Narrator POV 

  

   

  

  

-BOOOM- 

Isamu, Kaori, and Hayate’s ears perked upward as they also hear this noise. 

It came from the passageway where this cavern leads to. 

  

  

“What was that?” <Kazue> 

Kazue pick up and prepared to move forward. 

She decided to investigate the cause of the sound. 

  

  

Hayate moved to the lead and moved to where the sound came from. 

Aside from the pathway where Kazue came from there was another passage next to it, it was the only way to go. 

It was also where the sound came from. 

They entered the passageway where the sound rang from earlier. 

  

  

Hayate’s ears started twitching. 

Kazue noticed this and judged that Hayate must have heard something that Kazue herself could not. 

After all, Hayate has more sensitive ears that can’t even be compared to Kazue's. 

“Hayate.” <Kazue> 

Kazue called for his attention to ask about what he thought. 

[Mother, I could hear the sound of clashing metals and small-scale explosions coming from that direction.] 

Hayate notified Kazue of what he heard. 

  

  

[What is the cause of the loud explosions?] 

Mizusawa Kazue started to use her head for once and deduce what could be the reason for those sounds. 

[But, I should only be the one who has entered this route?... Ah, Maybe the route is connected to another path? Yeah, that must be the reason…] 

She could not think of another reason why such a sound would occur. 

She convinced herself with this and assumed that there must be adventurers up ahead. 

“There must be adventurers ahead, they must be fighting somewhere ahead.” <Kazue> 

  

  

For some reason, Kazue felt that she needed to advance faster. 

It was as if her instinct was telling her to hurry, but at the same time, she can feel that cold sweat coming out from her body. 

This is a sign of danger up ahead. 

A warning that “something” dangerous was out there. 

Normally she would just back out and go the other way but at the same time, something was telling her to hurry. 

“I think we should run faster…” <Kazue> 

Kazue decided to hurry up. 

[Understood mother!] <Hayate> 

The four of us ran faster led by Hayate. 

Kazue and her familiar increase their stride. 

  

  

On the way, Kazue noticed corpses of Kobolds lying on the ground. 

[There must be an intense battle happening around here. From the looks of it there must be more of them ahead…] 

  

  

-bark- [Mother I can hear the sound of swords clashing…] <Kaori> 

Now even Kaori noticed the sound coming from far ahead. 

“As expected there must be adventurers ahead.” <Kazue> 

  

  

Kazue continued to run forward. 

But then she came to a sudden halt. 

“---” 

“Wait..." <Kazue> 

For some reason, Kazue thought she heard a voice. 

This made her familiars pause. 

[Did you hear that?] <Kazue> 

Kazue asked telepathically to Hayate. 

She looks at Hayate as if asking if he heard something, and apparently, he did as he confirmed with a nod. 

She stopped and momentarily search for the voice. 

  

  

“Hello, is someone there?” <Kazue> 

Kazue called out at random, hoping to hear a reply. 

“---" 

There was a reply. 

It caused Kazue to crumple her brows and frown. 

It sounded familiar, the voice of someone she heard before. 

But the voice was hoarse and was about to fade. 

  

  

“little… miss…” <Voice> 

This time she heard the voice and followed the origin of the sound. 

What she saw was a bloodied figure of a man. 

Around him was a pile of fallen Kobolds all around him. 

The figure Kazue saw was John’s body covered in blood. 

This caused her to open her eyes wide. 

  

  

Kazue instinctively ran toward John and saw that there were wounds all over his body. 

[Oh, god…] 

She panicked. 

  

  

“JOHN-SAN!” <Kazue> 

Kazue dives next to him and checked his condition. 

She was fidgeting and was all flustered. 

Unlike the time when her classmate was injured during the battle in Altus, there was someone else that could help Shunsho. 

Amy and April were there to heal him. 

It was their job to take care of the wounded. 

Kazue has no medical training nor a special interest in it when she was still in the other world thus, she has no idea what to do in these situations. 

She has no healing magic that could help them at the moment. 

But she is also aware that she was the only one who could help John. 

Even without medical knowledge, Kazue knew in an instant that he was in very bad shape. 

Just by looking at his legs, anyone can tell that it was broken. 

[What should I do…] 

Mizusawa Kazue was uncharacteristically in a state of panic. 

  

  

[Alright, Kazue… think… firstly, I must relax…] <Kazue> 

Kazue thought. 

She breathes out some air to calm herself. 

