Level Down 47 (Patreon)

Volume 2 Chapter 5 - Trauma Improvement?

RAW

Iseria, who was advancing alone through the forest where treants were lurking, gradually regained her composure after several battles with treants, and her nervous expression gradually began to soften.

“It seems like I’ll be okay somehow. I wonder if I only need to get used to it after all.” (Iseria)

Iseria muttered while looking back on her battles with treants so far.

In truth, when Iseria encountered the first treant this time, she threw a spell so powerful that it engulfed the surrounding trees. However, when she saw the treant collapse so easily, she felt her anxiety disappear.

After that, she was gradually able to control the power, and as more treant fell down, her anxiety decreased.

And now she can walk and fight without getting too nervous.

“I think it's time I check the weaknesses written in the documents.” (Iseria)

‘Fuu,’ Iseria exhaled and made that decision.

Until now, her battles had been relying on the power of her magic, with safety as the top priority. However, the recommended fighting method written in the Guild's reference room was different, and since her condition was getting close to normal, she thought she’d give it a try.

“Treants’ weaknesses are their lack of attack methods and inability to move. It’s unrelated if you attack it from long distance using magic, but if you fight it in close quarters, you should cut off the attacking branches first and you’ll be able to safely defeat it after, like that, right? When I was fighting it with a sword, I had a hard time with the branches swinging around me...” (Iseria)

While Iseria was walking while saying such things, she heard the sound of leaves rustling from above, even though there was no wind blowing inside the dungeon.

At that moment, Iseria's expression sharpened, and she jumped widely to the side.

With a whoosh, a thick branch swung through the area where Iseria had been just a moment ago.

Then, the branch trembled and a treant looked at Iseria, who was standing outside the reach of its branches, with an ugly smile on its face.

“Fuu, for now, let's first use magic to deal with it. Quick Burst.” (Iseria)

While carefully observing the treant, Iseria pointed her hand at the treant and cast Quick Burst, a composite magic of wind and fire.

A transparent bullet of air with a slight red color was generated from just beyond her hand and flew towards the treant, colliding with the base of its branch.

‘Bam’ a light plosive sound echoed, and the surrounding branches and leaves fell to the ground in pieces. Some of its thicker trunks still remained, but many of them were not able to withstand their own weight and were making creaking noises, looking as if they would break at any moment.

Quick Burst is, simply put, a spell that fires a transparent bullet of air which bursts where it hits, scattering blades of wind around it.

It was one of the spells that Iseria often used because of its high power for the small amount of magic power it consumed. It’s a composite magic, so there are not that many people who can use it though.

Iseria cast Quick Burst several times while checking its effect, and after confirming that all the branches have fallen, she approached the treant.

Just in case, Iseria was also being careful so that she could run away at any time, but just as the information from the Guild says, the treant just looked at her with an angry expression on its face and didn’t attack.

Iseria observed the situation for a while but, convinced that the information she had obtained from the Guild's reference room was correct, she nodded repeatedly.

She then aimed her hand at the treant to finish it off.

“Quick B...” (Iseria)

Iseria's words stopped midway through the magic chant.

In front of her was a sword that shouldn’t have been there before, and Iseria was under so much pressure that she couldn't even breathe.

“If you focus only on the enemy in front of you, you'll die. This happens more often to people who let their guard down when they have leeway. This is common sense for adventurers.” (Allen)

As Iseria heard that voice, Allen appeared in front of her in his Nella form. And when he put back his sword, the pressure that had been attacking Iseria vanished as if it had been a lie.

As Iseria slumped down with her hands on the ground and breathing heavily, Allen watched her. ‘I was just planning to surprise her a bit, but I might’ve gone too far,’ while inwardly regretting it.

After a while, Iseria caught her breath and looked up at Allen. Seeing her puff out her cheeks in obvious dissatisfaction, Allen couldn't help but smile as she reminded him of his youngest sister.

“Thank you for your instruction.” (Iseria)

“You don't seem too happy about that though.” (Allen)

“That's... well, it's probably my fault for letting my guard down, but I think Nella-sama also has a bad personality.” (Iseria)

To Iseria's words she said while holding out her hand, Allen silently responded by tilting his head a little, then he took her hand and helped her to her feet.

When she stood up, Iseria slapped her knees and butt, and let out a deep breath. Confirming that there was no fear or terror left in her, Allen smiled.

“I was a little worried, but it looks like your fear of treants and the like is okay.” (Allen)

Iseria looked back at Allen, startled by his sudden words. She then understood what that meant and her cheeks loosened just a little at the fact that Allen was worried about her.

