How To Leave The Hero Party- Chapter 24

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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The Pale Moon was a monster that specialized in mental attacks.

Its signature skill, “Recollection,” was a notoriously frustrating attack that forced the target to relive their past, preventing them from using their skills properly.

Veronica, for example, was completely incapacitated, her mind reeling every time she tried to use a skill.

Of course, there were countermeasures. A Bard’s or Jester’s healing (mental), or a Warrior’s healing (physical), could snap someone out of it.

But that was the normal player’s way. A veteran like me had a different approach.

A counter-attack, using a non-discriminatory, area-of-effect mental attack to weaken the Pale Moon’s influence. Fighting fire with fire.

That was the reason I had brought these two, the trolls of the adventurer world, with me.

Wilkers’ incessant chatter and Lark’s pig-slaughtering music.

The mental shockwave created by this duo affected not only the Pale Moon, but our entire party, preventing Veronica from getting lost in her flashbacks.

Of course, it took a toll on our own sanity as well.

“Veronica! Are you alright?!”

“…Yes.”

The silver-haired beauty, who had been staring at me blankly, snapped out of her daze. Was it because of Lark’s death rock performance? She frowned and grumbled,

“My ears are ringing.”

“I’m sure they are.”

Anyone who wasn’t used to this cacophony would have lost their minds.

But Veronica, with her high mental fortitude, seemed to be handling it relatively well.

Even if she wasn’t, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

“If it’s too much, fall back and rest!”

I could cover for her, at least for a while.

I pulled on Veronica’s hand. She stumbled to her feet, looked at the Pale Moon, and bit her lip hard.

A trickle of blood ran down her chin.

“What kind of priest would rest in the face of such evil?”

She gripped her Divine Mark and, after assessing the situation, unleashed her most powerful skill.

Blessing of Light.

A high-level priest skill that healed the party’s health and mental fortitude, and also created a protective barrier.

As it was a skill, Veronica’s eyes glazed over again. A sign that she was about to fall under the “Recollection” status effect. I slapped her across the face.

–Smack!

Not because I disliked her.

This was just the Warrior’s healing (physical).

“Gah.”

A red handprint appeared on Veronica’s pale cheek.

I felt bad for hitting a friend, but it couldn’t be helped.

Lark wasn’t in good shape either.

He had been strumming his lute so relentlessly that blood was dripping from his fingertips, and he was coughing more and more frequently.

I couldn’t rely on them forever…

“Aaaargh! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”

“Ugh! Why is this thing so strong?! Why won’t it die?! Aaaargh! This is insane! The last time I saw something this strong was back in Trilvania…”

…Never mind. They’d be fine.

They were tougher than they looked.

“…Am I holding you back?”

“Whoa, of course not. You’re doing great.”

Seeing her stress levels rising from her perceived uselessness, I gripped Veronica’s shoulder.

“You’re a huge help, so don’t worry about it!”

Stress reduction was a supporter’s job.

I tossed the throat lozenges I had made with alchemy to Lark and Wilkers. As they caught them and cleared their throats, continuing their assault on the Pale Moon, I lifted Veronica’s chin and looked her straight in the eyes.

“Ugh!”

She flinched and avoided my gaze. Did I hit her too hard? Her cheek was getting redder.

“Is… is that… really… true?”

“Of course.”

“More than the Hero’s Party?”

“What a silly question.”

“…More than the Princess?”

Why was she bringing up Lucille now?

Anyway, I needed to lower her stress, so I could afford a little sweet talk.

“I suppose so?”

“Will you join me after this?”

“Ah, no.”

There were some things I couldn’t compromise on.

“…Tch.”

She looked disappointed, but she seemed to have regained some of her resolve.

“Sage! Something’s wrong with it!”

At Lark’s shout, I turned to the Pale Moon. Its tentacles had stopped moving. The eye on its white, egg-like surface had closed.

“Phew… is it… over?”

“No! Wilkers! Get your ultimate ready! Hey! Lark! I hate to say this, but we have no choice!”

“Huh?”

“It’s a duet!!”

“What did you say?!”

Our musical tastes were completely incompatible, but it couldn’t be helped. I grabbed my lute. Lark hesitated, then pulled a sheet of music from his pocket and tossed it to me.

“Can you play this?”

I couldn’t.

“How am I supposed to play something this complicated?! Just follow my lead! Veronica! Get ready!”

“Huh? Oh!”

“Hymn, ‘Let the Light Come unto Me,’ on three! Everyone, brace yourselves! You might get confused when it changes form!”

–Crack!

A crack appeared on the Pale Moon’s surface. A sign that something else was about to emerge. We tensed, and as the tension reached its peak,

–Shatter!

The white surface shattered, revealing a horrifying monster with dozens of eyes. A monster with four arms, two legs, and hundreds of tentacles sprouting from its back.

“Aaaargh! What is that?!”

“Oh, light…”

“That’s… kind of cool! Wow! Mr. Sage! That’s stimulating my artistic sensibilities!”

…I couldn’t understand Wilkers’ sensibilities. To call something so grotesque “cool.”

