Riot Grasper

The sharpness of my silvery-white fruit knife is beyond imagination.

I don't know what material my opponent's sword was made of, but I easily shattered it.

「Do I have to just watch?」

I'll deal with it — I said, and Rei, who was beside me, asked.

「I'm angry too.」

She seems to be so angry that she is about to grab the bladed-whip at her waist and cut the men's most important parts from the root.

The insults that were directed at her earlier, along with the men's stares, must have been unforgivable for her.

「I'm sorry, but that's the way it's gotta be–please!」

As soon as I replied to Rei, I delivered a spinning kick to the side of the man whose sword I had just recently shattered. Even through his tough leather armor, I could feel his ribs cracking against my leg.

I've confirmed that the guy who slashed Prim down possesses Swordsmanship Lv2(33/50), but taking away his skills and such will have to wait.

I immediately changed the target of my attack from the man lying on the ground and groaning to another man nearby.

Aside from Cyrus, there are three more.

As expected of the mercenaries prepared by the Merchant Association. One of their companions was taken down in an instant, but they were not afraid to come at me. It is convenient that the attack is focused on me and not Rei or Rook.

Well, considering the order of priority, I am probably the most important.

「Huaaah!!」

The large man, who seemed to be huge both horizontally and vertically, hurled his great axe down from above, swinging at me with all his might.

There was no way I could take such a blow, so I stepped back to avoid it.

As it was, the great axe crashed into the ground and came to a halt, gouging the soil.

….. it's quite powerful.

In an attempt to incapacitate the large man who had stopped moving, I tried to cut both his wrists with my knife – but he dodged my attack with a surprisingly agile movement.

He's surprisingly fast for his size, and the blow he delivered looked pretty heavy.

Perhaps he possesses good skill, but this large man…. has his whole body covered with plate mail and is wearing a full helmet, so I can't check his status.

「Hey! this is not the time to be looking around.」

The other man was equipped with a long weapon – a spear – and he didn't hesitate to stab me with it.

His thrust made me question whether or not they were really trying to take me alive.

Handling a spear with a knife is a bit more difficult. I thought I could get away from him by leaping into the air, but as soon as I escaped in to the air, a chunk of rock came flying at me.

「This…..!」

By twisting my body, I avoided a direct hit and landed on the ground, grateful for my armor's ability to negate impact if I'm hit.

Is this earth magic…..?

The soft-faced man who had first greeted me was apparently a wizard. He aimed and fired with magic from a somewhat distant position. Furthermore, two crossbow arrows came at me at the same time as I landed.

(Will the same move work for….. ?!)

I knocked them down with my fruit knife without any danger, and let out a short breath.

「Heh heh heh. Looks like you're doing pretty well, but it must be tough with that many people.」

Cyrus who had taken aim with his crossbow at the end, said those words.

Yes, it is tiring to deal with multiple people by myself.

「Do you really think that you can beat us with one knife like that?」

But….. you've crossed swords once, and you already think you're the winner.

Congratulations.

I'm just waiting until and I know everyone's skills – and until I have seen them all used.

The skill of the large man with the axe is unknown, but the man wit h the spear has Spearmanship Lv2 and the wizard with earth magic has Earth Magic Lv2.

— My Riot Grasper skill can now be used 6 times a day.

I already used it once on Prim, so I have 5 left.

It's tempting to try and take everyone's skills, but I have to choose my opponents wisely.

I want the sword fighting skills of the man who killed Prim. I'm also curious as to what skills the large man possesses. And for the main course, Cyrus.

In that case, I'll have to ask the less interesting guy with the earth magic… to go away.

It may be rude to separate individuals by their skills, but they are just that–prey.

Just beast that possess skills.

「—- phew」

Squeezing all the air out of my lungs at once, I ran as fast as I could at the man with the spear.

The large axe man tried to follow with an agility that belied his size.

I hope your skills are as good as I imagine them to be.

「….. is in the way」

—- Light Burst

I concentrated the light in my palm… And the moment I squeezed the completed ball of light, a dazzling wave littered the area.

「My eyes, my eyes aaaah! Aaahhhhh!」

Even with their eyes obstructed, the men wield their weapons in agony.

First, I caught the handle of the spear and pushed it down with my leg. He shouted in surprise as the spear refused to budge, but before he had time to react, I swung my knife down with all my might, cutting the spear in half.