“That's true. I myself was worried that I might not be able to fight anymore. It was written in the book that there were cases like that, so I thought maybe I would too.” (Iseria)

Allen tilted his head as he listened to Iseria's honest words expressing her feelings. Seeing him do that, Iseria wondered if she had said something strange, but she couldn't think of anything in particular.

“What is it?” (Iseria)

“No, can’t fight, you say, Iseria has fought many times haven’t you. Like In the Demon Dungeon and in the Dragon Dungeon.” (Allen)

“No, that's not what it meant.” (Iseria)

Realizing that hers and Allen's thoughts were different, Iseria gave some additional explanation. Hearing this, Allen immediately realized his misunderstanding, but since Iseria seemed to have started speaking, he decided to listen to her explanation until the end.

Because he knew from experience that fear would fade by talking to someone.

“...That’s what I feel. I'm even more scared because I don't really know about the treatment method.” (Iseria)

“That's true. There are certainly some people like that even among adventurers. It varies in degree, though.” (Allen)

“Degree? Meaning?” (Iseria)

As Iseria replied with a question, Allen scratched his head and began to speak.

“The worst one is when they can’t do the adventurer job itself. They can't even join the Guild anymore. And what's a little better is if they can't fight against monsters, or can't go to specific places, like the forest. The little lighter one is if they can’t fight monsters of the same type, or can’t go to specific floors. The really light one is if they can’t fight only specific monsters...” (Allen)

“P-please wait a minute! That knowledge is more detailed than what is written in specialized books, you know.” (Iseria)

Allen's words came as a surprise to Iseria, and she couldn't help but stop him. That was unbelievable for Iseria.

That is because that book that Iseria read is a medical book that would normally be read by researchers. But Allen, who had never been anything but an adventurer, had more detailed knowledge than that. She couldn't hide her surprise at that.

Having his words stopped, Allen tilted his head as he looked at Iseria, who was clearly agitated.

“No, most veteran adventurers know this. There's a lot of opportunity to see guys like that, and when forming a temporary party, this is the kind of information that should be shared. In a sense, this is common sense for adventurers.” (Allen)

“Adventurer's common sense... could it be, the treatment too?” (Iseria)

“No, that’s.” (Allen)

Iseria felt a little down when Allen spoke ambiguously. Because from what Allen had told her, she knew that she was still afraid of just the hanging tree, and that there was a possibility that she would lose control.

Seeing this, Allen decided to continue with his words that he spoke vaguely because it could not be certain.

“It’s not like there aren’t any. It’s not definite though.” (Allen)

“There is?” (Iseria)

Allen nodded, smiling wryly at Iseria's attitude as she raised her head and looked at him as if she had found hope.

“The one I’ve heard is that it can be reduced by defeating the target of fear, or if that is difficult, monsters of the same type can be somewhat effective.” (Allen)

“That, may be true.” (Iseria)

Iseria nodded, remembering how her anxiety disappeared after defeating treants. But at the same time, she calmly judged that even if she defeated any more treants, nothing would probably change.

“Also, I’ve heard that if you experience a fear that far exceeds that, the previous fear will feel inconsequential...” (Allen)

“That’s it, let's try that.” (Iseria)

“Eh, are you serious? But how are you planning to do that?” (Allen)

“I'm sure it’ll work if Nella-sama releases your serious killing intent. Just the warning you gave me earlier was already quite considerable.” (Iseria)

‘Oi, it’s me?’ Allen thought inwardly, but seeing her serious expression, he decided to do it until she’s satisfied. In the first place, there is no definite proof.

Even if it's just on the level of a good luck charm, Allen thinks it's fine if it’ll make Iseria feel safe.

“Understood. Here I go then?” (Allen)

“Yes. Come at me any...” (Iseria)

‘Killing intent, killing intent, huh? How do I go about this,’ Allen thought since he didn't usually have to do it, and remembered the dragon puppy heading towards the dying Eric at the last stampede.

Then, as Allen released his frightening killing intent, Iseria quickly showed the whites of her eyes and passed out while still in the middle of speaking.

Seeing Iseria falling defenselessly, Allen regained his senses and hurriedly grabbed Iseria by her equipment and stopped her from falling.

“No, what do I do with this?” (Allen)

Allen couldn't help but hold his head in his hand as he watched Iseria making a face that couldn't be shown to others with the white eyes and mouth agape that he couldn't imagine from her usual beauty-like appearance.

────

Previous | Next