"Y-You…how did y–"

Before Lesha could finish her words, she had vanished into red cubic particles, reappearing a few dozen meters away, beneath the statue of the unknown goddess.

The dumbfounded look remained on her face for a while before a heavy scowl took over.

She walked over aggressively to Daru, who was performing the satisfying motion of sheathing his tachi.

Ascalon's eyes widened upon realizing something, hurriedly stepping in before the young female Veshari could grab Daru.

"H-Hey, calm down and let him explain first."

But Lesha ignored the SS-ranker, extending her arms, though she wasn't able to reach.

"YOU! HOW DID YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON MY CLAN'S SWORD SKILL?!" she snarled, cold fury swirling in her usually easygoing, lazy eyes.

Lesha was from a very prominent and established Veshari Clan.

Although she rarely experienced delightful things within their grounds and was even called and considered a slight disappointment at some point, despite her being an S-ranker, she was proud of the fact that she was a member, even if only of the Second Lineage.

Perhaps this was engraved deeply by the fact that her older brother, father, and mother were passionately the same.

Competence was king in the Varesha Clan, and the few moments she had been caught lazing around instead of training were already enough to lower her standing.

Even so, her clan was a huge part of who she was, and High Clans of the Veshari race are very protective of their Legacy Sword Skills.

After all, they were that — their legacies.

Such sword skills have no copies, and only the members of the said High Clans, or their honorary members, at most, were allowed to learn them.

Even mere vassals have no such right.

This was why Lesha exploded in bewildered, cold fury upon witnessing Daru use it.

She was so disoriented that she couldn't focus on the match and lost almost instantaneously.

Of course, the other races have Legacy Sword Skills, too, though top human guilds aren't as strict as Veshari High Clans.

They would even allow their Legacy Sword Skills to be learned for a price.

Daru's brows furrowed in puzzlement at Lesha's anger as he turned to face her, failing to wrap his head around why she was so angry about his learning and using Swallow Step.

"Explain it to me right now, or I'll duel you to the death, you bastard!!"

Daru frowned at her words. He did not like being called a bastard.

"I'm not a bastard," he began. "Why are you so angry about me using Swallow Step?"

But then, to everyone's surprise, the fuming gray beast suddenly calmed down, seemingly…embarrassed?

"S-Swallow Step?" Lesha asked, clearing her throat. "Not Stradarva Step?"

"No. My sword skill is called Swallow Step." Daru confirmed with a nod, though he couldn't deny that he was a bit puzzled himself.

He learned it from Lesha, after all, so how could the sword skill be different?

"W-Well, if that's the case, then fine…I apologize for…uh…my outburst. Shall we return to the shack?"

The young female Veshari found it difficult to stay here after the embarrassing commotion she caused, hurriedly striding back to the meeting shack.

The still-confused Daru and the inwardly chuckling Ascalon followed.

Unbeknownst to the three youngsters, the reason was simpler than they thought: Lexical Equivalents.

A Swallow is called a Stradarva by the Vesharis.

This small difference allowed the hopefuls of Egress to avoid disaster.

A few minutes of walking later, the door of the meeting shack creaked open, and a scowling Lesha entered.

Not because of her defeat, but because she was embarrassed at her actions.

The male human duo entered a few dozen seconds after her, coming back to an uproariously laughing Nando.

"BAHAHAHAHA! How embarrassing. You really lost to someone three years younger? Gods…ooh, your clan wouldn't be happy if they learned of this…Aihh, if only I could, I would tell them of your glorious achievements myself…"

The headless old man certainly had a ruthless mouth.

Lesha's already sour mood worsened, yet she didn't snap disrespectfully, swallowing her anger instead.

It was she who made the mistake, after all, plus the ancient fart truly had a special place in their hearts, like an annoying grandfather.

The moment Nando noticed Daru and Ascalon, he shot a thumbs-up at the former.

"Good job, kid! I guess you weren't the savior for nothing, huh? I've known all along you're competent! From the moment I laid my eyes on you, in fact. How would you have survived alone for such a long time, otherwise? These incompetent brats are really lucky to have you in their ranks. Heck, I believe they should be begging you to join their operation instead!"

Ascalon's mood soured, too, but like Lesha, he simply allowed the irksome old man's words and his fleeting anger to pass.

The ancient fart had been like this for as long as they've known him.

Far more unhinged things had come out of his vicious mouth before, so this really wasn't anything new and could even be considered relatively mild.

A few moments later, the old man exhaled in utter satisfaction, proceeding to stand up and leave the shack.

Lesha followed him with her gaze for a few seconds before asking:

"Where are you going? We're about to plan the cemetery operation to retrieve your head."

"Bah! What else do you need from me? I've already told you what you need to know. You already know that those damned wraiths learn, so just change the angle a bit. Even dumb brats like you should be able to think of this."

Nando then pulled the door open, leaving without responding to Ascalon's words about him sneaking out again, and that the villagers would be watching his every move.

"Aihh…that literally damned old man…" the SS-ranker sighed in exhaustion before shifting his attention to Daru.

"Well, that's that. We promised you could join the operation if you won, and since you won, then welcome to our humble Damnedling Army…I guess…"

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