Seeing Lynn pull out a metal rod and point it at them, the plate-armored man laughed arrogantly.
“Kid, do you think you can scare us off just by pulling out a metal rod?”
Although he said this, the plate-armored man obediently raised his large shield.
In fact, his movements even subtly hinted at an intention to shield his underling by pulling him in front of himself.
The dual-dagger man, however, wasn't very afraid. He let out a loud laugh, then addressed his boss beside him with a knowledgeable air.
“No need to fear, Boss! I've seen this thing before. It's a musket developed by the dwarves. It has decent power, but there's absolutely no way it can pierce your enchanted shield!”
As he spoke, he looked toward the plate-armored man.
Huh? Wasn't his boss just right beside him? How had he ended up behind him in the blink of an eye?
Hearing his underling's words, the plate-armored man actually felt a bit embarrassed and annoyed.
“Fear? Hmph! I, Tomo, don't even know how to write the word ‘fear’!”
With that, Tomo, the plate-armored man, hearing that the opponent's weapon wasn't anything dangerous, stepped forward quite generously to stand in front of his underling.
The dual-dagger man grumbled inwardly. You don't know how to write the word “fear”? That's because you're completely illiterate to begin with!
However, Lynn's counterattack was actually just pulling out a musket, which also surprised the dual-dagger man a little.
He immediately felt that this was a great opportunity to show off in front of his boss.
“Kid, let me teach you a lesson. A battle between rogues can't rely on external objects like muskets!”
With that, the dual-dagger man suddenly vanished into the dim mine shaft, clearly having activated his Stealth skill.
Seeing the opposing rogue disappear, Hilda immediately raised her greatsword, shielding Lynn as she warily stared in the direction he had vanished.
Seeing Lynn shielded behind a beautiful female adventurer, the dual-dagger man felt it formed a stark contrast with his own boss's behavior just now.
Damn pretty boy!
The dual-dagger man gritted his teeth.
But even with this woman protecting him, it didn't affect his sneak attack on Lynn in the slightest.
After all, the dual-dagger man could tell that this woman was merely an ordinary apprentice, completely incapable of detecting his movements.
Relying on the effects of his Stealth skill, the dual-dagger man charged straight toward Lynn.
As he drew near to Lynn, the dual-dagger man felt slightly puzzled.
This kid already saw me enter Stealth, yet he still hasn't activated his own Stealth?
Normally, a duel between rogues involved both sides immediately entering Stealth, and the one with better stealth techniques would gain the advantage of a preemptive strike in the duel.
Seeing the other party place such blind faith in the “musket” in his hand, the dual-dagger man felt a bit amused.
He would teach Lynn the proper way a rogue fought!
Taking a step forward, the dual-dagger man had already closed in to within five meters of Lynn, his dagger thrusting straight toward the barrel of the “musket” in Lynn's hand.
Since the boss said they couldn't kill anyone, he would destroy Lynn's musket and force this kid back onto the proper path of a rogue!
Rogues who fought with hand crossbows or muskets were all cowards.
A true rogue relied on the dagger in their hand!
But very quickly, the dual-dagger man noticed something was wrong.
Why was that female Fighter opposite him staring straight at him?!
At the same time, Hilda's face was expressionless as she swung her greatsword in a wide arc, delivering a vertical slash straight toward the dual-dagger man.
She could actually see him!
The dual-dagger man immediately felt a sense of dread, but it was too late to dodge. He could only raise his dual daggers to block the path of the oncoming greatsword.
As he raised his head to parry, the dual-dagger man finally understood why this Fighter apprentice had been able to track his movements.
Why on earth was there a ball of light floating right above his head?!
Clang!
The dual daggers collided with the greatsword, producing a sharp metallic ring.
The dual-dagger man, who had been marked by Lynn's Light spell, was quickly hit by a second wave of shock.
Wait, what?
How could this female Fighter apprentice's Strength be even greater than his own, an official class-holder?!
Veins bulged on the dual-dagger man's arms as he strained with all his might to block Hilda's attack.
Yet, the greatsword continued to press down, inch by inch.
Helpless, the dual-dagger man bent his knees and retreated half a step to escape the greatsword's attack range.
But the price was that the shift in his force caused his dual daggers to instantly lose their support, and they were slammed directly down to the ground by the greatsword.
Sensing that Hilda was about to follow up, the dual-dagger man didn't have time to retrieve his weapons. He could only pull back, temporarily abandoning them.
While Hilda disarmed the opposing rogue in a single exchange, Lynn naturally didn't idle either.
Within two seconds, a missile of light had already condensed at the tip of his staff.
By this time, Tomo, the plate-armored man, had also realized something was wrong.
Was this really a musket?
Why did this musket look so much like a staff?
“Vas!”
The missile of light flew from the staff, hurtling toward Tomo, the plate-armored man.
The moment he saw Lynn actually cast a spell, Tomo's heart sank.
Didn't they say the opponent was a rogue apprentice?! How did a Mage end up here?!
Lynn's missile was faster than Tomo's thoughts.
Before Tomo could think any further, the missile was already flying right at his face.
At the critical moment, Tomo only had time to let out a roar as a layer of white light enveloped his large shield.
[Shield Bash]!
Lynn had originally intended to guide the missile around the shield to strike Tomo directly, but to his surprise, Tomo actively swung his shield, smashing the magical missile of light to pieces!
This was the first time, aside from the Psionic Corpse, that Lynn had seen someone successfully intercept his Magic Missile.
Yet, Tomo was not entirely unscathed.
The secondary explosive damage of the Magic Missile swept over the areas Tomo's shield failed to cover.
Furthermore, Tomo's heater shield was now visibly dented.
Tomo's hand gripping the shield felt slightly numb from the impact of the Magic Missile. He glanced at the dented heater shield in his hand, his heart aching with pain.
This was an enchanted shield he had just spent a fortune to buy from the Mages' Association shop!
Before he could even use it against a monster, this mage apprentice had battered it into this state with a single spell!
If he hadn't actively sought out trouble with Lynn himself, he would have suspected this was a conspiracy by the association shop to force down the trade-in value of shields.
The moment he saw Lynn cast a spell, Tomo knew they were in deep trouble today.
Because this meant Lynn had slain the Dungeon Slime relying entirely on his own spellcasting strength. He didn't have any “treasure” at all.
They had targeted the wrong person!
Moreover, even if Lynn did have some kind of treasure, they wouldn't dare rob him.
Robbing an adventurer and robbing a Mage were two entirely different concepts!
The relationship between the Adventurers' Guild and adventurers was merely a loose contract; the guild wouldn't stick its neck out for a single adventurer.
But the Mages' Association genuinely nurtured every member of the association as one of their own!
Realizing this, Tomo hurriedly raised both hands and shouted at Lynn,
“Hey! Stop! It's a misunderstanding!”
But Lynn wouldn't let him off just because of a single word.
Even as Tomo begged for mercy, a missile of light had already condensed on Lynn's staff once more.
“Vas!”
With a point of his staff, the missile of light flew out.
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