Amelia the Level Zero Hero

Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Guardian Angel Z357 sensed it. All twelve of his eyes were fixed on his destination as he soared above the clouds. He recognized a small city as it came into view, and he knew that he was returning there again.

Again.

While the World System didn’t notice this pattern, he did. This was the same location as before. Thrice now, the area around this city had been assailed by creatures who had been touched by the Void. And the fact that it had happened three times could not be a coincidence.

There had to be a reason behind it. Guardian Angel Z357 had been too late to the scene the second time around since he had two choices to pick from, and he decided to go for the rift. But he didn’t learn anything from that encounter.

No— he never learned anything that he did not know already from any encounter he had thus far. And that was why he decided to act outside of his current objective. It wasn’t a rejection of the World System’s command. Rather, he was expanding on it.

Guardian Angel Z357 slowed to a halt as he reached the farming village, his gaze landing on his target. There, he saw it. A monster twisted by the Void’s touch. A creature that had been ripped away from the World System’s warm embrace, plunged into depravity and turned into a terrible abomination.

He saw the way the kretus boar lumbered forward, its body shifting with each step it took. A purple stain spread over its flesh, emanating a soft glow, and it let out a screech like the chirping of a thousand birds. Guardian Angel Z357 raised his lance as the Void-touched monster approached the nearby houses—

And he stopped himself.

He didn’t intervene. Instead, he waited. Invisible. Hidden by Without a Trace. He watched as a blonde girl engaged with the tainted beast. Because he realized— there was more he could learn from simply looking on.

—--

“Get back!” Noele yelled as she drew both of her blades.

Her voice could barely be heard over the screeching of the boar and the screaming of the terrified crowd— a whisper amidst the cacophonous clamor. The ground shook. The earth rumbled. The gathered crowd screamed. [Farmers] and [Traders] and [Hunters] alike scrambled for safety, fleeing the sight of the approaching dust cloud.

A kretus boar rapidly approached Wolfwater, tearing through the nearby forest and trampling the farmland. It was a large, terrible beast. It would have probably inflicted significant damage to the village on its own— maybe even destroying the surrounding villages as well before it was put down. But if it were an ordinary kretus boar, Noele wouldn’t have been concerned in the slightest.

She was an A-ranked adventurer, and it was a B-ranked monster. The Noble Spellsword knew she could bring it down with ease on her own. In fact, she had easily killed one just a day ago. All it took was a single Elegant Noble Slash, and the sturdy kretus boar was defeated.

But this kretus boar was different. Her eyes narrowed as she tightly gripped the hilts of both her blades. Even from a distance, she saw the way its oleaginous form rippled with a purple aura— its figure could hardly contain itself, twisting and turning as it continued barreling closer.

It had been touched by the Void. Maybe it might have even been blessed by the Void. She didn’t know. If it was the latter, then this was going to be a tough fight. She might not be able to take down the kretus boar without any casualties. On her own, she couldn’t prevent any collateral damage from inflicting Wolfater. Not unless she…

Her eyes flickered towards a blue screen.

[Class advancement available! Please choose one of the following Class advancements:

[Champion Spellsword] - A [Champion Spellsword] is a protector of justice—]

But Noele quickly looked past it, focusing on the situation at hand. She wasn’t going to make a decision now. She had to focus on protecting her village. The twisted kretus boar drew closer with incredible speed. The terrified crowd couldn’t evacuate in time— they were at a complete loss as to what to do. They shouted and scattered, fleeing in every direction.

The Noble Spellsword knew she couldn’t save them all amidst the chaos. They had to gather somewhere safe— a bunker, perhaps. A place where their safety was… guaranteed.

And the blonde girl’s eyes darted towards a nearby building. A relatively small building. But if everyone squeezed together, it might be able to house over a hundred people. It was Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant, and it was the safest place in the entirety of Wolfwater.

So before the kretus boar reached the village, Noele acted.

“You!” she shouted, turning to face Lucas and his goons.

They were warily backing away as they eyed the monster. They were [Hunters]. Low-leveled ones at that. They had drawn their weapons, but none of them stood a chance of hurting the Void-touched beast.

The Noble Spellsword shook her head. “Make yourselves useful and evacuate everyone to the restaurant!”

Lucas blinked, staring at her with wide eyes. He tried to work his jaw as he glanced between her and the oncoming beast.

“B-b-but…” he started.

“Now!” she cut him off.

The C-rank [Hunter] jerked back, before finally nodding. He turned to his men and gestured for them to follow after him.

“Come on, boys!” he said as he started back.

“What can I do, Noele?” another voice said, drawing the blonde girl’s attention.

Dorien calmly stepped to her side. He was a [Druid]— his Class wasn’t known for their combat Skills, and he wasn’t even that high-leveled either. Yet, he was not panicking. He just held Noele’s gaze, waiting for her response.

“Please— can you check on my parents?” Noele asked pleadingly. “I know Garron’s with them, but you need to keep them away from the village until this is over.”

“Very well. That is the least I can do.” Dorien smiled at her before sinking into the earth. He vanished underground as the Noble Spellsword nodded to herself.

