As my hair turned gray and my power rose to <C+>, I scanned boss Keith's body. 

'Heh, how insolent!'

Boss Keith... he was more arrogant than I thought. He dared to underestimate me by standing still and letting me attack? Not just that, his body wasn't even that protected by Mana! If I had to make a comparison, the Mana that was wrapping around his body had the same effectiveness as a block of butter trying to block a hot knife from cutting through it.

'You'll regret it soon enough!'

As such, I agglomerated Spatial attribute mana into Dragonslayer sword and slashed at him.

<The first movement of [V - World splitter]: Shredding slash>

As the sharp end of my sword tore through space itself, a violent ripping sound could be heard. The trail of absolute destruction that traced my blade inched ever closer toward boss Keith's body.

"Don't worry boss Keith! I'll only take one of your limbs!"

However, my attack didn't cleanly cut through his arm like I had thought. No, in fact, it didn't even touch him at all! The weak membrane of Mana protecting his body that I saw before was now glowing brightly where my sword was. 

Utilizing my moment of shock, boss Keith used his other hand to grab the blade of my sword and kicked me in the gut with one of his legs.

"Kurghhh!" I let out a groan of pain as I was kicked far away.

'Shit, I was too conceited. If he hadn't controlled his power just now...'

...I would have definitely turned into red paste. 

Fully aware of the fear he had just inflicted upon me, boss Keith fiddled with Dragonslayer sword on his hand like a child playing with a new toy. Bored of inspecting the sword and now gripping it by the handle like he was supposed to, he pointed my own sword toward me.

"You attacked, eh? Now it's my turn. I'll give you a chance to not die instantly! My next move is going to be [Aura blade]!"

'Aura blade!?' I widened my eyes in surprise.

[Aura blade] - the iconic Skill that is the prerequisite to becoming a master swordsman! I didn't expect boss Keith to be in possession of that skill! [Aura blade]'s power and form is unique to every swordsman, so I could only grit my teeth and react as he released his Skill.

"Good good! You need to at least be that cautious if you want to survive in our Unit!" Boss Keith laughed as Dragonslayer sword glowed a golden hue. "I'm coming kid!"

"[A - Aura blade]!"

I strained my eyes, looking around frantically for his attack.

'Will the [Aura blade] rain down from the sky? Or will it protrude out of the ground like spikes?'

My question was soon answered, as—

"Take this!"

—Boss Keith threw Dragonslayer sword at me!

"Shit! It's a throw type!"

I hurriedly drew a charge from [Distorias] and used [Shredding slash] to have a chance at countering it. And I did! I successfully deflected the blade! But before I could heave out a sigh of relief though, I suddenly realized something.

'Wait, why did the attack feel weak? It's almost as if...!'

"You fell for it, fool!"¹You know where this is from ;)

<[Mountain-shaking bludgeoning attack]>

Shit! Shit! SHIT! It was a feint! Of course I wasn't so lucky as to meet a master swordsman here! Left with no choice, I could only raise my blood sword up and block his strike. My arms screamed and shook in agony as I did so.

"Oh, you blocked that?” Boss smirked. “Your sword's screaming in pain. Why don't you scream too and just give up?"

Gritting my teeth and supplying blood to repair my almost-broken sword, I shouted as I forcibly stopped my hands from shaking. 

"Like hell I will! I will join Unit 44 no matter what!"

"Very well then. Let's test your determination, shall we?"

Boss Keith threw his fist at me again, his right arm wrapped in a bright golden aura. Dust rose once more as his fist struck the ground instead of me, who had just taken a step to the right just a split second earlier.

With boss Keith's hand now stuck in the ground, I brought my sword down to his arm. However, the same membrane of Mana glowed brightly again and my attack was deflected.

Boss Keith slowly and leisurely removed his hand from the ground as if I wasn't even a threat and laughed.

"Haha! You can't even put a scratch on me! How are you planning to win?"

In response though, I tightened my grip on my sword even harder and chanted.

<[Splice]>

As the world turned red, I found myself standing behind boss. Raising my sword, I held it near my right eye and thrusted diagonally down to the right. However, it still bounced off the glowing barrier despite him not even realizing that I was behind him until now.

'As expected, it's automatic.'

I simultaneously kicked the back of his knee. This time, the attack connected! However, I didn't have time to celebrate since boss Keith had now finished turning around. As he threw many punches at me at a fast pace, I tried to block and deflect as many as possible. However, I still got grazed every once in a while by his fists, searing pain coursed through my entire body every time it happened. All the while, a plan was formulating inside my mind as I was slowly being pushed back.

Before long, boss Keith had forced me into a corner of the barrier Glenn conjured up. Smirking, he declared as if he had won the battle.

"It ends here, little newbie. It seems like you're not getting a delayed admission!"

"Or will I?" I smiled mysteriously.

"What do you mean—"

But before he could finish his sentence, I shouted on the top of my lungs.

"[S - Aura blade]!"

