The Kicked Out S-Rank Appraiser Creates The Strongest Guild - Chapter 110

Chapter 110   Potential

When Karla crouched low to attack Laurent from behind, someone placed a hand on her shoulder.

“What are you doing, Karla?”

“Pat!?”

“The enemies are all defeated. Why don’t you sheath your sword?”

“I know that without you telling me. Shut up.”

Karla sheathed her sword and looked away from Laurent.

“Karla, you weren’t planning to attack Laurent, were you?”

Karla didn’t answer and returned to her position.

(The thing I feared has happened. While it’s good that she’s acknowledged Laurent’s strength, now Laurent has made it onto Karla’s list of dangerous people. Karla, are you really planning to kill everyone who approaches ‘The Giant Fire Dragon, Grand Fafnir’?)

Was it a mistake to bring them close together?

Pat shook his head.

(Even if there’s a misunderstanding now, there must be a way for them to cooperate. Regardless, we’ll need to keep a closer eye on her from now on.)

Karla, having moved far enough away from Pat, glanced again at Laurent.

Laurent was currently instructing another person.

(With so many people watching, assassinating Laurent here would be suicide. Tch. I missed my chance because Pat stopped me. Well, it doesn’t matter. With my current attack power, I can’t even scratch the blue armor Laurent is wearing. To take him down in one blow, I’d need ‘Shadow Strike’. But to use ‘Shadow Strike’, I need a shield-bearer in between, meaning I’d need an accomplice. Still, would anyone here be willing to help assassinate Laurent in this situation…)

Karla gritted her teeth in frustration but held herself back.

(Calm down. Once the situation changes, there will surely be people who dislike Laurent.)

With a fiery determination in her eyes, Karla looked at Laurent.

(I’ll let you go for now. But watch out, Laurent. I will definitely kill you.)

Later, Laurent and the others advanced a bit further into the dungeon and decided to camp.

That night, nothing happened, and everyone fell asleep.

The next morning, Laurent took Karla to visit the front-line unit.

“Leon, can I have a moment?”

“Oh, Laurent. What’s up?”

“We’re changing the members. This is Karla. From today, she will be joining the front-line unit as a replacement.”

(What? Joining the front line?)

Karla panicked.

(This is a joke, right? If that happens, it’ll be even harder to kill Laurent. I need to stop this somehow…)

“A replacement? We’re fine as we are,” Leon said, puzzled.

“Yeah, I understand. But she’s too valuable to keep in the back. She shows her true worth when she’s with high-level members on the front line. That’s what I believe.”

“Is that so?”

For the first time, Leon looked at Karla with interest.

“Your name’s Karla, right? The front line isn’t as forgiving as the back. You won’t be a burden, will you?”

Karla bristled at this.

“A burden? Don’t be ridiculous. I’m more worried about you guys being a burden to me.”

“Heh, I hope your bark isn’t worse than your bite.”

“Leon, she’s a rear-guard thief type. She sticks close behind a shield-bearer, using ‘Shadow Strike’ when enemies engage, and darting out with ‘Sword Techniques’ when they retreat. I’d like to pair her with Elio to see how they function together.”

“Got it. Elio, come here for a moment.”

Leon called for Elio.

It was then that Karla realized her mistake.

(Damn it. I let myself get roped into agreeing to the front-line transfer. What am I doing?)

“Karla, are you okay?”

Laurent noticed Karla’s tense expression and spoke to her.

“What? Oh, no, I’m fine…”

“It’s okay. You’ll do just fine on the front lines. Have confidence.”

“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah.”

“Leon might sound harsh, but it’s just because he’s responsible. He won’t be mean to you. He’ll recognize your abilities soon enough.”

“O-okay.”

(This guy is hard to deal with. Encouraging me so kindly…)

Karla quickly reminded herself not to let her murderous intent wane.

With the unit reorganized, Laurent and the others resumed their dungeon exploration.

Before long, Jeff, who had gone out scouting, returned with news of approaching monsters.

“Enemy unit 500 meters ahead. Twenty armored orcs and ten armored wolves.”

“Alright, move out. We’ll engage first. Follow Jeff. Messengers, inform the scouting unit and those in the rear.”

Following Leon’s orders, an archer shot an arrow into the sky to signal the discovery of enemies.

“Karla, stick close to Elio for now. The others will cover you.”

“Yeah? I know that without you telling me…”

Elio charged towards the armored orcs.

(He’s fast.)

Karla hurried to keep up.

She managed to get behind Elio as he confronted the armored orcs.

(Alright, I’m behind Elio. Now I just need to wait for the enemy to attack and then use ‘Shadow Strike’…)

However, Elio didn’t wait for the enemy to attack. He charged with a ‘Shield Charge.’

“What?”

Before Karla could react to Elio’s sudden acceleration, he had already knocked the enemy down and pinned them.

He drew a dagger from his waist and swiftly stabbed the enemy in the neck, killing it easily.

The surrounding adventurers also systematically took down the monsters assigned to them.

“Ah…”

The battle ended before Karla could do anything.

“Karla, what are you doing? If you’re going to use ‘Shadow Strike,’ you need to coordinate with Elio’s ‘Shield Charge.'”

Jeff scolded her.

“Shut up, I know.”

Another battle began.

Karla stayed behind Elio, waiting for her chance.

(I missed it last time, but this time for sure…)

As soon as Elio spotted the enemy, he measured the distance and took small steps, waiting for the right moment to use ‘Shield Charge.’

(Damn it. For a shield-bearer, his movements are hard to read. Because of ‘Shield Charge,’ his movements are more complex than Laurent’s.)

Karla tried to time her ‘Shadow Strike’ with Elio’s ‘Shield Charge.’

