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Chapter 102 - Chapter 102: “Go and Get Rid of the Demon King’s Army Cadres!” “Eh? Me?”

"Zunzun, please teach me magic."

After devouring a ridiculous number of cabbages that grant experience points, Sato Kazuma successfully leveled up twice. With his new skill points in hand, he decided it was finally time to learn magic.

However—

"Nope. I can't teach you."

"...Huh?"

"Don't take it the wrong way—I'm not targeting you. I just literally can't teach you."

The advanced magic Zunzun had learned required 30 skill points. More importantly, he had never learned basic or intermediate magic, which meant he couldn't teach them at all.

Kazuma's jaw dropped.

"Wait, wait, wait—how is that even possible? Isn't it normal for learning advanced magic to automatically include the basics?"

"Yeah, I've been wondering that too," Zunzun replied with a sour expression.

If learning advanced magic automatically gave you the lower tiers, why would he have bothered spending years mastering control exercises?

"In any case, don't come to me unless you've got 30 skill points. Ah—but if you've got 10, Yunyun knows intermediate magic. You could ask her," Zunzun offered, suddenly remembering.

"Ten points?! Are you kidding me?! When am I supposed to rack up ten skill points?!"

Kazuma was starting from scratch.

Crimson Demons, unlike regular folk, were born with both a natural affinity for magic and a treasure trove of skill points after changing jobs. Sometimes, the gap between people was wider than the gap between people and dogs.

Zunzun's eyes sparkled. He smelled a business opportunity.

"Kazuma... are you short on skill points?"

"Of course I'm short! Everyone's short on skill poi—wait, actually, that's not true..."

He remembered a certain airheaded goddess who had so many spare skill points that she learned [Banquet Etiquette] and [Wall Construction]. Truly, life was unfair.

Zunzun patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Kazuma. You're in luck. There's something called a Skill Point Potion that increases your skill points. One bottle equals one point. Drink ten and you're good!"

"Ooooh! That's just like an online game!"

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait.

Kazuma quickly realized something terrifying. In this world, you could gain EXP by buying cabbages. You could gain skill points by buying potions. Which meant—if you had enough money, you could just... become strong!

Zunzun grinned. "It just so happens that I can brew Skill Point Potions."

"Whoa! How much for a bottle? Don't let appearances fool you—thanks to the cabbage harvest, I'm actually swimming in cash right now!"

"Two hundred thousand Eris."

"That's daylight robbery! No thanks, goodbye!"

Before Zunzun could even pull out the payment plan, Kazuma vanished without a trace.

Even if he'd made a small fortune from cabbages, it still wasn't enough. After all, he still lived in a stable and dined on frog meat. The so-called "sky-high potion" was, for him, an unattainable dream.

"Tsk. It's not expensive," Zunzun muttered, watching Kazuma vanish into the distance. Two hundred thousand Eris was more than fair. If only Kazuma would realize how hard he worked to make these...

"Zunzun! What are you doing?"

"Megumin? Yunyun? You're back?"

The two childhood friends had returned—this time, completely transformed.

The cabbage bounty had been paid out. Realizing their current gear was falling behind their growing power, Megumin and Yunyun had gone out to upgrade their equipment.

Megumin had been hesitant at first—she hadn't performed well during the cabbage festival—but Yunyun convinced her in the end.

After all... who could say no to shiny new gear?

"This wand is amazing! The magic coursing through it... just holding it makes me feel alive!"

Megumin kept rubbing the wand like a suspicious pervert. She had been reluctant to go, but she returned like this.

Others might not notice anything, but as a fellow Crimson Demon, Zunzun could sense it too. The wand she carried was bursting with magic.

"What about you, Yunyun?"

"I got one too." She pulled her cloak aside, showing off a red crystal wand holstered at her waist with barely restrained glee.

"Zunzun, aren't you going to get one? Actually, wait... you've never used a wand, have you?"

"Of course not. I'm a wandless spellcaster." Zunzun gave a thumbs-up.

The Crimson Demons were divided into two major factions: Wand Users and Wandless Casters.

Arguments raged between them, but both sides agreed on one thing: magic was for showing off. Some thought wielding a wand made them cooler. Others thought wands got in the way of looking cool.

Zunzun belonged to the second camp—and not just because of aesthetics. He had a terrible habit of losing weapons. The small wooden sword his sister gave him for training? Gone. Several times.

"B-But... without a wand, your magic's power is significantly reduced..."

