Helios Orb Chronicle – Chapter 81

**Side: Lydia**

“I thought so too, but I never expected it to turn out like *this*.”

“I understand how you feel, but we managed to defeat it, so let’s just leave it at that, shall we?”

Yamato was vehemently exasperated, and Prim was trying to placate him, but I had no idea what they were talking about.

We were on a large fishing boat owned by the Trader’s Guild, suffering from severe headaches.

This was because at their feet lay the headless corpse of a giant, bull-like monster.

“I can’t believe they actually defeated a Catastrophe Species with just two people…”

“Moreover, they weren’t even breaking a sweat. It’s absolutely impossible, logically speaking.”

“I couldn’t agree more. And it was basically a one-hit kill, wasn’t it?”

Clarice, Burks, and Salina of Holy Grave looked extremely awkward, and it was understandable.

The monster lying at their feet was an Abyss Taurus, a P-C Rank Monster equivalent to a Catastrophe Species of the Blue Lake Bull.

Catastrophe Species are said to be equivalent to two ranks higher, making the Abyss Taurus comparable to an A-rank Monster. Yet, Yamato and Prim had attacked it from the sky and defeated it unilaterally.

Prim, cloaked in Extreme Flame Wing, had charged in and created a large hole in the Abyss Taurus’s body, while Yamato had severed its head with a prototype Jade Alloy Blade. The battle lasted only a few seconds, so it was no wonder the Holy Grave members looked so awkward.

“I was surprised by the aerial assault, but even considering that, you can’t defeat a Catastrophe Species *that* easily, right?”

Faris, the leader of Holy Grave, held her head with her left hand.

But she was right. Even with a perfect surprise attack, one couldn’t defeat a Catastrophe Species, let alone an Abnormal Species.

Both Abnormal and Catastrophe Species have exponentially higher durability and enhance their bodies with abundant Magic Power, making it not uncommon for High Class attacks to be ineffective.

Yet, Yamato and Prim’s attacks had so easily claimed the Abyss Taurus’s life. It was no wonder everyone, not just Holy Grave, reacted this way.

“The Grand Hunter’s Master told us not to expect fighting common sense from these two, but he was right. At this point, it’s probably more dangerous *not* to teach them common sense.”

The High Class members of Holy Grave nodded in agreement, and I felt the same way.

“There’s no need to say that much.”

Prim grumbled while checking her Library, but it lacked conviction. For one thing, why was she checking her Library?

“I feel like I have to say it. If we’re going to form an Alliance, Yamato-kun will be the leader. If the leader doesn’t know common sense, the whole thing will collapse in a different way.”

Faris was absolutely right.

An Alliance is an emergency subjugation team formed by High Class or higher Hunters.

The leader is supposed to be the highest-leveled individual, but the P-rank Hunters, other than Yamato and Prim, refused to take on the role due to their age. The M-rank Grand Hunter’s Master was the same. Prim was in the same Raid as Yamato and was slightly lower in level, so she wouldn’t be the leader.

However, Yamato was not only high-leveled but had also evolved into an Ancient Human, so it was only logical that he would lead any future Alliance. If that leader lacked common sense, the risk of annihilation before even fighting any monsters would skyrocket. It was natural for the five High Class members of Holy Grave, who might participate in an Alliance, to nod their heads repeatedly.

“I’ve heard about that, but they said since I haven’t even been a Hunter for a month yet, I lack experience and won’t be an Alliance leader for several more years.”

“I find that hard to believe too. Well, since they’re guests, we have no choice but to believe it, even if we don’t.”

“It was clearly displayed in my Library, you know.”

Burks and Salina sighed, and it was understandable. Guests were practically mythical beings, so there was nothing to be done about it.

“Speaking of Libraries, Prim-chan is looking at hers. Did you level up?”

Clarice tilted her head, curious, and I had been wondering the same thing. The proof was Prim’s slightly unsettled behavior.