Suddenly, Elio stopped.

Karla collided with Elio’s back.

“Oof.”

“Oh, sorry. Are you okay?”

“Don’t stop suddenly. Why did you…”

“Jeff’s drawing ‘Fire Dragon’ this time, so we need to wait behind him. Look, here it comes.”

Jeff used ‘Arrow Shot’ to lure ‘Fire Dragon,’ and Elio charged in with ‘Shield Charge.’

Karla, momentarily stunned, was late again.

“Hey, Karla, what are you doing? This is when you should attack.”

Jeff shouted again.

“It’s fine, I’ll handle it.”

Anticipating the situation, Leon swiftly moved and thrust his sword into the head of the stunned ‘Fire Dragon.’

(There’s still a gap between her and the front-line group.)

Laurent thought as he watched Karla struggle to coordinate with Elio.

(Karla’s skills and status are already at B-class, but compared to Elio and the others, she still lacks speed in decision-making, tactical understanding, and skill precision. However, once she identifies and compensates for these shortcomings, both she and this unit should reach a higher level. Now is the time to observe.)

The front-line unit faced another monster attack.

Karla struggled to keep up with Elio and couldn’t use ‘Shadow Strike.’

“Karla! What are you doing? You’ve been just standing there doing nothing.”

“Shut up. Your movements are too fast and hard to read.”

“When ‘Fire Dragon’ appears, just follow up after the ‘Shield Charge.’ Keep that in mind.”

Jeff scolded her, annoyed.

But Leon had a different perspective.

(Amazing. Karla is already starting to keep up with Elio’s movements. She’s the first to adapt to his speed so quickly. I see why Laurent has high expectations for her. Karla, her potential is exceptional.)

“Another ‘Fire Dragon’ is coming.”

“Karla, don’t miss this time.”

“Shut up. I know.”

Elio prepared for a ‘Shield Charge.’

(He accelerates from here. I need to step in harder…)

Elio suddenly accelerated and charged at ‘Fire Dragon’s’ head.

Karla followed precisely, moving in behind him.

Jeff was shocked by Karla’s cat-like agility.

(No way, she’s going to use ‘Shadow Strike’ in mid-air!?)

At the exact moment Elio’s shield hit ‘Fire Dragon’s’ head, Karla’s sword struck from behind.

‘Fire Dragon’ was hit by the simultaneous ‘Shield Charge’ and ‘Shadow Strike,’ collapsing with blood spurting from its forehead.

“Haaa!”

Using Elio’s back as a springboard, Karla leaped and unleashed a ‘Spinning Sword Dance.’

In an instant, ‘Fire Dragon’s’ head and neck were covered in countless cuts.

‘Fire Dragon’ crashed to the ground, bleeding from several wounds.

“Hmph. How about that, Jeff? When I get serious, it’s easy.”

“Tch. Don’t get cocky just because you took down one ‘Fire Dragon.’ You’re only considered a full-fledged front-liner when you can take one down by yourself.”

“What did you say? You arrogant jerk!”

“Come on, Jeff. No need to be so harsh. Karla, your coordination was good.”

“Elio, don’t coddle her. She’ll get cocky quickly.”

(Still…)

Jeff glanced at the severely wounded ‘Fire Dragon.’

(Her attack power when she gets it right is extraordinary. I’ll have to admit that.)

Leon smiled wryly as he watched Karla.

(Karla managed to sync with Elio in less than a day. I can’t afford to slack off.)

(But it’s not enough yet.)

Laurent used ‘Status Appraisal’ on Karla.

[Karla Grazia’s Status]

Agility: 70 (↑10) – 80 (↑10) → 120 – 130

(Keeping up with Elio’s movements isn’t enough. With her potential, she should be able to match Jill’s movements as well. When she can do that, she’ll have the attack power to defeat ‘Giant Fire Dragon Grand Fafnir.’)

Even so, her current progress was impressive.

Laurent decided to be satisfied with today’s results.

“Leon, Karla seems fine, so I’ll head back to the rear. Just watch out for exhaustion. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Got it.”

Laurent left the front lines and headed towards the rear.

Karla noticed this and panicked.

(Laurent’s heading to the rear? Damn it, it’s already hard enough to find an opportunity to assassinate him. This will make it even harder.)

“Karla, what are you daydreaming about? The next enemy is coming.”

“Tch, I know.”

Laurent and his team continued to hone their skills, exploring the mining area and steadily collecting ores.

The members of the ‘White Wolves’ were waiting by the lakeshore.

Nearby, several ‘Fire Dragons’ were resting with their wings folded.

Rodo tossed a piece of ‘Goblin’ meat to one of the ‘Fire Dragons.’

The ‘Fire Dragon’ snapped up the thrown meat and began devouring it greedily.

“Alright, alright. Eat well and work hard.”

All around, pieces of ‘Goblin’ meat and bones were scattered, and the ‘Fire Dragons’ were comfortably listening to the sound of Rodo’s ‘Dragon Flute.’

Some of the ‘Fire Dragons’ were patting their swollen bellies contentedly or burping.

“Rodo, how are the ‘Fire Dragons’ doing?”

Jamil asked as he returned from reconnaissance.

“Jamil, they’re well-tamed. With this much advance payment, even if the enemy has a ‘Dragons Tone’ user, it won’t be easy for them to turn these dragons against us.”

“I see.”

Jamil looked up towards the mountain.

From there, he could clearly see a large group of people extracting ore from the mining site.

“The ‘Spirit Workshop’ has reached the fourth mining site. They should have nearly finished gathering the ore, and their item bags should be full. We’ll strike when they descend.”

“Understood.”