For an Adventurer, the unknown is often their greatest concern.
When Keare easily parried his full-force punch, the burly Adventurer already realized… though they were both Adventurers, there was a vast difference in their strength.
His head was seized.
He wanted to resist and break free, but found his arms completely unable to lift, as if his muscles had atrophied—
Not only that.
Losing the support of his core strength, his body uncontrollably fell heavily backward, and when he tried to struggle, he found that even wiggling was a luxury for him.
The burly Adventurer quickly realized…
"Magic!"
He desperately wanted to warn his teammates, but found his vocal cords destroyed, unable to make a sound.
He could only look at Keare, who had effortlessly ended the battle, his eyes gradually covered with terror, replacing the initial disdain.
If…
If he had been more patient and waited until Keare wasn't present, would the outcome have been different?
After destroying the leading burly Adventurer, Keare wasn't in a hurry to finish him off. He, who was familiar with web novel tropes, naturally understood the principle of nipping evil in the bud.
But it was a rare opportunity to develop the 'Plunder' skill.
He certainly wouldn't miss it. Before completely eliminating them, he had to squeeze out all the use from the material, carefully sensing his still-ample mental energy.
Keare looked at the Soma Familia Adventurers who were facing him as if facing a formidable enemy.
Without many words, he had already used his actions to demonstrate his stance of never letting any enemy go.
Utilizing the ability boost from 'Optimization', he took advantage of their dazed state to launch a full-scale attack on the remaining three Adventurers.
However, the situation developed completely beyond expectations.
What was originally thought to be an easy victory due to numerical superiority turned into a battle where Drake, the strongest in the team, was defeated by Keare in an instant.
The scales of victory had already tipped in the other direction.
"What are you standing around for!"
"Do you think you can run away?"
Lacking confidence in close combat, one of the passerby Adventurers had already pulled out a crossbow. After creating some distance, he aimed at Keare.
As for the other two.
Even if they were resentful, they could only brace themselves and confront Keare.
The factors that determine victory in battles of the same level are magic, skills, combat techniques, and ability scores. Besides these, there is another important factor.
That is courage.
When they witnessed their captain's defeat and developed the intention to retreat, the outcome was already sealed.
His techniques could rival a Level 2 Adventurer like Yamato Mikoto, and after activating the 'Optimization' skill, he could even temporarily achieve a cross-level suppression effect in battle.
Confronting Adventurers of the same level was a complete crushing defeat.
Controlling his mental energy consumption, Keare did not use skills frequently, but the suppressive force he brought remained undiminished.
He adapted to each move, dodging crossbow shots while looking for openings.
With decisive and clean combat, he easily defeated these two opponents. To ensure their corpses could still be 'Plundered' for ability scores, he merely knocked them out.
"Only you left."
The physical exertion from high-intensity combat was unavoidable.
Keare looked at the crossbowman who had retreated to the back and was preparing to flee. He accelerated his approach, his footsteps echoing in the empty cavern.
The distance continuously closed.
Gnawing at the last Adventurer's psychological defense, his face filled with terror:
"Don't come any closer!"
His hand gripping the crossbow trembled. Discovering that his threat had no effect, he decisively pulled the trigger, firing at Keare, who was only 10 meters away.
The release of the taut bowstring carried a powerful thrust.
"Whoosh!"
The rapidly flying bolt cut through the air, its speed exceeding human reaction capabilities. Keare could only instinctively dodge.
But the distance was simply too close.
Even adjusting his posture during rapid movement only prevented the attack from hitting a vital spot.
The leather armor on his shoulder was pierced by the sharp bolt, accompanied by intense pain. Yet, he wasn't in a hurry to treat his injury. Taking advantage of the moment the opponent was reloading.
Keare instantly closed the distance to the last Adventurer.
With a decisive swing of his sword, he severed the target's arm. Arterial blood gushed out from the wound like a pressurized water pipe.
After completely restricting the opponent's ability to move.
He looked around. As the adrenaline wore off, the pain in his shoulder surged. Facing the horrified gaze of the Soma Familia Adventurers.
Keare forcibly pulled out the arrow that was completely lodged in his shoulder.
It was his first time fighting Adventurers, and it was a 1v4 situation. Getting injured was an expected outcome, especially since he had the 'Recovery' skill as a backup.
It was just a small cost of mental energy.
"The combat intensity doesn't feel particularly high."
He shook his head lightly: "It's just that if Hestia finds out about the arrow in my shoulder, explaining it might be a bit troublesome?"
The battle had completely ended.
Next, what Keare needed to consider was the development of the 'Plunder' skill, and the correct way to utilize this skill in the Dungeon or Familia world!
If it had been a regular battle, these Soma Familia Adventurers would have already died.
However, Keare needed to extract their value before finding a place to bury them.
Thinking of this.
He looked at the Adventurers who had fallen but were still conscious, a sincere and expectant smile spreading across the young man's handsome face.
"Very good."
"Now it's time to tally the spoils of war!"
—
Having fully prepared for a fight to the death, Lili had already taken out her hidden magic sword, but the actual outcome proved that her worries were completely unnecessary.
It was also a lack of trust in Keare's strength.
She had never imagined that the battle would be such a crushing situation. The Adventurers who had once bullied her, whom she could only endure silently, were now like…
Easily kicked to death by Keare!
Completely without means of resistance, she could well understand this feeling of despair, but for these Adventurers who had once oppressed her, her heart was filled only with satisfaction.
Most importantly.
Lili saw hope of breaking free from the Soma Familia in Keare!
As for why these people weren't killed, she didn't ask. But when she came to the brown-haired young man's side and noticed the shocking wound on his shoulder.
Complex emotions enveloped the depths of the girl's heart.
Undoubtedly.
After her plan to save money and leave the Familia failed, and she was pursued by Familia members, with all hope destroyed, Keare appeared like a beacon of salvation.
"Your…"
"Is your shoulder alright?"
Lili carefully rummaged through her supporter's backpack, trying to find clean cloth to treat the bleeding wound, but she couldn't find anything useful.
Looking at the continuously gushing blood from his shoulder.
She gritted her teeth, used the dagger she carried to cut a strip of cloth from her clothes, and handed it to Keare, her eyes filled with apology:
"I'm sorry, I got you involved in this."
"It's good that you know."
Keare didn't deny it, determined to fully leverage this act of kindness for future gain.
After all, the essence of his interaction with Lili was merely a transaction based on "seizing the future." But looking at the red cloth strip the girl handed him.
He frowned and shook his head, pressing his palm against the wound.
"Recovery."
As a gentle light continuously emerged, the damaged muscles and skin were healing at a visible rate, leaving no scars.
Only the holes where his shoulder armor and clothes had been pierced remained.
And Lili, standing beside him, witnessing this scene, saw her initial admiration for Keare's strength turn into disbelief.
"This is…"
"Your magic?"