"Shit!" Boss Keith widened his eyes in surprise. He jumped a couple of meters back, his eyes darting around frantically to try and identify my [Aura blade]. Then, his attention was forcibly directed to his front, where my blood sword was flying toward him at great speed.

"A throw type!?"

As soon as he raised his defense up for my sword, however, boss Keith suddenly flinched upon hearing my shout from behind him.

"It's over!"

<The second movement of [V - World splitter]: Rupturing thrust>

But somehow, he still managed to react and immediately turned around to block my punch. Seeing that my eyes were widened in shock, he laughed.

"Bahahaha! Are you actually retarded? Your plan would've worked if you didn't announce your position to me like that!"

<[III - Roteare style]: Release>

However, his laughter subsided as what must have felt like a million tiny bits of shrapnel impaled his back, which was in fact, what happened. The blood sword exploded into small pieces, all the forces that boss Keith struck upon my sword earlier increased the speed and power of the shrapnel. I was, in every sense of the word—

"Using my power against me, huh? I underestimated you, kid." Boss Keith sighed as he raised both of his hands up in defeat.

It was then that Glenn's barrier broke into pieces. As soon as it fell completely, I could hear roaring cheers coming from everyone.

-"Way to go newbie! Can't believe you defeated vice-captain Keith!"

-"You think he can defeat the captain though?"

-"Nah, that's impossible!"

Even Evelyn couldn't help but to show her reaction. Her eyes widened in shock... and disappointment that I managed to beat boss Keith.

'She really wants me to get beat up huh?'

To be honest, she would've gotten her wish if I had made a single mistake. It was a truly tough fight. Although it would have been just a bit easier if I had used my Magic spells, I didn't regret not using them one bit. I couldn't reveal all of my cards to just anyone after all.

Pausing my thoughts there, I turned toward boss Keith again.

"So I take that I can delay my admission now?"

Nodding and laughing heartily, he smiled. "Of course. It'd be a waste to lose someone as talented as you just for a mere delay. Glad to have you in the team in the future, newbie."

I sighed in relief.

"Good. Then please take good care of me... like, right now. I'm out of Mana..."

And with those words, the consciousness that I was barely holding onto faded due to a mixture of Mana and blood deficiency, and I fell to the ground, fainting. 

...

-"Wake up already."

"Just 5 more minutes, mom..." I groaned as I shifted my body to the side.

Then, my body was doused with cold water. Startled, I jolted awake and looked around frantically.

"Glenn? What?" 

Glenn put the bucket of cold water down and smirked at me. "I never knew I had a child, but very well then. Son, wake up. You're going to be late for school."

Realizing what he was talking about, my face went red in shame. "Sh- Shut up! Don't you dare tell anyone what I was muttering in my sleep!"

"Alright alright, heh." Glenn raised his hands up in defeat with a smile. "Anyway, do you know why I'm waking you up?"

Looking around the dark wagon, I shook my head. "No."

"You slept for what, a week? Anyway, we are currently right outside of Kerudark city." 

"That means...!"

"Yes. The escort mission is over."

"FUCKING YES HAHAHAHAHA! I CAN FINALLY GET AWAY FROM THESE FUCKERS!" I cheered happily. However, I soon remembered that Glenn was still inside the wagon with me.

Staring at Glenn, who was still smiling, I coughed. "Kuem! I mean I'm going to miss you guys."

"I'm sure you will." He chuckled. Then, he took out a letter from his pockets. "Here's your admission letter, signed by vice-captain Keith himself. I'm sure you know who to give it to."

Receiving the letter, I nodded. "Of course I do, but..." I looked around the dark wagon once more. "...Where's Evelyn?"

"Evelyn? You mean the cat girl that took care of you while you were unconscious? She went inside Kerudark about an hour ago."

"She WHAT!?"

Setting aside the fact that her taking care of me was very out of character for her, going inside Kerudark with her level of power right now was akin to suicide!

'Shit! She can't fight the Void lords alone!'

As such, I hurriedly threw the letter into [Alternate storage], took Dragonslayer sword and [Distorias] which were leaning against the wall, and exited the wagon.

...

Fortunately, no one tried to stop me when I ran toward the entrance of Kerudark. Well... that didn't mean they didn't annoy me.

-"Go newbie! Go chase after your cat girl lover!"

-"That's right! I'm sure the guards will bend the rules a bit for you if it's for true love!"

Not having time to rebut any of their words, I simply turned around and gave them the middle finger. Then, I continued rushing toward the city. As I reached the entrance, however—

"Halt! Only Dark elves and beastk—"

"Hold on a minute there, let the kid in."

"But commander—"

"No but's. Let him in."

—I heard a very peculiar conversation.

Stopping in my tracks and staring confusedly at a fully-armored Dark elf, I asked. "What? Why would you let me in?"

The Dark elf, presumably the commander of this bunch, scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"I'm doing this because my old friend Keith asked me for a favor. Now just go in already before I change my mind."

Nodding, I thanked him and entered the city.

...