「Ooohhhh! Yooouuu, my fingers, my fingers!」

Something rolled on the ground making a graphic sound.

Scattered on the ground, spreading a large amount of blood – are the man's fingers. I had cut off all of the fingers of the man who was holding the spear.

It will be impossible for him to continue fighting.

「Oh, you!」

Ignoring the words of the large man who has yet to fully regain his vision, I now generated a fireball in my palm.

「It must be hard to wear such heavy equipment in this hot weather. Why don't you at least take off your helmet.」

With that, I slammed the fireball into the large man's head.

「Gyaaahhh! It's hot, it's hot!」

With a gurgle and a lick of air, the flames burst into flame and a scream rose. Ignoring the filthy screams, I ran to approach the wizard next.

Crossbow arrows flew into to try and interfere, but I knocked them down easily.

「Hihhh!!! Don't come!」

The wizard stood at a distance, his meek face twisted in fear as he tried to intercept with his magic.

He tried to fire a rock projectile, but I cancelled it out with wind magic.

「What, no! You can't just send multiple magic to…..! Agh, ahhhh!」

As I closed in on the wizard, I plunged my fruit knife into his thigh.

The femur is considered to be the thickest bone in the human body, and even such a strong bone was cut through easily with my knife.

「It's not easy to imagine magic, is it? I understand. With pain like this, it's hard to stay calm and focus.」

「Ya, stop….」

「You might be able to concentrate better if you close your eyes. Besides…. scoundrels like you don't deserve such kind eyes.」

I pulled out my knife roughly, and this time swung it horizontally across his faced.

It may disgusting noise, as if cutting through a ball full of liquid. The gel-like contents overflowed with fresh blood.

I have to admit, I'm starting to feel a bit queasy.

「My eyes, my eyes ahhhhhhh!」

Now….

「Yup, this is unforgivable. I'll beat you to death!」

The large man, now with his full helmet off, came running towards us, looking angry. The skin on his head was red and swollen, and his hair was balding in places from being engulfed in flames.

But now that the helmet is gone, I can check his status.

The skills you possess are….

Axe Arts Lv2 (36/50)

Physical Ability Enhancement Lv2 (21/50)

Apparently, of the four, this man was the strongest. Though, I could feel it even without appraising him.

But still, thanks for…..

Physical Ability Enhancement — The skill I'm looking for the most at the moment.

Before my swordsmanship skill reaches Lv4, I wanted to improve my physical abilities more.

「Take this, you bastard!」

The great axe swung down with the strength of his muscles raised to the limit, trying to crush, grind, and kill me.

Even a blow delivered by a superior physical ability can be dealt with by a body that has been further enhanced.

I didn't catch the big axe with my fruit knife, but I grabbed the man's elbow and kicked him in the knee as hard as I could from below.

The elbow, when straightened out, is basically unnable to bend in the direction of extension. When the arm is bent in the opposite direction of its natural range of motion, the bone will protrude through the skin.

「Gahhhh!!!!」

Without listening to the suffering man's voice, I slashed my knife over his armor.

「Huh…..?」

Even if it was thick plate mail, I thought this knife would be able to cut through it, but it only scratched the….. armor.

「Heh, heh. It does look like a very sharp knife, though. You can't penetrate this armor made of Leviathan Shell with it. It's quite resistant to slashes.」

Hmm…. I see.

Since it's called a "shell," it's probably made form a shall monster or something. It would be difficult to cut it with a blade.

That's nice. I was just about to try this one out too.

The special leather glove made a sizzling sound as I put my force into my fist. I closed the distance to the man in a single bound, as he swung his axe down with his unbroken arm.

「If it's resistant to slashing, this is the only way to go.」

This is a thimble with a grain of the Phosphorus Dragon Crystal attached to it like a rivet.

I planted both feet firmly, lowering my center of gravity to stabilize my body. Then, I twisted half of my body from the waist up, concentrating all the rotational force of the recoil into my fists.

Yes, this is — a blunt instrument.

The first blow caused countless cracks in the armor. The man, who had been laughing, now stood frozen.

Strong against slashing, but–

Almost like glass, the second blow shattered his armor.

— Weak to impacts

「Ba…. idiot. So…..」

I thrusted my fist through the gap in his shattered armor and burned the clothes he was wearing underneath with my flaming fist.

