Standing before the abandoned mine ruins, I gazed at what remained of a village that had long since been vacated.
Nobody lived here anymore — only the faintest traces remained that this had once been a village.
"So this is the bandits' stronghold."
Novem stood at my side, staff in hand, scanning our surroundings.
With several times the bandits' numbers on our side, the group was in a state of lax complacency.
"Lord Lyle, morale is far too low."
"Yeah, that's a problem. Though for this particular situation, it might actually work in our favor."
The adventurers — dressed as soldiers — were letting their guard down.
Some were yawning, others chatting and laughing about how they'd spend their pay.
Looking at them lately, I couldn't help but wonder if two silver coins was too generous.
Hard, honest work rarely earned even ten large copper coins.
It seemed a little unfair, if I was being honest.
Having spent my time completing mundane quests, I now understood just how extraordinary a reward of two silver coins really was.
There was a world of difference between knowing something intellectually and feeling it in your bones.
"If someone asked me to lead this lot into battle, I'd normally refuse… but this time, their attitude might actually work in our favor."
How would the enemy respond?
We'd already prepared for that.
It took a full day's travel to reach the destination. The plan was to launch our assault on the bandits at dawn.
I surveyed my surroundings.
"…Novem, don't go off on your own. Hmm… get Lockwood and move together with her. There are other women around too, so stick together."
At my words, Novem shook her head.
"No, I intend to stay by your side, Lord Lyle. As someone who can provide healing, I believe I'll be useful."
She clearly had no intention of leaving my side.
Then again, my ancestors seemed to agree.
"Keep her close, Lyle. If she gets taken hostage, it'll cause problems. They probably already know she's close to you. Besides, the people around us — can't trust any of them."
The Fifth Generation had a point.
We'd hastily assembled and charged into the abandoned mine, but enemies lurked inside.
Though to be fair, all of my ancestors had realized this.
"They're not stupid. They'll have some kind of plan. With a leader in place, they'll act accordingly… and that's exactly what made our lives so difficult."
The Fifth Generation's voice grew low.
The successive heads of the family despised bandits. More to the point, for any lord, bandits were a persistent headache.
If one's own subjects turned to banditry and fled to a neighboring territory, it became everyone's problem.
"Lord Lyle, everyone is ready."
When Novem reported this to me, I nodded.
"Let's stick to the plan. Have everyone rest up for tomorrow. Actually… go let Lockwood know personally. She won't be happy if she wakes up and finds the whole thing's already over."
I said this, and Novem nodded.
"Shall we go together?"
Taking Novem along, I headed for Lockwood's location.
Naturally, my ancestors had warned me not to let Novem go anywhere alone.
Inside the abandoned mine —
"Boss! They're here. They're just sitting around making camp, relaxed as anything."
Hearing his subordinate's report, the large man grinned.
He clenched the red orb in his hand, then picked up the axe resting nearby.
It was a lord's weapon — taken as spoils of war.
He gripped the great war axe, the red orb tethered by a cord held in his left hand. He'd wrapped the cord around his arm to keep from dropping it.
"They underestimate us. We've been through countless battles. Let's show 'em what a real battlefield looks like."
As he spoke with a laugh, the bandit subordinates picked up their weapons.
Those who had infiltrated as adventurers had also returned to report.
All twenty-seven members of the bandit crew had gathered.
"Good! We're launching a night raid!"
The large man declared.
But one of his subordinates looked down and cried out in alarm.
"B-Boss!"
"What?!"
— And then, smoke began pouring into the spot where everyone had gathered.
"Oh, that smoke's really coming through."
Listening to the Fifth Generation's voice, I was busy carrying the tree branches I'd brought to the mine entrance inside and setting them ablaze.
They were a type of tree famous for producing copious smoke, their leaves still intact.
And they had the added bonus of stinging the eyes.
"Novem, how's your mana holding up?"
"I'm fine. I can still keep going."
As Novem answered, Lockwood — standing nearby — was staring wide-eyed at the situation around us.
"W-What is this? Weren't we supposed to attack tomorrow morning?!"
I shook my head.
"If they've already figured us out, we'd just get attacked ourselves if we waited. Besides, the enemies who infiltrated our ranks have already headed back."
The presence of bandit spies lurking in Darion had been uncovered by my ancestors — particularly the Third Generation.
At the same time, they'd also identified collaborators.
I'd been mildly surprised when their names came up during the investigation — but —
"Infiltrated? How did you find out about that? If you knew, couldn't you have captured them or… or…"
"…We had to crush them all at once. Earning random grudges would be foolish. It's a waste, but that's why we had Lyle play the fool and throw money around. Oh — no time to explain. Lyle!"