“Um… you see…”

She seemed to want to say something, but what could be wrong? Even if it was just her and Yamato, they had defeated an Abyss Taurus, so leveling up wouldn’t be strange, would it?

“Um… Yamato, look at this.”

“What’s wrong?”

Yamato also looked at Prim’s Library with a concerned expression.

“Oh, congratulations, Prim!”

However, Yamato looked incredibly happy. …I had a bad feeling about this.

“If it’s hard for you to say, shall I say it for you?”

“Would you mind?”

“Understood.”

“What’s going on? It’s a Library, so did you get a new Title?”

Normally, people check their Library to see if they’ve leveled up, but it’s hard to discern level increases intuitively. Moreover, you don’t need to use Magic Power for Libris, you can just look at your License, so there aren’t many opportunities to check your Library. It’s more common to acquire new Titles, so that’s probably what they’d check for.

However, Prim’s level was 61. The Holy Grave members knew Prim was P-rank, but they didn’t know her level, and since she had the lowest level among the P-rank Hunters, including Yamato, they hadn’t considered it.

“I was surprised too, but Prim evolved into an Ancient Foxy.”

“…”

As expected of Holy Grave, they were perfectly in sync. …So it was as I suspected.

I’d heard that evolution increases Magic Power, which can be felt, so that’s why she was checking her Library.

“W-wait a minute. Did I just hear that she evolved into an Ancient Foxy? Am I mishearing?”

“N-no, I heard that too…”

“M-me too…”

“Me too…”

“Then… what? No way? Did you really evolve?!”

“Yes.”

It was astonishing. She had only just become the fifth P-rank Hunter, and suddenly she was the third Ancient Class! The Hunter’s Master would surely be wide-eyed again. Well, he knew what Yamato and Prim had done, so he might just brush it off elegantly.

“Th-that… I suppose I should congratulate you, but…”

Although Ludia was surprised, she seemed less affected than Holy Grave.

“I think a simple congratulations is fine. Congratulations, Prim-san.”

“Congratulations!”

“Co-congratulations…”

Flam and Rebecca responded as a matter of course, but Raus seemed a bit awkward. More importantly, I needed to offer my congratulations as well.

“Congratulations, Prim-san. How does it feel to have actually evolved?”

“Thanks. Well, I can definitely feel the increase in Magic Power. That’s all for now, but I’ve heard it reduces the Magic Power consumption for attribute magic you’re proficient in, so that’s something for later.”

I had never heard of such a thing, but since Ancient Class was only held by the Grand Hunter’s Master, it was understandable that such rumors hadn’t spread.

“That’s fine, but… more importantly, didn’t the Traders Guild tell you it was a Surging Buffalo?” Then, weren’t they panicking as well? I don’t think they expected a Catastrophe Species to appear, did they?”

Ludia and Flam seemed puzzled, but when I first heard about it, it was indeed about an abnormal species, the Surging Buffalo.

After Holy Grave finished their greetings with the Hunter’s Master, we were looking over some requests when a Traders Guild staff member rushed in and informed us that a Surging Buffalo had been sighted. Apparently, a fisherman who had gone beyond the barrier had spotted a moving, blue colossal figure on a nearby small island and had rushed back, which was alarming. Fortunately, or perhaps not, the Surging Buffalo was suspected to have been evolved into an Abnormal Species using a magical tool called a Demon Crystal. It had already been accepted as a targeted request for Yamato and Prim. Holy Grave members had also requested to observe, so the Traders Guild had immediately prepared a ship. As we approached the target island, we could indeed see a moving blue colossal figure. The moment they saw it, Yamato and Prim flew into the sky and approached the island, then defeated it. They hadn’t even called for Jade or Fluorite, so they’d be sulking later if they found out.

“Flam has a point. You rarely see even an Abnormal Species, so you wouldn’t normally expect a Catastrophe Species to appear, right?”

“Actually, both Prim and I thought it was a Surging Buffalo until we defeated it.”