「What!」

Apparently, the attempt was successful.

In order to use my Riot Grasper skill on someone wearing armor, I need to expose their skin. If they are wearing full body armor, normally the only place I can touch them directly is their head.

But, if I physically destroy the armor, which is vulnerable to impacts, and burn the clothes I was wearing inside, the ground will be right there.

Even if I wrapped my fist in flames, it won't be hot, because the glove is made of the skin of the Scorching Agni Tiger, which is resistant to flames.

Now, lets take it.

—Riot Grasper

「….tch」

Well, I guess this happens.

–The result is failure.

I tried to enhance my physical abilities, but it didn't work out.

「….already, good night.」

My next blow connected mercilessly with his chest.

There was a cracking response as several ribs shattered, and the large man slumped forward to the ground.

Thinking that only Cyrus remained, the first man I defeated stood up and still held a small knife. It was the one that had killed Prim.

「This…. monster, this monster!」

That's a terrible thing to say.

He slashed at me with his knife, and I returned fire with my fruit knife, lightly flicking it away.

The quality of the knife itself and the skill of my swordsmanship are both superior.

「Hihhh!!! Ahhh!!」

I grabbed his face as he shouted pitifully and slammed him to the ground with all of my might.

It's so drastic that I'm afraid the bones his face will be gummed up from the impact.

Originally, I would have liked to crush every bone in his body until he looked like a slime though.

「A monster, huh? A lot better than beasts like you, don't you think?」

The man was completely silent, and I felt a rush of power welling up inside my body.

Apparently, I succeeded in taking away the swordsmanship skill that this man possessed.

「–kukuku, hahahaha!」

A silly laugh echoed. I could tell who it belongs to by listening to the voice.

「No, this is unexpected. I didn't expect such a young kid to be so strong. It's like you're not actually human.」

If, as Cyrus says, I was a Dragonewt or something, that might still explain my strength.

「I'm clearly human.」

「Well, that's a surprise. Is there some kind of trick to it?」

「Well? You've got a lot more time than that, don't you? You're the only one who can fight anymore. I'll let you choose between fighting me here, getting beaten up, and then being taken to the guild and killed, or running away and running all over the place, and finally being caught up with and killed by the guild's assassins.」

Earlier, Cyrus was pressing me to make a similar choice.

This is what kindness is all about.

–Immediately, Cyrus's expression, which had been laughing mockingly, returned to a straight face.

「…. You gotta be kidding me. Young man, we've still got a few tricks up our sleeve!」

Cyrus reached around his waist and pulled out a reddish-black fruit with a posonous hue from his pouch.

What's that?

「It's called Kargusner's Fruit. It's very toxic to humans.」

Munch, munch.

Cyrus took a bite out of the fruit.

「My putting you in a temporary state of abnormal excitement, it raises your combat power.」

Hey, hey. That's dangerous.

「But I, I, I'm, hahahahahahahahahahaha!」

What is this, it's scary.

「Who, you, you, Mimi, etc., lose to him, Ruru. This, Kodesho, the game, decide, do it.」

Instead of deciding the fight, he's gone completely out of control.

….. Let's check Cyrus's status one more time.

Name: Cyrus Morgan

Race: Human

Age: 35

Occupation: Mercenary

Skills:

No, no, you have fine skills. I'm not flattered.

This is what I call a skilled mercenary.

By all means, let me take away the three or so except for Archery.

I can activate my skill exactly 3 more times.

The reason he said it was okay to eat the toxic fruit was probably because he possesses abnormal state resistance. He won't die if I eat it either, but I'll probably end up like that.

「Ji, Jiji, Jine!」

Cyrus, who seemed to be twice as scary as he was strong, threw down his crossbow and closed the distance between us immediately. I'm not sure if he's going to challenge me with his specialty, Body Arts.

–Yes, he's fast.

In addition to his physical body that was originally developed by physical enhancement, he has also enhanced himself with drugs.

I swung back with my fruit knife, but it was successfully dodged.

He thrusted my fist out to try and shoot through the center of my body, but I twisted his body strangely and dodged with a grin.

I'm afraid what will happen if he hits.

「–Hiya, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I'm tough. I should be able to beat you.」

「Damn!」

A storm of fists was unleashed, and several of them hit body.