I told the flustered Lockwood that there was no time for explanations and drew my saber.
"Good — with the skill's effect, I can help too. You can use it simultaneously with Dad's… the Fifth Generation's skill, Lyle."
When the Sixth Generation called out to me, I activated the skill.
Thanks to the skill [Full Over], which boosted abilities by ten to twenty percent, I could temporarily use skills I otherwise couldn't.
The Fifth Generation's skill was [Map].
And the Sixth Generation's skill was [Search], recommended for simultaneous use.
Map was a skill that rendered the surroundings as a mental map.
Right now, I could clearly perceive every passage inside the abandoned mine.
And Search… this was a skill that detected the placement of enemies, traps, and other hazards in the vicinity.
Both were extraordinary skills — incredibly useful.
However, using them continuously consumed mana at an alarming rate. So even when I activated them, it could only be for a limited time.
I checked the situation around us.
It didn't seem like any traps had been set inside the mine. Only the bandits were moving around in there.
"So there really is an escape route… Excuse me, could I ask you to relay a message to Zelphy?"
The person I was asking was one of the adventurers.
Specifically, a bounty hunter type who specialized in tracking people down — what you might call a manhunter.
"That's remarkably precise — you a skill user?"
The male adventurer was surprised when he heard the locations I'd specified.
And I just smiled and played it off.
"Who can say?"
The man muttered an apology and immediately took off running.
He was wearing a black robe, and he vanished into the darkness as though he'd melted into it.
"That was quite intense. You really did hire some heavy hitters, didn't you? I feel a little better now."
Lockwood said this, and I tilted my head.
"I didn't hire them. They just cooperated."
"Huh?"
Lockwood didn't seem to understand. While she was puzzling over it, Novem raised her staff. She stopped her current spell and began preparing a new one.
The surrounding adventurers also readied their weapons, bracing for the enemy's approach.
"They're pretty fast… six coming from the front."
When I said this, everyone was momentarily startled, but quickly adopted serious expressions.
"You're using it well — activating it only when needed instead of continuously, keeping the mana drain in check. Hard to believe you just learned this."
The Fifth Generation praised me.
Thanks to the Full Over skill, I'd been able to meet the conditions required to use other skills.
I still couldn't use the Third and Seventh Generation's skills, but for the others, I could now activate them — if only temporarily.
"The First Generation really was something."
When I murmured this, I heard the First Generation's voice.
"So you finally understand!"
"Hey, we agreed to keep quiet about that. Look, Lyle… they're right in front of you."
The Fifth Generation cut the First Generation off, and I took my stance with my saber.
Lockwood was being swept along by the situation around her, but she readied her own weapon. The weapon she carried was a spear — not what you'd expect from a lady.
"Wind Bullet!"
When Novem cast her spell, one of the bandits emerging from the smoke went flying.
She'd been told to keep the power restrained.
I took on one of the bandits who charged at me.
"Y-You bastard!"
The man who came swinging at me was wielding a short sword — single-edged, slightly curved, and fairly broad.
If I tried to block it with my slender saber, mine would probably break.
If I tried to block it, that is —
"Too slow."
I deflected the short sword with my saber, destabilizing my opponent, then drove my foot into his gut. This time, I had no intention of killing anyone.
That was the agreement we'd made.
Looking around, the adventurers were subduing the bandits in the same manner.
Amid all this, one bandit who had been hiding among the adventurers saw the man tying him up and screamed.
"Wh-Who are you?! I don't know you!"
The man said nothing as he bound the bandit.
Once he'd finished, he punched the bandit to shut him up.
"Efficient work. Different from the rest, too. Glad I asked for your help."
"Yes, Lord Lyle."
Novem shared the same assessment.
Once things settled down, I used the skill again. Rather than keeping it active continuously, short bursts when needed suited me better right now.
"…Full Over."
I activated the skill and checked our surroundings.
A map of the area materialized in my mind, along with the bandits moving inside the mine —
There were hidden exits besides the main entrance. The bandits were heading for one as they retreated inside the mine.
But Zelphy and the others were already waiting on the other end.
I deactivated the skill and felt the plan was succeeding. However, the Fifth Generation's voice came through the Jewel.
"Don't let your guard down until it's over. If the commander relaxes, everyone relaxes. You can lower your guard once everything's done and we've reached Darion."
I cleared my throat and focused.
