"I'm impressed, I didn't think you could be so fashionable for an adventurer, Mr. Arezu."
"Oi, seriously?"
"Mhm! That intricate red pattern design on your clothes is so cool. It's so eye-catching because it's gushing in red, so much red."
"Because it's orc's blood!"
Arezu's laid-back demeanor is slowly crumbling in a clash with Lynn's audacity. He won't deny that he was at fault for slaying the orc in a bit of a gruesome way, and for its blood to splatter in their direction. But to intentionally use him as a shield to save herself from getting stained with orc's blood, without any second thought, is just so intolerable that he is starting to lose his patience.
"Jokes aside, you did a job, Mr. Arezu." Even Lynn's genuine praise is starting to sound sarcastic.
"...Of defeating the orc?"
"...Of being a meat shield."
After giving Arezu a thumbs up and a smirk, Lynn cheerfully turned around while fluttering her black robe and platinum hair for Arezu to see.
"I didn't get any bloodstains in my clothes and hair, right?"
'Just how insensitive you are to ask me that?' It is what Arezu wanted to say, but he changed his mind after seeing Lynn's satisfied smile while looking at her clothes.
Since he was at fault, Arezu would have jumped in front of Lynn either way if she was about to be splattered by the orc's blood. With that thought, Arezu heaved a heavy sigh and then decided to forget everything he was getting worked up for.
After pulling his halberd from the orc's skull and confirming that the orc is utterly dead, Arezu hurriedly moved in front of the wagon to check the situation of Alex, Liz, and Hannah, who are still fighting against the two other orcs.
Arezu stands next to Lynn, who is watching the fight while staying near the wagon.
"Aren't you gonna help them?"
"I don't want my clothes... I mean, as you can see, I'm protecting the wagon."
Aside from the fact that her true intention almost slipped out of her mouth, Lynn's empty twin-arrow crossbow, which is now hanging on her belt, shows that she has no intention of helping in the fight against the remaining two orcs.
Maybe she believes in the capability of her party members, or she is indeed prioritizing defending the wagon. Either way, Arezu can leave Lynn on her own and help fight the remaining two orcs. That was Arezu's plan until he got annoyed by Lynn stepping away from him, as if she felt disgusted with him being drenched in orc blood.
"Oi..."
"My, my, my... What could you possibly be getting mad for, Mr. Arezu?"
The commotion between Azeru and Lynn finally caught Alex, Liz, and Hannah's attention. As they glance to check what is happening behind them, different expressions appear on their face which Arezu and Lynn didn't fail to notice.
Liz has a surprised look upon seeing Arezu. Though her surprise didn't come from seeing Arezu's bloodstained appearance, but from the thought that Arezu and Lynn aren't capable of defeating an orc on their own. Arezu didn't notice Liz's doubt in his capability, but that didn't go unnoticed to Lynn.
Hannah's face turned pale as soon as she saw Arezu, thinking that the blood was from his injuries. Arezu immediately guessed what was on Hannah's mind, so he waved his hands as a sign that he was alright.
On the other hand, Alex shows a clear display of dislike upon seeing Arezu.
'I'm not being hated, aren't I?' Except for Lynn, Arezu has barely had any interaction with the other members of his party.
Liz has a serious personality and would only speak the answer to what she is being asked or what exactly she wanted to say without any extra details. Hannah is the kind of go-with-the-flow person and would just agree to the plan. Alex is only focused on trying to flirt with the girls in their group and would sometimes gaze at Arezu with a domineering smile, as if he were telling Arezu that he was better than him.
Even during their discussion yesterday or during the expanse of their journey, it was how Arezu's interaction with them went. So it won't be unexpected if they dislike him after seeing his bloodstained appearance, courtesy of Lynn.
Putting aside his suspicion to his party members, Arezu readied his halberd to help fight the remaining two orcs, but Lynn immediately stopped him as he took a step forward.
"There's no need to help them, Mr. Arezu. They might be copper-rank adventurers, but they have the strength to defeat those orcs."
