Chapter 38
“Ah! It’s Lisbeth! She’s finally here!”
From her elevated vantage point, Staros immediately spotted Lisbeth’s arrival and a joyful smile bloomed on her face.
However, before her smile could even last a few seconds, Lisbeth suddenly pulled out a myriad of potions from her bag, hurling them at the monsters.
They exploded in a blinding flash of light.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What in the world is Lisbeth doing?!”
The intense glare forced Staros and the others, still perched in the tree, to instinctively shield their eyes.
When they finally blinked them open again, a vast expanse of monster corpses greeted their sight.
“Hmm, all done. Much simpler than I expected.”
Since the monsters had been clustered together, the holy light unleashed by Lisbeth’s thrown potions struck them all directly.
Holy light, being the natural bane of monsters, ensured that not a single one escaped annihilation.
After confirming that no living monsters remained, a smile graced Lisbeth’s lips.
She called out to Hilda and the others, who were still hiding in the tree: “Hey, how long are you going to hide up there? Come down already.”
To Lisbeth’s surprise, Hilda and her companions, still on the tree, shook their heads.
Instead, Hilda shouted back to Lisbeth: “Lisbeth, hurry up and get up here! The monsters that forced us into this tree weren’t the ones you just killed, but giant monsters at least level 60 or higher!”
“Huh? Level 60? Isn’t that just slightly stronger than cannon fodder, to put it plainly?”
For Lisbeth, monsters above level 60 had been a commonplace challenge in the past.
Even with her current body, which had significantly reduced physical abilities, she possessed ample confidence to dispatch such a monster with ease.
However, upon hearing her words, Hilda roared at her again: “You idiot! Get up here right now! If you stay down there, something truly terrible will happen to you!”
“Oh, come on, I already said a mere level 60 monster couldn’t possibly…”
“ROAR!!!!”
“ROAR!!!!”
“ROAR!!!!”
Before Lisbeth could even finish her sentence, a series of astonishing roars erupted from directly behind her.
When she whirled around, she discovered at least two dozen massive bear-like monsters, each over four meters tall, standing in formation behind her.
“Th-that… this…”
At that moment, a profuse cold sweat instantly drenched the back of Lisbeth’s clothes, and the smile that had adorned her face completely froze.
Staring at the horde of monsters glaring menacingly at her, Lisbeth stiffly uttered, “H-hello?”
“ROAR!!!!!”
“WAAAHHHHHH!!!!”
“That idiot!!”
The instant Lisbeth spoke, the colossal bear-monsters all let out furious roars and charged at her without hesitation.
Witnessing this, Hilda gasped sharply, then yelled down to Lisbeth at the base of the tree: “Lisbeth! Quickly find a sturdy tree and climb up for safety! I’ve already sent a rescue request to the Demon Lord’s Castle, and someone will arrive in half an hour at most!”
“Are you kidding me?! In half an hour, we’d all be eaten!”
Lisbeth knew that monsters above level 60 possessed intelligence.
Their temporary retreat earlier had been to gather more companions, intending to fell the tree where Hilda and the others were hiding in one fell swoop.
Therefore, she realized that hiding in the tree now would be utterly pointless.
‘Damn it, what should I do? While I could escape directly, the old hag and the others would be finished.’
[Alex, calm down for a moment. While the situation is indeed a bit grim, it’s not entirely hopeless.]
[How about this: you should still have a few unused healing potions in your bag, right? Why don’t you throw all of them out to attract this entire group of monsters?]
[Then, once they follow you to a secluded spot, you can simply switch to your Tier 3 class and eliminate them.]
‘Tier 3, huh…’
It had to be said that Clotilde’s suggestion was indeed practical and perhaps the best solution for their current predicament.
However, Lisbeth still hesitated, slowly replying to Clotilde: “Little Sword, I understand your meaning, but transforming into a Tier 3 class releases an incredibly vast amount of magical power.”
“Even I can’t completely mask that level of magic with a barrier.”
“Moreover, I’m still unsure if Natalie is still in the forest. If the old hag and she both sense my magic, then everything will be utterly ruined.”
