Who Needs Magic in a Fantasy World Anyway?

Chapter 66: A Brief Rest

"I'd just like to say that everyone here did an outstanding job in subjugating that giant ent." Conner gave everyone one of his rare smiles as he looked over their recovering party. "Especially the students. Even though you don't have much experience in fighting monsters, all three of you held your ground and fulfilled your roles perfectly, and I can honestly say that the only reason that any of us are alive right now is because of you. Well done."

"Yeah..." Koko replied grumpily, completely ruining the mood as everyone looked at her in curiosity.

"What's wrong Koko?" Christina asked in concern. "You got to fight plenty of monsters, so I thought you'd be happy."

"But I didn't hardly get to fight the boss at all!" Koko complained. "All I was doing was dealing with the weeds while you guys got to fight the giant tree person! It isn't fair!"

"You're mad because you didn't get to fight that thing?!" Richard asked in shock. "I was completely terrified, and I was no where close to it!"

"Exactly, it was terrifying!" Koko enthused with shining eyes. "It was great! My attacks hardly damaged it, the thing had so many angles that it could attack from that it was ridiculous and it wouldn't die no matter how much damage we dealt to it! It was my first real boss monster fight and I had to miss most of it!"

"Koko..." Conner sighed. "When you finally graduate, I'm honestly wondering if I should send you to a guild hall or a mental home..."

"Staying in the capital would be nice, just saying." Koko thought that she'd voice her opinion about the subject while it was out in the open.

"I can tell you right now that your staying in Goldgate isn't going to happen. Your abilities would be wasted there and there's no way that the Adventurer's Council would even consider it." Conner answered, causing Koko to bury her face in her hands.

"This day just keeps getting worse." Koko pouted as Christina sat down beside her and started patting her shoulder in support.

"Let's just be thankful that we all somehow survived that encounter, alright?" Christina offered, and Koko slightly nodded without removing her hands from her face.

"That we should." Austin commented from the side, having stayed quiet for the majority of the conversation. "It really is nothing short of a miracle. Boss monsters are several times more difficult than normal enemies of the same race and level, and with the size of that ent... even if it was lower in level than other bosses, I wouldn't be surprised if it was classified as a Rank B threat."

"Nah, I think it would be C at the most." Conner disagreed, and Koko couldn't help but feel somewhat proud of herself for having fought something so powerful. After all, from what she already knew from class, both boss monsters as well as graduated adventurers fell under a ranking system which classified both their skill and threat levels. G-Rank adventurers were the freshly graduated members of the guild while G-Rank monsters were considered little to no threat. Rank-F was the most common rank for adventurers seeing as it was for people with normal skill levels while Rank-F monsters were only slightly troublesome but not a large threat. Rank-E adventurers were people who had a lot of experience in combat while Rank-E monsters were a threat to multiple lives. Rank-D adventurers were the seasoned veterans of the guild who were both strong and experienced while Rank-D monsters were treated as a threat capable of destroying a village. Rank-C adventurers were the leaders or proven warriors of the guild while Rank-C monsters were capable of destroying a medium or large city. Rank-B adventurers were the elite special forces of the guild while Rank-B monsters were capable of destroying multiple cities. Rank-A adventurers were the heroes of the guild who were both widely renowned and respected while Rank-A monsters were capable of destroying an entire kingdom. And finally, Rank-S adventurers were the individuals only spoken about in legends while a Rank-S monster would mean a threat capable of the mass extinction of the mortal races or the destruction of Elnor as a whole.

"I still can't honestly believe we won." Richard laughed nervously. "I've never been so exhausted in my whole life."

"Oh? You don't say?" Koko suddenly gave him an evil look as she was still grumpy. "Just who do you think had to stay awake after the battle to guard everyone against more monsters? Do any of you realize that I still haven't been able to sleep yet?"

"If you want, I can carry you on my back on our way to the academy so that you can sleep." Christina offered.

"That..." Koko was about to refuse before it started sounding like the most wonderful idea in the world. "Would be great... thank you."

"Hey Koko, seeing as you were the only one awake, did you see if the ent dropped anything?" Richard suddenly asked, thankfully reminding Koko as she'd completely forgotten.

"Oh yeah!" Koko became slightly more energetic as she started digging into her pocket. "I didn't see if the ent dropped anything or not seeing as everything was covered in fire after your last attack, but a fairy showed up soon afterwards and gave me this bag while thanking us."

"A fairy?" Conner asked in surprise. "The Fae must have really been worried about the corruption if they went so far as to give us a reward."

"Well, what is it?" Richard asked excitedly, and even the instructors leaned in to get a better look as Koko withdrew a small green bag from her pocket. "A... marble bag?"

"Such things are often enchanted in some way or another." Austin replied. "Try opening it."

"Alright then." Koko replied uncertainly before untying the string holding the bag closed and tilting it upside down in order to catch whatever fell out. However, when she did, she along with both Christina and Richard were surprised when a beautiful sword that seemed to be made from silver fell into her waiting hand along with what looked like an envelope.

"Awesome, a useless sword!" Koko grew grumpy again as she realized that such a reward was useless to her while Austin took the envelope . "So who gets it?"

"Technically, seeing as the fairy gave it to you, it's yours." Conner explained.

"Okay, so then one of the three of you get it then." Koko continued. "I'm sure that none of you would pass up having a spare sword, and both Christina and Conner saved my life during the fight while Richard dealt the final blow."

"Mind if I see how it feels?" Richard asked.

"Go ahead." Koko agreed before Richard got up from where he'd been siting and grabbed hold of the hilt. Though what happened next was strange as no matter how hard Richard strained on attempting to lift the handle, the sword simply wouldn't budge from Koko's open hands.

"Try setting it on the ground and then trying." Austin suggested. "There are several enchantments that make a weapon impossible to be knocked out of it's wielder's hands. And if the sword recognizes Koko as it's wielder, then you would never be able to obtain it with her still holding it."

While the theory was good, it still didn't appear to be the case as Richard attempted in vain to lift the sword off of the ground before Conner finally had enough and tried himself, making Koko grin as he picked it up with ease.

"This sword is very well made... and it also seems to require quite a high strength stat in order to use properly..." Conner said thoughtfully before throwing it into the air and catching it by its blade while holding it out to Christina. "Care to try?"

"Sure." Christina agreed before standing and grabbing the hilt with both hands. And unexpectedly, she managed to keep it in the air when Conner let go before making sure the area was clear behind her and giving the weapon a few practice swings. "The blade is heavy, but not heavy enough that it isn't usable..."

"Then it's yours." Conner declared. "Richard can't lift it and I'm passing on it seeing as I dragged the three of you out here on a suicide mission in the first place."

"I think every girl here might be stronger than you, Richard." Koko teased her dejected friend as he grew red in the face.

"I'm a Swordmage, dang it! I don't have monster strength like you do!" Richard defended himself.

"A Swordmage that can't even lift a sword..." Koko teased again.

"S-shut up!" Richard replied, and Koko figured she'd better comply as she didn't think that any of them wanted to see him cry.