Chapter 59 59

"Huh? What happened? Why did that person leave in a hurry after hearing that explosion?" Hijiri muttered and looked in the direction the black-robed person had gone.

"We can find out after killing all the monsters in this place. Please don't let your guard down." Setsuka reminded Hijiri. She didn't want Hijiri to get distracted in the battle and get hurt because of the monsters. It could decrease their overall battle power since Hijiri was one of the strongest Realizers among them.

"I understand. I will never let my guard down like you." Hijiri teased Setsuka. On the way out from their hiding place, she noticed that Setsuka wasn't focused on her fight against the goblins and lone wolves because she was thinking about something, but Hijiri remained silent and didn't say anything.

Setsuka frowned when she heard Hijiri's words. She thought it was only natural for Hijiri to know about her state since they were fighting shoulder-to-shoulder. Setsuka didn't think much about Hijiri's words and focused on fighting the orcs and lone wolves. She wanted to kill all the monsters immediately and help Daisuke fight the armored lizardman.

"But I admit you are strong for successfully blocking the wyvern's attack. Thank you for protecting us with your power. I will remember this debt and repay it as soon as possible!" Hijiri smiled and charged at the horde of orcs with her flaming sword.

Setsuka couldn't help but shake her head when she heard Hijiri's words. But then her face became cloudy because it reminded her of Tenku's promise last night.

She gripped her sword tightly and stabbed it into the ground. The icy mist spread around her and froze the feet of the monsters. After that, Setsuka drew her sword and slashed the monsters that had lost their mobility one by one. She had to quickly kill all the monsters and return to the big hole to find Tenku.

The winds in the battle quickly reversed after the black-robed person left. The students managed to suppress the monsters and killed many of them until their numbers were halved.

Setsuka looked around and felt that Akio, Satoru, Kaede, and the other students could handle the monsters well. After she confirmed that the situation was under control, Setsuka decided to hand over the goblins, orcs, and lone wolves to the other students. She intended to help Daisuke and solve the problem immediately.

Daisuke fought against the armored lizardman along with two senior Realizers. If the three only fought against one four-level monster, it wouldn't take them long to kill it. Unfortunately, the ogres also helped the armored lizardman, and that caused them a lot of trouble.

As Setsuka ran to their battle scene, Hijiri suddenly appeared next to her. She quickly realized that the girl had the same goal, albeit for a different reason.

"Let's compete, Setsuka. Whoever can defeat the armored lizardman is the winner. If you win, I will grant your one wish. But my debt for saving me from the wyvern's attack will be paid off if you lose. How?" Hijiri grinned and said to Setsuka.

Hijiri hates being indebted to others, especially her rival, Setsuka Fuyushima. Thus, she wanted to repay it with the competition quickly. Hijiri knew Setsuka wanted to kill the monsters when she saw her rash actions quickly. She didn't know why, but it could be her chance to repay her debt by helping Setsuka defeat the armored lizardman.

"Mr. Okamoto! We will help you!" Setsuka charged at the armored lizardman and swung her sword from the left side. On the other hand, Hijiri appeared on the right side and slashed her blade. The Armored Lizardman grinned and blocked their attacks with bare hands.

Clanks! Clanks!

Their blades collided with the armored lizardman's scales and created sparks. Even though Setsuka and Hijiri attacked using their full strength, their slashes couldn't even scratch the monster's body.

"Huh!"

"What!"

Setsuka and Hijiri were shocked and quickly kept their distance from the Armored Lizardman. Their hands trembled, and their faces became serious after realizing that the monster's scales were as hard as steel. They only knew the name and characteristics of the monster from the organization's database, and this was their first time fighting the armored lizardman head-on.

The girls thought they could at least injure the armored lizardman with that slash. But they underestimated the monster's defense because its body was smaller than most fourth-level monsters.

"Miss Fuyushima, Miss Natsukawa. You have to attack its joints to injure the armored lizardman. Even though it's hard, it's not as solid as its scales!" Daisuke said. He had never fought an armored lizardman, but he had heard a lot about the experiences of other Realizers who had fought that monster.

"I understand!" Hijiri answered curtly, and Setsuka nodded in response to Daisuke's words. They gripped their swords tightly and charged at the monster again. The targets of their slashes were the neck and the joints of the hands.

Daisuke was not idle when Setsuka and Hijiri attacked. He fought the armored lizardman from the front to distract the monster and create a chance for the two girls to land their slashes.

Roaaaaaarrrrrrr!

Their collaboration paid off. Setsuka and Hijiri managed to make cuts on the armored lizardman's neck and elbows, albeit shallowly. But the wounds on the armored lizardman's body continued to increase as the battle progressed. The longer the battle, the more cuts the monster gets.

Roaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The Armored Lizardman roared with rage as he kept getting hit by the girls, and his attacks never hit them. His eyes became bloodshot, his body gradually enlarged, and his armor-like scales spread out and covered his entire body without exception.

Setsuka and Hijiri's faces became serious as they felt the power of the armored lizardman skyrocket. Daisuke panicked when he saw that scene because he knew what had happened to that monster. He looked at the two girls and shouted.

"Be careful! The monster is about to enter a berserk state! We must prevent it! Otherwise, we will fall into a dangerous situation!" Daisuke warned.

When entering the berserk state, a monster will burn its blood and vitality. In return, his strength would increase drastically, and his level would rise by one. If the armored lizardman were a fourth-level monster, he would turn into a fifth-level monster after entering the berserk state.

Of course, the berserk state is not without risk and is only temporary. Each monster has a different time limit, depending on its vitality. The shortest is ten minutes, and the longest is half an hour. Once that time is up, then the monster's vitality will disappear completely.

Even though it was short, ten minutes was plenty of time for a fifth-level monster to kill everyone in that spot before he died.

Setsuka nodded and looked to the side after feeling someone approaching them. That person is Kaede, and she intends to help Setsuka after killing all the monsters she fights.

"Kaede! Please help me stop the movement of the armored lizardman for a while!" Setsuka said to her best friend.

"Leave it to me!" Kaede gathered genesis power on her Phantasmal Object and knocked it to the ground.

"Phantasmal release..."

FOREST OF DRYAD

Dozens of vines sprouted from the ground, entwining the armored lizardman's body and locking his movements. The monster roared and struggled to break free. Every time the vine broke off, another plant would grow from the ground to take its place.

"You must kill the armored lizardman immediately! I can't hold on to that monster for too long!" Kaede said, and sweat dripped from her forehead. She only had a small amount of genesis power left in her body after using it in the battle against the orcs.

"I understand!" Setsuka answered and looked at Hijiri. But before she could speak, Hijiri opened her mouth first.

"Let's defeat that monster! I take this as a favor for you. With this, my debt to you has been paid off." Hijiri quickly understood what her gaze meant before she even said anything.

"Alright." Setsuka replied briefly. She didn't care what Hijiri said because she never considered it as a debt in the first place.

"Phantasmal release..."

FLAME DEMON

"Phantasmal release..."

WINTER QUEEN

Hijiri attacked the armored lizardman from the right with a wave of fire, while Setsuka attacked from the left with a blizzard.

Roaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The Armored Lizardman struggled even harder to break free from the vines' tangles when he saw the two attacks coming at him. Unfortunately, Kaede's Phantasmal Object ability was quite strong, and the monster could only take that hit.

Setsuka and Hijiri's attacks hit the armored lizardman cleanly, but it wasn't meant to hurt him directly. The armor-like scales protecting the monster cracked due to the extreme temperature changes inside the monster's body.

Crack!

"Now!" Setsuka and Hijiri signaled Daisuke to attack.

​ Daisuke understands what the two girls mean and will not waste the opportunity they have created.

"Phantasmal release..."

ETERNAL BLADE

Daisuke compresses the genesis power in his sword to the extreme. Then he swung it vertically and sliced the monster in half.

Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The armored lizardman didn't have the chance to roar, and pieces of his body fell in the opposite direction. After confirming the monster's death, Daisuke was about to rush over to help the others, but he saw that the battle elsewhere had also ended.

"Finally, we defeated the armored lizardman and that horde of monsters. Thank you, Miss Fuyushima and Miss Natsukawa." Daisuke sighed in relief and conveyed his gratitude to the two girls. If not for them, he would not be able to defeat the armored lizardman alone. Moreover, the monster was on the verge of entering berserk mode.

"You don't need to thank me, Mr. Okamoto. Killing those monsters is our mission in coming to lake Shima. More importantly, what are your next plans?" Setsuka asked a little impatiently. She wanted to finish her business in that place quickly.

"I intend to have the teachers and a senior Realizer take the first-year students out of the Shima lake area." Daisuke replied. The three girls raised their eyebrows when they heard his words.

"Then what do you want to do?" Kaede represented the other two girls to ask.

"I want to go after that black-robed person and check what he's up to. Because of that, I would like to ask for your help again to come with me there. Your strength is indispensable." Daisuke bowed to the three girls.

After pondering for a while, Setsuka gritted her teeth and reluctantly agreed to his request. She had to postpone her intention to look for Tenku because the matter was related to her organization.