Calika Nehu
Window, I can save them, right?
[You can save them if the target is still alive.]
What you said about losing all the upgraded levels… does that mean…
[You can only save one target.]
If I find more to upgrade, I can save another, right?
[It can be done an unlimited number of times.]
That eased my mind a little. For now, I could only pray that Elda wasn' t in worse condition than Tiara, because I was afraid I wouldn' t find dungeon cores in time to save her.
After a while, I reached the rear line.
Besides the injured, the rear was swarming with soldiers. The wounded were herded into cramped piles on the side.
"There she is! The blonde woman with the wooden mask!"
One soldier shouted loudly, drawing everyone' s attention to me.
When the head soldier saw me, they waved a signal, and the entire battalion of 1,000 soldiers moved to surround me instantly.
Then, the head soldier announced in a booming voice:
"Adventurer Dania! For your vile scheme that caused the wooden floor to collapse, injuring a valuable knight of the kingdom slightly! By the authority of martial law, you are guilty of assaulting a knight! However, due to the knight' s mercy, if you put on a slave collar and crawl to apologize to them now, they may graciously spare you and your family from execution!"
As the head soldier finished, the battalion tightened their circle around me.
"Don' t resist! Though we' re ordered to capture you alive, that doesn' t mean we can' t rough you up!"
"Sorry, but please step aside, or I' ll have to force my way through."
After I spoke, the entire battalion burst into laughter. Even the head soldier hid their mouth, shoulders shaking, trying not to lose face.
I didn' t respond. I just charged forward and struck.
The massive iron shield, capable of blocking arrows or magic, was pierced by my punch, going straight through to the armor beneath. Their defenses did nothing to lessen the force of my blow.
The punch crushed the steel armor into their stomach. The shield-bearing soldier was knocked out in one hit, flying back and knocking down their comrades like dominoes.
"Get out of my way while I' m still holding back!"
The soldiers only followed their commander' s orders, rushing at me without fear.
Several tried to pin me to the ground, but a single shake of my body sent them flying effortlessly.
Those in heavy armor or wielding shields, I punched without mercy.
I tried to jump, but they kept leaping to grab and weigh me down.
Even when I pried them off and threw them far or knocked them out, they kept coming.
The pile of unconscious soldiers around me grew steadily.
"Stop getting in my way!"
Seeing they couldn' t stop me and that I was advancing, the head soldier quickly changed tactics.
They threw five lassos around my neck. When they yanked, the ropes tightened.
Each rope was held by ten soldiers. Once secured, they pulled together to make me fall backward.
But that wasn' t all. Another soldier jumped to double-kick me. I caught their legs in time and slammed them face-first into the ground.
Then, over fifty soldiers pulled in unison, forcing me to stagger back until I braced myself with my legs.
"Are you sure she' s [Rank F] ?"
"The intel said she' s only slightly strong!"
"This isn' t slightly strong, damn it!"
"Is the intel wrong?"
"What kind of skill is this?!"
"What do we do, sir?!"
"Throw more lassos! Pull together!"
"Get in there and beat her! Just don' t kill her!"
The information from Jisend' s personal guards wasn' t entirely accurate, likely because they didn' t want to lose face.
Shield-bearers charged from the front, aiming to ram me down with their shields.
"Annoying!"
I tore the lassos apart, grabbed all the ropes in one hand, and yanked, sending every soldier crashing forward.
"Hey!"
"Whoa!"
"Aaah!"
Over fifty soldiers flew forward, colliding with their own ranks in a chaotic heap.
CRASH!
Seeing they couldn' t stop me, the head soldier changed orders again.
"Permission to shoot and slash her legs!"
In front, soldiers stepped over their fallen comrades to form a human wall to block me.
From the sides and rear, arrows and magic targeted my legs almost instantly after the order.
Swordsmen followed, aiming to hack my legs off without hesitation.
I' d been too kind so far, hadn' t I?
"Don' t—"
I raised my foot, channeling full power for the first time, and stomped the ground.
"—block my way!"
BOOM!
A deafening roar echoed as dust shot upward. The ground sank, cracks radiating outward, and the earth buckled, sending nearly the entire battalion tumbling.
Taking advantage of the chaos, I sprinted through, hitting harder with each punch. Anyone still blocking me was sent flying.
No soldier could stop me, and I broke through to the outer city.
The citizens had already evacuated, leaving only patrolling soldiers checking for stragglers.
They likely hadn' t received the order to capture me, as they approached to tell me to evacuate if I was a citizen.
