Chapter 45: Rowene Dungeon(5)

As with all professions in the world, there are two types of adventurers.

Those who actively become adventurers because they want to.

Those who become adventurers because they don’t want to, but because life has forced them to.

B-class adventurer and magician Henrik was a typical example of the latter.

“… Let’s finish this quickly, kid.”

Henrik, who was dragged in by the receptionist, spoke to the brown-haired girl in annoyance.

Her hair was disheveled, her breath smelled of alcohol, and her eyes couldn’t focus properly.

At first glance, she didn’t look normal.

“Are you okay with that, sir?”

“Sir… um, yes. You’re old enough to be called that now. It’s okay. I’m not even drunk.”

Henrik, the examiner, was worried about Avalli, the test taker.

Several adventurers around him snickered and laughed at Henrik at the ridiculous scene.

“Take it seriously, Henrik!”

“And then you’ll end up embarrassing yourself like that old man earlier?”

“The drunken excuse won’t work this time!”

It was familiar to Henrik.

Even though it was familiar, he couldn’t help feeling unpleasant.

When he felt unpleasant, only one thought naturally came to Henrik’s mind.

‘When I get back, I’ll have some wine for the first time in a while.

As for the side dish… Okay, let’s have beer.

Okay, beer.

After deciding that in his head, Henrik tried to finish this annoying task quickly.

“Okay, kid. Here’s the test content. I’m going to use an attack magic, and how do you block it well to pass? Simple, right?”

“That’s easy to understand.”

“Okay, for example, like this.”

Henrik muttered as if he was drunk, and stretched his hand forward.

Then, without any warning, a thick stream of water appeared and rushed toward Avali.

Aqua Stream.

Water-attribute kinetic magic.

“It’s a silent slam!”

“As expected, drunkard Henrik!”

“Isn’t it right to surprise a kid?”

Silent slam was proof that the magician perfectly understood the nature of the magic.

Even without using various auxiliary devices such as water, magic circle, chanting, and catalyst, it meant that one could perfectly use magical power.

It was definitely not a skill that a B-class adventurer magician could easily use.

And no one expected that a girl who was just starting to challenge herself as an adventurer would be able to stop that skill of speed.

To be more precise, no one expected it except Lucy, who knew the whole truth.

… Since I did it slowly, you shouldn’t have gotten hurt.

Since the weather is warm, you shouldn’t have a cold either.

Henrik yawned deeply as if annoyed as he released the magic.

“I hope I meet a more proper examiner next time…”

Henry muttered that half sarcastically and half sincerely, and in his ear-

“Uh, why? The exam hasn’t even started yet.”

The young girl’s flustered voice was heard.

“… Uh.”

Henrik hurriedly turned his head at the unexpected turn of events.

Even in his drunken and shaky vision, he could see Avalli standing there perfectly still.

‘… She’s not even wet?’

Even if it was a magic with reduced power, it was a magic that was cast without a trace.

There was no way a rookie who was just taking the adventurer exam could keep up with that speed.

However, that girl named Avalli didn’t actually take any damage.

That meant…

‘Haa, it’ll take a while for me to get drunk again.

This meant that she was definitely not an ordinary rookie.

If you were to take a test while drunk against a rookie like that, you’d definitely get reprimanded by the guild later on.

“… Kid, your name is… Avalli, right?

Could you wait a moment?”

“Oh, yes. Examiner, do as you please.”

“Yes. Thank you for your consideration.”

As he said that, Henrik took out a wooden wand about two spans long from his bosom.

Henrik immediately placed the wand on his temple and quietly recited the spell.

“Mischievous spirit. That’s all for today’s pranks.”

Spirit Drain.

The effect of this magic, said to have been created by a certain great wizard, is to separate a specific trait from the target.

Originally, it was a high-level magic created to drive away spirits that dwell in various places…

but Henrik used it for a slightly different purpose.

Directly extracting alcohol from the body and removing the intoxication.

“Oh, what a filthy refreshing day. It’s unpleasant.”

Henrik muttered in an unpleasant voice.