[Right…!] <Kazue> 

“KAORI!” <Kazue> 

She ordered Kaori to come next to her. 

Kazue remembered that she placed several HP potions in the bag that Kaori was carrying. 

She took out HP potions in hope that this would help John in one way or another. 

She used a mid-tier potion on John by pouring it on his wound. 

[GOOD! It seems to have some effect at least…] 

  

  

“Mir…--” <John> 

John was trying to say something to the girl helping him. 

  

  

He was trying to say something to Kazue. 

He weakly raised his hands and pointed them somewhere. 

“What? Did you say something?” <Kazue> 

Kazue tried to listen to what John was saying by leaning forward and placing her ear next to his mouth. 

“Mir…va…” <John> 

  

  

This time Kazue was able to hear it. 

Kazue followed it with her gaze in the direction he was pointing at. 

Kazue saw the figure of a girl wearing “Sister-like” clothing lying down on the floor. 

She seemed to be unconscious. 

  

  

Kazue deduces that John was asking her to attend to her instead. 

She gently left John's side and rushed toward the fallen adventurer. 

It was Mirva, the cleric of the Tremblecloud party. 

The same girl requested Kazue to pet Isamu, Kaori, and Hayate before. 

Although she was not close to her and only see the members of the Tremblecloud party as passing acquaintances, she had a good impression of this person. 

Kazue couldn't leave her like that, she had to help. 

  

  

She ran towards her to check her condition. 

Because of the dim-lit passageway, Mizusawa Kazue could not see it at first from where she was standing but when she approached Mirva, she saw that Mirva was bathing in her own blood. 

There was a large wound on Mirva's back and she had lost a lot of blood. 

Blood was also flowing out of her mouth; her wound was severe. 

[This is bad] 

“What happened to her?!” <Kazue> 

Judging from what John said, I can somehow imagine what just transpired here. 

  

  

At first glance, one would think that there’s no way she’s still alive. 

-cough- -cough- 

Mirva coughs blood. 

Seeing this, Kazue called for Kaori; she knew what to do. 

  

  

[She's still alive...] 

Kazue was hopeful after seeing this. 

She brought out all of the potions in her possession and started pouring them on the exposed wound of Mirva. 

Unfortunately, 1 Mid-Tier potion was not enough to recover such a large wound. 

But she also see that it did have some effect. 

Kazue did not give up and did not think twice and poured more potions on the wound. 

She ended up pouring all of the mid-tier potions she had, including the ones given by Mirva and her party members. 

As she pours these potions she was reminded of this fact. 

At the back of her mind, she found it ironic that she would end up using those potions to heal them instead. 

  

  

Thankfully, after pouring all of the mid-tier potions on Mirva's wounds Kazue was able to close the large wound on Mirva's back. 

Although Kazue was troubled about the amount of blood Mirva lost. 

Kazue could only pray that what she did was enough. 

  

  

“Help… Andrew… sti..ll… fight…” <John> 

John calls out for Kazue. 

Although vague, she was able to understand what John wanted to say. 

She nods at John to say that she understood. 

  

  

John was pointing further into the dark passageway. 

He was at his limit and was on the verge of losing consciousness. 

“Got it.. for now, rest… leave it to me.” <Kazue> 

“Sorry… be careful…” <John> 

Maybe he felt a little relief, or maybe it was because he reached his limits. 

John's consciousness faded. 

John’s arms which were pointing to the pathway lifelessly fell to the ground. 

He lost consciousness. 

  

  

Kazue placed John and Mirva on Isamu’s back. 

“Isamu, take them to a safer place. After doing that follow after us. Remember to be gentle with them okay?” 

-bark- [Got it, mother!] <Isamu> 

I ordered Hayate to escort Isamu since it will be difficult for him to protect John and Mirva if he encounters some Kobold on the way. 

Letting Hayate accompany Isamu was the safest bet. 

  

  

As Isamu and Hayate left to find John and Mirva a safer place, Kazue moved forward to assist Andrew and the others. 

Mizusawa Kazue was unsure of what was ahead. 

She ingested a mid-tier mana regen potion. 

Although she wanted to ingest more, the effect of the mana regen potion is not stackable as stated by Leira, the shopkeeper of the potion shop. 

After which she moved forward with her familiar, Kaori. 

  

  

Kazue ran through the dark passageway and saw the evidence of an intense battle. 

There were dead kobolds lying on the ground and signs of burnt surfaces that indicate the use of fire magic. 

