God’s Guide for Teasing Heroes

Chapter 104

Rio POV

I successfully landed my attack on the enemy.

I stared at him so I could read his thoughts.

[Ah~ That was a close call... Edmon, Edmon... you should not do this]

It seems that the man was blaming himself for being careless.

I guess he did not expect me to have such a powerful ace under my sleeves.

[If I did not block that one just now, I might not be standing here now... Aa... my bad habits... I don't learn, do I? How many times do I get careless like this... Edmon... you need to calm down a bit... There is no way that you'll get killed by your prey right?...]

He mocked himself internally.

He was pissed.

As I was reading his thoughts I realized that he was not as simple as he looked.

By just looking at his outward appearance you may say that this man looked "crazy".

Earlier, his only thought was to take down Kazue and drink her blood.

He was out of his mind earlier as he was too excited to get a taste of Kazue's blood once again.

His bloodthirstyness prevented him from thinking straight.

[Well... I guess that my attack just now woke him up?]

I turned my gaze to Kazue.

I took a peek at what she was thinking.

[5 minutes huh... I guess I have no choice but to stall time for another 5 minutes...]

It may sound desperate but Kazue's mind is clear and relaxed.

No, I can even tell that she was feeling great, she was feeling excited.

Kazue might not realize this herself but there is a clear expression of enjoyment painted on her face.

I know her, she loves challenges.

I learned this about her back when we still enjoyed playing games together in our world.

After seeing that my attack was able to do that much damage to the enemy, Kazue became hopeful as she saw a way to defeat this man.

Kazue was hopeful.

She can now see a "win condition" for this fight.

I returned my gaze to the man.

[I guess I will be using this skill then...]

(Bloodseeker's Pressure)

He secretly activated a skill.

If I could not read minds, there is no way for me to know this.

[For now, I need to kill that pest first.]

[Let me try to act crazy a bit more, I will wait for those two to drop their guard a bit...]

He thought as he glanced at me.

It's quite obvious that he meant that he wanted to deal with me first.

Despite how crazy he looked it seemed that he was thinking straight.

"Kihahahaha!"

He laughed loudly.

He looked crazy like he was before.

Although, I know very well that he is only acting.

I talked in a low voice.

I talked in a soft voice to ensure that Edmon would not hear anything.

"Kazue, be careful. I think he's acting like he's crazy but he's very sane."

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah..."

"... I don't know... But well... I guess I'll keep that in mind."

I nod.

Kazue seemed to doubt my words but Kazue still trusted me enough to believe me.

Surely, this man acts well.

We should give him an Oscar for his acting skills.

He had indeed been focusing too much on Kazue till now.

I would even say that he is so focused on her that he fails to think straight.

I'd been trying to read his mind earlier but the thoughts on his mind had been focused on how good it was to taste Kazue's blood.

After receiving my attack, it seemed that he had awakened from his crazed thoughts.

Now, he is only acting like a crazy man.

Unfortunately for him, I can read minds.

This act of his won't deceive me.

Acting crazy he dashed forward.

Blood was still flowing down from all over his body.

He was like a crazy bleeding beast.

He went straight at Kazue once again.

Still, I can read his mind.

I can see right through his plans.

He charged at us.

Just like earlier, he ran toward Kazue like a crazed bull.

Kazue tried her best to dodge his attacks.

He swung his sword wildly making it easier for Kazue to dodge the attacks.

Even so, the speed and power of his attack still make it hard for Kazue to counter.

She could only focus on dodging his attacks.

She can't even properly block the wild swings without using a skill.

It was amazing to see Kazue managing to make him miss.

As for me, I am waiting for an opportunity to strike.

That is what I wanted to say but in actuality, I was observing the man.

Although it may look like he is only doing wild swings, he making it so that he is vulnerable to an attack from behind.

On the surface, from the way he acts like a crazy beast, it looks like his back was wide open for an attack.

But... I know.

He is trying to bait me.

He was doing this on purpose.

He is waiting for me to attack him again and by the time I do so, he will shift his attention to me and attack me instead.

