The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

"Eh?"

Within the carriage, Shien who originially no longer planned to start a conversation suddenly reacted and gazed towards a certain direction.

(An enemy?)

Shien's [Enemy Detection] skill reacted, which told Shien that an enemy had appeared.

(The reaction isn't very strong, so the level shouldn't be all that high. Plus, it's just one.)

Shien quickly made such a judgement.

However, Shien didn't warn Vivian and group.

After all, right now he's a newbie adventure who hasn't even learned a single skill. If he end up warning them, all that will do is attract suspicions towards himself.

Thus, Shien decided to watch and wait without reacting, and move as circumstance demands.

However, Shien did end up underestimating the members of Vivian's Party.

"Vivian!"

Just a second later, the originally silent Diere suddenly raised her head and shouted out towards where the driver was in a warning tone.

"!"

Vivian who was driving also reacted. She pulled tight on the reigns, and with a loud neigh from the horse, stopped the carriage.

Within the cabin, Lumia and Melika had already stood up and entered an alert status.

Seeing that, Shien stopped a moment before realizing what was happening.

(So they've already discovered the enemy huh?)

Shien gave a meaningful glance towards Diere who was jumping out of the carriage.

That girl probably had the same [Enemy Detection] skill that Shien had. However, the level of her skill shouldn't be all that high, which is why it took her so long after Shien to detect the enemy's presence.

Vivian and group knew all that very well, so the moment Diere raise the alarm, they've immediately went on alert. The speed at which they reacted made one think as expected of adventurers of the same party, their silent teamwork was great.

Thus, Shien followed along after Lumia and Melika and jumped out of the carriage as well while carrying his bundle and sword.

Everyone gathered in front of the carriage and looked towards Vivian who was currently calming down the terrified horse.

Then, with a completely calm expression, Vivian set her gaze on Shien.

"Look over there Shien."

In the direction that Vivian was pointing, a bolder was slowly moving. In the end it actually rose up and became a giant statue.

"That's a demonic beast known as a golem. Originally, it's just a rock that had magical minerals mixed in, but due to the effect that the nearby magic spring has on magic flows around it, it finally ended up becoming a demonic beast.

Vivian thus explained to Shien.

"There are also magicians who will use magic to create this kind of demonic beast, and they would control these to battle and work. They're a type of demonic beast that could appear anywhere. The higher their levels are, the bigger they get, and if it's a golem from certain dungeons, they could have a number of valuable minerals within their body, so they're quite popular among a lot of people. That said, there are also golems like these that act like rocks by the side of the road and attack from ambush whenever someone passes by."

Naturally, these kind of golems tend to have very few magical mineral mixed in, and their levels are also low. If not, they wouldn't have left the magic spring to attack people in the first place.

"Their aim is merchant caravans delivering minerals or people like us adventurers who carry lots of valuable metals as weapons and other equipment. Consuming these metels is their best way to increase their power, raise their level, and refine their bodies for the better."

Vivian carefully appraised the golem running towards them and spoke up to Shien.

"From this golem's shape, its level should be around 15 or so, maybe 20 at the very most, so it shouldn't be a dangerous opponent for you."

That sentence made Shien understand what Vivian was planing.

"We'll leave it to you then." Vivian told Shien, "Let us see just how strong you are."

This is his first test after becoming an adventurer and joining Vivian's party.

Shien noticed. It wasn't just Vivian. Even Diere, Lumia, and Melika had their gaze on him.

In front, the heavy steps of the golem that was like a giant made of stone thundered closers.

"Understood."

Shien nodded his head towards the others and thus walked over towards the golem's direction while pulling out the sword at his waist.

A man and a rock thus closed the distance between them.

Vivian, Diere Lumia, and Melika quietly observed from the back.

As he noticed the various gazes at his back, Shien begun calculating in his mind.

(Just how much of my true strength should I use?)

Since he's supposed to be a newbie adventurer who hasn't learned a single skill, then he can't possibly show too much battle power right?

(First of all, [Limit Evolution] can't be used, nor can I show the damage resistance skills. Therefore, I can't let it hit me.)

Unlike [Limit Evolution] and those other skills that require manual activation, passive skills are just like how they're written, they take effect from the moment they've been learned. There's no way for him to choose whether or not to use them. In that case, for the sake of not exposing those passive skills, Shien could only do his best to avoid them being discovered.

Next, his fighting skills need to be lowered. He can't show off too much, and he'll need to pay attention when he dodges too. Only that way could he hide the existence of the [War God] and [Dodge] skills.

As for the Holy Sword, obviously it absolutely cannot be used.

(However, I can't put on too ugly a show.)

Otherwise, if he made Vivian and group think he's really weak and has no potential as an adventurer, then the result of the test wouldn't bear seeing, and in the end he would lose out on his goal of becoming an adventurer.

Thus, Shien needs to show a certain amount of competence, but he also can't show too much. At the same time, he also needs to hide his own many skills for the sake of not exposing his secrets.

(I really do have it hard.)

Shien complained in his mind.

But demonic beasts won't understand the kind of feeling that Shien has, and with the sound of heavy steps, it's already charged before Shien.

"Come."

Shien could only throw away the various thoughts in his mind, gather his focus, and gaze at the golem before him.

In the next moment, the golem that charged right before Shien raised its heavy arms and swung its boulder like fists at Shien.

The [Dodge] skill automatically activated, controlled Shien's body, and had him dodge away.

However, for the sake of not exposing his skill, Shien could only do his best to control it. Only until the golem's fist nearly struck him did he finally move, and purposefully showed some inexperienced movement to dodge that hit.

In and instant, a pressure gust blasted across Shien's body.

"Boom!"

With a thunderous boom, the golem's heavy fist struck the ground while barely grazing by Shien. The ground shook along with a rising cloud of dust.

At that moment, Shien who dodged to the side finally moved. He accurately pinpointed the golem's stunned moment after its attack to close the distance.

"Clang!"

With the sound of an impact, the sharp sword swung in a curve in the air and viciously slammed into one of the golem's feet, forcing it to its knees.