Her [Nobleflame Armor] engulfed her body, protecting her from most physical and magical attacks. She strode forward as she readied herself for battle. She took one last look back at the village. Lucas and his goons were doing a good job at bringing some semblance of order back to the unfurling pandemonium. But it was too late.

The kretus boar reached Wolfwater a moment later, letting out a terrible screech as it toppled a tree, sending it flying towards a nearby house. The large tree trunk crashed through the rooftop as the monster charged towards the closest building. And Noele leapt forward, intercepting it in an instant.

“Stay back!” she yelled as her shorter blade shone with a golden light. “I will not let you destroy my home! Glorious Noble Slash!”

The Noble Spellsword swung down at the kretus boar. It reeled as the bright flash engulfed it for a moment. She unleashed the attack with all her strength, hoping to destroy this Void-touched monstrosity in a single slash. She wasn’t sure if it would be enough. She hoped it would be quick and easy, just like her battle with the Miststorm Riders.

But as the blast of golden light faded, Noele realized… the kretus boar was gone. She stared at a cone-shaped crater, spreading out from the tip of her blade. The dust and debris dissipated, and there was nothing left before her.

She frowned. “That was… too easy—”

And there was a flash of purple light. Noele blinked as the kretus boar appeared behind her. She spun around just in time to stare at a pair of empurpled tusks swinging down at her. The Noble Spellsword cursed as she called for her own movement Skill.

“[Flash Step].”

She appeared a hundred feet to the right, panting as she gathered herself. Noele raised her head and watched as the Void-touched beast shredded the ground with its tusks. There was a small explosion that blasted upwards from the attack, but fortunately, it didn’t damage any of the nearby structures.

Noele steeled herself as she tried to process what just happened. “The kretus boar— teleported…?”

It wasn’t a question as much as it was an observation. She pursed her lips, eyeing the monster warily as it turned to face her. It beat one of its hooves on the ground as an oily purple liquid dripped out of its unhinged maw.

Her eyes narrowed. She wanted to lunge forward and attack the kretus boar once more. But instead, she waited. If it could teleport with the Void’s powers, then there was no point senselessly charging in. It would just dodge and counterattack anyway.

So she studied the monster as it slowly drew forward, opening its jaw even wider. She raised her two blades warily.

“What is it doing?” she asked.

And the kretus boar answered as a glint came from its mouth. Her eyes snapped wide. She realized what it was doing. A purple sphere shot out from the monster’s open jaw in an instant. Like a kind of roiling fireball, except far stronger.

Noele’s eyes darted back towards the fleeing crowd behind her. If she dodged this attack, she’d be endangering the lives of the nearby bystanders. She gritted her teeth and stood her ground. Her longer blade glimmered with a sharp aura, before she sliced up at the purple sphere.

“Elegant Noble Slash!”

The Noble Spellsword cleanly cut the attack in half. The two hemispheres broke off, before exploding weakly at her side. Her [Nobleflame Armor] protected her from the blast as she took a step forward. But the kretus boar was gone once again.

This time, Noele was too slow. The kretus boar appeared at her side as she spun around, raising her two blades. She couldn’t block the attack. The twisted monster crashed into her shoulder making her shout in pain.

She went flying. Noele watched as the world spun beneath her, and the kretus boar gave chase to her like she was a thrown toy. Gritting her teeth, she flipped through the air and landed before a thicket of trees. But the kretus boar was on her in an instant. And she raised a hand as a wisp of golden flame coalesced at the tip of her finger.

“[Grand Blaze],” she whispered, unleashing an inferno straight at the monster.

Noele watched as the golden flames engulfed the kretus boar. She caught it off guard— it couldn’t teleport out of the way in time. But as the flames dissipated and the Noble Spellsword straightened, the kretus boar emerged from the inferno unscathed.

Its eyes shone darkly as it slowly lumbered forward, and Noele pursed her lips. It didn’t even dodge the blast. It didn’t need to regenerate from its injuries, because it suffered none.

“Seriously? That was an A-rank Skill…” Noele murmured as the kretus boar screeched and beat its hooves on the ground.

It seemed that this fight was going to be much harder than she thought it would be. And she raised her two blades once against, readying for the next charge.

—--

The ground shook as the pot rattled. I raised my head, frowning. I heard the shouts and screams in the distance— then I heard a loud explosion. I shook my head even as a loud ruckus entered the restaurant, followed by the footsteps and worried voices of over a hundred people.

Bucky clucked, sprinting into the kitchen. She waved her wings wildly at me, but I continued cutting away at the chopping board, dicing up onions, garlic, and other vegetables.

“Bawk bawk bawk!” the chicken said in a panic.

“Noele can handle it,” I replied, waving a hand dismissively. “I’m busy— this is my first time making kebabs. I don’t want to fuck up on the grand opening of the restaurant.”

But Bucky insisted. “Bawk bawk! Bawk bawk bawk!”

I sighed, taking a step back. “Fine— I’ll check it out in a minute. Let me wash my hands first.”

The chicken just stared at me blankly as I wiped my hands on my apron, before walking up to the sink. It took me a moment to work the magical runes as Bucky clucked insistently at me to hurry up.

I rolled my eyes, nodding reassuringly at her. “You’re overreacting. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

MelasD

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