By then, as I am not aware that he is sane, he will finish me right there and then.

In all honesty, I can't do what Kazue is doing right now.

I can't fight him in a face-to-face combat like Kazue does at the moment.

I don't have the technical skill to actually fight like she does.

It's not just a matter of skill, it's a matter of stats.

Unlike Kazue who generally has high status, I on the other hand only have high Agility stats.

I could not even dream of blocking an attack from that man.

If I did, my hands would break from the sheer impact of the blow.

My strength and vitality stats are not enough to take an attack.

I learned this after experiencing blocking Edmon's swing to support Kazue from earlier.

It was so heavy that just blocking a normal swing from him would rattle my entire body.

Lastly, my fighting style focuses on stealth and creating opportunities for a single devastating blow.

I don't want to admit it but my fighting style is not suited for a head-on battle.

His overwhelming advantage in stats will be a big problem.

The man started to mix up his attack.

He did so because he was getting frustrated that I still did not approach him.

He intends to force me to make a move.

To do that he needed to make a reason for me to do it.

At first, he deliberately exposed his back to me, inviting me to attack him while his back was turned away.

Knowing that it was a trap I simply ignored it and carefully looked for a perfect time to strike.

I did not need to rush.

I will wait for the right moment to attack.

When Edmon saw that I had no business falling into his trap, he needed to create another reason for me to attack him.

He gave up on the idea of purposely exposing an opening for me to attack and just focused on Kazue.

His reasoning was simple.

If Kazue is in danger I have no choice but to support her.

Just like what I did earlier.

Thus, he performed a more accurate attack directed at Kazue.

Rather than being wild, it was more controlled and planned.

A series of well-placed combos of swings flurried onto Kazue.

Kazue dodged the first one.

Used the skill (Dodge) on the second one.

Then she was forced to use the skill (Parry) on the third one.

By the fourth attack, Kazue's guard was blown away.

Without a skill, Kazue could not maintain her balance.

If I don't come in to disrupt the fifth attack Kazue will be seriously hurt.

Before he could even do his fifth attack I did come and attacked him.

Just as he planned, he immediately shifted his attention to me.

Maintaining his crazy expressions right to the last moment.

I attacked.

As soon as I attacked his movement changed.

He skillfully dodged my attack and directed his attack at me.

Kazue who saw the sudden change in movement from the man surprised her.

"Rio!"

Kazue called out my name.

Kazue must have realized that this man was indeed acting like a crazy beast as I had told her earlier.

Kazue quickly tried to recover and try to cover for me.

"Die!"

I was anticipating this and used a skill.

(Assassin Skill: Escaping Maneuver I)

A skill similar to (Dodge) only it enables me to move at incredible speeds that would normally be impossible with my current stats.

Unlike (Dodge) which only makes one move away from the attack by moving for a step or two.

(Assassin Skill: Escaping Maneuver I), allowed me to move in great distance away.

In an instant, my body moved several meters away from harm.

Edmon could not even reach me as my body moved faster than his swings.

-tsk-

He missed miserably.

He clicked his tongue as he realized that he missed his chance to kill me.

It even clearly infuriated him to see that he was not even close enough to catch me.

"Stuuupid~"

I said to taunt him.

-tsk-

Kazue let out a sigh of relief and also distanced herself from him.

We stood in opposite directions.

The man stood still in the middle.

He placed his free hand over his face again.

"Kikik... Aa~ this going to be a harder catch than I initially anticipated..."

He sighed again.

"Kikiki..."

Then followed by a giggle

"Aa~ No matter, this will only make her blood taste better... I guess I have to get more serious..."

"This guy, he really was sane..."

Kazue said.

"Oh... you two realized it... that explains why that girl hesitated to attack me even how much I left my back open... I guess you two knew beforehand that I was just acting..."

"Your acting sucks, that's why."

I said to him once again to taunt him.

But to be honest, if not for my ability to read mind, I would never have noticed.

"Really... I am confident that I am good at acting like a crazy man... That's too bad... It's the first time I saw someone see through me."

