‘What’s going on? Am I falling right now?’
Even as she plummeted rapidly, Ariel couldn’t regain her composure.
The shock was so great that she couldn’t even speak properly.
It wasn’t the fear of falling. If that had scared her, she wouldn’t have devised a plan to descend vertically off a cliff to launch an air raid into the heart of the enemy’s territory.
The reason for her dumbfounded state was something else.
‘My brother… kicked me off the cliff? Why on earth?’
She had trusted Ian to descend with her, but he had pushed her off the cliff instead.
For Ariel, the realization was nothing short of shocking.
What made it worse was that she hadn’t even noticed the push until the very last moment because of her overly effective heavy armor.
‘Could he be trying to kill me by dropping me into the middle of the enemy camp? No, that can’t be it.’
As she helplessly plummeted, all sorts of thoughts ran through her head.
Initially, she was confused, but that emotion gradually turned into doubt.
Had Ian grown tired of her childish antics and decided to drop her off the cliff to get rid of her? The thought gnawed at a corner of her mind.
Of course, she knew Ian wasn’t the kind of person who would do such a thing. Still, wasn’t the situation just a little suspicious?
‘Dropping me alone into that mass of enemies…’
Thrown off balance by the push, Ariel flailed in the air.
She managed to steady herself eventually, but soon she would reach the ground and have to engage in battle immediately.
Knowing how much damage an unprepared fight could cause, it wasn’t easy to understand Ian’s actions.
If things went badly, she might even consider it a betrayal and treat him as an enemy.
‘No, that’s not it. There’s no way my brother would do that.’
Even Ariel couldn’t deny it entirely.
The image of Ian watching her fall with an impassive expression was etched into her memory.
Could this really be betrayal?
Was Ian trying to kill her?
It was at that moment, as she gripped her sword tightly, that she remembered.
‘Wait a second… That’s right. He did say it. This time, he wanted to test my judgment.’
The words Ian had spoken while outlining the plan to wipe out the demons suddenly came to mind.
Though it had seemed like an offhand comment at the time, Ian had definitely said he intended to evaluate her.
‘When he pushed me off the cliff, I wondered what he was doing. But maybe this is all part of the test?’
Ordinary people might have complained about being pushed suddenly and asked what kind of test this was.
But Ariel, at least, could somewhat grasp the situation now.
Being dropped suddenly into the middle of an enemy camp—hadn’t she experienced this often enough?
‘Back when I was part of the Hero Party, I’d often charge recklessly into enemy lines and cause similar situations.’
Whenever Ariel saw demons, she felt compelled to cut them down without a second thought, often ignoring her teammates’ advice and rushing forward, leading to chaotic situations like this one.
At the time, her holy sword, the strongest weapon against demons, allowed her to clear the enemies quickly and give her companions some rest.
But her conversation with Hexar had changed her perspective.
She realized her reckless actions had often put her companions in danger instead.
‘Charging ahead without considering the situation left my teammates struggling to cover for my absence.’
A hero’s role is to protect the party’s damage dealers and block enemy advances.
While Hexar, a renowned warrior of the empire, took on the primary responsibility for this, even he couldn’t handle every enemy alone.
That’s why the Hero Party relied on Ariel as a secondary tank to assist Hexar in holding the line.
But what happens when the secondary tank abandons her post to dive into the heart of the enemy?
‘I didn’t ease Hexar’s burden; I only added to it. There were even times when I put Glendia in danger at the rear.’
In a small party, covering for one person’s absence isn’t easy.
It was hard enough for everyone to fulfill their own roles, let alone take on Ariel’s responsibilities as well.
And the one who bore the brunt of it was none other than her brother, Ian.
‘He’d dart between the rear and the front lines, and if I was in danger, he’d always rush to save me without hesitation.’
At the time, Ariel hadn’t understood just how much of a burden her actions were.
Seeing her teammates struggle to keep up, she had simply thought, ‘Maybe we need better members.’
But now, things were different. After her conversations with her former comrades, Ariel had realized her mistakes and vowed to change.
That’s why…
‘Maybe pushing me off the cliff wasn’t out of dislike. Maybe he’s trying to make me relive those situations to see how I’d handle them now. To test whether I’ve truly changed.’
Ariel began to view Ian’s actions as part of a larger test.
What better way to create a disorienting scenario than to send her into an unprepared fall?
‘This is a test. He’s evaluating whether I’m ready to rejoin the Hero Party.’
With that thought, Ariel opened her eyes and looked down.
The ground was rapidly approaching. The demons below had noticed her descent and were readying their bows and dark magic.
‘In that case, I’ll show him. That I’m worthy.’
Perhaps it was the guilt over her selfish behavior in the past, but now she could sense the movements of the enemies with clarity.
She could see which ones she needed to block and who needed to be taken out first to protect her allies.