[Ah… that’s true…]
Regardless, the Tier 3 class represented the pinnacle achievable by successive heroes.
The abilities, skills, and magical power wielded at Tier 3 were all exceptionally potent, making Lisbeth’s current concerns entirely valid.
Yet, time was rapidly running out for her, as the colossal bear-monsters had already begun launching attacks during her conversation with Clotilde.
Meanwhile, seeing that Lisbeth had not climbed the large tree, Hilda and the others, who were still in it, anxiously shouted at her: “Lisbeth, what are you doing?! Why aren’t you climbing up the tree?!”
“Because climbing up would be utterly pointless!”
After yelling back at Hilda, Lisbeth dodged the monsters’ attacks while internally communicating with Clotilde: ‘Damn it, there’s no other way. Little Sword, if it comes to it, we’ll have to finish this quickly!’
‘I’ll lure these monsters to a secluded spot, then immediately transform into the Tier 3 Sword class. You watch for the opportune moment and manifest instantly.’
‘We’ll aim to eliminate all the monsters within three seconds! I refuse to believe the old hag and Natalie could sense my magic in such a brief timeframe!’
[What?! Three seconds? Lisbeth, are you insane? If it were you at your peak, maybe, but with your abilities severely reduced now, it’s impossible!]
‘How will we know if we don’t try?! Let’s go, Clotilde!’
[Sigh… I understand. May luck be on your side.]
Seeing Lisbeth’s resolve, Clotilde could only sigh softly.
She then deactivated her stealth mode, ready to manifest from Lisbeth’s hand at any moment.
Meanwhile, after evading several monster attacks, Lisbeth pulled out all the healing potions from her bag.
She then hurled them directly into the center of the monster horde.
“ROAR!!!!”
Although the dazzling light provoked furious roars from the monsters, these colossal bear-monsters were all advanced types, level 60 or higher.
They wouldn’t be defeated by mere potions.
Nevertheless, it was more than enough to capture their attention.
‘Alright, Clotilde, let’s go!’
[Yes!]
As soon as the blinding light faded, Lisbeth bolted without hesitation in the opposite direction into the forest.
Simultaneously, the horde of monsters pursued her relentlessly, each one seemingly eager to tear her to shreds.
However, Lisbeth couldn’t possibly attract the attention of *all* the monsters, so a few colossal bear-monsters were left behind.
But this was sufficient; if only a handful remained, Hilda and her companions would surely be able to handle them.
‘Alright, this spot should be about right.’
As time passed, after Lisbeth had sprinted for a considerable distance with the monsters in tow, she finally found a suitable location to dispatch the horde.
She halted her steps there.
“ROAR!!!!!”
Simultaneously, upon seeing their quarry stop, the monsters let out triumphant roars.
Yet, those roars quickly died down as each colossal bear-monster suddenly widened its eyes and instinctively froze in place.
‘Oh? As expected of monsters; even with the ability to use magic, they still possess primal instincts, don’t they?’
Seeing the monsters completely still, Lisbeth’s lips curved into a smile.
At the same time, the very monsters that had been chasing her all instinctively took a step back, as if they had just encountered a true monster themselves.
Witnessing this, Lisbeth offered another faint smile, then addressed the creatures: “While I’d love to spare you here, if I let you escape, my companions would be in danger again. So, I apologize, but I’ll have to ask you all to die right here.”
“Class Change Ability Activated: Tier 1 — Swordsman.”
“Class Promotion Ability Activated: Tier 2 — Great Swordsman.”
As Lisbeth’s class change ability activated, a colossal magic circle materialized beneath her feet, instantly completing her transformation.
However, this time, the magic circle did not vanish as usual upon the completion of Lisbeth’s class promotion.
Instead, it suddenly seemed to contract, condensing itself beneath her feet.
“Swoosh!!”
With the completion of the magic circle’s condensation, a torrent of immense magical power, accompanied by an overwhelming aura of pressure, burst forth from Lisbeth.
Simultaneously, intricate magic circuits slowly emerged from the magic circle, encircling Lisbeth’s form.
“Class Re-Promotion Ability Activated.”
“Tier 3 — Black Swordsman.”