"That said, it's fine to deactivate it periodically, but check as often as you can. Ideally you'd have it active constantly, but if you collapse, that defeats the purpose."
I touched the Jewel to show I understood.
I could tell that the bandits, having learned their exits were already blocked by adventurers, were panicking and running in circles.
But when one of their number went silent, their movements gradually began to coalesce.
"A show of force, is it? Looks like things are about to get tricky from here on. They're fighting for their lives. Lyle, if you can't take them alive, kill them immediately. Even bandits — they don't seem like the type to go easy on us."
Hearing the Fifth Generation's advice, I touched the Jewel again.
Of all my ancestors, the Fifth Generation had the most experience fighting this kind of enemy.
It was because House Walt had been elevated to viscount, becoming a lord that neighboring vassals could rely on.
He'd reportedly answered many calls for aid and dispatched troops.
And whether the relationships with his vassals were still delicate after the elevation, or whether people simply underestimated House Walt — it was also a period when large numbers of bandits flooded into their territory.
The Fifth Generation had stated bluntly that the root cause was envy from the surrounding nobility over the elevation.
In other words, the surrounding nobles had deliberately funneled large numbers of bandits into House Walt's territory.
And the Fifth Generation had crushed them all.
"If only we could just burn down these useless mine ruins, it'd save us a lot of trouble. Sealing the entrances would work too."
Setting aside the Fifth Generation's terrifying remark, I could feel the remaining bandits charging toward us.
The fact that they hadn't headed toward Zelphy and the others meant she'd dealt them significant damage.
The bandits' signatures had dropped to five.
I deactivated the skill and waited for them to come. As I took my stance, the surrounding adventurers readied their weapons.
They'd trusted my judgment — trusted the skill's ability to detect the approaching enemy.
"Seems like they think quite highly of you. Well, our family's skills are the kind that anyone would kill to have. Use them well, Lyle."
(Yes.)
I answered silently in my heart, and through the slightly clearing smoke, the bandits burst out with desperate looks on their faces.
Among them, the large man with the axe burst through.
"That's the bandit boss. …Lyle."
When the Fifth Generation said this, I charged at the large man without using my skill. The others around me were already fighting the desperate bandits.
No one had the leeway to help me.
"Lord Lyle!"
Novem raised her staff to cast a spell.
But I stopped her with my voice.
"I'll handle this!"
The large man heard this and visibly scowled. He was swinging the great axe with a single arm.
A weapon meant for two hands, swung with one.
No matter how much muscle he had, there was something off about the way he wielded it.
"Don't get cocky on me, brat!!"
I leaped backward to dodge the horizontally sweeping war axe, then lured the pursuing big man into a dense thicket of trees where fighting would be awkward.
However —
"You're soft!! I've got this!"
So saying, he thrust his left arm toward me. Red light leaked from between the fingers of his fist.
"The orb?"
When I said this, the big man answered boastfully.
"That's right. And it's a one-of-a-kind with multiple skills! I'll grind you into mincemeat in no time! Because —"
The big man's war axe, swung one-handed, struck a tree. Normally it would have stopped there, but instead it cut clean through.
A single swing felled a tree.
"It's a skill that boosts weapon strength! This orb teaches me how to use skills! How awesome is that?!"
Boosting strength alone wouldn't let you swing a great war axe one-handed.
Sure enough, he seemed to have several troublesome skills.
"A muscle-strengthening skill! And from the blade…"
"Hey! Jump sideways!"
The First Generation's voice rang out. It wasn't quite the right range, but I jumped sideways immediately.
Sure enough, a slashing wave flew from the descending war axe, cutting through several trees and demonstrating its terrifying power.
"Tch, quick reflexes. That was my projectile slash skill. But this… this is something else."
The big man grinned. He grinned — and then vanished from my sight for an instant.
I heard his voice from above and leaped away. But the shockwave alone threw me off balance, and I tumbled across the ground.
In the moment I was tumbling, I glimpsed the ground gouged open. It was hard to believe the big man had done that.
I rolled, used the momentum to get back on my feet, and found the big man bearing down on me.
"It's a skill called Slash! The speed and destructive power are five times normal!!"
I watched the war axe descending toward me.
The attack was coming at terrifying speed — powered by a skill.
Voices rang out from around me.
"Lord Lyle!!"
"Lyle!"
I heard Novem's voice — and Lockwood's.
The next instant, the First Generation's face flashed through my mind. Sitting with arms crossed in a meeting room chair — barbarian style, but dignified.
And that mouth of his twisted into a grin.
"Now… let 'em have it, Lyle!!"