The Water Magician

In the midst of the excitement surrounding the Central Nations' delegation to the Western Nations,

a certain c-rank party found themselves in danger in the Eastern Kingdom.

A swordsman was barely conscious but unable to move,

while a dual-wielder struggled to carry him and escape the peril.

And, to help those two, a priest was clearing their path with his staff.

He swung the staff, struck, and thrust.

Due to the weapon's characteristics, he could even perform area attacks, and priest Zeek was scattering monsters away.

That said, being in the forest meant that he had to limit his swings somewhat…

In any case, they had to escape quickly!

“Gowan, we’re almost out of the forest. Hold on until then!”

“Yeah! I still have plenty of stamina left!”

Gowan followed behind Zeek while carrying Harold on his back.

Though he claimed to be fine, Zeek could tell that Gowan's fatigue was peaking.

This was because Zeek himself was also on the brink of exhaustion.

“Alright, we've made it out! …Huh?”

Gowan said happily, but his words suddenly cut off.

The reason was clear.

Ahead of them, just outside the forest, there was a gathering of monsters.

“Ogre…”

Ogres.

Bipedal monsters with the head of a pig, they stood just under two meters tall.

In many cases, they wield weapons—

swords or crudely made clubs, among others.

They are more intelligent than goblins but sturdier than them as well.

In terms of strength, they fall somewhere in between the two, but their intelligence makes them a troublesome opponent in group battles.

There were roughly fifty of these ogres.

“Why are there so many here…”

Gowan muttered, and Zeek shared the same question in his mind.

Moreover, it was as if they had anticipated the three of them arriving, as they were armed and waiting.

However, now was not the time to ponder that.

(There must be a way to escape somehow…)

Zeek stood with his staff ready in front of the two, scanning the area for an escape route.

But… there was none.

(Do we have no choice but to defeat these guys…?)

There was no other option.

Fifty ogres… while protecting Harold and Gowan.

Despair was all he felt.

If he were alone, he could probably break through the ogres and escape.

Or perhaps, he might manage to get Gowan out.

But carrying an immobile Harold made it impossible.

And there was no choice in Zeek's mind to leave Harold behind.

That was not just for him…

“Zeek, leave Harold to me. I won’t let them touch him!”

With that, Gowan laid Harold down on the ground and drew his twin swords, standing guard ahead.

Neither Zeek nor Gowan had any intention of abandoning Harold.

“Understood. I’ll leave him to you.”

With those words, Zeek kicked off the ground and charged into the crowd of ogres.

‘Thrust like a spear, sweep like a naginata, wield a tachi, and even the staff shall not falter.’

An ancient poem that represents the staff possessing the characteristics of a spear, naginata, and tachi all at once in Japan.

And there was another.

‘Do not injure, control the person and admonish, the teaching resides beyond the staff.’

Indeed, originally, a staff was meant to subdue without harming the opponent… or at least, it was supposed to be.

However, in Fai, and for the priests who wield the staff, it was not like that.

This was because the staff had been ‘blessed with a holy blessing.’

While it acted as a normal staff against humans, it was not the same against monsters.

It dealt damage many times over compared to what it would against humans.

Depending on where it struck, one could even take down an ogre in a single blow.

Of course, when facing undead, the damage would be doubled.

As Zeek dove into the group of ogres, he swung his staff.

Even if he couldn’t defeat them outright, he could render them incapable of fighting. Even so, he aimed to weaken their combat power.

And he thrust! Thrust! Thrust!

His form was like that of a demon god.

“Zeek, you’re amazing as always…”

Gowan, the dual-wielder, muttered in awe.