The monster’s deafening roar cut through the air again. Leo unsheathed his sword while trying to spot the monster. He looked left and right while listening carefully. Wendel raised her staff and began to chant spells in preparation resulting in a glow that surrounded each of their bodies.

This is Wendel's magic? It feels warm.

“Heh, it’s straight ahead of us, no need for us to look for it,” said Leo with a grin. “It’s coming right towards us.”

“There you go again,” Wendel sighed. “A little too excited to fight are we? Just don’t be reckless, I won’t forgive you if you get hurt beyond recovery!”

As they prepared, Leo took the vanguard as Wendel stood in front of Aria, staff in hand with the other arm out to guard her.

I wonder what kind of creature it is!

“It might get scary, but don’t worry! We’ll protect you,” Wendel said to Aria reassuringly.

.

At last, the beast revealed itself. It was a large lizard-like basilisk that had golden eyes with ominous black x-shaped pupils.

It is kind of.. big.

The monster stood around 4 and a half meters tall which made them look quite pitifully small in comparison. Its bulky legs were more than twice as thick compared to an elephant's and its scales were quite durable to match. The claws it bared could crush metal and pierce through them with ease.

Leo’s eyes widened in surprise. “This is an Xilisk! It’s not a Giant Saladle!” His grip on his sword tightened as he gritted his teeth. “Those bastards mixed it up!”

“Th-That would make this an A- or A difficulty mission..,” muttered Wendel with disbelief.

Wendel and Leo were currently certified B- ranks and around a B rank skill level at best on a good day, which in itself was something to be proud about. Meeting someone as strong as B-rank wasn't common.

The Xilisk hissed as it neared, turning its head to the side to get a good look at the three. Its fangs glistened in anticipation as it approached its prey.

Wendel’s expression turned grim but she held her ground. "Well, it’ll be hard, but not impossible. We might just be able to handle this.”

Guide, what are the chances of Leo and Wendel easily winning?

『 Without seeing their skill, estimated chances are 15% based on their outer appearance. However, Wendel’s magical aura increases their chances to 20%. In the end, the unreliable factor is their teamwork. 』

T-That low..? This isn't good. Is there anything I can do?

As Aria turned her focus to the Xilisk, it began its assault. Aria stumbled back as the Xilisk charged towards them kicking up clouds of dirt and ripping the ground apart with its claws as it ran.

It swung an arm at Leo as it approached which he narrowly dodged.

"Leo!" yelled Wendel. She began casting magic to support him. "[Ice Cage]!"

Instantly, ice formed around the Xilisk's feet and began to wrap around its legs, trapping it.

"It won't hold long! Hurry!" ordered Wendel. "[Water Pierce]!"

Several balls of water appeared around Wendel and condensed into a sharp needle before slicing towards its target. The attack landed but the Xilisk sustained little to no damage thanks to its scales. With a grim look, Aria deduced it would be tough for them to bypass its scaly armor. She couldn’t really think of any way to defeat it herself, not that she had any experience in this field in the first place.

But maybe.. If the outside is so tough, is the inside tough?

Leo recovered from his dodge and quickly lunged his sword into the Xilisk's legs where the ice hadn't covered yet. He imbued his sword with magic as he did so, increasing the sharpness of the weapon. The sword met the Xilisk's leg with a clash and its point dug between the scales.

"[Armor Pierce]!" chanted Leo. The sword suddenly gained a burst of force and deadly sharpness, slowly pushing itself into the Xilisk's leg. "We'll take this thing down one leg at a time dammit! Focus everything on this leg!"

"[Armor Pierce]! [Armor Pierce]! [Armor Pierce]!"

Leo kept up the relentless onslaught as the Xilisk escaped from the [Ice Cage] casted by Wendel.

Suddenly the Xilisk screeched and its eyes began to glow. A large X mark appeared in the ground in front of Aria, between Wendel and Leo. From the X a golden glow the same color as the Xilisk's eyes appeared and intensified as it gathered energy.

"No! Leo dodge!" shouted Wendel. She quickly backed up to evade the danger, shielding Aria in the process. Leo who was next to the Xilisk was in a tight spot. He jumped backwards, away from the attack to evade it while protecting his face with his arms. Despite managing to successfully evade the attack, the heat of the X-shaped blast that erupted from the ground burned his arms. On the ground, a charred X marked the spot where the Xilisk just used its spell.

