Surviving as a Useless Bard in a Game

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If I had said it beforehand, Skylar and Fura weren’t exactly battle-hardened body holders.

To begin with, Skylar was originally a wizard, and now, as a scroll-user, she was still in the back-line class… and Fura was similar. She was a priestess after all.

So right now, the only two humans capable of joining the fight were not exactly suited to protect me.

That meant I was the only one who couldn’t step to the front lines.

“I’ll manage to survive on my own.”

After all, I had traveled with Skylar, tackling many quests. There had been plenty of dangerous moments along the way. I should be able to handle this much.

—And that thought shattered into pieces soon after.

Bang—!

Bang—!

Bang—!

Three explosive sounds.

A thick haze of sand and dust obscured my vision. But it couldn’t truly block my sight.

I channeled my magic power.

My pink eyes sparkled.

I could see the positions of Skylar, Fura, and Scipio. Scipio was targeting me.

I began my performance.

Well, it wasn’t really a performance.

Just plucking a single string could enhance me to the level of an ordinary person.

—♩

‘[ Augment ], [ Augment ], [ Augment ]’

Three enhancements.

My physical abilities surged.

With Skylar’s practice, my overall magic power had increased. I wasn’t worried about exhausting myself no matter how many times I used it.

It might last for several hours, but I could maintain this much. I began to believe in myself. And, I trust Skylar.

Skylar burned a scroll.

A resisting plant. Having been through this several times, I recognized it immediately.

It must have been playing around in our sparring sessions, as the size and ferocity of the plant were nothing alike. Thorns hung down from the vine, poised to strike at Scipio’s feet as it grew round.

Scipio jumped straight into the air. The dense fog evaporated in an instant, forming a circle around where he had leaped.

Fura soared into the sky. Her large white wings reflected the sun and shone with light.

No, it was actually glowing.

My eyes caught the flow. Divinity flowed along her wings. She was trying to block my view.

‘…High level.’

It felt completely different from the sparring sessions I usually had.

Suddenly, I realized, Nisha, Propertyius, and Skylar hadn’t been truly serious against me. If they really were, I would’ve been dead within three seconds.

Ignoring Fura who flew upward, Scipio aimed for me.

Skylar added more magic power on top of her physically augmented self. Two scrolls were burned. She strengthened her body.

In an instant, Skylar moved right in front of me, burning five scrolls. A defensive wall was erected. It was breached almost instantly. An unassailable attack.

There was no choice but to evade.

Skylar collided with me, propelled by the force of the impact, and I jumped back holding him close.

“…Sorry.”

“No, I couldn’t block it.”

The defensive wall that had survived Fura’s miraculous [Lightning] wasn’t enough this time. I realized deeply that this opponent was not to be underestimated.

Slowly, Scipio’s shadow loomed toward us.

I heard the voice.

“You shouldn’t be this weak.”

“…We could leave my granddaughter here and go on our own, you know.”

Skylar still had no sense, blurting out nonsense.

I frowned.

I had been on the receiving end of such remarks before.

‘To just mention that day so openly, I thought you were actually crazy.’

But for now, surviving was the priority.

What should I do?

I looked like I was angry.

“My granddaughter asked me. She wants to see this world. So I want to show it to her. However, a human who can become her ally… must be strong. Strong enough to protect her when I’m not around. Can’t you understand this simple thing?”

“I get it.”

“Then there’s no need for questions or answers. Defeat me here and now.”

“Ah, above.”

Scipio casually turned his gaze upward.

Skylar immediately burned a scroll.

The sword swung.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s not working.”

…Grotesque. Skylar, have you really been pushed to using such measures?

Ugh! Trash!

Scipio looked at Skylar with pity in his eyes.

“…This is maddening. Skylar, even if you lost your heart, I didn’t expect you to resort to such low-level tactics.”

“Ah, really above.”

“There won’t be a second chance.”

Bang—!

In the sky, Fura, clad in divinity, plunged down toward Scipio’s head.

“This time it’s real.”

