"Are you two planning to quit being magic users and become warriors?"

"No, that's not it..."

Ryu, now in a party with Anastasia and Leonora, immediately took on a request quest the following day. The quest was to exterminate low-level monsters like goblins and orcs that were roaming in the forest outside the city, and to gather herbs while they were at it – a standard, recurring quest.

Ryu had forbidden monsters from leaving the dungeon, but since the stampede had already occurred, many monsters were still roaming about. They would have to diligently exterminate them one by one.

Goblins and orcs, with their high reproductive rates, were already quite numerous and kept multiplying even after being exterminated. Exterminating these monsters is a standard, recurring quest for low-level adventurers, common in every city.

There were slightly more monsters around than in normal cities, but this was already a place where escorts were necessary for inter-city travel, so it wasn't that different.

The lord had instructed the Adventurer's Guilds in the various cities within his territory to assist with exterminating the monsters around Bymark. Since the entry restrictions to Wairago had been lifted, adventurers who had avoided Bymark before were now curious to try a new city and a new dungeon, and more adventurers were gradually arriving in Bymark.

So, Ryu and the others accepted a recurring quest...

Ana is a Priestess type, skilled in healing and support magic. Leonora is a Magic User who specializes in offensive magic. Ryu specializes in physical attacks.

Ideally, Ryu would be the front-line fighter, with Ana and Leonora providing support from the rear.

"Leonora, Anastasia, stay back and provide support!"

Ryu was prepared to do just that, drawing his sword when they encountered a group of goblins...

But for some reason, the two ignored him, letting out battle cries and charging into the goblins.

Leonora and Anastasia gleefully slaughtered the goblins...

Ryu was dumbfounded.

Having mastered the technique of using mana to enhance their physical abilities, Anastasia and Leonora had incredible physical attack power and melee combat skills. They could easily wipe out goblins. They found it enjoyable and were repeatedly engaging in close combat instead of using magic. (Ryu should have noticed something was amiss when they were using swords and spears instead of staffs...)

After graduating from training, the two had been using swords and spears to physically defeat monsters instead of using magic. However, they knew that they'd struggle if there were many enemies or strong opponents. That's why they decided to recruit another member – Ryu, an F-rank adventurer whose skills were unquestionable, and who had been working solo.

During their first quest, Anastasia and Leonora ended up taking the lead in physical combat, and Ryu ended up playing a supporting role. He only needed to deal with the occasional missed monster, so he didn't have much to do...

...

Having accomplished their mission, Ryu and the others returned to the guild, submitted their report, and went to a tavern to celebrate their first successful quest.

That's when Ryu asked if they were going to change roles.

But they insisted that they were still magic users and healers and weren't thinking of quitting. They were just having fun being able to effortlessly use close-combat skills which they had previously been weak at.

They also seemed to be curious about just how far magic users could go in close-combat physical battles using this enhancement.

"Honestly, if magic users learn to enhance their bodies with mana, they might be stronger than warriors. Magic users have more mana and better control over it..."

"Yeah, if we keep perfecting physical enhancement with mana, we might become the strongest swordsmen. We never even thought about that before!" (Anastasia laughs)

"Right now, we might be stronger than the senior adventurers!" (Leonora laughs)

The two, boasting loudly, were approached by an adventurer at a nearby table.

"Hmph, a magic user stronger than a swordsman? Don't make me laugh."

It was Badge, a senior adventurer who'd been drinking at a nearby table. Badge was a D-rank adventurer specializing in physical attacks.

"You're just those newbies who graduated from training recently...

I guess it's understandable that you're confident after graduating from that training..."

But Badge's companion, Sapp, said,

"No, Badge, I heard the training content was revised and it's easier to graduate now. It's not as strict as before, so the skills of the graduates should be considered accordingly."

"Even more reason then. If you get cocky because you've gotten a bit stronger, you'll lose your life quickly!"

"What's your problem? You're a senior, but underestimating juniors can result in you getting hurt. It's happened before." (Leonora laughs)

"Leonora, are you drunk?" (Anastasia worried)

"I'm not drunk.

We have this physical enhancement technique, you know? Magic users who use mana for physical enhancement are naturally stronger than ordinary swordsmen!"

"Physical enhancement? Is that the technique that started being researched at the guild recently?"

"Yes, we developed it!"

"Hmph, I don't like this. Whatever this new technique is, magic users suddenly claiming they're stronger physically...hasn't the guild been promoting physical attack specialization for so long? They're changing their teaching methods to include magic users in parties? What are they doing?"

"That's right, we went through rigorous training, but now they're saying that was pointless and unnecessary, of course, we're angry!"

"Um, our training was still strict, even stricter than before?"

"That's right! We used physical enhancement to survive that harsh training! To be honest, we're better at physical combat than you are!"

"Interesting. You're saying that, so we can't back down! Let's have a match! Let's see if the skills we've worked so hard to acquire are useless!"

"We didn't say that..."

"That's right, you're trash! Useless trash!"

"Leonora, you are drunk!"

Ryu, who had gotten up to go to the restroom, returned to find that they had agreed to a match against the senior adventurers...

Next Episode

Leonora and Anastasia fight senior adventurers!

Stay tuned!