Deducing by the number of dead kobolds, Kazue knew that the situation was bad. 

She knew that if she were to fight this number of kobolds, there was no way she will come out unharmed. 

This only confirms that something bad is happening. 

And it also proved that her choice to move faster was also the right decision. 

Then after some time, Kazue reached the location where Andrew was. 

In that particular area, she can see about 20 kobold corpses lying on the ground. 

  

  

Mizusawa Kazue saw that the passageway was blocked by fallen debris of rock and soil. 

It was blocking the way leaving no path for escape. 

Andrew was standing there, his back against the debris of rock and soil. 

Behind Andrew was the figure of his party members covered in wounds. 

It seems that the two mages have reached their limits and the Archer was out of arrows. 

Andrew was also in a bad shape. 

He was bleeding all over his body. 

His armor was in tatters and his right arm was limped and was probably broken. 

Kazue could tell at a glance that he was beaten to a pulp, he was on his last breath. 

It would not be surprising if Andrew falls on his feet at any moment. 

Lastly, between Kazue and Andrew’s party stands a Kobold the size of about 3 meters. 

It holds a large sword that was even larger than Kazue herself. 

  

  

“It’s the end for you adventurers.” <Kobold General> 

[What is that monster?] <Kazue> 

It was the first time she saw a monster that can articulate human language. 

The last time she encountered such a spectacle was during the time she fought the unique ghoul from Altus city. 

But this monster in front of her was talking. 

Although the ghoul from that time was also capable of this, there were no signs of it being able to converse. 

This monster was odd. 

Kazue thought looking at the imposing monster standing between her and the beaten Andrew. 

  

  

“Andrew-san! I came to help!” <Kazue> 

Mizusawa Kazue yelled to let Andrew know about her presence. 

In turn, the Kobold General also took a glance at Kazue. 

  

  

It wore a sinister smile on its face. 

It made Kazue have goosebumps all over her body. 

Then she judged that the reason all of this is happening is because of this monster. 

She immediately puts her guard up. 

  

  

“Great... More prey! Kikiki!” <Kobold General> 

The kobold lets out a high pitch giggle. 

The sound of its laugh sent chills all over Kazue’s body. 

She found the presence of this monster to be creepy. 

Kazue also felt malice and bloodlust coming from this monster. 

  

  

“!!!” <Kazue> 

Kazue noticed something. 

It made her frown and stare at the strange phenomenon happening right in front of her eyes. 

“???” <Kazue> 

  

  

Something was shining above the kobold's head. 

She knows what it was but it only made her more confused. 

[That's… a cursor? Right?] 

Yes, in Kazue’s eyes a cursor was floating above the Kobold general’s head. 

It was a red-colored inverted pyramid-like cursor, swirling above the kobold's head. 

She was familiar with this thing, after all, it was a common sight in the games she played in the past. 

In the games she played before, it often indicates that a particular monster is a target of some quest. 

This was the first time she ever saw this happen in this world. 

She was not expecting this cursor to appear out of nowhere. 

[Is it because this monster is a mini-boss? Or maybe this was a normal occurrence in this world?] 

She had no idea why such a thing would appear now of all times. 

She would have accepted this easily if such a cursor appeared before. 

  

  

Kazue frowns and closed one of her eyes, specifically her right eye. 

[Oh…] 

At that moment, she had a sudden realization of what was happening. 

As if overlaying her vision, there was a text that can be viewed. 

  

  

--------------- 

Rites of Equinox 

Progress: 1/5 

  

TARGET 

Individual: Kobe Yasuo (Reincarnator) 

Race: Kobold 

The individual, Kobe Yasuo has cleared the condition to become a target for the “Rites of Equinox”. 

✓ The entity must have self-awareness. 

✓ The entity's overall stat must exceed your own by at least 50%. 

✓ The entity must be judged evil by the God of Judgement. 

------------- 

  

  

[I see, so it was because of this…] 

The cause of this phenomenon was because of her unique quirk of being the apprentice oracle. 

[Wait… Reincarnator? Does this mean that this guy was also from our world? But… why did he become a monster though… Arggg I have no idea… Whatever It’s not the time for me to think about this?] 

  

  

Mizusawa Kazue’s mind was in a mess from all this information. 

Although not a long time has passed by after thinking about all of these things in her mind. 

The monster spoke. 

“Little miss?! NO! Go away, this thing is not something you can deal with… RUN.” <Andrew> 

Andrew did not approve of Kazue’s presence in this situation. 