Well, at least one of them was still standing.

Lark and Veronica were frozen in shock, but Wilkers and I could still move.

–ROAR!!!

The second phase began with a roar. The monster, unlike before, raised its long arms, preparing a wide-range attack. Wilkers immediately raised his staff.

“Let the shadows stop all that is here!!”

As Wilkers raised his staff, dozens, hundreds of shadows erupted from the ground, binding the monster.

That was Multiple Shadow Seal, the Shaman’s ultimate skill.

A powerful skill that could even immobilize the Demon King, the final boss of the main storyline.

It was the reason most players included a shaman in their party, and it was just as effective in reality.

“How long do I have to hold it?”

“Until they snap out of it! Just wait!”

I strummed the lute I had pulled out. The song was “Spring Breeze.” I couldn’t mess this up…

–Strum~ strum~ ting ting ting~

Thankfully, I played it perfectly. As the song ended, the frozen Lark and Veronica gasped for air.

“Gasp… gasp…”

“Phew…”

“Lark! Duet, now! And Veronica! Attack when Wilkers’ skill wears off! We’ll support you!”

“Ugh… I hate hymns.”

“Just for this once, let’s try to find some common musical ground!”

This hymn was the most effective song I could play.

And as a hymn, it would benefit our main damage dealer, Veronica.

–Strum~ ting~

Lark grumbled, but as I started playing, he harmonized with me. And then,

“When the spring light settles here~ O blessed saint~! Grant us eternal rest~!”

Next was Lark. The problem was how he would sing it…

Would he be able to swallow his musical pride?

Surely, he wouldn’t troll us now?

“The light of truth is a blessing~ O eternal rest~ Dispel the darkness from this place~”

…What was with that voice?

“W- Wow…”

“Good heavens…”

He could sing this well, and he had been singing those grotesque songs all this time?

Not just me, but Wilkers and Veronica were also staring at him in shock. Lark, his scales flushing slightly, continued the hymn.

“When the mad darkness retreats from this place~ The spring saint shall be blessed~”

Our duet began to empower Veronica. She stared at us, dumbfounded, then quickly snapped out of it and gripped her mace.

“I’m going in!”

The hymn only empowered Veronica, but that was fine. I had seen Wilkers fight in worse situations during our dungeon runs.

So, all we had to do was…

“O light~ O light~”

Stay back, sing our hearts out, and play until our fingers bled.

–Crumble…

Empowered by the continuous hymn, Veronica’s attacks were more than enough to damage the Pale Moon.

Battered by her mace and repeatedly bound by the Shadow Seal, the Pale Moon finally crumbled. We gasped for breath, our song finally coming to an end.

“Is it over…?”

Veronica muttered, looking at the crumbling Pale Moon. Normally, those would have been resurrection-triggering words, but it was really over.

Wait, there was something more important.

“Hey! Lark! You can sing that well, and yet you always sing those….”

“What?! ‘Those’?”

“‘Those’! You idiot!”

He could sing better than the royal musicians. Wilkers and Veronica were also staring at him with curiosity. He thumped his long tail against the ground and grumbled,

“A master must walk his own path.”

Please… don’t walk that path…

The three of us were dumbfounded, but Lark just scoffed.

Well, what could I say? He was determined to stick to his own musical values.

“…Can’t you just stick to the basics for the Princess’s birthday party?”

“Heh. I will not stop until my path is known to the royal family and the nobles.”

Ah, right. I’ll make sure to be somewhere else that day.

“Phew… so, is it over?”

“It’s over.”

With the achievement unlocked, all that remained was to collect the loot.

I walked towards the remains of the Pale Moon. Amidst the stone-like debris, what I was looking for was…

“Found it.”

A cylindrical sword hilt.

“What is that?”

Veronica, curious, followed me. I had no reason to hide it, so I showed it to her.

“A sword hilt?”

“Yeah.”

“What is it?”

“A weapon called Moonlight.”

“A weapon? This?”

“Yeah. It works like this.”

I brought my lute to the hilt. The lute was enveloped in light and absorbed into the hilt.

“Huh? What just happened?”

“The moon changes its shape. So does Moonlight. If you register a weapon with it, it can transform into that weapon.”

As a Sage who could use skills from all classes, I had to be proficient with a wide variety of weapons.

But how could I carry them all?

Even in the game, with its limited inventory, utilizing the Sage class to its full potential was difficult.

The effectiveness of many skills depended on the weapon.

So, the developers had created a weapon specifically for the Sage. And this was it.

I transformed the Moonlight, which had taken the form of a lute, back into its original shape and secured it at my waist.

“Mr. Sage! So, is it over now?”

I glanced at the curious Wilkers, then checked my achievement list.

Yes.

It was over.

Here, at least.

“…Sage, you’ve been through a lot… would you mind stopping by the Church?”

Veronica, looking exhausted, asked as she collected a fragment of the Pale Moon. She probably wanted me to act as a witness and explain what had happened.

The Church, huh?

Of course, I’d go.

I had a linked event achievement to unlock.

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