Once again, a lively scenery appeared before my eyes as soon as I entered Kerudark. However, I didn't have time to appreciate it. Ignoring the stares everyone was giving me, I ran around frantically, looking for Evelyn. 

'She's an ex-noble, right? So the first thing she'll most likely do is go to her old estate.'

And my thoughts were correct! As I approached the closest entrance of the noble ring, I could see a commotion happening. Pushing my way through the crowd, I saw something very unpleasant. 

Several Dark elf guards were lying on the ground, unconscious but not dead. The rest were either focused on treating their fallen colleagues or pinning Evelyn down to the ground. 

"Let me go dammit!" Evelyn screamed as she tried to break free. "I need to see my sister!"

A guard stepped on her head and pressed his foot down to shut her up. "Shut up criminal! Not only do you not have permission to enter the noble ring, you also injured the respected guards of our majestic city!"

'She has a bad habit of being pinned down by males...' I sighed. '...Alright, enough joking around, let's get her out of this situation.'

Stepping forward, I shouted. "Cease your actions immediately!"

Of course, few listened to me. The guard who was stepping on Evelyn's head slowly turned around to face me and scowled.

"Who are you!? How did a Human— no, Halfling get inside this majestic city?"

"I'm Saint Theodore VI of the Church of Storms! I request for you to release my companion immediately!"

"What? I'm not your companion—" Evelyn shouted, but was interrupted by my words.

"Ah, and don't listen to anything my companion says. She has a bad habit of lying to everyone, even to the detriment of herself."

"Wh- What? Nonsense! I'm not even your companion!"

'Is she retarded like Arthur? Doesn't she realize that I'm trying to help her here?'

Whatever the case was, I had to keep this racist cat out of trouble whether I liked it or not. As such, I stepped forward once more and faced the guard.

"Do you comply with my request or not?"

In response though, the guard whispered with a worried gaze. "A Saint is inside our city, d- does that mean..."

"Yes. There's heresy going on ‘ere.”

The guard's face went blank at my words. He looked soulless, as if every one of his beliefs had just crumbled right before his eyes. Recovering from his shock and calming down his trembling body, he removed his foot from Evelyn's face and grasped both of my hands.

"Saint, please promise me that you will cleanse this city of dirty heretics."

Squeezing his hands reassuringly, I smiled. "Don't worry. By the name of Goddess of Storms Lyra Myrsky, I shall hunt down every last heretic in this city!"

...

"So, do you have anything to say?" I smirked at Evelyn, who was crossing her arms and glaring at me.

Softening her glare, she muttered.

"Thank you..." 

I nodded at her words and smiled. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"None of your business."

"Come on, is that the way you talk to your savior?"

Frowning, Evelyn sighed. "Fine... I'm visiting my family's old estate." 

'So she really wants to go there after all...'

To be honest, I wanted to take her to the old church right away. However, Maria - her sister - had the money that Celi stupidly left behind. And thus, I wasn't sure if they were still staying behind at that dusty old church.

'It's most likely that she's back in her family's old estate.'

As such, I stared at Evelyn in silence while still keeping a polite smile.

Evelyn, however, wasn't the most comfortable with my stare. "What are you staring at me for?"

"I should be asking that. Why aren't you leading the way?"

Evelyn's mouth hung open, baffled by my words. "Wh- What? You want to go to my estate?"

"Is there anything stopping me from going there?"

"N- No, but— grrrrrrr... don't follow me!" Evelyn dashed away as soon as she said that.

'Heh, you think you can outrun me?'

Stretching my legs, I ran after her.

"STOP FOLLOWING ME!" 

"I'm not following you." I smirked. "My destination just happens to coincide with yours."

Evelyn increased her speed, took sharp turns, and even ran on the rooftops. However, she still wasn't able to lose me. As such, she could only glare at me as we arrived before a crumbling estate overgrown with wild grasses and vines.

"Happy?" Evelyn scowled as she caught her ragged breath. "This is my family's old estate. Now get out and stop following me!"

However, I wasn't registering her words, as I was distracted by the ominous atmosphere of the old estate.

("Lyra!") I shouted telepathically.

Instantly, Lyra materialized in the form of a gray raven.

"A bird?" Evelyn's ears perked up and her eyes sparkled at the sight of Lyra.

But I didn't have time to play with her. Blocking Lyra from Evelyn's sight, I hurriedly whispered telepathically.

("Lyra, you can feel it too, right?")

She nodded. |Yes... this feeling, it's the Mana of a Void lord.|

("As expected, I was right.") Sighing, I then turned to face Evelyn with a smile on my face. ("Lyra, don't blame me for what's going to happen next.")

|What are you—|

But before she could finish her sentence, I threw her toward Evelyn, who quickly caught her like a cat playing with its prey.

"Birdy!"

Taking advantage of this moment, I placed my left arm under the back of her knees, and my right hand under her back. Then, I lifted her up and ran away from the estate.

Now realizing what was going on, Evelyn released Lyra and shouted at me with her face beet red.

"Wh- What are you doing? Let me go!"

In response, I shut her up with a cold voice.

"No."