He thinks that she would only become a victim of this monster standing in front of him. 

  

  

[Huh?! What’s with that? Even though I came here to help, this is how you would treat me? You should be happy right?] 

Kazue was displeased with the fact that Andrew did not want her help. 

But from the way Kazue sees things, he needed her help now more than ever. 

“Whatever.” <Kazue> 

  

  

“Kaori, support me.” <Kazue> 

-bark- [Yes mother.] <Kaori> 

Mizusawa Kazue pulls her Katana out of its scabbard. 

“(Concentration)” <Kazue> 

(Concentration- II): This skill will force the user into a “focused” state. There user's senses become more sensitive. The user's time perception significantly increases while the skill is active. This skill will continuously consume mana and stamina during the duration this skill is active.  

-Skill level perk: Increase senses sensitivity. Increased Time perception. Reduced stamina consumption. 

  

  

Kazue activated the (Concentration) skill, as a result, her face was devoid of all emotions. 

Her senses sharpened as if all things had slowed down right in front of her eyes and at the same time, she was able to perceive things around her better. 

She was completely in battle mode. 

  

  

[According to the information displayed by the “Oracle” quest. It should be a fact that this monster has stats that are 50% higher than mine. Well… it’s not as if this is the first time, I will have to fight a monster with that condition being met… for example the unique ghoul I’ve defeated before. For now, I have to know how strong this monster is. If this monster is too strong for me to deal with, I'll just run with all my might.] 

Kazue charged toward the kobold. 

The attention of the kobold general has gravitated toward the girl. 

It was as if for some reason he felt that this girl should not be ignored. 

Thanks to that, the kobold was able to respond. 

It did not expect the girl to move at such speed. 

  

  

The girl aimed at the kobold general’s leg. 

The Kobold general protected its leg with its large sword expecting an attack aimed at its legs. 

But the girl shifted her body. 

The girl used the kobold's large sword to hide from the monster's sight. 

Thanks to the monster’s keen senses it was able to detect that the girl has appeared on its side aiming at the monster’s neck. 

  

  

The monster was unable to use its sword to protect himself. 

It tried to duck to avoid the attack. 

He barely dodged the attack. 

A big chunk of its ears was cut-off and came flying into the air. 

  

  

Blood sprayed. 

The Kobold used its arm to shove Kazue away. 

It staggers back from pain. 

“THAT HURTS!” <Kobold General> 

  

  

Kazue ended up standing next to Andrew. 

Kazue observed the situation. 

Looking at the Kobold, it was not unharmed from its fight against Andrew and his party. 

There were wounds all over its body but all of them were superficial wounds. 

Compared to the wounds on Andrew it was obvious who was at the disadvantage. 

  

  

“I came to help.” <Kazue> 

“You shouldn’t have, Little miss, run, just leave us, there’s no need for you to put your life on the line for us.” <Andrew> 

“Shut up! I already bothered saving John-san and Mirva-san. There’s no way I would just leave you guys to die here right? My efforts will be wasted.” <Kazue> 

“You…” <Andrew> 

Hearing that Kazue saved his comrades a ray of hope suddenly swept his heart. 

Andrew was astounded by the girl standing next to him. 

He did not expect such an unsociable girl to help them. 

He did not expect her to have such a character. 

  

  

“Pftt… sorry I miss judged you...” <Andrew> 

“yes, yes so just give up and let me help. Also…” <Kazue> 

“Also?” <Andrew> 

“I need you guys to pay for the potion I ended up using to heal Mirva and John later… it would be problematic if you die.” <Kazue> 

“Hahaha… Thinking about money in a time like this...” <Andrew> 

  

  

“KIKIKI…” <Kobold General> 

The Kobold recovered from the pain and started to make creepy-sounding laughter. 

Andrew lifted his weapon with his left hand. 

His two-handed sword is blunted from all instances he used to block the Kobold General’s attack. 

“Andrew-san… you should stand down and let me handle this for now.” <Kazue> 

“But…” <Andrew> 

“For now, you need to retreat, I made Isamu guard John and Mirva… To be honest, the way you are now you’ll just be a dead weight…” <Andrew> 

  

  

Kazue was looking at Andrew’s limped right arm. 

Although Andrew did not want to accept it the little miss was right. 

He was in no condition to fight. 

It was the same with his remaining party members. 

  

  

Despite having a heavy heart, Andrew accepted Kazue’s proposal. 