Kazue's face remained stiff.

It was obvious what she was thinking.

Even without reading her thoughts, I knew what she was thinking.

She...

Out of curiosity, I read her mind.

[Crap... I did not notice that at all... Rio... I'm amazed you actually noticed that...]

As expected, I was right.

Well... I doubt anyone other than me could tell by just looking at her expressions.

After all, Kazue is the type who barely expresses her emotions in the first place.

I find that cute.

[What am I thinking at times like this]

I told to myself as I realized how untimely my thoughts of the moment were.

I have to concentrate on the fight.

So far, it's quite obvious that in terms of pure stats, this man exceeds mine and Kazue's.

It is quite apparent that Kazue can barely manage to block his attack.

His strength stats must be high.

Also since he managed to tank most of Kazue's attacks and my most powerful blow, his vitality stat must be pretty high too.

His skill set reminds me of a Hybrid-built swordsman in RPG games I played in our world.

In simple words, a tough beefy fighter who has a lot of firepower and quite high mobility.

With such a berserker-build fighting style, he must be confident with his STR and VIT stats.

His speed is nothing to laugh at either.

He is about as fast as Kazue after all.

[Now, what can I do...]

I am certain that I am faster than him.

If I use more of my movement buff skill I can move a lot faster than I am right now.

As an assassin, my skills are mostly focused on stealth and mobility.

If I move at my maximum speed, I am confident that I can easily outrun this man.

Meanwhile, Kazue is a swordsman, although Kazue also has a style focused on mobility, I doubt she can boost her speed as much as I can.

After all, the "Assassin" is one of the best job-class that excels in their mobility skills, whereas "Swordsman" such as Kazue is not.

I should also assume that this man also has some mobility-type skills.

He should also have some ace on his sleeves too, we must be careful of that too.

He raised his sword.

This time he is not acting like a wild beast.

His sword gives a different kind of glow other than the (Aura Blade).

He swings his sword down.

A crescent-like wave shot toward me.

(Swordwave)

I dodged the attack as It was shot from a distance.

Compared to the ones that Kazue used, his (Swordwave) was more powerful than that of Kazue's.

It scarred the land as it moved in the air and created a massive explosion as it hit the ground from where I stood.

If I get hit by one of those, I would be dead for sure.

Unlike before when he always went for Kazue, this time the man charged toward me.

He even used a skill (Burst) to charge at me.

I activated several skills at once as I saw him moving toward me.

(Swift), (Accelerate), (Speed Boost).

I activated 3 speed-boosting skills at once as I tried to move away.

As (Burst) could only be used while moving in a straight path, I moved sideways to avoid him.

As I did, he was not fast enough to catch up to me.

I easily left him behind as my movements were significantly faster than his.

-tsk-

He saw this and changed his approach.

He clicked his tongue again.

He saw that I had no intention of engaging him in face-to-face combat.

He tried to chase after me some more.

Despite using (Burst) he could not catch me since I kept on moving from side to side to avoid him.

When he missed catching me again, he stopped and seemingly gave up.

He must have realized that it was futile to go after me as he would not be able to catch up to my speed.

-grrr-

He growled in anger.

Kazue was running behind watching us having a chase race.

Not long after he stopped chasing after me.

He returned his gaze at Kazue and decided to just go after her.

He must have conceded that he would not be able to catch me.

The only way he could catch me is if "I" willingly came close to him.

(Burst)

He charged straight toward Kazue using (Burst).

Just as he did.

Kazue used several skills to increase her speed.

It would be unthinkable for him to chase after Kazue if he only used (Burst), thus it makes sense that he must have used a speed-boosting skill too.

He then charged at Kazue again, but now with a greater speed than before.

Kazue would also use (Burst) and some speed-boosting skills to keep a distance away from Edmon.

Rather than a fight, it became a game of tag.

We all moved in about the same speed so it was hard for him to catch up.

Still, even with that boost in speed, he will not be able to catch me as I still have several speed-boosting skills to use.