“No, when subjugating Abnormal Species, you normally confirm it thoroughly, don’t you?”

Faris sighed deeply, but Yamato and Prim looked away. Couldn’t they handle most Abnormal or Catastrophe Species without forming an Alliance?

“You guys are remarkably nonchalant about witnessing an evolution into an Ancient Foxy right before your eyes.”

“We’re used to it.”

Faris sighed wearily, but Flam cut her off. While it was true they might be used to it, this wasn’t something one could just get used to. I couldn’t talk, though.

“Yamato-san and Prim-san are out of the ordinary in many ways, so it’s probably best to just accept it as their nature.”

“I agree with that opinion. After all, they can defeat a P-C Rank Monster so easily. Conversely, if those two struggle, we might not even be able to intervene.”

Rebecca’s opinion was seconded by Cliff, and Salina and Clarice seemed to agree.

“That would be unforgivable. More importantly, be careful. They seem to be coming from below.”

“From below?”

“Yes. I think they’re Sky-Dive Sharks.”

The moment Yamato said that, several monsters jumped out of the lake. Blue Sharks weren’t this ferocious, so as Yamato said, they were likely Sky-Dive Sharks. What, they were S-R Rank Monsters!

“So this is a Sky-Dive Shark. They’re troublesome because they fly, but if you can knock them down, they become helpless, so they’re still in the manageable category.”

“Right. Burks, Salina, Clarice.”

“We know! ‘Ee-quipping On, Mithril Grapple’!”

Using the new magic, Ee-quipping, that Yamato chanted, Burks, who had donned gauntlets and greaves for a Martial Artist, struck the first Sky-Dive Shark that attacked him, cloaked in flames, and knocked it onto the deck.

“Burks, your back is exposed?”

“Really, they can’t do anything without us.”

A Sky-Dive Shark that was about to attack Burks from behind had its momentum weakened by Clarice’s wind-infused arrow and was impaled and killed by Salina’s spear. What amazing teamwork.

“Thanks.”

“Save your thanks for later.”

“Exactly.”

They were exchanging adult-themed banter. Were they married? No, I couldn’t be thinking about that right now.

“Take *that*!”

Aided by Flam’s arrow, the Sky-Dive Shark was knocked onto the deck by Raus’s sword and Ludia’s fist, while Rebecca plunged an arrow between its gills. That girl could be quite brutal. The individual with an arrow growing from its gills was cut down by my Twin Swords. The other members of Holy Grave also seemed to be defeating them smoothly with the support of their High Class companions.

“It’s hard to gauge my strength…”

Prim, having just evolved into an Ancient Foxy, hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet. The Sky-Dive Shark that attacked her was completely charred and emitted a pleasant aroma. It smelled good, but it wasn’t edible.

” ‘Questing’. There are six in total. Faris-san, how are things on your side?”

“There are seven here. We can consider this a victory with this many survivors.”

After defeating all the Sky-Dive Sharks, Yamato and Faris confirmed the numbers with Questing. A total of thirteen. Normally, that would be a lot, but considering there were two Abnormal Species, Devil Megalodons, just a few days ago, it didn’t seem overwhelmingly numerous.

“After we collect them, let’s head back.”

“Agreed. I’ve lost the mood for hunting today, but we need to rest and prepare for tomorrow.”

If the mood was gone, it meant concentration had waned. One couldn’t hunt in such a state. The reason for this was that Yamato and Prim had so easily defeated the Abyss Taurus and even evolved into an Ancient Foxy, so we couldn’t say anything. Besides, having defeated this many Sky-Dive Sharks, today’s results could be considered sufficient.

“By the way, what are you guys going to do?”

“We hunted big game, so we’ll take it easy today. It’s already this late, so we can’t go far from here.”

It was only around 3 PM, but there wasn’t much time left before sunset for any good hunting. Plus, today was supposed to be my day off, and I had planned to go to Albert Workshop.

After selling the Abyss Taurus and the Sky-Dive Sharks, I think I’ll stop by.