"Agh! Damn that's hot!" winced Leo. He quickly recovered and backed away from the monster. “Son of a lizard!”

Wendel immediately began to cast a spell on Leo and he seemed to relax as a look of relief washed over him while his arms magically healed.

“Thanks Wendy. But how’s your matom doing?”

“It’s fine, for now-,” said Wendel before she turned at the Xilisk who seemed to be charging up for another attack. “But we have bigger problems to worry about!”

Matom? What’s that?

Aria peeked out from behind a tree to spectate, though it didn’t seem to be an easy fight for Leo and Wendel.

“Its scales are tougher than I thought,” said Leo who wiped the sweat off his forehead. He held his sword that he picked up while recovering from the Xilisk’s attack in his free hand. “That just means we gotta get it from the inside. Wendel, let’s focus on its injured leg to cripple it before trying to cook its innards!”

“Got it!”

As the two finished talking, the Xilisk broke free from the [Ice Cage] only to have Wendel cast another Ice Cage on it to prevent its movement. This time she poured more of her matom into it making the Ice Cage stronger than the one before. The Xilisk was effectively immobilized. Knowing this, Leo approached it with a grin before chanting a spell.

“[Sword Art: Light’s Edge],” chanted Leo. His sword shimmered as a magical aura surrounded the blade, flowing to the wind. Seemingly vanishing from his spot, Leo dashed towards the monster while unleashing his attack against its weak spot. His blade flew seamlessly through its leg leaving an after-image of its path. A moment later its effects were obvious. The Xilisk screeched in pain as the leg Leo targeted along with its [Ice Cage] were severed.

“[Sword Art: Light’s Impact],” Leo ran beneath the Xilisk’s head and lunged his once again shimmering sword into the underside of the monster’s mouth bringing about an effect similar to an uppercut punch.

The Xilisk’s head jerked upwards as it got hit, angering it. It screeched loudly while baring its sharp rows of teeth. In this instant, Wendel immediately shot a [Fireball] spell which soared into the inside of the monster. The Xilisk, immediately realizing its mistake albeit a bit too late, clamped its mouth shut in vain. The fire from Wendel’s spell incinerated the soft, vulnerable insides of the Xilisk and began cooking it from inside out. Although the Xilisk was a strong monster, it had no means of putting out a fire that burned from inside of its body. After a moment that seemed to last an eternity, the Xilisk ceased its screeches of pain and collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dirt in the process. Despite this, no one moved just yet. It wasn’t until the cloud of dirt settled that Wendel and Leo relaxed, releasing the high-tension atmosphere.

They.. did it?

“You did it,” muttered Aria excitedly. She stumbled towards Wendel with excitement as she repeated herself with a smile. “You did it!”

“We did it,” Wendel corrected as she gestured to Leo.

Aria only nodded happily in response.

“I thought we were dead meat not gonna lie,” said Leo. He sighed tiredly in relief as the adrenaline wore off and stretched his shoulders. “But it turned out quite well, the Xilisk seemed to be young still and not that experienced, so we got lucky. I got off with only slightly burnt clothes haha!”

Wendel laughed for a moment until she suddenly thought of something. “Leo.. if that was only a child…”

Leo looked at her in confusion before realization suddenly dawned on him, and it showed on his face as it went grim. Aria could only stare in confusion as what was a happy moment and atmosphere suddenly turned grim again.

Leo, noticing Aria’s confusion, answered her unspoken question. “Where there’s a child, there’s a parent. If what we just defeated was a child… its parent must be near, and our chances at surviving are… well practically zero.”

Suddenly a large X mark appeared beneath them the same way the Xilisk’s main spell that they had just gone against had appeared. The only difference was that this one was several times larger, and a whole lot stronger. The air itself seemed to freeze up and turn warm as Leo and Wendel grabbed Aria and tried to escape. Wendel casted a barrier to protect them but it was no use. Leo casted a resistance enhancing spell on himself as he prepared to shield them. Before all sound escaped the three of them. Dead silence was all they heard as if the X mark created a vacuum sucking in all sound mere moments before exploding in a pillar of magma-like fire sending a powerful shockwave outwards in every direction. Wendel’s barrier shattered immediately as the shockwave slammed into them. At the same time, the heat followed the shockwave burning everything in its path.