He must have known this, that is why he chose to chase after Kazue instead.

Unlike when he chased after me and gave up immediately.

He chased after Kazue without giving her a chance to breathe.

He truly believes that he can catch up to Kazue.

Their movement speed is almost a match.

From time to time he would get an opportunity to strike at Kazue.

Kazue would skillfully dodge.

Still, he chased after Kazue.

He has a sinister smile on his face, as if confident in himself.

He was sure that he would be able to catch Kazue in one way or another.

I felt eerie about his attitude.

[He must be planning something...]

I've decided to read his mind again.

This cycle of him chasing after Kazue continues.

He attacked her whenever she was in his range.

Kazue would make him miss by skillfully dodging each of his attacks.

Kazue runs.

He chases after Kazue again.

This sequence repeated.

Rinse, Repeat.

Still, that savage smile on his face made me feel something was off.

Kazue also felt the same as she never dropped her guard even for a bit.

I looked into his eyes.

[That's right... run... Soon you will not have enough energy to move... With my skill (Bloodseeker's Pressure) you will soon run out of stamina.]

...

That is what was on his mind.

He was trying to exhaust Kazue's with a skill.

I looked at Kazue, she seemed that she was starting to get exhausted significantly faster than she normally would.

She hadn't noticed it yet but a lot of her stamina was being drained by the man's skill.

[This is bad, at this rate, Kazue will be too tired to run. She hasn't noticed it yet but at this rate, she will soon run out of energy.]

I need to warn her somehow.

But as much as possible I need to keep my skill to read minds a secret.

[Now.... how should I warn her?]

I placed myself running next to Kazue.

Behind us is Edmon.

"Kazue! Are you okay? you seemed tired!"

I yelled with a concerned tone.

As a response, Kazue let out a deep breath as she ran.

She was feeling tired.

As expected...

She still had no idea that the reason why she was feeling tired was because of a skill that man was using.

In normal circumstances, it would take a lot more than this for her to feel exhausted.

She still had not run for that long and yet she was feeling significantly tired.

It was odd.

Sure, if it was back in our world this much would be normal.

But... since we came to this world our physical capabilities have been boosted.

Running at full speed for an hour would barely make us tired.

But for some reason, she was getting tired very fast.

Was it because she was being too nervous?

No...

Something else was causing this exhaustion.

It was because of a skill that Edmon used in secret a while back.

(Bloodseeker's Pressure)

I need to inform her somehow.

Rio thought of a way to indirectly give Kazue an Idea of what was happening.

"Honestly... I don't know... I feel quite tired."

I looked at the man chasing after the two of us from behind.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so... I guess..."

Kazue talked short of breath.

"Hear me out... maybe the reason you're getting tired is because of a skill that man is using."

"???"

Kazue attentively listened to what I had to say.

A told Kazue a lie to give her an idea of what was happening.

"I've experienced this before, I was fighting a monster and I was depleting my stamina faster than I normally would. When I researched about it later, it seemed that it was a skill that the monster was using."

"Oh... then..."

"Yeah... that man must be using a skill similar to that."

"What the hell is that skill that's too much."

"Let's try defeating him once again... I can use that attack again now."

"Oh... I guess 5 minutes had passed."

I nod.

"..."

Kazue pondered for a moment.

Shortly after, she nodded as if resolving herself on something.

"Okay, Let's do it... we can't run away from him forever anyway. If he is using a skill that makes me tired faster then we might as well fight before my stamina runs out completely."

"Let's do it..."

"let's go..."

In an instant, Kazue shifted her body to face the man.

(Swordwave)

She used a skill toward the man.

A light wave came toward the man.

He responded with a (Swordwave) of his own and the two waves clashed.

It created a large explosion but it was clear that Kazue's (Swordwave) was significantly weaker compared to Edmon's.

"Oh? Are you done running?"

He stopped and asked Kazue in an amused tone.

Kazue also stood her ground.

I move on the side ready to attack his blind spot.

Edmon is aware of my intention and stays vigilant of my presence.

"Soo??? Are you done running away my little bunnies?"

