Chapter 83 : Chapter 83
Chapter 83: Lia McIntyre
In a forest clearing on the outskirts of Lisbon,
Ryan was training with the four women.
Nika and Nila acted as scouts, checking the surrounding area for movement.
Ryan and Fina served as the main damage dealers.
Isabella stayed at the rear, providing long-range fire support.
This tactical formation was the strongest combat lineup Ryan had worked out.
Ryan had long since turned this clearing into a simple training ground.
Of course, the training facilities here were rather crude, so they could only be used for basic combat drills.
Once they had destroyed all the practice mannequins set up in advance, today’s training came to an end.
After the training was over, Ryan and the others slowly returned to camp.
Loxi was already waiting there.
A table had been set beside her, surrounded by six chairs.
Drinks and desserts had been placed on the table to help Ryan’s group recover from the training.
Loxi had come here to collect data on firearms.
Ever since Ryan had redeemed copies of all the firearms used by the five of them and given them to Loxi,
she had begun her research.
“Loxi, how is it? How is the data collection going?”
Ryan asked.
“Mhm, no problem. I have more than enough data now.”
Loxi nodded in satisfaction.
“Then can you make it?”
“Give me three days. I guarantee I can make it!”
“Then I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Ryan said with a smile.
“Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”
Loxi patted her chest and spoke confidently.
Some time ago, Loxi had suddenly asked Ryan a question.
“Mr. Ryan, if someone else got hold of a firearm and used it to attack you, how would you defend yourself?”
Loxi’s question went straight to the heart of the issue.
It startled Ryan so badly that a cold sweat broke out across his back.
He truly had not considered that problem.
Ever since leaving Lute Town, he had not encountered any truly powerful opponents, and that had caused him to become a little arrogant.
That was not a good sign.
Loxi’s question also forced Ryan to reexamine himself.
His offensive power was extremely strong now. With firearms in hand, almost no Mage could withstand him.
But magic came in countless forms, and there were certainly spells capable of taking firearms away from him.
He simply had not encountered any before.
To prepare for the future, just in case,
Ryan asked Loxi to make a piece of equipment designed specifically to defend against firearms—a bulletproof vest.
To that end, Ryan redeemed samples of every kind of bullet in the System and provided them to Loxi for research.
He then helped Loxi record the data for each handgun:
bullet speed, firing power, shooting range, and so on.
As of today, Loxi had gathered all the data she needed.
What came next was the production of the bulletproof vest.
Ryan had wanted to help,
but Loxi refused.
According to Loxi,
she wanted to make the bulletproof vest independently.
It was her pride as a creator of magic tools.
Of course, if she truly could not do it in the end, then she would come ask Ryan for advice.
But at least at the start, she wanted to make it on her own, without Ryan interfering.
After giving it some thought, Ryan agreed.
Since Loxi wanted it that way, Ryan was more than happy to take it easy.
Today’s training was already over, and the data collection was complete, so everyone packed up and prepared to head home.
...
On the way back, Fina suddenly raised her right hand, palm facing forward, signaling everyone to stop.
Ryan and the others immediately prepared for battle.
This was the tacit understanding they had built through all their training.
The next moment, the sound of fighting came from the forest ahead.
“ROAR—ROAR—!”
“Quick! Run!”
“Protect the young lady!”
“Careful, they’re catching up!”
“...”
Ryan frowned.
Mixed in with the sounds of fighting ahead were the roars of monsters.
Clearly, someone was being chased by monsters.
And by coincidence, the sounds were drawing closer and closer to them.
It looked like the monsters were heading their way.
“Ryan?”
Fina looked at Ryan, her eyes asking for his decision.
After thinking for a moment, Ryan said loudly, “Prepare for battle!”
“Yes!”
As soon as the words fell,
Nika and Nila had already split off to either side and concealed themselves among the trees.
Ryan and Fina drew their weapons.
Isabella moved to the rear of the group and stood beside Loxi.
“Thud! Thud! Thud!”
They could clearly feel the ground trembling.
The tremors grew louder and louder, and the monsters were getting closer.
The next moment,
many figures came into view.
Behind those fleeing people followed six towering monsters.
“Are those orcs?”
Ryan recognized the species at a glance.
Orcs were monsters that stood somewhere between Beastfolk and wild beasts.
They were thickly built, with bulging muscles and varying shades of green skin. Dark red markings ran across their arms.
There was no need to mention anything else. Their height alone—more than two meters, nearly three—was enough to radiate overwhelming intimidation.
Yet despite their immense physical strength, orcs were extremely unintelligent.
They were driven purely by the most primitive instinct to feed.
That being the case,
those orcs had clearly marked that group of people as food.
Ryan watched as the group desperately held back the orcs’ attacks.
If nothing unexpected happened,
they would most certainly become the orcs’ next meal.
