The Kicked Out S-Rank Appraiser Creates The Strongest Guild - Chapter 19.2

Chapter 19.2  Quest and Insider

“How does it feel? The sensation of the ‘Silver Iron-Breaker Bow’?”

“Yes. It fits very naturally and comfortably.”

“That’s right. Charl.”

Laurent turned to Charl and spoke.

Charl blushed shyly at the praise.

“Did you make this?”

“Yes. I adjusted it to fit Monica’s height and arm length to the millimeter.”

“Thank you. I’ll make good use of it.”

Monica bent down to be at eye level with Charl and expressed her gratitude.

Charl blushed, looking embarrassed.

“Monica, the ‘Silver Iron-Breaker Bow’ boasts significantly increased power, range, rate of fire, and durability compared to the previous ‘Iron-Breaker Bow’. It should become a reliable ally in clearing quests.”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

Shaqma was wearing the silver armor.

“Oh? This armor is much lighter than the previous one.”

“Yes, however, when using support magic, the power of the spirits imbued in the armor activates, making it heavier.”

“Ugh. So it does get heavier after all.”

After confirming their equipment and putting it on, Laurent and his team delved back into the dungeon.

Using the shortcut ring, they were transferred as a unit to the 8th floor.

“All right. Let’s go. First, we’ll start with the quest to defeat the ‘Steel Eagle’ on the 8th floor.”

From the 6th floor onwards, the monsters became significantly tougher than before.

Most of the demon species encountered on the 6th floor were armored giants called Armored Orcs.

Up until the 5th floor, armed small goblins handled bows and arrows, but from here on, even the archers were large orcs.

Since the power of the large orcs was incomparably higher than that of the small goblins, the range of their bows and arrows also increased significantly.

Among Laurent’s team, only the archers equipped with the ‘Silver Iron-Breaker Bow’ and the ‘Iron-Breaker Bow’ could withstand the range of the armored orcs attacks.

In other words, the entire ranged combat relied on Monica.

The team advanced with Monica, equipped with the ‘Silver Iron-Breaker Bow’, and the archers with the ‘Iron-Breaker Bow’ at the forefront.

As Laurent and his team progressed through the forest dungeon for quest completion, the monstrous roar echoed through the woods, much larger and more ominous than before.

As a signal, a horde of monsters appeared.

Leading the monsters was, of course, the armored orcs armed with bows and arrows.

The five orcs attempted to enter the firing range of Laurent’s team to shower them with arrows.

However, Monica was quicker to release her arrows.

The ‘Silver Iron-Breaker Bow’ had a much longer range than the large bows wielded by the orcs, allowing Monica to take down the enemies before the orcs could even draw their bows.

Monica’s arrows pierced through the sturdy armor of the armored orcs, activating the ‘One-Hit Kill’ skill, swiftly decimating all five ogres.

Next came the armored wolves wearing armor.

Unlike the previous wolves, the armored wolves were not only swift but also excelled in both attack and defense.

As the armored wolves split into groups of five on each side and began flanking, twenty armored orcs wielding large axes and swords charged in a bit later.

However, Laurent’s team was also fully prepared.

The warriors, equipped with shields, who were only five in number last time, had now increased to fifteen, significantly boosting the overall defense of the team.

Among the shield squad, those with high agility deployed to the flanks, while those with significantly high defense held their ground in the center.

Monica continued shooting until the enemies were within close range, taking down five more armored orcs, before falling back to the rear.

Melee combat ensued.

Armor clashed against armor, weapons clashed against weapons, creating a cacophony of intense metallic sounds.

Intense battles erupted on all fronts, but those on the left flank, who were still inexperienced in handling shields, struggled and gradually began to be pushed back.

Euphene used her newly equipped silver staff to cast healing magic.

This staff housed spirits that enhanced accuracy, significantly boosting Euphene’s hit rate.

“I can’t heal everyone in the team, but at least I can cover one flank.”

“Here we go. ‘Wide Area Healing Magic!'”