"Who are you calling a little bunny... I have a name, It's Kazue... Mizusawa Kazue!"

"Kahahaha! Oh my, my bad... Kazue-chan..."

The two continued to talk...

Kazue was only stalling time.

As he was talking.

I stared at his eyes reading his thoughts...

[That's too bad, if you decide to keep running you will run out of stamina. My skill (Bloodseeker's Pressure) drains the stamina of the person whom the (Bloodseeker) skill is tracking. As long as they are consciously "Running away" from me, their stamina will be drained rapidly. That's too bad... if you don't try to run your stamina would not be drained... too bad... too bad...]

"..."

No wonder he was confident that he would eventually catch Kazue...

I see... so that is how his skill works...

His skill does not work if his target is not trying to "Run".

I guess it's the correct decision to face him head-on after all.

"tsk..."

I clicked my tongue out of annoyance.

If only Kazue was not being tracked by his skill...

At this rate, we have no choice but to fight and defeat him...

I let out a deep breath.

"I guess we have to commit to this..."

I left all of my unneeded thoughts and concentrated on our goal.

That goal... is to defeat Edmon.

I looked at Kazue.

It was the first time for me to see Kazue this cold.

She naturally had a serious-looking face, which added to the serious and cold look she was making right now...

Even I felt goosebumps looking at how scary Kazue looked at this moment.

There was only one thought on her mind...

[Kill]

Kazue POV

"Why won't you try and run away again?"

"Hahaha... I can't do that... you see I noticed that my stamina is being drained. Now that I think about it, it all started when I started trying my best to stay away from you..."

I gave the man a significant look.

A look as if telling him, "I've noticed what you're up to".

"Hehehe... I see ... so you noticed..."

"Now that I think about it, I started to feel tired when I started to desperately run away from you..."

"Kahahaha... I see... I see... It can't be helped. Yes... you are right. The reason why you started to feel tired was because of my skill. You see, it only activates when my "Prey" is trying to run away from me."

"..."

"I was planning to kill you helplessly once you exhaust all of your stamina. Once you have no more strength to run. Once you become too tired to even lift your leg. By then, I will enjoy draining your blood out of your neck and drink all of your blood dry."

He declared with an ecstatic look.

He was imagining how he would do that act.

He was enjoying himself engrossed in that delusion of debauching my blood.

Witnessing this, I could not help but look at him with disgust.

Still, I knew that he was serious, which is why I instead gave him a serious look.

I glared at him, I was trying to still my will that I would not allow that to happen.

Normally, I would try to mock him as he looked like your typical villain who could not stop himself from explaining his plans.

But, I knew that I was in a pinch and that I did not have the leisure to mock his words.

I get what he was trying to say.

He was indirectly saying to me that it is futile to try and run.

He wants me to fight him face to face.

He was saying that I have no choice.

If I run, I will surely run out of stamina and be killed helplessly.

"I see... then... for me to not be affected by that skill is for me to "NOT" try to run."

"Kahahaha, that's right, that's right. So... what I am telling you is to not waste your energy running. Just accept your fate and offer yourself to me."

"Accept my fate?"

I pointed my sword toward the man and spoke.

I deliberately lowered my tone to express my anger and annoyance.

"Do you think I would allow that to happen?"

"Kufufufu... that's more like it. The more lively you look now, the more I would enjoy myself when I slit your throat and drink your blood while you watch..."

"You're disgusting..."

"Kihihihi..."

He giggled as if enjoying my hateful words.

"Tsk..."

[Since I have no choice but to run, then I only have to defeat him right...]

In the last month of travel, I've been training a lot with Miss Alicia.

Miss Alicia was a lot stronger than this man.

No, this dude could not be compared to that noble lady's strength.

Sure... I cannot reach the tip of Alicia's toe in terms of power and fighting abilities.

But thanks to her, I did not feel pressured to fight him at all.

All the training and experience fighting a lot stronger opponent like Miss Alicia was helping me to keep my cool.

All I have to do is to apply the things I learned during that time.