บท 69: Nice

This time, it was Albrecht's turn to jump up and free-fall downward, bringing his Legendary Moldbreaker to the ground.

Of course, Asvi managed to dodge it, but it did create a larger crater.

Confused, Asvi tried to do what Albrecht just did. This time, he used his full power as he mightily swung his big hammer at Albrecht. He could more or less tell that Albrecht used the same skill as his, but somehow he was more powerful than him.

"What on— " As soon as Asvi landed on the ground, Albrecht seemed to teleport from one place to another.

One moment, he was a couple of feet away from Asvi, the next moment, he was right in front of him. Without saying anything, Albrecht let out a grunt as he swung his Legendary Moldbreaker sideways.

The strike hit Asvi squarely on the side, and it sent him skittering sideways before finally hitting his back on the guild's entrance door.

"Aghk~!" Asvi's eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness. His mouth frothed as he limply lie on the ground.

And the match was over.

Judging from how sturdy Asvi was, Albrecht didn't bother checking up on him since he'd be able to survive. Instead, he unequipped the Legendary Moldbreaker and entered the guild, taking a step on top of Asvi as he went in.

The receptionist of the Caharsa Guild amicably greeted Albrecht, but when she saw Asvi on the ground unconscious, she let out a gasp and alerted the other adventurers.

They didn't bother helping Asvi though. His party members propped him up and got him out of there before any of them could react.

Murmur.

Just then, Albrecht realized that Yulie wasn't in the guild. She was going to ask her to help her out in the first place... but there was no one there. Adding to that, it would be a waste of time if he were to go to the Kingdom of Lomenschwaal and ask for help there.

Even if he relayed a message, or sent it through a communications device, it would take quite some time for them to gather and arrive at the City of Caharsa.

With a sigh, Albrecht turned around and exited the guild. "I guess I have no choice but to ask for his help, huh," Albrecht muttered to himself while he scratched his head in disappointment.

From afar, he could see the Grapevine Party dragging Asvi out of there. They were probably going to take him to the City Clinic since their healer couldn't be bothered healing Asvi right then (or so that's what Albrecht thought. Unbeknownst to him, the party didn't actually have a healer.)

Shifting into a jog, Albrecht approached the Grapevine Party, waving his hand.

"Oi~ are you kidding me right now?" Lucius Harvesta, the black-haired, ashen-colored eyes of the group let out an exhale as she turned around. She noticed that Albrecht was back for a second round, and she perished the thought of being attacked by him.

"Raise your hands, quick! We don't want any trouble, right?" Sickle Stunheim nervously let out as he shakily turned around. With genuine fright written across his face, he raised his hand in front of Albrecht. Brown hair, yellow eyes, more on the short and semi-muscular side, he's the porter of the Grapevine Party.

The orange-haired scout of the group, Fioana Mertonia, raised her hand with Sickle Stunheim. She always lectured Asvi about his decision, and now one of them would lead them straight to their deaths—

— Or they'd just end up in the City Clinic. One way or another, it wouldn't be a painless experience.

"This is why we shouldn't let our party leader act out on his own. Look what he's brought us." Fioana complainingly mumbled.

Once Fioana and Sickle put their hands up, Asvi fell on the ground with a thud since they dropped him. Albrecht had no idea why they were raising their hands but he quickened his pace nonetheless.

"W-w-we don't want any trouble! It's our party leader who attacked you, and we couldn't stop him, that's why we just blended in the background." Sickle lengthily explained while the others furiously nodded their heads in agreement.

Before Albrecht could take another step, he stopped short with a confused expression on his face. "W-what do you mean? Er- what, no, I'm not going to attack." Albrecht vehemently denied. "I need your help."

Everyone froze in place when Albrecht took another step. He then knelt in front of Asvi Winefield and poured a recovery potion into his mouth. He coughed a couple of seconds later and his consciousness returned.

When his eyes opened, they were bloodshot, and he couldn't believe that Albrecht was staring this close to him. In fear, he crawled on his back away from Albrecht, panting heavily.

"Asvi Winefield, right?" Albrecht extended his hand. He suppressed the sigh that almost came out of his mouth.

"H-how do you know my name?" He exclaimed. It's as if he was still disoriented from the fatal blow that Albrecht dealt a moment ago.

With a blank expression on his face, Albrecht pointed to his party members who were in the vicinity. "Look, I'm Albrecht Stein, and I need your help." He didn't dilly-dally anymore since time was running out.

"Help? What do you need us for?" In a flash, Asvi got up and dusted himself off. He then cleared his throat before speaking in a deeper voice than normal.

"In the Fifth Outerlayer, I need to get something there," Albrecht said. He didn't specify what he was going to get, but it certainly caught the attention of the other party members.

"As if we're going to help—" Before Asvi could say anything, Sickle covered his mouth.

"15 Gold Coins each, and I'll guarantee your safety." Albrecht continued before Sickle inadvertently let go of his mouth.

"..."

"Then, please take care of us." Asvi changed his mind in a snap of a finger, rubbing his nose while he shook Albrecht's hand.