Ryan did not immediately intervene.
Out in the wild, stepping in without warning did not always earn gratitude.
Sometimes, people would even blame you for stealing their prey.
He had often heard about such things back at the Adventurers’ Guild.
Adventurer A was on the verge of collapse under a monster’s attack.
At that moment, Adventurer B happened to pass by, killed the monster, and saved Adventurer A.
Naturally, Adventurer B intended to take the monster materials, since he had been the one to kill it.
But then Adventurer A would argue that he had discovered the monster first and attacked it first, and that if Adventurer B had not interfered, he would have killed it himself, so he should rightfully get the monster materials.
In the end, the Adventurers’ Guild’s usual ruling was to split the monster materials equally between the two adventurers.
Naturally, that was unfair to Adventurer B.
But that was how things were settled.
So after enough cases like that, if people passed by and saw adventurers fighting monsters in the wild, they would not intervene lightly.
By now, Loxi had already activated the Recording Crystal.
This was also a magic tool.
It could record what happened over a certain period of time and then replay it later.
It captured both image and sound.
As the fleeing group drew closer, someone among them spotted Ryan and the others.
The leader was instantly overjoyed. “Adventurers ahead, please help us! If you can drive back these orcs, we can pay you!”
Excellent. That was exactly what Ryan had been waiting for.
Ryan turned and looked at Loxi.
Loxi nodded.
The Recording Crystal had already captured everything.
If the other party refused to honor their promise?
Ryan would definitely show them what a truly ruthless man looked like.
“Alright!”
Ryan answered, then said, “Let’s move!”
Ryan and Fina immediately rushed forward.
Isabella slowly raised her AWM sniper rifle.
The next moment,
bang!
The sound of the AWM sniper rifle rang out behind Ryan.
A bullet tore through the air and instantly buried itself in an orc’s forehead.
At such a short distance, Isabella simply could not miss.
Boom!
The orc’s massive body slowly toppled, then crashed heavily into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“S-So strong!”
someone among the fleeing group said in a low voice.
It could not be helped.
It was not that they were ignorant.
When facing orcs, they could only struggle to hold them back while fleeing for their lives in panic.
But Ryan’s group?
They had killed one in a single exchange.
The gap in combat power was simply too great.
“ROAR! ROAR! ROAR—!”
The orcs might not have had any real intelligence,
but after seeing one of their companions fall, they still understood that they had encountered powerful enemies.
Immediately, they shifted their attention to Isabella and charged toward her.
But Ryan and Fina stood in front of her, blocking the way.
Neither Ryan nor Fina hesitated.
They raised their P90 submachine guns and opened fire wildly on the orcs.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
After a savage burst of gunfire,
both Ryan and Fina emptied their magazines.
Of the five orcs remaining, four were killed in that single barrage.
The last one had both its legs shot by Ryan.
Before Ryan and Fina even had time to change magazines,
bang!
Isabella’s long-range snipe ended the last orc’s life.
All the orcs had been killed.
The danger was over.
The people who had been fleeing slowly came before Ryan and the others.
“Hello, adventurer. Thank you very much for your help!”
The leader was a tall man.
“There’s no need to thank me. I only helped for the reward you mentioned.”
Ryan said calmly.
“Uh... no problem. How about one hundred Gold Coins as payment?”
“That works.”
Ryan nodded.
One hundred Gold Coins was already quite a lot.
After all, they had not spent much effort.
This was basically easy money for them.
“Hal, let me thank our benefactor personally!”
A gentle voice came from behind the tall man, whose name was Hal.
“Yes, Second Young Lady!”
Hal stepped aside and bowed.
Ryan looked up, and his eyes widened at once.
It was as though a young girl kissed by nature herself had stepped out of the forest.
She had a head of straight golden hair that reached her waist. When sunlight fell across it, it looked like molten gold flowing in streams. Upon her head rested a flower crown woven from dewy blossoms and grasses, the fresh green of the leaves and the tender yellow of the petals perfectly echoing the colors of her dress.
That dress was green, white, and yellow at its base, with dense and meticulous stitching. One look was enough to tell that the material was expensive.
Even more striking were her pointed ears. Their delicate tips were faintly flushed pink as they peeked out from her golden hair, carrying a charm that felt almost inhuman.
Her skin was nearly translucent in its fairness, yet it did not seem pale. Instead, it carried a healthy rosy glow.
Most captivating of all were her eyes. Every time she blinked, it seemed as though flecks of light danced within them.
And yet, even with such golden hair, floral ornaments, pointed ears, and beautiful eyes, the first thing to seize one’s gaze was still the eye-catching fullness on her chest.
That perfectly rounded curve made even her exquisite dress seem slightly constrained, which only served to make that lush fullness even more striking.
“Adventurer, thank you for saving us! I am Lia McIntyre of the Elf Race!”