Published: July 3, 2025
"Hey, Ryo. I'm starting to get tired here... can we switch soon?"
"Abel, what are you saying! If you're going to whine about that, you won't become a respectable swordsman!"
"Well, I think I'm already a pretty decent swordsman..."
In the first underground floor of the Central Sanctuary, the flow of non-human beings continued unabated.
Adjusting with Ryo's ice wall, the battle continued under an environment that allowed them to focus solely on the front.
Currently, it was a combination of Abel and Hero Roman cutting down enemies with their swords.
"Look at Roman fighting next to us! He's cutting down foes without a single complaint. Roman, are you okay with the fatigue?"
"Not a problem! I can keep going!"
In response to Ryo's question, Roman answered with a smile.
"See! Did you hear that, Abel? That's a model answer from a swordsman. Compared to that, your recent performance, Abel..."
"Hey, Roman is a hero! A hero! A hero is the pinnacle of humanity. It's impossible to compare with someone like that!"
While they were having this conversation, both Abel and Roman continued swinging their swords without a moment of delay.
"It's already past midnight, isn't it? We've been fighting here for over twelve hours..."
"Seems like it’s never going to end."
Abel grumbled, and Hero Roman nodded in agreement with a wry smile.
"I wasn't there, so I don't know, but I heard that this year's great tsunami in the City of Run lasted an incredibly long time."
"That's right. Usually, having a few thousand monsters appear is considered a lot, but this year it exceeded thirty thousand. Even then, it felt like it would never end..."
Ryo questioned, and Abel responded while recalling the great tsunami in Run.
Hero Roman was surprised to hear this.
"Did something like this happen in other cities too?"
"Ah, well... While it is true that monsters are flooding out, the one in the City of Run is a regular occurrence. We have various countermeasures established. However, this... Rhea and the high priest said it was their first time hearing about it... so it's incomparable to the great tsunami in Run."
Abel answered Roman’s question carefully, of course, while continuing to fight.
Despite all of Abel’s complaints, he did not stop swinging his sword.
Next to him, Hero Roman was also impressed while continuing to cut down foes.
"Abel-san, you're amazing... as expected of a b-rank adventurer..."
"Fufufu, right? Right?"
"Roman, please don't praise Abel too much. He gets carried away easily. It's like the sign that says, 'Don't feed the animals!'"
"Who do you think I am, a wild animal!"
Abel got angry at Ryo's harsh words.
"I’ve been putting out results that are not inferior even when compared to the hero at the pinnacle of humanity!"
Abel said without pausing his strikes.
However, hearing those words from Abel, a slight shadow fell over Hero Roman's expression.
"The pinnacle of humanity, huh..."
"Look, Roman is shocked to find out that he's about the same level as Abel."
"Why would that be?!"
Abel retorted back at Ryo's light-hearted remark.
"Oh, no, of course not. It's true that he was born a 'hero', so his potential in physical abilities is quite high, but there are still many strong people out there... He is not at the pinnacle."
He said with a wry smile.
"What happened? Did you get thoroughly defeated or something?"
"Well, I guess that's accurate..."
"You're still young, so don't worry about it. You'll get stronger from now on."
"Yes... I understand that, but... I've painfully experienced that my sword doesn't work at all against a mage..."
"Ah, I've experienced that painfully as well."
Abel said, looking towards Ryo.
During that moment, their swords stopped for a brief moment.
"Hey, Abel, your hands have stopped moving. You need to move your hands more than your mouth."
Ryo quickly pointed that out.
"I'm sure my sword won’t have any effect on that self-proclaimed mage giving orders over there."
Saying that, Abel resumed cutting down the enemies in front of him.
"I see."
Hero Roman glanced at Ryo and spoke.