Chapter 44: Rowene Dungeon(4)

‘Revenge’ was too strong a word.

Avalli wasn’t driven by some barbaric desire for bloody vengeance for her teacher’s honor.

She simply wanted to… tease.

Sophia, that little brat who had so openly dismissed Lucy, who was now precious to Avalli. The mere thought of her made Avalli’s blood boil.

‘…This isn’t like me.’

Back in her old life, in the modern world, would she have acted so impulsively?

Probably not. She had always been the type to avoid confrontation, to quietly back down and walk away from annoying people.

That was the nature of human relationships. While it would be ideal to interact only with like-minded individuals, one inevitably had to share space with those they didn’t get along with. Maintaining a healthy psychological distance and a detached attitude was often the best approach.

So, the reason Avalli was acting so differently now was…

‘Because I have the power.’

The power to not just avoid unpleasant people, but to remove them from her life entirely.

And she was living in a fantasy game world. Unlike Earth, where everyone was more or less equal in terms of physical capabilities, here, she could truly—

“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing important.”
“…Avalli, you’re the one who insisted on coming here. Don’t get distracted.”

Avalli nodded, accepting Hans’s rebuke. Self-reflection was fine, but she had drawn her sword, so to speak, and now she had to swing it. She slapped her cheeks lightly to focus, just as Lucy returned from talking to the receptionist.

“Hans, Avalli, the test will be in fifteen minutes. The examiner seems to have stepped out for a moment.”

They were currently inside the largest tent on the south side of the tent city. Its interior was surprisingly spacious, likely due to some kind of Spatial magic. A symbol of three shining stars adorned the entrance.

The Adventurers’ Guild.
The largest single guild on the continent, dedicated to exploration of the unknown.

“…Alright.”
“Fifteen minutes?”

“Hans, could you wait here for a moment? I need to talk to Avalli privately.”

Hans nodded, and Lucy pulled Avalli out of the tent. The busy adventurers glanced at the two small girls with curiosity, but their attention quickly shifted elsewhere.

They knew that talent wasn’t determined by age.

“…Just a reminder, Avalli,”

Lucy spoke quietly once they were away from the crowd.

“Don’t, under any circumstances, reveal your ‘green-eyed’ form.”
“Huh? I can’t?”
“Of course not!”

Lucy exclaimed at Avalli’s nonchalant question.

“If you do, we won’t be able to return to the village peacefully.”
“…But can I pass the test without it?”
“Absolutely. A quarter of your usual strength is more than enough to qualify as an adventurer. So, do not go all out. Understand?”

Avalli reluctantly nodded at Lucy’s insistent warning.

‘The student I dismissed is actually an SSS-rank adventurer? I should reconsider my strategy.’

Honestly, Avalli hadn’t anticipated the potential consequences of her plan, so she was relieved that Lucy had intervened.

“And you’re still doing ‘that’ thing I mentioned before we left the village, right?”
“Of course, Teacher. You can check right now.”
“…May the flow of all things be revealed before my eyes.”

Lucy gripped her staff and cast Detect. Unlike before, she could sense a faint flow of magic power from Avalli. It seemed Avalli had heeded her warning. It wouldn’t be a problem in the village, where Lucy was the only mage, but outside, the complete lack of magic power would immediately raise suspicion.

“This is good. Remember, Avalli, your ‘magic’ seems to be heavily influenced by your own perception.”
“Having no magic power isn’t normal. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, I understand. This is easy.”

Despite her confident reply, Avalli found it slightly annoying to constantly maintain a minimal output of magic power. Her mindset was still closer to that of a modern person than a resident of this magical world, so she still perceived the absence of magic power as the default, normal state. Once her perception shifted, she would naturally emanate magic power even in her disguised state, but… that seemed far off.

‘This has its advantages, though.’

Unless it was the night of the full moon, or when she activated her green eyes, Avalli’s default state was zero detectable magic power. This meant she could control how much power others perceived, misleading them about her true abilities.

‘I can be an undercover powerhouse.’

Avalli grinned at the thought of pretending to be an E-rank mage while secretly possessing SSS-rank magic power.

“…You’re thinking about something strange again, aren’t you, Avalli?”
“No, not at all.”
“Sigh… I miss the old Avalli. She was cuter.”

Hearing her teacher’s sigh, Avalli followed her back to the Adventurers’ Guild tent. Their conversation had taken longer than expected, and Hans was already taking the test.

“Ugh… This kid is ridiculously strong!”

The examiner, a burly swordsman, was being pushed back. Hans, maintaining his rhythm, swung his wooden sword with precise, controlled movements.

“Go, kid!”
“Teach that old man a lesson!”
“Looks like we have another promising rookie!”

The surrounding adventurers cheered at the unexpected turn of events. The emergence of a new talent was always exciting.

“…He’s surprisingly good.”
“Even the Chief loses to Hans these days.”
“I had no idea. I’ve never watched their training.”
“Heehee, Hans is super strong.”

Avalli said proudly, folding her arms.

“He’ll pass easily, right?”
“…You never know. The examiners are usually veteran adventurers.”

Just as Lucy said this, the examiner created some distance and then kicked the ground.

“Hey, old man! That’s dirty!”
“Fighting a kid like that? Shameful!”
“Foul! Foul!”

He had kicked dirt into Hans’s eyes. The onlookers booed, but the examiner, ignoring them, charged forward.

Hans was strong, but he still lacked experience. They thought he would struggle with this unexpected tactic, but—

“…Impressive. Where did you learn to wield a sword like that?”
“The village chief.”

As if anticipating the examiner’s attempt to create an opening, Hans parried the attack and then held his wooden sword to the examiner’s throat.

“That village chief must be quite the swordsman. Alright, you pass. I admit defeat.”

The examiner smiled wryly and dropped his wooden sword. The surrounding adventurers cheered and applauded.

“Wow, that kid’s amazing!”
“Even a washed-up veteran like him wouldn’t lose that easily.”
“C-rank? Or maybe even B-rank?”

Ignoring the cheers, Hans looked around.

“Over here, Hans!”

Hearing her voice, Hans walked over to Avalli and stood beside her, lowering his head shyly, avoiding the crowd’s attention.

‘He’s embarrassed.’

Avalli nudged him playfully, just as the receptionist called out her name.

“Next, Mage Avalli.”
“Oh, me! Me!”

Avalli raised her hand and called out excitedly, like a student eager to answer a question in class.

“Are they together?”, “She looks even younger than that boy.”, “Mages can be incredibly powerful, even at a young age.”, “If she was that strong, she’d be famous already.”

The surrounding adventurers murmured. Perhaps because of Hans’s impressive performance, there was no outright dismissal, but their gazes were filled with curiosity and doubt.

“…Hey, Avalli.”

Just as Avalli was about to head to the testing area, Hans spoke.

“Yeah, Hans?”
“Good luck.”
“What? Are you cheering for me?”
“Figure it out yourself.”

Hans mumbled, avoiding her gaze, and Avalli grinned.

“Who’s worried about whom?”
“…Sheesh, even when I’m being nice. I’m only saying that because I’ll tease you relentlessly if you fail.” ,“Avalli, remember what I said. Don’t go all out!”

Both Hans and Lucy were worried, but for completely different reasons. Avalli suppressed a chuckle at the irony—

“I’ll be back soon.”

—and strode towards the testing area.