Yunyun, ever the practical one, was more interested in efficiency than flair. Still, if Zunzun insisted, she didn't argue.

Just as they were about to leave—

"Mr. Zunzun, do you have a moment? I have something to ask of you."

The receptionist at the adventurer's guild called out.

The three exchanged glances and walked over.

"Big Sister, what's up?" Zunzun asked.

"Actually... recently, several adventurers have reported that the castle on the hill outside of town has been occupied by a Demon King's Army cadre."

"Demon King's Army cadre!?" Megumin and Yunyun yelped in unison.

Every adventurer knew the reputation of the Demon King's elite. They were second only to the Demon King himself. Each one could easily level a city.

Yunyun asked nervously, "What's one of them doing here?"

"That's what we want to know," the receptionist replied, looking uneasy. "Axel is just a quiet beginner town. What would someone like that want here?"

She continued, "It's probably an ogre lord. Or a vampire. Maybe a greater demon... or even a dragon. But regardless, if they cross paths with adventurers in Axel, there will be casualties."

Apparently, the cadre's presence had unbalanced the local monster ecosystem. Beasts were spilling out of the deep forest. Casualties were already being reported.

"What you're saying is..." Zunzun trailed off.

"We'd like to ask you to investigate."

"Eh? Me?"

"No, no! That's not what I meant!" the receptionist waved her hands in a panic. "Actually, we were going to ask Mitsurugi Kyouya, but he left town recently to continue training. There aren't any stronger adventurers around so..."

So they asked the guy who beat Mitsurugi.

The receptionist looked a little embarrassed. "We're not asking you to fight the cadre. Just investigate. If you can figure out who it is, that would already be amazing."

It's the Dullahan…

Zunzun wanted to say it, but without proof, it'd sound ridiculous.

Megumin's eyes lit up. "Wait, is this a guild commission?"

"Yes, it is."

"Heheheheh... Looks like we're finally famous!" Megumin grinned, puffing up with pride.

Guild missions came in various forms: general requests, client-designated commissions, and guild commissions. A guild commission meant you were chosen. It was the guild's way of saying: "This person is one of our best."

"No problem. Leave it to us!"

Megumin snatched the commission and flourished her cloak dramatically.

"Ogre lord or vampire, demon or dragon... even the Demon King himself would be reduced to ash before my Explosion Magic!"

It was good to be motivated... maybe too motivated.

"—Alright. I'll accept," Zunzun said with a resigned sigh, under the sparkling gazes of Megumin and the guild receptionist.

Just then—

A mohawked man leaning on a pillar spoke in a grave voice: "It's a ruin, yeah? Be careful. The biggest enemy out there... is carelessness."

"Oh, thanks for the advice," Zunzun replied coolly. "But it's fine. If I fall out there, then I was never worth much to begin with."

Megumin, burning with excitement, immediately dragged the group to the hilltop ruins mentioned by the guild.

According to the receptionist, the Demon King's Army had occupied an abandoned city on the northern outskirts, about five kilometers from town.

They spent three hours sneaking past monsters before finally arriving at the ruined hilltop city.

"So this is the place?"

Zunzun looked around.

The site still resembled a castle, but it was crumbling. A true ruin.

"I'm... dying..." Megumin moaned, face pale.

"You're so weak, Megumin," Yunyun said. "You've always had terrible stamina. You need to train!"

"Shut up. I don't want to hear that right now."

"Ehh?! That's so mean..."

Too drained to argue, Megumin leaned against Zunzun, trying to recover.

Earlier, Zunzun had offered to carry her, but she glanced at her flat chest and stubbornly refused. Whatever she was struggling with, it wasn't physical.

The three sat under a tree to rest.

"Is this really the place the receptionist mentioned?"

"Did the Demon King's Army really occupy this dump?"

The whole thing was strange. Why would a cadre come to Axel of all places? Why occupy some rundown ruin?

"That's because—wait!"

Before Zunzun could answer, the air shifted. All three tensed.

A terrifying magical pressure flooded the area. A suffocating miasma pinned them in place.

From the entrance of the city emerged a black-armored knight atop a horse—holding his own head.

The disembodied head stared at them with glowing eyes.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the knight appeared before them, casting a towering shadow over the group.

With a deep, booming voice, he demanded:

"Who are you, and what are you doing here!?"

Even Megumin and Yunyun could tell.

This was a Demon King's Army cadre.

...By the way, his horse didn't have a head either.

 

 

-End Chapter-

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