When sober, Henrik had a rather nervous personality.

“A refreshing day, but you’re unpleasant?”

“Adults sometimes feel that way.”

“Oh, I understand. That feeling.”

“… You’re a kid, but you can say anything.”

What on earth does he understand?

Henrik snorted at Avali’s answer, put the wand back in his pocket, and drew a small circle on the dirt with the tip of his foot.

‘Since it’s come to this, I’ll do it sincerely:

Henrik became an adventurer against his will.

Originally a wizard from the Western Magic Tower, he was falsely accused of an incident he didn’t commit due to the internal factional strife within the tower and was kicked out of the tower.

Because of his reputation, Henrik couldn’t get a proper job.

He started adventurers because he had to eat and live, but he couldn’t keep his composure when he wasn’t drunk.

Ever since he was kicked out of the Magic Tower, Henrik was always drunk.

He hardly ever took on a request unless his balance was empty.

Despite that, the reason Henrik was able to maintain his relatively high status as a B-rank in the Adventurer’s Guild was because of the special magic he possessed.

“Hey, Henrik! What are you doing with a kid!”

“Shut up, when was it time to be serious? You’re making a fuss now!”

Henrik, who had just woken up from his drunkenness, responded angrily to the jeers, unlike before.

“… What are you doing that for?”

Hans, who was standing next to the jeers, asked in a worried voice.

“It’s a barrier. Henrik’s specialty.”

“Barrier?”

“I’m not a magician, so I don’t know the details…, but it’s a pretty strong defensive magic.

I heard that when Drake attacked the barracks in another dungeon, Henrik held it off by himself until reinforcements arrived.”

“… Drake.”

Hans swallowed at the name Drake.

Compared to a real dragon, it was an incredibly stupid monster, but it was still classified as a superior monster because it had the blood of the dragon tribe.

Why was that wizard Henrik preparing a magic to block the attack of such a monster right now?

“Okay, I’m done.”

Henrik said, sitting in the middle of a temporary magic circle drawn on the floor.

“Does it mean I passed?”

“… That’s not it, kid. It means I’m ready.”

Henrik made a hand seal with both hands as he said that.

Then, a thick wall of magic visible to the naked eye appeared along the line of the magic circle.

“If you break through this barrier and attack me successfully, you pass.”

“Didn’t I have to block the attack to pass? You clearly said that earlier.”

“Shut up. If you do that, you’ll obviously get hurt. Are you planning on making me write a statement?”

Avali frowned at Henrik who suddenly changed his subject.

“… Fatal.”

“Adults are naturally fatal. Learn this lesson now.”

Henrik shrugged his shoulders and grumbled.

“The time limit is 5 minutes. It starts now.”

“Oh, wait a minute. You have to give me time to think!”

“Ten seconds passed while you were talking. There are 4 minutes and 50 seconds left.”

Henrik said that and shut his mouth.

The girl’s gaze was sharp, but to Henrik it was just a runny nose.

“… Then I’ll go.”

“4 minutes and 45 seconds.”

Henrik grumbled as if he was trying to hide it, but he concentrated on listening to Avali’s chant.

Of course, she wouldn’t be able to break through this barrier, but that kid was a skilled rookie.

Because he was a little curious about what kind of magic he would use to attack.

However, Avali’s mouth did not move at all.

‘Has he given up?”

The moment Henrik had that thought–

Without any warning, a thick stream of water rose from underground.

“Wow!”

“What is this? All of a sudden!”

“It’s cold!”

The onlookers who were hit by the sudden torrent of water screamed.

It was a tremendous stream of water, incomparable to the Aqua Stream Henrik had used a moment ago.

“That kid?”

“… Is this true? He’s chanting without a chant at that age?”

Several magicians who had read the flow of magical power let out exclamations.

Normally, if you omit chanting, the destructive power of the magic is greatly weakened.

Even the magical power felt from Avali, a kid, wasn’t that great, so how could this be effective?

Just how skilled was he in handling magical power?

“And Henrik?”

“He’s… fine!”

“As expected of Henrik! Henrik of the iron wall.”