'So she does trust them.' Arezu though. But it would be more convincing if Lynn didn't look uneasy holding onto the unstained part of his coat while trying to stop him.
Either way, Arezu decided to believe in Lynn's words and remain on standby while protecting the wagon. It was also his chance to see Alex, Liz, and Hannah's fighting capability.
The battle against the two orcs remains in a stalemate, with Liz and Alex fighting in front and Hannah supporting from behind.
Feeling pressured from being watched by Arezu and Lynn, who have already taken down their opponent, Liz and Alex become a bit impatient with their fight.
*"Hannah!"*
Hannah understood what Liz and Alex were asking of her, so she offered her prayer to the goddess and cast her blessing of divine arts to support them.
"Boost"
The blessing 'Boost' enhances both magical and physical abilities depending on the capability of the caster. Concerning Hannah's capability as a priestess, she was able to enhance Liz and Alex's magical and physical abilities by almost half of their strength.
Arezu and Lynn were able to perceive the effect of Hannah's blessing upon seeing Liz and Alex moving much faster at their initial speed as they both charged towards their opponents.
The 2-meter-tall orc that Liz is fighting brandishes its rusted greatsword and swings it down to intercept Liz's charge. Its attack is slow and unrefined but that shouldn't matter to orcs that only rely on their brute strength. Its greatsword has enough force to break an iron shield and split its bearer in half, but Liz didn't get intimidated by the orc's attack and continued her charge.
Liz imbues her shield with mana, then uses her combat arts skill as soon as she halts her charge and blocks the orc's greatsword.
'Reinforce'
A loud bashing echo as Liz's shield and the orc's greatsword clash. Liz withstood the orc's attack and deflected its greatsword with her shield. Before the orc can brandish its greatsword for its next attack, Liz has already imbued his longsword with mana and is about to use another skill.
'Pierce'
Liz thrust her longsword straight to the orc's face. The orc raises its guard and blocks with its left hand. It should have made Liz's longsword fail to reach its target, but the skill 'Pierce' obliterated the orc's hand and bore a large hole straight through its head. Thus, ending the fight with Liz's overwhelming victory.
As Liz takes down her opponent, Alex continues to fight an evolved orc magician. It was a bit smaller than an average orc but it was proficient in using fire attribute spell.
The orc magician successively cast the basic spell 'Flame Burst' using its enchanted staff, creating multiple fireballs and launching them one after another towards Alex.
Alex has enough speed to dodge the incoming fireballs and run past the explosion of flames. Yet he still fails to reach the orc magician, as it is clever enough to always leave a few fireballs in front to blast Alex every time he gets near.
While keeping his distance from the orc magician, Alex glanced around his surroundings. A bit further away are Lynn and Arezu, still arguing about something he can't hear. Behind him is Hannah, prepared to cast her defensive blessing in case he makes a mistake. On his left side is Liz, who has already defeated the orc she was fighting.
He is the only one left who hasn't defeated his opponent. That didn't sit well with Alex. Confident and competitive as he is, he didn't want anyone getting ahead of him, even with the fact that he is fighting a much stronger opponent.
He was stronger than everyone else. With that thought in his mind, Alex prepared to use his gift.
"....." Alex muttered a word that was too silent for anyone around him to hear. At the next moment, all the fireballs in front of the orc magician disappear.
"What happened?"
"If you worship me right now and give a few gold coins as an offering, I will gladly enlighten you, Mr. Arezu."
Neither that he has any gold coin or will to worship her, so Arezu silently declines Lynn's offer as he remains unaware of what Alex did. Lynn just kept a mischievous smile that didn't only mean to tease Arezu, but something more. Liz and Hannah, on the other hand, have a look of disbelief upon seeing what Alex did.
The orc magician remained confused, unable to comprehend what had happened. It tries to cast another flame burst spell using its enchanted staff, but fails to create any fireball at all. Without any spell to attack or to defend itself, the orc magician became vulnerable.
Alex charged with swords in both hands and decapitated the orc magician. Thus, ending their encounter with the group of orcs.