Chương 512: Chapter : 512

"This is exactly like a filler episode," Ken thought to himself casually. His internal voice was completely relaxed.

"We just finished a massive, epic storyline. We saved the city. We won the tournament. Now we have to do a boring, low-level monster hunting quest. The writers are just padding out the runtime. The animation budget is probably running low. They reused the background art for these trees three times already." Olivia walked right next to Ken. She did not walk at the front with Princess Iris. She intentionally stayed in the back. She wanted to keep a very close eye on the lazy boy.

She held her silver-tipped spear tightly. She marched with perfect, crisp footsteps.

"Pick your feet up, Ken," Olivia ordered strictly. She did not even look at him. She kept her eyes focused straight ahead.

"You are dragging your shoes. You are making unnecessary noise. Noise attracts hostile targets." Ken let out a dramatic sigh.

"I am dragging my feet because my stamina bar is completely empty. It is blinking red right now. I need a health potion. Or maybe a chocolate muffin. A muffin is basically a magical healing item."

"You are not playing a game," Olivia reprimanded him. Her voice was sharp.

"This is real combat. You must take this seriously. You lack any semblance of martial discipline. Your posture is atrocious. Your uniform is wrinkled. You are an absolute liability to this formation." Naomi heard the strict scolding. She turned around and jogged back to them. She did not look happy with Olivia's harsh words. Naomi placed her hands on her hips. She looked at the spear user.

"Ease up, Olivia. We are just walking. There are no monsters around here yet. Ken is perfectly fine. He always talks like this." Olivia stopped walking. She turned to face the vanguard leader. She looked entirely baffled.

"Naomi, he is a danger to himself and to us," Olivia argued. She pointed a firm finger at Ken's untucked shirt.

"If we are ambushed right now, he will not survive. He does not carry a weapon. He refuses to maintain a defensive stance. Why do you constantly defend his incompetence?"

"Because he is not incompetent," Naomi replied smoothly. Her green eyes shone with absolute, undeniable trust. She smiled fondly at Ken.

"He helps in his own way. You just have not seen it yet. You need to stop treating him like a new recruit. He is a core member of this family." Olivia stared at Naomi. She stared at Ken. The strict warrior felt a massive headache forming behind her eyes. She could not comprehend the situation. Naomi was practically glowing with affection for a boy who was currently trying to balance a small pebble on his nose.

"I am activating my breathing technique," Ken announced lazily. He crossed his eyes to look at the pebble.

"Sleep Breathing, First Form: Total Relaxation. It is an incredibly powerful move. It requires zero muscle tension." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The pebble fell off his nose and hit the dirt. Ken pouted. Ira walked past them. The pale water mage stopped for a fraction of a second. Her face showed zero emotion. She stared blankly at Olivia.

"Statistically speaking, attempting to alter Ken's behavior yields a zero percent success rate," Ira stated in her robotic, deadpan voice.

"It is a highly inefficient use of your vocal cords. I recommend ignoring his commentary entirely." Ira turned around and kept walking perfectly straight. Olivia's jaw dropped slightly. Even the emotionless, completely logical water mage was making excuses for him. The entire unit had completely lost their minds. They had all fallen under some bizarre, lazy spell.

"I will not ignore his lack of discipline," Olivia declared firmly to herself. She gripped her spear.

"I will force him to pull his weight today. I will not let him hide." The group finally reached the edge of the abandoned stone quarry. The quarry was a massive, deep crater carved into the earth. Huge walls of solid gray rock surrounded the area. Large boulders and broken stones littered the ground. The air smelled like dry dust and old minerals. Princess Iris raised her hand. She signaled the team to stop. Her violet eyes scanned the rocky terrain.

"We have arrived," Princess Iris stated softly. She drew her silver rapier.

"The rogue beasts should be nesting down there. Stay alert. Keep your eyes on the shadows." A low, terrifying growl echoed from the bottom of the quarry. The sound bounced off the stone walls. It sounded like massive boulders grinding together. Dozens of large, hulking creatures stepped out from behind the rocks. They were armored boars. They were the size of small carriages. Thick, jagged gray stone plates covered their bodies. Their tusks were made of sharp, solid iron.

They scraped their metal hooves against the dirt. They looked incredibly aggressive.

"Armored boars," Sayma observed politely. She pushed her glasses up. She opened her notebook.

"They possess immense physical charging speed. Their frontal defenses are highly resilient. We must target their unprotected flanks." Laxmi grinned wildly. She slammed her fists together. Bright orange flames erupted around her hands.

"Finally! Time to melt some bacon! I am going to roast them perfectly!" Zinia cracked her knuckles. She stomped her boot on the ground.

"I will build the walls! Funnel them toward me!" The vanguard prepared to charge down into the quarry. The battle was about to begin. Ken immediately turned around. He looked for the largest, most comfortable boulder he could find. He spotted a nice, smooth rock near the edge of the cliff.

"Alright, good luck everyone," Ken said cheerfully. He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I am going to go sit behind that rock. I will provide extremely valuable moral support from a very safe distance. Do not worry about me. I will be totally fine." He took two lazy steps toward the rock. A silver spear shaft suddenly blocked his path. Olivia stepped directly in front of him. She held her spear horizontally across his chest. Her dark eyes burned with intense, strict determination. She did not look amused at all.

"You are not hiding today, Ken Eliot," Olivia commanded coldly.

"You are going to take the left flank. You are going to participate in this combat scenario. If you try to run away, I will personally drag you back into the fight." Ken stopped walking. He looked at the silver spear. He looked at Olivia's angry face. He let out a massive, dramatic sigh that came from the absolute bottom of his soul.

"This is a complete violation of my contract," Ken complained loudly to the sky.

"I am just the snack inspector! I do not do flanks! I only do snacks!" The armored boars roared loudly. They charged up the dusty slope. The intense, chaotic monster hunt officially began, and Ken was absolutely trapped on the frontlines.

The massive armored boars charged up the dusty slope. The ground shook violently under their heavy metal hooves. They lowered their heads. They aimed their sharp iron tusks directly at the 13th Unit. They moved like speeding, unstoppable boulders.