“Okay… I understand… We’ll retreat for now but we’ll come back.” <Andrew> 

“Alright…” <Kazue> 

"Remember, be sure to keep yourself alive. We will come back to help you once we recovered." <Andrew> 

Kazue just nods. 

  

  

Andrew was thanking Mizusawa Kazue for her heroics with all his heart. 

But in actuality, Kazue only wanted them to leave. 

One of the reasons was to fight the monster without the least assistance from others. 

She might have those heroic intentions deep down in her heart but Kazue herself doesn't think of it that way. 

  

  

[Now then...] 

Kazue focused her attention on the Kobold. 

The kobold was pointing at her with its bloodied hands. 

“You... you’ll pay for cutting off my ear. I will make sure you’ll die a painful death.” <Kobold General> 

Its face was furious. 

  

  

“Be careful, that monster is not normal. It’s better to treat it as if you’re fighting another person rather than treating it like it’s a monster.” <Andrew> 

“Okay… I’ll keep that in mind… for now I’ll make an opening so you guys can escape.” <Kazue> 

“Don’t die till I return okay?” <Andrew> 

“Whatever… just go.” <Kazue> 

She shrugged Andrew’s word off like it was nothing. 

Kazue activated (Aura Blade). 

Her Katana started to give off a faint glow. 

  

  

Thankfully the kobold has its attention on Kazue. 

Although the kobold tried to use Andrew's party as hostages to lure Kazue. 

Kazue ordered Kaori to stop the kobold from doing so by shooting (Water Balls) at the monster. 

Although it only managed to knock the kobold back without dealing much damage, it was enough for Kazue to keep the attention of the kobold to herself. 

Kazue gave the kobold enough threats to fight her without his divided attention. 

Just like that, Andrew and his party were able to retreat safely. 

Kazue and her familiar Kaori were alone to fight with the Kobold General.  

  

  

“UNFORGIVABLE!!!” <Kobold General> 

The kobold screamed with its high-pitched voice. 

As Kazue was looking at the kobold’s expressions, she knew that the kobold was beyond pissed. 

It was so furious to the point that it can only see Kazue. 

  

  

Kazue on the other hand was focused on dodging his attack. 

Her speed allows her to safely escape from the Kobold General’s attack. 

At the same time, Kazue was using this opportunity to deduce the strength of this monster. 

  

  

Observing the monster keenly. 

[This monster’s STR stats must have 3 times higher than mine. In terms of AGI… I am considerably faster than this thing… but I guess it is about as fast as Andrew-san? I don’t know how to measure the difference in our DEX, INT, LUC, and VIT. I guess its VIT must be significantly higher than mine. So… basically, it’s a tank build?] 

She thought as she observed her opponent. 

  

  

Kazue can leisurely do this because the only monster in the area was the Kobold General. 

Although she was confident to avoid the Kobold General's attacks, she has no confidence to defeat it if she fights this thing heads on. 

She was lucky, if she were to fight this monster with the fallen kobold that Andrew and his party defeated, there is no way she can pull this off. 

  

  

If only the minions of the Kobold General were not present. 

If Andrew's party fought the Kobold General when it was alone, there is a good chance that things would not have ended up like this. 

They are skilled enough to deal with a monster of this caliber even with this monster’s unnatural sword-wielding ability. 

If it was Kazue who were to be caught in this monster’s trap, she would have died a long time ago. 

  

  

“Hey, monster!” <Kazue> 

Kazue tried to call out for the monster’s attention, she was curious about this monster’s identity. 

But since it was so angry that all it cared about was to continuously chase after Kazue. 

[KAORI] <Kazue> 

Kaori started to bombard the kobold with (Water Ball) magic. 

  

  

This was to call for this monster’s attention. 

Kazue decided to do something. 

The waterball barrage stopped, at that moment… 

  

  

“KOBE YASUO!!!” <Kazue> 

She screamed her lungs out. 

With that, the Kobold stopped moving… 

“What did you just say?” <Kobold General> 

The kobold was stunned. 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Author Note: 

Here's the poll!!! 

Please cast your vote. 

Since at the moment according to this site's information, I have 175 readers, currently. 

Well... if I am to cast about 50 votes for (Yes/Yes, but) I will consider making a webtoon version of this story~ I will try my best... 

Although I have no experience making one, I may ask for everyone's opinion as I draw it. 

It's a good reason for me to "live stream" the creation process right??? 

mumumu~ 

  

  

Here's Kazue asking for your cooperation >.<