It usually hurts, but I'm fighting back with my knife, and I'm wearing armor too.

Cyrus' body is covered with countless cuts, and he must have hit my body with his fist several times.

I think he should be a little more frightened.

Oh….. no way, is he even immune to pain?

If so, that's tricky.

A flurry of attacks will only prolong the battle.

…. No choice, huh?

I let out a sign and tucked the fruit knife into my holster.

「We're done here, we're done here, we're done here, we're done here!」

–Two objects, flying into the air.

The fell to the ground with a thud.

「Maybe… oh, on the arm?」

Cyrus, who wasn't in pain, took a few seconds to recognize it as they fell to the ground.

「That was scary. No, but I was strong enough though. I guess you could call that last fight more of a battle than a hunt.」

With Red Noir in my left hand, and Silver Fang in my right hand, I slashed off Cyrus' arms.

The two swords didn't cloud with blood at all, even after cutting them away.

「So, so…. is….」

「Thanks to you. It was thanks to those Scorching Tiger Fangs that I was able to make a new sword.」

The sensation of swinging out the twin swords was slowly becoming familiar to me.

「It's amazing. I knew it was totally different from a fruit knife.」

As I was speaking, Cyrus' arm was engulfed in flames.

「Oh…. the…..」

Flames erupted from his arm where it been severed by my Silver Fang.

The sword is made from the Phosphorus Dragon Crystal from a dragon that is said to have controlled scorching flames (*speculation), and was created in super high heat using the fangs of a scorching tiger.

Flaming Embrace gently envelops the sliced target in flames.

That's the special ability of my Silver Fang

「Ta, Tazuke, Te」

The flames grew even larger, attempting to engulf Cyrus' entire body.

….. Wait a minute. I haven't taken your skills yet. I don't want you to die.

Then, lo and behold.

As if sensing my intention, the flame grew smaller and disappeared.

「Let's get that nasty fruit out of…. for now」

Even though he was weakened, Cyrus still hadn't lost his excitement, and there was no telling what he might do.

I gave the opponent a few hard shocks to the abdomen, and with a foul sound, the Kargusnel's fruit was spat out.

I can't do anything about what has already been consumed, but this may help me get him back to normal faster.

Perhaps the exhaustion from the physical exertion of the drug administration had reached its limit, and Cyrus fainted there.

Of course, there was no way I was going to let this opportunity pass me by.

Riot Grasper ——–!

Name: Seiji Agatsuma

Race: Human

Age: 18

Occupation: Adventurer (Rank C)

Special: Thief's Divine Eyes

Skills:

Well, I can say that I have succeeded in improving my level.

I managed to steal the swordsmanship skill from the man who slayed Prim, and the ability to enhance physical strength and resistance to abnormalities from Cyrus. In addition to that, I managed to increase my monster taming by taming Prim.

I had a bad experience, but I'm happy with the result.

–The only question left is what to do with these guys.

I have them lined up in a horizontal row. The total number of people was 5 captured, including Cyrus.

Right now they're being restrained by an Earth Binding Lock, but they are still breathing.

「What should I do with these guys?」

「It's fine. Let's just kill them all.」

It was Rei who made that simple and disturbing statement.

「We can't just let them go, can we? If you don't want to do it, I'll do it for you.」

No, that's as good as it gets.

「I'm thinking of taking these guys to the Adventurer's Guild, just in case. We'll need them to testify about the Merchant Association that was pulling the strings behind their backs.」

「Then let's just take back alive.」

Rational or whatever, Rei is probably used to this rough life.

As I was struggling with this, I saw a small shadow in the distance.

It's coming closer and closer to us, emitting a cloud of dust.

—- a new one?

I remained alert and waited until I could see the face of the person riding the beast.

….. What?

After a while, an unexpected person landed in front of me.

Her hair is an impressive mix of black and white with a mottled pattern, and her body is supple with remaining undulations.

「Hey. It's been a while. It's good to see you again.」

「Yo, Cecil-san!」

「You remember me, don't you?」

Cecil-san was a mercenary hired by the Merchant Association, but unlike Cyrus she was likeable.

Perhaps they got word that I was being targeted and came to my aid.

「Se-kun, you were strong after all.」

The other day at lava tube, I remembered that I had said something like, "Do you think you can beat me?"

But when did I come to be nicknamed Se-kun?