I shot a cold look at Skylar. He scratched his head and avoided my gaze.

To be honest… it was cowardly and cheap. I didn’t want to win like this.

‘…But for now, I suppose I can relax. I bought some time.’

As long as I could win even once by any means, he would become a solid part of our strength.

At our current level, thinking we could win fair and square wouldn’t be wise. After all, there wasn’t a human capable of proper close combat.

The realms of the wizard, priestess, and bard were not close-range.

In an ideal scenario, I should keep the warrior from coming close from the maximum range… but there was no time for that.

‘Is this the end?’

Thinking it wouldn’t end like this, I was tense and was ‘seeing’ through the dense fog, but I felt no sign of movement.

There was no movement.

“Skylar.”

“…This is not the kind of person that ends here.”

“I know. What’s the timing?”

“Can we ‘see’ it? To be honest, I can’t catch all of Scipio’s movements.”

“I can see it, but I can’t react. It’s a separate matter.”

“There’s no need to react. Just convey it through your thoughts.”

Skylar pulled out a scroll from his pocket.

A familiar scroll, [Fire of Embers].

The moment I captured the movement, I relayed it straight to Skylar. Even if he couldn’t see the opponent’s movement, he could still deploy his defense at the same time as my thoughts.

Having just seen five defensive walls ripped apart like paper, I prepared even more this time.

No complacency.

The fog disappeared. The sand that had been suspended in the air settled back down.

‘…Above!’

Our expected movement was entirely different.

Scipio jumped into the air.

“Fura!”

Skylar threw a defensive wall scroll toward the sky. The scroll burned immediately due to magic power.

The wall formed horizontally. Like steps.

He stepped on them and leaped toward Fura.

I drew my sword.

***

The ears relay this person’s intentions.

This cat is a person.

Auris turned to the gray cat watching the battle by her side.

With curious eyes full of amazement, she gave the cat an intrusive gaze. The cat slightly turned its head sideways, trying to avoid her sight, but the child’s curiosity couldn’t be easily dodged.

Puff.

With white smoke, the transformation was undone.

The cat suspiciously began to grow in size from the black cloth. A strange popping sound emanated from its joints.

Seeing this, Auris sat still, observing without any worry.

A pale man dressed in a dark robe, removing a white mask, appeared. With white hair and red eyes, he looked reminiscent of a vampire.

“Wow.”

“……”

“Why are you here? You’re one of the companions, right? Of those people.”

“…My role is to guard and observe. I am not a companion.”

“Is that so?”

“If I were to lose, I’d think of taking you hostage to make a pact with Scipio. My mission is to cooperate as much as possible, gathering as many body holders and collaborators as I can to head to the Empire.”

“Why are you telling me your plans so straightforwardly?”

“You’re asking questions that don’t seem childlike.”

“My grandfather gave me ears that can hear everyone’s true feelings. Maybe the reason my grandfather didn’t send me out is to avoid making me get hurt—there’s clearly a childish reason behind it too.”

“‘Ears’ have the power to eavesdrop on others’ true intentions. So even if I tell you my plans, it won’t change a thing. There’s no issue with suppressing a fragile child.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“…You’re calm.”

“Because everyone’s thoughts come to me at any time. Even if I don’t want to know, there’s no way I can avoid it.”

The man who used to be a cat expressionlessly grasped some sand.

The sand began to sparkle.

…It was the first stage of basic alchemy.

A simple trick designed to entertain the child.

Just a little flicker of sand.

“I am an alchemist and also an assassin. I’ll show you something good.”

“You’re a good person—”

And then, in that moment.

Auris’s words were cut off.

The girl’s head whipped around, her attention fixated on Selina, who held a sword. No, it wasn’t Selina.

A frail, pale bard struggling to lift a sword with a weary body. Sweat trickled down her face and body, and perhaps due to fatigue, her fingertips trembled.

But everyone present could sense it.

A beautiful voice resounded.

“…What’s happening now?”

‘That one’ is dangerous.