‘It’s a little late to realize, but…’
As those thoughts coalesced, Ariel finally felt herself changing.
Boom!
As she landed, a tremendous sound echoed, and the ground shook around her.
“Kegh!”
“Bwoo….”
The demons were visibly flustered by the sudden appearance.
Some even took a step back, their eyes fixated on the radiant glow of Elysion, Ariel’s Holy Sword.
“In the past, I would’ve rushed in recklessly at times like this. But not anymore.”
Ariel thought back to her shameful past, when she prioritized attacking the nearest enemies without considering the bigger picture.
She wanted to forget those moments, to bury them and never recall them again.
But instead, Ariel chose to embrace those memories as part of herself and use them to show how much she had grown.
“If you want proof… I’ll give it to you.”
Ziiing!
Thick mana flowed from her body, enveloping Elysion in a dazzling glow.
Whoosh!
When Ariel swung her sword, the light consumed the surrounding enemies, obliterating them instantly.
***
Boom! Slash!
“Graaaah!”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Shing!
“Ke… kegh…”
The moment Ariel landed, she began swinging her sword relentlessly.
Already a formidable weapon, Elysion’s strikes were enhanced by Ariel’s mana, turning it into a tactical weapon of unmatched power.
Even the recoil from such forceful attacks was carefully controlled, a testament to how much she had studied and refined her swordsmanship compared to her earlier, more reckless days.
But her newfound strength wasn’t the only thing remarkable.
“She’s fighting much better than I expected. It’s been at least 30 minutes, and she hasn’t faced a single dangerous moment…”
Unlike the past when she was like a pufferfish, her younger brother could be called a tanker, and the corners of her mouth naturally went up at her growth.
Ian couldn’t help but smile as he observed his sister from above.
Part of her success could be attributed to the equipment he had carefully chosen to enhance her survivability and endurance.
However, even the best gear is useless if the wearer doesn’t wield it wisely. Ariel’s newfound composure and skill proved she had indeed changed.
‘Unlike before, when she fought mindlessly, she now makes appropriate judgments based on the situation.’
Gone was the Ariel who would get so engrossed in fighting the enemies in front of her that she ignored threats to the rear.
The current Ariel prioritized eliminating threats that could harm her allies, addressing them with precision and decisiveness—even when there were half-dead enemies right in front of her.
Ian recalled Glendia’s past criticisms: how Ariel used to get distracted by minor enemies and let more significant threats go unchecked.
‘If what Glendia said was true, then she really has changed. Based on what I’m seeing now, she’s fulfilling her role as a protector of the party.’
Though Ariel still lacked the leadership to serve as the central figure guiding her party, her willingness to put her life on the line for her comrades was clear.
Watching her from above, Ian felt a mixture of pride and puzzlement.
“I didn’t expect her to step up like this. It doesn’t seem like a temporary boost… has she really grown?”
Ian couldn’t understand how Ariel had improved so drastically.
Had she encountered a hidden opportunity for growth? That seemed unlikely, given how many opportunities she had already missed.
‘Even if she had stumbled upon some Hidden Piece or special encounter, it wouldn’t have been enough for such rapid progress. After all, she kept getting knocked out before she could make use of anything.’
Unless she had defeated a Demon King and received a reward—which she hadn’t, as Ian himself had claimed those victories—her growth should have been slower.
‘And yet, she’s using mana to enhance Elysion, a sign she’s reached the level of an Advanced Expert swordsman. How is this possible? Is it some protagonist-level experience boost?’
Ian chuckled at his own speculation, but the thought wasn’t entirely baseless. He had seen something similar before.
‘When I played Heroic Academy, there was this annoying character I deliberately tried to hinder. I blocked every chance for growth, yet when I faced him later in the story, he had somehow caught up to my level.’
Heroic Academy was a game with paradoxical freedom.
Players could interfere with the growth of characters they would later encounter as enemies, but the game’s story ensured those characters would always match the player’s strength when the time came.
‘I remember being so frustrated, wondering what the point of my interference was. But if Ian is the protagonist of this world’s DLC, and Ariel is meant to be his rival…’
Then no matter how much Ian tried to limit her growth, Ariel would inevitably reach his level due to the world’s narrative flow.
‘This isn’t some grind-fest training arc. It’s odd to see such a sudden power spike, but it’s the only explanation that fits.’
Ian acknowledged that his theory might be completely wrong.
But did it matter?
Whether it was a misunderstanding or not, Ian wasn’t concerned.
‘What’s important is that Ariel has grown strong enough to match me. That’s all that matters.’
If Ariel had reached a point where she could stand on equal footing with him, that was enough reason to be satisfied.
“The equipment test is complete… I guess it’s my turn now.”
Ian clapped lightly, a satisfied smile on his face, before leaping off the cliff to join the fray.