「That's amazing!」

Cecil-san said this with admiration, walking up to Cyrus and the others who were tied up.

「By the way, Cecil-san, what brought you here?」

「Ku…. Hey Cecil! Save us! You're a fellow mercenary, aren't you?」

As if to paint over my question, Cyrus shouted for help.

The other four do the same, and one after another they asked Cecil-san for help.

「No, no mercenaries are supposed to be able to handle themselves. Now you're asking me for help?」

Cecil exhaled in exasperation.

Apparently, this person is not here to take their side. It's a relief.

「God damn it! You really are a useless half-breed.—-」

Cyrus' words were suddenly cut off there.

And so it should be.

For Cyrus' head, which had been speaking, flew up into the sky with a pop.

Blood sprayed from his remaining body like a fountain, and he gradually lost his strength and collapsed.

Where can I find ……!

The time I was stunned was only a moment.

Cecil-san also reaped the heads of the remaining four at once with a single swing of her large spear.

Four heads fluttered in the sky, and a fountain of blood rose from each of the body left on the earth.

….. It's a surreal sight.

「What are you doing on…..?」

Too late to react.

「I'm sorry to scare you. That's why I'm here.」

What do you mean? Am I just no understanding?

「If you get into a fight with the Adventurer's Guild and incident comes to light, it'll be a big problem for the Merchant Association. The job I was asked to do this time was to dispose of Cyrus and the others if they failed…..」

I see. If the perpetrators testify, they can't get away with it, but if every single perpetrator is dead, they can get away with it without knowing.

「If you'll just shut up and pretend this never happened, the Merchant Association won't bother you anymore.」

That's pretty self-explanatory.

「So, Cecil-san, you didn't care whether I was taken alive or killed, did you?」

So she's on the side of the Merchant Association, after all.

Something about it….. shocks me.

「It's not like that, is it?」

「….. What do you mean?」

「The truth is, I was going to help you, Se-kun. I didn't have to though.」

….. No, no, no, no, how simple can I be?

「But I changed my mind about…..」

Cecil-san points a large spear at us.

What? What is it?

「Remember what you said in the lava tube?」

I forgot.

「Didn't you say you could beat me–…..? I've been thinking about you a lot since you said that. There's just something about that really gets me.」

What?

「I'm intrigued by the fact that you can take on Cyrus and the others and still have strength left to spare.」

「Um, I can't see what you're talking about.」

Since you seem to be excited for some reason, I'm going to raise my hand and ask you a question.

「–Have you ever heard of hybrid vigor?」

What was that? I think it was something like, when different species have cubs, in rare cases, the cubs are stronger than the parents.

「Didn't I tell you that I am half-lion beast and half-human?」

「Yes」

「Beastmen, you know. They are often misunderstood as a mild-mannered race. In comparison, what do you think is the most belligerent race?」

「Let's see…. the demon tribe, maybe?」

Cecil-san shook her head in silence.

「It's true that demons are belligerent, but only humans fight on a large scale among their own kind. I guess they are true to their desires, in a good way and a bad way.」

Somehow, I think I'm starting to understand what Cecil-san is trying to say.

「That's what I mean. As a beast, I have the body of the strongest lion, but I also have the greed of a human…. that's me.」

Well, not all humans are made of desire.

Half of me is made of kindness.

「I'm sorry if this is a bit complicated. I want to see who is stronger…. I guess you could say I can't control those feelings.」

Is she a battle junkie? Yikes!

「I think it would be best if we didn't have to fight.」

「If I lose, I'll do whatever you say.」

What….?

I almost shook my head reflexively, but turned around when I felt a cold stare on my back.

Rei's cold gaze was definitely piercing me.

I'm human, too.

Half of me is made of desire.

「If you want me to testify on behalf of Cyrus and the others inthis case, that's fine, too.」

Ah… that's what you mean.

「It's fine, provided you try not to kill them as much as possible.」

「You're kind, aren't you? Se-kun?」

Cecil-sans expression is a pure smile, like a child who can't wait to play with her toys.

「I mean…. Cecil, you're not going to give up, are you?」

「Haha, how did you know?」

Cecil-san laughed happily and re-holstered her large spear.

I also tightened my grip on the hilt of the twin swords at my waist, and pulled them out with a great force.

–This might be just the thing. It's something I've been wanting to try out in a real fight.