As Euphene chanted the spell, light emitted from the tip of her staff, creating magic circles all around.

Most of the magic circles appeared in random places, but perfectly positioned circles emerged under the feet of the shield squad deployed on the left flank.

Their wounds disappeared, their stamina recovered, and they began pushing back the wolves.

“Covering one flank seems to be the best I can do.”

Watching Euphene’s dispensed magic circles, Laurent checked her accuracy.

Meanwhile, Shaqma felt frustrated by the weight of her armor.

She had already cast ‘Defense Enhancement’ magic on the central shield squad, but her own armor had become heavier, preventing her from casting ‘Attack Enhancement’ magic on the assault squad.

“Ugh… If only I could cast ‘Attack Enhancement’ on the right flank now…”

In fact, the wolves attacking the right flank had been struggling, and their successive failed charges had worn them down.

If ‘Attack Enhancement’ could be cast on the right flank now, they could easily break through.

“Assault squad, head towards Shaqma. Receive ‘Attack Enhancement’ magic from her!”

Upon Laurent’s command, the warriors wielding longswords, who were in reserve, rushed to Shaqma.

“Oh, I see. If I can’t move, I can have them come to me.”

Shaqma, who had arbitrarily decided that support mages should stay in the rear, had a revelation and felt a weight lifted from her mind.

“Thank you, Laurent. I’m on it. ‘Attack Enhancement!'”

As Shaqma cast ‘Attack Enhancement’ magic, the five members of the assault squad were enveloped in a red glow.

They then rushed to the right flank, supported by the shield squad, and scattered the enemies.

The enemy’s front line crumbled, and soon they began to retreat.

Laurent and his team refrained from pursuing the fleeing enemies excessively and resumed their dungeon exploration.

Since the main focus of this mission was quest completion rather than skill improvement, Laurent praised Monica and Euphene for successfully completing their tasks, while advising Shaqma, who had not achieved hers.

After deepening the understanding of cooperation between the teams through a discussion involving all three, they resumed exploring the dungeon.

“Alright, we’re almost at the nest of the ‘Steel Eagle’ on the 8th floor.”

The ‘Steel Eagle’ was a monster that stood out from the flying monsters encountered so far.

Its wings gleamed silver and were as hard as steel.

Moreover, the ‘Steel Eagle’ attacked by hurling each of its feathers.

While previous flying monsters attacked adventurers from above using only close-range attacks with their claws and beaks, the ‘Steel Eagle’ launched long-range attacks from high above.

As a result, swords and spears were ineffective against it, and only the power of archers was relied upon.

If one could defeat the ‘Steel Eagle’ and bring its feathers to the quest reception, they would be recognized as a Class C archer and be introduced to Class A quests.

(Actually, Class B quests would be fine too.)

Laurent appraised Monica’s skill composition.

‘Archery’ B → A

‘One Shot Kill’ B → A

‘Hawkeye’ B → S

‘Silent Run’ C → A

Technically, she already rivaled a Class B archer.

(However, she’s the type to steadily gain experience. With her talents, I’d like her to strive to be more of an ace, but she’s not the type to carry the entire team on her own. Patience is key. Let’s patiently wait for her to grow.)

As Laurent’s team improved their coordination and tactics while defeating enemies, they quickly reached the nest of the ‘Steel Eagle’ on the 8th floor.

However, by the time they arrived, the nest of the ‘Steel Eagle’ was already empty.

So Laurent and his team attempted to conquer other quests, heading towards the nests of the ‘Red Orc’ and the ‘Great Serpent,’ but both had already been hunted down.

(What’s going on? All the quests we were aiming for have been taken by other guilds? What in the world…)

“Laurent-san, isn’t this a bit strange?” Euphene said with a puzzled expression.

“In every place we go, the monsters we were targeting have already been hunted down. It’s as if they knew we were aiming for this quest and beat us to it,” Euphene continued.

Laurent looked at Euphene, and she returned his gaze.

“To be preempted like this, it can only be the work of a guild with a considerably high level. For example, a ‘Golden Hawk’ class…”