The difference was clear from the very start of the fight.
This time, the squad did not brace in fear.
They did not wait in dread for the crushing seismic pulse that had nearly broken them earlier. No one tightened their stance in panic, and no one hesitated when the second class ogres raised their arms. Instead, they moved with purpose, their confidence resting on a single person.
Arthur.
At first, none of them had expected to rely on the new explorer. He was just a bronze squad member, someone who should have been struggling to keep up with their pace. Yet battle after battle, he had proven otherwise.
They had seen it with their own eyes.
Every time a second class ogre prepared its skill, Arthur was already moving. Every time the mana around the monsters twisted, he struck at the exact moment needed to disrupt it. Again and again, he read the battlefield like he had walked through it before.
It was no coincidence anymore.
It was ability.