I took the chance to ask for directions to the [Resounding Magic] guild.
Once I knew the way, it didn' t take long to arrive.
The soldiers chasing me were far behind, giving me plenty of time to escape with my family.
We couldn' t stay in this kingdom anymore.
At the guild, I rushed to speak with a staff member, identifying myself as Calika and saying I was here for Tiara and Elda.
I don' t know how the staff was so sure it was me—maybe because of Laswin' s wooden mask or because Lady Lera had described me to everyone.
"If it' s Tiara, we placed her in Lady Lera' s room. But your little sister… someone delivered a letter saying they were attacked. When they came to, your sister was gone."
"…What?!"
"They said they sent someone to inform the guild."
"…"
I was speechless. I just turned and sprinted back to the slums in a straight line, smashing through walls, houses, or anything in my way.
But as I punched through a wall and entered a house, something grazed my leg.
At first, I thought it was debris and ignored it—until it happened again.
This time, it was stronger, like something lightly pricking my foot.
I looked around but saw nothing, so I ignored it and kept running.
But then—
Slash!
"Ow!"
I fell face-first. Pain shot through my left calf. Looking back, I saw a knife embedded in it, fresh red blood streaming out.
*****
Roja, Leader of the Dismantling Team, Unit 5, [Shining Fang] Guild
Before Calika' s clash with the soldiers
When the battalion of 1,000 soldiers arrived at the rear line, they were asking about a female adventurer named Dania, distinguished by a wooden mask and blonde hair.
It seemed they wanted to capture her rather than enlist her help in the fight.
I didn' t care and quietly slipped away.
Then Dania arrived and started a brawl, wrecking the soldiers single-handedly.
This Dania, with her blonde hair and outfit, matched the description that kid' s gang gave.
Curious, I activated my stealth skill and followed her to the [Resounding Magic] guild.
There, she revealed herself as Calika.
She was like a different person. Could that knife have something to do with it?
While I pondered, she smashed through everything in her path back to the slums in a straight line.
I had to find out. I followed her trail and got ahead to intercept her.
As she ran past, I swiped my knife at her ankle.
"…"
Not a single scratch, despite a direct hit. She looked slightly confused.
This time, I put more force into it. Normally, it should' ve pierced right through her foot, but the knife bounced off.
Though she seemed puzzled, her unscathed foot let her run on unfazed.
What kind of skin was that thick? Was she even human? It didn' t seem like an item—she didn' t have anything like that on her.
Or was it a skill? Then skill must counter skill.
Activating my special skill, I barely needed force this time. The knife' s tip sliced through her skin effortlessly, embedding deep.
She screamed and fell to her knees.
"What did you do with that knife, Calika?"
"…?!"
She didn' t answer, looking around in confusion. Seeing no one, she pulled the knife out, stood, and tried to listen and scan her surroundings.
But against my stealth skill, that was pointless.
I was amazed—her wound healed itself without a healer or potion. The bleeding stopped almost instantly, and the wound began closing.
I pulled out another knife, activated my skill, and circled behind to stab the nearly healed wound again.
"Ow! Damn it!"
I leaped back, dodging her wide-swinging fist, grabbed a new knife, circled behind again, and stabbed her back with my skill.
"Argh!"
Once she recovered from the pain in her back, she turned and stomped the ground.
The damage spread from her foot to the house' s walls, and soon the entire building collapsed.
I' d already left the house, knowing her capabilities.
"I' ll ask again. That knife that stabbed your heart—what did you do with it, and how did you survive?"
She froze at my question, then realized.
"…Roja?!"
But she still didn' t answer. She yanked both knives out, stuffed them in her pants pocket, and turned to hurl house debris randomly in all directions.
The debris smashed everything around, causing nonstop crashes.
Her attacks were like those of power-crazed monsters—giants, orcs, ogres, trolls, that sort.
The knife was made from an ogre' s fang, true, but it had transformed. How was she drawing out its power? Or was it an awakening skill?
A skill that mimics or replicates the power of a living being?
I wasn' t worried, as I' d been circling behind her the whole time. No matter where she turned, I stayed at her back.
She was wasting her energy.
She had almost no combat experience. This girl must' ve just gained her power recently.
Should I nip this in the bud?
I easily snatched both knives from her pants pocket.
Activating my skill, I stabbed her back and dragged the blade down her spine, like butchering meat.
Her clothes and flesh tore open, exposing bone. Bright red blood gushed out.
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!"