had known that from the beginning, he would have turned around and left without hesitation.

His palms were soaked with sweat.

Fortunately, the grip of the dragon lance had been exceptionally well designed, preventing the weapon from slipping.

Until now, Kent had been holding it with one hand.

This time, he shifted to a two-handed grip.

Though his arms were not especially thick, veins now bulged beneath the skin, and the muscles along his forearms and shoulders stood out sharply.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

The rapid pounding of heavy footsteps echoed through the cavern.

The Earth Lizard leader charged toward the comparatively tiny Kent with terrifying momentum.

And yet Kent remained perfectly still.

He did not retreat even half a step.

To the beast, that stillness looked almost like contempt.

The Earth Lizard leader became even more enraged.

Its subordinates were watching.

Its mates were watching.

How could it possibly allow itself to be humiliated in front of them?

Its speed increased yet again.

Kent stared at the enormous pair of eyes rushing toward him.

For a brief moment, he seemed almost stunned.

Then excitement suddenly flashed across his face.

“Magic Breaker!”

He breathed the words out in delight.

The earth-shattering collision he had imagined never came.

Instead, Kent stared in disbelief as the dragon lance pierced straight through the Earth Lizard leader’s head.

It was almost absurdly easy.

Like an iron skewer passing through a chunk of meat, the lance tore through the creature’s formidable defenses without the slightest resistance.

It punched through the hardened skull, continued deep into the beast’s body, and finally buried itself in its abdomen.

The Earth Lizard leader’s eyes remained wide open.

Even in death, it seemed unable to understand what had happened.

Its proudest defensive ability—

the Stone Armor that had protected it through countless battles—

had been completely useless.

“Idiot!”

Niuniu rolled her eyes at Kent.

“That’s a dragon lance. It was made to kill dragons!”

“How strong do you think a dragon’s magic resistance and physical defense are?”

“If the lance didn’t possess a Magic-Breaking enchantment, what were Dragon Knights supposed to do?”

“Beat a dragon to death with it like a giant club?”

Kent froze.

Only then did he seem to remember exactly what kind of weapon he was holding.

Still, another question immediately occurred to him.

“How do you know all that?”

He looked at Niuniu suspiciously.

“Another inherited memory?”

Niuniu gave him an expression that clearly said she could no longer tolerate his stupidity.

“I already told you.”

“I could get into the Mage Guild Headquarters’ material treasury.”

“Do you seriously think the places where they keep books would be harder to enter?”

Kent fell silent.

He had absolutely no response to that.

Instead, an image appeared in his mind of whoever was currently responsible for managing the Mage Guild Headquarters.

That poor person was probably suffering from endless headaches by now.

If a little miser like Niuniu had been allowed anywhere near the storerooms, Kent genuinely wondered whether there was anything left inside them.

Still, he had no intention of criticizing her.

For one thing, this world had always followed the simplest rule—

the stronger fist made the rules.

For another, even if Kent did lecture Niuniu, there was absolutely no guarantee she would listen.

So he decided it would be much easier to pretend he knew nothing.

His attention returned to the dragon lance.

And now, Kent liked the weapon even more.

In his eyes, it had become an absolute treasure.

A single crossbow bolt enchanted with Magic Breaker could already cost more than a thousand gold coins.

Yet this massive dragon lance possessed not only a Magic-Breaking enchantment, but Armor Piercing as well.

Its value was simply incalculable.

“Ha! Prepare to die!”

Kent suddenly shouted.

Imitating the exaggerated delivery of an old theatrical performance from Earth, he pulled the dragon lance free and charged after the fleeing Earth Lizards.

The moment their leader had died, the remaining creatures had immediately turned and run.

And they ran fast.

Each one seemed more desperate than the last.

But Kent had no intention of letting them escape.

He had only just discovered how powerful the dragon lance truly was.

Of course he wanted to test it some more.

“AAAAAH!”

A piercing scream suddenly echoed through the cavern.

Kent spun around at once.

Daphne had awakened.

The moment she opened her eyes and saw the blood-soaked cavern around her, the scattered corpses, and the gruesome remains of the battle, shock overwhelmed her.

And she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Kent hurried back at once.

After making sure there was no immediate danger, he glanced around and realized that Niuniu had already disappeared.

Only Big Nose remained nearby, circling curiously around the corpse of the Earth Lizard leader.

Kent quickly turned his attention to Daphne.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Waaah! Brother Kent!”

The moment Daphne heard his familiar voice, she threw herself into his arms and burst into tears.

“I dreamed that you were killed! You were covered in blood... it was terrifying!”

A faint fragrance washed over Kent as she pressed against him.

It was not the artificial scent of perfume, but something fresh and natural, almost like the clean breath of the forest itself.

Then, before he quite knew what to do, Daphne’s soft body was already in his arms.

Kent immediately became awkward.

What puzzled him was that he and Daphne had been together for quite some time already.

Why was it only now that he suddenly became so aware of things like this?

He hesitated for a moment, then raised a hand and gently patted her back.

“Don’t cry.”

“You said it was only a nightmare, right?”

“People always say dreams tend to mean the opposite of what they show.”

In truth, Kent could hardly be blamed for reacting differently now.

Every previous time he and Daphne had been forced into close contact, they had been running for their lives.

His nerves had always been stretched to the breaking point.

Under those circumstances, how could he possibly have noticed anything else?

Now, however, the danger had passed.

More than that, he had just driven off an entire pack of magical beasts.

They might only have been low-level creatures, but Kent still felt an enormous sense of accomplishment.

Most importantly, the strengthening of his body had affected far more than just his strength and defenses.

His senses had also become significantly sharper.

Naturally, everything now felt far more vivid than before.

“Mm...”

Daphne suddenly noticed how stiff Kent’s body had become.

Only then did she realize just how tightly she was holding him.

Her face immediately flushed.

Instead of raising her head, she buried it even deeper against his chest, too embarrassed to look at him.

After everything they had gone through together, Daphne had gradually realized something.

She liked Kent.

And not in the ordinary way one might like a companion or a friend.

She genuinely liked him from the bottom of her heart.

But then she remembered that Kent already had a Dark Elf maid—at least in name.

The thought immediately dampened her mood.

Kent sensed that Daphne had gradually calmed down.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Big Nose sitting nearby and staring at the two of them with a puzzled expression.

Kent immediately felt even more embarrassed.

“Come on, stop crying.”

“Someone’s watching us.”

“Someone?”

Daphne straightened up at once.

She quickly wiped the tears from her face and looked around suspiciously.

Kent bent down and scooped up Big Nose’s plump little body.

“This little fellow.”

He held the creature up in front of her.

“You know, he’s actually an ancient magical beast.”

“Oh!”

Daphne’s eyes immediately lit up.

“What an adorable little ground rat!”

The moment she saw Big Nose’s round, bright-red nose, his plump body, tiny sparkling eyes, and smooth fur, all traces of embarrassment vanished.

She practically snatched him out of Kent’s arms.

“So cute!”

Her delighted expression made her look no different from an ordinary young girl who had just discovered an adorable pet.

Kent chuckled.

“I call him Big Nose.”

“This little guy really is pretty cute.”

Of course, Kent did not entirely mean what he said.

Cute?

Certainly.

Cute enough to sneak into the Mage Guild Headquarters’ material treasury and help empty it.

There probably were not many creatures in the world quite that “cute.”