Chapter 29

"Hmm?"

In the carriage, Shien, who didn't plan to speak anymore, suddenly looked in a certain direction.

(Enemy …?)

Shien's [Enemy Sense] skill reacted, telling Shien that an enemy had appeared.

(The reaction isn't very strong. The level shouldn't be high, and there's only one.)

Shien quickly made such a judgment.

However, Shien didn't warn Vivian and the others.

After all, he was a newbie adventurer who hadn't even learned a single skill. If he casually warned them, he might be suspected later.

Therefore, Shien decided to observe quietly and wait for an opportunity to act.

However, Shien had underestimated Vivian's party.

"— Vivian!"

In the next second, Tierre, who had been silent all this while, suddenly raised her head and called out to the driver's seat in a vigilant voice.

"…!"

Vivian, who was driving the carriage, immediately tightened the reins and stopped the carriage amidst the neighing of the horses.

In the carriage, Lucia and Merica had already stood up and entered a state of alert.

Looking at this scene, Shien was stunned at first, but then he understood.

(Have you discovered the enemy?)

Shien looked at Tierre, who jumped out of the carriage, meaningfully.

This young girl probably had the [Enemy Sense] skill like Shien, but the level of the skill was probably not high, which was why she was slower than Shien to detect the enemy's location.

Vivian and the others were very clear about this, and the moment Tierre warned them, they immediately became alert. Their quick reaction was amazing, as expected of a party of adventurers, with great teamwork.

So, Shien followed behind Lucia and Merica, carrying his bag and sword, and jumped out of the carriage.

Everyone gathered in front of the carriage and looked at Vivian, who was comforting the anxious horse.

At this moment, Vivian's expression was calm, and her gaze was on Shien.

"Look over there, Shien."

In the direction that Vivian was pointing at, a piece of rock was moving slowly. In the end, it straightened up and turned into a huge stone statue.

"That's a magical creature called Gorim. It was originally just a rock mixed with special magical minerals, but because it existed near the source of magic, it was affected by the flowing magic, and eventually changed into a magical creature."

Vivian spoke to Sheenkopf like this.

"Some mages will also use magic to create these magical creatures, and use them to fight and work. They can also appear in any place, and the higher the level, the bigger the size. If it's a Gorim from some secret realms, its body may even contain precious minerals, which is why many people covet it. But there are also Gorims that mimic to the roadside and attack people when they pass."

Of course, the Gorim's body was mixed with very few magical minerals, and its level was also very low. Otherwise, it wouldn't leave the source of magic it inhabited and attack people by the roadside.

"They target the caravans that transport minerals, as well as adventurers like us who carry weapons and equipment made of precious metal minerals. Swallowing these metal minerals is the best way for them to increase their strength and level, and gradually change their bodies."

Vivian watched the Gorim that was starting to run over, and said to Shien.

"Looking at the size of this Gorim, it should be around level 15, at most 20. It shouldn't be a dangerous opponent for you."

These words made Shien instantly understand Vivian's plan.

"I'll leave it to you," Vivian said to Shien. "Let's see how strong you are."

This was the first test after becoming an adventurer and joining Vivian's party.

Shien noticed that it wasn't just Vivian. Even Tierre, Lumia, and Merica were looking at him.

In front of him, the heavy footsteps of the Gorim that looked like a giant made of rocks were already approaching.

"Understood."

Shien nodded to everyone, and then walked in the direction of the Gorim while unsheathing the sword at his waist and holding it in his hand.

The man and the rock approached each other, shortening the distance between them.

Vivian, Tierre, Lumia, and Merica watched quietly from the back.

Feeling the gazes behind him, Shien began to calculate in his mind.

(What level of strength should I use?)

Since I'm a new adventurer who hasn't even learned a single skill, I definitely can't display too much combat power, right?

First of all, [Limit Change] can't be used, and I can't display any resistance skills, so I can't be hit.

Unlike active skills like [Limit Change] that need to be used by oneself, resident skills are permanent from the moment they are learned, and you can't choose whether to use them or not. In that case, in order to not let these resident skills be exposed, Shien could only try his best to avoid being discovered.

Also, he had to slow down his combat methods and not overdo it. He also had to be careful when evading so that he could hide [War God] and [Evasion] well.

As for the holy sword, of course, he definitely couldn't use it.

(But I can't be too clumsy.)

Otherwise, if Vivian and the others thought that he wasn't strong enough and didn't have the potential to become an adventurer, the results of the test wouldn't look good. In the end, it would cause his goal of becoming an adventurer to fail.

Therefore, Shien had to perform to a certain extent, but he couldn't overdo it. At the same time, he had to do his best to hide his many skills so that he wouldn't give himself away.

(… I'm too difficult.)

Shien felt terrible.

But the monster wouldn't understand Shien's feelings. With heavy footsteps, it had already rushed in front of Shien.

"Come on."

Shien could only shake off the various thoughts in his mind and focus on Gorim in front of him.

In the next moment, Gorim, who had rushed in front of Shien, raised his heavy arm and blasted a rock-like fist at Shien.

The [Evasion] skill immediately reacted, moving Shien's body to make Shien dodge.

However, in order not to expose the skill, Shien could only do his best to restrain himself until Gorim's fist blasted in front of him. Only then did he twist his body at an extremely close distance, deliberately dodging the blow with a rather unpracticed movement.

Suddenly, a whistling wind blew past Shien's body.

Boom!

Amidst the rumbling sound of the ground, Gorim's heavy fist brushed past Shien's body and landed on the ground, causing a vibration and rolling up the sand and stones.

At this moment, Shien, who had dodged to the side, suddenly moved. Taking advantage of the moment when Gorim fell into a state of stun after the attack, he closed in on him.

Clang!

Amidst the knocking sounds, the sharp greatsword drew a circle in the air and fiercely smashed into one of Gorym's feet, forcing him to kneel on the ground.